|
There was supposed to be a Crowning ceremony of some sort. Alexis sorts it all out, you know? She's been sorting the Autumn Ceremony every year for many, many years.
So why is she sitting outside her cabin at the Freehold Hollow looking... really, really tired?
Annie enters from the Spring hollow, a surprised look on her face as she spots Alexis sitting outside her cabin. "Is something wrong?" She asks once within earshot, trusting in her Mantle to let the Autumn know she's coming.
"I'm not certain that wrong is precisely the right way to phrase it," admits the ancient goth, absently adjusting the lace-printed top hat she wears and folding her hands in her lap.
Mel had almost forgotten the Crowning was supposed to be today. Thank... well, thank something for smartphones and their built in alerts. Still, they'd thought they would have heard something more about it, or seen something. And they certainly expected more people in the Hollow.
"Ey, what's with the long face?" Vinnie asks from his usual perch on Mel's shoulder.
"Vinnie" Mel says with a sigh. "You can't just ask that straight off. Good evening Alexis, Annie."
"It is a reasonable question, though," Annie counters, glancing towards the new arrivals. "Evening, Mel. How have you been? Is that a new companion? I do not think I have met them? before."
The Antiquarian raises a hand and pats her face with its papery skin; splotches of ink gather underneath her skin where her fingers touch it. "Is it? I would have thought that it did not change shape," Alexis answers, lips pressed together briefly. Her ink-dark eyes focus on Mel, then, waiting for the answer to the question, apparently.
Mel gives another sigh and a slight shake of their head. "It's just a figure of speech. He was asking why you're looking so tired and kind of sad. Which I suppose is a fair question. I thought today was supposed to be a celebration?" They let Vinnie scramble from their shoulder to their hand, managing to only get lightly scratched in the process, and extend the hand towards Annie. "And yes, this is Vinnie Two-Flaps. He's a thornbat though a bit more... talkative than most."
"That just means I'm better than them," he says, leaning towards Annie like he wants to sniff her.
What with his own ties to the Leaden Mirror Asbolus naturally made his way to the Hollow for the seasonal hand-off, his pace slowing as he realized how few people were already there. A note of concern settled on his features as he pressed on, heading towards the others gathered at the cabin and giving those gathered a nod. "Evening, everyone..."
"Does it?" Annie answers Vinnie amusedly, extending a hand towards the thornbat, palm out. Then she glances towards Asbolus when he speaks, nodding to him. "Evening."
Ros rode into the freehold from a circuit of the trod on Elio, with Agate perched on her shoulder. Well her front talons clung to a shoulder and her back paws dug into the back of Elio's saddle. She launched herself from Rosalyn's shoulder when they slowed to a stop, and glided above the other freeholders while Ros dismounted and favored them all with a smile. "Good evening," she called cheerfully.
"Generally speaking, it is supposed to be," agrees Alexis. The longtime Witch of the Bitter Winds sits outside her cabin in the Freehold Hollow, dressed not -- apparently -- for a celebration but how she's dressed every day. She absently adjusts her skirt, and smooths her hands across her lap. "Is it, though?" she asks of the reflexive greetings, and reaches into her skirt pocket, pulling out a tarot deck and shuffling it slowly.
Her Mantle clusters around her, whorling red-orange leaves and the scent of pumpkin spice paired with a musty wind. "Has anyone... seen Buidhe? Devon -- went to take a nap, because --"
A vague shrug.
"No scratching," Mel says, even as they help push Vinnie into the air to flap the short distance over to Annie. "Be careful, he's got thorns everywhere"
They turn their attention back to Alexis, making a thoughtful noise deep in their throat. "I... can't say I have. But I've also not been that active around here..." A gesture indicated the Hollow as a whole. "So I just didn't think much of it."
"Good to know," Annie answers Mel, catching Vinnie carefully before transferring him to her own shoulder. Then returning her attention to Alexis as well. "I have not, no," she admits with a frown. "Is it possible he simply could be stuck in traffic Ironside?"
"I haven't seen him lately, no." Asbolus shook his head, a small frown gracing his features. "Concerting, that."
Rosalyn's smile faded into a studied frown as she caught up on the conversation. Elio shook her head, and she turned to remove his tack. "Are you all saying that our liege is missing?" she asked.
"Of all the things I can imagine," Alexis begins in response to Annie, "the Autumn King being stuck in traffic is not one of them." A tiny twitch of the corners of her mouth follows.
Asbolus spots it first, the manner in which the leaves of her Mantle begin to curl up and out from her shoulders like wings blood-red and gold, the creeping pumpkin vines hardening around the column of her hat like a wooden hatband, tiny golden-orange flowers blossoming around the haloing plant life.
"Traffic wasn't even that bad today," Mel opines. Then again, they spend most of the day dealing with traffic so their idea of 'good' and 'bad' traffic may be a little skewed.
Vinnie sniffles around Annie's shoulder and in her hair, probably getting at least a few strands tangled on a thorn or two. "Hey lady, you smell nice."
Asbolus looked ready to say something before noticing the machinations of Alexis' mantle, his head tilting a touch. "I do believe there may be something larger going on..."
"Thank you, I think?" Annie answers Vinnie distractedly, before gasping as she spots Alexis's Mantle shifting.
Rosalyn swept a graceful bow when she saw the Wyrd's blessing on Alexis. "Allow me to correct myself. Are you all saying that our liege-emeritus is missing?"
"... what?" Alexis answers mildly, distractedly shuffling the cards in her hands.
It takes a couple of seconds for the penny to drop, and then she looks left, looks right. Reaches up to take off her hat, and as she does, the Crown sort of ... phases through said hat, settling on her brow.
