Late summer means the air is balmy, but at least the interior of Razi's place is comfortable, and out of the humidity that's still dominating the afternoon. It might be a little bit before Razi comes in, but Fiametta is home, late riser/night owl that she is, her day is probably only just really starting to ramp up.
She's putting some finishing touches on some homemade lemonade, and an assortment of quick bites--just the kind to take the edge off if someone happens to be hangry. She's got music with a lively beat perhaps a little too loud (but probably the neighbors aren't gonna be home just yet anyway), her hair done up in a rakish sloppy bun on top of her head, and she's wearing a cute in green gigham and short denim cutoffs, bare feet. Every once in awhile she pauses, to make some notes on a mini memo pad that she's probably going to lose later. And if she does some silly dance moves while she's bopping around the kitchen, well, who's going to know.
Her secrets are safe from Ji-Ho, who -- when faced with a door -- is not quite rude enough to slip under, around, and through it without first knocking. (He definitely thinks about it, though; and he listens, too, with his ear to the door for sounds of TROUBLE that pick up ... music, mostly.) He's sent a text ahead, pinging them both, and in typical Ji-Ho fashion, he was fairly cagey about what he wanted to talk about, or why he'd asked them.
Fi is paying attention enough to hear the knock, and the music is turned down to a more acceptable background coversational level. She trots over to it, enough to confirm that there is in fact someone there (or maybe NOBODY there means that Ji-Ho is there), before there's the sound of the door unlocking and she opens it, whether the darkling is done listening or not. "Hey! Everything okay? Come on in. Hope you're thirsty or hungry or something too." The Elemental's moods are often mercurial, from reserved to all cylinders firing, but today it's clearly upbeat. Almost...bubbly. Maybe this is comforting, maybe it's frightening. But the smile she's wearing definitely brightens her eyes.
By the time she approaches the door, Ji-Ho politely pretends like he wasn't listening: he stands straight, a step back, with hands in his pockets. As the door opens, the sunlight at his back casts his shadow across the threshold. The dark stretches inward in a pooling puddle of black as he steps forward. "Hi, Fi. I will definitely say yes to all." There's a subtle sense of ease about him as he enters: his guard not fully down, but stepped down somewhat in alert level. "Everything's more or less fine. I kind of just wanted a sense-check and you guys are ... pretty sensible."
Though it was hidden behind that megawatt smile, it's clear that there /was/ an edge there somewhere--because it too relaxes as the darkling confirms that he's more or less fine, and she can lay eyes on him to confirm that--some of the protective fire backing off just a little. She steps aside, so that he and his shadow can enter comfortably, and the closes and locks the doors behind him. "You want some lemonade? There's some soda and wine coolers too. Good ones! There's even a /purple/ one, that's the best one. Probably like real wine too," she adds, making just a little face. "I'm sure Razi will be here as soon as he can be. You wanna just relax a little until he gets here so you don't have to say everything twice?"
Don't worry! They don't actually have all that long to wait for the third party of this particular meeting. Razi just lets himself in, of course, it being his house, and there's only a brief pause in the threshold as he notes he's been beaten by his guest. "Good evening," he says, voice habitually mild, as he slips out of his shoes, hangs up his very nice leather briefcase, and steps past the foyer into the kitchen. There's a sense of habit and pattern to it all, like each step is part of an everyday ritual.
Ji-Ho TWITCHES at the movement from the door: a shiver up his spine that stills as he turns to look and _of course_ it's Razi. He puffs in a bit of a rueful sigh and murmurs an apologetic aside to Fiametta for his twitch: "Sorry," he says. "Lemonade would be great." There's just a beat before he adds, "Thank you," like he has to remind himself to be polite. "Hi, Razi." He gives Razi some time and space to go through his rituals and get settled rather than launch into everything, although he does offer Razi the same reassurance he gave Fiametta: "Everything's fine. I just wanted to get a sense-check from you guys."
