Zen and the Art of Clarity

[Sonnie Wu]

"Hm?" Sonnie looked up from her phone, her expression curious, "What way? Not that my dreams are any of your business, but Titania and I rode dinosaurs in the jungle. Ever tried that? The whole Jurassic Park experience?"

She smiled and resumed scrolling through her twitter feed, "She probably has them in the back stacks. Have to get the crew to break out the forklift."

"A lot of people do it, thank you. Food trucks are very popular! They tweet their current locations so fans know where to find them." She put her phone away, done browsing for now, and smiled as the door opened with a classically creepy noise. "Ouch, by the way. I was gonna bring you back a waffle, but now you can forget it."

He's not wrong, you know.

Shush, he's offering coffee. Act offended.

[Rhodes]

"An assessing way. Paired with the moustache comment I wondered what, or rather whom, you might have been seeing in those dreams." Rhodes chuckles. "I haven't done dinosaur riding, but I have done flying, and medieval battles. I strongly recommend the former. The latter is a more historical interest of mine." Though he would never admit it, lazing with Sera and watching documentaries all afternoon was an excellent primer for both research and his curiosity, seeking to verify the claims of the easy medium.

The warehouse quip draws another smile. It was a fantastic wardrobe.

"Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to sit down for a meal," he calls from the kitchen. There is the sound of cupboards and the scent of coffee. The Dread Lord emerges with a tray, cafetier (as yet unpressed), a pair of cups with saucers, bowl of sugar cubes, and a small bottle of whiskey. Because of course this is how Rhodes has coffee. "I'm afraid you wouldn't want the milk. Still, this is a fine blend and doesn't need it really." He sets the tray on the huge wooden table and drops tiredly into the grandiose Autumn Throne. He sighs, undies the cap on the bottle, and pours some of the amber liquid into one of the mugs.

"Speaking of Titania. Is she alright? I haven't seen much of her lately. You weren't getting her into trouble, I hope?" The Flowering grins, but it's tired. He sets the bottle down and returns the cap, waiting for the coffee to brew.

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie pondered the idea of flying in dreams as she sat down. Her eyes wandered about the room as Rhodes fussed about in the kitchen. "Well, maybe mustaches are the wrong way to go. What about beards? A king with a manly beard? Neatly trimmed, of course. Not those unkempt hipster beards. That'd just make you look like a hobo. Unless Sera is into that kinda thing." She was not about to admit to her silly rendition of Rhodes as a big game hunter. The Beast figured that wouldn't go over well with the real thing. She chided herself for even mentioning mustaches, but sometimes she couldn't help herself.

"I'm on the go a lot, so food trucks are very handy. Some of them are very good. You might be surprised." She nodded, there were some amazingly talented chefs working in food trucks these days. The Beast blinked at the full coffee service, but smiled over it. "You're certainly going all out for little old me."

"Yeah, she's good, last I saw her. The whole dream walk was her idea, so if anything, Starlight was the one getting me into trouble. I mean, not that there was trouble. It's was just my dreamscape."

[Rhodes]

Rhodes looks affronted. "You've seen me in shorts, Sonja, and Sera had to ask very nicely. That's about as dressed down as I go. I never imagined growing facial hair, but it must be well-groomed. There are standards, after all."

"Mm?" There is a questioning sound, as he looks back to the tray. "Oh, not really. I'd be doing this for myself, regardless. If you want something all-out, you can get it yourself. Or ask Sera at your next little get together - if you're willing to wait a little for your coffee, but it's almost always worth it."

"Uh-huh." He does not sound convinced. "Well, at least you're both practicing. I may have to run another class at some point. Did I mention in the class that you can set up a dreaming Pledge to visit each others' dreams directly, wherever you are? Sounds like something you may be interested in." He reached over and slowly compresses the coffee, before pouring it into each cup and taking the alcohol-added one for himself. "If either of you need anything on the Oneiromantic arena, do let me know."

[Sonnie Wu]

Yes, the shorts. Nice legs, too. Little skinny, though.

Do not say that out loud.

Sonnie smiled and nodded energetically, "Sure, sure. It would be a distinguished look, though. Just something to consider."

Suggest the handlebar mustache!

Shut up.

She nodded again, watching Rhodes pour the coffee, "She is the barista, after all. I'm sure it's worth the wait."

Once she had her cup, the Grim added sugar. A lot of sugar. "It wasn't really a planned thing, for me. I just found Titania in the Tavern preparing for her own dream trip, and I joined her. We kept it pretty simple, but yeah, it was a good experience!" She sipped her sugared-up coffee. No slurping, yet. "Mmm, coffee. Um, yeah, I think maybe you mentioned it before? I'm not an expert on pledges, though. I'm a little leary about jumping into them."

