Dresden Files: Changing Seasons

Dresden Files: Changing Seasons
Date of Scene:	21 June 2014
Location:	Chicago-667
Synopsis:	Harry Dresden takes Robin Goodfellow, Yuna Kagurazaka, Alexandra Knox and Veiled Lily to the Faerie realms to help resolve the biggest of issues on a major day: Midsummer's Eve.
Cast of Characters:	52, 159, 206, 275, 385

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Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Chicagoland is all under the shelter of whereever they can find safety from twisters this afternoon. Except for Mr. Harry Dresden, who's racing his ass back over to the Osaka Garden in Jackson Park. Lex has already seen this place, but probably not the way it is right now. There's a waterspout visible over Lake Michigan, lazily twisting away in place as ugly dark skies pour rain on everyone and everything. The Blue Beetle's had the most recent damage repaired and all the glass put back in. Good thing too, or else Harry would have been more wet than he's already been at this point.

At the entrance to the Wooded Island, tall satyrs stad guard, carrying halberds and clubs and shit. They don't look keen on letting anyone past them.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex brought her Abstractum this time around, it's a big round shield, and Lex has it raised to protect her face from the rain. Her necklace has already formed a breastplate, and she approaches Mr. Harry Dresden, "I guess it's something worse than dewdrop fairies quarreling this time around, Mister Dresden?" Her voice is level, but her knuckles are white from the way she grips her long bronze spear.

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Twisters? Waterspouts?

Puh-leeze.

Veiled Lily of the Valley, Exalted Secretary and Lawyer, Chosen of the Maiden of Secrets, and a dear friend of one Harry Dresden, hears the call. There's a moment in Heaven where Lily is there and then she is... very abruptly not, suddenly walking up to Lex and Harry, getting drenched in the process due to the weather at the park.

"This is going to be fun." Lily says in her soft drawl as she starts wringing out her long braid to no avail. "What's the plan, darlin'?"

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin is out and about, mostly because she sorta lives in Chicago these days and well. This sort of thing is up in her bailiwick and she is bored and wants to either be a pest or help people. Mostly pester other fae by helping people, so it gets two birds, one stone, and all that. So naturally, first course of action is find Harry. Of course today she's decked out in random bright yellow rain gear that sort of makes her look like she's cosplaying as the captain from the Gorton's fish packaging, minus the beard. Still. "Haaaaarreee. I wanna do something. What you need?" she asks, and grins. Yup. Cus this in no way is gonna complicate things at all.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The good thing about the weather forcing all of the non-Elites indoors is that Yuna doesn't have to worry about looking 'normal' ... and given the weather, she's elected to use Powered Form on her way to meet up with Harry Dresden and his other allies; she doesn't trust Flight Form in this kind of atmosphere, and Marine Form is most useful *in* the water, not just hopping around in the rain.

But none of her available forms really make it all that pleasant to travel through the teeth of a massive storm system; the only advantage to travelling overland in a rather massively bulky powered suit as opposed to flying or swimming is that she's somewhat less vulnerable to being swept away by the fury of the elements - and the occasional clap of thunder *still* makes her flinch. Good thing the roads are largely clear ...

Finally, Yuna approaches Harry and the others, her suit's hoverthrusters powering down, leaving her to walk the last few meters. *thud* *thud* *thud* *thud* "So this weather is a result of the two Faerie Courts slugging it out ... ?" she wonders. She has her Abstractum as well, but Shining Prism is hidden inside her armor at the moment - not as visible as Alexandra's shield.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
The set of satyrs seem more than a little perturbed as the Heroes roll up, bristling at the sudden influx of people. Several they know, two are worrying.
The bigger of the two satyrs barks out through the noise of the storm. "WINTER EMISSARY, YOUR PRESENCE IS NOT REQUIRED. LEAVE NOW."
The other regards Robin with a mix of worry and hesitance. "Your... 'grace'. It is so nice to see you again. The court was... wondering where you wandered off too. Also your presence is... not needed." The other satyrs form ranks on the way towards the park, very obviously guarding a Bridge.

Harry grumbles a bit, and rubs at his face. "Gruffs, seriously, I don't have time for this shit. If you haven't noticed shit is breaking here and I /know/ it's going down in there."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
"Your presence is 'not required' does not mean 'barred'." Lily points out quietly.

"There's a difference there, so even though it is not required, we are still allowed permission to enter." Lily's a Sidereal. She's going to go after the tricky bits.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin grins, and looks to the rest of the assembled group, a wicked twinkle in her eye. "Not needed! Harry, they said I'm not needed. Ha. They don't know me well." She looks back to the satyrs and tips her head. "Are you kidding me. Saying I'm not needed is like... the best way to make me go a place. You'd think that by now anyone in the court would know that. 'Hey Puck, stay out of here, by no means do this thing' is pretty much begging me to do it. ...Besides. Needed and 'can I actually help' are vastly different things. So. What DO you 'need' if not my help?" she asks, and folds her hands before her and waits.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex watches the Satyrs, and lowers her spearpoint forward, in a blatant display of lacking in subtlety, "My presence is required, I'm coming in whether you like it or not." She is drawing on some instinctual leadership qualities, "I won't be denied entry, nor will you deny entry to those I am travelling with. Your presence is not required. Leave now."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna turns to face the satyrs - 'Gruffs, Harry called them? It fits them, with a greeting like that - and looks them over briefly. "You say our presence isn't required; however, we wouldn't be here if we didn't feel a need for us to come. Harry, as the guardian of Chicago and its environs, believes there is a danger; I'm here as his ally, and as the Savior of Light, to investigate and take what action is necessary to preserve innocent lives. You have the option of standing aside so that we may enter; you have the opposing option of standing in our way, but if you do that, it'll go much the worse for you. I shouldn't like to hurt you unnecessarily, but it would be much preferable - for everybody here - if you let us in without a fight."

