The morning after Court, Robin wanders back to the Castle from her nightly roost, tired and sad. The spreading news of Khela's death deeply frightens her. First Brennan's love and now Celina's. And her Vere is off in the Wilderness with only Merlin for protection? She knows he promised not to puddlify himself. But that didn't really help Aisling, did it?
Circled by gloomy thoughts of the friends and siblings she's lost, Robin can no longer stand it. With a grim set to her shoulders, Robin begins systematically exploring the Castle: from the stupid underground rooms with their harsh unnatural lights, to the strangely quiet rooms with their banks of sliding... things and blinking... other things, to the salons and lounges, etc, etc, etc. Any folk she meets along the way, she'll greet politely but won't stay long. Robin is on the hunt for something she knows she has a right to, but can't ask about. Stupid rules.
Finally, she finds it. The room that seems to sway ever so slightly to her eyes, walls full of the images of her Family in bright swirling colors. As ever, Robin is somewhat unsettled and disoriented as she enters the Trump Booth. She is also determined. She knows that it might be dangerous (or impossible) to contact Him where He is, but, but, but.... She'd really like to hear Vere's voice right now.
Locating the beautiful image of her Lord of Reason, Robin softly strokes her beloved's cheek and calls out to him from across the Universe.
Robin stares at the sketch and concentrates on seeing it animate, seeing Vere's eyes move, his smile. She pours her energy into it and wills the communication to open and let her talk to Vere. She lets her determination drive the effort.
After a time, she realizes that something isn't right. She touches the drawing. Trumps are supposed to be cool or even cold to the touch. Vere's sketch isn't.
Robin steps back, breathing sharply, her skin as cold as the sketch isn't. Okay, okay. Don't panic. The stoopid cards only work about half the time anyway. No leaping to conclusions. Despite her self-talk Robin finds her stomach clenching in dread.
First things first. Check another sketch to make sure it isn't her or the Universe playing games. Robin gingerly reaches out to touch her Father's Trump. She most definitely does not want to call, she just wants to feel the temperature.
[Assuming it's cold] Robin jerks her hand away from Julian's image before she can be drawn into a conversation she's not yet ready to have. The Ranger practically throws herself out of the Trump Booth in agitation. She clicks and hisses to herself as she paces outside the door, trying desperately to think.
Okay, okay. Maybe she's doing something wrong. Or there's a function issue. Yeah. She should talk to one of the Family artist-types, that's what she should do. Hmmmm. Reid's MIA (and she really should track him down one of these days if she wants to get Vere's surprise done.) Ohhhh, Vere.... Robin bites her lip and shakes off her worry as much as she can. Brita, Paige, Ossian. They're all in town. She can talk to one of them!
Robin spins on her heel and heads back to the better travelled corridors where she will practically pounce on the first page she sees and ask after Brita, Paige or Ossian.
The page returns, out of breath. The steward reports that each of the three has departed the castle.
Robin's eyebrows go up. Weelll, they didn't let any moss grow under their feet. But she thanks the page and sends him off to the kitchens with Royal Orders to get himself a sticky bun.
Robin paces a little feeling the frantic-ness well up inside of her. With a gulp, she swallows it back down before she does anything stupid. But still her hands flutter, her breath tries to speed. Best she was doing something instead of worrying.
Lessee, last official thing she remembers she was going to be assigned to go somewhere full of sorcerors that had let Huon bleed Marius and shouldn't technically need to be leveled. And she was supposed to figure out what she needed. Right now might not be a good time for her to try talking to anyone, but she might be able to figure some things out about boats and things. At least, it wouldn't hurt, her being such a trail hugger and all.
With that, Robin takes herself out of the Castle (leaving word where she's going) and heads down to the harbor. To learn about boats and things in the ways that works best for her -- observation, immersion, trial & error.
Robin spends a good part of the morning, wandering the waterfront. Watching the way the waves push the boats, noting where (and how many) ropes are tied, listening to the voices around her telling each other what's important and what they think the shape of the world is. By noon, both she and the fire-lizards are getting hungry and looking to relax and do some thinking.
