Quicklog: Hangover Morning

[evilbeej]

Foxwood is a quiet place these days, it longer being quite the social gathering spot that it once was. Toren has long moved out and Lida has been away for some reason or another. Charlotte is here, like she tends to be, the vixen still living in the hedge, despite the fact that she has other places to go and despite the fact that it might not be the safest place to sleep. Kitkit and Beetle are here as well. Its morning, well morning by spring vixen standards, which means its going on noon. Beetle is chopping up veggies, Kitkit is hoping around the kitchen area begging for food and Charlotte is starting the fire on the outdoor covered firepit of a stove. The girl is still in her pjs, which is simple green top and matching shorts with a little v cut in the back for her tail. Her red curls are a tangled mess. Maybe its a relief to Czcibor to see that her mantle is a powerful as ever and that she is kneeling in a field of blue little flowers.

Oh it is. And-- it's a testament to the constitution of the tin soldier that *despite* how drunk he was last night when he texted Charlotte, he's on his feet and moving before nightfall the next day. Just to put that out there. He comes into Foxwood from the hedge gate again, but not with machete swinging-- in fact, it doesn't look like he's even carrying his machete. Jeans, wrinkled t-shirt, track jacket, and his mantle is clearly mocking him because it's grape vines right now instead of kudzu. He squints a little at the light. "Morning..." he says a little uncertainly.

Charlotte keeps up from the budding baby fire in order to look in Czcibor's direction, the girl scenting his arrival before she even sees him. Kitkit yaps annoying toward the metal man, but without seemingly sincerely nervous, the little fox knowing him well enough by now. Beetle looks up briefly and then looks back, paying him a strange lack of attention, like he tends to do with anyone who has yet to perform for him. Charlotte studies Czcibor for a few seconds and then curves her lips into a smile of greeting, waving him over with her right hand. "Um, just in time for breakfast, which you sort of look like you could use."

The smile's an even better thing to see than Charlotte's blooming mantle; the uncertainty fades, replaced by a quick and somewhat rueful grin, and Czcibor comes in the rest of the way. "Breakfast would be very, very nice. I got into a drinking contest with Konrad and Ulysses... I don't remember who won." He's silent for a second, and then crouches down next to her. "Let me finish this for you? I can't cook, but I can mind a fire..." And then all of a sudden he's spilling words, concern in his voice, "Was it -really- okay with you? Or did you just tell me that because you didn't want to tell me no?"

Charlotte backs away from the fire, seemingly more than willing to let Czcibor attend to such and such frees up her hands for other things, like cracking eggs. She pulls them from a coolar filled with ice and starts cracking them into a bowl. Beetle is still chopping up veggies and now humming to himself and he is perfectly on key. Kitkit rubs up against Czcibor's leg. "I was surprised by it." Charlotte says in a soft thoughtful voice that suggests he is still trying to work out her feelings on the whole thing. "Of course, I wouldn't have told you no, I don't like to limit people and I know it feels to want to kiss someone and feel like you are not allowed, because of other commitments and I would hate to put you in that position and I'm glad that you are opening up more, where you wanna be kissed. Did you both just kiss or did you know..bend each other over and all that?" She says, sounding sincerely curious and only flushing a little.

"Um. We just kissed," Czcibor says, and if he weren't made of lead he'd be flushing a *lot*. He pokes at the baby fire with the stick lying handy for it, and an insistent vine curls up his side and around his arm, twining around the stick. "I'm definitely not ready to think about... /that/. I'm just... I'm surprised at myself." It looks like Charlotte built the fire really well; it's coming along merrily, and Czci withdraws a little bit, kneeling on the ground. He looks up at Charlotte's busily working, and chews on his lower lip a moment. "I knew he wanted me to. Very badly. And he's lonely, and he's hurting, and the position he's in is a miserable place to be. It's like he's in his own private Arcadia. I just wanted to give him /something/. And..." He's got his hands in his lap, and one thumb is rubbing distractedly at the base of the other thumb with a quiet, insistent grinding of metal; he looks away. "I knew he wanted me, Liska. And I wanted him to. And that's -new-. And I don't know how I feel about it. I mean--" Quick like a flash, his attention's back on the redhead, his eyes are on her. "I don't want to limit you either. But one other thing I realized last night-- was-- I want you to want me, too."

