(2208) Eternal Seasons

[Circe]

"As every harlot will tell ya Talia, fuck the man," she gleefully says. "If ya get in trouble, I can hack code ta change the charges. Or make some calls, just let me know if yer wanting any help Talia." Circe drains her drink and manages to toss it into a trash barrel, "Ha. Oh! And Talia? Not just fer trouble, ya want help with anything else? Just ask, Summer power and stuff."


A hot tub could be fine in Summer if you had sore muscles, was Circe's opinion. As for the compliments paid to Sonja, that got Circe to nod and laugh out "Truth, truth. But Fugly is cuter."


Circe had to figure out where to put the cooler so Fugly wouldn't get into the glass. A bench should suffice, which she lifts up the cooler and puts it upon, "Ya want to drop some beers in? I know it'll take a few minutes fer them ta chill from the cold, but party long enough and it'll work," she asks Talia. She then turns her attetnion upon Seraphina's fashionable felony revelation. Also walking over to bring a juice she stops, "Oh gasp," Circe makes a very exaggerated shocked pose, "Yer passing off faux flannel? Oh my, to have ya be making a faux pass? Such a shocking Spring you are Sera, oh my."


Circe offers Seraphina a carbonated Italian juice. And wait, a pool in the Hedge? Well, that was an interesting option. Wait, "Please tell me this theoretical pool isn't fed by Hedge rivers. I've shot the aquatic fauna." After a moment Circe smirks to add, "Repeatedly, at the same one, with a rifle."

[Anatole]

Anatole responds to Circe:

"Content. I am content. Very appreciative of the new threads, thanks to the Emerald Sovereign."

He made a quick nod.

"Not much more to be said. My position among the mundane folk is now secure... I can turn my attention to other matters."

His head snaps round when Sonnie Wu makes her appearance. The slides down as Fuggly approaches, unleashed. The wizened raises an eyebrow.

"So this is Fugly! I thought it was a private nickname!"

He smiled with mischief again.

"Pool? Maybe not so openly... perhaps..."

He responds hurriedly to Talia, his expression fading somewhat as Seraphina interjects.

"But perhaps the Court of Desire have already got this covered?"

His expression remained thoughtful.

"Has anyone considered expanding our holdings among the mundane folk? Some extra property elsewhere... For get-togethers and the like. We could even have a pool and a hot tub? Not to disparage the Freehold here... Just a thought. An option."

[Sonnie Wu]

Fugly, of course, was 100% focused on his Auntie Sera, eager to get all the 'lovins' he can from the Fairest. There was happy whining and excited snorting and much rolling over for belly rubs.

Sonnie, meanwhile, smirked at Circe, "You'll get no arguments from me. My son is the cutest." She nodded like a proud mama.

Golden eyes turned to Talia, and she chuckled, "Why thank you! Summer is the season for bikinis, after all! Before long Autumn will be here and it will be time for pumpkin spice lattes! Don't tell Rhodes I said that!" She laughed loudly. "It's Talia, right? Nice to meet you!"

The Beast smiled towards Anatole, "Yup, this is my puppers. Honestly, I dunno what else he could be named." Her head tilted to one side in curiosity. "Expand our holdings? Like make the park bigger? Oh, let's add a spa!" The Claviger clearly liked this idea.

The Steepscrambler's attention wandered back to Seraphina, "Going on? Not much. You?"

[Circe]

"Great Anatole," she says to him, "Great ta hear such good news fer ya. Remember, I can fuck up digital records if ya ever want help with that."


"Oooh," at the thought of owning property, "Going ta be a land lord Anatole? Nice title, lord of the land," she talks with her hands to emphasize the words. "Hafta find the right places," she gets another juice, "Nor have me pay fer it directly. I get raided, that'd lead ta the Freehold."


Whilst Circe was many things, and very Summer, stupid wasn't something she considered herself to be. Hence why she did her best to keep her work and the Freehold divided quite well.


"Oooh, hey? If we find a place linked ta the tunnels, that'd be prime purchase turf," she nods to herself. Then inhales slowly to release it and laughs, "I'm going ta play with Fugly now."


Then goes to check on the pupper, putting down her juice so she has both hands, "Fugly, fugly wuggly huggly Fugly," she sings as she proceeds to start paying a lot of affection to the dog after her delay in doing so. Because Sir Fugly was knighted as the Summer Knight of Adorableness. Wasn't he? Well, "I shall knight thee Sir Fugly, the Summer Knight of Adoarableness, oh ho ho ho!"

[Seraphina]

“I second what Circe has said, though I can’t hack.” Nope, not even a little. “But I’m always available should you need help.” Always good to make sure others knew they had people they could count on.

Laughing at the Summers shocked pose, she displays her own pose, showing off said flannel. “What can I say, it looked good and I had to buy it.” An innocent shrug as she accepts the juice.
“I don’t believe it’s fed from the Hedge rivers, though I’d ask Liam to be sure. It was his idea and he worked hard to bring it to life.” Nope, she couldn’t take credit for that one.

Smiling to Anatole, “It looks quite handsome on you.” She was glad he liked the jacket.

Then came an interesting question, and she pauses for a moment, “I’ve thought about it before, and have discussed with the other Sovereigns investing in a property where others can find a safe place to sleep. I have some room above my coffee shop, but not much.” Sort of like a boarding house, she just didn’t have the funds currently to make it happen.

