Wiping the floor with our faces

[PoeticJustice]

Alice was seated in the corner, leaning faintly against the dark-suited Gabriel with a thick paperback in her hands. The pages were smudged around the edges with red stuff that looked suspiciously like blood. Her grey shirt was tattered, showing scabbed over bloody wounds, and her arm was in a hastily made sling. There were three bottles in front of her, one open and half drunk, the others sealed. She sits up straighter and gives a weak smile that quickly fades. She nudges Gabriel some and then stands up to wander over to Sally's side with all three bottles in hand. One is handed over to Leslie without comment, and the other is shoved in her pocket.

She moved to stand beside Sally, bumping him slightly with her hip and using her good arm to raise her bottle to her lips.

[Owle Isohos]

As Kelsey went by Leslie, she shook her head. "You don't deserve to get decked. The way you explain it...and the way I heard it, you didn't have much of a choice. Sides, I saw you on the battlefield. No offense, Leslie, but I doubt you seriously hurt anybody."

She smiled at Eden. "You're welcome. I wish I could have done more - there were so many down I couldn't get to. And I lost track of which bodies were in critical condition and which were merely unconscious. And there were so many broken limbs, I couldn't..." She shook her head. "I'm okay. I'm glad it's over."

She returned Sally's smile, and thanked him for the stool before sitting down on it. "I think the trick to getting out bloodstains is to clean them before they set, but I'm too exhausted to do that now. If you got another method, maybe you can show me later."

Kelsey grinned as he mentioned setting his shoulder. "Hey, no problem! Thanks for being between me and the scary shit all those damn times. Weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to help nobody."

She looked over at Henry. "They do grow old, eventually," Kelsey said. "And I like the thought of Eternal Winter even less than I like the thought of Eternal Summer. I said I didn't want Boston underwater - I don't want it frozen in ice, either.

"That said, we know where their damn Twilight throne is now. And we know they'll respond to a challenge to an honorable combat. We have this problem again, I say some of us challenge the ruling court to an honorable combat while the rest of us plant explosives around that damn throne. Or on it."

[HecateSkivvy]

Leslie takes the bottle and nods. He takes a long sip as Kelsey speaks. He moves over to the table, standing nearby.

"I wouldn't go destroying the thing, mind you. From what I've seen its that throne that controls the balance and flow of the seasons. The courts are fighting over it now, but some very reliable sources have let me in on the fact that the transition hasn't always been so... Messy. Let's focus on the problem instead of breaking things we don't understand. From what I've read, fey are quite cordial creatures. There must be a diplomatic solution."

[Taranis]

Alex quietly walks into the diner. Upon entering the room he immediately notices a few dirty and confused glances aimed his way. He wasn't surprised, as unlike the other three who had been conscripted into the victorious fey army, he had turned against the town of his own free will to serve under the command of the Lady Dragon. It was a gesture of faith, but Alex had hurt quite a few people in the process, whether it be physically or emotionally. Walking past a rambling Sally, Alex turns his head.

"Sorry for messing you up like that, but it's nothing personal. That knife of yours is fucking dreadful though."

Continuing on, Alex walks up to Leslie and bumps him on the shoulder.

"You did good back there, kid. I'm surprised you could cast your spells straight with how much you were shaking."

[Eden Jones]

Eden gives Alex a skeptical, annoyed look as he speaks. "That sounded a lot like a 'sorry, not sorry' to me, Alex. Unlike the others, you attacked us of your own free will. Do you think a half-assed apology is going to make it okay?"

She sighs, rolls her eyes, and looks around the room. "Leslie, while I agree with you intellectually that a diplomatic solution would be ideal, I don't know how many people will jump on board that train. I wish you all the luck in the world if you pursue that route. I think it's a grand idea; but both of the Fae courts have burned a lot of bridges in this town. More power to you if you're going to jump on that grenade, though."

Noticing Sally's fixation on Liberty's bottle, she gets up and grabs the container of maple cookies from another table. She takes a few for herself, then slides the tub over towards him. "Comfort food. It ain't beer, but it's the best I've got."

[Nick Sleet]

Nick Sleet walks into the diner and grabs a chair. Unlike the rest, his jacket is only dusty, not torn, but he looks exhausted and annoyed. He pulls out a water and opens it, muttering to himself "And THIS is why its always stupid to get mixed up with the fae." His right hand twitches, spilling some water.

He looks over at Eden; "Got any of those cookies left?"

[Owle Isohos]

"I know," Kelsey said in response to Leslie, quietly. "I'm just frustrated. There's no goddamn reason for them to negotiate with us when they're holding all the cards. The Dusk Court didn't have to pay us, cause if they lost we'd be facing a global catastrophe. The Dawn Court gave us a choice between fighting them and dying, which isn't much of a choice if you ask me. All they'd have to fucking do is have one of their fucking dragons show up in its true form to break fucking all of us and I hate it!" If anything, her voice got quieter as she went on, but there was no mistaking the anger in it.

The medic took a deep breath and shook her head, working to get her emotions back under control. "...some of them are cordial, yeah. And I do quite like some of them. But I don't think we can get them to the negotiating table without leverage. So far the options have been do what they want or invite disaster - I want a third option. If we've got to play games with them, I at least want to be able to choose the game."

Then the container of maple cookies went sliding by her, and Kelsey looked up hopefully at Eden and Sally. "...cookies?"

The distraction seemed enough to calm her down, and she turned back to Leslie. "Anyway. If you can get the Dawn Court to see reason? I'm willing to try to talk to the Dusk. I had some good conversations with Sir Frostwright and Slicewick."

[Henry Gondorf]

Henry nodded to Liberty. " Wonderful. She's been dying to handle anything prior to Nineteen-Ninety. Let me know if you have all the pieces so she knows to be ready."

At the mention of taking righteous vengeance upon the Twilight Throne Henry fought to add fuel to that particular fire. "An honor duel is risky. Look what they did so Honorably out there. If we try to use what they call honor against them, then it is better we slip in a few rules in our favor."

More people. Some he knew by name, some he knew by deed, and some he just seen around. The knot in his chest loosened by inches. In light of Sallies on going attempts to hold onto the reins of the wagon, he kept his hand worked together rather than drift towards emergency stores.

[PoeticJustice]

As Kelsey grew more heated, Alice reached up to place a wordless hand on her shoulder. She didn't say anything, but there was a soft frown of concern on her face. Her hand pulled back then and got shoved in her pocket. The other hand continued drinking her drink.

[Eden Jones]

Eden grins at Nick and Kelsey. "Help yourselves. Cookies are good for the soul."

She nods ruefully in Kelsey's direction. "I hear you. We're in a crappy, impossible position and both courts are stomping around, doing whatever they want. We can't force them to behave like reasonable adults and I have no cause to think they'll do so on their own. They're spoiled children having tantrums and threatening environmental havoc in order to get us to do their work for them. It would be ridiculous if it didn't have such devastating effects."

She sighs and leans back against the wall, "Thing is, I'm done. I am done with the courts. They're ungrateful, petty, vindictive and arrogant. I'd rather shovel my driveway every day for the rest of my life than deal with them again. If others want to do so, I won't stop them. But I. Am. Done."