Indeed ^^

Ahhh yay glad u kept the halloween costumes joke going this year haha wonder if Henry Will ever get used to them xD <3

Who can say? XD He's a stubborn fellow, after all

Oh dear. Already this doesn't look evenly matched; Henry has a heavier 'jockey'.

Yeah... strong as Henry's back is now, it still won't make for a fair race

"You realise you don't have to go to these lengths to make me uncomfortable. I'm always uncomfortable." - Charlie The Unicorn

Man, I miss Charlie.

Did you see all of the Kickstarted five-part finale? FilmCow finished the last part and uploaded the whole thing in one forty-minute video a week or so ago.

No! That’s awesome! I have some watching to do. Thanks for the heads up!

Imoldra: *just randomly bursts in looking positively high on life* YEAH!!!!! SAMHAIN!!!! LETS HUNT SOME SOULS OF THE DAMNED!!!!! *Howls and lopes off*

Acrathia: *Off in the distance laughing maniacally as necromantic energy swirls around her.*

Cassandra & Dryas: *Just looking back and forth at the two uncertain if they should be concerned.*

Lassiate: *rubbing his sinuses.* Ugh... they're both utterly insufferable at this time of year...

*sourceless ash and smoke coalesce to form Captain Dubhgall, who gives an unearthly baying before throwing himself into the chase behind Imoldra*

*Nico carefully fixes his hair and lights his fingers before attempting to saunter up to Acrathia with some measure of confidence*

*Henry and Louis just try to keep out of the way. Louis catches sight of Cassandra and Dryas and gives a sympathetic wave.*

MoOTF: *circling Lassiate in the form of a reddish raven* Surely you can find your own amusement on this Mischief Night, Phoenix King? I am not the only one here who has a reputation for hijinks and tomfoolery, after all. Not to mention shenanigans, deviltry, malarkey, and, if you catch me on a good night, even japery. *cocks an eyebrow*

Things hath come to a pretty pass if the Regal Phoenix is the one alack of good party cheer.

And what have you come as for Halloween, Puck, a thesaurus?

MoOTF: *caws a chuckle * Au contraire, Two Minds. These are all similar but very nuanced tools in my arsenal of mischief… though I am surprised that you would be out on such a night of frivolity.

Even the forces of light need a day off once in a while.

*loud unicorn snort*

Oh alright, usually I end up giving Henry and Louis a hand. This year however there's a contest of sorts running instead, so it's strictly hands-off.

MoOTF: Ah. What will you do with your free time, then?

I was thinking, since my curiosity is piqued, of joining you and witnessing how much the pair of you can actually drink. That would be a novel experience.

Imoldra: *Endlessly glad to have a CuSith join him adds in to the baying. Both lope off to join the Wild Hunt*

Acrathia: *Far too caught up in the dark soul tornado she appears to be metaphorically bathing in to notice Nico's approach.*

Cassandra: *notices Louis's wave and smiles waving back*

Lassiate: *A giddy excitement over comes him when he sees the man of a thousand faces* Oh Happy Day!!!!! Its.... *suddenly stops and he appears to be listening to someone or something no one else can see or hear, he does not appear pleased with what he is being told* Oh fine!!!! I won't use his real name!!!! You never let me have any fun!!!! *returns his attention to faces* Oh my dear Goodfellow! I do enjoy the debauchery and hijinks of nearly any holiday! When ever I try to do so however, those two always try to sweep me up into participating in that ghastly Wild Hunt, they both seem so crazy about! I just don't understand why this holiday has to be all about death and things! Why be gloomy when you can be radiant?!

*from far off elsewhere, eyebrows perk and head jerks up at the mention through the aether of 'real names' that the Hand forbid to be revealed...

Did you feel that one?

One other single tug at the strings of Fate, of which the pattern doth weave throughout all time.

Not a twinge, like a connection?

Be it must? Thou hast been told before, the world turneth not around us, so many such threads are not ours to know.

I forget, you lack the curiosity. You are attuned to so much, the distance keeps you sane. No, this one was different, like I was privy just now to an 'answer'. Or closer to one.

Of which concern?

Goodfellow.

The jackanapes? Thou art obsessed, inviting the knave into our dreamspace as if 'twere a rabbit hole of his very own. What hast the man foreseen this time, for right or wrong?

