dear_mun | OC - Mun is voice-testing again

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OC - Mun is voice-testing again

Mundane,

Okay, if you really insist, I'll call you that. I still think it sounds rude. Just a couple things.

1. How old is they guy I'm talking to over at LJ? And why do you think it's amusing that I'm talking to him? He seems okay, for an adult. Why do you think Father wouldn't like him?

2. You have a novel to edit. You have a 100 challenge you gave yourself, for me, which is cool, don't get me wrong. You have two other muses - really, we're called muses? - in games right now. What's with this idea of sending me across the country to NYC? I'll be away from Carol and Father, away from Lee and Kyle, and is there even a Court in NYC? If there is, isn't there some sort of procedure I'd have to follow to go? Or do I have to go ask Aunt Verity about that, too? And anyway, weren't you thinking of sending the French chick there? How much time do you think you have?

3. I did mention the novel, right? Because I'd like to be more than just an RP muse.

~ Raven

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Well it's not one of the Directional Courts, so I guess that's not surprising. Though Yuito-san said Dusk had branches everywhere...

[She shakes her head, still confused]

And I'm pretty sure they said there's usually a full complement of seasons, not just two. Portland you said?

[She does take the offered hand and shake it though]

Ren's fine.

So, it's like a satellite Court?

[Still not making sense on her end, either.]

Aunt Verity was just traveling somewhere in Asia, and she didn't mention any satellite Courts. And, yeah, Portland. Most famous city in Oregon. But Winterhaven and Summerside control more than just the area right around Portland. I think we go all the way north to Seattle, and I know we go as far south as Sacramento. And each Court rules for two seasons.

[And not a word about the gloves. That earns a smile.]

Call me Raven, then.

I guess. It's not a creed that calls to a lot of cha... people.

Where in Asia? Around here there's four Directional Courts, and they each claim a season. If I remember correctly I've heard of places that just have Day and Night Courts, but not places with just Summer and Winter.

Raven. Good to know.

Creed? Wait, you can change what Court you're a part of? You aren't born into them?

[She bites her lip at that question.]

Shanghai or Sri Lanka or...it was some place that started with "S". Father mentioned it when he introduced us, but we haven't talked a lot about it since. She's been grilling me in rules and etiquette and dance for the last few weeks. Training, for when I have to take over from Father.

[Snicker.]

At least I won't have to perform my Ascension Dance naked, unlike the Heir to Summerside.

[And back to grinning.]

If you ever find yourself State-side, let me know, and I'll bring you along to Revelry.

Well yea. It's about what resonates with you and such. I wasn't too enamored with the directional Courts, so I was courtless until I hooked up with the Dusk folk.

Ascension Dance?

Courts in Japan work really different to Courts in the US. At least to the ones I know. When you're born determines what Court you belong to. Halloween through the end of April belongs to Winterhaven. May Day till October 30th belongs to Summerside.

[Nod.]

When Father steps down as Lord of Winterhaven, he'll hand power over to me in a formal ceremony. Ascension has to be done a certain way, or else it messes up the magic. That's what everyone tells me, at least. I'm still new to a lot of this stuff.

Yea, I guess... Wait, born into? How can you be born into a Court? They only exist for those of us that made it back.

What are you?

How can you not be born into a Court? How else do you get any sort of magic? If you aren't born into a Court, you're mundane.

[This makes no sense whatsoever to her.]

I'm half Winterhaven and half mundane. I'm my Father's only Heir. Why, what are you?

[A sigh]
By being kidnapped by the True Fae and managing to escape. The Courts, the ones I know at least are part of how we... keep our balance.

I'm a changeling. A Romancer Fairest.

[Wait. Wait. True Fae? What the hell is Father's Court, then?]

So, just so I understand this: you got kidnapped by these True Fae, but you got away from them, and joined a Court, which is made up of all the other mundane people who were kidnapped and escaped, too?

I...haven't done a lot of studying the history of the Courts yet, but maybe we're some sort of offshoot of that? Like ours were like that once, and changed over time? Would something like that be possible, based on what you know?

[And more stuff she doesn't know. And as Heir to Winterhaven, it seems like stuff she should know.]

What's a Romancer Fairest?

Well, we're not exactly mundane any more.

I don't think so. I mean, I don't know everything, but it just... no.

[A long pause as she thinks about the last bit.]

It's... how to describe my true seeming. And implies a lot about what... why I was taken. Here, it's easier to show than to explain.

[She roots around in her pocket for a moment and pulls out a coin]

Catch this and you'll see clearly.

[And she tosses it towards you.

I figured that. If you're part of a Court, you can't be mundane. Not fully mundane, at least. You have to have some magic.

[Frown. That isn't exactly what she wanted to hear.]

There can't be two types of Courts, can there?

