![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
May Game
May 1st, Beltaine, May Day, came at last, after a great deal of trials in the month of April. Kathryn entered the day determined to have a good time no matter what. She was a little nervous about her situation with Dino - she was still waiting to hear how he felt about her, for he had communicated nothing on that score, and though she know she shouldn't be a nervous, and knew that she loved him, she still was concerned.
Kathryn busied herself with many activities for the day, chatting with the satyr's, dancing, even singing along with "Simple Gifts," to the amazement of Abrey and Messina, who were standing by her. However, she was rather anxious. Early in the day, Dino pulled her aside to talk to her about she had said not long before, about love at that sort of thing, and he asked her - more than once - if she was sure, and she was sure, and told him so, but also told him not to worry about it too much if either he wasn't sure or if, well, he didn't love her. However, after the conversation she felt very out of sorts, and she realzed she did kind of mind, it was making her very sad indeed.
She whiled away the time, though. Jain, a knight of Highground, came in very wounded. Kathryn and Petra went to help him, and healed him, and learned the news he carried - that the Serpents, a kingdom from far to the south of evil entities, had taken New Orleans. Bad news indeed! Petra and Kathryn made sure that those who needed to hear this news were informed about it, and then went a talked for a while, chatting about various things, love, the struggles of the day, their fears for the future, and ultimately they decided that they would take a trip to Prague together - soon - to see Petra's husband.
Meanwhile, big events were happening. The White fomori were in negotiations with the Count and other city dignitaries. Two of Torn's dreamers had been killed, and the third, a fellow named Crash, was at Beltaine having fended off an attempt on his life. He was there to find out who had killed his fellows and take revenge, and he was...scary. Kathryn tried to talk to him, but while he wasn't mean he was very brusque.
Kathryn also took the opportunity to talk to Lara about the armor for Azriphale, to start working out some of the details. Then, she saw Diezel looking very sad, so she went and spoke to her; Diezel was concerned that she was evil because of the things she had seen and done, including murder and condemning the souls of millions to hell. Kathryn worked her hardest to convince Diezel that she wasn't evil, but it wasn't easy. Finally, they were interrupted by Abrey, the satyr, offering them some punch. Diezel took some, but Kathryn said no, remembering the absinth that Grendel slipped her the previous Samhain.
Still feeling nervous, Kathryn decided that she wasn't going to let anything get her down, even the terrible things going on around her (and her concerns about Dino) keep her from enjoying Beltaine. A comet streaked across the sky, the Hunter of the Wild Hunt come from who-knows-where to blaze on Beltaine, and everyone was worked up about all the different things happening, but Kathryn just danced. The dance was interrupted by Diezel, however, who attacked Abrey, demanding to know what had been in the punch and, alarmed, it was quickly established that Abrey had added something given to him by Rasputin! How stupid! However, he was clearly a dupe, and quickly steps were taken to ensure that all who had drunk the punch were alright. Just as Kathryn was going off to help with that, though, Dino approached her, sounding vague, suggesting that he wanted to talk to her.
Kathryn followed Dino off, but he got distracted by events - the Wild Hunt had singled out Sir Matthias, a local knight, and all knew he had been summoned, so many folks wished to talk to him - many were doing so as Dino and Kathryn passed, including Kaye and Laughing Tom and many others. Meanwhile, while Kathryn waited for Dino to be done (she didn't really know Matthias, and so had little to say) Abrey grabbed her to say that Miki (a childling cat pooka) was sick from the poison, and asked Kathryn to help. Looking back to make sure Dino was still busy, she came over and tried to help, but it turned out it was nothng, just a hairball. Feeling slightly irritated despite herself, because she was nervous about Dino's mannerisms when they last spoke, she made sure all was well before hurrying off; Dino was still busy, though he looked around for her, and smiled - still vaguely - when he saw her.
