[Sodium_noir] Fever dreams in Gotham

[Spikey]

A Joint Post between myself and Rebecca, Sachiko's player

[OOC - Not sure how many of you remember this but there was a player (AstraKiseki) applied almost two years ago now who was underage and we spoke about what to do about that. I decided in the end that to allow someone under 18 to subscribe to the list was wrong because as a community you all kind of rely on the age limit to be able to tell your stories. The Player will be joining us on the 19th of August!

What I did do however was to enter into private correspondence with the player to create some joint posts for their Changeling: the Dreaming character (Sachiko). These take the shape of snap shots through her life as she slowly awakens to her nature as one of the Fae. This then, is the second of those joint posts. It takes place five years before present day when Sachiko is 12 years old, about two years before the Unseelie Court at the Isle of Crabs Funfair burns down. ]



CHAPTER 2


Sachiko looked about at the new job she did to the chimerical walls of the
house. After the police and the morgue took her parents' bodies away, with
one asking about the pencil on the floor, she had cleaned up the blood and
then coloured the walls of each room different. Her bedroom was burgundy,
the living room Japanese rice paper walls, her parents' bedroom just a
little brighter blue, with a tapestry on the north wall, and the hallway
black, but with all of the mortal pictures she had of her mother and father
and herself still there.

Isaac's cloven feet paced the tile in front of the little coffee maker. He
had refused to go to the Court without a cup of coffee, so, the childling
was thinking of what to do with herself. There was a full-length mirror, and
she crossed her arms, thinking of what to wear. She was in jeans and a shirt
in her mortal form, but she wanted something a little more than the slacks,
white button-up, and black vest for her fae mien.

She traced rainbow designs on her vest with her fingers with a grin, and
then stopped over her heart. She closed her eyes, and then wrote in silver
about her body.

"What if that star is not to come?
Will their dreams fade to nothing?
When the horizons darkens most

We all need to believe there is hope..." She whispered the song as she wrote
the words, frowning to herself, trying to remember. Silver eyes looking into
hers...

"Sachiko!" The Satyr called out, holding the cup of Joe in his hands. "Let's
go. We're going to a freehold, of sorts, called Raindog's."

Sachiko nodded and followed the clicking of the Satyr's feet, doing an
impromptu dance to the rhythm of the steps. As they walked out, Sachiko took
the keys to the rust bucket car that was Sachiko's age and held them out.
"Isn't Raindog's downtown?"

Isaac smiled slightly and took the keys, opening the door for the Eshu and
after making sure she was buckled in, starting the car, and heading into
Gotham proper.

"Neon city my friend, the gaudy strip that keeps Uptown and Downtown apart.
All the places you really shouldn't go crammed into one borough and pasted
with bad décor and awful lighting. It's a great place for a satyr to get
himself lost." They head towards Neon city, and as they drive Isaac fills
her in on the members of the court.

"Raindog, he's a Sidhe of House Fionna. Or used to be, he cut his ties to
the powers that be during the war. Kind of a sad fellow with the weight of
the Autumn world on his shoulders. All his Glories are in the past Sachiko,
but glories they were. He gave up his position at court, his prestige and
his Kith to fight on the side of the Commoners. It'd be good if you
remembered that. The Court itself, the Court of Miracles that is, is run by
the Boggan, Raindog's seneschal Jaywick. That guy could talk the hind legs
off a Pooka. And then there's Malone. Imagine every Troll, make that every
Seelie Troll, you ever knew all polished up and wedged together."

They turn into a less well-lit road with a small parking lot on their left
and a bar on their right. The Neon sign proclaimed that they had found
Raindog's and the huge bald Troll stood in the doorway confirmed the fact.
Patrons came and went under his watchful gaze, but the Doorman hardly moved.

"Yeah, then there's Malone" Isaac said wistfully. "Ex Officer Malone of the
Gotham PD, Once Sir Malone of House Fionna and now guardian of the Court of
Miracles. Got any questions before we go in?"

"Um..." Sachiko thought for a moment, gingerly checking Amy's memories for
anything; perhaps she knew something. Fortunately, nothing did, that or she
hadn't dug deep enough, and Sachiko didn't want to handle any more from the
1920's for a while. She shook her head. "I'll ask him. I'd like to see if
anyone knew an Amy Kage, and stay away from them. I don't want to think
about her. Or Sakura. Or the other Unseelie somewhere in my memories..."

Sachiko grimaced and twisted a strand of her hair. "And, when did you first
remember? You know, being fae?"

"Not as young as you Sachiko, I can tell you that." He opened the door and
stepped out, his hooves clicking on the asphalt. "Neither do I have the
collection of past lives clamouring in my head that you do, so I guess it
all evens out huh?"

He raises a hand to the large Troll, getting a similar response. With a nod
to his Eshu companion, Isaac leads the way to the door.

