felldenlogs | Court Gossip (Stars Only)

"It works that way with many things. If there is no buy-in, then people are more likely to consider open rebellion." This comes from a young elven woman who stands nearby, chin settled in her hand as she considers. "And considering the state of the war here, they need all of our help and assistance, no matter what we can offer, even if none of us were to be soldiers." There will always be a need for healers, for workers, for people to serve as advisors and diplomats.

Even if it seems like all communications have been breaking down.

She regards him calmly. "I'm glad you were able to speak to the Emperor and gain some peace of mind. Your advice is sound, sir." And something she had already been doing. Doubling down wouldn't hurt. "But we won't be able to wait forever before we need to make a decision, one way or another, especially if it's true that everyone's worlds are in danger."

[ 0/10, do not recommend. ]

If you'd like to potentially be killed on sight, by all means.

[ It's not that Neria believes the Priestess is some murderous, bloodthirsty monster who is intent on seeing all of the Stars die but...realistically, someone from another faction storming their halls is not going to be seen favorably. ]

I understand wanting to hear all sides of the argument but rushing off isn't the right answer.

[inho meeting his doom based on a foolhardy decision would be so very on point for him... good thing Neria is here to Intervene.]

Then what is the right answer? [tell him he's bad at guessing] Look, it's not like I'm going to charge straight up to the priestess and demand for answers.

[everything about Inho points to the contrary, the way his hands clench into fists and just the overall restless air he's exuding. he was 100% about to do this very thing,]

I'll go waving a white flag! Or I'll just hide my tattoo and pretend I'm a moon person or whatever.

Book's eyebrows raise in surprise at the man's words. Those names are more than familiar. "Those are ancient history. But I've read The Art Of War. Sun Tzu also warned of treating soldiers too harshly on their first meeting. Treat them at first with humanity, but follow with iron discipline. That second half is on its way."

He nods in confirmation of Arcade's earlier assumption. "Unification Day, the official end to the war, was only 7 years in the past. Even young children still know what it's like to be at war."

He raises one hand, gesturing at Arcade. "But I believe you are correct, that the patterns of war never do really change. Otherwise, we wouldn't still be reading Sun Tzu, would we?" A small smile. "That is why his words stay so true."

Book turns to the woman, and he hesitates before he speaks. Just that sudden startle of seeing something quite unexpected. He turns his head a little, making sure she is in focus, and he is seeing correctly. The woman's ears come to a sharp point, it is no costume or trick, and there is no sign of augmentation? Curious.

"You.. are correct," he is quick to pick his steam back up, though. "And know that I have made my own intentions plain. I will serve, I am grateful to be here, but I have lines that I will not cross."

"We must each make one decision, yes. But then another, and another. The choices of war come in fits and starts. It is never straightforward." A pause, and Book brings his hands together. "And once a decision has been made, another decision can be made to change one's course. If you find that you are straying from the path that you truly wish to walk."

Yes, I agree.

[ He reaches for another one. The tepid spice level (he's a nut) doesn't seem to be stopping him from scarfing another one down. ]

But it's strange, isn't it, to take the time to hold an audience, yet withhold so much. What's the reason, do you think?

Makes me think they're lying about shit.

[ Honestly. So. He's not a huge fan so far. ]

Really, that's your worry? [Leaning up against a nearby wall, Nia doesn't bother trying not to hear him. She just smirks, straightening up.] Sign up for a war that could save existence, and what bugs you is mising a few lessons?

[It's not really a glance so much as a very long stare that's trying to pass itself off as one. And for a few minutes, it seemed to have worked. Coming up behind her, Bigby stops when he realizes he recognizes the figure at the table, glasses and bun notwithstanding. They're new, but you know what they say about faces: once you meet one that feeds you, it's stuck with you for life.

He tries to look at what she's reading from over her shoulder to very little success. The text is tiny; if he has to squint to look at it, he's going to get a headache. Maybe I'm the one who needs glasses. When Sarah turns around to look at him, he doesn't start or move back — he just shifts a little to make it less apparent that he's been watching, stuffing his hands in his pockets. You know, as you would. And when she's the first one to speak, he meets her comment with a raised eyebrow.]

