Midnight meetings at the Witch house

[Kray]

A light has been left on at Edna's porch a guide to wayward souls coming up the dark and winding path this midnight hour a beacon that should promise safety but its dim light distorts the large and old building behind, adding a sense of weight and foreboding to the Witch of Sacramento. The build of course had a reputation of being haunted and the creak of trees in the dark of the night, the settling of Edna's timbers and the rattle of her pipes add to that ambiance all to well.

The smell of fresh wood smoke however guides the wayward souls not to the front door but around and behind the vast boarding house to the small orchard planted in the grounds unlike the trees up the path these are not laid out to guide or scare but to create space and provision for those who know how to harness it, and have permission of course.

A small fire blazes in the dark crackling away as it consume the wooden logs placed upon as sustenance and to blur the vision of any who might peek past their curtains this night for the Autumn king sat in armchair sized for his great height and immense obesity. The scale of the gigantic ogre sitting in such an equally sized chair does something to create a sense of a king on his throne if only by the sheer scale. Of course it is not his season so upon is head sits a fedora of stitched autumn leaves with its ring of sack cloth scarecrow, his horn nubbins protruding thoroughly what are clearly made custom holes and casting his bulbous yellow eyes into a shadow despite the firelight. A pair of well shined black leather shoes upon his feet and mismatched jeans lead up into a shirt that struggles to contain the bulk of the ogre. From the branch of a nearby tree an equally hefty long coat hangs, looking more likely a pair curtain that had been sewn together the handle of a knife plainly viable from the pocket.

He sits with his long heavy legs stretched out weighting for his guest with bare contained restrained as before him upon a table are plates of freshly cooked food. Pork chops on the bone with apple sauce, a large cheese and vegetable pie, a crock pot of chicken noodle soup and a bottle of brandy. The terrible stony teeth of the gristle grinder can already feel the tear of flesh that is to come and the brief sanctification of filling his belly. His mantle makes it clear whee his thoughts are at as he waits the flickering illusory candle flames sparking into the fiery images of various food stuffs before guttering down again.

Amy DeepSeas

[Amy]

How many places in Sacramento could be known as the Witch House? Not many that she could find, anyway. And, did the meeting have to be at midnight? It definitely seemed on brand for the Ashen Court, but still, wandering the lonely streets of a new city in the dark made her nervous. The cool aluminum of the pepper spray container in her pocket against her fingers comforted her a little, at least.

The echo of her footsteps stopped as she arrived and looked up at the suitably creepy building. If she had any doubt that this was the place the smell of burning wood put them to rest. The Wizened took a deep breath in an attempt to dispel her hesitation, before heading towards the back on blue Converse clad feet.

“..Hello?” She called out quietly, rounding the corner to the open space at the rear of the building. She spotted the crackling fire first, and then the twisted and hulking form of the changeling next to it. Yeah, this was definitely the right place. Amy couldn’t quite tell from this distance, but she was pretty confident he might be taller than her even while seated.

Cautiously she closed the distance, but stopped about halfway and gave a slight bow to the Autumn King. Every court had different expectations and etiquette from her experience, so she erred on the overly polite side for now. The girl with the pale features of a moth said nothing further, waiting for the monarch of her court to acknowledge her presence.

[Kray]

As the voice calls through the darkness his mantle stills the flames no longer sputtering into shapes and images of food stuffs as his great head of the ogre sways looking out past the fire to find the source the dangling lichens that are his hair swaying slightly with the movement as bulbous shadowed eyes find and settle on the pale moth woman. Pushing himself from his seat the Autumn king Looms large and tall his terrible jaw splitting into quite the unsettling grin his over sized stony teeth on full display as takes in the changeling with the dusty mantle that found their way to the witch house and himself. "Hm. Well now who do we have here?" Hid deep baritone voice rolls out into the fire lit space between them even as his eyes find the most vulnerable looking parts of the slight nimble, lady with the striking eyes.

Not the first time he notes and appreciates the lack of the wyrd stone sense, no sense of the safety trust emanates from this one, not yet and that in and of itself is thrilling. "Uh. And For that matter who are you here to meet?" After all their communications had been brief in the extreme and no details given beyond single name, and presumably she knew of his chosen moniker among the lost to have written to him. Standing tall the light of the fire and his own mantle cast the already giant shadow of the ogre all the larger across the trunks of the trees behind him.

