fragile creatures on collision with our judgement days
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
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Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#1
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


It isn’t lost on Wessex that Daphne is more than a little interested in the Fae visitor. In fact, the Queen finds it a tad amusing that the housekeeper has been going out of her way to try and provide something nice for the diplomat, or whatever she’s calling herself. She’s calling it an excuse to bake, and who is Wessex to stop her? If it keeps the woman happy then far be it for the Queen who never eats to stop her.

Few know about their meeting - few know about the note and what it said, it’s accusations and who it seeks to involve. Wessex intends to keep it that way. So there’s no fanfare or anything awaiting the woman, just a taller than usual house with a kept appearance and a proper receiving (sitting?) room. A fire, in case she’s chilly. And a tall, pale, blue-eyed demigoddess who has bigger things to contend with than the last-ditch efforts for revenge.
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#2
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
It took a few deep breaths before knocking for Juniper to steady herself to enter Theskyra House. Once inside, she took in the environment: not overtly intimidating, with every outward sign of welcome -- the fire, the food, the well-kept house. The only real intimidation factor was Wessex herself, but that was quite enough.

Juniper still smiled, though, coming in and finding her seat. And she opened the conversation politely: "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Queen Wessex. I appreciate your willingness to talk."

She didn't really expect the conversation to continue polite -- icily so, perhaps -- but it never hurt to start off that way. And, as her Fae nature required, she had spoken the truth: Wessex agreeing to talk was better than Wessex outright refusing all overtures.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#3
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


Juniper is right in at least one regard; it is not likely to always be a polite conversation. Wessex nods to acknowledge that she’s heard the words and finds a plush chair across from Juniper. “I assume you found it easily enough?” It’d be hard to miss, she thinks, but yes, that icily polite face remains.

Daphne enters with a tray of tea and assorted lovely smelling things for the Fae and lingers just a tad too long, fussing over pouring the tea and fidgeting with the display. She accidentally makes eye contact with the Wraith and a sharp look sends her back to the door, where she will inevitably eavesdrop. Such is the way. Whatever.

“Whether you meantto or not, a letter in place of the courtesy of a meeting was insulting,” the Wraith begins dryly. “Especially considering its contents.” Tilting her head a bit to examine the petite woman in front of her, she raises one brow ever so slightly. “Why didn’t you come in person?” She, too, is a leader after all. They may not like it, but they can’t deny it. It’s not a matter of respect necessarily (though it is, and Wessex will always chafe at being left out); it’s a matter of equality.
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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MP: 1749
#4
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"Yes, thank you." Juniper nods -- and notices the housekeeper's curiosity, finding it amusing rather than offensive. She wouldn't have expected Wessex's home to be so, well, homey. Somehow she had always imagined the Queen in some sort of icy palace, though she knew well that no such place existed in the Hollowed Grounds. That was more of a Halo thing, wasn't it?

And then the conversation got difficult -- though not as difficult as it would get, Juniper suspected. Wessex certainly had a point; though Juniper hadn't considered it that way at the time, she could see now how making her case by letter instead of in person could be a sign of disrespect. They were not starting on good terms, and it was Juniper's fault. "I apologize. I did not intend to slight you as a leader, but I can see that intentionally or not, I did so. In truth, I did not believe that you would agree to a meeting -- but I should have asked instead of assuming as much."

Should Juniper mention her real reason for sending a letter -- the fear for her own safety that had been her primary motivation? Or would it only insult Wessex further to imply that she might be so uncivilized as to harm a diplomat? Probably best to leave it unspoken for now.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#5
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


Oh, if only Juniper had seen Wessex’s previous home: a shack, barely warm enough in Deepfrost and eternally in need of repair. How she didn’t die of frostbite every year was a small miracle. It probably still exists in the Outskirts, somewhere. Unless it’s fallen down, of course. This house, modest, but yes, homey, was meant for appearance’s sake. For other’s comfort. For some semblance of normal humanity. What they don’t know is that Wessex still sleeps in the basement - when she sleeps at all.

Nodding slowly in acceptance of Juniper’s apology, the Queen reiterates what has always been true - and perhaps this diplomat had never heard it before. “If I’m home, my doors are open.” Any Grounder may come and ask to speak with her. Other than the other demigods and a select few people, the Wraith believes she can handle most any thread that comes her way.

