undergrounds | (open) hell is deep lord, but we're heading deeper

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(open) hell is deep lord, but we're heading deeper

[With new lords come new excuses to party.]

[Some time on the 19th, the fae stage a takeover of the club fabric in Smithfield. Invitations are sent out to all the fae in London, touting the glorious coming out of the Lords of Rivers and Illusions, Seelie and Unseelie respectively. It's one of those times where fae of both courts just want an excuse to throw a party, and the invitation is all the notice said new lords get that they are going to be guests of honour.]

[It's a typical fae affair; the magic is heavy in all three rooms, one of which is decorated like a ballroom in Other Realm fashion. The food and drink served at the bar remains untouched by fae charms, but the fae presence itself seems to be intoxicating. Some of the activities happening in dark corners seem to be a little beyond what's regularly allowed at any reputable nightclub, but don't pay attention to that just enjoy the party.]

[If you manage to cause any trouble, a team of large fae is here to escort you out. You may have seen them faithfully guarding the door, sniffing out those who may want to cause harm to the high concentration of fae inside. Vampires can be let through if they have a fae companion with them, and otherwise all types of humans and supernatural alike are allowed in.]

[The party goes on for precisely 72 hours, and on the 22nd the party winds down and mysteriously disappears. The club is left a little cleaner than when it started, the staff left completely befuddled about what just occurred.] (x)

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Ringer doesn't look fine, but Annie can't see the blush in the light, anyway.

"He is- he and Finnick were so important in Croydon." And Eames had been impressed with her efforts. Her efforts, her thoughts, and it was outstanding. "And then they have Unseelie and Seelie being honored. So it can be a bigger party. At least, I think that's the logic?"

"They do seem to love their parties," she agrees, based both on what Annie's said and her observations. Ringer is still having trouble accepting the knowledge that Eames is an important lord instead of a shady yes man. "What did he do in Croydon?"

She nods towards the ballroom, the direction they were traveling in before she was distracted by the shock, encouraging Annie to begin making their way there again.

"Flashy and fun. That, ah, really seems to describe them." What did Eames do in Croydon, that was a good question. Annie starts to lead them back towards the ballroom.

"He really organized the whole thing. Offered it to Midnight, tried to take it back. He's really smart." Annie was an Eames fan. This was probably not a good thing.

Ringer follows, keeping close as before. With her hand on Annie's shoulder, she feels more freedom to look around a bit, trying to memorize faces in case they should become relevant later. Not that she'll have too much luck in the noise and bustle of hundreds of people.

"I don't know much about what happened with Croydon. Will you tell me?" She's heard bits and pieces, but not enough to fully understand what Eames did.

"Of course," she says, the hand on her shoulder reminding her that she needed to be here in this moment. It was grounding.

"Croydon was Unseelie territory. But, uhm, they offered it to Midnight. Just for free. Midnight was going to take it but Daybreak heard. So they stopped the take-over. But the fae still really wanted it back. So they went up against Daybreak, for themselves and Midnight. Midnight are a bunch of cowards- they wouldn't come out to help in the first place- and somehow, I don't know how, but Daybreak held Croydon after a month of disputes." It had been awful.

And, here they were at the ballroom! "Okay, this is it. It's amazing." She moves them both inside.

"Why would the Unseelie give Midnight a territory for free?" The idea gives Ringer's paranoia a nudge. Not that she has anything for or against Midnight, but the Unseelie are definitely one of the villains of her personal narrative. The idea of some selfless gesture is clearly a manipulation and it bothers her not to understand why.

She follows Annie into the ballroom as she asks, looking around in wonderment. It's far more grand that she'd imagined, the gold filigree and crystal decor enchanting her. Ringer can't help but stand in awe, hand falling from Annie's shoulder to spin around and take in the whole room.

This gives her pause. "I'm not- not really sure. I think it's for good-will? Make a treaty with a new power- that part I know. So they can come and go from the Other Realm." That's how it had been explained to her, at least. "A tactical decision." And she can respect that.

Annie looks over at Ringer as she spins, both hands over her lips as she giggles. "Isn't it beautiful? It's something Disney made!"

Ringer's so distracted by the grandeur of the room that she doesn't recognize Annie's words until she stops to focus on them. Then she nods, accepting the theory and fact as good information. Maybe she can ask Finnick or Eames about the details later. Oddly, she finds herself more interested in speaking to the latter than the former.

"It's ridiculous." Her lips twitch with the hint of a smile. The remark is clearly a compliment. Ringer slides her hand down to grab Annie's, moving them farther into the room, weaving between the dancing center and the crowds at the outskirts to try to get a better view of things.

Annie would rather take in the ballroom again, too. Screw politics, tonight is a night for fun, Ringer.

She follows her happily, picking up her skirts gently to better move. "I know!" She gushes, "they're amazing." The fae really, really know how to party.

She stops at the opposite end of the room, letting go of Annie's hand and sliding around a random gawker to take in the best view of the grand room. It's almost enough to make her want to dance. Almost. Instead, she glances over to Annie, wearing a light expression, picturing the girl gliding with Finnick across the floor and liking the idea of it somehow. Something besides war and disputes and politics.

