|
Post by Krakenbox on Mar 16, 2021 22:34:55 GMT -8
Officers could supersede tenants of the Freehold Oath, if it was justified in the pursuit of protecting the Freehold. Solomon flirted with the line, throwing caution to the Wyrd as he pressed against the tense pressure of the magic bonds. He was wearing a simple grey button up with dress pants and detective jacket. They had been informed that the doppelganger was a member of Vegas, and their confidence was maintained up until Solomon shook their hand with pleasant introductions before tapping their temple with is free hand and sending them into a fugue shock. As the Hunter of the Longest Day lit a cigarette, the White Knight emerged from a Hedge Gate with the usual jovial pleasantries as It introduced Itself to the Knight's vassals with a flourishing bow, escorting the numbed guest with a string of compliments. WE'RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU AT MY ESTEEMED ESTATE. I INHERITED THE DEED FROM THE LORD OF LIGHT YOU SEE
It babbled on, opening a severe oak box to present to Solomon. He motioned for Oren and Kai to pass him what appeared to be welder's gloves, before lifting each implement to clasp around the Changeling's wrists and ankles, the heels of his boots melting cloven hooves into the tarnished metal of the stark environment. There was nothing grandiose about the setting, other than the oblivion that awaited the edges of the harsh light. The only thing of note was the chipped paint of the chair where nails had scratched and clawed from the arm rests, the metal around it scuffed and scraped. Neither could be sure if there was actually a floor there, or simply a drop into the Thorns themselves. Solomon himself flickered between the monstrous entity in shadow to the ethereal seraphim under the light of the unseen lamp. The White Knight pulled up a chair for each of them as the Fairest carefully laid out various instruments, nodding to the hob as he put out his cigarette on the metal tray and took a seat. The summon sat in the corner, turning unfocused and stiff as Its armour rapidly aged and melded with the steel of the room. A fungal mote floated from the recesses of the helm, pulsing aloft above the doppelganger as a living entity that made Kai and Oren feel uncomfortable. dust slowly started to permeate the light, shimmering and still with the lack of air flow. They were instructed to stay clear of the spotlight. Solomon picked up one of the long, thin needles, red eyes squinting as he whispered under his breath and pricked the other Lost's right hand and his own left. "Oren, record the following interview for the record."
Snapping the bloodied finger, the tray rattled as the rest danced in a spiral, hovering close to the Changeling's face with a radiant energy. And then they seemed to come to their senses. "State your name and vassalage association within the Freehold."
|
|
Oren
.
written by Hiver
Posts: 242
|
Post by Oren on Mar 17, 2021 8:44:28 GMT -8
Oren had found a chair after minutes of searching. Unfortunately, he had to spend a little more time looking for a surface to write on, as the only other table was being used to house torture implements. The Wyrd tickled the wood grain and played fiddle in the shadows. It made things rather cumbersome when it wasn't being used as a weapon of psychological warfare. He cracked his knuckles and got to work assembling his tools, namely, a quill, and some legal size paper he stole from the office. They all looked the same to him, so it may as well have been the precinct or City Hall. "Aye aye, cap-i-tain."
The feather was rather ostentatious, but then again, this was Oren we're talking about. Corners straightened, quill wettened, throat cleared. Smile? Cheshire. "Ready when you are!" He said, maybe a little too excitedly.
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Mar 17, 2021 10:28:16 GMT -8
Stay out of the light. She wondered what that meant for the poor fuck in the chair, shackled in irons with needles hovering near their face. Kai turned the chair the creepy metal servant had offered her around, sitting down and resting her arms on the back. As they had come with their brain-scrambled new friend, she had brushed her hand against the Lost, drawing what she could from them about the state of their supernatural sanity.
Keen eyes peered into the skilled doppleganger's features, tracking for what could be seen.
Oren was way too into this...
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Mar 17, 2021 15:10:22 GMT -8
The man who wore Lancelot's face shook his head; a micromovement with the needles. He didn't seem shocked to what he had woken up to.
"I said I would talk to you, sir Solomon, not subject myself to an interrogation."
