The witch house, inside and out

[Kray]

That was a point of little pondering for the giant as he makes he was past table and chairs with a grunt. "Ah. Dreams are not the domain of desire alone." All lost and all courts had access and power over them after all. "Hm. Our branch of the club has plenty to do with dreams and dreaming after all." And for that matter nor was having goals of ambitions purely the domain of the spring court. "Oh. Besides now if I indulged my desire on a whim. Well then." Surely that sentence need not be finished to be known. The hunger ever present as it was, if allowed to rule would pile the bodies high.

That response for all of its proper and fair reasoning has the ogre chuckling darkly and seemingly a little distracted for a few moments. "Ha. Don't we all pt in effort to appear certain ways hey." Wondering if the dots would connect between her answer, her habits and the latest question he was trying to see if she grasped. "Oh. There's nothing wrong wit that at all. As long as you never show all your cards of course." What would be the point in a front, persona or anything else if it all just got spoiled by giving away to much to fast.

Once he reaches the door of the parlor and pushes it open the room behind is lined with wall mounted book shelves, a rug and some leather backed armchairs cluster the space next to small tables where one might place a drink next to a reading lamp. The books however are not quite in keeping one might expect leather bound tomes of classics fiction, maybe atlases and histories but no the offering is electric and random with books ranging across a wide range of this and that but utterly surface level. It has the look of someone having cleared out the stacks at a few charity shops maybe. "Uh. Hang on where is it." Looking around the giant pulls up a clipboard. "Ah. Here we go, if you take a book out to your room say or the garden or wherever just sign it out." Was he that worried about theft? Or did he really value such a trove of well junk that highly. Placing the board and its sign out sheet back on the surface he had picked it up from. "Ah. Well what can I say I'm old fashioned, and well the place speaks if you listen and I don't think it'd have any of that modernization stuff even if I wanted it." Which he did not. Something that seemed to work well in his relationship to the Witch house.

That his question has made her well not stumble but seem to struggle a little gave the giant something to smile about again. "Hm. Yes safety is good, but I'm not obliged to provide it for the entire club." But safety was one of the foremost reasons to join a freehold so probably a good thing he did invest in a bit of that. "Ha. And having others owe me is always good yes." Better to be owed the not owe after all. "Hm. But still not quite there yet." And no more hints would be forth coming.

[Ellaria Undertow]

She nods, agreement lay in the arc of her hair. "I’ve heard some say there’s a gulf between between lead and emeralds,” she begins after a long moment of reflection, persons not people, "Say that it explains why onyx, and iron, act as buffer and bookend us. Others offer paltries of opposites and coins with their sides. But I know, were I to trade ash for antlers, I’d go Mad with the certainty of indulgence.” Mind turns to the tar black of her hunger, even knowing she’d more than had her fill earlier with King Kray’s offered fare, but it lacked. Like everything lacks.

A brow arches, a question in her gaze, unvoiced. "Everyone does, even those who claim to be free of artifice. Choose their own presentation.” she chooses to say instead, "And if you appear to, make sure to have a few up your sleeve, hmm?”

She takes in the much anticipated parlor, enjoying the colour of the walls, and a small unconscious smile appears when she takes in the bookshelves. "Frankly an old clipboard, and hand writing what books I’ll be borrowing,” for she will be borrowing, "Eases something. Before,” she stresses, every single Lost had a Before. "...I came here,” is hastily added, keeping the curtains of illusion of two normal people, talking about normal people things, "There was a dearth of anything digital.” she admits, and wonders when her companion will think her Before was.

Again she leans against a chair arm, again she hums.

There was, of course, a difference between not knowing, and knowing something but withholding an answer. Though honestly what she had already said was what had freely sprung to her mind, and she didn’t like not knowing, and apparently showing to her new King she didn’t know.

Eventually she says, trying for coy, but fearing it sounds frustrated. "An advertisement of your skill.”

