Nyx
Nyx sighed as Arys departed. He'd had more to discuss with her and as it happened Falk as well but they both lived by their own clocks. No matter, he could always send a messenger to their lands if the need for his questions to be answered became vital. Otherwise he would simply make his own queries into the matter.
With his former lover and her prospective mate gone Fearos chose this moment to speak. He was polite, asking if Nyx had need of him before he departed. It was a fairly Seelie trait. Those in Summer and Spring preferred to be civil and respectful while stabbing someone in the back. Autumn and Winter were perhaps not less subtle in their ways but usually much more brusque about it.
"Thank you Lord of Summer but I have nothing to speak with you about for the moment. Should that change I shall send word to your Court."With those words Nyx stepped back and as was his power vanished into the shadows. Once out of sight Nyx touched a small wooden totem on a string around his neck. It was carved in the shape of a leaf from the wood of the World Tree itself. Yggdrasil did not often give up parts of itself willingly and when it did so only on very special occasions or direst circumstances. Of course no one, not even Cernunnos had been foolish enough to try to take the tree's wood by force.
Nyx whispered into the totem.
"Yggdrasil please." The tree had the power to teleport anyone within the bounds of the Spring Court and a small distance through Realm Gates like the one Nyx stood at now. That was granted the tree was in a good mood. If it wasn't it would simply leave Nyx here. Not the end of the world but a bit of an inconvenience.
"Yggdrasil?" He asked a little more insistently.
The totem grew warm in his hand.
"Thank you old friend." Nyx said before he was whisked away to the Spring Palace... about a foot above the fountain in the main courtyard. Before Nyx had a chance to react He fell into the water below. The fountain was not deep but it was deep enough to drench the Spring Archon from head to toe.
Nyx grabbed the edge of the fountain and pulled himself out of the water. He looked up at the Great Tree overhead.
"I have hedge shears you know."The tree seemed to creak ever so slightly, like it was laughing at him. Nyx sighed. Might as well try to intimidate Stone Henge for all the good it was do him.
@BlackPantherLeaf and Nyx
Leaf sat on the edge of the fountain staring up at the sky. One foot was in the water, feeling the cool clear substance moving over her skin. The other was on the ground roots extending from her toes into the earth. Suddenly the Lord of Spring materialized above the fountain and went crashing into the water.
He clambered out of the fountain and shouted an empty threat at the World Tree which had clearly dropped him off just short of his destination. The Great Tree's laugh reverberated through the ground though Leaf was the only one to feel it. In return a knowing smile graced her face as she looked at Nyx.
"I do hope you were able to keep your head above water at the Moot my Lord." She said, her laughter apparent on her face though she made no sound.
At the sound of her voice Nyx turned to see the Fool of the Spring Court lounging by the fountain. Of course if the event with the fountain had to be seen by anyone it would be Leaf. She had the habit of showing up wherever she was least wanted though Nyx would admit that in times of need she was helpful. Most other times however she was simply annoying or obnoxious. She had a way of being able to twist words like a painter manipulates a canvas though as a Court Fool that wouldn't be surprising. Those good at their jobs had tongues as sharp as razor and no sense of fear to match it. Nyx sometimes wondered what the Fools in the Fall Court were like. It was set in fae law that the Fool had the right to mock their superiors and receive no retribution in return but Nyx had always been curious if their were any in Fall that would dare to mock Falk, whether they were protected by law or not.
Nyx shoot his head.
"The Moot went as well as can be expected. Yggdrasil's sense of humor could use some work however."Leaf smiled.
"I'm sure a tree of such age finds amusement in many ways. You cannot be so old and forget the sound of laughter. Or perhaps in its years it has gone mad. Who can say what one of the ancients thinks."Nyx shrugged.
"I would imagine only the spirit of the World Tree has those answers. Alas who can know where he might be." Nyx shook his head, pushing the thought away. If the World Tree manifested itself it would cause a major event. Most likely the tree kept itself to itself and watched over those in its walls.