"Malone my friend, this is Sachiko, the girl I told you about. I was hoping
you might help us out with a small problem, wrangling child services and
stuff."

The Troll looked down at her, his face full of sympathy.

"I am very sorry for your loss Miss, as are we all here at the Court of
Miracles." He looks up at Isaac and nods towards the door. "We can sit up in
the eatery area, away from the bar.."

Once sat upstairs in a quiet corner of Raindogs, Isaac outlined the
situation. Describing Sachiko's family and all the pitfalls. After listening
in silence for the entire time, Malone turns to Sachiko and asks.

"Tell me what you want to happen Miss. How itchy are those Eshu feet of
yours?"

Sachiko grinned. "Not much, actually. I have enough memories to explore for
a good long time." She spun around, thinking. "I'd like to actually just
live as myself, and try to go to the school I am trying for, Winters Tech,
tell stories, read, honor my mother and father, and wander the city. Tomoyo
ran across the Middle East, Sakura reddened the seas around Japan, and
well... Amy lived and died here in Gotham, but a lot has changed, so I want
to see that."

"By and by, did you know someone of that name?" Sachiko turned to the troll
fully, looking almost vertically to look at his face. "Someone named Amy
Kage?"

"Not that I can recall, but I wasn't even out of the Academy when you were
born so it'd be before my time. Maybe Raindog would have known her?" he
produces a small note pad from a pocket and writes the name down, apparently
intending to check up on it. Sachiko can see the ex policeman at work in
him, certain vaguely familiar mannerisms and methods. "And yes Gotham is
never the same for very long, things change around here so very quickly. Hey
Stacie, how about some drinks huh?"

The Troll was speaking to one of the bar staff, Stacie was hardly even on
the stairs when he had heard her trying to sneak up on them. Sachiko hearx
the girl sigh heavily and all attempts at being quiet were dropped in favour
of collecting the glasses.

"What can I get you honey?" She asked Sachiko "A Coke maybe?"

"Sake?" Sachiko asked innocently, earning a glare from Isaac. "Hot chocolate
with whipped cream, please."

"Sure, coming right up Malone!" When she had gone, Malone continued.

"I think I can pull a few strings down at city hall, ease the whole thing
alone Isaac. Gotham city is always happy if it can find a willing foster
carer to save it the hassle."

Sachiko handed the papers to Malone. "Be careful of the middle papers, they
are in legal jargon, and the ones in the back are in Japanese. It's all of
my mother's last will and testament, and I already read it. Isaac, if he
agrees to it, is my legal guardian until I am of age, and I have access to a
monthly pension from my paternal grandfather's will, originally for my
fathers." Sachiko grimaced and spat into a napkin, definitely not liking
most of what she said.

Isaac nodded, looking not at all surprised at the briskness of the
childling, as she continued.

"Also, Sir Malone, Amy Kage was an incarnation of mine, in the 1920s, here
in Gotham. I'm just trying my best to avoid anyone who reminds her... She
was rather Unseelie, and I seem to have some of her more unpleasant
memories."

"Like the sound of a- kuso!" The drawl of a saxophone began to play, and the
Eshu began to tremble nervously as the music played. It was a short piece,
but enough time to watch the childling's sweet face crumble into a fearful
tear-streaked mess. She bit her lower lip, looking at Malone and Isaac with
embarrassment in her golden eyes. She wiped her tears and set her chin.

Malone looks at Isaac, but the _expression on the Satyrs face encourages him
not to say anything about the tears. Behind them, the sounds of Stacie
approaching can be heard.

"After we get our drinks, may I see Raindog?" She asked, her voice high and
nervous from whatever she had seen.

"Urm . certainly Miss, I expect he'll want to speak to you as well." He lets
the waitress place the drinks down. "Stacie, would you give the boss a yell
when you
go down please!" The girl, tottering on heels too high to be sensible for
this type of work, nods with a smile and leaves. Malone watches her from the
corner of his eye while fiddling with the paperwork. "If you were once an
Unseelie here about, you'll have been to the Funfair I guess. I'm afraid
that Freehold is gone now, a burnt ruin in the Autumn world and a hollow
place in the Dreaming.

Sachiko's eyes turned unfocused, thoughtfully. "The Funfair? I always love
going there... But I did jazz... not a carnival. I remember gunsmoke and
liquor and other things." Sachiko took a careful sip of the cocoa and let
out a happy sigh, her small feet kicking merrily, looking the very picture
of innocence with the whipped cream line on her upper lip. "And I remember
drinking something bitter and sweet among bunches of pillows while I was
resting, long long ago." At the very least, she was much more relaxed from
the sugar.

