Fit for an Onyx Court

[Cassandra Reeding]

As they step through, Cassandra is surprised by the lightness of the air after the scent of copper has dissipated. The brush of thorns, while frosted, are dainty and perhaps dangerously inviting. Her lips part in a sense of awe as she gazes around, taken aback. "This place could be something," she says quietly, walking a little deeper in.

Perhaps she wasn't paying as best attention as she could as she finds herself stumbling over some kind of a bump in the ground. She falls onto her knees, her hands bracing her fall. It stings a little, but she isn't any worse for wear. "Pretty, but still gotta keep the eyes peeled."

She gazes down at whatever she stumbled over. It looked like something made of clay, buried in dirt. It wasn't too deep.On a whim, she dusts off the brush of dirt and finds a pot. She squints at it as she carefully picks it up, standing. "Looks like a gruel pot?" She looks back at the other two before looking around more, "There might already be a carved out Hollow nearby." She looks down at the pot again, "Possibly abandoned."

[James Turner]

James was lookout as Gerrit approached the gate. Head on a swivel, eyes open to keep an eye out for any intruders or passerby's. Since it was clear he didn’t do anything to interrupt or stop Gerrit as he opened the Gate. Since Gerrit entered first he would take up the rear and enter last, slipping through the open Gate before it shut itself. Inside he frowned a little, the Darkling had honestly been hoping that it still had the graveyard motif but that was ok. This was to be their Court safehouse, somewhere they could hide away from the outside world and the threats it represented.

He and Gerrit seemed to have the same idea as his own eyes narrowed and scanned their surroundings. It wasn’t that odd or suspicious for it to be clear, it would have been odder if they had walked into an ambush as they hadn’t even known about the Gate beforehand. Everything seemed to be in order for the most part. As Cassandra fell his eyes snapped to her location, looking out for any signs of movement.

His hand had went out to help her up but whatever she found distracted her and for good reason. “Well that’s helpful. We should see what else is around and work on setting it up how we like it. We should probably transport cots, sleeping supplies, you know the necessities. Winter can be long.” He nodded as she spoke, he wouldn’t be surprised if this area had been claimed in the past and then abandoned.

Hopefully Abandoned. He thought, setting his pack down so he could pull out his knife and clip it to his belt, just in case. He slung it back over his shoulders as he pushed deeper into the clearing, watching, waiting, walking the perimeter to see where they wanted to put their own boundary. “It’s a good start though. What should we do first?”

[Gerrit]

Gerrit looked around and thought for a moment. He was new to this - a Hollow was the last thing on his mind in his hometown, so he'd gladly let either John or Cassandra take the lead. He was well prepared and she was lucky - the pot was a good find, so maybe they could ride that current a little while longer. They do make a great team.

Yes, but he shouldn't go down that rabbit hole of thoughts right now.

"I think it's worth looking around nearby to see if we can find something - that'd safe is the trouble of interfering too much with the Hedge. I've got your back in any case." He knew when to play second fiddle, and this was definitely one of those times.

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra nods, keeping hold of the gruel pot as she takes John's hand to help herself up. She tries not to think about the skin contact. "Thanks," She watches as he walks further into the clearing and she follows along.

"We can be careful and venture forward. Navigating is my thing, after all." She gives a little bit of a confident smile, though she tries not to be too confident, "Which is odd because I didn't realize that would have become one of my things." She says with a bit of a chuckle.

She lays her hands on a set of thorns, ready to prick her skin to help them navigate when she feels something shift. She wills away some of the brush, "Wait... I think we've got something here." She says softly. She felt as though she could see something just beyond this patch, a clearer area and... some kind of structure? a path to a structure? "Here, help me clear some of these thorns away." She looks back to Gerrit and John for help.

[James Turner]

Cold hand grasped Cassandra’s own and helped to lift her to her feet. “No problem.” Not like he was the most graceful. Though as she said navigating was her thing, he quirked a brow then tilted his head waving her forward with a smile. “At least one of us is, exits and entrances I can do but…” He didn’t finish the sentence he just shrugged. “Always fun to figure out you’re surprisingly good at something. How I felt when I went through my first lesson on dreams.”

He nodded his agreement to Gerrit. “Yea, it’s a good idea to check the area. Promising start so far even if there had been hobs or the like here it doesn’t seem to be recent.” But they all knew how time could be in the hedge. For all James knew this was a day old and the hedge just decided to overrun the area pushing the old guests out.

“Oh?” John quirked a brow breaking his trance as he starred off into the distance turning to see what Cassandra was talking about. The hedge wasn’t that different from dreams, it reacted to intent as much as physical force. You just had to connect with it then subtle shift it in a different direction. “When we’re finished and have time do we want to talk about the pledge while we’re all together?”

[Gerrit]

Gerrit was glad that Cassandra was showing some confidence. Between their Hedge-patrol and the conversation they had mere minutes ago, she deserved every break she could get. He ignored whatever ugly feelings reared their ugly head when John helped Cassandra up and focused on the surrounding Thorns instead.

The talk he had with Cassandra when they crafted the decoration for the Winter Coronation helped in that regard. Yeah, maybe she and John could share something special - but that didn't mean he would be abandoned and forgotten. Everyone deserved some happiness, most of all his friends. At least, that's what kept his mind from going to darker places.

The Darkling mentioning the Pledge also worked: as uncertain as life tended to be, having some sort of insurance for people he could rely on put the Ogre's mind somewhat at ease. Plus, Cassandra showed a great deal of trust by sharing her feelings with Gerrit. These people are my friends. I am good enough and appreciated.