"Leaf, is Pearl nearby chance?"Leaf smiled.
"Always." The Melial snapped her fingers and Pearl appeared not far off. She had been hiding rather securely amid the roots that curled around the create the central courtyard.
The fae smiled with a childlike innocence.
"My lord is dark in thought today. Circled all round him like a cloud. Met and talked much but so little was said. How will it end?"As usual Nyx understood little of what Pearl spoke though he always paid close attention to her words. She had a certain air about her, despite her simplicity Nyx had a strange impression that she new and understood much more than he let on and bits of this sometimes emerged in her speech.
"Well met Pearl. I wonder if you might do me a favor. Find Sini and tell her to meet me in the gardens. I am in the mood for a walk and I have a task for her."Pearl nodded.
"Far away from here." She said with a smile before running off.
Before Nyx or Leaf had the chance to say more a dryad can running through the gates.
"My Lord he shouted
"My brothers and sisters have reported a rather pathetic creature that has crossed over from the Winter Court. It is currently being held by one of the Cath Palug. What do you wish done with it."Nyx sighed.
"It must be the representative of Winter. The Archon turned to his Fool.
"Leaf if you would be so kind, please bring him to the palace."The Melial nodded.
"As you wish my lord." There was something slightly mocking in the way that Leaf addressed him but Nyx had long ago put aside feeling any form of indignation at Leaf's actions. It was her prerogative to speak her mind in whatever form she wished. There was nothing Nyx could do to change that so there was little point in being annoyed by it.
Leaf vanished with her dryad cousin into the woods surrounding the palace. While Nyx started walking leisurely towards the garden, letting the Spring air and sun dry his clothing.
Pearl
Pearl skipped through the corridors and halls of Yggdrasil. She loved the ancient tree. Being inside it always gave her a feeling of fresh life an ancient authority though she knew most fae experienced these feelings as those of deep seated fear. It was normal for them to be afraid of those things that they did not understand and even more those things that were older than them. Pearl however was not even a little bit normal. In some ways she was like a small child and in others she was as old and wise as the tree that she now skipped through merrily.
No one gave her a second glance as she passed them. In her first few years she had been regarded as an odd sight around the castle but now she was simple Pearl, The Fool's Apprentice. The fools were allowed to do as they wished and so no one bothered Pearl about how she was. No one was even sure how much of her persona was an act and how much actually part of her personality. She didn't really care either way.
She found the Spring Knight Sini in the office of Captain of the Guard. Once upon a time it had belonged to her mother Duska but that was many years ago. Another occupied it now but Sini made use of it whenever she needed some space. It was adjacent to both the armory one of the Great Realm Gates located in the lands. This one was buried deep beneath the tree in the darkest parts of its roots but for those whom Nyx trusted it could be made to manifest in the great hall at the foot of dais that held Nyx's obsidian throne.
Sini was staring into space, her eyes lite with a dull yellow glow. Pearl knew what she was doing, as usual she was spying on the Moot or rather the empty plains of Stone Henge now. The meeting of the leaders had ended but this kind of magic took several minutes to disengage from and Nyx had only returned recently. Not caring to wait for Sini to wake herself Pearl reached her hands up besides Sini's temples.
"Pop." She said happily as she snapped her fingers.
The yellow glow in Sini's eyes burst like a bubble as she was yanked back to her body. The particular type of scrying she was using, making use of another creatures eyes as surrogates for ones own was very effective but also complex. Simpler scrying methods like that of Nyx's basin at Ceridwen's grave were fairly simple but also not difficult to block. Stone Henge was shielded from many magicks leaving this form of translocation as one of the only methods to observe the spot. It was why the Heng was used for the Moot.
Still the downside to this magic was that it left the user essentially comatose. The would remain in the position they were in when they began the scrying and in most cases could still speak with their actual mouth making it effect for wartime scouting but it also left the user vulnerable. Usually it was made use of in war times when the scout was safe in the middle of base camp. Or in this case the office of the Captain of the Guard.