Somehow, she keeps a warm, friendly smile on her face all through that speech. She really DOESN'T want to get into a tussle with the Gruffs, but she's not going to let them stand in her way, or her allies', either - particularly when Harry has as much as indicated that we need to get inside.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Cripes. Gruffs get in the face of Lex and Yuna, bodily blocking their passage forward but not coming to blows. Lily and Robin get a snarl, before the gruff barks in goat languages and...
The biggest Billy Goat Gruff on scene stomps forward and glares at the group... carefully avoiding the gaze of the Puck. "This is a War Matter between the Courts, sanctioned under the Unseelie Accords. The White Council and its allies are not to intrude."

Puck on the other hand... The gruff really has no grounds to... honestly keep her out. Not that he could if he wanted to. "She may enter."

Harry snorts. "Fine. Then I'm here as the Winter Emissary, here to investigate the dispute that lead to the War Matter on the turf of the Mortal Realm. Let us in, dammit."

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex doesn't look like she cares about the accords, "I've never even heard of thise White Council, I'm not here as their ally. I'm here to help the Winter Emmisary on his investigation." She takes a deep breath, then says something more loudly than she usually does, "Furthermore, I am the daughter of Athena, grand-daughter of Zeus, and on my authority the Winter Emmisary will pass." She lowers her shield forward, and holds her speartip right in front of the biggest gruff's heart, "This is an ongoing investigation, interfere at your own peril."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
"Okay, that would apply, if I was an ally of the White Council. I'm coming in as an ally of well..." Lily gestures at Robin rather than Harry. Sometimes you have to go with the one person that people seem more scared of. (Sorry Harry.)

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"I didn't say I was here as an ally to the White Council," Yuna points out, her smile unwavering even in the face of a Gruff getting in her face about it. She's glad she's in Powered Form, though - it helps make up for the height discrepancy, which otherwise would have the satyr towering over her by a lot more. "I'm here because Harry Dresden is my friend, and I promised him my assistance. The White Council doesn't even enter into consideration. And if you attempt to prevent us from entering as Harry's friends, it will be ... very, very rude of you. Although I suppose good manners may not be of import to your guard duties."

She pauses, looking the Gruff over, from head to toe - or in the Gruff's case, horns to hooves.

"And neither of us wants to see what would happen as a result of that rudeness, I'm sure."

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin grins and nods. "Darn right I may. No reason to ever really keep me out of anything if people know what's good for em. Trying to bar me from a thing just makes me more curious about what I can do to 'help'," she says, and folds her arms over her chest. Yep. "Besides. ...They're with me," she says, pointing to Yuna and all. "Not the White Council in particular, so whatever. Yuna's my buddy and the others are her buddies so. Good enough." She looks over to Yuna and shrugs. "So, we'll get you guys in anyhow. It's not as if they can REALLY do much to stop me. So seriously, either cus you're with Harry or me, means you're in with one court or the other, no White Council relation at all honestly."

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
The Gruffs... step aside... after all that politicking and threatening. They've more than got their eye on everyone though as the way opens inside the park.
And it will be clear why they were guarding it so hard, as the Bridge over the water towards the island is an Open Way into the Never Never. Once inside, the Squad will find themselves in what appaears to be an arena of some sort. Not the battleground over Chicago this time, but rather something extremely metaphyically close.

It's a replica of Wrigley Field and they're in the stands. Down where the grass should be, a battle is raging extremely hard, as Summer and Winter troops rush into the middle of the stadium to beat the shit out of each other. Blood and ectoplasm coat the walls and dirt and everything close to thef field. Goodness.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
If Yuna were not explicitly here to assist and support Harry Dresden, her first glimpse of the deadly battle being waged between Summer and Winter would be swiftly followed by her turning around and departing the 'stadium' once again. And she really kind of wants to, friend to the wizard (and to Puck, whom she hasn't seen since she was going by another name) or not.

But she stands her ground, jaw clenching, grateful that she's at least in her heaviest combat mode, with armor and firepower aplenty (if not necessarily 'to spare'. Shugoseiheki, the Wall of the Guardian Star, her shield, materializes on her suit's left exo-arm with a quiet call of its name; the Matrix Divider needs no such invocation, simply materializing in Yuna's own hands, sheathed in armor like the rest of her arms. The right exo-arm simply flexes a bit, manipulator clenching into a fist, and Yuna looks to Harry. "Double-check me - are we on a specific side here? Or just trying to interrupt the war?"

She remembers that Harry is officially on Winter's side, as the Emissary - but she's not entirely sure what that means as far as his business here, or for those who came as his friends.

