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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 18, 2021 17:09:56 GMT -8
Mitchell blinked again, waiting for some revelation as to why Riley had called him over, and simultaneously trying to ignore the soles of his feet needling for him to keep walking. Small hooks to distract himself and check in with the two, relaxing enough with Firebringer's interest that his chuckle isn't forced when Oren taps him. "Really good- I'll coordinate a time that works for people where I can ambush him."
Normally the Dancer would spin the out; like what he started by calling Oren over when they kept asking about him and Summer. The tapping of the Mirrorskin's mantle clicked, giving him better focus of sorting new emotions with the Wyrd over his human failings. Really, what the Fairest wanted deep down wasn't to duck confrontation, but rather hammer everyone back into their lanes. The Crown whispered of the disrespect thrown his way when his time was made into a game, throwing him off, making everything disorganized. The stained light of Spring danced with his thoughts, as he grasped onto something new and unexpected. The Bright One wanted to step with him? He second chuckle was sharper, like an exhale. Expression still jovial and unmoved by the twisting chaos underneath the marble. He rhythmically snapped his fingers again. "You can still help, if you're worried about the PR stuff." It just takes some effort. "You seem tapped into the Freehold's gossip? You and Archie both were really inspired when you were worried about Summer's opinions. You still seem bothered by what the Iron Spear is up to with us, right? Dani's standing right here in solidarity. You've been in a motley with Oren before. We're all on the same side, and given the fact that you can't renew your Freehold Oath until you make it up to everyone, I'd assume you'd have a lot of energy. But we got tricks for that if the stress is flagging... It's what Spring is good at." It was all minute—the shocking cruelty with the context of what he was putting down, even though the tone was just as earnest in his offers and encouragement. The other Freeholders, Carr was being genuine and as willing to help. He even did them the courtesy of not highlighting the ugly of it all. As he spoke, it was almost as if his eye fluttered with a blink, before they realized the unmoving marble was as still as ever. Rather—tucked in the window of the iris— the Throne stared back, a hairline crack forming along the orbital as one of the crystalline feathers tried to escape the building pressure.
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
Posts: 913
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Jul 19, 2021 15:21:22 GMT -8
Mitches words, coated in kindness and honey, stuck like a barb from a rose. Riley froze for a moment, the Bright one taken by surprise. Were they reading into this, being to sensitive? Or was the sting of his words intended. Mitch had hit them now twice setting them off guard. Why had they called him over? It had been out of concern for the dancer, perhaps even protective. The moth had their doubts since the events in Whitney of how Mitch was doing, and the eye of summer. There was even some suspicion there, distrust on how that was going to all boil down. But perhaps it was just the comfort to be near someone, who had recovered from their own oath breaking.
It had been a blend of reasons, and the Moth regretted it now.
Their hands quivered slightly. The temptation to throw their wine in his face was tempered by their wish never to see the dancer once more bathed in red. They took a slow breath, but their ego was tender.
“Sorry, sometimes I forgot we are all in this together.” They should have thought of the words before they said it, it wasn't a good look for an oathbreaker. Had the wyrd twisted their words, or were they just compromised emotionally and not thinking.
“But I imagine public opinion is kinder on some of us than others. I am sure the Ironspear looks upon you fondly, they seem to have a keen eye on your talents and whereabouts these days. Been thinking of changing courts?”
Riley didn't hate summer, their best friend had been a summer, their partner was a summer. But Loki’s actions and the judgment thrown their way over the last few weeks cascaded like an unending avalanche. It left them raw and tired.
“Sorry that I don't look full of energy Mitch. It’s all been a little much, and I don't think many want my talents around these days.” they were getting worked up.
“But you're right. I do need to make it up. Might as well start taking requests. How’d you do it by the way?”
Their face goes pale, realizing what they said. They hadn't meant that.
“I-I am sorry- I didnt -I need a moment” Riley says their face red, maybe from anger or embarrassment.
They attempt to leave unless stopped.
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jul 21, 2021 0:48:53 GMT -8
Oathbreaker.
Now it all made sense. Mitchell had gone rigid, and Riley had shrivelled in their shell, just a little bit. Enough for the tension to ratchet and for Oren to lean into it. The way his eyes shimmered, and widened. Those eyes said, Oh honey, you should have said something. I'm so sorry. A camera transfixed on the shifting dramatic tide. One of loyalty and dignity. One of exposure. He thought it best to intervene before the Sword was flown. Then he'd have to let his fly too.