That's when she sees the front of a building that she's only seen the back of. Now, she knows that she promised the King she wouldn't go looking for trouble within his city again. And she won't. She won't. But she would like to take a sniff around to make sure there's no more cockatrice spoor in the place.
Thus, it is that Robin strides into the gaming den. Her eyes narrowing as the adjust from the bright street. With three wary and alert firelizards on her shoulders. Not her best plan of the day.
The front of the place is as well-ordered as the back, which is to say it's hard to imagine how a place as new as Xanadu can have places that have seen better days, or people, for that matter. The door is situated to light up newcomers, giving the denizens time to react. She's come into a predators den from upwind. Robin thinks someone slipped into the back when she entered. A short man with slicked-back hair approaches her. "Good day, ma'am. What brings castle-folk to our humble tavern?" His smile is like treacle.
Robin's a little bewildered by that herself but plugs on gamely. "Offal?" she says. And then clarifies, gesturing to her little friends. "Do you have any fresh entrails?"
There's a pause as Robin hears what she just said. The girl shakes her head at herself and tries once more.
"I'd like a sloe gin and if you have any raw meat or organs available for my companions, I'd be willing to buy." There! That came out better.
But as Robin's mind is struggling with words and social niceties, her instincts are in high gear concerning her surroundings. A predators' den yes, but a den she's violated before. With impunity. The girl pays special attention to the atmosphere around her and the movements of everyone in the tavern.
"I'll ask the kitchen. Let me show you to a table, and have a waiter get you a drink."
The table is in the center of the room, and well-lit. The short man pulls out a chair for her. Her back will be to the kitchen, but every chair at this table will put her back to someone.
Robin takes the indicated seat, but angles it so she's at least off-square to the kitchen.
"One moment, ma'am," he says, and walks towards the back.
Robin looks around the room and gauges the atmosphere. Most of the people seem to be curious. While not actively hostile, they seem like they could become so if they wanted to. There are a half-dozen customers in the room, and a few loitering types that might be bouncers at better establishments. The most interesting people in the room are at a table by the side door: a brilliantly redheaded woman in a red dress. There's a man at the table who looks like he could've just come in from the forest. He has a cloak over his face and is shrinking back into the darkness.
As Robin settles herself and her friends, she does her best to match the mood of the room. If she recognizes any of the 'bouncers' from her previous visit, she'll nod politely but not do anything menacing. It's a rule of the forest that everyone has to use the same watering hole, so when you're not on the hunt, you're not on the hunt. And Robin is most definitely not on the hunt.
Except maybe for the couple at the side table. As her gaze sweeps around the room, Robin will pretend she's Brij and see if she can figure out what the red dress 'says.' The shrinking man gets a sweep too: mostly to see if it's guilt that's requiring a fade from the Warden's daughter.
It looks to Robin like very visible plumage. The woman is handsome. She looks to be in her mid-thirties, no more than forty, underneath her camouflage. The people in the room seem to be taking their cues from her. Lots of little looks her way. If she's not in charge here, she's set up to look like she's in charge.
It's hard to get a good read on the man. He's being very still, as if he thinks you won't see him if he doesn't move. He's got a very strong not-from-around-here feel to him. Very out of place. He doesn't sit like a Ranger, but he's clearly not a city-person.
"The kitchen can oblige you, ma'am, " says Slick-hair, returning with her drink. "However, they ask that you feed your pets outside, as it might be disturbing to the other customers." His smile is as fake and sparkling as it was when she walked in. "I'm given to understand you may already be familiar with the previous owners' back courtyard."
"That I am," Robin says, taking a sip of her gin. "But the last time I was here it was real crowded. Gonna be that way again?" She asks innocently.
He looks unfazed by the question. "Ah, the recent unpleasantness has led to a change in management. The new owner," he says, involuntarily looking towards the lady in red, "hopes to have no such issues." He pauses. "The Lord Mayor's Men were quite clear about what was prohibited here and Madame Scarlett has no interest in crossing them."