Either way, she'll be following his lead, if not plowing in ahead to give him some cover.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin grins and nods. See, that's better. "Told you I could get us in," she murmurs, and then with the sudden scene shift, she hmmms. "Riiiight. Okay. So. Since I've been sorta... uh. Out of the loop on this one. What's the game plan?" she asks, looking to Yuna and Harry in particular, mostly because she knows them best. Technically Rob's on Summer's side, so it's reeeeal interesting when she helps Harry out. No one really expects her to do much. "Honestly I always have 'fun' trying to figure out what side I'm supposed to be helping. If Harry was just all of a sudden not indebted to Winter or allied with them at all it'd be MUCH easier. Shame things don't really work that way."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
There is a long moment, before Lily whispers a short five-word sentence, although it's less of a sentence and more of a phrase - and suddenly her magical essence flares around her, giving her the form of a scarlet-armored and armed warrior.

"Unfortunately for Chicago and everyone else involved, Harry has a habit of sticking his nose into things and thus ruining everything." Lily teases him gently as she stands there next to the group. "So... game plan? Aside from, uh..."

"Ruining everything?"

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
"I can ruin everything, I'm very good at ruining everything." Lex jokes, mocking herself. She looks over the stadium, trying to figure out where the heart of the action is, what those outside the heart of the action are trying to do. She has her spear still in fighting position, "It would help to know what should be ruined first."

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Harry grumbles and rubs his face. "Why couldn't this have just been a regular fight? I mean... just... a normal, everyday horrible fight, not some sort of Bloodsport."
It's clear where the action lies, though, as up on top of the 'dugouts' on either side sit Maeve and Lily. That's Summer Lady Lily and not Veiled Lily. Members of their courts flank them on either side, with hordes of Sidhe lords up in the stands behind each bench, looking with rapt interest and thunderous cheers on the action.
Maeve's bunch is having a right good time, drunk as hell and hooting and hollaring from on top of the dugout. Lily's court is more reserved, save for a few more Gruffs who are likewise drunk as hell.

Harry just... sighs. "We need to end the fight somehow, just... get them to stop. This is way too many fae this close to the border of Chicago. Just... no."
He looks around, and then sighs, heading for the Winter Bench. "I'll start with my side."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna looks over at the Winter Court dugout. Then at Summer's side.

A piece of her really doesn't want to try making peace with a bunch of drunk Faerie nobles, but for all that her current colors of armor - white and green on the armor itself, white and blue and gold on her shield and the Matrix Divider - tend to align towards Winter's side of the spectrum ... she starts heading towards Summer's dugout, praying silently along the way. The Queen of Light may not be associated with any Earthly deity, but Yuna considers Oomikami Amaterasu - the sun goddess as venerated in Shinto tradition - to be one of her patrons as well ... and she's sure she'll need all the help she can get.

As she draws closer to the Summer dugout, Yuna lets the Matrix Divider vanish - but she keeps her shield handy, just in case somebody tries throwing anything at her, from a bottle or can to a spear to a magical attack.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Fair enough! I can do that." Robin is all of a sudden not where she was before, and sitting on top of the dugout. And then hooks her feet against the roof, clamps hands against the edge, and then inverts, dipping her head down over the dugout. "So! What'm I missing? Also, whyyyy exactly is there this big a crowd here for stuff? I've been a little out of it lately, but totally want to help do stuff. What do you need?" she asks, totally brightly. "We got win conditions or something here?"

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Lily considers. To go after Lily, or go for Maeve?

Nah, screw it. Summer Court is where it's at. Lily considers her armor, before tracing a finger down it and turning it solar-like golden as she trots down from the stands towards the dug out, activating Flight of Mercury as she goes so she's suddenly super fast, bouncing between people fighting.

She's not really fighting so much as a foot stuck out here to trip people, a elbow in the gut there on her way through.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
The primary priority appears to be stopping the fight, Lex looks at the center, and decides on what to do. She abandons the idea of drawing steel, and rushes forward, using her spear to polevault, trying to use the fae in the way as volatile stepping stones. She tries to reach the scoreboard so she can climb on top. She hopes that, like the regular Wrigley Stadium, it's hand operated, and will struggle for control over the scoreboard if she has to.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Okay, so! Harry is totally off by his lonesome to handle Maeve. We'll catch up with him in a bit.

As the rest of the group heads over to the Summer Court, though, something may catch their eye. sitting down inside the dugout, really relaxing in there, is a gruff the size of a small tree, all stretched out and waiting patiently. He is very old indeed, and... yeah, radiates more than a little power.

Lily, for her part seems... pleased? That people are coming out. Especially... "PUCK!" Oh goodness, that gets a hug out of Lily, who nearly tackles the Elder Sidhe. "Oh it's so good to see you, sorry it had to be on these terms, but you know how politics works, right?"
The others get a smile and a bow from the young lady. "Hello, I'm Lily, the Summer Lady. I can only assume you're all here with either The Puck or Dresden. I saw him heading over towards the other bench. What can I do for all of you on this momentous day?"

Down on the field though, it's not quite so charming or lovely. Goblins and gnomes and all manner of mythological beasts run slapdash into the field of battle, screaming and hollaring and dying en masse in a wave of bodies. Summer still has the upper hand n this fight, by far, but that's probably to be expected.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
The scoreboard! That's another matter entirely though. There's actually some order to things up in that direction, as a entire cloud of Dewdrop faeries, Wild, Summer and Winter all buzz around the place in excitement, a very studious looking pair of Winter Goblins manning what looks like a scorekeepers ledger. Interesting.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna puts on her best diplomatic smile, bowing politely in return to the Summer Lady. Even in her powered battlesuit, Yuna knows how to bow with a reasonable amount of grace. "We're actually looking to make today somewhat less momentous than it looks like it's going to be, Lady Lily. The battle between the Summer and Winter Courts is causing a considerable amount of fallout in the mortal world in and around Chicago, possibly beyond, and Harry Dresden is greatly concerned for the damage that could ensue if the fighting continues - above and beyond what damage has already been wrought. We came here because we share in his concern, as well as the call of friendship to provide our assistance to him in all matters of concern."

