Zen and the Art of Clarity

[Sonnie Wu]

This time, she didn't fall for it, but Sonnie appreciated the joke all the same. She grinned, "Don't you know giving a monkey easy access to feces is never a good idea?" She laughed, her joke as much on herself as anyone.

The Beast sipped her more sweet coffee as she listened to Rhodes outline the basics of what might be the freehold pledge. A nod when he finished. "That all sounds good. I got no problem with any of that. I hope you guys settled on the final version soon. I always thought it weird there was no oath for the freehold already."

Sonnie raised her eyebrows, surprised at Rhodes' reaction. She had simply assumed Seraphina had told him all about it. Maybe she had and the Nix's version didn't match up to her own recollections? "Well, sort of. There was a... thing, where a pledge - good neighbors I think it was called? - was suggested. I had sort of misread the situation and was being a little cautious. I thought maybe my participation was necessary. Abe got a little... temper tantrum-y and used some Fairest magic, I think, and started yelling threats at... me, if I didn't do it immmediately." Sonnie left out Sera also being targeted with threats. As resentful as she had been with the other Flowering Fairest, she didn't want Rhodes going on some roaring rampage of revenge against the Spring Knight. "Cole intervened with a well timed punch and snapped him out of it. Turns out I didn't need to make the pledge, after all. The other party politely declined when I later offered. So Abraham nearly making me piss myself in public just ends up stinging even more."

The Beast let out a breath, "We've talked since then, and sort of settled matters. I just get the feeling he thinks the ends justified the means."

[Rhodes]

The Monkey is sharp, he had to admit. He got the once, but not twice. "Touche," Rhodes replies, smiling, and toasts towards Sonnie with his cup.

There is a nod. "Yes, I felt it was an odd thing when I arrived. Like I said, nothing too out of the ordinary. I just want to finish off the language - we should be ready for the Solstice. Ceremony, you know."

The Dread Lord sips his coffee, reaching the end as Sonnie does with her recollections. "Is this when Mr Volker threatened her? Seems there were a lot of flaring tempers that day." He pauses, pouring a touch more coffee into his cup. For a moment he picks up the bottle of whiskey, before changing his mind and setting the bottle back down. "Good Neighbors is one of the most basic, common pledges. A simple allegiance between parties to not betray one another for a simple boon. And Sir Norton was leaning on you to make the pledge? Sera didn't mention this... though it's possible she didn't think it relevant - she was more mad at Mr Volker for being violent on her property, in front of a guest. Sounds more than a little chaotic. Forcing someone into a pledge through contract?" He pauses, thinking. "Sir Norton strikes me as being capable of that manner of thought - he likes to be the driving force, the man of the hour. Assuming everyone will instantly bend the knee to a pledge one designs is not wise. Even within something as simple as Good Neighbors there's the nuances of how you swear, and what you swear upon. Mantles, Keepers, True Names." He shrugs.

Rhodes sips some more of his refilled cup. "Perhaps, if you could offer a differing pledge in kind, you would be able to create a new offer to these new people. What do you know of making a vow to begin with?"

Teaching a Beast to out-pledge a Fairest? Henry Higgins, eat your heart out.

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie smiled and toasted the Fairest in return.

"Solstice..." she had to think a moment, "That's Summer, right? Fall is the other thing. Eq-equinox? Okay, so this month, then? Cool."

The Beast sighed softly, "Yeah, Cole came to my defense, which I appreciate, but he broke Sera's rule. Then he got carried away and challenged her to a duel or something. Dude needs anger management classes." She drank more than a sip of he coffee now, "Yeah, Sir Lancelot was threatening to go tell Ingrid or someone in charge on us. Like a tattletale or something. I'm not sure what he did, exactly. It just didn't feel natural when he started roaring at us. He's not someone I ever saw as that scary before. He... he had me cowering on the floor. Honestly, I was probably lucky I didn't react violently, too. My kind don't take too well to being bullied. We either run or we bite." She scowled, it was not a pleasant memory for her. Sonnie took another drink, "Sera had her hands full with Cole at the time, yeah. Oh, and it was to be sworn on our True Names. I guess that's why I hesitated. Seemed like a big ask."

