06m Scene 3

Bloody Harry's, et.al. ]

There is no better place to wash down a fish dinner with a bottle of
Bayle's Piss, so long as you don't mind a surly hack who passes for a
waiter shouting your order though a hole in the wall for all to hear.
The etiquette of seating is a bit different here than most places:
find a vacant table if you can and lay your sword belt on the chair to
your right, with the blade partly drawn. There is not much decor,
unless you count passed-out drunks and shifty-eyed individuals, a few
broken bottles and suspicious stains upon the floor, and some
not-too-subtle artwork of an amorous nature hung on the far wall.

This is not the sort of place someone who looks like Giselle usually frequents. That's never stopped her, though. At least she doesn't skip in though, like she does other places. She gets plenty of looks, and the look they get in reply is one hundred percent crazy redhead. Reason enough for her to be left alone. She claims one of the empty tables, and carefully coils her braid on the chair. Not going to risk it dragging on the ground in here, certainly. For this trip she's wearing a long knife, and she sits so it's easy to reach if needed. For show, really. Doesn't need it.

Unlike Giselle, this is a place that Corwin frequents more often then not. In fact, of all the places in Amber, it's well know to be his preferred watering hole of choice. So, it should come as no surprise that the meeting was requested to transpire here. He arrives shortly after she does, door opening to allow him to slip into that establishment and there's a play of his gaze about the room, noting those that sit at the various tables and when his gaze comes to settle upon her, there's a tug of a grin to his lips. A couple of quick steps carry him to the table that she's claimed, though he makes no effort to take a seat.

When her uncle arrives, Giselle's attention goes from making sure no one's stupid at her to him. He gets a smile as he walks her way, then she says "Evening! Sit? Eaten? I was going to have something." She seems to have not a care in the world.

At the offer to sit, Corwin's simply tugging out a chair so that he can lower himself down into it. He doesn't bother with the customary placing ones blade on the back of the seat, more then willing to take his chances it would seem. A shake of his head comes to be given, followed by, "Go ahead, but I'm not hungry. Though .." He does lift a hand to catch the attention of one of the waitstaff, "I do feel the need to have something to drink."

Giselle grins. "There's no time not to have something to drink." she says, then once they're being waited on she asks for the dinner special. And a lot of rum. Not necessarily in that order. Once Corwin's ordered whatever he wants, she says "So, there's this thing I want to do, that needs as much of the family as possible."

A simple nod is given to the waitstaff, which Corwin echoing the order for lots of rum. Then, his gaze plays back over towards Giselle and there's a slight lift of his brow at the mention of family, "You do realize how difficult it is to get everyone to participate in something, right?" A pause is taken and then he's following that with, "But, what is it that you need us to be doing?"

Giselle smirks. "Well, this would be a lot of serving self-interest. But, yeah, I figure some won't want to." She shrugs to that, then continues with "Right now, only the bloodline of Fiona and whoever fixes the Tir Pattern when that eventually happens can use those, right?"

There's a little cluck of Corwin's tongue as he considers the last of what is offered, only to give a bob of his head, "If Fiona fixes the pattern, chances are only her bloodline will be able to use it. Unknown if someone else manages to do it, whether it will be restricted to their line or not."

Giselle nods. "So, I had an idea that might let anyone in the family use it. If it works. So, I'm trying it." she replies to him, then smiles as their liquor is brought. Mmmmmm…. Rum…. Anything else has to wait while she has a swallow or two.

With the booze delivered, Corwin is snapping up a bottle for himself, gaze resting on Giselle as she makes mention of having an idea. But, any further question is held just long him for him to pop the top on the bottle so that it can be lifted to his lips for a healthy sip. That done, he's finally offering, "How is it that you expect to allow anyone to use it?"

Giselle has another swallow, then tilts her head a bit. "Huh?" she says. "Allow anyone to use it? I'm just going to try to distill Oberon's essence from as much of his family as possible, and use it to imbue whoever does the fixing so the Pattern thinks it's Oberon doing it."

Claiming another sip from the bottle, Corwin's then lowering it, fingertip coming to tap against the side of the bottle as he considers that a moment, "An … interesting way to approach the situation. I'd hate to be the one that is going to attempt to test it." A pause, "Have you spoken with Fiona in relation to this?"

Giselle drinks again, not shy about alcohol. At all. "Dunno who's going to do it. That's not really my area." She nods then, and says "Oh, sure. She's okay with me trying this. I'm using a lab at her academy for it."

"Well, I imagine that it's going to wind up being Fiona or Brand that attempts such a thing. I imagine it's more up their line of things. I'm pretty sure that it won't be me that attempts it." A curl of Corwin's lips at that and then he's giving a nod of his head, "Ahh, perfect. If she's granted her blessing, then it's a sound idea. So not my area of expertise, for the most part, to consult on."