Perhaps a veiled clue to his true identity.

How should that be to our import?

Because if even the Three are prevented from revealing it, Puck must be a way higher tier up the power chain than I was beginning to think... and the mythical 'Robin Goodfellow' connotations are high enough.

*pause*

No... no it couldn't be.

Thou hast a suspicion.

A crazy one... it's not even from the same pantheon. And yet it would explain so much.

Enlighten, if thou pleaseth.

Like how nobody can imprison him for long. How he does as he pleases - within Fate limitations, which he purposely has very little regard for - because he literally can. Why his natural demeanour, despite all that pent-up hurt, is that infectious and irresponsible merry cheer, almost like being drunk without any alcohol but in full control of his wiles. And how he can just vanish from our realm-awareness any time he likes when he's not pratting about. As a fellow 'entity of nature', if you will, he blends into the natural background and we just gloss right over him.

Thou believeth he is more than a mere spirit, one which mankind hath record of but the Nobles doth not.

It's just a hunch right now. Probably a wild guess... But my gut feeling is telling me this is a matter over which I'm going to have to tread very, very carefully. If there was some way to connive Puck into opening up more, of his own volition, that the Hand isn't going to block.

Nico: *loses his nerve at the sight of Acrathia at such a height of power, and watches in awe rather than approaching further*


Louis: *elbows a miserable Henry and nods toward Cassandra and Dryas. Henry snorts, ignores them, and attempts to keep walking, but Louis grabs him by the reins to lead him over* C’mon, man, they look lost in the craziness.

Henry: As if we’ll do them any favors when we’re connected to you know who?


MoOTF: *chuckles a croaking chuckle* Then, Majesty, pardon my saying so, but you have been spending it with the wrong company. Nothing says radiant like lighting a few bonfires or… ‘getting lit’ as the youths like to say in this age! Come, let’s light up this Mischief Night as only a phoenix can!

Acrathia: *Lowers herself once she has absorbed her fill.* Ah! nothing like a necromantic vortex on Samhain to get one in the holiday spirit! *looks over and sees Nico* Ah! Nico! I didn't see you there. Enjoying Samhain this evening?

Cassandra: Oh, no were fine thank you! Just... haven't seen them on Halloween night before.

Dryas: *Realizing they're there for the first time* Oh, hi.

Lassiate: Yes! Its all due to them and their silly "We must be dark and brooding" attitudes! Come let us GET LIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know what, Highness Lassiate? It's only a few more days till the night of November 5th back in my old home turf of the British Isles. You'd enjoy that, all the bonfires and fireworks.

You'd have liked Guy Fawkes, Puck. Hell, wouldn't be surprised if you'd *been* him.

Anarchists of a feather doth flock together.

Lassiate: *pupils dialate* Oh... yes... we must GO THERE!!!! How I love your primitive human pyrotechnics!!! And bonfires are to die for!!! And Liquor... there will be liquor, correct?

*thinks* (Oh Lord, should I be encouraging this?)

Um.. yeeeees, there is always liquor ro be found, but liquor is flammable.

Lassiate: Of course its flammable!!! That's part of what I LOVE about it! Why would.... Oh that's right... you mortals can't handle too much fire can you?

Doesn't stop some of them trying... especially when there's liquor involved.

MoOTF: Oh, I did! A mortal after my own heart, really. It was as if he could read my mind during our scheming… not entirely convinced he couldn’t, either…

*private inward mental grumbling...*

*thinks towards other self* (Established history. Nobody's saying you have to approve, but looking from the outside, the human ken does find every excuse to celebrate the most unbalanced and inappropriate-looking things.)

Nico: *draws tentatively closer* Oh yes, Duchessa. It is my favorite holiday. Though the view tonight is particularly stunning. *he smiles a smoldering smile *

Louis: Oh, good! It’s easy to get a little overwhelmed by magic people on Halloween, I gets.

Henry: An understatement.

Louis: I’m Louis and that’s Henry. Nice to meet you both.

MoOTF: *grinning* Do let’s. *he takes his natural shape, albeit with an elaborate masquerade mask and matching costume* To the public house!

Listen, as long as I'm taking the night off, why don't I join you and get your first round in.

*thinks* (Because it's going to take a lot of drink to lower these two's guard down so they open up about themselves more.)