"Good for Madame Scarlett." Robin raises her glass slightly to the woman in red, shoots a confused look at Frozen Forest Man and stands up. "Okay, lead the way." There's something in her voice that says that Robin still expects to get ambushed, folk being what they are. But she's willing to accept that it won't be an "official ambush."
"Gladly, Madam. This way." He walks to the side door and opens it. Outside the remains of the fighting ring are still in place. The cages seem to be gone, although the place smells of animals. If they still have any, they're not here. Maybe back in the warehouse.
"I'll tell the kitchen to send out the offal, Madam," says the slow-talking man. He departs, leaving Robin in the courtyard.
The kitchen door opens and the redheaded woman walks out. There's a young boy, perhaps 8, behind her with the offal. The fire-lizards are all aware of the food, but are waiting impatiently for permission to eat.
Robin smiles comfortably to the boy, six pairs of spinning eyes on three focused Saurians has got to be a little unnerving. Or maybe not, given the establishment. She also sends her praise silently to her little friends. They are behaving so very well.
"Most people who come to see me don't ask for uncooked meat," says Scarlett. "But I ain't met many castle folks."
If this is an ambush, it's a slow ambush.
One shoulder shrugs off-handedly as Robin looks to Madame Scarlett. "My friends are a special case. But I can imagine falconers or dog-trainers askin' for the same thing. And butchers or knackers don't serve gin." She finishes with a smile.
See, ma'am? No ambush here either.
"As far as castle folk go," Robin chuckles ruefully, "you'll probably get more. We're kinda like ants. We follow our own trails."
She smiles back, suddenly looking younger than her years. "Ants aren't good for a tavernkeeper's business. Makes the customers unhappy, they do."
Robin shrugs again. She can take her own trail out of here, but it won't change anything. Ants (and Kin) do what they do. And castle folk are a LOT harder to exterminate.
The boy walks up with the bowl. His eyes are large and his voice hasn't yet dropped. "What're those?," he asks, looking at the Firelizards.
She smiles at him as she takes the bowl. "They're Firelizards, from a Shadow named Calusa. This one is Peep," Robin tips her head toward the glimmering gold, "and these are Chirrup and Ooot." Robin raises an elbow, lifting the scooting Ooot further away from the bowl. "They've been very good today and haven't stolen any fish, so I wanted to get them a special lunch."
She meets Madame Scarlett's eyes. Really, actually.
Scarlett nods. "Of course." The child moves behind Scarlett, and watches the lizards from behind her skirts. "You actually did me quite a favor, breaking up the gaming that was happening back here. It kept Scallop from being able to pay me back and he forfeited his share of this place." She looks at the lizards herself. "Fine beasts you have. I've seen parrots that wasn't as well trained. Anyroads, I can tell you people what you want to know, but I need some protection for the child and for myself, as I was threatened if I were to speak. That's the same as I told Raven."
It occurs to Robin that if she were Jerod or Brennan, she could say something smart and vague here that would coax Madame Scarlet into revealing more without Robin herself committing to anything. Oooorrrr if she was Martin, she could just glare icily until Madame Scarlet started confessing everything in sheer terror. But as it is, she's Robin so she's probably just going to blink in confusion. Which is exactly what she realizes she's been doing for the last second or two.
The fire-lizards have been taking advantage of Robin's confusion to eat messily from the bowl.
The girl breaks into bemused chuckles, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I have no idea what you're talking about. But if it's Captain Raven's business then I shouldn't be muddying the waters." Robin puts the bowl and her glass on a handy crate (or table or whatever) and reaches for her purse.
"I don't know the man at all and I just got out of a hell of a situation involving a different cousin's people. I certainly don't want to welcome Raven to the Family by doing the same to him." Robin holds up a couple coins. "Will this cover the tab?"
"Aye," she says, nodding. "My message was for the Prince, and Raven was to deliver it. I thought you were his agent, my Lady. If you were to pass it along, I'd be obliged."
"Well, if I see Raven, I'll be glad to. If you want it to go to 'the Prince', you'll have to tell me which one," says the not-agent with a shrug.
