In which Winter has a thematically appropriate query

[shardofwinter]

Not all Nexus days can be sunshine and beautiful frost patterns. Days like this are a grim, sombre grey. The mist is so thin in places that all it does is make the distance fade away sooner than normal, but it does apply a more reserved filter on a place often filled with joyous shenanigans. No, this is unmistakeably a day which makes the multiverse feel close, secretive.

It's in this clandestine scenery that Reynard strolls about. Far from hopping or skating through the landscape, he strolls about the place, setting ice on the path and covering it with a dusting of snow. In the residential and commercial districts, he's sent ice along as many pipes as he could find. As he goes he rumbles a low slow tune. Some might recognise the sea shanty when he reaches the familiar 'Ho... Ho... and up she rises...'. He's not a bad singer, all things considered.

He looks up from his work and fixes his eyes on the nearest stranger, singing fading into a deep hum and then silence before he speaks. "What is the coldest thing you've ever done? The most cold hearted act you've ever brought yourself to commit. Go ahead. I'm not one to judge."

Just as the quiet settles back into place, he pipes up again. "Actually, you can tell me the literal coldest thing you've ever done too, if you'd prefer. I can't resist a good ice story."


((Reynard is still handing out Winter Curses & Blessings and causing trouble if you would like to avail of any. Other than that: Caution to those who talk to spirits, they are proud and fickle people.))

Comments

[rogueinladysclothing]

The desire to be snippy with him is surprisingly easy to suppress. Spring will come far too soon for her taste and a cold Winter will distract her from its coming. "You're always welcome to do as you please here." It's not like she could stop him, anyway.

She nods slowly. "That's why I never told my family what I was doing, let alone why I was doing it. If anything were to go wrong, I wanted nothing to come down on them. The problem is that I kept doing such things when I didn't need to anymore. I could have built a life out of what I'd given myself. I just... didn't want to change." Another sigh as she rubs her arms for warmth. "Perhaps that is the coldest thing I've ever done."

[shardofwinter]

"How very gracious of you to say," he responds drily. She might have held back on being snippy, but that won't save her from Reynard's own sarcastic remarks.

At first he simply... stares at her, and then laughs, a few short noises of amusement. "What a high born you are! You know selflessness is good, but you're only capable at pretending at it! And how you pretend!" This time around the thought seems to amuse him far more than annoy him. He laughs some more and then sets his hands on his hips, shaking his head as his chuckling sputters out slowly. "At least you're recognising some of your illusions. That's something, I suppose."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"I meant no offense." She really would prefer to avoid a repeat of last time. That following week and a half was hell for her.

The laughter bothers her, at first, but she lets it pass without more than a slightly annoyed face. "I've been selfish without telling myself I was being selfish for so long that the pattern is hard to break. I'm trying, but I'm quite terrible at it. Learning to say 'this is what I want' rather than pretending I don't want it and taking it anyway in the name of someone else is more difficult than I had expected." Maybe someday she'll be good at it, but for now she's left hoping those few friends she has here will continue to put up with her antics.

She frowns suddenly at a thought. "I would like this Winter to last until Summer comes, though. I'd be happy to skip Spring altogether." Does she sound bitter about Spring? If she does, it's because she is.

[shardofwinter]

It's almost as if she's learning patience. How interesting. "And why not do what you want to? Why not be who you are most naturally?"

"I would happy if we skipped Spring and Summer. Autumn... Autumn I like more, but Spring..." He wrinkles up his nose and makes an unhappy, disgusted noise. "I should have Winter keep a hold of this place. Keep Spring's sickness at bay."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Because I've lost sight of who I am amidst all the lies I told myself." At least that part she's got down. Now if only she could get the rest. Perhaps with time it'll all come through.

"I liked Spring back home. It meant an end to the slow trade season and the beginning of more opportunities for me." Not to mention Spring always began with a celebration in her family - a celebration she's unlikely to get to this year. "But being here, I see no reason Spring is any better than the other seasons. If it's not going to be hot and humid like a proper Summer, then I would prefer Winter remain."

[shardofwinter]

Reynard's not sold quite yet. "Is it really so hard to do what you want?"

