Fox and Florist

[Gerrit]

Rosie's Roses was closed for the day and Gerrit has just finished cleaning everything up. Like he promised he stuck around for a bit longer in case a certain Elemental decided to swing by. He hasn't heard from R'lyeh since last time they've talked about her maybe joining Winter. Maybe she decided to go for it, maybe she just wanted to tell him that she saw herself somewhere else. Gerrit was fine either way - he didn't know about the other Courts, but a bad or reluctant Winter Courtier could certainly do more harm than good.

Plus, it really was about what was best for the Fox.

And maybe he was overthinking it and the reason for her visit was something completely different.

There were two small bottles of water on the table and Gerrit had moved one of the chairs in a way that allowed him to look outside the window. And then he waited.

[Rlyeh]

Slowing to an easy roll, he fox finds a place to lock up her bike before scrapping her hands against her jeans, and straightening her yellow and black check over shirt, open to show a off white t-shirt underneath.

She takes a breath, shakes her head, hair drip-drip-drop-splattering against the pole, her bike the side walk. Her ears twitch, used to the splatter-drops, but still not likung it. There's not much to like about it.

Pulling the lock one more time she nods. Looking. Biting her lip, chewing on the flesh there. Eyes swipe to the shop, and she's.

Stalling. Just, stalling.

Right. Okay.

....Here goes.

......

..Right. Okay.

Before she can spiral down and down and tunk-thunk-thunk she pushes off from her frozen-watching-stalling-waitwaitwaitwait - ! and walks the rest of the way to the shop's door, catching Gerrit's eye from the window and gives a weird half smile, and an awkward wave, along with a mouthed, "....hi."

[Gerrit]

Gerrit returned R'lyeh's wave with his own and went to open the door. "Good evening, come on in." Once the Blightbent was inside he'd lock the door, move the chair back to its sibling and take a seat again. Curiosity tingled painfully in the pit of his stomach, but the Ogre wanted his guest to control the speed of this conversation at first.

"Take a seat and a water, if you want. I'm sorry, I don't have anything else at the moment." A sheepish smile hushed over his face before he took a bottle of his own and took a sip of water. "So, how have you been the last few weeks?"

[Rlyeh]

She "....hi,"s again as the doors opened and she's hurried into the shop. The smell of flowers has her scrunching her nose so she doesn't sneeze. She bats at her nose, she doesn't want to be rude-rude-rude.

Taking one of the waters, she find the same chair as she used last time and sits. Well, shuffle sits, and pulls her legs up to sit cross legged. So she's all nice and contained and she can put her water on her lap with out it rolling everywhere.

"Water's fine-good-okay," she says after a too long pause. Looking at the Ogre, and taking a long, slow blink. "Do you have frostbite? Is that something that can happen?!" she squeaks out, Gerrit's Mantle wasn't depths of winter, frost breathing, sub-zero artic chills, but - !

[Gerrit]

R'lyeh's swatting made Gerrit stop and wonder, it even almost made him raise his eyebrows. Then he put the pieces together - the smell of flowers was something he had become used to, so he sometimes forgot how other felt coming in. It was a pity that some other things weren't as easy to get used to.

Her sudden question, so dissociated with anything else that he had said before, made him pause again. Her Elemental nature was so darn obvious at those times, but she clearly didn't mean to be rude. So Gerrit indulged her. "Well.. it did happen to me. I don't know why," although there were some theories in the running, "but it is something I'll have to live with. Change seems to be a part of our lives, even now." And frankly, he wasn't completely sure whether he thought this was a good thing. Change meant breaking traditions, meant taking risks for unsure rewards.

After falling silent for a beat he wanted to answer the question that was bound to get asked next. "I've gotten used to it by now." That was a lie, but he didn't feel like explaining to the Blightbent how the Wyrd-brought change just added a new nuance of pain to his colorful repertoire.

[Rlyeh]

Hungry eyes rove over scared and bruised and frostbitten flesh, "Fascinating" she blinks, head cocking and ears twitching. "No way to help-fix-heal?" she Asks, other Questions already Answered as Gerrit-Winter-Flashfrozen replied. "Use-to-it is....good." she settles for, feeling her hair drip-drip-drop. She can understand used-to-it.

She falls back into silence. Oil-black fingers rove over the label on the bottle, a fingernail finds an edge and starts, tug-tug-tugging.

"Thanks for late-just-us-talk." she says looking up again. "I think I should say that before I forget. Because it's the truth."

She opens her mouth, then closes it. How do you start these?

It takes her a little more, but she gets there, "So. Last time-talk. We. Winter maybe. I did that with. Colonel-Worm-friend..?" it hangs like a question, like she doesn't really believe it any more, "And I said yes. But. Now I don't know. Was I only yes because Colonel-Worm-Summer is-was-is very...much....? Or...I..." she stumbles to a stop. Shrugging. "Sorry."

Nail under the label, tug-tug-tug.

[Gerrit]

The Ogre clenched his jaw when R'lyeh asked whether it could be healed or 'fixed'. "Just as easily as one could reverse what had happened to you." He realized that the Elemental meant well, so he tried his best to keep his voice matter-of-factly and even a bit soft. "I don't think it is possible." If things got better with time this privilege seemed to be reserved for the Fairest.