"Take it from me," the Mirrorskin interjected. "Proving yourself to the Freehold as worthy of grace, is easier than one might think. There's always work that needs doing, and while the Wyrd doesn't look too good on you tonight, it doesn't mean that there people who aren't willing to work with you. Great example, there's this brunette that looks rather fetching in uniform. Green eyes. If he grabs a gig, he'll probably ring you up. Will you take sup from his chalice?"
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 21, 2021 7:26:31 GMT -8
"That's not-"
Carr flushed, taking a moment to clear the shards in his throat. Everyone around him was fine with Riley, and he was being...unfair? He felt like he was imagining the whole thing and that his instinct was inherently poisoned. Like the OCD—psyche stuttering with the forced course correct as the Fairest masterfully reassured himself that this was all in his head and a byproduct of, well, everything that was wrong with him.
The Hedge reacted in kind, the grass around the Dancer turning vicious and sharp, cutting as he shifted with obvious discomfort. He swore under his breath, foot lifting before giving up and just grinding it back down. It wasn't real. It was just grass. He needed to get over himself.
"I don't know what you're apologizing for-"
His face was going to explode—no it wasn't. He needed to-
His hand snapped again to settle the ritual. The Dancer wasn't going to stop them when they said they needed to leave.
"I'm sorry. I can talk about it at some point if you need me to."
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Jul 21, 2021 19:31:18 GMT -8
Lucas and Eurydice arrive at the small group gather around the same time that Cinderella made her announcement. The Onxy's courtier's face is hard to read as the fog from his mantle rolls over his face like a protective layer. His voice on the other hand carried a heavy weight to it that captured the spirit of his court; sorrow. "Hey, I won't keep you all because I heard Cinderella summon Summer."His attention was divided between Oren and Dani. His hand started to reach into his pocket before he hesitated. He paused, drawing in a long, deep breath before he continued. "I saw that Sorsa was over here for sometime with everyone socializing. I was surprised because, well, they are an Oathbreaker. I get when you know someone personally that there's the desire to give them the benefit of the doubt. The thing is, sometimes the victim is also someone you know. Someone like me."He frowned before grabbing his phone at long last and he pulled it out. "Sorsa broke an oath that the two of us had with each other. Whenever we hear about Oathbreaking, the focus is typically on the person who broke the oath. No one prepares you for what it's like to have an oath broken when you're on the other side. When we break an oath, not only do we break out trust with each other, but we break the trust with the Wyrd. There's no escaping the Wyrd and it's influence. Whether I'm awake or asleep, I feel a deep sense of betrayal. I can't shake it. I can't find it. I don't even have an apology from Sorsa to act as a distraction. There's something I want you all to hear before you head to your meeting." The Fairest gestured towards his phone. "When I felt our oathbreak I was sent into one helluva tailspin. I didn't want to talk to Sorsa. I needed to take time to figure out my thoughts. They refused to give me space and kept calling me, leaving me messages like this..."Lucas hit the play button on his voicemail, replaying a couple of VMs Riley left him.The first one he played was of Riley saying ""Stop fuckin' around. CALL ME!" He visibly flinched before he played the second message: "What the fuck Lucas. Talk to me, you horse shit coward." "Heh, the sad thing is I didn't want to keep the voicemails but I knew if I didn't that I would have to fight to get other Freeholders to believe me. Look at what happened in Beltane. Hartman was accused of abusing multiple Freeholders as an Enslaver and several individuals rushed towards him to protect him. Mitch, Agrippa, Sweeney, myself, and everyone in the Freehold...we don't deserve to be abused like this. We don't deserve to be cursed by the Wyrd because of the transgressions of others. Just know every time that you make excuses for Oathbreakers and enslavers, you tell people like me that it's okay that we were treated that way."While he delivered the last few words he squeezed Eurydice's hand and rolled his shoulders as if he was trying to steady himself.
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jul 22, 2021 14:28:12 GMT -8
Chevalier ushered in an avalanche. To Oren's dismay, he hadn't even given thought to the other half of the fracture. He actually had no context for these sorts of things. Pledges and Contracts and Oaths. These inkwells in the Wyrd.
To rip such a thing wide open, to step onto the wine stem and feel it crack beneath your heel. To be the glass.
Oren's heart broke for Riley and Lucas both. There was no way to describe the seething behind those voicemails, and the pained reading of one's wrenched account. No way to put it into words without understanding the hurt that coursed through both bodies.
His eyes spoke more than his lips. That seemed to be a running theme today. His mind searched for an offering worthy of Litha's grace, and found himself dismayed at the notion that he was left wanting.
He needed to leave. But his eyes shone: not yet.