The underbrush was willed away, wintery wonderland-bristles giving way to their combined efforts for finding a safe haven for their Court. He was making good progress, when something else caught his eye. "Uhm, Cassandra, John: take a look at this." Somewhat hidden beneath some shrubbery there was a door. It vaguely reminded him of the door of a hobbit den from the Lord of the Ring movies - round and friendly, not particularly big. A product of all the warm thoughts going around? Maybe. But it could also be a trap, so he didn't want to barge in blindly. "Do you think we should try to open it?"

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra nods back at John, her emerald eyes catching his for a moment before looking away slightly, "Yes, we should definitely talk about the pledge." It felt like wings fluttering in her chest for a moment, but she pushes it back. Focus.

When Gerrit calls for them to check out what he'd found, she follows. Gazing at what she can only imagine was basically a little Hobbit dwelling, the Fairest gasps a little in surprise. She grasps onto the gruel pot as she tries to gaze around with more care, but unless the Hedge was playing incredible tricks on them, which, given the Hedge, wouldn't be anything unexpected, this place had been deserted a good while.

Debris of thorns and vines have taken over the Hollow and they'd need to be cleaned up and cleared. And yet the Hedge Ivy looked so beautiful as it claims the sides of the dwelling. For an entrance via a graveyard, this is the last kind of place she'd expect for them to find.

She looks back between John and Gerrit before looking back at the den, "I think we should. Carefully. Perhaps we scale the perimeter first, check for any signs of movement before trying to go through the front door."

[James Turner]

John was apparently the odd man out as he helped Cassandra up, not noticing anything out of the ordinary or paying it any extra mind. A companion fell and he picked them up that was it. Was that it? What else could it be? His mind couldn’t find an answer so it got left and abandoned, not worth further consideration, at least while they were in the hedge. “Ooooo. Good find Gerrit.” The inner wisp in him coming out as he looked at the door. His hand slowly rising, balling into a fist wanting to knock, wanting so badly to knock and see what happened. Cassandra’s words hit his ears and shattered that tiny moment of impulsivity from the Darkling. He straightened up with a nod.

“Good idea. Looks like it was overgrown and abandoned but that doesn’t mean nothing else took up residence inside.” His agreement stated as his feet slowly shifted and he began trying to find the perimeter of the thing as thorny vines were peeled back to try and find its true edge. “Definitely needs some work but if it’s unoccupied…” The possibilities were endless.

“I’m fine with the same agreement as last unless you had any changes in mind?” He said it to no one in particular as he slowly made his way around the perimeter to find a window to peer inside of. “Window is caked with dust, dirt, grime, hard to see through but I’m not seeing or hearing any movement out of his room at least.”

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-02-12 11:53:49	James Turner rolls 6 to Perception (Wits + Comp) (10 Again)	6, 7, 6, 9, 10, 6, 9	3 successes

[Gerrit]

Memories of early nightmares and bumps in the night with denizens of the Hedge edged in on Gerrit. This could very well be a trap - some cozy clearing to lure in unassuming Lost and be collected by the Fae. Heck, maybe the den itself was a Hobgoblin, some indescribable thing of wood and earth with a taste for Changelings.

He watched John skulk around, calmly and methodically ensuring their safety to the best of his abilities while simultaneously talking about Pledges as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Just like that.. no wonder Cassandra fell for him. Gerrit shuddered and forced a cough out to clear his throat. He should know better than to follow these trains of thought in the Hedge. He also should know better than to compare himself to his Courtmates: they had their strengths, he had his.

His strength just happened to be the ability to take a beating, so it probably was time to step up. "Yes. Uh, I mean-" he lowered his voice a bit. "I think the agreement worked fine last time, so I'm okay with that. As for this one.." He stepped towards the door, looking at the Thane, then at his King. "If you say you didn't see any movement I could try this door."
Hasty? Maybe. But he didn't want to stand around and watch John pull the Ogre's weight much longer. No, he wanted to be useful himself.

A scarred hand closed itself around the doorknob of the entrance, waiting for any objection before turning it.

It appeared stuck at first, but Gerrit doubled his effort and pushed, his mantle flaring up slightly while doing so. It gave in and the Stonebones took the first step into the dwelling. He hunched his shoulders a bit and looked around the little room, waiting for anything to jump them - nothing. He let out the breath he held in anticipation, blowing out a small cloud of wintery air. "I think we're clear."

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra took a look around the other side of the little house's perimeter, meeting them back center. "I am also fine renewing the pledge as is," she says quietly.

She takes a couple more steps before saying, "I think we're-" and she pauses when she see's that Gerrit is already opening the door. She readies herself, keeping an eye behind them. She stays tense and ready until Gerrit says that all is clear, and even then, she is still a little tense. Perhaps she was a hint too tense, because the cold of her mantle formed a little bit of sparkling frost in her hair. Even her colorful hues seemed to shift a little more quickly.

The Polychromatic eventually stepped inside and took a look about. It was the size of a small apartment, a little cramped, but they could certainly make do. Perhaps even expand the size with time. She began moving about the Hollow. Two rooms with layers of dust and odd nature built furniture. A couple of sitting stumps. They could work with this.

"This dust is so old, I don't imagine anyone has been here in a good while," She says walking to one of the windows and carefully nudging it open before closing it again. "There aren't any wards. I can set those up." Her gaze turns between her two courtmates and she smiles, "Well, looks like we might have a little home. Don't worry, I'm sure we can goth it up a bit." She says it somewhat teasingly, mostly to John.