[ Video; Both Courts ]

[knightscode]

[ This video feed is focused mostly on a Lancelot's dog, so all that is really seen of him is his hands holding her still. She's terribly curious about it, but he's restraining her from licking it or chewing it.

His voice is distinctly tired, and anyone who is paying attention will notice that you can just about see a line of red, raw skin on his wrists -- leather guards covering how heavy the damage might be. ]

Is anyone good with names? I'm afraid my friend here has gone too long without one. She's brave, curious but cautious, much cleverer than I am...

[ She's also turning to nudge his hands. He lifts one gently and pets at her ears. She squirms a little, shakes her head -- then makes a quiet, high-pitched sound and...

... hiccups a tiny fireball. The dog's ears flatten back, perhaps unhappy or apologetic (maybe embarrassed, it wasn't very elegant) but Lancelot just huffs amusement and strokes her again. ]

Forgive me, I almost forgot, it seems these -- [ He reaches out of the frame and his hand comes back holding a small, blue feather. ] -- have some kind of magic in them. It appears it does not discriminate in who it grants it to.

[ Which means he now has a small, magically inclined dog. ]

Thank you for your time.

Comments

Audio, permalocked

[gordianknots]

The feathers have also been making people fly, so keep a good eye on your friend there.

Did you get out of your situation all right?

video for doge, permalocked

[knightscode]

I told you I would find a way out.

[ ... That is not, strictly, an answer. ]

[gordianknots]

Yes, but clearly not unscathed.

[knightscode]

[ Lancelot hesitates.

His fingers pause in the middle of gently teasing his dog's ears, and the silence is slightly longer than is natural between them. ]

Perhaps not, but everyone made it out alive. That is all I can ask.

[gordianknots]

[Waver sighs, knowing it'll carry.]

You wanna tell me what happened?

[knightscode]

I made a mistake, and I paid for it.

[ NotThisShitAgain.jpg. ]

[gordianknots]

[You're king of the vague, Lancelot.]

What went awry?

[knightscode]

[ On the one hand, Waver will probably be.... displeased. Also, Lancelot does not really want to talk about it.

On the other, the Unseelie might out him from their own (rightly angry) perspectives and better Waver gets it from him first. ]

I was in Maupertius.

[ He's pretty sure that's enough for Waver to assume exactly how badly this might have gone. ]

[gordianknots]

--Fucking Reynard.

[Waver rubs the bridge of his nose. Of course it was Reynard.]

You tried to outsmart him, didn't you?

[knightscode]

[ Well. In for a penny. ]

Actually, I tried to kill him.

[ He sounds reasonably calm about this. ]

[gordianknots]

You what?!

[knightscode]

Obviously he's still alive.

[ You heard him. ]

[gordianknots]

[Waver's trying very hard to control is anger, because he has long since learned Lancelot is excellent at holding himself accountable for even the smallest mistake, but all the same.]

On one hand, I understand the sentiment entirely, Reynard is highly stabable, but why did you think you could do that alone?!

[knightscode]

I did not. I was not alone.

[ Even he isn't that stupid. ]

[gordianknots]

--Okay you know what, break down the timeline for me.

[knightscode]

It does not matter. I failed. I did, however, learn a few things while I was there.

[gordianknots]

Oh?

[knightscode]

Well, for one thing Reynard has thousands of bannermen gathered now.

[gordianknots]

That's.....[consistent with what Waver's been hearing about the Unseelie] concerning.

[knightscode]

As you say. Reynard appears to be working to some sort of deadline -- his own, I think, rather than Morla's. It seems his collecting of shards is specific, too, not... random, not perhaps as crazed as I thought. He needs 13 -- for what, I cannot say. He has 12 of those.

[gordianknots]

That's consistent with a particular remark I heard about Reynard compulsively biting the hand that feeds him.

[The source in question being Morla. Waver considers the number for a moment. It's auspicious, but that's not a lot to go on.]

He's insane but with purpose. What else did he say?

[knightscode]

[ At that Lancelot seizes up again for a moment, hesitates. ]

Mostly, he tried to get information from me.

[gordianknots]

Ah.

[Waver tries to treat that as a more acknowledging-this-happened-without-getting-into-details ah, in part because he doesn't want to dredge things up, but also because the mention of Reynard earlier sort of explained what he saw of Lancelot's wrists.]

[knightscode]

He learnt nothing.

[ Just in case you expected anything less. ]

[gordianknots]

Thank goodness.

The question is, what now?