"Prince Martin!", says the boy. His mother swats his head, casually.
"As the lad says," replies Scarlett, grinning apologetically. "We met him on the trip from Amber. I like to think of us as his business, rather than Raven's."
The boy rubs the back of his head, but doesn't move from his position behind his mother's skirt.
Having been the recipient of a number of Rangers' backhands herself, Robin grins back to mother and son. "Prince Martin it is," she confirms with a nod that is neither singular or abrupt. "I don't know when I'll be back up to the Palace, but I'll deliver your message when I get there." Since Martin's going to be around for a while and all.
"Thank you, my Lady," Scarlett replies.
Robin puts the coins down on the crate or table next to her glass and looks over her little friends to see just how messy they've gotten themselves and her before she heads out.
Either they're getting tidier as they get older or they were pretty hungry. They're mostly clean. They are full and content, and want Robin to rub them with oil and let them sleep on a warm beach.
It's hard to say how Robin knows what they want, but that seems to be it. Maybe it's just logical.
Makes sense to Robin. After all, if she were a lizard that'd be how she'd want to follow-up lunch. But since she's not a lizard, she'd better head back to the palace. While there may be a dearth of warm beaches there, there is at least oil. Besides, Robin's had enough of looking at boats and ropes and stuff.
Nodding her fairwells to mother and son, Robin heads back into the tavern and out through the front door.
One of the advantages of a city built into the side of a hill that if you're going up, it's hard to get lost.
Robin isn't lost, but she's only gone three blocks when she realizes she's being followed. The fire lizards are getting jumpy, too.
Ahhhh. Madame Scarlett at least runs a joint where folk are smart enough not to attack Castle Folk on the premises. Good for her.
While definitely not in her area of strength, Robin still does her best. She casually launches the fire lizards skyward to keep an eye on her back and to get themselves out of the upcoming excitement. Then she circles around hoping to spot (and most likely, pounce upon) her follower or followers.
Robin's plan works to perfection. She ducks out of sight in an alley and finds herself a handy ledge on the side of a building to perch upon, waiting to pounce.
As expected, the man in the green cloak rushes past, trying to catch up to Robin. He has a hand at his side, as if he's got a concealed weapon. He's pretty good at being quiet, too, but he's not a city boy.
Robin drops upon her prey like a stooping falcon. Out of respect for the Mayor's men -- wherever they may be -- she, however, does not scream. Instead, she does her best to pin Green Cloak's weapon hand and drag him into the shadows.
He fights hard and not by city-rules. He throws his head backwards and hits her face with his skull, causing something to bleed and a certain numbness.
Robin has the upper hand and drags him into the shadows. A couple of body blows and a knee to the kidneys take most of the fight out of him. He'll be the worse for wear later, but Robin manages not to get hurt any further.
She turns him around and pulls off his hood.
The battered man says "Hello, sweetie, didn't know it was you, until that knee." He grins, lopsidedly.
Victor.
"VIC!" Robin shrills in delight. "You're alive!" And then joy steals her words.
Heedless of both their injuries, Robin throws herself onto Victor, clasping to him in a tight hug and a deep kiss. [Assuming Victor allows it.]
Victor allows it and actively participates. Robin's face still stings and the kiss tastes kinda coppery, but still sweet. Victor tries not to show it, but Robin's pouncing on him wasn't gentle. He only really winces once.
For a long moment, there is only exultation in the reunion, then memory returns. And she pushes him away from herself.
"Wait, wait. Engaged." She says taking deep breaths. Her eyes glimmer greenly in the alleyway as the joy the thought of Vere always brings combines with the joy of seeing Victor again. For Robin, those joys don't fight. Instead they whirl together into a happiness tornado and Robin laughs out loud and snatches Victor back to herself again. Albeit, this time with no tongue.
When Victor can get a word in between kisses he explains. "Engaged? No, no,no it was just a misunderstanding, sweetie. I had no idea that those people thought you were engaged if you shared a cup of cocoa! Let's not talk about that. What are you doing here? And more precisely, what were you doing there?"