MoOTF: Generous of you. I accept... that is, as long as you're drinking, too. *eyes narrow very slightly*

...I don't normally, but we'll call this an occasion. But if we're frequenting any mortal bars across the veil I'll need to look 'normal', or at least humanoid... you've seen me do this before.

*Removes glasses and projects the human ghost-image..*

*to Puck* Spirits for me, as it were.

*addressing unicorn self* Some extra freedom for the night. Find yourself a boogeyman or two to scare.

*quickly silences any unicorn objections with a private thought* (Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Remember not to wander too far and keep the channel open that I can draw a little magic from.)

Have fun Stormbreaking the castle.

*unicorn gives sour look before trotting off*

MoOTF: *grins beneath the mask* Spirits, indeed. Now, let us follow the sounds of merrymaking until we find our destination… unless you know of a public house nearby?

I'm sure you have your own favourite hangouts in mind. You lead the way.

Though as long as I have you here in a good mood and my other self isn't around, there's a couple of things that have been rattling around in my own mind for a while now. Maybe we have an exchange of information as well as drinks?

Why are you opposed to a Seelie Court alliance with the Unicorn Regency being re-established again? I mean, I'm not offended or anything, just curious. No reason not to be, I mean, the way Fate is working at the moment, you can't waylay my 'goals' any more than I could derail yours if I actually wanted to, so there isn't much point in being coy about it. It would be helpful for me to know the history and determine for myself if this is the best course of action, and for you to get some of that inner hurt of yours off your chest.

Is it to do with the slight against Oberon? A personal grudge against Auris? There has to be more to it than that, surely? If it's any consolation, with Auris being stuck in a self-defeating cycle just as much as the Judicator is, I'm not making a proper move to that end until both of them can be 'fixed', somehow. It would be futile. Oh yes, speaking of... why is the Judicator so firmly against any attempt to revive Oberon, because that's not making a great deal of sense to me either, with the condition she's in.

MoOTF: *squints at their surroundings * I used to in this area… some seventy years ago. Perhaps Dagan’s is still in operation. *he strikes off down the sidewalk*

*he glances your way from under the mask* My issue is little more than unfortunate timing. Make no mistake, I hardly see eye to eye with the unicorns, but the only quarrel I have with an alliance now would be that the Glorified Old Goat would stand in the way of my methods of returning the King to his throne.

Neither he nor the Judicator condone the use of Death Magic for any reason, even if that reason happens to be saving the sidhe. I, however, believe that laws can always be bent under the right circumstances. *his eyes glint mischievously* I’m nothing if not pragmatic.

...And 'Death Magic' would be the only means by which a deceased fae may be brought back to the land of the living. Let me guess, it requires an 'exchange'.

*thinks* (OH DEAR. This is REALLY going to complicate future matters. And just maybe I'm about to stumble across a thorny answer to the thorny question of what benefit could possibly be in it for Mab to bring back her biggest obstacle towards territorial expansion.)

You never did tell me just what happened between Auris and Oberon that you were so bitter about, that time you managed to turn him into a pig.

MoOTF: Almost. There is one other option, but it is hardly dignified enough a solution for the King. Exchange would be required there, too, and it is far too tedious a business. No, Death Magic is the best option, even if the exchange is unsavory by design.

*cocks his head to one side* Even now you misunderstand my intentions. But then, unicorns never did have a good gauge of fun. Though Auris was deeply insulting in his very vocal hatred for how impulsive the King could be at times, that was hardly why I pulled my prank. No, my aim was for Auris to loosen up and, Magicks forbid, stop taking himself so damn seriously. He could do with learning to laugh at himself. Of course, he didn’t, because he wasn’t allowed to be the butt of the joke the way I intended. No, that role was given to me, instead. *narrows eyes slightly*

*rubs sinuses* Ugh, are we going there again? Look, I'm trying to make up for that, I really am. Of course it was going to come off badly if nobody had bothered to warn me beforehand you might show up in this stupid game, much less tell me who you actually were. Still not entirely sure that I know.

And it is a game, the way this land is set up. Like a big online multiplayer world. The Hand of Fate are the game developers, and the Three Anomalies act as moderators. And - *headcocks towards Lassiate* - having a mod on your contact list can grant a player a lot of perks, as you're aware.