"Is there something other than what Isaac told me that I should know? I
know that he left Fiona," she thought for a moment, "and that he served in
the Accordance War.. That is a story I want to know." As the words left her
mouth, Isaac slapped his forehead, looking more unsurprised by the second.
Sachiko's golden eyes sparkled with the curiosity that only a Sluagh or Eshu
childling could muster as she stood
over the cup of cocoa.

"And what is House Fiona like? Most of my memories are of after the
Shattering and when-"
Isaac covered his eyes again as the Eshu attacked the troll ex-officer with
a chain of questions.

"We both fought in that war Sachiko, he as a commander and myself as his
lieutenant. My place in House Fionna, as a Knight, made me beholden to the
returning Sidhe. I was always Lord . I was always sworn to Raindog and he
has never given me cause to regret my Oath. But the House itself, they were
concerned with the re-conquering of territory. The Fionna have done more for
the Commoners than perhaps any other, but desperate times lead to desperate
measures. Raindog and myself saw things that no man should ever have to see
little Eshu, let alone any fae. We saw frightened exiles do terrible things
to survive and we saw them commit worse things still once they got the lay
of the land. House Fionna stayed till the end back when the bad times came,
and many of them never made it back to Arcadia and they became Changelings
like us. But the ones in charge during the war, they were the ones who'd
never been Changelings and they were as cruel to us as we once were to the
humans. Back when we were fae too."

Isaac stared at the Troll with an open mouth. He'd never known Malone to
speak more than a few words at a time, yet the Eshu had somehow picked the
one subject that his heart could not contain and he was pouring it out on
the table for her.

"Raindog challenged the tactics of his House, of their blind obedience to
the Gwydion and their war crimes. His concerns were not listened too and so
he left. Gave up his title and denied them the use of his territory. He
joined the Commoners in the war and I followed him. His entire Household
followed him and others swore allegiance to him after he became the Leader
of the Gotham defenders. We've been here ever since!"

"Here at the Court of Miracles!" A sad, tired voice sounds from behind her.
As Sachiko turns she is shocked by the vision before her. Raindog is truly a
Sidhe, beautiful and terrible to behold. But his wonderment is tarnished by
dead eyes. By sorrow. He is just as painful to look at now as he has ever
been, but the otherworldliness of his Kith is less evident. He is a part of
this world now, and has suffered for it.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Sachiko" he says. "Our Court is blessed
by your presence!"

Sachiko's first thought was to gape, second (from Sakura, and thankfully
pushed down) to scream a battle cry and attack with her katana (the main
reason why Sachiko was able to control the urge), and the third became her
response: she slipped off the chair and did a perfect storyteller's bow.
"Hajamimashite. Dozo yoroshiku." She grinned as she stood up. "Sorry, I'm
used to greeting people that way because a lot of people don't know
Japanese. It means How do you do, and please favour me."

Isaac's lips tightened slightly at the childling's politeness, or perhaps
something else as Sachiko continued.

"Ah, er-" Sachiko thought for a moment. "Well, this is the second time
ever. I'm at a loss for words." The Eshu lass shrugged. "Do you have any
questions, Mister Raindog?"

"There might have been times when I asked you the secret of quietening an
Eshu little maid, but not now." His thin lips curl up into a smile, easing
the tension.. "I'm not much one for penetrating interrogations these days,
but it is always good to get to know a newly born Changeling fresh from the
Chrysalis.. Isaac tells me you have a remarkable recollection of your
previous incarnations, I would certainly love to hear a little about them.
If you do not mind playing storyteller to an old man that is!"

Sachiko grinned mischievously, with some sadness within. "Well, some
memories are painful for a girl of my years, but I can tell some of the more
ridiculous of the thing that have happened to me..." Sachiko's young voice
raises up, beginning a story of just after the Resurgence and how her past
self had lost her saxophone (once Amy Kage's) on Beltaine, and she had
frantically rushed about the city, dodging chimera, children, and trying her
best not to get stuck in the crush of tourists and well...

"As I ran across the plaza, someone left a packet of some sort of sauce, and
I... well..." Sachiko turned crimson, "slipped. It was just like when
someone steps on a banana slip in the cartoons too." She rubs the back of
her head, remembering the pain. "But, I did find that sax. And it wasn't
eaten, just like the redcap promised."

Sachiko stayed quiet, thinking, remembering another story and another's
laughter. "What houses are there? I remember little of the Sidhe..."

"In the waking world?" Raindog said with a sigh. "There's the Fionna, my
house, Gwydion, Dougal and Eiluned, they make up the Seelie Houses. Oh, and
Liam of course. Then there are the Autumn Sidhe, House Scathach and the
Unseelie. Three houses make up the Shadow Courts nobility, Ailil, Leanhaun
and Balor. Maybe there are more still in Arcadia, perhaps hundreds, but
nobody remembers now."

"Eiluned?" Sachiko whispered to herself, a nudge in her mind chilling her
heart. The little girl seemed thoughtful, arms crossed over her vest. "And
what do you think of all of the houses? And I am asking Isaac and Sir
Malone as well this question."