"Razi!" It doesn't matter that this really has been most likely the pattern for years now. Fi still seems just as happy to see him. Were it anyone else, she probably would have stepped inbetween Ji-Ho and the source of that momentary fright, but she knows those steps anywhere. "Lemonade it is. Come on, we can can talk around the island. Or in the living room? What's more comfortable?" She turns to lead the way. The music is down to a low volume but she really can't help but find its rhythm in her steps, even if she's not even really listening. "Razi, you want some lemonade? Something else?" she calls back over her shoulder.
"A sense-check." Razi echoes the words with a certain amount of thoughtfulness as he settles in a spot against the island, looking between the two of them. "Lemonade is fine," he tells Fiametta; he can be notably unparticular about offers like this, until he's not. But until then! Lemonade is fine. Whatever she'd like to supply him with is fine. There is a common sense of 'food is fuel' with him. "Whatever Ji-Ho is comfortable with," he says of where to speak.
Ji-Ho trails after Fiametta, shadowing the flicker of her warmth as he settles around the island. And he _does_ settle, relaxing that much more, until he very nearly seems calm. "Everything that's been going on with the Freehold has me spooked," he says, blunt even for him. "I'm jumping at -- haha," he says, with a pause for a not-actually-funny spoken laugh. "--shadows. I'm going to head down to the Southern Freehold and scope it out, see what's going on down there. Just _looking_." Not talking is the subtext. He is not a talker. "But things are _weird_, and -- I'm not the only one it's weird to, right?"
There's a little spread of small bites on the island counter, easy stuff like fresh farmer's market fruit and berries, slices of nice cheese, bread, veggies, hummus and tapenade--and Razi and Ji-ho will soon have little plates placed into their hands. Possibly, very possibly, if they take too long to put stuff on those plates, she'll start doing it for them. But she's learned to be much more patient about that, and not compulsively stuffing people when they don't want to be. A glass of the lemonade is poured for Razi, another for Ji-Ho. She's already got a glass of lemonade on the counter, which she grabs once she's scooted the other lemonades over towards their intended targets.
"It's uncomfortable, but I've not seen much," Fi admits. "Just looking...I wouldn't want to fuck things up for you, Ji-Ho, but I'm happy to be backup. You shouldn't go totally alone, even if you've gotta be to have a look around directly. Please? If not me, then please somebody else too. Or somebodies." She glances at Razi.
Razi is, at this point, rather used to being taken care of; he's the sort of workaholic that will forget to eat otherwise, so he'll often simply consume whatever's placed in front of him. For the moment, he's distracted by the focus he's placed on Ji-Ho, so undoubtedly Fiametta will end up placing things on his plate /for/ him before he notices. It takes him a moment to respond, weighing and his considering his words. But then he finally says, "You're not the only one, no. There are some who have been looking further into the attack on the Freehold, and the possibility of my going to speak with some of those of the new freehold to try and glean more about their motivations. Since they're the ones who have been claiming issue with the current leadership."
Weak for nice cheese, as all more-or-less human creatures are, Ji-Ho does not hesitate to start loading up his plate. He _does_ avoid the veggies, until a second look at Fi has him reaching for them before she can start sneaking them onto his plate when he's not looking. "Freehold's are supposed to be safe. I don't feel that _safe_." His fingers curl, knuckles whiting a moment in their grip of the glass before he relents. He looks between Razi and Fiametta, and sighs as he takes a sip. "Well, good. I'm glad there are people looking into it. All I'm going to do is go down there and have a look around. If I run into any trouble, I'm _booking_ it. Those are two things I'm good at: looking and booking." He tilts his head to the side. "Problem with taking backup is that I wouldn't want to leave you behind."