Charlotte listens to Czcibor's with what might seem like serious attention, like she considers the matter of kissing to be well a big deal. Once a bunch of eggs are cracked she reaches inside the cooler pulling out a half gallon of milk and adding some to the mixture. She then starts to whisk them all together, the sound of her fork clanking against the metal bowl weaving its way into her soft words. "I understand." She says softly and then smiles, a warm sincere smile. "I have used my connection with spring and discovered that others wanted me as well and wanted to give what they wanted, when they were lonely. I have kissed people just because they needed it at the time. I mean, I used to kiss Clover, quite a bit, but he needed it the kissing and well.." She then trails off, biting against the swell of her lower lip and realizing such a moment later. "I was, shortly be dated lovers with Kitya and Lida on a limited basis, mostly because they want me, I really like men much more. I was all ready to call it totally off with them, now maybe I don't have to. I don't mind if you kiss this Karl guy or even if you fall in love with him, just long as it doesn't mean you have less for me, then I don't mind and I do want you Czcibor, I have for a long, long time. Since I was trying to get you to move in with us and had you all flustered and when I was teaching how to be a cat and hit on you and when I said I would love you only as a sister and when you kissed me before last spring and when I was breaking up with you, my heart was breaking, but I was a little slut and I wanted to fuck."

It looks like-- maybe-- Czcibor is slowly learning to do things right. Maybe it's long exposure to Charlotte; maybe it's things the Lamia told him long ago finally sinking in; maybe it's the season hitting like a hammerblow to his assumptions. Maybe it's the influence of the Crown of the Court of Desire. Whatever it is, he's already getting up partway through Charlotte's monologue; whatever it is, he's stepping up next to her, half behind her, attention focused thoroughly on her. He slips his arms around her waist and leans in to say quietly, next to her ear, "Don't put yourself down for needing what you need and knowing what you want." The touch of his hands on her, through the thin fabric of her pyjamas, is light and gentle; a solid statue that knows and moderates his own strength. And he's so close, his presence is warm and electric. His voice is low, secret. "I won't limit you. I love you very much, and I don't want your heart to break. But don't stop wanting me. Don't give up on me."

Charlotte looks toward Czcibor with a slightly baffled expression when he rises, but she does not realize what the man is actually is about until he comes up behind her and slips his arms about her waist. "Well, its more complicated than that, I think.." She says and then trails off, the girl seemingly further baffled by the feeling of Czcibor's hands, but she leans in back against him. "Czcibor, I don't want to give to up on you. I was afraid that you wouldn't take me back actually and I had this whole plan, but I didn't' follow through with it. You can limit me, if you want to. See that whole thing is very confusing, when to limit and when not to." She says, babbling a bit and then she falls silent, pressing into Czcibor's touch, like she is trying to enjoy the moment and to stop talking so much. "You know, I never thought you would be like this, not ever really and I thought it was gonna be like, not being with anyone else and not really being with you and having to just hands." She says, failing at silence, clearly. "You can stay there night here, we won't actually do anything for real, but if you wanna just sleep over and hold me, then come back, when its close to dark."

"I thought we would try again and you would get frustrated again and we'd break up again, and then eventually you might come back and try again..." There's laughter in the metal man's voice, and his arms wrap around Charlotte more completely, holding her against him even as she leans. "And that whole thing *is* very confusing. Because-- if you want to sleep with someone who I think will treat you badly, or try to confuse you or play with your mind-- then I will object. But, I will tell you /why/. And if you ever want to stop me, too, you can." And then he's pressing his cheek against her head, and talking into her hair, voice still gentle and-- and grateful, really, that's what's behind it. "I'm glad you didn't use any plan on me. I like honesty."

So close, the man smells of metal and of sleeping in his clothes and of sandalwood and smoke; he's disheveled without being unkempt, and between his mantle and his manner, he's softer and more alive than Charlotte's ever felt from him. "And honesty says I won't be able to sleep, but I can spend part of the night, if you'd like me to."

