As Mhairi's joined him at his table, Keith was forced to revise his shallow estimation of the winter court.
During his stay in Shreveport, he had kept mainly with his own group of escapees, with the summer court which had taken them in, and in particular Jillian who had taught him trench warfare against an unjust world, one sandwich and kind word at a time.
He had only seen winter courtiers from a distance; only heard them described by their opposing court.
If they steered clear of the knot of savage newcomers, was that truly cowardice, or respect for the claims of summer?
If his tight-nit crew made random winters encountered visibly nervous, wasn't that a reasonable response to being outnumbered by virtual strangers?
But Mhairi's fear - and it was clear she had plenty of social anxiety - had not stopped her from being the braver of the two in terms of reaching out.
As he ate and told Mhairi a little about his business training dogs, and the social work with both dogs and people that helped him reconnect with the mortal world, he wondered what other "knowledge" he had developed that was papering over the doorways to important things... or dangerous things.
Eventually, he stood to clear his table, cold inside from the ice cream, but warmed by his welcome in Sacramento.
"I have to get going to that appointment, first impressions with clients and all... but I'll meet you outside the forge tonight at X, and probably see you at Edna's whenever."
Saber agreed to end this thread sooner - so we can get our into officially timelined before the Breakfast of Champions plot. I really loved the welcome (for me AND Keith) - and wanted to get it locked in. Now to struggle with pledging after the Winter court, but before too long...
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Presence
Autumn's Regalia
Fashion