[Rhodes]

I do like to be distinguished. But the combing, the waxing... can I really be bothered with all That?

Probably not.

The Flowering simply nods. Seraphina was brilliant at her job, and it made her happy. That was good enough for him. He sips his own coffee, enjoying the sensation of alcohol and caffeine.

Rhodes tried not to wince at the unholy amount of sugar going into the cup. Beasts had to be given a little bit of leeway, after all. But then she said something that really made him curious. "You don't need to be an expert, as long as you can piece together all the components. A badly phrased Pledge can be crippling, but they're usually quite easy to spot. Though being leary about enteringba magical binding shows a simple lack of trust, which is entirely normal for us." He gives Sonnie a smile- for once, one of understanding. "However, because they are literally binding, they can help forge that initial trust it is so hard for us to have. What is it about Pledges you find problematic?" If Sonnie was concerned with signing basic pledges, the Fairest needed to help her move past that fear.

[Sonnie Wu]

Another sip of coffee. She held her pinky finger out while she held the cup. Fancy.

"It's... I dunno. It's not that I have a problem with the idea of pledges. I understand they're useful, and sometimes necessary. I get that they're meant to be an insurance policy, so both sides can let down their guard enough to deal with each other fairly. I guess I'm wary of people's intent with them? Like, what if this guy is trying to trap me into something? What if I find myself leashed against my will because I misunderstood some weirdly phrased clause?"

She stared into her coffee cup a moment, "I guess it feels like marrying a stranger. Maybe I want to get to know someone before I agree to a pledge. But then that kinda defeats the point of some pledges? I certainly don't take well to being forced into one, that's for sure."

[Rhodes]

Rhodes nods as Sonnie outlines her ideas. "Well, that is a risk. But, being tricked into something can happen anywhere. Like now, where I laced your cup with powerful sedatives." There is a pause for several seconds before his face splits into a grin. "Kidding."

"But you see my point, do you not? You would have to live with the consequences, but you can always choose not to accept a pledge. Anyone reasonably seeking an agreement should be willing to negotiate." He sips his coffee. Delicious. "No, no, no. Being forced into a pledge undermines the very trust pledges aim to build. Coercing and convincing does happen, of course. Rhetoric, haturally. Forcing happens... But... It's so gauche, at best, and as you say, can be downright evil at worst." He shakes his head. "If you want, I could go through some Pledge basics with you? Help to spot problems in potential vows before you get stuck?"

[Sonnie Wu]

When Rhodes said that, Sonnie had a mouthful of tea. She held it as she looked at him for those several seconds. When the joke revelation finally came, she swallowed and smirked. "Okay, that was a good one. Well timed!" She gave the Fairest some light applause.

"But, yeah. That's the crux of it for me, I guess? I want the choice. Whenever you and the other monarchs come up with a good freehold pledge, I'll be happy to take it. That's the choice I made when I set up shop here. I want to be able to know what's involved and who's involved, so I can make an informed choice." She nodded and pointed her tail at Rhodes, when he spoke about forcing pledges. "Yes, thank you! Maybe you can explain that to Abraham, sometime. I don't think he quite gets it. He meant well, I guess, but his approach did nothing to help my shyness towards oaths." She assumed Rhodes was aware of the incident.

The Beast tilted her head in thought, then nodded with a small smile, "That'd be nice. I like learning stuff!"

[Rhodes]

Rhodes grins. "Thank you. But I would never do that." He waits a few more seconds. "They were laxatives."

It takes a far longer pause before the Flowering winks.

He nods. "Well, as our resident Pledgesmith, I offered to nail out the wording - I have most of the basics down. Essentially it will involve... forsaking the Gentry, not exposing the members to mortalkind, not turning us over to our enemies... It can be revoked by the monarchs through banishment, of course. The Blessing will almost certainly be a shield against our degradation. Nothing unreasonable or unnecessarily restrictive, while ensuring the minimums of our safety. But everyone that wishes to remain in Sacramento will be expected to swear it."

The Fairest cocks his head slightly. "Sir Norton? He... forced a pledge upon you?" His tone is concerned. That seemed out of style for the Spring Knight, so far as he had seen - even more odd following his stance back at the Winter Coronation.

He spreads his hands, smiling. "Well, I don't know what you know. I can outline how to do a solid pledge, or you can ask me what you need." Rhodes sips his coffee.