[PRP] The next step (Shiloh & Jeremiah)

[Melancholies]

Even after being seen to the doors and being seen out of Melany's chambers, Shiloh's eyes never left the leather folio in his hands. Beel seemed to sense this, "It isn't going to grow legs, Shiloh."

The noble looked over to his fetch with a huff, "Well, obviously. I'm just thinking." Jeremiah's presence next to him wasn't left unnoticed either. "It's not near as ******** straightforward as Noeh was saying," pause, "If I can even believe anything she ******** said."

"It is a bit complex." Beel agreed, before looking to Jeremiah, "Lord Mercer," (Shiloh never called him Jeremiah. How would Beel know he was Jeremiah?) "Your thoughts on this situation? You scarcely spoke in the Madame's domain. I was very impressed with your self control."

Shiloh rolled his eyes. "I'm thinking we should take the document back to review it, just in case there's something we missed."

Beel's hands clapped together, "Are you finally going to see what I've done with your demesne? You never visit it." Was he actually excited for once? Actually, he was acting a lot more lax around Shiloh, more so than usual, "I get so bored and all my hard work consistently goes to shame."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"There was little reason to do so and I've had training with Court affairs long before I was part of this Court." Chew on that, Beel. Jeremiah might have rolled his eyes about the same time that Shiloh did, however. "Reviewing it would be for the best as there were other things I wanted to talk to you about as we do so."

There were too many thoughts in his head. Too much about how they had no idea who they could trust, who they could let know what was going on. The fact of the matter was that it was becoming apparent that even Noeh was suspect and that ate at something in him he could not explain.

"The first thing I would like to do," he said as they walked, "is get some pictures of it and those fingerprints. It is quite possibly a long shot but I can run them through the system and see if there's any hits." If it was someone that still existed this time around.

Any comments about how it was usually best to see how one's fetch changed your demesne was withheld. It had taken Jeremiah several weeks before he had braved doing so and he had not gone through as much as Shiloh had.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Oh, that might be a good idea..." He looked down to the folio, "I mean, I was sort of thinkin' the other two might be Heliodora and Micheal, especially if Aodelle was involved, but," He chewed his lip, "I dunno if... maybe Renard or anyone else..." He didn't want to say Liam, because that was another name he'd grown to put his trust in, but... he sighed. "We could scan the picture and post it on the Listserv too. Someone else might see something interesting." And it was the easiest way to get it to people he might not trust, but want their opinions on.

"I dunno if I'd wanna show it to Melany—the picture, I mean—but I might do that too." He sighed, "I guess I didn't tell you about our last meeting..." Something seemed distant in his eyes for a moment, but it was gone in the next.

Beel looked between the two of them. "I was only saying. Silk hates the other Nobles. Anyway, Beaumont, didn't you say you heard the Madame's voice last time?"

Shiloh shuddered at that, "Y-Yeah. Here, it's not a good place to talk about it here." He threw Jeremiah an apologetic look before swiftly changing the conversation, "What do you mean, what you've done?"

"The garden is exquisite." Beel said with a firm nod, "And you'll love what I did with the atrium. It's an art studio fit for a king. And there's the other rooms, but you probably won't use them much, seeing as you'll never tithe." He sighed, "But... perhaps with the state of things as they are, it's a good call."

"That's probably the most legit thing I've ever heard you say." Shiloh noted curiously. "We can go there if Mercer doesn't mind." He looked over at him again.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I would be hesitant about posting it to the listserv but that is simply because-" The mysterious person but they'd possibly be able to help as well. However, they needed to talk about it. "Well, another thing we can discuss once we're within your demesne. Not everything is meant for the halls of the Court." Jeremiah understood, however, about not saying Liam. Mostly because he put some faith into the same man and wanted to, above all else, believe that perhaps they were working towards the same goal.

"I do agree that I assume it to be Adoelle, Heliodora, Michael, along with the triplets but ..." His head shook. "With Silk stating what she did, I want to think they'd still be alive." Though perhaps she was simply stating that it would do the same for all.

"Lead the way and we can discuss things once we're not out in the open." As he had no desire to speak of most of this in the open, even if he had something to add with the revelation that the Lady's voice had been heard by Shiloh.

Melanjollies

word count to here: 396

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh nodded silently, quiet the rest of their way. Shiloh's part of the Court was not nearly as fancy as Melany's, nor was it as guarded (it wasn't guarded at all), but the large mahogany doors were impressive enough. Beel opened the door for both of them, apparently eager to show off the expanse of his hard work.

It was... colorful, to say the least. Like a jungle confined to a house, or maybe like a room slowly reclaimed by nature, the floors were a lacquered hardwood, the walls a subtle grey, but the impressive thing here was the sheer amount of vegetation. Multiple hanging plants dripped down from the ceiling, small trees grew in raised beds along the floor, ferns and the like populating the space so nothing looked empty, only full.

"I never did fancy myself a landscaper, but it came together quite nice." Said Beel, pleased. He led them forward in earnest, the hardwood eventually seperating intermittently by cobblestone paved ponds. The moonlight glittered down delicately from the skylights above. Here the walls became lined with bookshelves.