Giselle nods to him. "Probably one of those, yeah. All the more reason for everyone else to participate in this, right? To increase the chances that they and theirs can use those Patterns afterwards." she replies, then smiles again as her fish stew is brought. "So, that's why I'm here."

"Well, I can't say that I don't support this little endeavor," offers Corwin, only to follow that with, "So, I suppose that you are going to need some of my blood in order to make this work? Or, is it that you're looking for something else?"

Giselle tastes her dinner, and looks pretty pleased with it. When he mentions blood she shakes her head. "Nah. I don't need blood. This is a more esoteric kind of alchemy. Distilling an idea into form, instead of a substance. What I need from you is an understanding of Oberon. So I can internalize that and then imbue it into an inert substance." Yes, when she's not falling down drunk, she's almost not pathetic and kind of smart.

The answer to that draws a lift of Corwin's brow and he's considering that a moment, only to give a little shake of his head, "An understanding of Oberon .." Now, there's the hint of a chuckle in the back of his throat before he's offering up, "I don't think anyone really understands Oberon. It's not as if he served overly well as a mentor in things."

Giselle makes a face at the comment about gaining an understanding of Oberon. "I don't like it - at all - but that's how it's gotta work. And it's not just that. It's tapping into how each of us is connected to him. Connecting with the bloodline, and what we inherited through it. Besides the power. I mean, from all of you who knew him at least some I can get a lot of first-hand idea, too. That helps. For all of us who really didn't know him though, I created a potion that exaggerates bloodline traits."

"Oberon was a master at manipulation," offers Corwin, followed by, "A trait that Caine excelled at picking up. Just look at the dynamics amongst the Elders to see just how much Oberon mentored or played a part in our lives. Caine stabbing me years ago, Eric banishing me to Shadow Earth for centuries, Oberon's betrayal of Brand." Now, there's a smirk that hints to his lips, "If anything, the lot of us inherited two things from our father, aside from our abilities … the distrust of each other and the throne-seeking mindset that we have." The mention of a specific potion draws a wrinkle of his nose, "That .. does not sound like a particularly enjoyable potion."

Giselle listens to him as she works on her stew. And drinks. A lot. "Well, except for a few things in common, you're all kind of pretty different in your talents. Like if he was good at a whole lot of things, each of you inherited certain things. Trying to understand some of those things gets me closer to making as much of him as I can." As for the potion, she shrugs. "Gotta collect however I can, right?"

"Most of us inherited the abilities of our mothers, while the bulk of pattern abilities came from Oberon, obvious," offers Corwin, followed by, "At least, that's what I've ascertained when you look at the family, who the mothers were for each bit of family and then look at the skillset that the children established."

Giselle thinks about that, then nods. "But we still have to have gained something from him besides Pattern. Like whatever informs however we all choose to use the abilities inherited from the mother line?" she asks, watching him with great interest.

Considering that a moment, Corwin's offering a faint little 'hmm' that's followed by, "I'd have to actually think about that. I've never given it much thought, aside from the fact that all I've seemed to have gotten from Oberon was the abilities with pattern. My others came from my mother." A pause and then, "It's an interesting thing to think about, though, I must admit."

Giselle looks very interested as he thinks about it. "Well, Fiona said that he never let anything stop him from getting anything he wanted, and only death really got in his way of it. Sounds like something a lot of us have in common when we really want something." Then, "tell me more about him? Paint me a picture of some of you memories of him?" she asks.

"That's where the power grabbing for the throne comes from," offers Corwin, followed by, "I don't have all that many memories of my father. It's not as if he was around, for the most part. He was always off tending to something, such as bashing and killing gods, to ensure that they couldn't challenge him and the like. He'd set children against one another .. perhaps to ensure that we were strong enough to survive." A wry chuckle hints in the back of his throat, "The man was a glorified asshole. Distrustful of everyone. Believed that everyone was here to serve him, whether it be family or those out in shadow."

Giselle continues to think about what he's saying. "Was he wrong? I mean, he was pretty much the king of everything. Everyone *was* here to serve him." she says with a smirk. "What's what power grabbing for the throne feel like? I mean, what makes you want it? Seems like a pain in the ass job."

"A debatable little thought, I suppose. I don't think we should all be here to serve him. What type of kingdom is that, in the end?" A shake of Corwin's head and then he's giving a laugh, only to offer, "It's … a drive within us, for those of us that still strive for it. As if something is pushing us in that direction with an unseen hand. Of course, for myself, it's, at times, made worse by the flitting voices of Chaos."

Giselle hms. "I don't think 'should' really mattered, to him. If you didn't do what he wanted, you were punished, right? That's just how it was." She fidgets on her chair some, then drinks more rum. Several long swallows. Not handling that particular subject well. She focuses hard then on what he says next, and nods. "Pushing how? I don't really feel pushed often. I'm stoned a lot, though. A *lot*. What does it feel like? That drive for the throne." she asks him, looking sincerely interested.