"Well, maybe we would just try again every spring, that would be funny." Charlotte murmurs softly as she continues to lean back against Czcibor. "Um, okay, I think I understand, maybe we should ask first or something like that. I mean, I admit, I would probably get really jealous if you started knocking boots with half the girls in the freehold, although it would be funny too, I'm King now, bring me your wenches or if you went after girls who might like kill me out of jealousy, like say Leka or someone who is crazy." She says, still babbling a bit. "Okay, I can deal with that, we can stop each other, if we feel it won't be good and right now, maybe I can keep up with Lida and Kitya. They are more like just friends with benefits, I don't love them, well I do love them, but not romantically, if that makes sense and my plan was gonna be to talk about who cute Ernst seems in your hearing, so that you would dart over and kiss me and ask me back out to stop me or I would talk about thinking about begging Jeder to take me back, but then I couldn't quite follow though." She says, trails off, takes a calming breath and squirms back against Czcibor a bit as if trying to nestle into his hold. "You won't be able to sleep..?" She says, smiling with happiness, but Czcibor might not be able to see as he faces away. "Well, if you want to, but maybe a king needs his rest."

"I'm... not entirely certain what I just implied, there, but I think it was somewhat questionable," Czci says dubiously as Charlotte squirms against him. He doesn't pull away, but he lifts his head and loosens his hold on her enough that he can crane his neck and eye her almost properly. "I meant, I can't sleep if I can't fool myself into thinking I'm in a box. That's what the closet was for. And that's what the bunkbed is for-- Uly doesn't sleep well if he's completely alone. And if I ditch the mattress and hang up a curtain around the bottom bunk, it's enclosed enough for-- why am I even going into this much detail?" He takes one arm from around Charlotte's waist in order to put the hand over hers on the idle eggbeater, smiling again, then kisses the side of her head and lets go, stepping away. "Yes. Don't try and fool me, and I won't try and fool you. And we can stop each other. And I sincerely doubt I'll start sleeping around."

"Oh, I thought you wouldn't able to sleep, because um distraction and wanting of me." Charlotte says, the flush darkening upon her freckled cheeks, but she is facing away from so he might not noticed until he cranes his neck. "Oh, like a box they used to keep you in your durance." She says in a soft voice that is laced with concern. "I always like to sleep with someone else. I used to sleep with Raven all the time and then when Konrad came with Lumi and then with Toren. I guess I like to snuggle in with pack and you like to be alone in a box!" She says, her last words stressed with a touch of immature drama, but she calms from it quickly. She glances down as Czcibor rests his hand against her hand and well the girl has forgot all about breakfast, so poor Czcibor with his possible hangover might have a while to wait for eggs. "Don't worry, I talk a bit game about plots, but never follow through with them and you can if you wanna and oh..eggs.." She says and reaches for the veggies that Beetle chopped adding to the mixture."

"Liska," Czci says, laughing; he leans against the nearest leanable object, crossing his arms. For all he's hung over and wrinkled and disheveled, he really does look relaxed. "I'll eventually get over it. I'm just-- I've told you before, and it's still true. I am slow to change. This-- Spring--" He lifts one hand and waves it around in the air, indicating his mantle, indicating the crown, indicating himself. "It's heady and strange. I feel as though I am on rollerskates, going down a hill into a valley of sun. For the first time-- it's like something is dissolving, it's like if you put your hands in a bubbling spring and you try to keep the bubbles from rising, they slip through your fingers. I think it's good. I hope it's good, because I can't catch the bubbles. The biggest change is that it doesn't frighten me."

Charlotte finally gets the cast iron skillet on the flames and the butter added, watching it quickly melt she listens to Czcibor's words. "I didn't understand why the wyrd would pick you and not me, no offense, meant." She says, smiles and reaches out for the bowl of eggs. "I mean, of course you would be a wonderful leader, but not until right now, today, have you really seemed all that very spring to me, well a little spring or maybe even a lot spring, but never like the king of spring." She says and dumps in the eggs. "Obviously the wyrd knew things that we didn't." She murmurs, watching the eggs that are still all liquid. "Yeah, I mean, I would expect you to be afraid, always have been careful with you, not wanting to spook you, like that I did that one day, when I wanted you to live with Raven and me and Konrad, like one big pack and sleep in your box tonight..if you ever want me to come and um, trying to fit myself in it too, then just let me know."