Anyway. Let’s not linger any more than we have to. Wessex offers a general gesture of 'go on,' watching the Fae carefully. “At your leisure”
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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#6
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"I will certainly keep that in mind for the future," Juniper said, with a small smile -- a smile that was very nearly genuine. She didn't really expect to ever come back and speak to Wessex again -- but even having the opportunity would mean that things here had gone well, wouldn't it? In a best-case scenario, Juniper supposed she'd be seeing quite a lot of Wessex, if the trial went forward in some form.

But she doubted that best-case scenario would come to pass -- and what she said now would help determine that. She wanted to take a deep breath before starting on the topic she'd really come here to discuss, but she didn't want to seem afraid or hesitant, so she just launched into it: "As you know from my letter, I seek to hold you and your fellow Ascended accountable for your attack on the Greatwood two years ago. I am not asking you to submit to some sort of bloody retribution; my hope is to find justice, not revenge. The Governor of Torchline and Warden of Halo have agreed to arbitrate a trial in which the Ascended would be judged for their actions."

There was more Juniper could say -- she could give a whole sales pitch -- but she would rather see how Wessex responded to this straightforward laying out of the facts first. Her arguments could wait until she knew whether Wessex was simply going to kick her out of her house, or worse, attack her.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#7
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


Settling back into her chair, the Queen does her best to adopt a studiously neutral expression, perhaps eerily still as she listens to Juniper’s introduction. She knows of Sunjata’s reversal, what he said and what he intends to do, and she can see Morgan trying to toe the line here - if their flurry of letters in Longheat gave any indication to a changed position - she can see that going one way or the other.

Still. It would be folly to even entertain the idea.

She has already thought of several careful questions and selects the first one as she studies the Fae, a finger on her right hand tracing a small, swirling pattern on the arm of her chair.. “So... what I’m hearing is that Delah’s proclamation wasn’t enough? You want more?”
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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#8
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"Yes," Juniper said, a simple answer to a straightforward question. Then she elaborated: "I don't believe that banishment from the Greatwood is an adequate punishment for the Ascended's crimes against the Fae, for the murder of our guards and our goddess. Neither do most of my people; our popular opinion is that Delah's proclamation was a first step, a way to keep the Ascended from doing more harm, but that our dead still call for vengeance."

Juniper considered, for a moment, what she'd said and what Wessex had asked. Then she added, "Delah's proclamation was a general indictment against the Ascended as a whole. I seek to bring justice upon only three of you, those personally involved in the attack: yourself, Samuel Wordsworth, and Amun Arlun."
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#9
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


“Did she now?” Wessex’s voice rises in skepticism as she listens, hearing things like popular opinion and first step. And of course, the incessant repetition of her brother’s names, as if it’s some thing meant to shame or remind the Queen. For a woman who's already admitted she has regrets about the incident, it has little more than an inner-eyerolling effect.

What Juniper posits is certainly an interesting theory, she thinks, having met the fierce Guardian of the Greatwood multiple times herself. It’s even more interesting, considering that the Wraith admired the Chief despite their enmity. “Delah was a woman of decisive action, wasn’t she? It seems to me that if she wanted to take the kind of action you're seeking, she would have. There was plenty of time. And in the aftermath there would have been ample support for it. And yet… ” Here, the Queen pauses, letting the qualification hang in the air. “She didn’t.”

In fact, the Chieftain had seemed to do the opposite and revert to a more isolationist policy.

“This is the first any of us outside the Fae have heard of this intention in.... oh, two years? So you can imagine my surprise and subsequent doubt that it’s little more than a convenient excuse.”
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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#10
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"I can't truly speak to Delah's actions. I wasn't part of her government." Had Juniper been rambling? She was beginning to suspect as much. Better rein that in, resist the urge to over-explain, to qualify and specify. Otherwise, she could easily talk herself into a corner -- and she knew quite well that Wessex would seize on any contradiction in her speech, pinpoint her mistakes like butterflies on a dissection board. "We have a new leader now, and a new government, of which I am a part."

Juniper tilted her head, though, at Wessex's last sentence. "An excuse for what?"

Did Wessex think this was all part of some grand plan to persecute the Ascended? Well, such a plan might well exist, but Juniper wasn't part of it. It wasn't like she could lie about her motives, after all -- though she could understand why Wessex might not find the Fae's honesty too comforting. They couldn't lie, but they could omit and mislead ... But so far Juniper's words had been genuine.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#11
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


“That Delah intended for more. That’s your excuse. I don’t think she did at all. In fact, she left it at shoot to kill, for Ascended, did she not?” The Wraith distinctly remembers a fire arrow during one such occasion. “She went beyond a trial - it was never on her mind.” Wessex shakes her head, dismissing the statement and smiling ever so slightly to herself. There was no Fae government, there was only Delah. And now? Now it seems they’re trying to change tactics, though whether it’s truly a popular opinion or not, Wessex doesn’t really care.