Raindog looked to the Troll and the Satyr, but even a forsworn Sidhe was a
Sidhe in truth and they naturally reserved comment until he had spoken. The
Grump sighed at the reliance each of them had on the old ways. In truth he
often toyed with the idea of immersing himself in his Unseelie nature for a
time, in the hope of throwing off such shackles. But so far the thought had
not germinated any action.

"Well the Eilunedd are a wise house, if a little too fond of their secrets.
they skirt close to their Unseelie natures for the most part and that makes
them both a force for balance, and agents of distrust for many." He looks
into his glass for a moment. "Liam have suffered greatly for their choices,
for turning their back on many of their own in favour of the Mortals. That
has left them without power of influence and far too many of them are ready
to support cruel lords in the hope of regaining what they once had. At Times
the Doughal are guilty of the same Malaise, of taking the path of least
resistence. They rarely seek to rule if they can support others int hat
role, their attention is on other matters, matters of creation and
artifice."

The man drank from his glass with a thoughtful expression.

"And so it is that we Fionna have often been left with the task of
confronting the Gwydion in their worst excess. That has always been the way
of the Seelie Houses. Gwydion expect to rule without question, we challenge
that expectation. The Gwydion are Noble and true Kings of the Dreaming at
thier best, but thier short sightedness is also the cause of most of our
mistakes. When the Shattering hit, it was the Gwydion at the front of the
ques to race home through the Trods. Only the Scathatch stayed in numbers
greater than us."

Raindog appeared to have reached a stop, picking up his glass again.

"Aye, that at least I remember!" Isaac replied. "During the dark years, if
you could even find a Sidhe they'd likely be of the Lions house. The
Scathatch remained behind, but in truth they're more secretive than the
Eilunedd. They withdrew to their training camps and secret castles, and
almost none of them took up the empty thrones no matter how much we begged
them to."

"None who saw the time of war could say that any House of the Sidhe acted
with true Nobility!" Malone said. "There's good and bad in every one, and we
saw plenty of both."

"True old friend, very True!" Raindog lays a hand on Malone's shoulder. "In
the end I turned my back on my own House, not on the abstract nation of the
Sidhe. Those of my family on this coast were too quick to revel in the
battles, too fond of the glorious conflicts. Its hard to look for peace when
you've been Dreamed in the image of the Courageous Knight!"

Sachiko let out a bubbling laugh.  "Too true."  She thought for a moment.  "You forgot the Shadow Court Houses, Ailil, Leanhaun and Balor."  Her brow furrowed.  "Or will I ever meet one?"

Her heart seemed to freeze for a moment, something that the little girl didn't understand.  She shook off the icy feel, blinking her golden eyes. 

"Unfortunatly you'll meet plenty of each in your time I expect." Raindog said thoughtfully. "Theres Ailil and Balor over at the Funfair, even a Leanhaun I believe. Members of the Unseelie Nobility are not so easy to classify though my dear, they are less cohesive in thier manners and thier natures."

"Also theres less of them around!" Isaac added. "Which means less of them to try and take what isn't thiers!"

The Troll and the Sidhe looked at the Satyr for a moment, and then raindog went on.

"The Ailil were born to rule, it is thier right. Descended from noble Kings of Ireland and the mightiest of the Unseelie. But they are wont to govern by trickery and deciet as much as by right. Theres no maze so trecherous as the games of the Silvered Dragon. The Leanhaun are much like us Fionna, just with less honour about thier passions. There are none so close to the Dreamers themselves, none who can find the beauty and the skill of humanity with such clarity. If it were just those two, the Unseelie courts would be wonderous places, like the courts of old."

"If only ..." Malone sighed.

"Yes, because there are also the Balor. Deluded fools with the belief that they owe allgience not to the Dreams of Arcadia and the Children of danu, but to the Fomhaire themselves. While I am sure most of them sport that badge as a simple feint, like a Redcap with its pierced flesh and bloody apparel, there must be some now whose memories are too fractured to see the lie for what it is. I tremble to think what such lost souls would do if the Fomorians were not dead and buried!"

Sachiko nodded, listening, her gold eyes thoughtful.  "I remember shreds of them... indeed they were horrors, and I hope they use that badge as a joke."

A Quiet descended on the table as each of the gathered fae receded into their memories and fractured recollections. More emotion and sense that actual events. What the mind of the Fae now enwraped in human flesh could recal of the wars for the Dreaming was ephemeral and fleeting. Terrible monsters born of the darkness and evil in the Hearts of man that swept in from the cold seas to plague both the early settlements of mankind and thier Gods. Half remembered battles between Kings of golden power and shadowy tenebrous demons. Now much diluted by prose and myth, the first and second battles of Moy Tura were too vast and abstract to be fully recalled now.

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