Such as?

The courtiers knew of today if they could inform us in advance, though. I rather doubt an audience with the Emperor is so rare of an occurrence that no one had any idea what to expect.

[In other words, surely the Emperor would have been prepared to tackle all sorts of enquiries, even if just to say "no, I have no answer for you".]

I agree. I could tell that the Emperor was mainly appealing to our attachment to the homes we were taken from. [And, while she doesn't admit so aloud, she expects the appeal to be successful because it resonates on a basic level: instilling fear for the future of their respective worlds, and making people feel extraordinary that it was them, out of millions and billions, who were chosen. Look, she paid attention in her social studies and literature classes. The angle the Emperor took was pretty obvious.]

You've seen the state of the castle library, I suppose. It strikes me as odd that such a degree of damage would occur in the faction's base of operations without anyone noticing.

[She can't help but crack a smile, recalling Crowley's conversation with the Emperor.]

You know what they say -- garbage in, garbage out. [Feed them bullshit, of course you'd get bullshit in return.] Well, I figure it showed one thing we can keep in mind for future reference: the Emperor isn't the sort whose tongue will loosen when confronted by a little attitude.

Good point. Everything we've seen and heard is all one-sided right now. And a priestess, at that? What's to say she isn't merely some religious fanatic who's drawn a crowd to her?

[She runs a hand through her hair.] There is no sense of scale.

[Not to mention the "how" and the "when". She has seen battle, yes, but a large part of it was intimidation and establishing her presence over her opponent's, not with the goal of permanent harm. Not the kind of thing for a war, certainly.]

[Nia nods, slowly.] Yeah. That's my point. I think they were trying to hide a lot of things. I think there's more going on here than they're willing to tell us. And that makes me real suspicious, real fast.

[If nothing else... why weren't they better prepared? Why did everything come out the way it did? What's going on here?]

[The sensation of eyes is a common enough one when one spends a portion of their lives in front of a classroom. Sometimes they're half-asleep, sometimes they're boring holes into her and sometimes they're just glances. This one is somewhere around that boring a hole into her, an outright stare. Are they looking for someone to chat with? She had sort of deliberately kept herself out of her room both out of sleeplessness and a wish to run into anyone else still just as sleepless and mind full of the audience from earlier.

When she catches who it is though, there's amusement in her expression. She had stayed through all the questions, listening as intently as she could to all of the Emperor's answers, and his had helped shape a few of the questions she had left her turn on the dais with.

She casts a glance to the shelves around her, all burden with books but all the books being by and large relatively clean and well-organized. Oh sure there are a few musty corners and a few forgotten relics she imagines but she hasn't quite run into them yet herself. Her eyes trip upward through the shelves, musing a little.]

From what I've seen there are a lot of storybooks here. Legends, myths, that sort of thing but nothing you could glean any kind of history from. Some of them are about magic, at least of the ones I've looking through. A lot of them are in languages I don't know as well.

[There's a sort of wistful longing couched in her tone as she says that. It's clear she sort of wishes she did understand those languages so she could at least thumb through them and understand them if nothing else.]

The great dilemma. [His tone is dry with light sarcasm and heavy exhaustion. Today has been a better day than yesterday, so much more productive, but that doesn't mean he isn't feeling it. And he's probably going to keep feeling it for some time, at least until he's able to transform again. The Emperor said it was dependent on how hard he tries to force the power back to him — which seems like an easier way of saying how much he wants it back.

As he moves around to the other chair across from Sarah, he follows her gaze to the books. This library is pretty comparable to the Business Office's, especially in terms of age. He'd had a chance to look through some but not all, and he found himself disappointed. There hadn't seemed to be anything about the war in any of them — the history of the Moon Temple, who its Priestess is, her relationship with the Emperor — and Bigby had walked away from them in his frustration. Now that he's calmed down, it's easier to look through them without feeling like he's wasting his time. Or watch someone do it for him anyhow.]