The Knight blinked, looking up into the voided darkness of their small reality.
"I call upon the might of Helios to score the deception from this realm." The sudden flash was blinding, tearing away the Illes' own illusion for the moment as his skin was burned to peeling ash.
The riddled mien holds for almost a minute.
The Winter Mantle greyed and collapsed, blooming into shifting fractals as the Changeling's face splits into a kaleidoscope of prismatic crystal to herald the joy of the Court of Desire. The stiff nobility of the Chatelaine diffuses into a negative image, as if the silhouette of a person had been punched out of space, stardust making the outline faded and uncertain. As they jerked from layers of Contracts being peeled back, their wrists pop and burn from contact with the cuffs. By the time smoking stopped, the person was vibrating. "Okay. Now we can talk." Solomon lights a new cigarette as the other catches their breath. "For the record, we are speaking with Alexandrite of the Antler Crown, Claviger of the Las Vegas Freehold... you were saying?"
The Spring officer tries to straighten, but the needles prevent a correction of posture.
"I was operating under the interests of protecting my sovereign." The voice was clear and confident, with an echoing quality where the direction of the sound bounced around the room.
|
|
Oren
.
written by Hiver
Posts: 242
|
Post by Oren on Mar 17, 2021 15:45:40 GMT -8
"Operating. Under. The. Interests. Of my Sov-er-reign...."
The Knight of Scales, having summoned the White Knight, had begun the inquisition in earnest, scouring Alexandrite, Spring Claviger of Las Vegas, with a but a mere incantation. A hellish rebuke of faerie fineries and sidhe subtleties.
Oren tried to catch the reverberations, like snow on the tongue, in order to internalize them. To be host to a multitude, was one thing. To witness the dismantling of one who weaved similar webs to him was something to be carefully observed. This was a character study, and as his eyes tracked from paper to visage, the Mirror was enraptured by Solomon's display of power, pooling effortlessly from Alexandrite's lips. He could imagine the crack of a whip and a tongue of fire. A voice like onyx, yielding ash from blood, demanding obedience.
Whew...that's kinda hot.
He tried to dig up an image of Spring, herself. What kind of Queen was she, to beget a servant such as this?
"What's she like?", he said, before bringing his own hand to his mouth. That wasn't supposed to come out of there.
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Mar 17, 2021 15:50:56 GMT -8
"For the record, Kai Rose, vassal to Sir Solomon."
Kai cocked her head to the side and leaned ever so slightly forward in her chair with newfound interest. It was impressive how well the shapeshifter had done it. Oren was literally taking notes.
"That's clever. It's really good that you decided to come in, Claviger Alexandrite. I'm sure Her Majesty didn't send you into Winter's Secret Service. But you say you want to help your Queen? I buy that. You've got a rep. Honorable sort, loyal, someone people can count on. You're one of our allies. So how did you end up an operative for a foreign power?"
She flashed a smile, adding some Good Cop to Solomon's Bad.
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Mar 21, 2021 15:25:27 GMT -8
The shard-fractured visage attempts to tip their head, hissing as one of the needle dissolves into the cheek. They seem a little unsteady with their attention, continuously forgetting their surroundings.
"I am quite positive you are not so ignorant to the situation with the noble referred to as the Sunset Prince," they continued. "Aiding a foreign power is a flawed conclusion without enough information, Ms. Rose. She had permission to operate within Las Vegas. With the sanction of the Grave Lord and her own delicate position being threatened, I would rather not have had her interfering with our court without my oversight."
Solomon blinked, perhaps a little surprised the Claviger did not simply chant "No Comment." He gave Oren a bit of a withering look with the sudden pivot in topic, though if it was part of the presentation or if he was genuinely peeved at the mining of the officer's rapport for greater context was up in the air. Either way, he didn't stop them.
The light from the mote strobed momentarily. Both Solomon and Alexandrite have a bit of blood leak from their nose in a mirror of one another.
"She has ambitions about changing the internal structure of the court, and continues to present as a childish waif that doesn't know what she is doing."
Solomon idly wipes the streak with the cuff of his jacket,
"What do you think gave you the right to help a foreign assassin engage a member of this Freehold?"