"Mmmmmm. cocoa." Robin drifts out of the clinch, more than a little giddy from joy. The "honeymoon suite" afterward had been great too. Then, Victor's questions start penetrating and her brow furrows.
"I was getting a drink and a snack for my lizards." Why doesn't anyone believe her?
"For the other.... ummmm, we should get somewhere quiet and talk. I got some nests up around the Castle. Or if you know somewhere else?" Robin bites her lip in misgiving. There's a lot that she hadn't gotten around to mentioning to the big dope.
Victor shakes his head, and winces. "I just got in this morning, so your aerie it is." He squints up at the sun. "Castle's a fair climb, but no reason we can't get near there before it's too dark. I want to hear about your pets, too." He looks up towards the castle. "What kind of damn fool puts a castle halfway up a cliff? Won't someone just drop rocks on 'em?"
Robin smiles fondly at the thought of the damn fool. "Weeeellll, most of the Castle is built back into the cliff, so dropped rocks wouldn't hurt those bits. And I'm not totally sure that rocks could be dropped on the Castle at all unless the King wanted them to be. Which is completey possible, I suppose...." she allows.
"Anyway, let's get you upstairs. You gonna make it or should we stop somewhere and get you patched up?" she says blithely, at the same time she's subtly probbing for loose teeth with her tongue.
Robin's been hit a lot harder by Rangers. By the ground, for that matter. And this one time, by the bay. She's got a few loose ones, but they'll probably be fine in a day or two, if she doesn't lead with her jaw in the meantime.
"If I can't climb that, I'm no demon hunter. You pack a fair punch, sweetie, but you don't have a poisonous barb in your elbows, so I'll pull through. Lead on! Anything to get out of this part of town..." The last he says with a smile. Robin cannot imagine a part of town Victor would actually be more suited to than Scarlett's disreputable little corner.
"Awwww, you just don't want your giiirrrrlllfriend to catch us." Robin teases.
"Which is probably a good idea," she continues in a more reasonable tone. "Madame Scarlett seems suitably ill-inclined to trust in coincidence. Ummmm, this way."
"She's a customer!" he interjects. "I don't mix business with pleasure... Not ... usually. And not this time!"
"Right." Robin says drily. "You're a font of integrity and discretion."
Robin chooses a way out of the Disreputable Distrct that is as unobtrusive as possible. She keeps her friends' eyes in the air, explaining to both the firelizards and Vic that she'll introduce them later. The girl also points out some Xanaduvian highlights as their course takes them up the hill, like a great drum shop and an excellent barbecue place. In fact, Robin makes a brief stop to pick up some of that really hot chicken that Chirrup likes so much as well as some ribs for herself, Victor and the other two.
Victor shakes his head at this. "You, buying food." he explains. "It's like you've almost decided to be civilized..."
"Folk get nervous when you hunt in the city." Robin shakes her head as well. "I don't get it, but I kinda promised to limit the riots while in town." She shrugs one shoulder. She guesses that's the start of being civilized.
Once the little party starts gaining some serious elevation, Robin leads the way off of the beaten path. A brisk but short climb later, Robin is scurrying over the lip of a small outcropping with a breath-taking view of the Castle and Harbor. Comfortable for one person with no fear of heights, the ledge is a bit tight for two. She pushes a scubby bush to one side, revealing a small crevice cutting back into the cliffside. With a litttle tugging, Robin drags out a battered canvas back-pack.
Gesturing for Vic to make himself comfortable, Robin plops her flask down next to him and starts digging through the pack for medical supplies.
Victor opens the flask and sniffs at it, then pulls out one of his own. "You may like the flavor of this one better," he says, taking a swig. He winces. "Smooth," he lies.
Robin takes the flask from him with a skeptically raised eyebrow. But she kicks back a large swig anyway. "Yeah," she huskes out a moment later. "How much did you charge to take that off their hands?" she teases. But she does take another chug before handing the flask back.
"Sooo, let's see those ribs." And Robin sets to work repairing the damage she's done.
