[22 12] Anatole's Corner

[Anatole]

"For John, aye."

Anatole's voice is a quiet rumble. He watches the crowd from narrowed eyes, then sighs and shakes himself. When Jasper accosts him, he cracks a wry smile. His eyes flash, glancing upward at the giant Beast.

"Jasper. How are you?"

He jerks his head to one side, then moves to one side as Rhodes moves off to the other. The option is there but the burned dwarf is not pushing it.

[Jasper]

Jasper follows that jerk of a head towards the side and the gentle giant follows the shorter man. The Beast sniffs slightly before taking a sip of his drink and he nods down to the Autumn Courtier. "I'm doing okay. Been better. Been worse.." he adds with a rolling shrug of his shoulders. "How 'bout with you, bud?"

[Anatole]

Anatole grunts.

"Fine. More or less. I've been doing quite well, quite well - for a muggle that is. Otherwise... less so now. Found myself carrying a few concerns."

He shrugged, eyes searching the crowd for signs of Jasper's motley.

"I hear you are already making a name for yourself in the Freehold..."

Before he can continue on his theme, Seraphina drifts over and he inclines his head.

"Queen Seraphina."

[Seraphina]

Seeing the nod, she approaches. For her, it was just a matter of respect and not wanting to intrude.
A warm smile, “Paladin of Shadows, you look good. Anything exciting planned for Winter?” she asks before taking a sip of her drink. Which was actually sweet, but the warmth it provided reminded her that it did, indeed, have alcohol in it.

Sapphires look to Jasper, “It’s good to see you Jasper, I hope you’ve been well.” She hadn’t spotted his Motley yet. Were they late? Or was something else going on? Part of her wanted to ask, but it didn’t feel like her place.

[Jasper]

Jasper takes a slow sip of his drink and nods to the Wizened. "Good to hear that you're doing okay. What sort of concerns?"

He flashes a small, toothy smile. "Oh? What 'ave you been hearing? It can't be all that good.."

The Beast perks up when the Vernal Queen steps over and he turns towards her, "It's good to see you too, Seraphina. I've been.." he pauses for a moment. "I've been better, but.." he shrugs slightly, a roll of those shoulders beneath the fur-lined jacket. "It is what it is, I guess."

[Anatole]

Anatole smiled slyly.

"I hear you've been on patrol. That is always a start. I'm a veteran of those patrol's myself and given how small we are as a group, any help or insight is most welcome. There is a persistent rumour that you've been looking into some fire bugs as well - is that true?"

The burned dwarf paused to scratch at his scarred cheek.

"Concerns - oh yes. Concerns! This might interest you given you've been doing some Hedge Patrols for the Freehold... Beware 'Rust'. Its about the best way I can sum it up: some kind of blight along some major trods close to our gates. It looks like rust; covers the Thorns, mostly, and seems to be spreading. One of the major trods is already pretty infested with the stuff. If you see it, do not let it get on you. Do not let it fall on your exposed skin. Alright."

He let his eyes express what his voice could not.

Pivoting slightly, he turned his attention the Vernal Sovereign.

"Thank you. Thank you. No... Not much planned for winter. Reflection on a problem we face, no more than that."

As Jasper continues, the wizened pivots back, looking curious. That turn of phrase again...

[Seraphina]

There was a brief frown, “I’m sorry to hear that, I hope it gets better.” Noting the shrug, she decides to not dig into whatever was going on, “That’s true, but if you ever need anything, please give me a call. And I’m sure the rest of the Freehold is available as well. We need to look out for each other.” But she does know that not everyone was comfortable talking about their problems, especially with her. And she respected that, but would always offer.

“Any plans for the New Year?” she asks, taking a sip from her glass.

Listening to Anatole, there was a look of concern, “If we have an infested Trod, have there been any investigations into how to get rid of it?” surely someone was looking into that. “And what happens when it gets on your skin?” was this something she could help heal? Or was this something completely new that there was nothing they could do to heal it? Oh, she was very curious about it. And worried. “I’d like to see it.” She was never one to shy away from danger, and if this was harmful to them, she wanted to help get rid of it.