[Kray]

Now a scholar on the intricacies of the courts finer points it is fair to say the giant is not. "Hm. The differences exist and are vast, that is clear as anything, but no, it is not as simple as faces on a coin." That was all to easy and flippant and utterly failed to grasp at the complexities of the courts. His vast belly rumbles as the musing has once again turned to the unspoken and unbidden shared hunger of those whose teeth are sharp in such a particular way, despite having eaten several pounds worth of food not all that long ago. "Bah. I do know this. Pleasure and indulgence unchecked is just as dangerous maybe more so then a tyrant who rules through fear absolute." Theirs was to master fear, not to be ruled by it. Mastery came with use of course but how many fell to being used by fear instead of using? "Ah. But I understand the point, the need for fear and to be feared. Everyone fears. Not like they used to, not like they should, and they try to pretend they don't, but they do." They all feared getting found, taken, dragged back expect maybe for the most deranged of the lead mirror, those who had given into the pinning want to experience the magic of Arcadia again. But those it could be argued had not mastered their fear. "Ah. If the point was just to be feared and nothing more, well the hunger would serve for that just as well." Fear the monster who would eat you up. But no fear was purposeful, fear was survival, fear was learning, and so much more besides.

That was true enough. And he grunts as he makes his way out of the parlor and back into the dinning room ,a little to tight for his bulk. "Oh. Now that's the real trick is it not?" And well put. "Ha. To make them think they see it all when in fact they see only what you want them to." She really was so close to the answer if she could only connect these threads of conversation. His grin is wide once more almost like he is trying to encourage something, or he is thinking about eating people again. Teeth of that size don't leave a lot of room for variety in the smiling department. One of his candle lights flares up into to separate strings that knot themselves together before he clamps down on it and the flame sputters down again.

As he makes his way awkwardly out of the dining hall and back into the reception a great grey hand indicates the staircase. "Uh. Right up it is then." She had already seen the gardens granted briefly and in the dark. "Oh. Somethings are only proper, the right way to be done." Is his response to the clipboard. "Ah. I don't get the attraction to all this digital and technological stuff, I've an old soul to you might say." So before his time as well then. "Uh. Some in the club make more use of it then others of course." Circe came first and foremost to mind there. Shaking his great head. "Ah. But you can not get rid of that feeling of having it in your hand can you. The turn of page. A ledger can not be hacked. You can not replace the scent of shoe leather and polish." And nothing of this digital age was proper, it was not the right way to do anything. "Bah. besides to do it yourself, to dirty your hands and scrap your knees it makes you value things more, it invests you into them." The era of instant gratification could well be a tangent on the dangers of pleasure and joy.

He stops mid step to consider the next point made. "Hm. Well given one of my roles in the club knowing I am skilled in certain things is important. I will give you that. But no it was not my why or my reason." A freehold notary had to be good with pledges, know his ins and outs and the two way pledge had shown that. Jasper even admitting he had not known about such things. But that was a useful coincidence.

[Ellaria Undertow]

"That we agree, absolutes in any direction can be folly.” she pauses to think, “I’ve come to think that the domain of absolutes is for Them.” she murmurs, politely ignoring the rumbling of the Cannibal King’s belly, even as the slice of Fear cuts through her spine. None of the other residents knew she was here yet, and my what big teeth he has echoes and rings, but Signed and Sealed, their Pledge held strong and Autumn King, claimed Freehold Notary, wouldn’t break his word, not even for just one, good, bite. "Fear is a great equalizer,” agreeing with the arching of her hair, "Fear is primal, natural. Teaching us not to stick our hands in the fire for fear of the pain after. Fear of the dark, for what the shadows contain, pitfalls, or enemies.” she voices, knowing that King Kray would already know it, probably more imminently than her. The vast differences in their mantles, heralding their experience and knowledge in the University of Fear. "Fear and Hunger.” another murmur, and another agreement, to force her mind from the Teeth, his and hers. The full, yet empty bellies, his and hers.

