A deal with Jasper

[Kray]

The ashen king moves with lengthy stride to a section of the food table that could sit two giants, as he waits for Jasper to join him. They had recently discussed the outlines of a pledge and this was a good a time as any, better even given it was one of the four turnings of the season to hash out the details and see if they could settle such things. The choice of seating was also helped that a towering plate of BBQ chicken was also with arms reach.

Continued from (2603) Spring Equinox...

Jasper Lionell

[Jasper]

Continued from (2603) Spring Equinox...

The Spring Beast's is able to keep pace with the other giant with little fuss. He settles into the seat opposite the Ogre, taking care not to catch his skimpy clothing/costume on anything pointy. The choice of seating was very likely intentional. Both giants had more than a healthy appetite and that plate of chicken was like a siren's call to the Beast's nose as it twitches in excitement. He gives a glance over to the plate, canine tongue curling along his lips on first one side of his snout and then the other. There's a brief hint of a thought at the back of his mind wondering if he should wait but his hand is already reaching for a drumstick before that thought can get any real traction. It's Spring. It would be rude to deny your desires. He does manage to only clean meat off the bone, not yet cracking it with his jaws, before he turns his gaze and attention back to Kray across the table from him.

There indeed had been talk about a pledge and this was a very good time to finalize it. It'd be an easy marker for when and if the pledge gets renewed and the beginning of Spring is almost perfect. The world is beginning anew and it's a good time to start something new.

[Kray]

Well what good deal didn't involve a healthy helping of food, and the ogre to will indulge a bbq chicken leg, however his terrible teeth have no such courtesy as the bone cracks and shatters easily under the gristle grinders blessing. The Stoney horror of his teeth chewing a stark reminder of the difference between the ogre and the beast, his jaw was made for the purpose of eating people not poultry.

What's left of the bones clatter down in front of him as the last of the fresh meat is sent down his gullet. "Hm. Yes very good." Spring put on a good spread, no denying that. "Ah. Right to business." Not seeing a need to drag this out all to much. "Uh. Right So from what I recall the deal is pretty simple. But Edna's is Autumn's place so I do have one addition." Of course he would put his own court first. "So. You get room and board at Edna's in exchange each day you do something about the place be it cleaning, cooking, or a shift on the front desk. As long as you do I can't kick you out until our agreement ends. However you'll be forbidden from collecting glamour at Edna's or on it's grounds. An easy thing for you, seeing as you don't do that now anyway." But an important rule that shows the benefits of being an ashen courtier rather then just a guest. "Uh. I'm thinking we try this for a season and curses afflict the one who breaks the pledge." That's his opening bid, curious to see if the beats accepts the terms of has some fine tuning of his own.

[Jasper]

If Jasper was unnerved by the way Kray consumed his piece of chicken, he certainly doesn't show it. It more than likely doesn't. He is going to be cracking his own bones later for their marrow and while a Gristlegrinder munching on bones as easily as flesh can be disturbing or horrifying, this isn't the first member of that Kith that he's watched eat. He was motley pledged with one for over a year before moving to this city the first time. It's old hat to him at this point.

Business. Yes, pledge talks. He licks his jowls to clean the grease off of them as he listens. Of course the Ogre would want to put his own court first... It only makes sense. "Okay, I can understand that. It's your place first, I'm just staying under its roof," he nods. "Help maintain Edna's but if I get hungry for something more than food, I gotta go out to eat? That's..." he pauses for a moment as he thinks that over, "doable." He nods. "Season sounds good. Curse.." he shrugs slightly, "makes sense..." He thinks for a moment. "So.. I think we need to sweeten the pot a bit.. Seems kinda lopsided at first look. We each got some things to do but don't seem like we're getting much benefit.. Other than the obvious."

[Kray]

A second piece of chicken is selected without much if any consideration and the cannibal king effortless rips another mouthful of tender BBQ flesh. A few chews latter and it's like his teeth had never seen use, plenty of people might hold their nerve in face of his terrible blessings, it does make the ashen sovereign wonder how well that would hold up if he was eating a persons leg instead of a chickens in front of them.

Nodding his great head once, the beast knew the basic of forming a pledge that was good. "Hm. Yes right you are, the best bit had been saved for last." Nothing in their little dialogue would satisfy the conditions of the boons necessary to balance the scale of words and magic. "Hm. To set the scales to right I would suggest something in the realm of adroitness and a blessing. Nice and simple but plenty of versatility for us each to gain something we would find useful." He isn't looking to over do this, nor to trick the east with unfair bargains, Jasper was a member of the freehold after all.

[Jasper]

When the Ogre continues to eat, the Beast starts to tuck in more. The next drumstick gets devoured quickly. He does tilt his head to crack and break the bones in half, this and the earlier one, starting to suck on them like a lollipop for a moment to get at the marrow before moving onto the next piece. The pile of bone pieces he has before him is larger in size than the Ashen King's only because the Spring Beast's bone shards are larger.

He gives a nod of agreement. "Yeah, okay.." he says. He knew the pledge wouldn't have taken those conditions. While he definitely wouldn't call himself an expert on pledges, he had been the one to make his motley pledge, back when he had a motley. "An adroitness and a blessing would be welcomed..." he says, musingly as he starts in on a chicken thigh this time, picking off chunks of greasy meat to pop onto his long tongue as he considers. "Hmmm.. So, an endeavor and forbiddance for me..." he muses. "You have a forbiddance, yeah?" he asks to confirm. "I would prefer a lesser curse. I would not agree to a greater one." he states.