Yuna's smile abates somewhat. "So I must ask you," she says, her tone still polite but undeniably serious, "what will it take to bring an end to the battle, quickly and with minimal harm to Fae or mortal alike?"

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin grins and snugs Lily back. "So this is fun. Lily, meet... your name is Lily too isn't it? So serious anyhow. Politics are gross. What exactly are we up to here? I mean particulars. Few and far between are my dabblings into this business, and I'd like to see us win if possible to get this cleared up as fast as we can. So many fae about is sure to wreak havoc on the city, and I'm rather fond of the place. ...You can come to my place later for some tea sandwiches and visit my oak if you like though. That's so a thing we should do some day." She nods to Yuna. "Yeah, and like she said, fast as we can with least damage'd be awesome. I mean I have ideas on how to distract just about everyone but whether that'd resolve anything is another matter."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
"Yup, hello, m'lady Lily, I'm Veiled Lily! No other titles though." Not yet, at least. Lily doesn't want to lose a dot of stamina this early in the fight.

... session? Game?

... who knows.

"So... why is the fighting so bad this Midsummers Day?" She asks, bluntly.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
At the scoreboard, Lex looks all menacing at the fae manning it. She points with her spear at the Winter Goblins, "I'm taking over here." She tries to make her voice sound like she's going to be most unpleasant if people disagree with that, "The score screen is going to need a new message, and to prepare it for that, you're going to empty it, right now."

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Lily takes all the greetings in as well as she can, before she frowns at Puck and Yuna and Lily. "If only it were that easy. This is... well. Puck would know what's going on. A new Summer Lady mean an exertion of dominance in as far as what's going on in the world of Faerie. If I do not show the power and strength of Summer when I have the chance, Winter shall roll back over the top of us like a wrecking ball come the other solstice. And thus we trade blows as ever. This year we needed to... establish my rule as the Lady. I know Titania nad Mab are the ones really in charge, but... I need to be able to lead and govern my court as well, don't I?"
She saws at her lip with her teeth, and then murmurs. "Champins, perhaps. We /could/ move right on along to champions."

The Winter Goblins look up at Lex and chortle a bit. "Ah, aahaha! What's that, pretty lady? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over your fancy kit there! Goodness you're shiny. What the heck do you want with our scoreboard?"
The current score seems to be 7 -6 in favor of Summer.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Well sure. I figured that'd be a thing, it being solstice and all... buuuut I still think there's gotta be, y'know, fast way to settle this. Smash things up and whatever and all," Robin says, and shrugs. She nods at the champions idea. "That's one you gotta get done eventually anyhow, right? May as well. Got ideas in mind? Cus. I could think of a few ideas." She shrugs a little and looks to Yuna, and grins widely. "Though the thing with that is, a lot of people don't know the complications involved. It's one reason I hate politics."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Lily takes a deep breath. "The champions normally have a fight too, just to continue this... show of dominance? I'm sorry, I don't quite mean to phrase it like that, but it's just that's the way I understand it, to be frankly honest with you. I'm used to dominace fights being 'overthrowing the emperor' while 'backstabbing his heir', but um..."

"... Yeah, I have a weird world." She informs the Summer Lady Lily wryly.

Then she follows Robins' look, her star-flecked green eyes widening as she realizes what Robin might be insinuating. Oh god.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex has a couple ideas, but she hasn't decided yet, so she starts simple, "Clear the board, then replace the text with 'time-out' There's a few things that need to be discussed before the game can continue." She is half-lying, just trying to stop things, "Once you've done that, sound a horn."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna lets out a breath. Of course it wasn't going to be as simple as asking.

"How strong are you as a leader if you just meekly go along with a tradition of pointless bloodshed?" she asks. "It takes greater strength to wage peace than to wage war, particularly if those you'd wage peace with have already drawn weapons, not to mention drawing blood. I know a few people in the Multiverse who try to specialize in nonviolent resolutions to armed conflicts - and I wish I could live up to their examples more often than I do ..." She winces a bit. "Still, just because you fall short is no reason to give up trying."

She pauses to look over at the other side of the field, and see how Harry seems to be faring in 'discussing' things with the Winter leadership, then looks back at Robin and Veiled Lily, before returning her full attention to Lily.

"Surely there's another way to show your dominance against Winter without both sides fighting it out like this - whether it's a clash of armies or a battle of champions ..." She trails off briefly, then smiles brighter than before.

"I know - what about a contest of words rather than violent conflict? If you agree to that, I'll offer to serve as a champion for this exchange."

Hey, it's worth a shot ... although Yuna's somewhat out of practice with combat insults, she hasn't ENTIRELY lost her ability in that field. She's hoping, anyway.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Lily looks over at Yuna and blinks a bit. "I'm not sure you understand. This isn't a matter of 'bringing peace'. This isn't a case where peace can be had. We are Summer, they are Winter. We are always at war. Otherwise what else are we? Also words cannot satisfy the changing of seasons. That must always come with blood and fire on our part."
A look to Lily and Puck though. They're scheming and that's never a good thing when Puck and especially the Companions of the Winter Emissary are involved. "What would you two have me do?"