"As would I..." Now she's got him thinking about it ahead of time. "A cool Summer wouldn't hurt either. A sickening, sticky Summer is worse than a sudden Spring."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"No, but it's hard to admit that I want it." Lying is so much easier when you're still growing out of being a petulant teenager.

She shrugs. "Truth be told, I'm used to more mild temperatures for all the seasons of the year. A little warmth at some point during the year would be nice, but I wouldn't be averse to a mild Summer either. So long as Spring and all it stands for is skipped, I would be happy."

[shardofwinter]

"Why? You want what you want. Are you worried you'll be condemned for your desires?"

"Then perhaps if Winter clings a little longer, you might help it."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"For the longest time, I was worried I'd lose sight of my goals. Now I'm so used to that logic that I can't break free from it." There's been steps toward that end, but they've been small and very few.

An eyebrow raises slowly. "Are you suggesting there's a way to prevent Spring from coming?"

[shardofwinter]

"How has that worked out for you?"

"There's a way to fight Spring..." It's offered with a long shrug. "How well it works depends on the Seasons."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"I thought that answer was obvious." She's not rolling her eyes, but it's implied.

A silence settles between them for a moment as she considers his words. "What can I do to help?"

[shardofwinter]

He shrugs. "I like making people admit things aloud. Confront themselves."

Slowly, he raises an eyebrow. Curious. "Nothing. Yet. Spring hasn't stirred for the moment."

[rogueinladysclothing]

Now she's rolling her eyes. "Life has been far less pleasant than I would have liked because of it."

The answer doesn't deter her at all. "And when Spring does come? What can be done?"

[shardofwinter]

"What a tame way of talking about it."

"Stop it from asserting itself," he says simply. As though the Seasons are just playing king of the hill.

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Would you prefer I scream and get angry about it?" Her arms cross in front of her chest with a small noise of annoyance. "That certainly made my life worse the last time I did it, so I thought I would avoid it this time around."

She tilts her head slightly in a confused manner. "I don't understand. How can that be done?"

[shardofwinter]

"It's just a comment, my dear. If I wanted you to scream and get angry I assure you, you would already be doing it."

"I- Winter fights it. The less like Spring it is, the easier it is for Winter to remain. The fewer new blooms and children of all shapes and sizes, the better."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Point taken."

Another raised eyebrow. "Isn't it a little late to keep children from coming with the Spring?"

[shardofwinter]

"That depends entirely on how you plan to do it," he replies quietly, almost trailing off because he knows a human wouldn't understand these things. Most wouldn't even think on it.

[rogueinladysclothing]

He may be trailing off, but her mind is running with thoughts. "I don't know any magic, so if I really wanted to keep children from coming in the Spring, I can think only of one way to do it - aim for the one carrying the child. If the mother doesn't make it to Spring, then the child likely won't either." She's not suggesting that she could do it if asked, but she certainly understands what she's suggesting.

[shardofwinter]

And she hasn't recoiled. How wonderfully surprising. After a moment looking Amelia up and down, he shrugs easily. "Or you could just push them through a portal and keep them out of the Nexus for Spring."

[rogueinladysclothing]

Amelia's full of surprises. "Would they need to be gone for the entirety of Spring or just the start? Is it the birth itself that calls to Spring or the generality of new life?"

[shardofwinter]

"The longer they're gone for, the better. If Spring is anything like Winter, any aspect of Spring will strengthen it. New life, thawing, melting snow, flowers, young love, frolicking... all those sorts of things."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Flowers would be easy enough to take care of it we can find someone with an affinity for fire and convince them to come to our side on this matter." She is not going to pull any of her punches about this preventing Spring thing, apparently.

Her lips draw into a thin line as she considers the most important aspect of all of this. "I don't suppose there's a way to identify all the lovers and round them up? It would be a lot easier to deal with them if I knew who they were."

[shardofwinter]

"Poison would be better. Fires that aren't meant for huddling around aren't very Winter-like."

It doesn't take much thought before he supplies, "Valentine's Day is coming soon. It might be a good way to identify them."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"I was simply trying to think of the most direct method. I suppose poisoning the soil would work just as well, though."

The mention of the holiday gets a blank stare from Amelia. "What's Valentine's Day?" Someone hasn't gotten that far in her culture reading, apparently.