There's a quick smile, there and bright like a flash in the pan, then faded to the wry self-amusement so common to the elemental. "I will." He watches Charlotte with the eggs, thoughtful again, then lifts a hand to rub at his chin. "There's not only one dimension to anything. There never is. I might not have been living moment to moment, my Liska, but I always hold hope deep in my heart. If I knew, coming out of the hedge, that hope and need and desire were all so closely intertwined, I would have been Spring from the start. It's what brought me out of Arcadia, and it's what's driven us to work so hard at fixing the balance of the courts, and it's what makes every day worthwhile, and it's what will eventually bring me home." Again there's that smile, fleetingly radiant. "It's what made you ask me if we could try again."

Charlotte stirs at the eggs with a simple wooden spoon as she listens to Czcibor's words. "Oh.." She murmurs softly. "Yeah, I guess I hoped you would say yes again and I sort of expected you to be hurt and jealous over me leaving you before and hooking right up with Toren, I would have been, if you left me and hooked up with someone right off, so I thought you would be too and I feel a bit guilty about it." She says, babbling a bit. "I was a little hurt the wyrd didn't choose me, I felt that I was the most spring-like, I felt like that I did the most, at least overall, not recently, but over the last two years and I felt like I don't know, maybe like I wanted to be important to everyone. Like nobody takes me seriously. When Hannah and Josef and me were leaving Niamh, they both expressed concern over my ability to keep a secret, but I never broke my word, not ever and I never told a secret. I even held to my motley oath after it ran out and it was just us and she was gone to us and would only see Konrad, when it would have been better for me, at least politically speaking to move on, find an active motley. I mean, I can be loyal, I can be quiet, I kept her house a secret, better than even Raven has kept its secret." Charlotte says and then nods in mute agreement with her own words. "I am just sick of being written off and I thought that oh, people will respect me then, but maybe it didn't choose me, because I am bitter, because I do regret, cause I am a little angry, cause I wanted it cause I have something to prove, I don't know or maybe it just like everyone things, I'm just too stupid for it."

"Charlotte Hall!" the elemental says reproachfully, pushing himself off the thing he'd been leaning on; he lifts his hands, fingers out, then curved; as he approaches her again, his hands move like those of the conductor of an orchestra. "Don't disparage yourself! Anyone who thinks you're stupid is deluded; are you telling me you're delusional?" He's right back close to her again, he runs his fingers carefully through her hair, then ruffles it. "Thinking you're stupid? *That's* silly. I know you can be loyal, I know you can be quiet." And then his hands smooth her hair down again, move down to trace the contour of her neck, fingertips leaving trails of sensation. "I know you didn't tell me the secrets you promised not to. Don't make yourself more bitter-- don't dwell on what you *didn't* get today or yesterday or last month or last year. That's Winter's job." His hands settle on her shoulders then, and his thumbs start working in small circles above her shoulderblades, looking for tension to unknot. "Think of tomorrow. Think of what you have and let yourself be happy; think of what's to come and let the expectation fill you; think of what good things *can* happen, *could* happen, /will/ happen, and let the hope burn in your chest like a bonfire, reaching all the way to your toes, to the roots of your hair."

Charlotte continues to stir the eggs, but with a sort of half attention, hopefully she won't burn them. "Um.." She says in response to Czcibor's first words. "Not many people treat me, like I'm not stupid, you, Raven, you know a few others." She says, arching her neck into Czcibor's caress. "I know, its hard sometimes though." The kitsune adds a moment later and her slender shoulders are a little tense. "Well, I am trying, Czcibor, I really am trying, I mean, I want to and don't worry, I'm gonna join winter or anything like that, they would kick me out for being too loud anyways, even though I wouldn't reveal of their secret stuff, but it just hurts to hear that tone in their voices, like they are talking to a child, sweetly pleading with me not to reveal everything to you in pillow talk, which was kind of funny, but patronizing too, like I'm two or something and maybe its my fault, I guess need to act more mature or something, I don't know, less frazzled." She says, sounding frazzled. "Anyways, I'm really sorry Czcibor, cause I should just be happy for you and I can see why you got it now, really, the wyrd was right of course, even though I still have more flowers than you, maybe not for long."