The goblins at the scoreboard blink a bit. "Now why would we want to do that? Esepcially when the best match is starting?"

And from each of the dugouts, someone massive emerges. On the Summer Side, that Gruff the size of a tree shifts over, letting out a solemn looking old gruff carrying a staff and wearing an impressive sash of trophies on his robe.
On the Winter side, a troll the size of a truck lumbers out, carrying a giant club made of rock-hard glacial ice. He roars in challenge.
Oh dear.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex demonstrates why they would want to do that, her spear lashing out with intent to kill at one of the goblins who defied her, "This is why." She looks around to see if anyone else has anything to say about her interference, "There's a change in the schedule whether you like it or not. Hurry up." She accentuates the last bit by pointing the spear at another goblin.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"If it has to be fought out," Yuna asks, "isn't there a way to do it so that the mortal world doesn't get shaken up as badly? They've got tornadoes forming, those'll rip things up something terrible ..."

She looks less confident now, her smile hanging on by a thread of courtesy, and is starting to wonder if Lily actually *cares* about the mortal plane. Or about anything besides living up to Fae tradition.

"And if you don't believe that words can be powerful ..." She looks over at Winter's champion, opens her mouth, breathes in -

... and stops, looking more closely at the troll, and the Gruff who's heading out to meet it.

"... okay, I might have to see this," Yuna murmurs. It LOOKS like all the advantages are on the troll's side, but looks can be deceiving - and Yuna is rather petite of stature, at least outside of Powered Form, so she's inclined to favor the little guy when she doesn't have other reasons driving her pick of a favorite.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Oooh, I suppose there's that. Well these'll be fun. Still sort of wish it was somewhere aside here, but. Hm. I guess I'm not allowed to interfere on this and help out, either," Robin says, and sighs. She floats in midair a bit now, crossing her legs underneath her. A sure sign that she's probably bored by now and SO wanting to do something but currently is staying out of it... at least until she thinks of something. "It IS getting sort of nasty out there, though, yeah. Is this the last fight?" she asks Lily, and frowns.

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Lily's strange eyes sort of glaze over as she remarks, softly, "Once there was a maiden, who awoke on a star. Five roads led away. The first one was golden, and many feet passed it, and she remarked, "It is a road well traveled." The second one was blue, and she looked at it and saw the joy of life and the travel ahead. The third was red, stained with blood, and she was afraid to look at it, but she knew the power of battle. The next was green, and shrouded in mystery. The last was violet, and ended abruptly."

"But the maiden turned to them, for she was Queen of them all, and said, "I will make my own path;" and thus created her own path, and where she walked, sunlight followed."

Then Lily shakes her head, almost impatiently. "My apologies, Queen of the Summer Court, I am rambling, but there is truth in words. You have to walk your own path as the shining star as the head of the Summer Court. You mention a champion. Who are the champions?"

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
The pair of champions step out ontothe field amidst booing from the Winter Court's perch. Maeve. "THAT'S BULLSHIT, LILY! ELDEST GRUFF IS BULLSHIT! Harry get out there to even things up!"
Dresden looks panicked over at the Summer Court and his friends before one of the trolls on the dugout kicks him into the arena.

Lily looks at the others and smiles. "This should in fact be the last of it, though..." And then Harry gets kicked into the middle, and she sighs. "Well, I suppose that is only fair. The Winter Emissary is a part of her arsenal." A pointed look at Lily and Robin. Oh dear.

Up on the scoreboard, there's now a half bloodied goblin thats to that poke from a spear, and the Dewdrops are swarming at Lex now. "Lay off! We're just doing or jobs up here! Besides it's almost done now! Look look look! It's the Gruff! THE Gruff!"

Down on Not-Wrigley Field, the troll charges at the Eldest Gruff, who carefully slaps the base of his staff into the dirt and deflects the charge with a neatly placed barrier.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin grins. "I forget. Do you have an Emissary or Knight or someone you can throw back over to help? I mean. I don't wanna see Harry beat up too badly but that troll I give no cares for," she says, and picks idly at her raincoat. "I mean, if they're gonna go and throw support in for their ain't-really-strong-enough troll over there..." she says, and rubs her hands together idly, pulls them a part a little... why is there a ball of lightning there now. "I could always help out too."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna winces a little at the language coming from Maeve. How unladylike ... not to mention un-Fae-like. And then Harry gets forced onto the field to boot (no pun intended).

The Matrix Divider reappears in Yuna's hands - but she doesn't move onto the field. She's not one of Summer's champions, and technically, the condition she offered under which to BE a champion didn't get accepted either: namely, to make it a contest of words rather than martial prowess.

On the other hand, if she DOES get pushed onto the field, she can at least be ... reasonably sure of taking Harry out of the fight, or thaking the fight out of Harry, without killing him.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Lily looks to Lily. "The Summer Emissary is on the West Coast. I figured Mr. Dresden would have mentioned her, she's one of his exes." Oh.

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
For some reason or another, Lily - the Sidereal, that is - looks at Robin at the mention of Harry's ex, and there's a smile playing across her face. "Harry tends to keep those sorts of things to himself, m'lady." She notes idly.

"Well, I suppose you could jump in." Lily informs Robin. "Or Yuna, or if we really want to see how strange things go, me...?" She offers in a drawl. "As a stand in for your missing Emissary, m'lady Queen."