After a few more minutes, Dino left the conversation with Matthias, and took Kathryn aside. He checked that she was sure one more time, sounding like it was very important, and then he seemed to think for a moment, and, finally said, "I think that I am in love with you." Unable to keep a smile off her face, Kathryn didn't know what to say. Then, with a sense of determination, Dino grabbed her and got Kaye's attention, and Laughing Tom and a few others who were standing nearby and, without a word of explanation, he started to speak the Oath of True Hearts. Kathryn was too shocked to know what to say, happier than she could really even believe. Kaye looked shocked; the others in attendence were all smiling in surprise and pleasure for their friends. When it was her turn, Kathryn spoke the Oath in return, and then the congratulations began, starting with Kaye, who hugged them both exuberantly. Kathryn couldn't stop smiling, laughing with a wide grin, delighted beyond her ability to communicate. Tom suggested they kiss, and they did so, and (both a bit distracted and shock) they wandered towards the building in vague bewilderment amidst the congratulations, salutations, wonderment, and lewd comments of their friends. Indeed, there was a great deal of supposition on whether or not the happy couple should leave immediately to pursue...private interests. Both blushingly ignored these suggestions, however.
The reality of the day soon imposed itself on the happy couple, though. Going inside, Kathryn noticed Kaye sitting alone and went to see what was the matter, only to learn that the Count had denied her permission to attend the General Adama's Constitutional Congress, an effort to create a Parliament of Dreams that would act as a democratic voice for the commoners of the Kingdom. It was a dream of hers to go, and he had said no, and she was very sad. Dino and Kaye and Kathryn discussed how to deal with this, only to have Dino and Kaye drawn away to deal with city business. They asked Kathryn to bring Tam and Shae out, which was easier said than done, because they were both talking to the White Queen and Harbinger Frost. By the time she was able to get them away, it was too late for more dancing (though she got to see an excellent dance put on by the Baroness Eleanor Elise and Messina the Satyr. Soon after she got outside, though, Diezel attacked Abrey again, though in a more...intimate fashion, dragging him off. Kathryn accepted the many congratulations, etc. that were offered, and spent more time talking to Petra.
Soon things took a turn for the worse, though. Rasputin and Crash started to confront each other, but Rasputin fled. Soon, though, he was tracked down again, and taken inside to speak to the authority type folks. Meanwhile, Kathryn was looking for Dino, only to be approached by Ciarnan (recently returned from exile, with permission to be in Muses once more, the former Baron before Vlad) who she barely knew, who congratulated her and then suggested that Dino might need her. She went inside to look for him, and as a result she was witness to the events that followed.
Some sort of agreement had been made that had Crash and Rasputin set to fight. Rasputin was supposed to beg for forgiveness, receive it, and then that would be considered justice for the crimes done. However, Rasputin said his part, and Crash didn't accept it - he said that he repented to the best of his abilities, but the supposition was made that this was not at all, that he couldn't repent. Infuriated, Crash drew back his fist, and it began to glow, and then he punched Rasputin, who didn't attempt to defend himself. While everyone (including the White Court, the Count and his entourage, Kathryn, Dino, Torn and others) stood by and watched, Crash punched Rasputin with that glowing fist twice, than once normally, and then, while Rasputin lay helpless, Crash put his fist through Rasputin's head. The White fomori, furious that no one had raised a hand to defend Rasputin - apparently that hadn't been part of the set up, though no one had bothered to inform Kathryn or most of the other folk standing by what the conditions actually WERE, so it was...messy. The White ended all negotiation, though, and left.
Dino was, in fact out of sorts, the more so now that there had been a death at Beltaine. He told Kathryn that Armand could remember the night of Iron Knives, Beltaine about 30 years ago when crazy-ass nobles killed a whole bunch of commoners, and he was out of sorts due to the parallels. They spent a lot of time talking, about their respective pasts - Dino telling about being a massive over achiever (graduating from college when most people are graduating from high school...) and his life in New York and his early arrival in Muses; Kathryn telling about her family and her life before her chrysalis; they noticed that in many ways there were parallels. It was a pleasant conversation, though Dino was distressed by the treatment that Kathryn had received. He also was surprised to listen to her tell of why she would be interested in him, and shocked that she couldn't conceive of why anyone would be interested in her.