I wouldn't put the others out of the equation just yet. Just because they're fables doesn't mean you can't learn from them. [Heh.] They're telling you things in a different way, not a wrong or useless one.

Edited 2019-09-06 22:13 (UTC)

[Bigby is surprised just how short of an audience this winds up being. It seems to be over just as quickly as it had started, and the Emperor leaves just as quietly as they had appeared. Once they're escorted out by their guards, everyone else starts following suit. Soon, the aisles are filled with people milling around, some quicker to leave than others; probably to talk about what just happened outside in a less oppressive setting. Bigby can't really blame them, but he's not in a hurry to leave just yet. Instead of getting up, he remains seated, looking down at his knees as he thinks about what just happened.

So, the Emperor doesn't actually want to save this world — just their people. It's funny; for someone so to the point, they sure know how to evade a question. They never did answer what makes them so different from the Priestess other than what they hope to win from this war. That they didn't even bother to come up with a lie and just skirted around the topic entirely is beyond questionable, and it tells Bigby what he thinks he's already decided about them even before they met. They can't be trusted, not entirely. The power they used to get them all here isn't even their own, just a contract forged with otherworldly beings.

Bigby's eyes drift to his hands, spread out over his legs. Wolves. At least he got a lead out of this. Whether or not it's a good one remains to be seen, and he supposes that much doesn't depend on the Emperor. He supposes that depends entirely on him and how quickly he can get himself up to full strength. After all, he wouldn't want to make a bad first impression with whoever he's going to meet out in the woods.

Eventually, the chamber empties out almost entirely but there are still a few people around. One of them ends up beside him, either by accident or intentionally. Doesn't matter. He'll acknowledge them just the same.]

So. We're being used, right? Just so we're on the same level here.

Edited 2019-09-06 22:56 (UTC)

[Frustration is a relatable emotion. The first night Sarah had come here with the same idea too and left more than a little restless. Going to Terebellum hadn't helped really given sneaking into the library was a bigger undertaking than she had imagined. And the lone bookshop in Dziban had somehow had even less historical reading material than here. What would you call the equivalent of a fantasy world's romance section? Because that was about all she found there.

His words rouse her from any huffy thoughts on days past as she makes a lightly amused sound, twisting her rudimentary pen of sorts around in her writing hand idly.]

Of course. I'm not saying to count them out either. After all fables, myths, fairy tales and the like are the world's oldest instruction manuals and advice columns in a way. And that's beyond the obvious life lessons too.

[She glances back to the man himself now, her brows furrowing just a little. It's obvious the next point has her curious, as well it should anyone who comes into the library here.]

These here though seem deliberately scrubbed of any sort of history. It's like the only books allowed are ones that don't touch on politics or court matters or that sort of thing.

[She pauses a moment there. There's no real surprise in her expression at this information given it's been something she's known for days now. But...]

The Emperor doesn't seem that keen on visiting history either. Or at least they aren't keen on going in-depth with some of their answers. The library is a pretty good reflection of that too.

Edited 2019-09-06 22:52 (UTC)

Advice columns? [He can't stop himself from saying that aloud as he pulls the chair out and takes a seat.] That's... looking at it one way. I think you'd be better off with Dear Abby for that though.

[That last part is mumbled, low but audible. Because when he thinks of all the stories told about him — the devastated towns and dismembered bodies, fucking Colin and his brothers and their ruined houses, Little Red Riding Hood — the burning question it gets him thinking about is what the best way to spend a Friday night alone is, or how to meet new people. He wrinkles his nose, trying not to roll his eyes.

As she continues, Bigby settles into his seat and listens, leaning forward on arms he folds across the table. Honestly, she's just saying what's been on his mind all day, phrasing it more as a curious observation than an outwards accusation, but. Details.]

Probably because they only want us to know the bare minimum. If we got the full story, and it doesn't match up with anything they've told us?