The Antiquarian sits still for a moment, staring off into the near distance.
"Well, fuck."
Mel is a little slow on the uptake with regards to what Alexis's Mantle changing means, but once it penetrates their eyes go wide (wider?). "Oh shit. Wait, does this mean Buidhe's, y'know..." They kind of make a flailing gesture, obviously not wanting to say 'dead'.
"The King is dead," murmurs Annie, dropping into a curtsey. "Long live the Queen."
"It means Buidhe isn't King," answers Alexis, her ink-dark eyes flashing briefly, as unintelligible words in headline font flash across her cheek. "That's all it means. What else it means is a good question." Her hands close around the cards tightly enough to cut into her palms a bit.
"Fie! There's no proof he's dead," Rosalyn clapped her hands and made a motion reminiscent of throwing the ill-chosen words away.
"Indeed...no need to jump to that conclusion." Asbolus nodded, eyeing Alexis' hands as the cards began to bite into her palm. "Careful, Your Grace..."
"Long live the Queen" Mel says, with a bow. They looks about to say something, but then all of their feathers fluff, and what skin can be seen under their feathers goes pale. "There's worse things too" They start preening the feathers on their arms as an obvious self soothing gesture. "Maybe we should send some folks to find out. Just for... peace of mind?"
"Whether dead or Taken once more, we must mourn his loss either way," Annie counters, expression grim. "I know I would prefer the former fate, for myself." She glances towards Mel, then. "A good idea."
"All it means is that he's not here, and the Crown came to me. Let's not -- wish an end on him that none of us would want, either of them. He could just be derelict in his duties. He could have fucked off to Timbuktu for all we know." Alexis takes a deep breath, closes her inky-dark eyes. "Suggestions for locating the -- former -- Monarch are now being accepted." She loosens the grip of her hand when Asbolus cautions her, red line cut into the white paper of her palm.
Ros gave Annie a dark look for the ill-wishing then let out a breath. "We should go to his home. Any places in the mortal world he went to, if they're known, talk to his friends and acquaintances. None of us can live in pure isolation after all, even if he didn't socialize with us."
"Do any of you have the ability to call up the Relentless Pursuit?" Asbolus looked among those gathered, the Darkling visibly perking up at the thought of having a proper trail to follow.
"Ha, that'd be useful" Mel's laugh is dry and sardonic. "Which of course means I don't have it." They're still combing at their feathers, but are starting to look a little less... fluffy.
"Hey now, you's got a lot of good qualities," Vinnie says, almost absently, his eyes locked on the line of red on the new Queen's hand. "So, ah... Ms Queen? Don't suppose you'd share somea that blood there with a hungry thornbat?"
Mel facepalms
Annie shakes her head in response to Asbolus. "I know Sigrún does, but that is not a contract I am familiar with, sorry." There's a glance towards first Ros followed by Alexis, then. "Do we know where his residence Ironside is, assuming he had one?"
"I don't know it, but I'll learn it if no one else can help," she said firmly.
"I'll do so as well...it's rather in my wheelhouse, truth be told." He nodded to Rosalyn, then looked to Alexis at Annie's question.
"I don't think you'd like the taste, and it didn't quite cut the paper that is my skin in any case. I'm a bit inky," Alexis drawls back at Vinne, calming down at the banter with the batlet.
"Buidhe has largely lived in the Autumn Hollow for the last half-decade." She rises to her feet, smoothing her skirt. "All right. Rosalyn, Mel, take point on this. Decide between the two of you who is primary and who is secondary. You speak and bargain with the voice of Autumn."
"Let me know what you find. I -- " Pause. "I need a minute, and I trust my people to do the work without me breathing down their necks. Don't do anything foolish."
Rosalyn let out a breath, and Agate glided down to land next to Alexis. The juvenile griffon rubbed up against the Queen's hip like a cat against an ankle, trying to comfort her.
Vinnie looks crestfallen at the Queen's answer. "Aw. Not even a little taste? Inky might be interesting"
Mel sighs and mutters under their breath "Why did I have to get stuck with one that talks?" Then, louder and with firmness, "Vinnie, drop it. Very sorry ma'am. One of these days I'll get manners into him"
They turn their attention to Ros then. "I'm fine with you taking lead if you want. You're probably more of a people person."
She looked to Mel, arching an eyebrow. "Perhaps, but you've more experience in this time and freehold than I do. I will visit the library and read up on this contract, if you'd be willing to look into Buide's other ties? He may have lived in the hollow but that's only going to be the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps his home here has left clues whether his leaving was intentional or whom else he was in contact with that we could follow up on."
Annie glances between the two Autumns. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I understand," Alexis assures Mel gently, and pets the head of the juvenile griffin, soothed mildly by Agate's attention.
"I can help where I'm needed as well. Tracking down people is a strong suit of mine." That? From a Hunterheart? Never...
Now that there seems to be the beginnings of action and planning, Mel seems to have relaxed a bit. This time when they comb their fingers through their head feathers it's with a more thoughtful air. "We'll need to talk to all the Autumn courtiers at the very least. And I'm certainly not going to go through any Autumn's stuff by myself. Checking out his Hollow seems like the best place to start. Then maybe we can split up to follow leads?"
"Agreed." Ros gave Annie and Asbolus a polite little bow of acknowledgement. "Thank you for your offers, we are grateful for your assistance. Please let me know if there's anything in particular that you can assist with most effectively."
Another gentle pat for the griffin's head, and Alexis quietly withdraws into her cabin, closing the door behind her.
|