{open} so far to fall
open
Juniper Dubois
the Amberwing
Diplomat

Age: 57 | Height: 4'8 | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Greatwood
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#1


Standing at the top of the Drop, Juniper sighed. She'd come out hunting this morning to try to take her mind off her responsibilities and worries, all the burdens of leadership she'd assumed, but every quarry seemed to elude her -- much the way sleep often eluded her these days. Eventually she'd abandoned any hope of hunting and followed the roar of the waterfall here. As she looked over the beautiful cascade, watching rainbows shimmer in the spray, she felt a moment of the peace she'd sought. The waterfall's thunder made it hard to think, and that was fine by Juniper, whose thoughts always seemed so tangled lately.

She leaned over the edge, wings working slightly to keep her balance. The Greatwood might be quiet now, but it was the quiet before a storm. Juniper usually wracked her mind for solutions to the Fae's problems -- for ways to defend them from this inevitable war, and for ways to somehow square her conscience with its inevitability. But now, with the noise below, she could forget her burdens, if only for a moment; she could let the Drop's rushing water wash them away.

If only it were so easy.
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
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#2
Mildew
I question your innocence
Mildew had never been one to rush and any urgency she'd had within had slipped away during her long life time. She liked to take the time to consider, to think over and see every angle of what she would do before she would do it. This task from Frey, to find and arrange each of the  Seasonal gods...well, it was no different. It was for her God and she would do it, but first she wanted to find the best way to; if the war was truly not going to start for some seasons yet, she had the time.

So she had gone on a walk. Through the Feverlands and King's End, over the border of Hak Etme and now into the Greatwood. Mildew had no intention of going to the Grounds (she'd found the place awfully depressing when she had been there), so was likely going to turn around after she had seen what she could of the forest. She walked slowly and considered each tree, flower, mushroom or creature: occasionally taking something and putting it in her basket.

The river had provided a decent enough guide through the woods and when it ended Mildew looked up to see that it dropped off quite suddenly - but more notably than that, that there was someone else there. By the wings and small stature it was obvious this was one of the Fae that resided in the Greatwood; she smiled to herself and tried to gently approach, letting her feet softly step on stones and moss, long used to balancing over the muddy waters of the Feverlands. "You know dear, if you couldn't fly, I'd be worried about you being so close to that edge. Are you alright?"
Well, are you responsible for your actions?
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
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#3


Juniper didn't hear Mildew's approach, so the women's voice startled her enough that she almost went over the edge. She caught herself in midair -- far past the point of no return, for someone without flight. Wings fluttering, Juniper turned to Mildew with wide eyes, but her surprise faded into self-deprecating laughter. "I suppose I was rather asking for that. I am fine, but I appreciate your concern."

Was Juniper fine? Physically, yes; she certainly didn't need to worry about falling. But Mildew's appearance had broken her moment of calm, allowing her anxieties to return. Juniper couldn't help sighing a little.

Then a slight frown came over her face as she realized that she had no idea who Mildew was. Politely, she said, "I am Juniper Dubois. May I ask your name?"
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
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#4
Mildew
I question your innocence
For a moment, even with Juniper possessing wings, Mildew gasped in shock as she saw the fae go over the edge - thankfully, she was old enough to be able to fly and bring herself back. Putting a relieved hand on her chest, she let out a little laugh under her breath. Once Juniper spoke and it was clear she would be fine, the Demi-Goddess smiled and said: "You know, when you have them out for flying, your wings are truly beautiful in the light."

When asked who she was, Mildew allowed herself a moment of mysterious grandeur, letting her hair fall around her shoulders and lifting her chin; it didn't last long, her face swiftly falling back into her usual smart smile, and she laughed. "Last time I came here, hundreds of years ago, I had another name...but nowadays it's Mildew. It's lovely to meet you, Juniper." She looked down then perched on the edge of a stone, letting her toes dip into the stream beneath.

"Would you come sit with me and tell me of the Greatwood, and how it's been?" She asked, gesturing to a spot next to her.
Well, are you responsible for your actions?
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
#5


"Thank you." Juniper smiles at the compliment, proud of her wings -- as any Fae would be. While it does happen to some Fae, through painful misfortune, it's hard for Juniper to imagine life without her wings. Having to stick to the ground all the time just seems so ... heavy.

When Mildew mentions hundreds of years, though, Juniper's smile fades into a puzzled frown. While the remark might not be too strange for a Fae, outsiders don't live that long, do they? Unless Mildew is one of those rare Fae stripped of their wings ... Or something else entirely. It does occur to Juniper that Ascended, too, can be hundreds of years old, but Mildew would have to be a very brazen Ascended to approach Juniper here -- though if she were, that very disregard for the coming conflict would protect her, because who would suspect an Ascended of peacefully wandering the Greatwood? But no: it's sunny.