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
That... might not have been the best idea ever. Lex is swarmed by dewdrop fairies, "And I'm just doing my job, so either do what I demand or flee so I can do it." She swings the Abstractum shield, trying to swat several dewdrop fairies in mid-air, "Before that fight down there starts, or I'm going to get nasty." She tries to kick at one of the dewdrops too.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Lily looks over at Puck. "Why, that's a fine idea. There is now a clear advantage in numbers for the Winter Court." She stands up in her chair and calls out. "Maeve has seen fit to change the number of combatants. I now send out the Sihde Lady Robin Goodfellow! THE PUCK!" Oh shit, that gets the entire stadium fired up now. No one's seen Puck in actual combat in quite an age.
Lily then settles back into her chair, and purses her lips at other Lily. "Do not think what goes on in his household escapes my knowledge, Miss Lily. A horde of dewdrops keeps his place spic and span each morning, does it not?" She raises her eyebrows at the group and sips on a cocktail.
In the ring, Harry looks somewhere between terrified and confused as the Troll lumbers back across the field where it landed, screaming at the Gruff to fight him. The gruff calmly plants another shield in place and leans on his staff, letting the troll batter its fists against it.

Up on the scoreboard, the goblin Lex poked is already healed up again, rubbing at his chest faintly. "If you really want to be some help, Scion, help us tally the dead or count the living or sit down and enjoy the fight! That's why we're all here! This has been an amazing night! Who would have ever thought that little waify creampuff of a Lady would have had this in her?"

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
More hollaring from Maeve. "THAT'S EVEN MORE BULLSHIT YOU LITTLE BITCH! MAYBE I SHOULD GET HARRY TO KILL YOU TOO!"

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Lily grins somewhat innocently at the Summer Queen. "A little bit of that and some exalted grease, m'lady." She says. "If you'll pardon me?" She gives a nod to Yuna, before she disappears back into the stands again, doing a brisk walk across them at Mercury's speeds to get to...

Maeve's side? This can't go well. "Greetings, Queen of the Winter!"

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin shrugs a little and looks over at Maeve. She gets up, sets her ball of lightning aside in midair as if that were a thing and there's a shelf there. Then she dusts herself off, and sheds out of her raincoat, leaving her normal outfit in the green leaf-tunic and the spider-web tights, looking largely like a Peter Pan inspired outfit. "If we're to do this properly, best keep the battle orderly, and not succumb to mockery; I think that's enough out of thee," she calls over to Maeve. And then takes the ball of lightning back up and aims it right between the troll's eyes.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex decides this isn't working, and she heads down to the Winter Lady instead, avoiding the big fight of champions, and she makes a bow, "Your frostiness." She is trying to be polite, "I hope that despite Summer's discourteous decision to use 'bullshit tactics' you are doing well?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Well, seeing as the debate is crossing over to Winter's side of the dugout, Yuna shrugs to herself, bows politely to the Summer Lady, and takes off to go visit Maeve's dugout seat.

.... she PROBABLY should have gone the long way around instead of just heading across the field, though, shouldn't she? It's not as though she's headed directly for the current champions - and she's certainly steering clear of the REST of the fighting - but she IS cutting across (or at least around the edge of) the field of honor itself ...

And she certainly isn't initiating combat with anybody along the way, never mind that she's as close to 'armed to the teeth' as she typically gets.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
WELL NOW! Everyone's moving over to the other side of the field. The Winter Lady's bunch is a rowdy, angry crowd of Sidhe and hangers on that are all in some state of inebriation, one way or another right now. Drugs, booze and the pair over on the corner of the dugout that seem to be attempting to devour each other's faces. Good times.

Maeve herself doesn't seem to be all that suprised that people are coming over here now. "Well shit, all of Dresden's friends are here now. Why weren't you fuck here while Summer was beating the crap out of all of my fae? I mean, it's their own fault for getting caught, but still."
A glare into the field as Puck enters the combat, and neatly assaults the Troll right between the eyes. The big fellow snarls, the magic doing its job and knocking the beast of kilter, staggering the big fellow. The Elder Gruff smiles genially and turns to look at Puck. "Well hello there, young lady. Come to help out? Or come to save your young campion wizard over yonder?"
He taps his staff into the dirt again, this time blasting Harry into a pile of Goblin corpses, the wizard vanishing under the ugly mess.

Back up on the Winter dugout, Maeve bellows her displeasure, before slapping a nearby Sihde. "Fuck, you nerds forget your Hospitality? Fuckin' beers!" And thus beers are handed out to the others, should they desire to have them. Lex gets a neat look. "So. Let me get this fuckin' straight. Harry Dresden is bringing about fukkin' Pendragon, the Lady Made of Water, Athena's Scion, A Space Time Bullshit Fate Ninja, A knight of the Cross, and dating the Goddamn Puck. Am I right on all this bullcrap?"
She slumps in her chair, and grinds her teeth a bit. "I'll have to try harder then."

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Little of this, little of that. If you could kindly not kill him that'd be great," Robin says, and grins. "Also, there's a nasty storm out on human-side, and I'd rather not see my house get caught up in it. It's a little blue cape, practically just asking to be picked up by a tornado," she says, and grins. She shrugs a little and aims a tanglefoot spell at the troll next, hoping to trip it up in a mess of sticky green vines that swirl around its feet-ish area.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna smiles sheepishly as a beer is offered. "No thank you, I have to drive later ... but I do appreciate the offer," she adds with a slight bow to the Sidhe who's holding a beer out to her.