"Punished, yes." A simple nod of Corwin's head and a low chuckle then comes to be masked by the lift of his bottle to his lips, a healthy sip of the rum taken before it's lowered back down. "The push for the throne is like an addiction. That really is the simplest way to describe it, I suppose."

Giselle tilts her head to the side, her forehead wrinkling a little as she takes that in. "So… you always feel it? It's always there somewhere? How hard is it to ignore?" are her next questions. She seems to have forgotten her food for now.

"Yes. It's always there," comments Corwin, only for him to follow that up with, "As for how hard it is to ignore?" A shrug of his shoulders, "I'm capable of ignoring it. My will is stronger then it, providing I don't delve too deeply into Chaos. At which case .. things get really fucked up."

Giselle purses her lips. "Good reason not to delve too deeply, then." she says. "Unless really fucked up is appealing." She shakes her head a bit though, and returns to the other subject. "Will's a thing we got from him. What's it feel like, when you're stopped from getting what you want. Like the throne?"

"Depends on the day, in all honesty and my mood." A quick smile and then Corwin gives a laugh, "Uh .. don't know. Never really gave that a huge amount of thought. I suppose frustrating, disappointed, annoyed, pissed off, wanting to stab people. Shit along that lines."

Giselle nods slowly to him. "What would you do with it?" she asks him then. "The throne, I mean. If it really became all yours, no question or chance of one of the others taking it from you? Do you think there are any other drives past the desire for it? Even bigger highs?" she asks, her eyes very focused. "Do you think the control he wielded was his bigger high past just being king?"

"What I would do is not particularly a discussion I have with those outside my circle of trust." That's offered with a hint of a smile from Corwin before he's following with, "As for Oberon? No idea. I imagine he desired to be more then a king. A god, so to speak. But, without asking him, we'll never know. In the span of almost two thousand years, Oberon was still a mystery."

Giselle forces her eyes from him for a moment, and blinks a few times. There's another slight nod, and she says "Of course. And I don't think there was much difference between him and gods. He killed a lot of them, after all. I wonder if he only hunted them so they weren't a threat. I wonder if he also hunted them to take their power. Like you said, we'll never know."

"It's truly hard to say," offers Corwin, following it with, "I'm not aware of him taking their power in any fashion, though, so I would assume that he simply killed them to deal with potential threats before they become such a thing." A shrug of his shoulder, "Oberon was Oberon. He did want he wanted and answered to no one. That's the legacy that he left. The only thing that he did manage to succeed at, was holding the the throne for millenia without a child taking it from him."

There's a quiet 'Mmm' from Giselle as she thinks about that for a long moment. She seems to be thinking about it hard. "And now that he's gone, eventually one must prove strong enough to take and hold it. I wonder what someone would have to be willing to do, to hold it against all the power of the rest of the family. Can it be done with force? Surely, there's a way to hold it by force. Eventually." She seems to be talking to herself now more than him.

"Someone would have to give up who they are to hold it for that long," comments Corwin, followed by, "And yes, I do believe one could hold it with force. But again, they would have to be willing to do terrible things to secure it for all time. Such is the nature of power and the draw that it has."

Giselle is silent, apparently listening but it's hard to tell how much. Her mind looks very busy. Then there is another slow nod. "Terrible things." she says quietly, her expression darkening slightly. "Limits are for lesser beings." are her next words, again apparently to herself rather than Corwin. Her bottle's forgotten on the table as she rises apparently to go, her bearing somewhat different from her usual carefree. "I have a great deal to do."

"Exactly," is Corwin's comment on the mention of limits being for lesser beings. And when she suddenly rises, there's a simple incline of his head in her direction, to which he's offering up, "I suppose that you do. Until next time, then."

Corwin seems to have been forgotten other than being a brief afterthought. Or, become unimportant given the offhand gesture of farewell he's given with one hand. It's with a purposeful stride that Giselle heads to the door.


Gossip CJY: Wed Jun 28 21:16:53 2017 by Giselle (public)
AL-Palace: murmur known by insiders, trace cost 1, expires 05 Jul
Title: Crazy Redhead

Gossip will spread in the palace the way gossip always spreads in a palace. Crazy redhead Giselle not only strode right into the palace like she owned the place, but she looked pretty sober. Of all the places she might have gone, she headed straight to the throne room, and then spent several hours just staring at the throne. She seemed to be talking quietly to herself, in that way of talking through some sort of plan, but staff wasn't eager to get very close to the crazy and try to find out what she was saying. Eventually, she just turned on her heel, and went back out the way she came. She didn't say a word to anyone, and barely acknowledged those who crossed her path.


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