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Jul 22, 2021 21:29:27 GMT -8
Fire's jaw nearly unhinges, feeling like it is about to fall to the floor. Everything feels gross and wrong about this situation and she feels like a fly on the wall, just watching, hardly noticed as it all happens.
A war feels like it is being raged inside of her from being quite in love with everything that is Riley, but also being beyond wary of them at the same time, given how they have defied the Wyrd. More than wary. It feels natural to distrust them. And given how the Wyrd has made them nearly akin to the-
Then there is the fact that Lucas is being a complete and utter douchebag in announcing the entire situation. But then, Riley kind of deserves that? Wait... do they? Yes. Yes they do. They should feel the weight of what they've done.
The Elemental shakes her head and opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it again. Then there is the fact of exactly what Lucas is saying. She didn't know that Riley had made an Oath with him in the first place.
This is too much. Riley is her partner. Lucas is her friend. Riley is an Oathbreaker. Lucas was wronged. This is what he was talking about.
Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't they tell me? I can't do this.
I can't do this.
Suddenly, Dani just turns and she walks away quickly, which is when she hears the call from Cinder.
Shit.
But it was an excuse, wasn't it? So, she makes her way that way.
She recognizes that this is going to put her in big trouble with Riley, probably with Lucas too. Oren might think of her weird and god knows what Mitch will have to say about it later.
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Post by Eurydice on Jul 23, 2021 13:52:08 GMT -8
Eurydice's Mantle looms, her weapon threatening despite the casual lean and true reality of the situation. Cascading curls are brushed aside as she sniffs dismissively, and her eyes narrowing at Mitchell Carr of all people.
Firebringer she could understand—loyalty was a trait rarely celebrated for the gift that it was, and the Twilight Dancer needed all the help they were going to get these coming months. Just as Riley was clearly trying to leave, Lucas had sailed in with her with an Onyx plea. As the voicemail played and her attention flicked from the Hedge-altered grass cutting at the rigid Bishop, to Oren's rapt interest, and the Ifrit becoming overwhelmed. Everyone was twisting in their anxiety and repressed emotion, waiting for someone else to thread the wrath on Summer's high holiday.
...you tell people like me that it's okay that we were treated that way...
This was stupid.
"Damn Riley, Lucas throwing you down in front of God and the wolves. Your girlfriend can't even stand to hear this shit. You going to be a little bitch about it like your slaver motleymate?"
Hail the scorching heat of Sirius. The dog days had arrived.
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
Posts: 913
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Jul 23, 2021 14:41:24 GMT -8
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Jul 23, 2021 15:00:16 GMT -8
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
Posts: 913
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Jul 23, 2021 18:41:39 GMT -8
Riley had made it some distance when they heard Lucas voice. It gave them pause. Hearing him pull out their texts, voicemail and using as evidence to some crime they didn't commit makes their stomach turn. It dredged up memories of their past, the whispered voices hind their backs, the accusatory. glares. The loud passive aggressive statments spoken just in ear shot.
He acted as if the words presented were some attack against him. As if he hadnt ignored them, refused to talk, and not answer their calls. He had decided their guilt with out context, or evidence. Was that fair? They weren't sure if it that was fair on Lucas, the Wyrd had told him they had broken an oath. But they tried. They tried and tried to tell him. It couldn't be over the phone.
That's when Eurydice stuck out her forked tounge. The Moth fists gripped tightly and they stopped dead in their track. Linden wasn't here, we're they to run? What more could be taken from them? What was left of their name was being dragged through the mud, their friend was gone, and their partner was silent. It was a small mercy that Archie wasn't here, he didn't deserve his name to be attached to this.
A flash of heat seared their blood, and their mind was clouded with wrath. This wasn't them, they wouldn't do this. But right now for a reason beyond their understanding, they wanted to fight. The moth spun on their heels and turned around.
“Shut. the. fuck. up. Eurydice.” They spat as they moved towards Lucas. They would say more to the serpent but their wrath was else where.
“I thought you were better than this” this growl. Of everyone, they expected More from Lucas. From sweet kind Lucas.
“If your going to slander me, say it to my face”
Suddenly their fist launched forward. RIley wasn't a fighter, untrained but working the clubs of Vegas had taught them how to throw a fist. It was summer,might as well embrace it. The fist met its mark with a loud crack!
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Jul 23, 2021 19:28:41 GMT -8
Everything happened so fast that Lucas barely had time to register what was going on. When Riley stormed towards him after Eurydice's taunts he assumed that Riley was going to scream at him.
Except instead their fist landed in his face causing his head to snap backwards. The fog from his face lifted revealing a bewildered expression.