There's a sputtering laugh from behind Charlotte, and Czcibor's hands still for a moment before he goes back to building the rudiments of a backrub. "You will always have more flowers than me, Liska. Flowers are girly," he teases. His voice is infinitely affectionate, then. "They only talk about what they know. Maybe all they think about is pillow talk. I'll tell -you- something because I -know- you won't tattle on me: Hannah told me some of the things you promised not to talk about. You are entirely vindicated. I think she was trying to butter me up because I'm angry with her sister."

Charlotte giggles in response to Czcibor's words, but when he reveals that Hannah spilled the beans, she draws suddenly tense. "Um...what..." She murmurs in a soft trailing voice. "And she gave me the third degree about not telling you and she was one who acted the most like I couldn't be trusted and Josef did too and she was tone who talked to me like I'm fucking two years old all patronizing and down talking, like I'm stupid to fucking understand. She just wanted to be the one tell you and thats what it was about all along." She says in a sudden fit of well maybe anger.

"Charlotte." The hands on her shoulders, when she grows so suddenly tense, stop their motion: they're just solid, there, an anchor or grounding with their weight. Czci's voice is calm and level. "You're *vindicated*. You can keep a secret. /She can't/." One of his hands slides down to take her hand, the one not stirring the eggs, and the other hand lifts away to reach past her and move the eggs away from the fire. He continues speaking, and his tone's faintly apologetic. "These are stupid games she's playing. Amaranth plays them too, and so does Jeder, and so did the Lamia and Hett Witte Meisje. Clover does too, though he's quite a bit more deft at it. They're games I know how to play, and quite frankly, they suck. It's idiot politics. And the people who can come out the other side of them with their honesty and their integrity intact? Those are the people who win. *Be* angry. But don't let your anger pull you down into that mire of pettiness and backstabbing. You're better than that."

The eggs start to burn, but Charlotte seems unaware, maybe because it's just the beginning of browning, not yet smoky and smelly. She is a bit grounded by Czcibor's hold against her slight shoulders. "She might able to keep a secret, she didn't even try, she gave me that lecture, that complete lack of respect, while knowing fully well that she was just hording the information to hand to you like chocolates or bacon." Then Czcibor rescues the eggs and just in time, they are still even edible, just browned in places. "I never noticed Clover playing them." She says, maybe revealing just how good Clover is at games. "Well, I hate her, for treating me like a moron and with zero respect and well, its not right and its people like her who would have treated me different if I had the crown and its people like here why you can't trust anyone and I thought I was all excited to have a new spring, but now that I know what she is really like, well, I know have to be watching for daggers in my back or fuck it, I won't watch at all, its not like she can hurt me and she wants to treat me like I'm dumb, well at least you are king and won't be swayed, but I always had to fight against people like, since I first arrived, wanting to get ahead by making me seem dumber than them and maybe she is smarter than me, she has a lot of pretty words, but I really want to slap her and growl at her, can I do that when I see her much, I won't say why and it's not backstabbing if you walk up to someone and punch right in the nose, its sort well, open." She says and then nods in mute agreement with her own words.

"No, it's not. That's admirably direct," allows the elemental. "But if you don't explain it, she'll use it as ammunition against you, saying you're crazy and unstable. And if you -do- explain it, she'll claim you're immature *and* she'll know that the game is over." With the eggs moved away and Charlotte's hands unoccupied, Czcibor takes the opportunity to turn the kitsune around to face him, hands gentle with her; he bends slightly, just to make sure she's looking at his face, then straightens again. "I'm sorry. I need to ask you to keep your anger secret for now, and this as well: she is terrified for her sister's sake. I hold an awful secret over their heads. Of *course* she's playing these games. She's desperate. I don't want her to know I'm on to her; the situation might still be salvageable. If she finds out you know she told me, it's all over and Autumn will probably begin a witch hunt. The freehold is still too fragile for that."