Ultimately, Juniper doesn't ask what Mildew is; she finds such a blatant question rude, and would prefer to let the topic come up more naturally. Instead, she comes and sits by the woman as Mildew indicated, her smile returning. "It's nice to meet you, Mildew. Yes, I'd be happy to discuss my home -- is there something specific you'd like to know?"
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
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#6
Mildew
I question your innocence
Mildew could see the confusion come over Juniper's face as she mentioned her age and as always took a little joy in it, smiling mischievously to herself. It was fun to be secret, to not have them know who she was, how much she had seen - until she could use the knowledge to surprise them. Being underestimated was often a powerful thing, when used correctly.

"Oh, there is so much to ask." She began when Juniper sat with her, leaning forward to look out at the trees. "Is Sidhe still as hard to find as ever? It has been so long since I've seen it...do you still try to trick those that enter the woods? I don't believe I have been tricked, unless this is all a part of it." Smirking as if she might actually quite enjoy that, Mildew glanced over at Juniper. "I assume your people still cannot tell lies? Though I suppose you might be able to lie when you tell me and I wouldn't know, hm?"
Well, are you responsible for your actions?
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:
Played by: Bees Offline
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#7


Juniper catches the look of satisfaction in Mildew's eyes at her confusion and smiles herself, a little. So Mildew enjoys mystery -- then Juniper is glad she didn't ask. No reason to spoil Mildew's fun, and anyway, she'd probably just give some cryptic response that told Juniper nothing.

Contemplating Mildew's questions, Juniper leans her chin on her hand, her elbow propped on her knee. "Sidhe Village still chooses who can find it, yes, though it has welcomed more outsiders recently than in living memory. As for tricking those who enter the woods ..." Juniper sighs. "Recent seasons have called for less mischief and more outright suspicion. It's true that more outsiders wander the woods, but most of them are known to us as allies." As she speaks this last part, Juniper raises an eyebrow at Mildew, as if to say but not you.

At Mildew's last question, Juniper smiles again. "We still cannot lie, though I suppose you'll have to take my word for that."
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
Level: 2 - Strg: 17 - Dext: 15 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 11 - Int:
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#8
Mildew
I question your innocence
Mildew listened closely, curious to know the fate of the Greatwood since she had last seen it. She hoped she might be able to see Sidhe before this visit was over, but she could tell Juniper was cautious of her, possibly due to the outsiders and trouble she alluded to. "You speak of the Ascended? The reason for your suspicion?" The Fae were deeply entrenched in their love and relationship with the Old Gods and she could see the new and unnatural beings disturbing them.

Ignoring any implication that she may not be an ally herself (she had tended to and helped this wood long before Juniper was even a sparkle in someone's eye), Mildew tossed her hair back over her shoulder as she laughed. "I see. Well, if we aren't lying, I suppose I should tell you I'm not just any visitor. I am a Demi-Goddess of Frey - it's been a long time since I've visited, but your people once knew me quite well."
Well, are you responsible for your actions?
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:
Played by: Bees Offline
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#9


"The Ascended, yes," Juniper says, soberly, but she can't help being a bit surprised to realize that Mildew seems to have no idea what troubles have passed between the Ascended and the Greatwood -- or what troubles are yet to pass. Well, she did say she had been gone for some time. "We will be at war with them in a few seasons, by the gods' word." Juniper sounds sad, resigned; it requires no leaps of logic to understand that she is not happy about this turn of events.

Juniper's eyes widen when Mildew introduces herself. "A demigoddess ... I am honored to meet you." After a moment Juniper's calm returns; after all, Mildew isn't the only demigod she's met -- though the other seemed more ordinary somehow, perhaps because they had been regular people before their ascensions to demigodhood. "May I ask what has kept you away so long -- or why you're returning now?"
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
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#10
Mildew
I question your innocence
"Yes, I hear a lot of talk of this war..it is not the first between these enemies and I doubt it will be the last." Mildew hummed, shaking her head and reaching down to rub the bottom of her foot, pulling off leaves or whatever else had stuck to it. As she moved to the other, she shrugged. "Though it would be nice for this Voice business to be finished with. It's troubling everyone." To put it mildly.