[Kray]

There was something to be said for the heeling and dealing over food. It made things both more casual and but more meaningful, maybe there was something older to that, maybe it was why gangsters were so often portrayed at restaurants or cafe's or well just eating in general when they were conducting the civilized sides of their business. Some must know, but not the giant not for now anyway. And he continues to eat destructively and with no small amount of mess.

It seemed this was going somewhere then. The ogre was an expert on such things, and when he choose to twist words and work crafty elements in he most certainly did, but be it a desire to keep that hidden or that he offered better deals to free hold members then anyone else, what he proses is relatively straightforward. Well by his standards. "Hm. yeah and if we both want something different we can work into a two sided pledge. I do this, you tha,t and we both get different blessings out of it." A particular favorite of the ogre to use, it held some of that to good to be true magic that made people only listen to the what they would be getting out of it.

Nodding once. "Uh. Yeah A forbiddance and and endeavor for you. A forbiddance and pledge of alliance from me." The best way to encapture the idea of meeting jaspers day to day needs at the ogre expense. But then the beast takes a wrong step and the bulging yellow orbs of the ogres eyes barrow, his chewing between sentence stops. "Oh. Wouldn't you now?" Truth be told there were only two good reasons to fear a pledges sanction. "Ah. What you planning to break it and worried a greater curse would be to unbearable?" And the other option. "Ah. Or do you think I'm tricking you here?" Maybe what had added to the giants irked response was the lack of need for such a statement. "Ah. The pledge would only balance a medial curse anyway." Lesser would be to small and greater to big. As the tasks and boons washed out at and even exchange so must then the duration and sanction.

[Jasper]

It does feel better, more approriate that this deal making is happening over a meal. In some cultures, it was required to do so in order for they coming negotiations to be fruitful. The two giants had meat, perhaps they just needed some mead to go with it.

His ears perk up at learning that they can draw different benefits from the pledge. "Huh.. I didn't know it could be done like that. That's interesting.." he says before cracking into a chicken thigh bone. He also likes the rather straightforwardness that this conversation seems to be having. They're in a place where no one can overhear them that doesn't already know these things, or at least it's not an issue with the mundanes hearing it.

He nods as the tasks get named and it makes sense then the comment about the sanction turns sour. He lifts his hands up in a gesture that's generally assumed to mean that he meant no harm, holding his hands up, grease-slick fingers pointing up and palms the Ogre. "Oh, sorry.. I didn't mean nothing by it.. I certainly didn't say or mean to imply either of us would break our words or trick one another or nothing like that," he tries to explain. "When I first got to Sacramento, years ago, I met someone who's motley had broken and he was living with a greater curse, and his was for a year. It's not something I would wish upon anyone, if given the choice. When my own motley broke, it was just to a poisoning of the boons," he says, trying to explain where the thought had come from. It probably didn't need to be said and he definitely regrets having said it now. When the sharp-toothed giant states that only a medial curse would balance anyway, he untenses ever so slightly, thinking they might have gotten past it, hoping they did.

[Kray]

The giant did know his way around pledges, vows, oaths and the wordings of such. "Hm Yeah, Two sided pledges can be pretty handy to know your way around." Two sided pledges was just one of the many tips and tricks he knew about when it came to these kind of deals, he could complicate this in many ways but it wasn't that kind of pledge. No better to keep it to the point and simple.

So the beats was talking from experience, both witnessed and personal. Striking a deal with someone who had been part of a broken pledge was always an extension of trust, more so then the act was usually. Given the ogre is essentially totally in the dark to the reasons behind why jaspers motley broke apart it does increase the risk on the King's end. "Ah. Balking at the sanction is a red flag when ironing out details in a pledge. More so if it hasn't been settled on yet. Less so if it has been settled and is really unfair." What was a good example. "Uh. I would never suggest the sanction of death or even banishment over this pledge for example." Again the stakes just weren't that high. "Hm. No It's better to offer an alternative ... such as poisoning of boons would work in our case if your not fond of curses." The offer to switch up the sanction an olive branch that the ogre was still at the negotiating table.

[Jasper]

The leaner giant nods as he sucks on the ball end of a cracked bone, licking to get at the marrow before he grins. "I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future, yeah. You seem to know a lot about pledges. I've only done a couple in my past, mostly simple stuff."

He does have experience with living through sanctions, sanctions that were levied on him simply for being part of a pledge. The memory of it and what caused it still brings a sour taste to his tongue. Watching Gerritt living through a greater curse was rough. He gives a nod of agreement to the Ogre. "That's a fair point. I'm sorry that I said it like I did.. I didn't mean to upset you with that." he admits, seeming genuine. The Coyote usually seems genuine, at least amongst the other Lost, when he can be himself. He nods in agreement. Death and banishment would be harsh punishments and ones he wouldn't agree to, at least not knowingly. When Kray makes the suggestion of changing the sanction to a poisoning of boons, he gives a thoughtful look to the Ogre. "I think you're right.. It would be easier to balance the scales of this with a curse then a poisoning... Besides, it's not like I'm gonna do anything to break this," he says with a soft laugh.