Alexandrite actually laughed, the quiet sound splitting and jarring with the shards. "Ha... he is an Oathbreaker in all but timing. He knows some talented pledgesmiths, and now he uses our Oath as a shield for his abhorrent behaviour."
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Mar 21, 2021 16:48:11 GMT -8
Kai glanced at Solomon as the infiltrator admitted that the Grave Lord had sanctioned the murder of Spring's luminary. "She's not bound to any Oaths to Buck. Sure. I can make some sense of that, in an 'enemy combatant following rules of engagement' kind of way." She cocked her head to the side. "But Buck. Okay. So you say he's an Oathbreaker in all but timing. Killing him is thus justified in your philosophy. If close counts in the Wyrd like in horseshoes and hand grenades, I can wrap my mind around that." Her finger tapped the side of her head.
Then it gestured to him. "But on that standard, how close is close enough? You're an Oathbreaker in all but being the hand holding the knife. Or did I save you on your standard, by showing up and stopping you?" She leaned in and hissed, red boiling over and judgment pouring off of her in her Mantle's wake. "Skirting the line to get someone you think skirted the line. How is that honorable? How does that protect Philicia? How have you accomplished anything but proving that you're just as guilty as the man you tried to kill?!"
|
|
Oren
.
written by Hiver
Posts: 242
|
Post by Oren on Mar 21, 2021 19:51:08 GMT -8
Kai Rose knew the weight of Honor and what it meant to hold fast to the creed of vassalage. She pierced the Claviger's convictions with needlepoints of her own and demanded satisfaction from this sundered Oathsworn.
"And where do you fit in Philicia's renovations? You know of her internal world. Ask yourself...why would she let me live, if given the choice?"
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Mar 22, 2021 23:02:16 GMT -8
That seemed to set the Darkling off, the nebulous edges of the human-silhouette sharpening to become sharp and black as the void. Another blister was added as his hands shook against the cuffs, clutching the edge of the chair to prevent them from moving.
"I... acted within the wishes of two sovereigns of the Silent Arrow," he snapped, breaking the even tone for a bout of righteous pride.
"A Heartsworn pledge and shirking a Knight's oath is an embarrassment for this Freehold to house! It protects my Queen when it prevents the harpies of our court picking at the corpse of her reputation for allowing such scandal to fester. What, you think allowing the blood of Los Angeles to stain our garden with the Queen rolled over as the gatekeeper will somehow help her maintain respect? Throw me to the wolves, then!" he laughed as the starscape flared, "Better one of her Clavigers be recognized as an unstable threat than the alternative."
Solomon exhaled at the assertion that Nohoilpi sanctioned the action. The embarrassment of Winter having a fleeing Knight likely won Lancelot little support, and now he understood why the man had withheld the Freehold Oath for the year and kept apart from his peers.
The silence from the Knight of Scales was a little vexing, but his concentration appeared just as intense as it ever was. A few beads of sweat had emerged, and he didn't seem immediately present, as if he were sifting through something beyond the immediate sight.
"If you're so devoted to your Court, why not bend the knee with a knight's oath yourself?"
Alexandrite jerked, as if offended.
"I enforce the law and standard of our culture. I am not worthy of the sword or the largess required to support a fiefdom."
Solomon's brow pinched further, with an exasperated frown as his Mantle flared to give away his frustration and incoming temper.
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Mar 22, 2021 23:49:25 GMT -8
"Thank you, Alexandrite. I appreciate your honesty, at last. Finally, something real comes out of your mouth."
The emotional focus was so thoroughly on Philicia, like everything he was doing was all about her. Her honor. Her reputation. Her goals for the future. She glanced to Solomon, noting the question, noticing his lead and following it. If he wanted to play the man that way, toward bending the knee, she could play that way too.
"Any thug can kill, but you're not a thug. You're a master of your craft. You've got a skill set. You're clearly all in for the Queen, and more than a little nuts about it. Everything for the Queen. Everything for the cause. You're clearly worthy. But you're scared to risk others by stepping up like that, aren't you?"