And true to form, as she listens and selects some nibbles for her plate too, Fia is slowly but surely putting a well balanced little bit of everything on Razi's plate. Maybe a little more of the sweetest late summer blackberries. She loads a few extra of those onto Ji-Ho's plate too, when he's distracted. Probably out of everything, they're the best. Lush, juicy, sweet, with just a kiss of tanginess to save them from being cloying. The embodiment of ripening summer heat. "Who's going with /you?/" Fi's brow furrows at Razi. But she sighs a little at Ji-Ho. "Point taken. It's not that I don't trust that you can't take care of yourself just fine, it's just...I mean they might have some lookers and bookers too. Or chasers of lookers and bookers. And everyone's going to be more than a little trigger happy, I'd think. If something happens to either of you and I'm not there to at least try to fight it, I mean...that's leaving me behind too." She hops onto one of the barstools by the island counter, crossing one leg over the other so she can perch delicately on the edge. "How can I best help either one of you then?"
"The possibility only just arose," Razi says to Fiametta in gentle placation. "While I understand Ji-Ho's need to make his investigation alone, or with someone of similar ability to move stealthily in a manner that your own nature might not be suited for, I don't think that's the case for my own task, which is a matter of diplomacy." And he offers her a faint smile there. He may be a bit more practiced in politics, but she is certainly a warm presence herself. "It is a delicate matter, but I don't think I need to approach it with subterfuge in mind. There is a story there, to their departure; we simply have to uncover what that story is." He reaches without thought to some of the nibbles that have been set before him, considering Ji-Ho. "If there isn't someone else you trust with similar skills to accompany you, perhaps it would behoove us to arrange for certain preparations. Knowing when you're going, when you plan to return. That sort of thing. Just in case."
Ji-Ho basically stuffs the blackberries in his mouth one by one as they land on his plate, crushing them against the roof of his mouth with his tongue. His eyes slit, veiled in pleasure. Sometimes it's the little things. He blinks himself back into focus as Fiametta addresses him. "Oh, yeah. Well, they probably do, but they basically _invited_ us to come have a looksie, and I'm not going anywhere secret." He pauses a moment. "I mean, unless a really good opportunity comes along." He reaches for Fiametta's abandoned notepad and begins putting down notes. "That's ... a good idea, Razi. Fi -- I'll set up a backup place with you, too, so that if I do need to rabbit and trouble's on my tail, you'll be there to help shake it off?" He looks up at her, pausing mid-note to make sure she's on board before putting down a meeting location. "Diplomacy is way more your thing. Both of you. Maybe I can even try and spot who looks diplomatic."
The firey redhead perks up as Razi speaks; uncovering stories never gets old, even if she has wisely learned to mostly let Razi do the talking in diplomatic situations. She may or may not glower at the appropriate moments around his shoulder. Feeding Ji-Ho blackberries is clearly the funnest thing ever, so he'll likely get a steady supply, as they continue to talk. She beams as Ji-Ho agrees to a meeting location at least. And since it's buried in her choreography draft notes, it's actually in a perfect place for it NOT to get lost, at least for while. "Advanced scouting report!" she nods. "That's usually a really good thing, isn't it?"
Razi inclines his head approvingly as Ji-Ho starts thinking of how to incorporate back-up and the like into his previously solo venture. "There's no need for any of us to go in completely on our own," he says. The idea of him waiting on Ji-Ho's report does have him pausing a moment, but then he exhales a quiet breath. "I suppose it wouldn't wait to hurt for more information," he says, nodding at Fiametta. "You're right, it's generally good to have."
Ji-Ho adds locations, times, and a backup retreat point. As he writes, the slightest hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his lip. (The blackberries continue to disappear, one by one. He doesn't entirely seem to be conscious of the nom-nom-nom as he takes them one by one.) "It's nice to be scouting for a better reason, anyway," he says in a low voice.
"Don't you like scouting?" Fi asks, curiously, still perched on the edge of her seat and sipping at her lemonade. Inbetween making sure that Razi has adquate protein and veggie vitamins. "I thought that was a good enough reason, just 'cause. If I could do that I would totally do it /all/ the time." But she nods her approval to Razi. "See, now there's a good plan. Extra info, there's check ins, and hopefully that helps get the information face to face that's needed to. Or to at least know if we're getting a different story from the front end than the back end."
