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After moving away from the bonfire and her Queen, Terri waits with a patient smile, watching those gathered move to wherever they wished to learn from. Her thoughts ran back to the piece of raiment she was working on, wondering if she could seek an ingredient this very night.
Catherine took a moment to steady herself, grappling with the emotions still chipping away at her facade of calm. With her lids obstructing her vision she slipped beneath the great glass dome of her Library. She paced its floors, cutting a great swathe through the dustmote laden air. With a violent motion she swept the contents from the ironbound table, gripped it by it's edges and screamed. Attempting to exorcise her frustration and shame, the echoes diminishing as they rebounded from the walls of the circular room; she howled until she was blue in the face - well, moreso than before - and her head hung low from exhaustion, the tangled waves of her inky locks obscuring her view. As her breathing steadied she rose, sweeping her hair back from her face and finding it's previous condition instantly restored.
The boons of a world carved from thought; circumstances are only so dire as you desire them to be...
With her distress tamed, atleast for the moment; Catherine blinked her way back into the hollow and smoothed her once troubled features into a mask of pleasant calm. Whilst some of the lost had rearranged themselves in the intervening time, it seemed that most had not strayed far; for the lady with the flamelike hair still stood alone. Catherine resumed her approach, some spring returning to her step; observing upon closer inspection the lady's vibrant mane appeared streaked with ebon feathers. As a long bushy tail swept into view she began to wonder whether the freehold wasn't composed almost entirely of Beasts. Though, something about the woman caused her to grope blindly at the void left by her memories.
Some sort of small mammal? Red with a big bushy tail, lives in trees... Oh squirrel! A red squirrel, now where have I seen one?2 suxx to remember what Terri reminds her of
Now halted before her, yet utterly caught up in her contemplations, Catherine tilts her head to one side and completely fails to introduce herself to the hedgespinning instructor as she grapples with the shorn threads of her own memory.
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The approaching Fairest seemed lost in some thought or another, causing Terri to raise an eyebrow. The smell of baking bread surrounded the Legate as she examined Catherine who seemed to be struck dumb. The Beast offered a friendly smile.
"Hey there, are you interested in learning hedgespinning?" Terri asked, her tone nothing bu welcoming. "I'm Terri, I don't think we've met but if we have, excuse my absent mindedness. There seem to be a lot of new arrivals lately."
Half-grasped wisps of memory infuriatingly unravelled as she was shaken from her stupor. With a sad little sigh and accompanying wry smile, Catherine found herself face to face with a fellow fae. As the petite figure offered introduction Catherine’s smile swelled. Pleasant company, prospective tutelage in an unfamiliar art-form; mayhap the evening was not yet indelibly marred by the repercussions of her folly. She spared a moment to step again into her library where its strewn volumes materialised upon the heavy iron-bound table, leaving no trace of her recent release. She swiftly appended the features and furnished facts apropos of her new acquaintance to the grey and thorn-bound tome where featured most of her betwixt brethren. Stepping once more from her own little world; she delved once more into the depths of discourse.
“Alas I cannot recall previously having occasion to savour the pleasure of such an encounter. Lest I entirely eschew all claims I might carry to comportment of any kind, allow me to express my own epithet” With the strident sting of recent reprisals still ringing bold and clear in her mind she hesitated, nigh withdrawing a tentatively proffered hand lest it be struck down. “In the company of friends I am oft addressed as Catherine Brume, though upon occasion soubriquets such as Kate and Cat have been employed on my behalf. I stand a recent addition to your fair freehold and aspiring artist of the Antler Crown.”
She became aware of the homely aroma of baking bread and her stomach intimated its own agenda for the evening. A concise glance in the direction of the provided provisions revealed an unebbing air of tension 'tween wasp and wolf. Seeking to distract herself from the debris of her passage, Catherine attempted to engage the russet rodent if further articulation.
“Might I trouble you to elaborate on what this hedgespinning will entail?”
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"Er, what?" was the first thing that Terri replied with, the smile fading just a little before reaffirming itself. "Sorry," she chuckled, "you used a lot of big words there for a simple girl. Me, not you."
"An artist, Catherine? Well, you should take to the art of hedgespinning like a duck to water! Personally, I specialize in creating raiment; articles of clothing that provide some assistance in some social settings. There are other types of hedgespun though. Marcus Evan produces fine metalwork, whereas Queen Betony Rue Jasons is known to knit her raiment where sew." Terri almost mentioned Mr. Tickle but thought better of it. The less said about that man, the better.
"So, hedgespinning. Where to begin? Tell me, Catherine, have you ever seen a piece of raiment?"
Crestfallen, the Fairest withdrew the previously proffered hand and carefully considered the words of the woman before her. Was her particular parlance really so impenetrable?