She paused, let it sit, leaned back in her chair.
"Thing is, those gangsters aren't scared, and until brave people knowingly face the risk by swearing to someone whose objective is change..."
She didn't need to finish the sentence. It finished itself just fine.
|
|
Oren
.
written by Hiver
Posts: 242
|
Post by Oren on Mar 23, 2021 5:37:13 GMT -8
The Zealot Alexandrite foamed in wild berry chrysanthemum, folding himself in the hands and seams of not one, but two Lords.
"Ha! Largess! If you truly loved her, wouldn't you cast aside your doubts and cling to her, in full faith that your service will be exemplary? If you aren't worthy of being a Knight, what makes you worthy of being a Claviger? No wonder you've cozied up to the Cold Snap. Tell me, what is your weapon of choice? Is it poison?"
Oren was starting to get annoyed. He was no stranger to obsession. But...this? This was an ugly cry with running mascara. He resented it with a burning passion. If he wasn't steno-graphing, he would be slapping this Emerald up the side of their head. So he chose to question them. Their very reason for being. Wrath took the form of splitting open the chest and looking inside, to take a peak at a heart before devouring it. I am a little peckish...
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Mar 23, 2021 14:50:12 GMT -8
Oren, against all odds, detects that Alexandrite isn't obsessed or in love with the Spring Queen. Rather, it's tied to one's core worth and identity, and she is merely a symbol in the equation. The Darkling's mental fortitude and defenses seemed to have eroded rapidly over time, lighting up and shaking as if he were as Polychromatic as Kai Rose.
Solomon sneezed, red foam leaking before he caught it with his arm. His own wrists looked damaged, matching the Claviger's burns. His feet hissed and popped as the floor melted from the pressure of him standing, smoke swirling as he hovered between Alexandrite's face and smoking trailing as one of needles grazed his own cheek. The light seemed to brighten around him, drawing trenches in the shadowed lines of his hatred. "How is your court going to stop itself from choking on its own ambition when you're being completely useless worrying about image? You're a fucking coward, Alexandrite. The Emeralds can't hold onto a sovereign to save their lives because of Freeholders like you promising the collapse with another slug getting fat in the garden's rot."
The Mask of the Claviger flickered as he spat on the Knight's shoe. A confused chuckle escaping him after the fact.
The needles surged before the Knight reigned himself in, stepping back and out of the light as his form flickered back to the night time illusion of grace.
"Are you confessing you attempted to murder the Sunset Prince?"
"No."
"Are you confessing you assisted a foreign dignitary in setting up an ideal situation in which the Sunset Prince could be murdered?"
"Stop calling him that," Alexandrite growled.
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Mar 23, 2021 15:11:45 GMT -8
"You were engaged in a conspiracy to murder Buck Chasseur with the Winter Court of Los Angeles. You infiltrated his home as a false Lancelot and offered material assistance to an assassin! And you think it's justified because you think Buck's basically an Oathbreaker. You've already admitted it! What are you so afraid of?"
She grit her teeth after the shout, her Summer Mantle flaring and washing outrage over him.
After a pause, she cut him once more with her words.
"Now I see how you're not worthy. You're too afraid to commit to the fight unless you can be a ghost, and Knights can't hide. You're right. Knighthood requires more than you can give, Lyre."
Segue. This guy didn't seem like the type to engage in petty drug dealing, but confronting him with the name would give her a chance to suss out if he knew it or not.
|
|
Oren
.
written by Hiver
Posts: 242
|
Post by Oren on Mar 24, 2021 8:04:30 GMT -8
"You're only making it harder for yourself."
There was venom on his tongue. And he liked how it tasted. There was direction. Here he was, adding coals to the flame. He was a part of this. He felt connected. Grounded. For now, Oren was invincible. A nail scours glass, and as Summer hitches behind marble eyes, like the corona whipping along the face of the sun, Alexandrite hears their suffering, their joy, and their longing, magnified in their own ear. It'll feel so good. Just let go...
"There is no shadow here for you, not when your wretched flesh is beheld by witnesses whose job it is to expunge soot stains like you."
|
|