"Is this what their Realm is like?"

Annie hesitates.

"I- I don't know. I haven't been yet." He's kept their relationship a secret for so long, so taking her to visit would have been a disaster. One day, she hoped to go. But he had such strong walls up, and felt the need to protect her so much.

"But if it's anything like this, I'd really like to." But only if Finnick was going to take her. "Though, here you can eat the food!" Annie had not been doing much eating of the food that had been brought around.

Ringer turns to look at Annie with surprise. With the way the woman talks about Finnick, Ringer got the impression that they were attached at the hip at all hours of every day, that they might as well be married with everything shared between them. To hear that she hasn't visited Finnick's homeland is more than a little unexpected.

"Why haven't you been?" It doesn't occur to her that it might be rude to ask, or that she might be touching on a sensitive subject.

Annie shifts awkwardly.

"Yeah. He, uhm- until recently, wanted to keep me as secret." She'd hated it, feeling like she wasn't good enough. That he was ashamed of her. She was so proud of him that she always wanted to brag. But Finnick was worried. He wanted to protect her, to keep her safe.

"Oh." She tries to keep the judgment from her tone, wondering if there are redeemable qualities to Finnick that she's only seen shreds of or if the fae is secretly an abusive and manipulative monster who Annie has come to find endearing through labyrinthine psychological maneuvers. Ringer worries for her friend, making a mental note of it, as always, knowing that now is neither the time or place. "This can help you imagine. Until you can go."

Finnick Odair is the least manipulative, most loving, wonderful fae of all the faes, if you asked Annie. He'd had an extremely hard life, and Annie'd only ever seen the tip of the iceberg. But he was just as broken as she was, and their cracks fit together to create a new whole. It just seemed really weird to everyone outside of it.

"Yes," she says dreamily, inhaling the whole room. "Hopefully this Summer." When his court was at the height of their power.

"Good." It's an offhand response, meant to be as supportive as Ringer knows how to be and ignoring all of the potential pitfalls and nuances that the comment might suggest. Instead, the hunter goes back to admiring the splendor of the room and the grandeur of its occupants as well.

Because it occurs to her, as a way to understand something more, Ringer adds, "Would you become fae, if you could?"

Now there's a question Annie's never been asked before.

Stopping her viewing, she turns to Ringer, somewhat sobered. "Me? Oh- I don't think there's a way." But if it meant being with Finnick for the rest of her life, she supposed, maybe.

"If you could," she perseveres, because the response isn't an answer. Ringer doubts that it's possible either, but there's something about the idea of changing oneself to be with someone that she doesn't understand. She wonders if it's a sign of love or abuse, not entirely knowing how to distinguish the two.

Annie's only surviving family member is her elderly grandmother. The rest dead. It's important to know that as Annie considers. Once her grandmother passed, she'd have no mortal relatives. She'd have Finnick, and only Finnick.

She remembers how he talks about the Other Realm. How safe he feels there, how warm it must be, and she wants to be part of that. For him. She's so broken, so sad, that having a second chance, as a fae... "It's all hypothetical," she says because she needs to say it out-loud. "But I would." Then Finnick wouldn't need to worry about her anymore. "But he'd never ask."

Ringer wonders again at the distinction being blurred and Annie's response, knowing that there's nothing she can do if it was her place to say something in the first place. But it's not. The important thing is knowing how deep Annie's connection to Finnick runs, especially if her own acquaintance with Finnick should turn sour. Friends or not, there's no doubt in Ringer's mind that Annie would denounce her in a heartbeat if Finnick asked it.

"Come on. Let's go see the other ballroom." She offers her hand to Annie this time, allowing the other woman to lead on.

Finnick would never ask Annie to denounce a friend. Nor would Annie ever do it under Finnick's orders. Their relationship wasn't that sort, but it was easy to see why anyone on the outside would believe that. Ringer had no way of knowing the finer details of Annie and Finnick's relationship.

Without hesitation this time, Annie takes Ringer's hand, and begins pulling her towards the other rooms. "To the big party one?" She asks to clarify.

"Yeah," Ringer replies, steeling herself even as she acquiesces to the environment and tries to have a good time. Something that's not an easy task for her, made evident in that she never really smiles. She follows along with her friend, trying to absorb the other girl's enthusiasm through osmosis. "I'm curious to see what it looks like."

"Brace yourself," she warns, keeping Ringer in close to her as she moves through the crowds. Occasionally she can find large enough holes in the crowd and darts through, otherwise, it's fighting against a current.

"I think we're in it!"

Ringer moves easily enough with Annie, the pair darting between people with decent grace for a couple of humans. At least in between the gentle shoving and bumping. By the time Annie points it out, Ringer can't see all that well except to look up at the amazing decor there. But this room is definitely more crowded and that sets the girl on edge.

"It's beautiful," she replies. Though true, the reply comes mostly out of obligation. "I need some fresh air. I'll find you later."

She offers an apologetic gaze, though the way she says it is not exactly an invitation for Annie to join. Ringer needs a minute or two by herself to think over the new information about Eames and gather her thoughts without all the noise and people.

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(open) hell is deep lord, but we're heading deeper

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