[He shakes his head, pausing to let Sarah put the pieces together herself even though he doesn't give her very long.]

It wouldn't look good for them. Especially if it happened in their own library. They'd have another smaller war on their hands if that happened.

Edited 2019-09-07 00:53 (UTC)

[He doesn't roll his eyes maybe but Sarah just sort of naturally flicks her gaze upward in not quite a roll but almost there at the same time. Exasperation? No, not really that either. It's the same unthinking gesture she gives Toby when he huffs out something along the lines of, "That's not how it works at all, Sarah."

There's a momentary pang of loneliness in there somewhere but she breezes past it as well as she breezes past arguing anything. It's not a point worth debate in the end.

Sarah rests her own elbows to either side of the paper before her, now fiddling with that pen with both hands and letting her gaze drift over the books once more.]

Yeah, that's what I figured too.

[Finally she looks back down to her writing, pursing her lips gently in thought.]

It's more than a little frustrating not having the full picture but at this point... well, me personally? All I can really see doing is continuing forward. Use what this place offers and what the Emperor offers but not stack your trust in them either.

[Then she shrugs her shoulders a bit faintly, gaze flicking back up to him now. Her smile is faint and lightly tired.]

I'm going to guess that's the choice a lot of people might end up making.

[It's the only logical, sane choice honestly. However... ah, damn her bleeding heart. She thinks of everything the Emperor said to her and just keeps drifting back to that one point. If this was months ago she would have still felt the same so she couldn't blame it on Moppet or anything like that.]

If this place really is dying though...

[That complicates a lot of things. She's nearly watched one world crumble away as the will that held it together failed -- hell, she was standing in the middle of it as it broke apart.]

[The change in Sarah's expression is subtle but visible. If Bigby's ears were pointed, they'd be flicking right now as he watches her lips curve their tired little smile, listens to the thoughtfulness dangerously close to becoming wistfulness creep into her tone. His own voice sounds much sharper.]

If it's dying, there's not a thing any one of us can do about that. Not right now.

[He feels like it's important to make that addendum: right now. It's easy to get caught up in thinking they can do more. Hearing bombshell after bombshell dropped in that meeting, how could you not want to do something? Isn't that how the Emperor dug their claws into them to begin with? Or rather, that wolf messenger?

They're here because they answered a call, and whether it was willing or unwilling doesn't matter. All of them heard it, right? So that would mean all of them had some desire to follow it, to "save the world."]

The Emperor doesn't care about this world anyway. They said they plan on leaving it as soon as this is over. As far as I can tell, all they care about is their people, winning the war, and whatever they gain from beating the Priestess. That's it. [There's some finality in the way he says that, and it sounds awful.] Whatever they give you or any of us is going to be offered with that in mind.

Edited 2019-09-07 02:00 (UTC)

[There's the faintest tightness that takes hold of her expression with that. A light wince? Maybe. He's not saying anything shocking but he's definitely saying things she probably needed to hear someone say. Because ultimately he's right, there's nothing they could do about it right now and maybe that's what bothers her the most about it.

It's like those woods all over again. She should be so bitter over that but she is. Not being able to protect herself, protect others and all is... somehow humiliating? Both to that cold woman she was before and the 15-going-on-28 year old dreamer who ran a Labyrinth.]

Yeah, I heard that. I thought maybe at first they intended to save this world somehow.

[That had been part of what she had heard during the audience that really made her pause. They weren't saving the world but leaving it. And while she understood why? There was one thing she wanted to ask now and for all his finality she was sure Bigby wouldn't have the answer to it. And it's not a question that really merits a lot of pondering at the moment either.

What will the wolf do when they all leave? Will it leave too? She imagines so but was it connected here somehow? If this was the birthplace of Gods then what would the Gods do once it faded? Was there really not a way to put it back together, to revitalize it much the same way the Labyrinth was? Then again the Labyrinth wasn't an entire world so--

Eventually Sarah leans back in her own seat and blows out a long, long breath. Her reading glasses get pushed up onto the top of her head.]