Their relationship had been filled with many ups and downs but violence had never been apart of it. Lucas had already taken great care to be mindful of his body language around Riley whenever they argued because he didn't want to be another guy who tried to coerce them by using his physicality as a threat even on an unconscious level.
He mouthed "why?" at them as the punch caused the feeling of betrayal to become visceral. He felt physically nauseous from the intensity of it.
The nausea was quickly overpowered by the rage that the betrayal awakened in him.
"Don't you EVER put your fucking hands on me again!"
As his eyes locked onto Riley, they would see his beautiful, flawless features twist into a monstrous countenance.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jul 23, 2021 22:33:10 GMT -8
The Bishop blinked at the rolling fog, then the familiar presence of the Draconic. He opened his mouth to properly greet them, swapping to a practiced wave as not to interrupt-
"...I saw that Sorsa was over here for sometime with everyone socializing. I was surprised because, well, they are an Oathbreaker..."
"Hey-"
His throat was dry, brow pinching as the Onyx stepped onto an imagined soap box and ramped the tension needlessly. Firebringer was driven off as she hit her limit of social anxiety and Oren mapped the pain between the parties, and Mitch raked a hand through his hair to stop his hand from twitching. As Lucas dropped Mitch's own name on the list of abused, he gave him a look of dumbstruck confusion before he met Eurydice's smoldering glare. He mouthed an exasperated 'what?' before his own frustration blistered in full force as she confirmed his attention...just to promptly drop it, and pounce on his court member.
The Fairest's thoughts mirrored Riley's words, needle-fine crystals firing from the cracks along his skin as he mentally prepared himself to redirect the Draconic to join her court. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating as the Hedge warped around the rising wrath, with the ground trembling and cracking with metallic heat and pressure as Riley swung.
Fuck-
Discordant harmonics escaped the bubbling cough, in a fashion similar to another product of Zephyr. Mitchell's face twitched with a distinct tick as he collected himself from the flashing lights and roaring cacophony, grinding the ball of his heel into the razor grass to quite literally ground himself in the moment. He really didn't need another episode right now. The exchange was done as fast as it started, with Lucas already charged with Arcadia's Crown as he stood his ground and erupted his own emotion. The Dancer syncs with Eurydice as they instinctually exchange a quick glance—both dropping whatever action they were going to take in the heat of the moment.
The ground still smoked, grass catching the edge of a fire as Summer itself deigned to watch with blooming light.
Mitchell cut the distance around Lucas and hissed something low in Eurydice's ear, and wrapping an ivory hand around the halberd. Her laugh was an annoyed one, sharp teeth flashing as she dared something, indicating she wasn't going to leave until Lucas was away from Riley.
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jul 24, 2021 12:08:18 GMT -8
War had crashed the party. Any other day and Oren would have had something to say. Something along the lines of, Y'all are spoiling my fun. But Oren was a vassal of the Summer Court. More importantly, he was a child of something Twisted and Operatic and Dionysian. And as this rather rugged display of emotional upheaval took its place, and those in its wake twisting with it on a trembling surface beneath the Mask...
Oren drank deep. He couldn't Harvest. He couldn't Reap. But he could soak in it all the same. His finger twitched towards a small table stacked with glassware. If he twitched it again he could throw his own hat in the ring. Cleave a path and leave it cleft. Summer could start a war as soon as end it. He could do it. He really could.
Not yet.
Instead that hand reached out. That distance was closed. He wound his fingers around Mitchell's and squeezed. A quiet gesture of presence, and a fleeting one. He wrapped around, closer to Eurydice. He did not offer her the same kindness. "Do you do this because you're bored, or because you're hungry?"
There was a devilish smirk splayed across his face. "I totally get it though. Drama's not for everyone."
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
Posts: 913
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Jul 26, 2021 7:27:11 GMT -8
The Brightone had planned to give summer a proper fight. THey never thought before that respect should be earned with bloody knuckles but it seemed these days to be the only thing anyone respected. Riley felt the surge of pain in their hand after the punch landed. THeir blood was boiling and the pounding inside their skull made it impossible to focus on any one but Lucas. They pull their first back ready to press into another attack, if your gonna fight like anyone mimic Loki. However before they could land another hit the Fairest turned his baleful stare upon the Moth causing the Darkling to root to the spot. The rage in their eyes giving way to sudden fear an awe. They could feel the strength in their fist melting away till they couldn't keep it any longer. They stood there, a light quiver in their stillness.
Hit me, punch me, damn it!
The wrath within the moth wanted Lucas to retaliate, fight back. Sort this out with fists, blood and rage. That was Summer's justice wasn't it? So take it Lucas.
They wanted to scream at him but their voice was loss.
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