So the devs populate the place with trash mobs like boggarts and various commons and rares; different levels of house fae, changelings, banshees, shellycoats, what have you. Bring in the equivalent of NPC quest-chains from outside, those would be your Henrys and your Candles. Some of those get upgraded to more influential C-tier players; one job or skill, but they perform it well. Jiminy, Medoro, Mangiafuoco.

B-tier, you're getting to beings with both power and status. The Greylanders. Lower echelons of the Noble races. The Seelie guard Goof Troop. A-tier, and Fate is taking a personal interest in them and they start noticing back. All the various Courts and Regencies, Top of A-tier are very specific characters. The Noble Lords. Mab. Moth, who stole another account and looted it. And, well, me, essentially a very sophisticated game hack.

And then there's the very small number of legit S-rank players. God tier, or have access to all the cheat codes. Oberon and Titania would have been, for certain. The Judicator is not only the hacker, she is the cheat code with that Sickness in her head as well as - surprise - S-rank in her own right, at least until the devs finally get around to nerf, or worse, permabanning her. And then there's you.

Because whatever username you're made to play as now, I'm certain that you are - or at some point, were - literal god-tier. A total enigma. You're known as the 'man of a thousand faces', but how many have you worn before settling into the current one, Robin Goodfellow? Is that humanoid face you like to keep hidden even your real one, or just the one that's put on when particular company warrants it?

MoOTF: You’re the one who asked the question.

As much as I love a good game, I’m afraid much of what you said —save for allusions to godhood— have completely gone over my head. But the question that came with it is hardly one I’ll answer without some drinks in me, if at all. *smirks* No sense in putting the cart before the horned horse.

Doesn't matter. *points a finger discretely upward* They will have got it. Besides, somebody with fewer wiles would have come back with 'no comment' and blown the whole charade, and as somebody who can't resist a good puzzle, that would have been disappointing.

Very well, 'Rumplestiltskin', we'll drop the guessing game for now and play the drinking game instead. Solutions to dilemmas are sometimes best-served through other 'solutions' - out of the mouths of babes, idiots and drunkards, as it were. *grins back*

MoOTF: Ho ho! This is promising to be a good night indeed! And, since my luck still holds… *he takes a sharp right down a dimly lit street and another down a broad alleyway* there still seems to be a bit of life left in Dagan’s.
*A partially broken wooden sign bearing the name of the pub hangs lopsidedly on a pair of nails on the door. Though the place looks very like a dive, the sound of merriment inside makes it more inviting. MoOTF opens the door with a flourish* Gents, the first stop on our crawl! Dagaaaan, my good man! Are you yet living?
*An old and toothless man looks up from behind the bar and squints*
Dagan: Robin? Are you yet living?

MoOTF: Legends never die, my friend. Set up my companions with your finest spirits! I’m paying.

*Dagan counts Eala and Lassiate on his fingers and MoOTF shakes his head*

MoOTF: *gesturing to the entire pub* I said my companions, Dagan. All of them, not just my friends.

*looks over the bar, looks over at Dagan, and shrugs...*

*establishing private mental link with the other self*

Right, we're here. You know what to do. Keep the passive scry channel on me, and be wary. No direct interference. Any drink that passes my lips will then pass over to you, with enough of a delay during transference that you can spot and neutralise any trickery before it arrives. There's no way either of us can actively cast spells without the other noticing, so if Puck has mischief on his mind, he'll almost certainly try and spike me with a mickey first.

Spike? Mickey? Who beith these people?

Sssh! I mean he'll add something strong but non-magical to my own drinks to get me plastered, and thus in no condition to notice when he applies something with more... 'effect'. Just be ready to give me a quick mental heads up over the private link should you spot or taste anything untoward, and I'll fake it. Yes I know it's a risk, but we owe him a 'victory' of sorts anyway. Over and out. *mutes channel*

*realising something, then striding over to Puck's table...*

*aloud* Waaaaait a minute! When I said the first round of drinks -

MoOTF: *waves away the thought* You can get the next one. Dagan and I have an understanding

*sitting down* I'm glad somebody does where you're concerned!

MoOTF: *chuckles as pints are passed around* You’ve come out drinking with me. Maybe you’ll be included in that number by the end of the night… if I’m inebriated enough. *takes a drink and grimaces* Dagan, my friend! Your stock is diminished in quality. Have you stopped caring in your old age?

Dagan: You try running a business in this economy!