She smiled at Juniper's realisation. It was always fun to amaze people with who she was; no one suspected the barefooted woman with dirty clothes and leaves in her hair to be a Goddess. "Ah, a few things. After the last war, the barrier that went up..I didn't like to see it, so I didn't come by this area for quite a while. That, and the Feverlands needed my attention. I am quite content there nowadays...I only began to explore as more people came into the swamps and I realised quite how out of touch I was." Mildew laughed and pushed some hair behind her ear. "It's been over three hundred years! So much has changed...and yet very little at all. In the people I meet I see ghosts of those I knew centuries ago."
Well, are you responsible for your actions?
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:
Played by: Bees Offline
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#11


"I hope it will be the last," Juniper says, her heart heavy with the idea that this conflict might continue, that she might face it over and over again over her long Fae lifespan. "At least ... the gods seem quite determined to eliminate their enemies altogether this time." She sighs; as little as she wants to fight this war more than once, she doesn't love the idea of totally annihilating the other side, either. "I had hoped to make peace with them. The gods' insistence on war ... it doesn't sit well with me." Perhaps she ought not confide such feelings in a demigod. But Juniper can't lie, and while she could dissemble, she would rather make her position clear.

Juniper nods at Mildew's explanation, understanding the demigod's desire to avoid the barrier. "I remember seeing the barrier from a distance, from the edges of the Greatwood ... Never a good sight. I used to wonder what was happening inside, what the people there were like." And now she knew. "The storms used to keep us from exploring the Wilds -- they isolated us so much. I wonder why."
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
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#12
Mildew
I question your innocence
"Peace would be lovely, wouldn't it?" Mildew agreed, tilting her head back and forth as she tried to work out if she believed it was possible. On the one hand, she wanted to. She'd always had a kind nature and Frey had taught her to value all life, even that which had taken a turn they might disapprove of. That said...she also knew how strict, how vengeful, the Gods could be. "I have no desire to harm anyone, though I fear it may be the only way to end this before it takes too many. It is an awful shame."

She'd only ventured within the Grounds a couple of times to meet specific people, did not know much of it or what it had been like all those years it had been hidden away. "And what were the people there like?" Mildew asked, assuming Juniper had to have fulfilled her curiosity by now - she was, after all, a Fae.

"I wish I could explain every act of the Gods to you, but I cannot. Perhaps they wanted your people to stay safe. Less of a measure to trap you in, dear, and one to keep others out." She shrugged - she could only guess.
Well, are you responsible for your actions?
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:
Played by: Bees Offline
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Posts: 417 | Total: 1,206
MP: 1749
#13


Juniper nods. "It would. But if the gods will not allow us that ... All I can think to do is try to end the war as quickly and bloodlessly as possible. My first loyalty must be to my own people. But I don't want others to suffer either." That's what Juniper struggles with, ultimately -- it's hard for her to accept the fact that her position as Greatwood Guardian means putting the Fae before everyone else, treating some lives as more important than others. But it's her duty as her people's leader to protect them first.

Mildew's question makes Juniper tilt her head. "Well, I've only ventured into the Grounds a few times. They've never outright banned the Fae, as far as I'm aware, in the same way that we banned the Ascended from the Greatwood, but it feels strange to go to their homeland. The people I spoke to there, though ... They were Ascended, but they were still good people. They had so much hope for the future ..." She's particularly thinking of Azrael when she says that, of their plans to rebuild the Grounds. "And now that will all be lost."

Another nod: Juniper knows that she'll probably never get an explanation for the storms, though it seems to her that they were counterproductive, ultimately forcing everyone to rely on the Voice's portals to connect Caido. But another, more important question occurs to her. "You are a demigoddess of Frey -- I've come to wonder, recently, if Rae and their herald might be more open to the idea of peace, or at least some accommodations for the Ascended in defeat, than the other Old Gods. Do you know where they stand?"
Juniper

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Swamp Witch

Age: 517 | Height: 5'2" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Nomadic
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#14
Mildew
I question your innocence
"Mmm. Perhaps this is an...indelicate question, dear, but forgive me. Have you ever taken a life?" An intense query for a stranger, but Mildew was a swamp witch and a Demi Goddess, as well as centuries old - she had little time for stepping around issues with small talk. "It can be quite difficult...for some only the first time, for some every time. Even in a war." Her thumb and finger rubbed together absentmindedly over the fabric of her skirt, Mildew's voice a little far away, as if she were lost in a memory.

There was an approving look in her face as Juniper described the people of the Grounds. "It speaks well of you that you can see that in them. So many in your position would turn to blind hate without a second thought."

To be asked what Rae thought was a surprise. Mildew laughed as she shrugged. "I can only guess, darling. I am a Demi-Goddess, yes, but I've never had the pleasure of speaking to Rae. As for what I gather from Frey...mmm...I don't think they're fond of Ascended, but they seem to be more focused on helping us be the best we can be than engaging in all out conflict." Her task spoke to this - find the other seasonal God, not craft a weapon or stake out an area. "But...in a way, the Ascended do threaten life. At least as we know it - I'm not sure if Rae considers it that way or not. Maybe you could ask at a shrine yourself."
Well, are you responsible for your actions?


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