She looked into the cup, now empty. Her stomach grumbled softly, so she held the cup out for a refill. She thought on what she did know about pledging. "Um, you make a promise, and if you really mean it, the Wyrd will back it up? And everyone says the same words."

[Rhodes]

Rhodes nods, confirming the Beast's thoughts. Not everyone just knew what these things were, but again it showed there was a solid mind under the eager Spring.

There is another sound of agreement. "Yes, I had heard that part, of course. He seems to want to put a handle on his rage, which is the first step, though how much progress he makes is up to him." He leans back in the chair. "There are several contracts that accentuate our social skills, and Fair Ones often pick up some. But Fear is natural, remember that. It is an instinct that preserves our lives, and for all the romanticism of overcoming it, that usually is a ploy to con young fools into going off and doing something very dangerous. Beat your Fear, be a Hero.... end up dead." It sounds very cynical. True names? Sounds a bit much... who was this fellow anyway? A new member?"

An eyebrow arches, but with a small smile the Flowering leans forwards again and picks up the cafetier, waiting expectantly. "Would you like some more, Sonja?" Even Beasts could have manners. The earlier thought of Higgins seemed only reaffirmed.

The description is crude, but the core was correct. "Almost. It does require a force of will to bend the Wyrd. The Wyrd does reinforce the words, yes, but also the act and intent. So you do not need to say the same thing - simply agreeing aloud to a proposed Pledge will bind you both." The Fairest leans back into the chair. " It can be a promise, to do or not do something... or dreams, as we said, allegence, vassalage or union. The boons can be material, or in a gift of talent... glamour, of course... or simply favours owed. But if you are wary of a pledge and you avoid it, rather than breaking your word? While it may make others think twice about you it is far better that than be an oathbreaker, and ostracized by all Changelings. Personnally, I think you made the right choice." Rhodes rubs his chin thoughtfully. "If you are worried about swearing on things, like a name, know that part is not essential for an easier pledge. In that case, we trust to the curse imbued to ward against breaking the oath. Is there a particular thing you want to know about them? I know quite a bit." He smiles.

[Sonnie Wu]

"Thank you!" she said as Rhodes refilled her cup. Sonnie did have manners. Sort of. Of course, more sugar was dumped into the hot bean juice. She sipped some before continuing with her story.

"Dude was a rep for a goblin market - the Red Poppy Company - that wants to set up shop around here. We're gonna check out their operation, make sure it's all legit. You know, no slavery rings or anything. Then we'll report back and you guys can decide whether the freehold does business with them."

The Beast listened to Rhodes as he described the basics of pledges. This was actually more education on the topic than she had ever been given before. How much of it her monkey brain would retain remained to be seen. "Hm, yeah, I wouldn't want to be an oathbreaker. Who needs that stigma?" She drank her sugar-coffee and gave the matter some more thought, "So, does swearing a pledge on your True Name make it more unbreakable or something? What's the difference to swearing on, say, your Mantle?"

[Rhodes]

The Dread Lord smiles. He did so enjoy polite company.

"Sounds fascinating. A lot of the things I seek can only be gained from the Hedge through trade. I would appreciate it if you let me know how it goes, when you're done." Getting in on the ground floor of such things was essential, and Rhodes could smell this kind of opportunity a mile away.

The Flowering stifles a yawn. It had been a long evening. "Excuse me... Well. Nothing can make pledges more unbreakable. It just depends on how difficult the promise is to keep. If we swore a Vow not to eat kiwi, and we both hate kiwi, that's easy. If we both swore not to talk to Seraphina, say, we would find such a thing far harder to accomplish. You see?" Rhodes stretches over and actually adds a sugar cube to his cup.

