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The Autumn Knight delivers an ultimatum to Tamamo Abe based on her recent attack on Oz.
Afternoon
Peace Plaza - Japantown - San Francisco
The Autumn Knight, Rey Devoss, stands nearby the Peace Pagoda, his long leather duster wrapped closely around him against the pervasive cold. His motorcycle is parked not far off, and a short distance from him, what appears to be an old, bronze railway lantern sits on the ground. In a radius of about ten feet from the lantern, the snow has melted, and the air looks visibly warm. Rey stands just outside this circle of warmth, his boots leaving prints in the snow. Veiled from mortal eyes, the Autumn Blade rests at his hip, sheathed. His expression is neutral, his body language stern but composed, and for the moment... he simply waits.
Clad in a thick coat, Tamamo arrives at the peace plaza, her face showing signs of a lot of crying. She hadn't left her flat the last days, since the day Oz dumped her. As she arrives, she glances over the area, spotting the molten area instantly, then the cycle and the knight. She moves over slowly, staying out of the area from him just enough to talk, far enough to be out of reach of his blade should he draw. "You called me here, knight. You do surely know that this is the peace plaza. The pagoda had been built to show that San Franciso is connected with Osaka and as a sign of peace between the Nations. Bringing your blade here can be seen as a threat to this place, drawing it would be for sure a violation of it. So peace talks you plan to do. In whose name do you come in my time of grief?"
Rey turns to face Tamamo, inclining his head politely as she approaches. At her words, he gestures to the lantern. "I come to treat in the name of the Autumn Court, and in so doing I offer this space of comfort against the cold as a token of good faith. I bear my blade as a symbol of my office. In this encounter, it will not be drawn save in the cause of necessary defense." He regards her for a long moment, manner remaining formal and impassive before he lowers his hands to his sides. "Your grief is unfortunate, but I fear it also concerns my cause for calling this meeting. Daniel Osbourne, whom I believe you know as 'Oz,' stands now under my protection. I understand that you were romantically involved until recently, but upon his announcement that you would part ways, I am told that you initiated an illusion-based attack on his person, sufficient to cause him psychological harm. Before I speak further, I would hear your explanation for these events."
Tamamo growls a little as she steps closer, staying out of the heated area. A moment she looks around then she waves to the pagoda, the world seeming to shift. For the two of them the snow vanishes, the cold vanishes, the ground getting replaced with grass. The only piece that stays is the pagoda, just the style changes from modern to a classical one covered in goldleaf and red. A toori appears in the north, marking the picture of the place sanctified in Shinto. "My grief is a direct cause of the Ronin you claimed as your protegee. When did you take him as your charge? If it was before the third, you are responsible for what he did to me. If not, you are not allowed to bring charges against me for what I did to defend myself as he was not one of yours."
"Ronin?" Rey echoes. "A ronin, to my understanding, is one who forsakes his proper allegiance. Daniel Osbourne has not forsaken any liege lord. As to when he came under my protection, that occurred when he came to be associated with another under my protection. I did not formalize my protection until yesterday, but that is immaterial. I shall stand for him, if you wish it." His eyes glimmer faintly, a sheen of autumnal burnt orange across their usual hue of silvery opal. "So, let us hear your charge against him. What action did Daniel Osbourne take that warranted such reprisal as you offered? I am prepared to answer your charge."
"A Ronin is a person with the worth of a wave: None." Tamamo corrects Rey, her green eyes stern as she looks back to him. "It is material, as only after you took his charge you became his patron. Before, he was just him. The moment he came to me, he was not. I can not hold you responsible for his deeds then, but you can punish him for them if you will." Tamamo eyes over the scene she created, waving over to the houses still visible to create a couple trees in front of them, their leaves taking a deep golden color just like the pagoda, maybe an homage to the knight. "When the Ronin had been engaged with me, as you called it, I met a girl called Willow. He had been with her before me, and from how she reacted to the name, she still had some feelings for him, but cared that he was happy most. Her heart he had harmed." A moment she seems to ponder it, calling a folding screen from nowhere, a picture of Willow appearing on it. "Then he came to me on the third. I had to dig in him to learn what he wanted, but he told me that he had only taken the relationship with me for my looks. That he was cheating on me. That he was not feeling for me. That his confession to me had been false." Taking a moment she waves for the screen, making her picture appear next to Willow's on the screen. "He even had tried to defile me." She pulls out her phone, skimming through the text messages she had sent her, pulling them to the empty side of the screen.
From: Oz; To: Tamamo; On: Mon Nov 19 16:07:50 2018 If I'm right, when I knock on the door you should open it for me wearing absolutely nothing. Mmm? From: Oz; To: Tamamo; On: Mon Nov 19 16:17:21 2018 Eh, it's a private apartment, no one can say anything. Besides, hide behind the door unless you see it's me. Or, I guess i could do that.
"He toyed with me. He broke my heart. He showed himself as a ronin." Tamamo adds, crossing her arms slowly. "He deserved to be shown what he did to me, to the girl he had left before. No more I did, not an Attack it is. If he took harm from facing the truth, that he broke hearts, then he deserved it for attacking the hearts he broke with his behavior in the first place. Self Defense this would be, if it was an attack at all.