“You say your dead call for vengeance?" She begins to needle again, leaning forward ever so slightly. "And yet in the next breath you say you want justice, not bloody vengeance.” Which might be true. Juniper might want justice, while the rest want vengeance. “Which is it?”

Consider a net in one hand and her pins at the ready. It wasn’t really about the dead, either, was it?
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#12
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Well, Juniper had never expected this conversation to be easy. At least Wessex wasn't shouting, throwing things, kicking Juniper out of her home. Though that might be easier to deal with, actually.

"You're right. Invoking Delah's intentions is nothing but speculation -- and irrelevant. Delah no longer leads us." Juniper didn't know if Wessex knew that Delah was dead, if that was common knowledge beyond the Greatwood. The circumstances of Delah's death remained rather murky even within the Greatwood -- Juniper herself had no idea how she had died.

As for the other matter: Wessex was correct in inferring a gap between Juniper's opinion and that of her people as a whole. "My people believe that our dead should be avenged, that your attack was a wrong that still waits to be righted." Juniper tried to speak without accusation -- just stating facts. "I, personally and as our liaison with the outside world, hope to right that wrong through legal, negotiated means, rather than resorting to violet retribution."

Juniper had hoped that such an idea -- a legal trial and negotiated punishment, rather than a cycle of bloody vengeance -- would appeal to Wessex as well, but she didn't say so. She had already gotten in trouble once making assumptions about how Wessex might feel and act; she didn't intend to do it again.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#13
WESSEX
after all is said and done
you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood
you're nothing but a monster


“And I’m sorry for it. Genuinely. It was a mistake that shouldn’t have happened and I wish it hadn't.” She could give the diplomat multiple reasons for why it did, but none of them would matter. So it’s best to own up to how she really feels, a little bit of her icey facade dropping away to try and impress that her words here aren’t just lipservice.

Ah, but here is where she needs to tread carefully, knowing that the conversation could go a hundred different ways. How much to acknowledge, to legitimize? Careful to save anything regarding guilt or the possibility of a trial for later, she purses her lips together again and tilts her head ever so slightly to one side. “So as neither of us can truly speak to what Delah intended - whether it was enough of a punishment or not - I can only take it at face value and say that it was enough. And as no one spoke up on this issue for almost two years, I have to say that the time for additional punishment is past.”

In the modern world, they might call this a statute of limitations. They had ample time to bring any grievances before the world, and they didn’t. They waited for the person who might have said no to be gone, instead. If there had been rumblings of such a thing, the Wraith might have a more difficult time saying no. As it is, she doesn't need an excuse to say no, but this is an awfully convenient one.
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 3 - Strg: 13 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 15 - Int:
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#14
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper was surprised to hear Wessex's apology, and she took a moment to absorb it ... What was she supposed to say in return? Certainly not "apology accepted." While Juniper might entertain the possibility that Wessex's words were sincere, they came too little, too late. "Thank you for apologizing, but I hope you can see that a simple apology, however appreciated, will not make this go away. Especially a private one."

Perhaps if Wessex was willing to express contrition in public, that might actually help ... But Juniper thought that would still be inadequate.

Wessex's other answer caused Juniper's eyebrows to shoot up, but she took a moment to think before replying. "If I may be blunt: it seems that now you are the one using Delah as a 'convenient excuse.' Two years is a short time even in an outsider's life; for the Fae, it is nothing. I am telling you now that Delah's actions were not enough -- I would not be here if my people did not still feel your attack as an open wound, at risk of gangrene."

Tilting her head slightly, Juniper tried an appeal: "This does not have to be a wholly antagonistic experience. If you truly regret what happened two years ago, if you consider it a mistake, then work with me to atone for your actions. The Warden suggested that her advice at trial would be for the Ascended to assist the Fae, to make amends, rather than to face simple retribution. As unlikely as it seems, I would not rule out the possibility of a settlement that is workable for both of us."

This time Juniper perhaps did not speak the whole truth: she knew that the Fae were a proud people, unlikely to accept help from their enemies, even if the Ascended were to offer it. But she had not lied; Morgan had suggested such a thing, and it could happen.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.



table by Skylark


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