"And, naturally, I would recommend being circumspect about who you share this plan with," Razi says after taking a sip of lemonade. "This is all..." His voice trails off for a moment as he considers once more. "There is no worse thing for a Changeling to be than a traitor," he finally says. "The word has a power in a Freehold that few others do. It can breed paranoia. Panic. And while a healthy amount of paranoia keeps us safe and alive, panic is the enemy of any sort of constructive progress. Some of our brethren won't be able to consider this sort of investigation without falling prey to it."
Slow to answer, Ji-Ho fiddles with the cheese on his plate. Poke, poke. Poke. "I did a lot of scouting. I only remember pieces of it. But I did a lot of it, and I was good at it, and it's -- I don't know. I didn't do it for me." He looks up, between them. "But this is for me. And you. And _us_, and that makes it different. That makes it better." He grimaces at Razi's warning: not disagreement, but agreement, agreement _too deep_, and he slouches lower as the shadows deepen around him. "I know. I've been extra twitchy lately." No, really. He's normally SO laid back. (He's not.) "Didn't help that this wolf scented me and just about sent me back into the Hedge to hide."
Fiametta reaches over to touch Razi's hand for a moment, while he's not using it to eat. "You're just the person to find out what's going on, without people needing to worry about it blowing up on your account. But you're right. Being careful is important. But having trusted people around to offer checks helps keep things from getting too panicked, no? Are there other people in the know? About checking things out?" She tucks one long leg underneath her, letting her other one swing a little, the fresh polish on her toes glinting. "They took everything," she says softly. "But what we have left, you're right. We use it for /us/." When she sees Ji-ho slouching, the shadows folding in on themselves, once more she leaves her hand on the countertop, palm up and fingers open. An offer, but not a demand, of comfort touch. "You're perfect as you are," she tells him, softly but fiercely. "Was that who I checked out?" she asks Ji-Ho quietly. "I've met a few Others in the city now, though I don't know that any of them are wolves. Well, /one/ is, but not a wolf like /that/." She blushes, ever so slightly, adding to a little flare up of the glow that surrounds her, sparking for a few moments before it settles down. "But there's protection there too. We're not supposed to hurt each other, without cause. I know it's hard to remember. But I think it's a little...safe-ish-er here than other places."
"Solomon is who spoke to me and asked me," Razi says with a little nod to Fiametta. "He called it a favor, but he /knew/ as soon as he told me about what he and some others had found, that I'd need to hunt it all down just of my own volition." Is his tone a bit dry there? Perhaps. It's clear that Solomon had him quite pegged in this regards. He looks to Ji-Ho, quiet for a long moment. And then he says, "They draw us in to a purpose and shape us accordingly. When we escape, we have that power, but we also never forget where it came from, and the purpose it was used for before, however vague our memories of it are. It makes it complicated, to wield it here. But I prefer Fiametta's approach. It's ours, now."
Ji-Ho looks a little _embarrassed_, so far as it can be ready on his features, crowded by shadow as they are. He laughs, then: a short bark of a laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, that's the one. And just because we aren't _supposed_ to doesn't mean that he _won't_. But. He seems okay, and I guess he's helped some others out of a tight spot, and he gave one of us -- Miel, the stone looking guy that was at Court? -- a place to crash. So maybe he's not actually, actively, the worst," he says, Very Grudging. He looks more thoughtful at the talk of gifts, at the talk of what was and what is. "Ours," he says, quieter. "Yeah."
Fiametta sighs quietly, at the mention of Darwin. Not in an ugh way, but one of concern. Perhaps mostly /for/ him. "I don't like that he speaks so openly and forwardly of things that possibly he shouldn't say out loud ALL the time," she observes. "If he were to ask me--and he hasn't, by the way--I would say that endangers him. And others too. But you're right, I don't think he means any harm. He's even kind of sweet. Maybe in an aggrevating way. I was going to ask you anyway if you'd heard from him lately. I got a text from him asking about what sort of help I could do, but then nothing back. I hope nothing shredded him or something." She sounds a little worried, but she's not lit up in flames tearing shit apart to make sure, like she would for either one of them. "Solomon's a good one to owe you a favor," Fi tells Razi, clearly impressed. "Good catch. Even if he was stacking the deck."