“Consummate contrition, coy couturier; alas I fear that such gatherings merely exacerbate my natural circumlocution. I confess that cohabiting with Cosima, a most voluble and verbose Wespe may have compounded the issue; though pray, mistake me not. I value her camaraderie and consider her a close and congenial confidant.” With difficulty she stilled her own tortuous tongue, grinding her teeth as she sought to prevent further florid discourse from circumventing her control. With a sigh of effort she continued with less haste, lapsing into largo. “Suffice it to say I shall endeavour to arrive at some measure of concision.”
“In answer to your inquiry, I am indeed acquainted with the term; though perchance not it’s particular present application. Mayhap I have, yet by that name know it not?” Halting her hypothesising, she found herself again beneath her Libraries vast and and dusty dome. A quick scan of past publications revealed several instances of improbable apparel. Returning to the moment with a query of her own, Catherine continued with more certainty. “I’ve seen a shift seemingly spun from Selene’s lustrous light, is that the sort of thing you suggest?”
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Coy? Terri thought as she attempted to make out the Fairest's speech pattern. Admitedly, it had taken the Legate a little while to come to grips with Morgan's stutter, this was just different and perhaps more off-putting.
Big words done that.
"Ah, Coco. Yeah, that would explain a lot," Terri chuckled warmly. The fencing-wasp had a way about her all of her own also.
"I don't know who Selene is but a dress made from light is correct, yeah," Terri nodded as she withdrew a pair of dark red gloves from her purse and held them out for Catherine to examine. "Like anything crafted by Changeling hands, the Mask covers it completely, protecting the magic from mundane senses. That is until the user decides to bring out the fae-magic imbued that the raiment becomes truly wonderful. Would you care to see?"
“Ah, when I spoke of Selene I referred to the lovers’ lantern.” She gestured towards the portion of the night’s sky where the moon hung, unfamiliar and indistinct whilst viewed through the misshapen meniscus of the thorned realm. Catherine regarded the redhead’s puzzlement with a perplexed air of her own. Was it so strange to refer to her by name?
“I suppose it is an infrequently applied appellation..." She conceded upon reflection. "Perchance I ought to have employed a more typical title; might she be more readily recognised beneath the label of Luna?” Catherine’s confounded countenance remained creased with confusion whilst she considered the question of how she had come to be cognizant of the monikers possessed of astral embodiments. Then, with dawning realisation that her thinking had once more drifted from its’ charted course; Catherine sought to correct the heading of their continued conversation. The Fairest regarded the maroon mitts with mounting interest and uncustomary circumspection.
Perhaps I ought inquire of the application of such apparel afore it’s activation? Then again not, Cosima considers this woman a friend and I as her friend should respect her judgement in this matter lest I incur offence from parties both. I am assured such an exhibition will prove most enlightening, asides if Terri wished me harm then she’d scarcely tarry awaiting my permission.
Now unconcerned by her concerns and in the grip of a yearning to understand such sorcery, Catherine addressed the Beast again with a winsome grin.
“I would indeed wish to observe such a sight, pray demonstrate for me how such attire is employed.”
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As the two woman converse, Finn makes his way over at a leisurely pace. He didn't wish to interrupt, partially so as not to be rude; but also so he could catch as much of the conversation as he could since he was a late arrival. He didn't catch all of it, but he manages to get the last few exchanges; and it seems he's just in time to watch a demonstration of the craft at work.
The Fairest stops a few steps away from Catherine and Terri; letting the gentle scent of falling rain mingling with a stronger smell of fresh bread wash over his senses. A polite nod of greeting to the two other Lost, the Irish Fairest remaining silent and patiently waiting to see what surprises the pair of gloves in Terri's grip held.
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With a nod towards Catherine, happy to oblige, Terri's eyes glanced across to the tall, dark and handsome man that had come over to join them and she couldn't help but check him out. He was certainly eye-catching. Slipping her hands into the delicate gloves, stroking the backs of each hand tenderly, glamour slowly spread through the gloves, revealing their true nature. The material of the gloves seemed to be spun from candyfloss but burgundy in hue, giving off a heady aroma similar to a pungent red wine.
"These gloves are but a simple raiment but can help in small ways. In this case, they allow me to talk my way around others, giving a minor boon if I need to change their minds. The recipe for them is a basic one, consisting of the silk from a candy spider which had been dyed with a fine wine and stitched together with cotton. However, by changing certain ingredients, the recipe could help you to by more scary or able to lie better. Does that make sense?"
Once finished with her demonstration, Terri turned to look fully at the handsome Fairest, smiling in her ever-friendly manner. "Hi there, I'm Terri, Legate of Mists of the Leaden Mirror. I was just instructing Catherine here on hedgespun raiment and it's qualities."
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