[Amy]

Large eyes of dense black like a midnight lake look up - way up - to take in the full sight of Sacramento’s Autumn Monarch. His towering form and gruesome appearance would be right at home in some sort of horror movie, and his deep voice that cuts the silence of the night air matches him well.

“My name is Amy.” Her words are clear and measured, doing her best not to allow the man’s presence to rattle her nerves. It wasn't totally working. “I’m looking for..” she pauses for a moment. Though he chose this spot to meet, you could never be too careful where and what you discussed. So again, she erred on the side of caution.

“For Kray. I was hoping to set up shop, as it were, in Sacramento for a while and heard I should seek him out.” In truth, she hadn’t stayed in any one place for long since her escape through the hedge. Was that the nature of one drawn to the Autumn Court, or that she hadn’t yet found a place that gave her the feeling of home? It was hard to say. Community didn't seem to come naturally to her.

[Kray]

Of the various notable features this changeling ... Amy .. possessed it was those dark orb eyes that drew the most attention and the point the ashen king's own focus kept shift back to even as he took in the rest of her piece by piece almost like he was appraising his next meal. His own terrible jaw opens again to speak. "Ah. Amy it is then." That was the name the letter had given and he had no reason beyond the base paranoia of every lost to think otherwise. "Hm. Well allow me Cannibal king Kray, dread lord of the Autumn court and Notary of the freehold of Sacramento to welcome you to the city." In his time here the title really had racked up and now he was going to enjoy seeing the effect they had if any on this newly arrived lost. The illusory candle flames of his mantle spark again and a few burst into fiery images of a crown and a pen and a persons rib cage before sparking back down. Fire and all it is still midnight and dark and the tree cast shadows of their own so fine details might be lacking but the great ogre is not subtle about the fact he is taking the measure of the pretty moth lady with a hefty amount of interest, hopefully it is not the kind of measure that ends with how to fit her into an oven.

As it would seem his dinner guest has arrived he once again lowers himself into the massive chair and using a long leg pushes a much more average looking one out from the table the sound of it scrapping along the earth mostly hidden by the crackling of the flames. "Uh. I said we would eat and a meal I have set, please join me at the table." Proper introductions, good business and breaking the ice was done best over a healthy spread of food an that he had provided. "Uh. Please dig in." The giant himself had already reached for several of the pork chops on their bones and was loading a plate. "Hm. How was it you knew to reach out to me but did not seem to know to include the title of king in your address?" That title was the open that mattered most, not out of pride or vanity neither mark his ugly visage or deep voice, but because by wearing it the ogre ensured the seasons renewed when the time of autumn came, kept the agreements with his season and the freehold safer from the others with it's use and burdens.

[Amy]

The flames reflected their dance in her large unblinking eyes and she watched the effects of Kray’s mantle with awe. His title, too, was suitably impressive - as one would expect. She shuddered internally at the predatory glare that seemed to emanate from this ‘Cannibal’, but her emotions, as usual, were slow to spread to her face. Instead, she averted her eyes now, looking to the chair that was pushed her way.

“I’m sorry, my liege.” She replied to his question honestly, though she wasn’t sure if he meant the note she sent or just now when asking for him by name. Either way, the answer was the same. “I had no way of knowing for sure that, um, ‘unwanted’ eyes wouldn’t see the note before you did. I had hoped you might pick up on my meaning with the pumpkin.” She smiled, though it didn’t reach those insectoid eyes.

“Likewise, I wasn’t sure how safe it was to speak here, but I guess I had nothing to worry about in that regard, after all.” She nodded, reassuring herself. The Artist moved now, slowly, to take the seat that was offered and lowered herself gently into the chair. The King’s form didn’t exactly inspire appetite in this guest, but it would be too rude to turn down the offer, for sure.

“Thank you, for your Hospitality.” she finished, hesitating for another moment before filling an empty plate with the smallest pork chop she could find from the pile.