"Mm. If I'd known that he needed someplace to stay..." There's a hint of something there, when Ji-Ho mentions Miel crashing at Darwin's place. "Well. As long as he's settled." It's not an expansive townhouse, but it's quite nice, and it does look like there'd be more rooms than Razi and Fiametta need. "The Accords, in my experience, generally hold well," he does say. "But of course we all have to take care of ourselves." And then, in one last dry remark to Fiametta, he adds, "He brought donuts."
"I, uh." Ji-Ho clears his throat. "May have been testing him. A bit." He doesn't _say_ that he did so foolishly, unwisely -- that he did so with paranoia overriding good sense. But it's all there, if you look for it, in the way he avoids looking at them and meticulously makes a stack of cheese and bread with very neat edges. "Making a point that he needs to be more careful in what he says -- for others, if not himself. He's doing fine. No one has shredded him. He'll answer if you text back and all." He looks up again, and there's a hint of humor in the curve of his lips as he watches the spill of ink across Razi's skin. "You put a lot of faith in words," he says in a low murmur that is nearly a tease.
Fiametta actually gasps out loud, and it's not even feigned. "/How/ did he /KNOW/?" she says, shocked, to Razi. Perhaps about the donuts. But she nods, about the Accords. "They do seem to. Not that it necessarily helps an indivual from being hurt now and then, but there's a way to keep it from spilling over, mostly." She takes a sip of her lemonade. "The club has a VIP area that's just for members of the Accords," she says. "Or is going to. And probably some nights downstairs where it will be Accords only folks. Probably a wise idea, if people are doing the fighting. It'll be interesting. And a good way to make contacts elsewhere. That doesn't hurt either. And so far, everyone's been very respectful about not pushing too much into other people's business without invitation." He mention of Miel doesn't ring a bell, though she looks thoughtful for a long moment. "Have you met him yet, Razi? Darwin? I don't know what Miel is like but if he's got any sort of soft spot for taking care of someone, and ran in to Darwin, I mean...yeah. I /did/ text him back. And didn't hear back. But that's good to know it's because he forgot or got busy or ghosted, and not because he's scattered around somewhere," she says, cheerfully.
"Agreements are the basis of all our magic. Our entire relationship with the Wyrd. And the entire culture we've made for ourselves here," Razi says, leveling a look upon Ji-Ho. "My work, my entire existence, is the application and refinement of words until they are unassailable. Words are what you will be grateful for when they are the last thing protecting you." And there is, perhaps, the smallest amount of heat in that quiet voice. It settles into silence for a moment, and then he breaks the stare to look back to Fiametta. "I haven't, no," he says. "Although I recall you mentioning him."
"Oh, that sounds interesting." Ji-Ho perks up, straightening in his place as he looks at Fiametta. "You seem excited about it." Except -- oh, no. He can't go on. He has poked the bear and now must be surprised that it is a bear. He glances over at Razi and makes the mistake of making eye contact, at which point he is fixed by the intensity. Frozen, with his hand mid-reach for lemonade. "I know, I know," he mumbles. "You have a way of making words a shield. Sometimes they still feel like a sword to me. It's hard to remember I can grasp it, and wield it."
Fiametta doesn't try to get inbetween anything--perhaps a measure of how much she both trusts and knows Razi implicitly, and how confident that Ji-Ho is welcome and well cared for here, regardless of the intensity. Though she can't help that her own aura glows more brightly in response to the shifting moods, she keeps her body language calm as possible. Her dark blue eyes avert, though in a more giving privacy way than submission. Some of that effect is rather ruined by the fact that a specific notification sound comes over the speaker, blurping over the music in the background. What it it? A teeny portion of the twilight zone theme. Do DE do do it is. One copper brow lifts and she looks over at the screen to look, and then shakes her head slightly, hiding a smile.
