(1906) Summers Ascent

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie watched as many others took the pledge, and smiled to herself. It was interesting to see this freehold formalize at last.

Her attention was then drawn to Reed Mills, as he was the only stranger here (well, she still hadn't really spoken to Simone yet, either, but at least she had seen the Darkling before).

The Beast grinned and waved at the Wizened. "Hello! I'm Sonnie!"

Circe's call for BB gun target shooting sounded like fun. Would anyone trust the monkey with even a toy firearm?

[Seraphina]

It was wonderful to see and hear the Pledges being made. This was a huge step for them as a whole, they could move forward as one now.

The new guy even step forward to swear the Pledge. And while she was curious about who he was, she knew he would be swamped by others. Especially the Monarchs. Instead, she offers him a friendly smile.

When Circe mentioned the shooting range, she nods and follows the elf. Offering a loving smile to Rhodes and a wink.

Sera moves to this thread!

[Rhodes]

The Dread Lord watches as one by one, the Changelings of Sacramento form a binding pledge. He could feel the power of it rippling through the Wyrd, and his pleased smile reflected in it. He clears his throat.

"Thank you all, for signing up to this pledge. As a Freehold, I hope it will give us greater strength together. To those of ou more wary, perhaps you can discuss it with your Monarch or Myself - there is no limit to when one may make this pledge and reassure one another of our willingness to support one another in the city."

The Dread Lord pauses, picking out those in the crowd that have not yet sworn, and noting them in his mind. "I am always available to discuss, if anyone wishes to make the pledge less publically."

Though I cannot imagine why.

The Autumn King moves around the hall, passing out a card to every courtier upon which a copy of the pledge is written. The cards are small but beautifully calligraphed with an embossed golden border. In each corner in is a symbol in coloured ink - a green antler, a scarlet spearhead, a grey mirror and a black arrow.

"These cards are so that should any of us find a fellow Lost in the city, any may bring them into the Freehold Oath, for mutual peace of mind and safety from the enemeies we all face."

His duty executed, King Rhodes slips away to the bar, refills his wine, and watches the shooting.

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie accepts the card from Rhodes with a smile and a nod, "Oh, this is neat-o! Great idea! Some of us probably wouldn't remember the wording correctly. I'm sure this will help them. Whoever they are."

She stashed the card away into her bag, not wanting to lose it. The Beast then resumed her eating of shrimp as she turned her attention back to interesting sights, like the BB gun contest.

Am I not going to participate?

I dunno how to shoot guns, even toy ones.

Yeah, I'd suck as bad as everyone else.

She grinned and called over, "Hey, guys! Don't let the smurf show up Spring! Go go go! Shoot the... the thingies! Yeah!" The 'Scrambler laughed as she cheered on her Court.

[Reed Mills]

Mud brown eyes blink rapidly.

Christ, the booze already?

No, just the Wyrd; the dazed feeling that can come over you when you put another little notch in belt of fate. All the better the beat you with.

He offers Rhodes a nod when he's passed the card, feeling a chill start at the tips of his toes and work its way up.

But it's Sonnie he addresses.

"Hey...sorry. Got lost for a second there. I'm Reed." Takes off his straw hat. Scratches his mossy head. Puts the hat back on.

She's beautiful. Or is it adorable? Either way, it makes the Wizened feel vaguely uncomfortable. And thirsty. He stares longingly after Rhodes, toward the bar.

"You need a drink? Cause I sure do." His smile is supposed to seem conspiratorial. It just makes him look awkward. He pauses, giving the steepscrambler time to accept or decline his offer. He's pretty sure it'll be the latter.

[Sonnie Wu]

"Whoo-hoooooo! Go Emeralds! I knew you could do it!" More support for her favorite sportball team! Er, court. Then her flighty attention was pulled back to Reed Mills. She smiled at him, very open and friendly in her manner.

"Nice to meet you, Reed! You picked a fine day to arrive! No better way to intro yourself to the freehold than at a big party like this!" Curiously, she notes his gaze towards the Autumn King... or perhaps it was the booze.

Never one to deny someone their desires (within reason, of course, though Sonnie's sense of reason was sometimes questionable), the Beast nodded in response to Reed's request. "Sure, these shrimp are making me thirsty! So, what brings you to Sacramento?"

[Reed Mills]

The wizened winces at Sonnie's show of support. Too damn loud...

Still, he manages to offer her a smile. It's not as open as hers. Or as charming. But it's a smile.

"Yeah, well...Guess it's just my luck right?" He doesn't seem like he feels that lucky though.

The prospect of a drink seems to lift his spirits a touch however. "One second."

The wizened steps back to the bar, grabs a bottle of Jameson. Two glasses are located and a chunk of ice deposited in each, followed by that elixir of the gods. He handles the whole operation like the pro he is.

A tip of the hat to Rhodes where he's stationed and Reed returns to Sonnie, handing her the drink.

"To new friends and new places. And good drink. Hope you like it straight." He holds up his glass to honor the toast and then sips. Wants to drain the whole damn thing, but restrains himself.

After a moment of enjoying the spreading warmth: "Why here, you asked? Well, it seemed like the place to stop I guess. Call it a hunch." He shrugs.

"How about you? You native?"

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie shrugged her shoulders slightly, "You're alive and free. You've found the safety of a nice freehold. Sounds pretty lucky to me."

She watched Reed prepare the drinks with idle curiosity, eating another shrimp while she waited. Once the Wizened returned, she accepted the offered glass with a smile. "Here here!" The Beast saluted the toast, though she snickered a little at the 'straight' sentence. Grow up, Sonnie. After sniffing the contents, she took a drink.

"If you say so, dude." Curious as she was, Sonnie didn't want to pry to far into Reed's business. Changelings weren't inherently open people.

"Me? Sort of. I'm from San Francisco."

[Reed Mills]

She's right, though Reed isn't so sure any of them are as safe as they'd like to believe.

"Free? Sure," he doesn't sound completely convinced. "Hope to stay that way."

He slugs down the rest of his drink.

"Listen, I've got to use the facilities. Back in a minute."

The Wizened takes his leave, a slight hitch in his gait signaling that he's had more than a few drinks already. He sets his glass on the bar as he passes.

Leaving Reed in the bathroom while I'm out of town. =)