Once she's done with Vic, Robin calls in her flying friends, introduces them to Vic and parcels out the food. To those familiar with Robin's ways, it's obvious that she's working herself up to something.
In the middle of eating and petting lizards, Robin blurts out. "There's three things I need to tell you, sweetie. In no particular order. One - we're not engaged. I'm engaged. To Vere, Prince of Danu, Scion of Amber & Xanadu, son of Gerard and light of my world." There can be no mistaking the foompf of joy that goes through Robin at that point. Her eyes light up, her toes curl in delight and a shiver of exhilaration runs through her voice. Worry about him is what eventually brings her back to earth.
"Second, I'm here in Xanadu because... well, I'm a member of the Royal Family. The King's niece actually. Which leads to number three, ummm... I'm not actually human." She winces and looks off into the distance, not wanting to see the reaction of her demon-hunter ex.
Victor seems to be about to speak, shakes his head, and opens the bottle. He takes a solid slug, not even wincing as it passes down.
"So, your third point sorta changes my first question, but I'll ask it anyway. This Vere, is he a demon?"
"Nnnoooooo." Robin giggles, "I think he's got some Divine in his family tree, but I didn't pay tooooo much attention." Cause it's her Tree too, she doesn't say.
Then she parses Vic's statement another way. "Oo! Vic. No, don't even think it." She looks over at him seriously. "Fist thing, Vere would take, you, apart, sweetie. You're good. I know how good you are. But Vere?" she shakes her head, "He doesn't fight like we do. Besides, I just got you back, I don't want to lose you again so quickly."
A sad smile dats across her lips. She might lose him anyway, but at least he'd still be breathing. And making up whoppers. And telling bad jokes. And defending those who need it with strong-chinned bravado. The great dope. She tweaks the chin in question fondly.
"Second. I need Vere to hold me... together." Robin gestures with bunched fingers. "It got bad out there, Vic. And if I lose Vere -- bad things will happen. Bad things." She nods as her gaze drifts out over the hardbor. Unconsciously, she gathers her little anchors more closely to herself.
Victor snorts. "The difference between a demon and a god is usually found in their biographer." He smiles. "And if I had ever asked if it was safe to hunt demons, I'd be ... I dunno. Victor the Turnip Hunter, or something. I'm not on good speaking terms with safe, sweetheart." He smiles. "Or smart, for that matter."
He drops the smile, "So, next question, which I ask for the sake of pure personal insight and not due to any planned course of action, knowing full well my timing could be better. " He squirms in his seat, takes another drink, and squrims again. "Here goes. Are you a demon?"
"Nope." Robin says with easy assurance. She's got the average demon so out-classed, it's not even a fair comparison. Green eyes glimmer at Vic. It takes courage to ask that while perched on a cliff-side next to the girl one dumped. Courage, but not smarts, he's right about that.
She bumps him fondly with a shoulder, just to see him jump.
Victor does, and windmills a bit. He's faking being nearly knocked off, and faking being sorta mad, too. He's not so good at faking.
Robin chuckles at him. Gotta love him.
Turning her gaze back over the water, she shrugs. "I haven't heard any words I like for my folk. 'The Royal Family' works in most situations. But that seems to imply that one can marry into the species and that sure ain't so. My cousin Brennan calls us 'Lords of Order' but I just... can't... see myself as a Lord of Order of all things." Robin wrinkles her nose in distaste.
"I've also heard 'Blood of Oberon,' but there seems to be... something else in play too. 'Cause not all of the blood are of 'The Blood' if you know what I mean. And I can't tell why some are and some aren't. I used to use 'Scion of Amber' to myself, but now Amber's... well, it doesn't apply anymore." She finishes sadly, "Best I can tell you is I'm Robin. And that comes with a lot more strings that it used to. Bleah." Robin kicks back a big swig from her own flask.
He laughs. "Yeah, you are, aren't you? I always assumed that if you showed back up, you'd have a knife in your hands and someone's entrails in your teeth. Maybe the other way around. Not in some seaside saloon which dreams of upgrading itself to a dive."