Then she looks to Maeve. "That ... sounds *about* right, although it seems he left me out of the list. But that's enough to start with, at any rate. More importantly, Your Highness, we're trying to work out a way to wrap this battle up before the mortal realm gets levelled. Harry Dresden would be *much* less inclined to be cooperative towards the Fae if the city he protects were to be devastated by fallout from a battle between the Summer and Winter Fae, don't you think ... ?"

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Lily gladly accepts alcohol, she can avoidance kata safely enough while drunk.

"For the most part, correct, m'lady, but the one part you're missing isn't important enough to note." The Sidereal notes as she takes a heavy drink. "Yuna is correct, though."

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not old enough to drink." Lex declines the beer politely, and turns to look towards the fight, "Your frostiness, what do you think your Emmisary's chances of survival are in this fight?" She sits down to watch, trying to think.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Maeve turns to face Lex first, pupils dialated and angry. "I don't fucking care, really. He's our toy, and I'll mess with him as much as I want. if he dies, it's clear he wasn't good enough to be an emissary anyways!" She pokes the lady in the armor too. "Besides, what the hell do YOU all care about Chicago, it's not like any of you are from around there anyways. Fucking bullshit. All I wanted was a nice bloody war and people have to come in...."
Yuna next. "I don't think you fully appreciate what's going on here, Missy. Let me lay this the fuck out. We own Dresden. We own his soul. His ass is ours until Mab says otherwise. He made a deal with his godmother, now Mab owns that deal, now we own Dresden. It doesn't fucking matter whatthe hell he thinks he's on the fucking hook."
Lily... gets an evasive look, but a nod as she does drink the beer. The delicate little tingle of an attempted deal prickles against Lily's senses. Good thing she can skip legal issues pretty easily.

Out on the field though, The Gruff murmurs. "I shall point out I am obligated to fight all comers that the Winter Court sets out as champions." The troll is already strugglign against those vines as the Gruff steps over, lifts up his staff and then plants it all the way though the troll's skull right through to the dirt. Not even a little bit in the way of physical exertion. Just a blast of magic and energy... The troll's still moving and trying to get up though. "Do you have a convincing arguement or offer?"

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Oh, fight, sure. But when he's down and not moving it's pretty clear you win, is all, right? Harry's sorta fragile. Humans take only so much damage before they're not really all that capable, and I'm the one probably gonna be fixing him up later if he makes it. Honestly I'd rather see him out of this deal with Winter entirely, but I'm not good with negotiations like that, sooo. Usually human fights of this caliber are until first blood or until the other is unconscious or something. Maybe we can opt for that?" Robin asks.

The tangle vines now become a whole lot more so, starting to wind themselves up the troll's legs and keep clinging, hoping to immobilize the creature fully so it can't fight anymore. "I'll owe you one if you could do your best to not kill him. How big of one depending on how much work it'll take me to fix him later."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
Lily feels that prickle, and the Sidereal quirks an eyebrow at Maeve. She'll need details first, and time to discuss it with about five other people including the Puck and Harry before she says anything.

"Actually, I live mostly in Chicago nowadays. Safer."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"The status of Harry's debts isn't of concern to me," Yuna says with a mildly icy tone. "I'm not his friend because I owe him or he owes me; I'm his friend because I chose to be there for him when it seemed like he could use the help - and I intend to keep being there for him, whenever I'm needed, or even when I'm not."

"... except you don't even know what friendship means for humans, do you? Do the Fae have anything like that, or is it all debts and obligations and hierarchies and power structures, with the occasional bloodbath to spice things up?"

If this is sober Yuna, gods alone know what she'd be like when drunk. Probably it's best if the Multiverse never finds out - but Maeve has clearly found her way onto Yuna's bad side; while the blonde is maintaining a relatively civil tone, her distaste for the Winter Lady is clearer than a cloudless day.

"And it's not about where I'm from; you wouldn't know this, but I was charged with the safety of not only my home planet, but a *universe*, when the Queen of Light picked me to be her champion. That meant not just protecting everybody I knew, but everybody that I *didn't* know, whether or not I would normally have cared about them. And just because I'm in the Multiverse doesn't mean my obligations stop at some random warpgate, an arbitrary border between 'home' and 'outside'. I protect everybody that I'm able to from the forces of darkness, chaos, and destruction - and that very likely means, if this world were besieged by evil, that I'd be protecting *you* as well to the best of my ability. But I'm getting off-track ..."

Yuna lets out a breath, focusing again. "So. You're not going to let this end until one side or the other has a decisive victory, is that it? And if Chicago or a broader swath of the mortal world get devastated by the environmental fallout, you don't care, because this is all about you Fae and your blood carnival. Am I far off the mark?"

It's probably not a good sign that she's gripping the Matrix Divider tightly with both hands; fortunately, her gauntlets mean nobody can see if her knuckles are turning white ... but there are occasional small sparks of energy crawling along the Divider's barrel/blade. At least she hasn't got it pointed at anybody.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex listens to Yuna's monologue, and at the end of it, merely makes one more comment to add, "There's also the issue that I will take the death of Harry Dresden as a personal slight." She smiles pleasantly at Maeve, "I can't speak for others, but I can guess to their reactions, and I would estimate that all of us who came with him tonight would feel similarly about the possibility of his death."