Not long after, people started to congregate again as word of the latest disaster got out. Shae and Tam, who were in charge of Beltaine celebratory events, arranged for a dance for the "newly weds" who, blushing and both a little reluctant, agreed to go with them. Dino paused, though, and handed Kathryn his cloak, the cloak of hope, becuase he felt he needed some hope right now. Speechless, she followed him out, and they danced a bit - though with events as they were neither was fully in the spirit of things.
Events began to wrap up at that point. A lot of really bad things had happened - Dino called everyone together to tell them about the parallels to the night of iron knives, and it was with a solemn attitude that events of Beltaine day came to a close...but that still left Beltaine night!
Not long after they got back to Willowgrove, Kathryn asked if she could speak to Armand. Dino, a little confused, agreed, and Kathryn went out of her way to make sure that she didn't mind if Armand did...Armand type things, like sleeping around. This was a flat out lie, for she did mind, terribly, but she knew that it was incredibly unfair, because Armand isn't Dino, even if they share a body, and so she wanted to make it clear that it was alright. Dino took over again, looking a bit concerned but saying nothing, before the inevitable happened, and there was a tasteful fade to black in Dino's bedroom.
A lot happened that evening. Kathryn, much later, found herself alone; Dino was out talking to some of the other Willowgrove inhabitants (Johnny Doe, in this case, and Careg and a few others) and Kathryn found herself talking to Kaye. She learned in this conversation that things were messy - The Count was going to be releasing Kaye from her oaths of fealty long enough for Kaye to reswear to the Countess, who was chatterlain and acting Baroness of Muses. Kaye, however, wasn't planning on swearing again once she was free. A terrible nervous fear set in, for even Kathryn could see the potential to be incredibly bad in this situation - depending on how it went, it could cause Civil War. Scared and a bit nervous, Kathryn headed back to bed.
She wasn't actually present for a wonderful conversation between Kaye and Dino, in which Dino tried to figure out if Kathryn actually did mind Armand or not, which included the exchange:
Kaye: Kathryn would say she were fine even if her legs had been cut off and she were on fire. (imitative) 'Oh, is there anything I can help you with?'
Dino: (sounding incredibly confused) So how can I tell if she is a flaming amputee, or if she is actually alright?
Sadly, Kathryn didn't witness this conversation, but it was awesome. :)
A Night Out, 2: Are you really okay with Armand? Stick up for yourself, Kathryn!, the grail quest
BGA: A trip to Prague, armor for Jain
BGA: talking to Careg about Rasputin's death, talking to the Countess about what happened to Lexxander Lugnut
June Interlude: Talking to Jain about item creation and the fomori, talking to Careg about the White (I kind of trust Harbinger Frost...), lying to the Bear, BEE's Batchelorette party - talking with BEE, talking with Triza and V, dancing, dancing with Diezel (Are you a lesbian?), Dino's arrival, Dino clothesless, "are you okay?", "what are you laughing about, Diezel?", secret passageways of Highground, moving the party to Willowgrove, Kaye's freedom, "it's going to be okay, Kathryn" (holding hands), telling Dino about the Bear, talking to Johnny Doe - why doesn't the bear mean me harm?
SMART's last mission: heading out (writing the letter); meeting up; realizing the danger; the first trial: the king and the sleeping forest; the second trial: the queen and indecision; the third trial: the queen and the key in Liza's heart; fleeing the red fomori.
June game: The attack of the red fomori, why's Dino here??, Petros' death, sending Petra ahead, staying behind to heal folk, omg I'm not dead, return to Willowgrove, yelling at Pinnochio, looking for Kaye, finding Kaye (the death of Gawayne), trying to deal with the grief, meeting Liza, comforting Dino, the missing Thangobrind and Diezel, shock after shock
no subject