"Well," she shrugs, "I'm armed. And there were entrails involved. So I guess you get a half-point for the guess." She grins at him. Though her eyes get a little wistful, 'cause she promised Vere she wouldn't go for Vianis' entrails. And that was probably her last good shot for a while. Dung, she misses the entrail-bits. Stoopid civilization.
To get her mind off it, she snuggles closer to Victor and asks oh-so-innocently, "Soooo, what were you doing in pretension-land?"
"Oh, not much. Helping someone out. It's what I do." Victor grins. "For pay, of course," he adds, quickly, in case Robin gets the wrong idea. He peers over the edge. "You can see most of the town from here. How do people live like this?"
"What do you mean?" She cocks her head curiously, a playful smile dancing on her lips. "Perched half-way up a cliff? Or crammed into a noisy, crowded, stinking warren?"
Victor sighs, blowing his bangs around his forehead. "There's only one thing that could bring me to a place like this, and this one isn't that bad yet. Two things. " He looks down again. "Not many things, anyway. What's it like, being one of them? Do you ever regret running off and missing out on your chance to become an apprentice Demon Hunter?"
Robin looks up at him with soft green eyes and stretches up to kiss him tenderly.
"Yes," she says snuggling back against Victor's side. "But even as off the trail as I was, I couldn't stay for long. Now? Pffff." She blows out a breath in frustration. "Gotta get civilized. And in a hurry."
Robin's eyes narrow in evil thought and she glances back up at her former lover. "Wanna help?"
He laughs. "Help civilize you? That lot below would hardly think I qualified." He takes a drink of his rotgot and generally indicates the entire town below them. "I mean, I'm stuck here, for a while, so maybe I can help, or do what I think of as helping, anyways." He turns towards the ranger. "What help do you need?"
Robin opens her mouth, thhiiinnnks, then closes her mouth. Licking her lips, she takes a different trail.
"I suppose I should give you the warning and the chance to run first." Robin ruffles sadly.
"See, my Family? Really, really big and powerful and full of badness. Kind of like of truly ancient Seethe. Except not humanovores. For the most part. Otherwise, yeah, a lot like that.
"Now, you've already been lightly dusted with 'notice me' since I have loved and still love you. But you could probably run now and still avoid much of the nastiness that assocation with Us brings." Robin smiles up at Victor, knowing what the Demon Hunter's going to think of that.
"Or you could stay. But that brings with it Strings. Lots and lots of big, entangling, nasty strings. The least of which is getting into arguments with Gods on a regular basis." Robin shakes her head and wrinkles her nose in distaste. Gods! With the exception of Brita, they all stink. "The scale goes up from there.
"The help I need is talking. These people, my Family... they all talk. All the time. And when stuff gets exciting or important, they talk with even more!" It's clear that Robin finds that ludicrous.
"I'm not good at talking. So I think... some... I think they think I'm stupid. Or untrustworthy." She frowns fiercely. That 'childish & reckless' comment hurt more than she thought it would. And it keeps on hurting.
"I'm not stupid or untrustworthy." Her frown deepens into a dark sulk. "I just don't talk good."
Victor laughs and reaches out and pets Robin. "You do lots of things good. Talking never slowed down a basilisk." He stops grinning "My turn. Family. It's a pain, but it's an obligation. Down there," he waves towards the warren of streets that they so recently left behind. "Down there is my family. My sister, and her two kids. And she's gotten in over her head and asked me for help. Which doesn't ever happen. She didn't even tell me when she had either of her kids." He pauses, looks at his drink, and doesn't have any. "Not that she could've found me, but still.
"So, this looks a lot like 'let's team up on both problems'." He grins. "My sister's good at talkin'. And Citying. She may help us both more than either of us helps the other."
"Weeellll...." Robin looks skeptical. Victor, she can ask for help. Others, not so much.