"A Vow is just a basic pact. An Oath is where you swear on the name of something - Your name, your Keeper, or a high power, and if you break the oath, you get both the consequence of swearing on that thing *and* the curse itself. The keeper knows exactly where you are. Your True Name depends on if you share your once-mortal name with a Fetch. If you do, you become defenceless against the Fetch. If you do not, you have broken the honour of yourself, and all your oaths break instantly - and all you sworn bretheren know why." The Fairest pauses, drinking a long mouthful of coffee. "Swearing on a Mantle or Goodwill, or some other facet of being a changeling is what we call a Coporial pledge. There is something more tangible you stake. Your Mantle, your connection to another court, your connection to the Wyrd. Break one of these? The Wyrd breaks or weakens that connection. Your Court knows you broke an oath swore on them, or the court you had Goodwill with. All these things raise the stakes, and usually are a sign of your commitment. However, when looking for, say, a Loyalist? Swearing on their keeper means nothing to them. So you need to think of the context, to choose how and what you swear. A pledge with a curse of death is far easier for you or I to wield against a Loyalist than try and outsmart them and gamble on out hard-earned mantles and names."

[Sonnie Wu]

The tailed Beast nodded and smiled, amenable to Rhodes' request. She had intended for the monarchs to be informed anyway. That was the plan, after all. "Shouldn't take too long to scout it out."

A sip of her coffee, as she listened to more Pledges 101. Vows? Oaths? That pledges had categories was news to her. The list of potential consequences for breaking pledges had her clearly curious. Sonnie leaned forward, "Wow, so it's possible for breaking an oath to kill you? That's extreme! Yeah, see, this is why I thought my participation wasn't needed. Once Abraham had Samuel - that's the representative guy - locked into a pledge, I thought that was the whole point. To make sure he wasn't a Loyalist leading us into a trap. If he doesn't have a Fetch, though, I dunno if that pledge means much to him."

Sip. "A kiwi is a bird, right? Or, wait, isn't that a person from New Zealand?" Whatever serenity the tai chi had brought to Sonnie's mind, it seemed to be wearing off. All the sugar probably didn't help.

[Rhodes]

"Excellent. How many of you are going In?" It would be handy to know, in case of emergencies.

"Oh, absolutely. Where do you think "Cross my heart, hope to die" comes from? I've sworn a death oath before, to show I wasn't nor would not work for the Gentry. Death curses often revolve around Them. The beings we can never afford to take lightly." Rhodes nods. "Perhaps. But see it from this... Samuel's point of view. He is joined with Sir Norton. But only has his word you, or any of the others, are safe. He could have walked from the Hedge into a Loyalist camp. How would he know? Can he take the chance that Norton is deceived by the cunning Sun Wukong?" The play on the legendary monkey-deity was not lost on a skilled occiltist. The Dread Lord smiles. "I assume he was more comfortable when most swore, if not all? Because then he has numbers on his side, against unknowns." A shrug.

"Oh yes, the people. You've never eaten Kiwi? Very good for you. Maori traditional delicacy. Full of Glamour if prepared freshly enough." This time, his face is an amiable mask. Wouldn't do to keep Sonnie being too comfortable.

[Sonnie Wu]

The coffee cup was passed over to her tail, and she ticked off the members of the expedition on her fingers. "Me, Circe, Abe... Cole would have come but he got his angry butt banished. Sera backed out and suggested we bring Titania instead. I guess we'll see how that goes."

She nodded, "Yeah, Lancelot made that point, too. That was my mistake." She smiled brightly, giving Rhodes a knowing wink for the Sun Wukong reference. "Like I said, I later offered Sam the pledge, but he refused for some reason. I guess since Circe and Sera tried to do it too, he took it as a good sign?"

The golden eyes blinked, uncertain of the Fairest's words, "Wait, kiwi is a goblin fruit? That... that doesn't sound right. You sure?"

[Rhodes]

"Titania?" He asks lightly. "Keep an eye on her, would you? She doesn't strike me as overly outdoorsy. But if you like afternoon tea she is an excellent hostess."

Rhodes shrugs. "Could be. If you felt pressured, but still offered after the fact, it does show willing." He smiles. "I always appreciate seizing the names of what we became for ourselves." He gestures to the flowers growing at his temples. "Rhodedendrons." He gives Sonnie a wink back.

A chuckle. "Oh, no. Not a goblin-fruit. Kiwi is New Zealander, like you said. Delicious slow roasted. Like most humans." Again, strangely passive.