The way Pearl had broken the spell would likely leave Sini with a headache for awhile but nothing seriously damaging. She smiled at the Spring Knight.
"Time to ride, time to fly. The King cannot enter his counting house till all the gold is accounted for. He waits where the wild things grow to say little but speak much." Pearl smiled as though she'd just given Sini a clear set of instruction.
@shylarahLeaf
Leaf strolled through the forest at a leisurely pace. The dryad who had long disappeared back to his area of the forest had said the creature was being contained by one of the Cath Palug. Vicious and sentient cats of monstrous proportions. They were often the first line of attack when Spring went to war but in peace times they occupied themselves by devouring intruders in Spring's borders. However none was foolish enough to eat someone without hearing what the Archon had to say about them. They could after all be someone important. Eating wantonly usually led to misunderstandings and loss of life, most often the Cath Palug paid in tribute for the mistaken death. So for the sake of his own hide the great cat would wait for Leaf to arrive to pronounce judgement.
As she neared Leaf could hear the screams and whimpers of Winter's representative. Clearly not a very courageous creature. She kept herself out of sight amid the trees as she approached. She could see it was a goblin which had scaled a tree in an attempt to escape. Not a good choice for the Cath Palug could climb but more than that the tree it had chosen was not nearly high enough or sturdy enough to avoid any kind of attack. Obviously he'd panicked. Cowardly and not straight thinking. Leaf didn't have high hopes for the goblin especially considering he looked rather sickly and weak compared the brethren that Leaf had seen. Either this was a very clever deception or the Winter Queen had been looking to offload the useless fellow onto someone.
Leaf herself would have sent someone a little more competent than this tiny goblin to be her envoy into Spring. This was essentially her only opportunity to get a spy into Nyx's court and while both the rulers knew that their representative would be watched closely and shielded from any truly important information some learned in tactics and deception would be able to attain more information than the ruler wished for them to have. Leaf was sure that Nyx would send someone who looked strong to show his power but also honest so as to give the Winter Queen no cause to think of them as a threat.
Of course no one would mistake this goblin for a threat but that was plainly because he obviously wasn't one. Still it would be unwise to leave him unwatched at any point. But Nyx was already aware of this fact. He wasn't as foolish as his age or his manor might lead someone to assume.
The goblin clearly believed he was going to be eaten but Leaf could see from her hiding place that the Cath Palug was playing with him like it would food that it has not decided to eat yet. It was waiting for someone, her as it happened.
Deciding to put the poor creature out of its misery Leaf strolled through the trees into the clearing.
"Poor little goblin hiding in a tree, too panicked to realize, too foolish to see." Leaf smiled up at the goblin who shivered in fear. Then she turned to the Cath Palug.
"If you wouldn't mind Lanveir, he is Winter's envoy to the Archon's Court. I believe consuming him would cause undo stress between the lands."Lanveir backed away from the tree looking disappointed. A disgruntled purr echoed from his throat. Leaf smiled.
"Do not worry friend, if anything happens to Nyx's envoy while in Winter I will ensure that this one is delivered to you on a platter of finest silver." She paused for a moment to let that sink in for the goblin in the tree before she finished.
"Alive of course, what fun would an already expired meal be?" Of course Leaf found the practice of consuming other creatures for sustenance rather disgusting but she was capable of fashioning her own food from the golden light of the sun and the nutrients of the ground. Other creatures were not so lucky and so Leaf tolerated their deficiency.
Lanveir seemed to smile before taking another step back to allow Leaf to approach the goblin in the tree.
"Come down goblin. Have you a name?" Though she was a jester and a jokester in this instance her voice held a commanding air that demanded she be listened to or terrible things would befall those that defied her. It was not a voice she used often and never in front of anyone of power. No need to draw any serious attention to herself.
@Belle