"If that was your sister you were talking to -- she's definitely run up against the Family. Which is more than most people can handle. She seemed like a reasonable sort to me." Robin shrugs, "I don't mind helping her. But if she crosses Prince Martin -- which it doesn't sound like she has yet -- then there ain't much more I can do than help clean up the bodies. However, I'm certainly willing to do what I can to try and not get to that point.
"Iiiii don't know from Captain Raven, yet. He's new. Hopefully that means he won't be throwing too much badness around 'til he gets the lay of the land. Doesn't guarantee it though." Robin finishes with a fond grin for her more troublesome kin.
"So was Scarlett your sister? Or am I leaping again?"
"Naw, you figured out my meaning well enough," Victor says, grinning. "Yes, that was a quiz and you passed." He lets the grin drop, a bit. "I ain't seen her in maybe fifty, sixty years, since I gave up breathin' water as a boy. I had no idea she went and had her own kids. Two. So now I'm Uncle Victor, and that sorta gets me in the way of your family of unstoppable forces of nature, which I had tentatively classed as 'not demons' already, but it was nice of you to confirm." The grin is back. "Hopefully I can get along better with my ... With Captain Raven than Scarlett does."
He frowns. "My sister's trouble is from Max, he's the younger one. Still too young to be without her. Anyway, Max's Da's men have been leaning on Scarlett, because they don't want 'em having anything to do with the Great Man. Now she's trying to negotiate protection from Martin in exchange for telling 'em who the father is." He sucks at the remnant of his empty drink, coaxing a few last drops.
"I think that's stupid and she needs to just tell 'em all, but she ain't me. "
Robin hands him her flask. Stretching her legs out so her feet dangle over the edge of the cliff, she frowns out at the sky.
He takes it and has the top off in a trice. He drinks from it sparingly, though.
"I think I ken it." She says thoughtfully. "Seems like your sister's reluctance could cut a couple of ways. One -- if the Great Man were Family, your sister might want to cover Max with someone other than his Da. Which is tricky 'cause the Family is really prickly 'bout things like that. Two -- if Max's Da isn't Family, it's totally like us to just walk away 'cause it ain't our concern. Leaving only Captain Raven, who she don't get along with, to deal with the Great Man's men. Or not as he pleases." Robin wrinkles her nose.
"And then there's always this." Robin crosses her legs, "Your sister is more than the product of her womb. Seems like she's built herself quite a life all on her own. It always kinda grates when a person of ability and strength is reduced to being just baggage for the spawn." Robin's lips tick wryly. Men.
"Okay, sooooo where does that put me?" Robin says thoughtfully as she pushes around Family dymanics in her head. "I got a stake -- a legimate one -- through you, Vic." She bumps him fondly with her shoulder. "But it's a light one and I ain't around much to enforce things personally. And I don't got 'men' in town to see to things when I gone.
"I'm also reeeeaaaalllly low on the Family feeding chain. But I ain't the weakest one in the room if it comes to that.
"Hmmmmm... Seems like most of the help I can offer comes in the form of one shot beneficenses."
She looks over at her ex. "If that's what you want, then I suppose our first step is to talk to Captain Raven. Who's got the larger stake."
Victor nods. "That was my first plan, before you dropped into Scarlett's. I wonder about that. She's acting like she'll be allowed to run a high-class gentleman's club with your nephew playing piano or something. I have no idea why she wants it, but if she can keep it, so much the better."
He shakes his head and drinks from her flask again. "I was thinking I need to thrash some of somebody's bully-boys, is what I was thinking. That was step two, after meeting Raven." He laughs. "With any luck, your cousin is using demons. I know what to do if it's demons."
Robin nods in satisfaction. "Thrashing is exactly the type of one-shot beneficenses I'm good at. Okay, let's head down to the Castle and see if it's okay with Raven if we thump those that are bothering his mon and brother."
The girl hops to her feet and offers Vic a hand up. "Though we'll probably end up apologizing the Great Man (if he's Family) for busting his overly-enthusiastic agents." Robin wrinkles her nose at the thought. Apologies again. Bleah.
Victor swings to his feet. "No time like now, is there?"
Last modified: 5 December 2011