"Don't mention it. I offered to have an open ear and I stick to my word." Then he waited for her to make her point. The Colonel's absence apparently made quite the impact on the Fox, even beyond her usual shyness. Or maybe she was just embarrassed to tell Gerrit that the Winter Court was only a second choice. If at all.
The Stonebones cleared his throat with a wet sound and steered his thoughts into less resentful directions. He wasn't here to recruit, he was here to help. "So correct me if I got this wrong: you have decided to join the Summer Court because of the Colonel but now you're not sure anymore?" That made sense. The Wizened had been a convincing fellow.

Gerrit shifted ever so slightly in his seat to face R'lyeh more directly. "Let's assume for a second that you can become friends with anyone, even if you don't share a Mantle. If joining a Court was not a way to connect with other Lost - how did the prospect of Summer make you feel? Apparently there was something else, because" a hint of hesitation "Colonel Worm and I were friends as well." At least his past tense became easier and easier to use.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. On the contrary, I wish every Lost would think this thoroughly about such things as you do." It was true - and maybe some words of affirmation would make her feel more comfortable to think this through without any worries. Or well, too many worries. "So just think about what feels correct for you and if you want I am here to brain-storm this with you."

[Rlyeh]

Her lips press firmly together, as she nods. Once. Sharply. drip-drip-drop-splatter-patter. You couldn't reverse what they'd become....but there were ways. Horrific, violating, agonizing ways to...change things. If you were desperate. If you could pay. Or, that's what she'd heard about. Once-twice-maybe-more. Looking at Gerrit-Winter-flashfrozen, she carefully decides to not tell him.

"Good-yes. Um. Yes." she stumblers around. Glad that she hadn't misjudged the Ogre. It was easy to do. At least for her. Everything she used to take for granted had drowned in an Ocean of Ruin.


"Thank you." she says before parsing the rest of what he'd said. Face turned down, but eyes locked more on Gerrit's hands then her own. Pink and purple and blue and red and black. A pallet of suffering, contrasting, starkly, sharply against the riot of happiness in flower form around them. People might have said a Winter had no place tending flowers. Maybe like how a frightened fox would have no business anywhere but Autumn.

"I'm...afraid. And I...don't want to glove. With Autumn. I told you that right?" she asks, briefly looking up, before going back down, "I don't want to be wait-pause-frozen-tension-anxiety-run-a-way. And...Summer. Isn't that. Or I don't think it's that. It's action, and movement and facing fear and foes with teeth bared and snarling." looking up and down and around, smelling the flowers and and drifting. "...I don't know if.......Wrath is. Is. Okay-good-me. But I don't-not-know. Either. It's just. I want." she stops. Gnawing on her lip.

[Gerrit]

Gerrit watched the spills and drips of the poor Fox with a slight frown. Poor? Wasn't he the one who insisted on not being pitied? Maybe there was a way for her to become content with her fate. It didn't appear to be the case right now, but granted she had some sort of support system it might not be too far-fetched.

Once again he wondered if he was projecting a bit too much into the tragic Blightbent.

He stopped looking at her - it felt like she was more comfortable when not stared at. And maybe all the colorful flowers in the Onyx Courtiers' shop would help get something across. "You did tell me about Autumn. But let me tell you something I took a long time to learn: there is no right reason to join a Court. There may be wrong ones, but ask a dozen Summer Courtiers what Wrath means to them and you'll likely get a dozen different answers. Some want to channel it to ultimately create and protect, instead of destroy," like Ram Tobias, "some revel in it and think of it as proof of being alive." While it was only a theory, he believed that Colonel Worm was in that category. "There might even be some Lost that join the Court to be able to control their Anger, to supress it."
He has had his own internal debates about this. Was he a proper Winter if Sorrow controlled him, was he allowed happiness while being a member of the Silent Arrow? Recently he stopped thinking those concrete questions and came to a different conclusion. The thoughtful look around the room landed on the Elemental again. "In the end it is what feels right for you. And I do believe that the Seasons, or the Wyrd, or whatever can tell." Otherwise Winter would have cast him aside in his time of doubt.

Was he being too esoteric? Too supportive to feel authentic? A year ago he might have become self-conscious, but that was also part of the changes he underwent during his time in Sacramento. "If you still want to join I'd suggest you ask Circe directly. I don't think she is going anywhere soon. And she seems pretty open about different takes on Wrath herself." Because yes, she sometimes seemed hot-headed - but she was far from an Iron Spear stereotype.

[Rlyeh]

She....this wasn't unexpected. She had been about to text Circe-Queen, but she'd never been one-on-one with the Summer-Groundskeeper-Queen. Well. Alone-together in the way that Circe-Queen would speak to her at the Solstice-Equinox-Coronations, but not alone-alone. Especially not text-to-meet, that felt like. Too much. To soon. But like also. She'd been here for many-many-months.

...oh.

Oh right. It's June. Twelve whole months, 365 days. At least. A whole year. A real whole year. She's never been in one place for thing long since...since she got Back.

Looking in the vague direction of Gerrit's face, more over his shoulder and towards a too-pretty-to-be-seen-by-a-small-little-Courtless-Stain -floral-arrangement. Purple looks better on petals.

"I know...I should. I was but I" she pauses, "I will. Maybe-I-Think. Um. But. I." stops and starts. She opens the bottle and takes a sip. twists the lid closed and nods, "Winter. Um, is there movement-action-readiness, or is it all, frozen-vigilance-tension?"