[Kray]

That's she didn't blink, not once or at all was indeed that touch of strangeness, that unsettling factor that in the view of the ashen king every autumn courtier needed, most challenging had it of course, fewer choose to acknowledge and fewer still to embrace that part of themselves. If she had or it was unavoidable was yet to be seen but still he had now taken note as the fires danced in those orbs of inky night.

Taking a healthy dollop of apple sauce he slathers it over the first pork chop that is then hoisted by the bone in one great grey hand and introduced to the blessing of the gristlegridner kith, the terrible teeth that tore flesh like it was butter as happens here. He chews and swallows first, not speaking again until that is done, it was only proper. "Ah. Some caution is good, but it mustn't rule you either." Gesturing with the already bare bone at the mass of darker darkness that was the boarding house off to the side. "Uh. There are human boarders in the house yes and they don't know about us." So there was room for that caution. "Ah. But they do know not to bother me when I am about my business." As for the note it hadn't thrown him for a loop but not for the reason she sugegsted. "Huh. Well a good many people both of the club kind and the more mundane reach out to me looking for this or that, deals to made. A late dinner works for whatever the occasion might have been." The bone then meets the same fate as the meet as it cracks and crunches between his teeth with ease. Allowing for another few moments without speaking as his jaw works the splinters and he swallows them down. "Hm. As for address well some things are only proper, in company of our fellows King Kray will do just fine for a greeting but I don't need anymore then that." No just the acknowledgement, the awareness that title was more then sense of ego, that it actually contributed to the freehold regardless of who held it. "Uh. Among less informed company John is what I go by." So the address of Kray must have alerted him at least that it was faerie business he would be handling this night. "Oh. Do you go by anything else that I should know of?" A good many lost carried more then one moniker after all.

A second pork chop swiftly follows the first with equal ease and equal silence from the ogre till his mount is empty again. "Ah. It is part of the lot for the king to provide is it not? And hospitably means something to people like us. Or it should." Which brought his attention to her plate now he didn't expect most to match his vast appetites but still. "Hm. And It looks like I have not provided much to your tastes." A pause as thinks. "Uh. That is not people if your worried." That rich delicacy was not for setting a table with folk he did not know. "Uh. If the pie or soup is not to liking I can rustle up some fresh fruit but anything more substantial will require a trip to the pantry." Apparently hospitality of some form really did mean something to the giant with the focus on making sure she had something to eat.

[Amy]

The Wizened simply nodded along slowly with Kray’s advice. It was easy to talk about letting the caution rule you, but it was another thing entirely to suppress that constant nagging of paranoia. The knowledge that your life could up-end at any moment without even a hint of warning. Still, this monarch’s fearsome visage did grant her some peace of mind. He was frightening, without a doubt, but he was also tentatively on her side. The shared burden of experience. Of trauma and fear.

“King Kray it is.” she offers him another smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll remember the proper address in front of courtiers of the other seasons.” The mention of which reminded her, it might be best to ask some pertinent questions. “Speaking of,” she tilts her head to one side absentmindedly, “How are relations for our court in the freehold? Harmonius, I hope?” Sacramento wouldn’t be the first place she’d been where the Autumn court had a less than stellar reputation if not.

“Just Amy is fine. Amy Ashton if I have to sign paperwork.” she lilted. She may have left her old life behind, but part of her couldn’t give it up entirely. It was unlikely he had ever heard of her though - the king didn’t seem the sort to be interesting in paintings. At the same time her antennae twitched as she committed his pseudonym to memory.

It amused her a little, the dissonance between Kray’s appearance and his surprisingly polite mannerisms. An ogre was always an ogre, but you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. That was especially true among changelings.

“No, not at all.” She tried to assure him as she began working at the porkchop. “I just.. got used to not eating much. So I try not to overdo it.” There was a gentle shrug of her slender shoulders. “You’ve provided more than enough.”

[Kray]

Wiping a thick thumb over his chin to catch dripping juices and fats from the pork chop that no longer was the giant licks his hand clean, a seemingly futile task as he then proceeds to pick up another chop from his plate. Burt before taking a bite he keep his attention on the dark eyed moth lady. "Hm. Well At the moment most folks speak well enough of me. I say me because for the majority of the time it has just been me. It wasn't always the case." He goes to bite but then stops again having reached a decision to say something else. "Uh. Ellaria seems to have fit in well enough she is quite new though got here just before spring." And the Fairest seemed to go quiet around groups from what eh had seen of her so far. Now, now he takes another hefty mouthful most of the chop coming away between the terrible teeth. As he chews the giants Gaze wonders in full over to where Edna's stands in the dark, swallowing to clear his mouth he then speaks again. "Ah. But those nice words people say, those might not last." The deep voice is quieter, not reverent but as if his focus has drifted from the moment and is in part given over to things that are not there.