"I really don't care if she thinks I'm crazy and unstable and apparently she was really bad to Leka too." Charlotte says, maybe surprising Czcibor with that fact that she would take anything that Leka says seriously at all, but she seems sincere in her concern over that. "Well, every lost know that is not immature to get upset over a broken promise and every lost know that broken promises deserve worse things than a bloody nose, which is all that I would do to her." Charlotte says and then nods in mute agreement with her own words, not while looking toward Czcibor. She tilts her delicate chin, looking toward Czcibor, maybe becausae he make sure she was watching him. "Autumn won't care at all about spring politics or that she played a game to be the one to deliver you the news and I don't care that her situation is terrible, I mean, I do care, but I understand it all. If she came to me honestly looking for help, then she would have my help and aid in her situation, but playing me just because she is desperate, I know that a person who lies and betrays regardless of the reason, will do so again and again and even if it's small things, next time it will be something big." Charlotte says, apparently seeing these sorts of things as black and white. For a fox, she is surprising straightforward and has a hard time understanding when others are not the same way, its almost a beastial innocence about her in a way. "Well, what secret do you hold over their heads?"

"Something that's not just spring politics," Czcibor says heavily, and now -he- looks away, letting go of Charlotte and folding his arms in such a way that he's almost hugging himself. "Which is why Autumn would get involved. I can't even tell Konrad. I can't let Raven find out, either; she took Hannah's oath. I would tell them! But I honestly think that we can't *afford* a hunt, not now--" He lets go his arms, then reaches up to rub at his face, letting Charlotte see the distress, too. "--and if she's innocent, if she's just crazy and she can be helped, then I owe her the chance to get better. She has one chance. One. And I'm watching. Carefully." All this build up and he hasn't said what the secret *is*, yet. It's obvious he's struggling with it.

"Okay." Charlotte says while watching as Czcibor looks away an then draws back, her expression no longer one anger, but one of sombered up concern. "Konrad, you can't tell him.." She says, not questioning, but seemingly surprised. "I'm sorry, I hope she can be helped and you can tell me if you want, I can tell you honestly, that I know I can keep your secret, but if you don't want them, that's fine too, I don't need to know, but if it would help you, to share it, then I'm here or I could help you by watching too." Charlotte says, trying to touch against Czcibor's arm. "Its fine if you need to keep it though and I won't strike out at Hannah, at least not yet."

"I-- she might be a loyalist, Liska. She could be. I don't think she is, but she might be." Czcibor's hands fall away from his face; he looks... actually, he looks kind of miserable. "I stopped her from running back to Arcadia. I looked to see what she wanted, and she just wanted a *purpose*, she felt useless here-- and she didn't think anyone here could help her. *Please* don't tell. Do you see why Hannah is desperate enough to play those games, now?"

Charlotte seems surprised by Czcibor's words and a soft gasp escapes from her slightly parted lips. "Oh." She says, calming down a moment later. "Well, I mean, when Jeder broke up with me in front of Sparky, I tried to run into the hedge, because I was so heartbroken and Sparky stopped me, she sort of tackled me or something. I have felt really useless here before. When I first arrived, people made jokes about me using the house plants for a liter box and and I wasn't allowed at Ernst's party when everyone else, because Zeph of all people didn't want me there, although know she really likes me, but..what I am saying is that its really hard when you are new, but she has her sister, but her sister seems like a royal bitch." Charlotte murmurs, pausing. "Maybe, if it was just to save her sister, I guess I could see that. Still not right to treat me dumb, but maybe that is all part of the game, I don't know. I won't tell anyone, don't worry Czci, I won and um.. hopefull she is not actually one. If you want, I can to try to befriend, watch her and well report back to you and try to help her feel more welcome and useful, if I can."

And the withdrawing is /so over/; Czci reaches out to envelop Charlotte in a quick hug. "That would be *wonderful*," he says with feeling, pulling back but not letting go. "And I will kiss you *after* breakfast and brushing my teeth, because I feel like the entire Russian army is marching on my tongue in sock feet." Well. He said something about honesty, didn't he.