Rey smiles, the expression tight and humorless, and says, "I shan't debate the nature of the term with you, as the language is not mine. I will strive to better educate myself, however, as I had misapprehended it to mean a samurai with no master, usually carrying the connotation of being mercenary and holding no loyalties, such as in the case when a samurai's master had been discredited for some reason -- but, again, I will make a further study of the term to ensure my proper understanding." This said, his smile broadens, just slightly, though it remains just as emotionally flat. "So, let us say that I stand surety for Daniel in this matter. I take responsibility. Your charge is that Daniel had become romantically involved with you prior to the date of December third. Then, on that date, he came to you and indicated that he developed romantic inclinations toward another, and he chose to part ways with you... and that he had suggested, during the time he was romantically involved with you, that you might engage in acts associated with carnal fornication for mutual pleasure."
He raises both eyebrows, coughing slightly, and asks in a more plain tone, "You have heard of the fae before, yes? You might wish to know that we take a very... liberal... view of pleasure and sexuality. To put it simply, I am not shocked that Oz wished to engage in physical pleasure with you, though... I'm afraid that, given my own tastes, the appeal is lost on me." He gives a mild shrug. "In any case, by your own description of the situation, Daniel's conduct was such that he came to you to break off the relationship, and spoke of his commitment to another. You concede that he did not engage in any physical nor supernatural attack upon you. And yet, you responded by casting an aggressive illusion on him?" He gives a single, definitive shake of his head. "No, I'm afraid that I do not consider those equal actions. Let us call this what it is. Daniel took up with you for a brief time out of sexual interest. The interest waned, and he met another, for whom he feels more deeply. Thus scorned, you felt the need to take revenge."
His smile turning grim, Rey says, "The Autumn Court does not acknowledge your bruised feelings as sufficient cause to engage in an aggressive enchantment against one under our protection. As such, you are hereby served notice that any further acts of aggression upon our Court or any of its members will be taken as violent action, and swift reprisal will follow. You are hereby no longer welcome in any Autumn lands and holdings, and you are commanded to remain distant from any such holdings unless you are in the sovereign territory of another signatory, and in such case, I strongly warn you to ensure you enjoy the protection of said signatory, else I shall surely seek the consent of the sovereign of that territory to pursue and remove you. You are hereby declared our enemy."
"Bruised feelings?" A moment the illusion flickers, Tamamo's face going hard, disdainful, and the whole scene shifts. The light of an autumn night changing to the icy cold light of a full moon night, the trees losing all leaves, the pagoda turning almost black in the light, the snow creeping back from the floor and with it the cold. "You declare me your enemy. But should I hear you or one of yours trespassing on what is mine, they will have to pay the same price you demand of me. I did not intend him harm but to show him what he did to me." A moment she stalls, then she opens the coat showing herself defenseless. "If you must, draw your sword, if you must, ram it into the heart violated by your protege. If you must, end it here. It was a thing between him and me, nothing you were involved in."
Rey's expression goes quite blank at the sudden shift, and he regards the images she shoes him with clear disdain. "I fear," he says in an utterly flat tone, "that I am unaware of any territory you may control. But, of course, it is your right to defend whatever you may believe is yours... but this much is not changed. The Autumn Court condemns you. Further, I have been informed that the Spring Court regards your assault on Daniel as an assault on the ally of their own Knight, and they will defend their territory violently should you violate it in the future without invitation."
His own eyes glimmer again, this time more blood red than orange, and Rey continues, "You name me responsible, then you assert that it is no business of mine? No matter. Defend what you must. But know that if, in your defense, you harm so much as the *air* which one of Autumn or Spring breathes, then you will be met with such reprisal as I cannot imagine you are prepared to endure. Make no mistake of that."
The Autumn Knight briefly inclines his head, offering a slightly barbed smile, and says, "So, here is my advice. In the immortal words of the great Elizabeth Taylor, 'Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.' For this nonsense shall be tolerated again."
"I named you free of responsibility several times, but you claimed to be so anyway. If you see yourself responsible, so be it. But if you are not here to act, to use that sword of yours on me, then I beg you to leave so I can return to the place that I own. Even someone like me has a sanctum - and should I see any of those you declared my enemies there, they are just as condemned as you said I am." Tamamo remarks, waiting there, coat held open, the illusion fading at the edges to let the houses be visible again.
Rey nods again, making no move to draw his blade. "This is, as you said before, a place of peace. I will not draw my blade here unless I have no choice. Nor am I here to harm you. If that were my errand, I would have already informed you. No, I make no objection to your departure. Please, go in peace. Reflect on what has come to pass. Perhaps one day reconciliation is possible, but I fear it is not this day." He gestures slowly, neutrally, with one hand to indicate that she is free to depart without interference from him.
Tamamo lets the coat fall closed again, turning around slowly, then stepping away with careful steps. A moment she stops, looking over the shoulder. "Restrain your protegee while that lasts." Stepping forward again, she seems to be swallowed by a ray of moonlight.