eachdraidh | video | open to both courts (yay non-locket devices)

I've been thinking.

[ John's sitting against the base of a tree somewhere, idly scratching a stray mutt behind the ears with one hand while holding his device with the other. ]

Seelie, Unseelie. Order, Chaos. Can't really have one without the other, can you? But that's the whole thing the courts want: one to win over the other. And that's with the queens being sisters.

Sort of seems like it won't work either way, in the long run. Not in a way anyone wants.

[ This would have been essentially blasphemy, once upon a time; treason of the highest order. But John has had no shard for eight months, has only the memory of a gold cloak to his name now. It's the Shuck he serves and the Red Hand he fights for, this world and its people and those he cares about. ]

But maybe that's just me.

[ He shrugs, pausing just long enough for the dog to look up at him and whine. A snort and he goes back to generously bestowing ear scratches. ]

Anyway, if any of you are looking for something to do, a way to make money, and aren't afraid of hard work -- the Red Hand's hiring. We're a mercenary group but we'll take all sorts; we can find a job for you, if you've got something to bring to the table. We have no court-attached contracts, are focusing more on what the natives to this world need, so no worries there -- and I'm a shardless son of a bitch, so no worries about getting spanked or whatever your court does for having conversations with the 'wrong people'.

Leave your prejudiced bullshit at the door, though; we've got all sorts of races and believers among the ranks. If you can't handle that, I'm more than willing to throw you out on your ass.

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You know, someone brought that up the other day, that one loses meaning without the other attached to it.

[the Devil was good for one thing, at least.]

Court or no, it'd be foolish to refrain from saying that what assistance I can provide, you only need to ask. Surviving the Fox earns that much. Though keep in mind I'm a Necroveil when making your calls, hm?

Well, at least I'm not the only one wasting time on philosophy.

[ awkward ]

Of course. I remember what it's like, wearing one of those cloaks, even if mine was a different color.

[ There's a pause and John clears his throat, audibly uncomfortable. ]

But you're a Reaper, too. One of His.

[now it's her turn to pause.]

And what does my being a reaper have to do with anything?

[it's difficult to not throw out a reminder that she's not one of His in the same way John is. though she's one before the Court enters into play, it isn't as though she's like John or Lauralae, who are chosen. she's merely a servant.]

[ Not in the same way, but still His. ]

Seems like He's looking for an option that isn't either/or, too.

So I've heard Him declare to another who sought answers.

[almost absently, she pushes another amount of energy into the silencing spells she's placed around herself. speaking of treason was just getting more frequent.]

Are you trying to subtly tell me that because of being His I should seek to be part of this plan?

It's your choice either way. You've got free will.

[ And even if he believes in the plan, he's not going to push her when she knows she's a Necroveil, when she has things to lose. ]

But I do think it's a worthwhile option to consider.

[some part of her is ready to give the automatic answer, that free will couldn't circumvent what was in her very blood. that she was a reaper before she was an Unseelie knight, and if Death spoke, she bent the knee and listened.

but the weight that would have compelled the words to exit regardless of feeling has already been lifted, and so what she does say is more carefully chosen.]

And it's one I have been considering. But like anything else, for each answer there are three more questions. Like what will happen to us that still hold them in our chests.

If you mean physically? I'd guess nothing. Can't say what others might do to you, but that's always a risk.

[ People like to kill other people for their chest rocks, and perceived treason is a decent excuse. ]

[she raises a finger - one moment - and takes a deep breath before she can switch her thoughts away from letting things be translated for her and go to true English.]

Will the ones inside us be somehow removed and added to the others for power, or will what sleeps inside simply channel itself somehow outwards? Call it morbid, but I remember what Reynard almost did to those of us at Maurpertius - he almost ripped them out from us while we still breathed. Would He do the same to those of us that don't die in the process of achieving our aims?

[would the Courts, for that matter.]

I do not doubt that He has a plan. But before I say I will answer when he calls, I only want to know if I'll be required to sever my past bonds, tear out the gem in my chest, and present it to him in order to do the work. It's the one thing faith can't cover.

[from the way she says it, she wouldn't even be mad if it was the case. it's only genuinely wanting to know what would be expected of her.]

There are two shardbearers with me who run the Red Hand. If He wants their shards, He's said nothing about it to me. But if we fail, He may very well rip them out anyway, if the loyal don't do it first.

But if your shard still works in your chest, I can't imagine you'd have to remove it in order to use it for this.

[she nods, seemingly relaxing on the other end.]

If that I can trust, then I know with certainty it's the same as before. What He bids us do that we can accomplish, then we will. Failing isn't an option.

[and the way she says we, she's definitely including herself in it.]

You have my promise to aid you, even if I can't put my name beside yours.

Thank you. Whatever comes... we're likely to be hunted, those of us who know what we're doing. There are safehouses, and I'm damn hard to catch, but I worry about the others. There's a reason I'm not telling you the plan in detail, and it isn't that I don't trust you or that I don't think you can look after yourself.

[ It's a position he doesn't want to put her in, both having the knowledge despite her loyalties and having the knowledge and becoming a target. ]

When it happens, if I send you some names or some native mercs -- can you look out for them? Give them a cover? I know you've got the outpost to look after, connections.

[it's the cloak, isn't it she thinks, all too aware of how it made people treat her differently. back then, it had seemed like the right thing to do, even if it never hung neatly on her shoulders. it's why Waver kept so mum as well, she knows.]

Not just the outpost, and I'm not going to ask how you know about that, but villages I keep positive relations with, people who will listen to me. Between everything, yours will be safe.

[and even if needed, there were ways to disappear. another pause before she switches back to letting the translation spell in.]

Just try not to die in the process.

[she'll resurrect you and kill you again herself for being stupid.]

Shuck's Son, Grell. There are shadows that even the monarchs can't pierce that I can travel to.

[ This is why he's a Drabwurld bogeyman, this is why he's what parents tell their children about at night. ]

Thank you. And you too, okay?

[ Because he might be there, he might be the one to sink his teeth in. ]

[she knows, she knows that combined with his healing powers, killing him would only be a far off dream, but even monarchs were brought down. still, there's a flicker of a smile.]

I'll do my best.

[that's all that can be promised when near deadly situations kept popping up and a reckless nature meant that everything could go backward.]

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