“Reflection is always important, very few see the benefits in it.” She had been friends with Sasha, and she had helped her understand a bit more. Not as much as a Winter, but a bit. “As I mentioned to Jasper, the Freehold is here if you need us.” But as with Jasper, she wouldn’t push it.

The conversation felt…off. Like she wasn’t supposed to be here, part of it. Both were usually easy to talk with. Was it her?

[Jasper]

Jasper glances back to the burned dwarf and nods. "That's sorta correct.. Fire bug, yes. Talia and I did some investigatin' in one of the houses that got torched recently. Seems like it might be one of our kind starting these fires.

"Rust, huh? I'll keep an eye out for it and try to avoid it. Seems weird enough and I don't want to get sick none..."

He pauses for a moment and gives a small shake of his shoulders. "I tried to go on a patrol. We were planning on going on a patrol but then we became me... and I might not be the smartest but I'm not dumb enough to go into the hedge alone."

He glances over at Seraphina and then to Anatole, his voice cracking ever so slightly, showing just how much this hurts the big Beast, "They left. Mara and Fleck. Just up and left one day... so I've been.. kinda out of it for a bit but I ain't dumb," he says, taking a swig from his glass and looking like he might need a refill already.

[Anatole]

Anatole grunts, then makes a double take as Jasper finally reveals his pain. The Wizened's bushy brows wilt and he reaches out, slowly, to press a caloused hand onto the giant Beast's forearm.

"I am sorry. That will hurt... I have been in your shoes before and there are no words to describe what you are going through..."

He was still holding onto Jasper when he tilted his head toward the Vernal Sovereign.

"Aye. An infested Trod. That major Trod linked to the Gate in the park. I'm looking into it. So is Liam. So far not much luck... If it isn't the effect of a great ritual I'm not sure what it is. It looks like a growth or a flakey rust covering all the Thorns. Flakes off very easy. And it is absorbed by the skin. If you've seen Geralt or tended to him, he touched the rust. I... I observed it but was unable to do anything."

He bobbed his head.

"Liam and I will be making another expedition out that way soon ... to check on things. Maybe get some samples for my Lord Rhodes... He may have knowledge that I do not. I have to say, we don't really know what we are dealing with yet."

He didn't like saying that. He made a wan smile.

"Well... There might not be any Onyx hereabouts but I think we a quite suitable for the Season. What of you, my Queen? How have you been faring?"

[Seraphina]

Her face betrayed her feelings before she spoke, her eye lids droop as she looks down, the corners of her mouth drawn down.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Jasper.” Her tone one of sadness and worry. “Losing such important and valuable friends can be brutal. I know everyone deals with things like that differently, but if you ever need to vent, I’m here.” And that was all she could do, offer to listen if he needed it. Her and Mhairi had not been a Motley, but she had been her best friend, her true confidant and her leaving had been a huge blow. “Want me to get you a refill?” offers the Nix. Though the larger part of her wanted to hug the Giant, but not everyone liked hugs, and sometimes it was best to not try.

But it was surprising to hear Anatole had been in that situation before. It showed how little she knew of the Dwarf. Maybe that was how he preferred it, for those around to him to not know everything about him.

“That’s a bit too close for comfort.” When he mentions where the Rust was. Shaking her head, “No, I haven’t seen him or tended to any injuries. With this bit of news, I intend to talk with him, make sure he’s ok.” Gerrit knew she was a healer, why didn’t he reach out? She couldn’t be expected to know who was hurt and who wasn’t, that wasn’t something even her level of skills could know. “If you don’t mind me tagging along, I’d like to take a look at it. Though it sounds like special precautions will need to be taken.” Gloves for sure, long sleeves and pants. Maybe some sort of mask to cover the exposed skin on the face. “Getting samples sounds like an excellent course of action.” And Rhodes would be her first to go with with it.

It felt wrong to talk about what was going on for her, even with Anatole asking.

“Things have been steadily moving in the right direction, a few hurdles, but nothing worth digging into.” It was hard for her, not getting into how things had been going well for Spring and her business. But it felt…wrong…to talk about her good things when Jasper was suffering.