A shudder runs through the giant spine as he comes back to the moment with a extra shake of his great head. "Ah. Right Amy it is, i can see the sense in that." Although the bulbous yellow eyes squint down so the flinty pupils push forward a little more at the full name. "Huh. You know I think I have heard that name before?" His free hand hand comes up to scratch the side of his face dark nails catching in the five o clock shadow and the candle flames of mantle burst into a few different images, firstly a knife, a spinning coin and what looks like a page. While it is true enough he cares little enough for art he does care immensely about people and names.

Kray's/John Donoghue's spheres of influence merits

Contacts:
Criminals
Unions
Public works
Finance
City Hall
Emergency services
Judaical

Allies:
Criminals 3
Unions 3
Public works 3
Finance 3
City Hall 3
Emergency services 3
Judaical 2
Academia 2
Culture 1
Fashion 1
Entertainment 1
Street 2
news Media 2

Which none the less brought him to questions of his own and the giant leans back into his seat more at ease. "Hm. So Amy tell me about yourself and what brings you to Sacramento?" He was not going to get as invasive as the audition to join the ashen court did she had clearly and evidently already overcome that hurdle but the ashen king still wanted to know something more of his guest. His smile might have intended to be something of a welcoming or encouraging one but the ogre's over sized teeth only had one setting and that was dark and twisted and his every smile is an unsettling thing.

A great grey hand waves away her worries about eating less. "Ah. Believe it or not I do know hunger, all to well." A near constant companion that would never fully be satiated only kept at bay briefly. "Bah. And I knew poverty." When he does not say but most escaping Arcadia did not come back to waiting fortunes. "Hm. You need not stand on ceremony tonight eat your fill." That after all was part of what a freehold was for, it helped, it provided it eased the burdens just a little. "Ah. We have no freehold oath here, but if you need a place to stay and regular meals you and I can figure out a pledge of our own." That sentence had plenty to up pack the ashen king was quite sure of that but it would be quite interesting to see how this new lost tackled it. In the meanwhile he sets himself up a bowl of the chicken noodle soup, a big bowl.

[Amy]

With precise movements she cut away small pieces of pork and ate them in turn, slowly. Despite her hesitance the flavor was savory and delicious. Did the King himself prepare it? There was no one else around, afterall, she thought. By the king’s words it seemed the Autumn court wasn’t bursting with members here. Was that some happenstance of fate, or was the freehold itself small? A question for another time, perhaps. There were more pressing questions.

“Might not last?” She tilted her head again, “Are you up to no good, King Kray?” She meant the question in jest, but her manner and expression struggled to make that clear - her eyes were dark and expressionless as ever.

So she was wrong again. Another surprise if he truly had heard of her.

“I’m kind of an artist. I’ve sold a painting or two that got some traction in the art world, a lucky break, really.” She shrugged. “It was.. well, it was my ‘purpose’.” Flashes of her Durance tickled at her mind, never a full scene, but just enough for the muscle memory to serve her back in the ‘real’ world. “So I figured I should at least put that talent to use supporting myself. There are some well respected art circles here in Sacramento, so I thought it might be a good fit.” Maybe one day she’d have her paintings hanging in an art museum downtown, wouldn’t that be something?

No oath? Another surprise. It seemed rather generous to her that the freehold might offer whatever benefits it bestowed without expecting much in return. As he continued, she set aside her empty plate, finally having finished, and followed the Ogre’s lead in preparing a bowl of soup. Though again, a much smaller portion.

“I’m all ears.” she replied, nodding in agreement to the thought of a pledge. It seemed only fair. She needed a leg to stand on, afterall. “I’m not sure what I can offer for my end though, unless you were looking for a portrait to hang in your halls.” She chuckled now, the first of its kind this evening.