*MoOTF casts a flavor charm on his own drink*

MoOTF: Might want to engage in a little unicorn magic with this round… blech. Swill. *drinks his pint anyway*

I'll just add a mixer.

*snaps fingers, the spirit glass becomes taller with a measure of Coke added to it...*

Your health, gentlemen, or lack thereof by the time we're done.

*sips*

MoOTF: *raises his glass* Croí folláin agus gob fliuch… agus saoirse don sidhe.

*finishes his own glass.

Sláinte.

Will need some money for the next lot. What do they take here...

*starts bringing items out of a 'pocket', summoning them from netherspace; an old passport used as a makeshift wallet, with a number of paper receipts, crumpled notes and plastic cards...

Card payments? Nah, doubt it. Sec.

*puts 'wallet' back, retrieves other belongings unused but preserved for decades and sets them on the table; an old phone with the charge gone, a couple of keys, a small gaming device, a bag of sweets.

Sure I've got currency here somewhere.

*finishes with a bunch of other items set down in a separate pile, the rest cleared away; the label off a Greek wine bottle, a postcard of Arcadia, a small panpipe, a handful of ancient Greek coins.

*fingering through the coins...* These be any good?

Dagan: *lifts an eyebrow at MoOTF* Are they?

MoOTF: *smirks* You’ll just have to take a gamble, won’t you? But unicorns are rarely deceptive.

Dagan: You’re saying he’s…? *scowls* But one wearing a glamour disguising its true nature ought to be trusted?

MoOTF: Not glamoured and technically not lying… long story.

Dagan: *eyes Eala and MoOTF skeptically for a long moment before holding out his hand for the coins*

Not nearly as long a story as his is. For tonight, call it an 'out of body experience'.

*enchants coins to be viewed as appropriate currency by any other handlers, before telekinetically placing them in Dagan's hand with a gesture...

* To MoOTF, after Dagan leaves the vicinity scratching his head...

So when and whereabouts have you brought us? Have we crossed over, or right on the border between worlds? The barkeep is awfully familiar with magical beings as well as your brand of chicanery, I thought we'd be more incognito in that regard.

*looks over the other patrons, not spotting anything unusual*

MoOTF: *shrugs* We are firmly in the Mortal Realm tonight. Long ago I pulled some strings to get this dive off the ground, so Dagan tolerates me when I’m in the mood to drink. You and his good Highness here are hardly the strangest drinking partners I’ve had here… likely that title belongs to Dionysus. Not many of our ilk care to show up here, though. I rather like it that way.

*places finger to lips in a 'shush' gesture....

No names. Don't want to wake the upstairs neighbours. *points upwards again, and speaks more quietly...*

'Dionysus'. More than just a party friend, I imagine. No, I had a feeling you wouldn't keep the poker-face act going for long, you just can't help yourself. Wouldn't have mattered anyway. Remember what I said outside, not twenty minutes ago? A 'no comment' would have blown the whole charade. And if you had managed to muddy the waters, a quick excursion to where the Arcadian wildlands and shrines used to stand would have confirmed the truth. The lingering traces of magic in whatever stones still stand would have your magical signiature all over them. It's like a fingerprint, one of a kind. You can change your identity, but you can't change your magical signiature.

*clears the Greek paraphernalia from the table...*

I'll tell you what it was. See, I just couldn't for the life of me figure out how you just blip out of my realm-awareness until the next time you wilfully make your presence felt. The first guess was another exiled unicorn - yes, I do remember your profound disappointment - and then later when all historical trace of you had been wiped from the the court, that you were literally disappearing in and out of existence for long periods at a time. Which was equally and demonstrably wrong, and proven the hard way.

But then Looselips there - *jabs a thumb* - happened to bitch to the higher-ups that he wasn't allowed to use your real name, and as attuned to the movements of Fate as I've become - I've had run-ins with all five of them now, you know - the sudden yank on the threads was unmistakeable. Something profound had just been disclosed. And then it hit me. The only being capable of dodging the radar of a powerful 'nature entity, that would be another, much more powerful nature entity.

*rests elbows on table and chin on hands...*

So what became of your old self? The rise of Christianity meant humans stopped or were prevented from believing in you, and rather than fade into powerless obscurity, you took on another guise and retreated into folklore instead. Something along those lines, I'm guessing. Then the Bard happened to come along and grant a fresh lease of life through the power of the written word. Time being in flux between the two worlds, that could have happened thousands of years ago, for all I know.