Straightening again, to follow after the King, like a ducking, preening more like a peacock with Kray’s positive affirmation of what she’d assumed was plain common sense. With her black-on-black gaze, it was harder to discern her line of sight, but the sputtering of the illusory flames, it was easier to guess. She doesn’t add anything else, only humming her after Kray speaks. Unknowing that he wanted more from her answer.

She manoeuvres the opposite side of the dining room’s table, covering a smile as King Kray’s bulk makes the returning journey as difficult as the first. Possibly the only downside to not renovating for a more modern space.

Nodding, hair arching, as King Kray admits to his own Before. Though she only has the same hints she had given, Before the great digital age. Which wasn’t a lot to go on, as digital was a relatively new phenomenon, only several decades old. There’s always been stories of faery rings, and dancing for a night, only returning lifetimes after. "I’ve always loved the smell of books, old or new.” there was a difference between the two, even as her own scent of moldering pages swells with her thoughts. A new, soggy, yellowed page, ink smeared and running, materializes between one step and the next, only to smack to her ankle, leaving an uncomfortable wet feeling behind as it dissolves into nothing. "The first time I was handed a tablet to read something, beyond the confusion, I was quietly horrified.”

She nods again. Again, again, like an eternal agreement with the Ogre’s words. "If you can make a machine - or some program -” said with all derision, " - do it for you, that thing did it. You didn’t. There’s no pride in that, no sweat. No blood.” she can only imagine what her father would have said about all this. His hands thick, calloused, with oil stains he could never quite get rid of.

She stops with him. All previous preening gone, a pout shaping her lips. "Then, I do not know.” she admits softly, though it feels like pulling teeth.

[Kray]

The great ogre grunts in his own approval. "Hm. Well said that." To truly know the nature of the gentry was frankly well it seemed impossible for the likes of them, the others were to alien, to different, completely void of that element of humanity. But snippets like that worked well enough until more could be known. "Ah. They are as they are. Until they are not." But then they would be absolutely whatever it was they were next. Even if hopefully that next was dead. "Oh. Fear plays the all important role to be sure, but we live in times and places that seem to try and fool themselves they are somehow past it or beyond it." Shaking his head as climbs the stairs with heavy foot falls. "Ah. Or sometry to tell you what to fear." Those actually might be the smarter ones. Control through fear. "Hm. But were we might get our hand burned once, the fear of it again, teaches us to use tongs the next time, not to give up entirely." After all they were not winter to crawl away and hide from the problem.

Her mantle was quite the curious thing to see and the sheer strange magic of it does grip the ogres mind and attention as thoughts drift to the wonder of how it will grow and develop, what it meant, what inspired it. A stubbed toe of the last step jars him back to him back to the moment. "AH. Dam it." He manages to not hope around like a fool, polished leather shoes were useful for something, it still hurt though. "Bah. I well I didn't give books their fair shot in my younger days, but after my long trip away I came into an appreciation for the written word." Lacking in formal or well any academic education as he was the ogre skill at reading was still sub par, no his proficiency was in speaking. But he could still appreciate the books for all they were worth and more. "Ha. Oh likewise on that front, in fact I think I broke the screen, fingers were to big." Like oh so much nothing was really made for those of his immense proportions.

If Ellaria was agreeing with him to much, to seemed to slip past the Autumn kings awareness. "Oh. Yes very much so. No I can't stand any of it. You just cant beat good honest effort, whatever it is your doing." He would take really actors over generated images, real books over AI generated scripts, real art over plagiarized generations. "Ah. And you see that is why we, folk like you and I we will do well in the world, we retain an understanding of value, of skill, of effort." And no amount of technological advancement could do what they could do.

Stopping on the first landing. "Uh. This is the general rooms, got a lot more then we got guests. Three shared bathrooms dotted around." Indicating them. Each room like those below had a brass plaque with a number on it. "Uh. The V.I.P. rooms." A more focused look is given to the Fairest. "Uh. Those are up on the next level each has it's own en-suite." But if a full bath was wanted then it would be the shared facilities. "Uh. And I'm up further still." Having claimed the top floor and attic for personal use. He did after all take up a lot of space.