[Before she can even ask about what Ren means, she's reaching out to grab the coin before it falls, and wishing she'd worn velour gloves instead of satin ones - less slidey. But she manages to grab it.]

Are you sure it'll work with my gloves -

[And she just stops as she looks up, because Ren looks *very different* now. That hint of blue she'd seen before did not prepare her for this. The woman is *handsome*.]

...yeah, ignore that last question.

[More staring.]

So...they stole you away to make you more hot?

[Wait. No, that did not just come out of her mouth, did it? Damn. Cue blushing.]

[Palm, meet face. Literally. And if Raven wasn't so obviously blushing right now, Ren would be getting more than a little angry. Because really, she'd been pretty fine with how hot she'd been before.]

There's a reason I'm called a 'Fairest'.

I'm noticing. And I don't normally notice girls like that.

[Her face might just resemble a tomato.]

And you - you're an actor - actress - performer. Did that factor into it, too?

Yea, I get that a lot. Even... before. Kinda went with the whole otokoyaku thing.

[And another pause. Then, quietly]

The one who kidnapped me wanted a shining jewel for his household. Something to display to impress the other Lords and Ladies.

Part of the role you played?

[She listens, and is disgusted by what she hears.]

People aren't jewels. You aren't an object to be shown off when it suits some Fae Lord. God, if Father ever did something like that, I'd -

[She shakes her head.]

I'd break Court. It'd screw up everything royally, but I'd do it. And I think McKenzie'd do the same. That's slavery.

A good otokoyaku plays the gentleman off stage as well as on. It's part of the mystery.

[She shrugs. She's had her rages about the unfairness of it all. Now... it happened. And she knows several changelings who had it far, far worse than she]

The True Fae don't care.

So all your fans think about you as a gentleman? They don't think about you as you?

[She's noticing some odd parallels here.]

Then I'm glad I'm not one of them, that Winterhaven and Summerside aren't part of that whole system. Whatever we are, I'm glad we aren't that.

[She glances down at the coin.]

Does this have any significance to you?

[She spreads her hands and smiles]
Is there a difference?

Sounds like your Courts are something else entirely. Probably not a bad thing. Our Courts are like I said, for those of us who escaped.

The coin? No, why?

Am I just a Goth chick? Of course there's a difference. Everyone has a front. But that isn't us.

You should come visit my Court. Maybe talk to Aunt Verity, since she knows way more about Courts than I do. Kind of like an ambassador, or a diplomat.

[Shrug.]

Just wondering what I'd see if I touched it.

It's enough of who I am, or at least who I was, as to make little difference. [There's a hint of finality in her tone. This is not a line of discussion she's particularly interested in continuing.]

Maybe I will sometime.

It's just change I got from buying lunch. Nothing special, I promise.

[She knows that tone. Aunt Verity is good with that tone. Fine, she'll let the topic go.]

If you don't mind learning or sort-of following along with all the dancing, come for Revelry. It's actually pretty fun, once the petitions and business are finished.

[She fishes a blue stone out of her purse and holds it out in her other hand.]

This gets you to Winterhaven. Name-dropping will get you to someone who knows me without having a detour toward the dungeons.

Just an ordinary coin let me see what you really look like? Huh. If I touch it without my gloves on, I'll see way more than that.

I can pick up dances pretty quick.

[She takes the stone carefully and looks it over.]

Yea, I prefer to avoid dungeons.

It's not the coin that does it. It's that I gave it to you and you accepted it freely. It... binds a pledge between us, that lets you see my true appearance.

But what do you mean by more?

I'll let you dance with Father, then. He's the best dancer in Winterhaven.

So do I. They aren't fun.

[She nods to the stone.]

Toss it through a doorway, give it a second, then step through.

[Eyebrow raise.]

A pledge? Like a binding oath? Does this mean I can always see it now, or does the ability go away if I let go of the coin?

[Ooh, her turn to info-dump!]

It's my inborn talent. Every one of us has a magic we can do naturally, without learning spells or using spelled objects. Magic kicks in when we turn sixteen, and the inborn talent is the first thing to manifest. I have past-sense, like my father. If I touch something with my bare fingers, I can see the people who touched it before me, where it went, that kind of stuff. If it's something with a strong bond to a person, I can hear voices sometimes, and get more than just passing glances.

The downside is that I don't have very good control over it yet, so if I do it, I end up having a kind of seizure while I'm seeing things. But Father says those go away with time and practice.

[She rolls the stone between her fingers.] Like making a doorway into the Hedge.

Ah, damn, I knew I forgot something. I didn't specify a duration, so I think it only lasts until sunrise.

[She listens to the info dump carefully.]
So that's why you wear the gloves?

(no subject)

winter_raven - 2012-02-13 04:35 (UTC) - Expand

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