What a mess.

[Is that the most accurate assessment of everything happening here?]

[Survey says yes by that agreeable grunt Bigby makes. One arm untangles itself, dropping down to his pocket where his pack of cigarettes and lighter are. He takes both out one-handed, the lighter clattering against the table's well-worn but polished surface with a dull thud.]

It always is when it comes to people like this.

[Emperors, Adversaries, whatever. Call them what you'd like, they're two sides of the same coin anyway.]

I've only ever met one king I liked. The rest are either assholes or tyrants. [He taps the bottom of the pack with his finger, keeps at it. It sounds a little like water rolling off a slanted surface and onto the ground — taptaptaptap.] Just because this one is harder to read doesn't make them different; just good at hiding their true colors.

[Although he'd be lying if he said he didn't connect with them on some level. It was all he could think about during the meeting, and he asked himself then what would Fabletown do if they were in the Court's position, just like he's asking himself now as he studies the dented piece of paperboard in his hand. What would King Cole do if he were in this situation, forced to take the fight against the Adversary to such a level where he'd need to pull in help from the other realms, where the only option was to make a deal with otherworldly forces or to die a slow, meandering death in a world that's falling apart at the seams? What would any of them do?

What would Snow do?]

Edited 2019-09-07 02:37 (UTC)

[Sarah gives the lighter a brief glance but says nothing about it. Somehow it wasn't shocking that out of everyone she'd met, this guy would be the first smoker she ran into. She does flick her next glance to the book-laden shelf nearby and perhaps to any of the sleepy attendants still meandering through the library. There weren't many given the deepening hours of night but she still wondered if any of them would say anything before he ever lit up, if he even did. The way he tapped the package seemed more a gesture to do with his hands while he thought more than anything.

She ends up huffing out another vaguely amused breath.]

The only king I ever met didn't even try to hide his true colors so I suppose the Emperor has a one up on him that way.

[If that had been Jareth on the throne rather than the Emperor? Oh it would be a completely different meeting. She could practically visualize it in her mind and hear the singsong taunt of his voice.

She looks back to her paper, the neatly written rows of questions and answers given. At least all the ones she could recall anyhow, from Bigby's own to Tyrion's and then questions from people she didn't know at present.

I should at least try to introduce myself to everyone on this side eventually, she muses. Not that she deeply cares about sides but it would make it vastly easier to organize themselves in the future, wouldn't it?]

Edited 2019-09-07 02:51 (UTC)

[Oh, he's well aware they aren't alone in here. The attendants just look like the kind of people who'd be fussy about him smoking in here, but he'd like to see them try to do anything about it. Bigby doesn't consider himself an entitled person, but if he deserves anything right now, it's a fucking cigarette.

It can wait a little bit longer, though. He's almost gone through the entire pack over these last several days, and honestly? It's a miracle it even lasted that long.]

Upper Nyack has a king? [That's some bone dry amusement there.] Or is it Queens?

[This is probably the last thing he should be talking about right now since there are infinitely more important things at stake, but. Well. Call him curious, call him intrigued, call him a glutton for fucking punishment. He heard as much as he could from the rest of the audience, the ones who went up to the throne anyhow, and Sarah's questions were among them. Through them, he's learned a bit more about her than small talk over street food had provided him. She mentioned seeing magic before coming here. She has a willingness to learn it herself, probably because she's already familiar and comfortable around it. She said she's met a king before coming here.

Bigby doesn't want to get too ahead of himself, but he's beginning to think she's no more an ordinary teacher than he's a simple sheriff from the Upper West Side.]

They already let a little bit slip. [taptaptaptap he goes.] They don't give a shit about their world. Why would they care about ours enough to want to go to war over them? It doesn't make sense unless they're getting more than just soldiers out of it.

[No one's that altruistic. Even King Cole was willing to rob nearby farms to feed his subjects.]

Court Gossip (Stars Only)

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of course!

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throne room, post audience

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