Am I close?

MoOTF: *signals for another drink* I had a running bet, you know, about who would find me out first. It was either you or my king's current vessel. *shrugs* I can hardly be upset when you've won me some coin.

It was less a matter of belief and more a matter of picking new allegiances. When the King and Queen set up their Summer Home in Greece I saw the balance in power shift. We aren't gods, no matter what the others would have you believe. We were just another offshoot of magic from Avalon. More powerful than the rest, yes, but not as powerful as the magic that governs this world.

Rather than go toe to toe with the Master of Fate, I chose to throw in my lot with Oberon. He saw my intent and, miracle of miracles, trusted me when others abjectly refused. He saw me as family in time. I value that. I value that deeply. Especially now.
*he takes a casual sip, but the unbothered facade slips ever so slightly when he briefly shuts his eyes*

The rest, as they say, is history.

*slow nod...

Yes, it's plain as day to see behind your eyes. From 'devine' to devotee. A true god would keep to the company of his peers. Oberon on the other hand, you probably saw much of yourself at your peak in him, and then over time much of your own character, and out of that much of your own love. Not the fawning praise - pardon the expression - of mortals, but a genuine platonic bond on your own level. I think perhaps for the first time I'm beginning to grasp just how much that would hurt to lose. All the while Oberon's severed threads are whipping within the tapestry, touching yours and sparking.

I'm trying to take as little gratification out of simply 'solving the puzzle' as I can, since it doesn't end here. I don't want to be smug. I don't expect any congratulations either. What I can use is another measure of something stronger, while I start thinking these matters through.

*signals for another spirit glass*

The balance of power... wait, was that with the destruction of Atlantis? When the balance shifted, how did that affect you personally - experience a 'downgrade' with a source of the magical supply cut off? How much of what was left did you have to abandon, to uproot to foreign climes on another plane?

In a nutshell, how much of the original, the true - heh - 'Glorified Old Goat' is left in there?

MoOTF: *lifts an eyebrow* Atlantis was an interesting beast, but entirely human-centric. They played with magic that did not belong to them and got burned.
No, what happened among what your fellows would call our pantheon was a thorough magical binding by the Hand of Fate. We tried to keep our kingdom on top of the mountain, we tried to hold onto our devotees, but we had meddled too much. We were brought lower than we had ever been. Some of us hid, some of us kept our noses clean, and others died in a blaze of glory -Zeus in particular was a spectacle, but we could hardly expect less of him- and then some, some very unwise souls, crossed with the Hand later and still suffer the consequences. *he takes another drink*

*gives a wry smile* The Glorified Old Goat. Heh. Only what you have already listed. I'm a fair sight more than your average fae, sure, but not nearly what I was. All that's left is some extra tricks up my sleeve and an old, dead name.

Hence your antipathy towards most of the Hand.

*frowns in sympathy...* Then if I may, let me offer a little advice and council. You're selling yourself short, Puck. I don't know if it's grief, denial or some measure of self-punishment, but you put yourself and your reputation forward as 'lucky' when in truth, if you had one tenth of the fortune you claim, you would never have been cast in this position in the first place. It's your quick wits that get you out of trouble Puck, not luck. Good fortune always runs out. And it's when you ignore this and let your guard drop that your own wits can be used against you.

And on that note... *leans in close* ...watch your back around Mab. Whatever happens as a consequence between you and her is meant to happen. It's a designated fixed point. But that doesn't make it wholly inviolable. I still don't understand what Mab has to gain from this 'contract' to revive Oberon, or what you have to legitimately offer to make it worth her while, and it's been worrying me. You want as little as possible to do with the Hand. Mab simply doesn't care. That means you're going to need a guard on the back door, as it were, to prevent the saboteur from getting in. Because it's just possible that both you and I have been wrong about the Vile One's intentions while we were looking at each other, and Mab is his unsuspecting target. Think what that would mean, if she were the Vile One's vessel at the point where the future may be at its most mutable and delicate.