"They are shield and sword both," Razi says, but his tone has, at the very least, returned to something more mild. His attention is drawn away at the sound of the phone notification playing over the speakers, and there's the slightest lift of one brow to Fiametta for the selected theme, before he looks back to Ji-Ho. "I'm not saying not to look after yourself. I am saying that consequences have weight."
"There is that." Even shadows lighten, and Ji-Ho brightens. That's right. CONSEQUENCES. Don't fuck with him!! His gaze skips toward Fiametta at the blurp of sound, but he resists any urge to lean over and rubberneck. "Have you two ever made promises to each other? You came out together, right? I know that there are some others like us who make groups, make promises to each other. Promises of protection, and consequences."
Fiametta puts a piece of cheese on a cracker, and munches as she reads over the text, pausing for a moment to type out a quick reply. "You're right, Ji-Ho," she says, just as chipperly as before. "He definitely hasn't gotten himself chopped up and buried in three different places yet, unless someone's using his phone!" Speaking of consequences having weight, though, she looks right into Razi's eyes, narrows her very slightly, and then looks down at his plate. Then back up at his eyes, and then raises a brow. There's still some nutritious veggies on there. "There are," Fi confirms, about oaths. "Sometimes for a specific purpose or time, sometimes longer. We've never fixed it with an oath," she shakes her head. "I'm not sure even that could be a stronger bond even with that." Though she's not unfriendly to the idea, clearly.
Yes, yes. Razi will dutifully reach for some of the veggies, now that he has been reminded of their existence. He doesn't even seem bothered, really. He just doesn't notice they're there. "Motleys, for those who group together," he says. "I suppose Fiametta and I have never felt a strict need for it, although there are also benefits we might consider."
A flicker of wistful envy colors Ji-Ho's voice: "Yeah. I can see why you guys never needed to put words to it." He startles then: a buzz from his side, his phone on silent, but rumbling against the counter. He draws it up, peeps: "Oh, fuck. I have to get moving. I made a promise to help someone out tonight, split their pay." And a promise is a promise! Tucking his phone away again, he snatches up the last berry on his plate and finishes his lemonade in a gulp. "I'll bring something next time," he says, and it's a PROMISE, so he BETTER, _or else_. "Thank you. Both of you." He seems more settled after the food and conversation, but he all but dips from shadow to shadow as he flees. He clearly doesn't want to be late. "Okaygottagobye," he says in a one-word rush and then he's gone.
"Bye Ji-ho," Fiametta calls, even making her usually soft-spoken voice a little louder, as if it can bounce from shadow to shadow after him. She doesn't seem offended or even all that surprised at the sudden disappearance, instead just shaking her head with a smile. And of course, at the much diminshed berry bowl and the empty glass. "I wonder," she says once more softly to Razi, with serious thoughtfulness, "If it wouldn't be a good idea to have regular meetup nights. Or days. I mean, obviously not like a court of anything. But just a chance for people to touch base with each other, including people that they know. Nothing formal or anything. Sometimes I forget how lonely it can be, when almost anytime I feel that coming on, all I have to do is wait until you're back, or go to where you are, and just be with you until that feeling fades."
Razi makes a thoughtful noise at the suggestion; he is far from without charitable, communal instinct, but it is not so immediately effusive in its warmth as Fiametta's. "A halfway house for the Lost?" His smile is quite faint. "Perhaps. I'll think about it, at the very least. So many of us return to the world with little they can retrieve or return to. It leaves them...adrift."
"Or maybe something like a regular game night, or brunch and meet up or...something," she suggests. "I like our space too. But of course, emergencies are emergencies. With everything that's going on, I think there's lots of people who aren't necessarily new but maybe they're feeling more drifty than they want to right now. Not without its dangers, but I think it's worth considering." She leans over to offer him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "Let's think about it, yeah," she agrees, with a flash of that bright smile.
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