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
The Gruff murmurs. "Done. He's your opponent now. I have bested mine." The Sidhe steps back, lifts the staff again, and this time the impact against the Troll's head is more severe, half crushing it with a burst of Magic. A ROAR from the crowd, before the Eldest Gruff turns in place and calls out. "ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE SUMMER COURT! THIS DAY IS OURS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS!" The crowd goes wild!

Harry's head pokes out of the corpse pile, and he looks woozily over at the Gruff and Robin. "Hells bells, what now?"

Maeve blandly lets the tirade from Yuna roll over the top of her, a hand coming up to make the blah blah blah while the woman is talking. "Honestly, all I'm hearing is 'oh im a human my thoughts matter ugh why are you such a bitch bluh bluh bluh'. It's because I /can be/. And I know what friendship means for humans. I just don't give a shit." A large chug of her beer and she bounces the empty off the forehead of a nearby goblin in anger as her troll dies an ignomious death. "Well shit. Dresden's dead now. Gruff or the Puck is going to kill him. That's it for us."
A look at Lex. And an arched eyebrow. "You, scion? Hmmm." She drunkenly shifts in her spot, and stares more firmly at Lex. "Is her that interesting to all of you? Really? I mean..." She looks out at the battlefield, where Dresden is slowly pulling himself out of the corpse pile.

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
A look at Lily too. "You going to defend poor Dresden's honor too?"

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Oh, nothing much," Robin says, shrugging. "I just told the Gruff that I Owed Him One if he stuck to fighting the troll and left you to me," she says with a grin. "And I'm inclined to go with 'fight until KO' instead of the death because I rather favor keeping you around, mm? Besides, I already traded a Favor for your life. I don't want to waste my investment," she says. "So. Do me a favor and hold still so I can make you fall over, ok?" she asks, and casts a Sleep spell at Harry.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex gives Maeve an o-so-innocent smile, "I can't speak for the others, but I came along with the Emissary with the promise to keep him alive, others likely have their own reasons for wanting him to survive, I have my doubts they would have come otherwise." She pauses, just a moment, for effect, "A warrior's word is important, can't allow it to be tarnished." She turns back to watching the fight. She's heard enough from Lady Winter to figure out she values promises and oaths more than emotional attachment.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
'I just don't give a shit.'

Up until those words left Maeve's lips, Yuna was able to at least keep looking polite, and making a plausible pretense of appearing non-threatening. "You really are drunk, aren't you," the armored blonde says flatly, adjusting her grip on the Matrix Divider as its barrel/blade starts outright *glowing*. "For all the lack of respect you have towards mortals, looks like their beer gets you drunk efficiently enough; I'll have to remember that ..."

Fortunately, she STILL isn't taking aim at Maeve or anybody ... but her temper has gone from 'fraying' to 'actively being sawed through by this bitch of a Faerie Junior Queen'.

She does, however, look away to see the current state of things on the battlefield.

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
"He has honor, m'lady Queen?" Lily asks Maeve quietly. "But yes, I appreciate him, so I do defend him nonetheless."

Harry Dresden (206) has posed:
Harry's barely got time to let out a "huh?" Before he's keeled over in the blood again. More cheering from the crowds, and the Winter sections are already starting to clear out.
Maeve too is packing up her court. "Well this was a fucking waste." She waves blandly at Lex and Yuna, before looking Lex stratight in the eyes. "I'll remember that next time we meet, pretty thing." A wink...
She looks against at Lily, and murmurs. "Do well to keep fate straight. That's important." Respect? Hnnn.

Yuna gets the bird, and then one by one Maeve and her court vanish out of the arena.

And Wrigley Not-Field, quickly as it was filled today, slowly starts to deconstruct itself, its use over.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
Robin grins and stoops by Harry, mostly to make sure he's all right. She casts a cursory healing spell anyhow, but leaves the sleep right where it is. He probably could use a good night's rest anyhow. "Well, that was easier than I expected. AND we got to piss off Winter really good and proper. This is better than praking Loros with glitter bombs. And not much is, really."

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
With the battlefield fading and the Lady gone, Lex runs towards Harry and picks him up, then turns towards Puck. "You know the way back out here, don't you?" She asks, shifting Harry's weight to allow herself to check his pulls while she carries him. "We should probably get back to Chicago soon."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
*BVEEEEWW*

Yuna glances down at the Matrix Divider, her finger still holding the trigger down even after the blast comes to an end. "Oh, oops ..." she murmurs faux-carelessly, looking at the scorch mark her blast left on the dugout (roof or floor?) ... right where Maeve was, half a second before Yuna's finger 'slipped'. Then the Divider vanishes and she hops back onto the regular ground, hover-thrusters kicking in as she starts towards the exit we came in by. "Yeah, I think we're done here ..." Lex has Harry, good; Yuna continues towards where she recalls the exit was. Somebody else might need to correct her course in a pinch.

Robin Goodfellow (52) has posed:
"Sure. I mean, we gotta head back out through the... hang on. Lemme just..." Robin says, and makes a portal bak through the Never Never to more or less her yard at her house in Chicago. "Easier to find points I'm more familiar with. And it's better than dropping off on Harry's doorstep. We can take him home after."

Veiled Lily (159) has posed:
"Thanks, Robin, you're a darlin'." Lily says enthusiastically. "I hope this keeps everything settled down." The sidereal sighs as they all make their way back to um... normality.