MoOTF: *spreads his hands* And what can I do if she is? Even at my best I could never hold my own against a Guardian, and the White One, who would be likely the best defense against him, has it out for me. Fate is what it must be, as the Hand has made abundantly clear. All I can do is believe that my king will make things right when he returns and that this gamble is the correct one, because my hand is all but spent. We had all better hope that I do have some modicum of luck, or you and I and the rest of the realms are pucked.

It wouldn't be a direct confrontation. That's not the Vile One's style, he corrupts from within, rather than attacks from without. Like an infection or a disease that then travels from person to person, thread to thread. The real best defence is immunisation; watching for the signs, anticipating his move and then blocking his passage off. And if we're too late, only the 'moment' is at risk. What happens after that moment is out of Fate's personal hands. It falls down to us, the allies that we pick up, and how he make ready in advance should it come to damage control. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

You do know that one of my titles is the White One's Gambit? You're not the only one who takes risks for a long term strategy, or I wouldn't have the freedom to form close ties with yourself and Acrathia. Light and darkness are just tools in the end; neither 'good' nor 'evil' in themselves. Light can be corrupted, darkness can be 'redeemed'. The most ineffectual thing we can do is be like Auris and accept things as they are and will be, not as they ought to be. I know you won't fall into the same self-defating cycle where Fate writes itself around your actions, but your actions are pre-judged upon letting Fate control you, so you do nothing. Defeatism however is the first step towards that.

MoOTF: *swirls his drink* If one does not accept the defeat of death and works to turn it backwards, I do not believe he may be called a defeatist. Rather, I name myself a realist. I have directly matched wits with the kindest of the Guardians and lost everything I cared about. I don't ask what I can do out of pity for myself, but out of genuine "prepare-for-the-worst"-edness. If I can't beat the... *glances around the bar and lowers his voice* simplest one, how can I hope to beat the cleverest?

Because the 'moment' is the only point when he would play his hand, and it doesn't matter how events weave their way towards that moment, as long as it gets there. The 'how' is in our hands, and without blowing my own trumpet, there is no other being in this world quite like myself. The unicorn who see the threads, the human who analyses, predicts and manipulates the chain of cause and effect from those threads. Just by being in the the right place at the right time with the right people, I help the threads warp and reconnect themselves around me, simply by being 'human' about it. You wanted me for an ally in the beginning, I have three thousand years at least to dedicate to being a thorn in the Vile One's side.

Start by explaining to me about Death Magic, and how you intend to play Mab for a fool with it, since this is almost certainly what it boils down to.

MoOTF: *scrutinizing through the mask* If it were just you, the aspect of yourself that I admit is growing on me, I would say what I am able to say. Your “friend”, however, I do not trust not to gore me for such wicked business should word get back to him.

And you should know me better than that by now, Puck. He and I, we are still one and the same, tasked with the same responsibilities, duty and honour-bound. A fixed point means a fixed point, one in the centre of a knot tied centuries ago by the last time the Hand jockeyed for position. A knot from which the thread must be allowed to organically disentangle and not be interfered with in the same way again. We are preserving those threads, Puck. If you want to think of us as two more distinct halves then fair enough; the unicorn aspect would be doing this for the sake of balance over ruination, not for you. If you don't believe me, you can take the matter up with Acrathia if you like. Or would it help to hear it from 'his' own lips?

Thy misdeeds would find their own punishment in due time, and not from mine own armaments. When greater evils await in the shadows, one cannot be churlish or distracted from the true happenstance.

Oh, there you are. You're not coming in? The signal sounds very close.

I fear that mayhap 'twould create a scene. The wares served beith also of poor quality. Ugh.

*via private mental channel to other self...

For both our sakes, you'd better mean what you said just then and allow us to control that temper of yours. Don't jeapordise the fact-finding mission now, you've already flown off the handle once lately by getting more than you bargained for that ran counter to what you held precious. We can't start proper planning before we have all the details, and those details may be about to get ugly. But he hasn't done anything to that end yet, he's had no opportunity to, so assume 'innocence' until proven actively guilty. That's how it's supposed to work in my society.

Oh dear. XD I wasn't sure there was anything that could make them miss the Pooh and Eeyore costumes, but here we are. Here's hoping Henry's poor back gets a bit of unbridled TLC.

XD Leave it to Moth to outdo herself.

He’ll need it. Especially after feeling so boxed in among the other trick or treaters

Hmm. I wonder if the bell on Louis' jockey outfit might hold some ill magical intent.

You never know ^^