And Sera was more then happy to give him all belly rubs he wanted.

“I second that!” she agrees with Sonnie.

Laughing, “I think he’s used to that now.” After all, he married a Spring with a coffee shop. “But your secret is safe with me.” Winking to the Beast.

“Oh, just the usual, nothing too exciting. Have a few ideas for the Tavern, so might see if the rest of Spring has the time to meet up.” Plus, it was always good to touch base. “How’s the classes going?”

Nodding to Circe, “The tunnels would be a great asset if we can get them cleaned up.” In her mind anyways. They seemed like a good hiding place with secret exits if need be.

Then came the knighthood for Fugly, “Hear that Fugly! You’re not only the defender of the Freehold, but a Knight of Summer! You’re moving up!” stepping back so Circe could showing the pup with attention.

[Talia]

Talia smiled softly "I have been settling in okay. New city and all that so trying to get all the essentials ticked off, find my regular bar and whatnot." punch the shit out of a sleazy landlord.... all in a days work.

Talia chuckled "Hedge rivers sound fun though. I can live my Steve Irwin fantasy and wrestle with a croc." Talia cracked open a beer and sat down.

[Anatole]

"On the agenda, then..."

Anatole mused, considering his question and the responses he had received.

"How extensive are those tunnels? How much of them have we cleaned up? Is it something we could do if we focussed on it or is the task simply too big?"

His face bobbed between the two Sovereigns.

The wizened's attention, however, was torn away by the exuberant Fuggly. Not that he made a move to pat the exited animal: Fuggly was already getting enough attention.

Anatole joined Talia, settling on the floor in an unsually gentle movement.

"Is the Hedge fun? I am glad someone thinks so. Bah! Maybe it is my Court affiliations colouring things but I've always seen the Hedge as a dangerous resource to be cultivated, not as a challenge or an entertainment. Still... Well... If you really wanted to wrestle a crocodile and you thought about it hard enough, I am sure the Wyrd would oblige."

Had the Paladin's eyes begun to twinkle? Possibly. A crocodilian hob would certainly be a trial... and there was a part of the burned dwarf that would enjoy such a challenge.

"Any plans for what you'll do once you've found your space and your regular bar? I mean... plans for Our side of things, not the mundane stuff?"

He enquired of the Fireheart.

[Saber Sloth]

9 days left!

[Sonnie Wu]

Sir Fugly, He of Many Grand Titles, was happily wiggling his butt as Sera and Circe covered him in pets and scritches.

"Hedge Rivers probably have Hedge Otters," Sonnie openly mused as she sipped her boba. Hedge Otters were probably adorable... and maybe deadly.

Her eyes shifted towards Anatole and she shrugged with a smile, "It can be fun. If you like exploring, or hunting for interesting stuff, or fighting weird monsters. Oh! One time, I beat up a Briarwolf with a stick! That was kinda fun... in a scary Oh-gawd-we're-all-gonna-die way."

[Circe]

"Oh," she nods at the pool being river free, "good."


Then Talia brings up Hedge crocodile wrestling. The gets Circe to pay full attention to her instead of Fugly, "Oh ho ho ho Talia!" She smiles at the Summer, "I applaud the courage. And yes Anatole, court's color the lens on the world. Unless yer brewer, then ya have all the colors at once. But Talia? Two problems," she holds up her left hand with the index finger up, "First. The crab thing was my height. If predator size analogs hold true then elephant gun I'd recommend instead. At minimum," she nods at this happily the raised her middle finger, "Second. America has alligators, not crocodiles. Talia, ya may wrestle a Hedge alligator sooner or later, but fer a croc ya'd hafta travel fer a while. Though I'd invest-i-gator booze and bandages ta watch the fight. Oh ho ho ho!"


"Yes Sera," she nods along with the idea of boarding houses, "Hidden, open, open front with hidden Lost section? Don't know until we find property firsh," Circe laughs as the subject goes to the tunnels, "Yes, here is always Under Funderland. Underland? Eh, whatevs, if ya don't mind rats ya could sleep there."


She goes back to praising Sir Fugly. Anatole's question of the tunnels gets a quick summary, "We organized a big gallery space. Has a bunch of construction stuff in it. We built a bridge, did a little poo-ower washing until we was pooped out oh ho ho ho!" Then sighs as she plays with Fugly's face, "Ya'd have found the smell ta be way too shitty Sir Fugly," and what else had they done? "Found some more dead ends, a water way filled with nightmare mouthed worms that are surprisingly Iron Side in origin. Hmmm," that was about it that she could think of really. "I mean, they were used ta run rum and guns, so they're probably just a branch we got access ta."


And wait, were they suddenly bragging about Hedge battles? She had that beat. "Gets the adrenaline pumping don't it Sonja? I remember ya doin' that, though that fight after was too hot ta handle even fer me." Circe laughs, "Shooting a wooden stag is so difficult when it is moving, stab happy, on fire, everything around ya is catching fire, and ya do got the second worst stripper clip rifle I know of." She puffs up, "Getting crabs was easier, totally on automatic, oh ho ho ho! Makes me almost wish I still had the Frenchie gun ta say my foes have been FAL-ened by me, oh ho ho ho!"