"What's even in those anyway?" Shiloh finally asked, his gaze torn away for a moment.

"Nothing, they're blank. I just figured it'd make you look smarter." Beel was deadpan about this. "Here."

A small walkway led into the middle of one of the larger ponds to what could be called a minature island. Chairs were there seperate by a small table; it seemed like a good relaxation spot. "I had this done with your art muse in mind, but it's nothing compared to the studio. Still, I think this works for our impromptu meeting." He paused, "Well, your... impromptu meeting."

"No, you're right, our." Shiloh said swiftly, remembering what Lady has ssid. Fetches had been people once too. "Anyway, since we're here, why are you hesitant Mercer?" It seemed like a good idea to him, so there had to be more to the story, something Jeremiah had discovered, "About the listserv."

He took a seat, the other silently offered to the detective. Beel dipped his head, "I'll procure some drinks then." He spoke softly before retreating on silent feet.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

The area honestly reminded him of what the front veranda had turned into not long before the world had changed entirely for them all. There were many of the flora and fauna that he could put a name to but there were some, he was certain, that were entirely unique to other ashdown and thusly different.

"He did well," Jeremiah replied. "Fell and Adze were much the same way when Alg and I finally came to see what had been done with our ... bit of the realm." Though most of it was a great library, that part of it was place for discussion was not lost on him. He could see Shiloh in this place, just as he could see Beel and it truly did remind him of what his own had done in his stead for him.

The other Noble was, of course, right to want Beel present. He thought, perhaps, to send for Fell once Beel returned and see what she knew of.

"I would be hesitant because once it is out there, it is out there. There's absolutely nothing stopping someone from approaching Melany with it and potentially creating problems before we're ready." Jeremiah moved to one of the chairs, fingers resting against the back of it a moment before he took the seat offered. "If I have learned anything, it is that people will often jump the gun and we will be left with a mess to clean up. Perhaps a part of it or a diagram of the Sigil itself and not the actual document.

"However, there is one advantage to the listserv but that is simply one of the contacts on there. The one with the strange characters? It doesn't display right in a chrome browser but if you were to use another, perhaps edge or mozilla, you'd be able to see them. It's ogham runes - not as neat as the ones in the Sigil - and it spells out a name. One that I figured out as I started to study the runes after we talked to Mina last." He reclined but he was not relaxed. Jeremiah was, in fact, very much poised. This topic was was somehow harder to talk about than revealing who Mina was.

"Once translated, the name is Minerva Mercer." A beat; a pause as he let that settle. "Potentially a third one, if you've talked at all with Kuroda." The one that had given him a phone call relating that Melany was missing. Yet she was not all the same.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"A third one..." He let that settle thoughtfully. "Kuroda did ask me about that stuff, yeah. Apparently she was saying Melany went missing? He made it a point to come talk to me." Shiloh laced his fingers together, wrists cracking as he stretched them, knuckles popping as he started to fuss with his hands again rather than letting them be still. "That was bugging me back there, actually. I... I really trust Noeh a lot, but... It seemed like she was lying, almost." He sighed, "I don't really have any reason to distrust Silk either since she gave us the charter. Melany's fetches are fanatically loyal and I... I wasn't expecting to get it, honestly." He sighed.

Beel returned. For all his landscaping prowess, his serving skills were much more lacking, as he had only procured two glasses of chilled water.

"What did you know about Noeh?" He asked Beel when he came back. The fetch stiffened, though it was mostly from being caught off guard.

"My knowledge of the Court is... not so refined." He admitted after a while. "Fetches like Silk and Corr had been around for a multitude of cycles. I'm like a child in comparison." He set the glasses down on the table before magic-ing up a chair to sit in himself. "Further more, I wasn't raised to ask questions, only obey. I was exceedingly disciplined, even though it wasn't quite enough in the end. I suppose I should be glad I didn't die, but this deathless death is still a death."

Shiloh considered this with a sigh. "I just... don't really know why Noeh would lie. I guess it... it's kind of a traumatic thing." He pursed his lips, "She seemed hesitant. She seemed really weird with you too, Mercer. No offense." He looked at the older man curiously, "Whenever you touched her, she tensed up. I saw it both times."

Years of abuse afforded him a specific hypervigillance that he really couldn't shut off.

"It still might be good to get pictures of it out to certain people, then." He offered, "Other law enforcement like Kuroda. Maybe some of the others who've been super involved in all this magic bullshit." He knew he was going to show Jamie for sure, but that was only because he told Jamie like everything. "It might be worth, like... talking to Renard or Liam too. I haven't actually talked to Renard..." He looked up at the ceiling of the atrium thoughtfully. "But he might know something. I know a lot of people don't trust him though... I'm not sure if I really do yet, but I trust Noor." He nodded.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Agreed," Jeremiah replied. "I do not want to think that she is being deliberately vague or obfuscating the truth from us, nor that Silk has reason to lie to us but I do not know if we can trust Noeh implicitly." His head shook, a feeling of unease settling into his stomach but not showing. It was simply felt and would continue to be so for hours. There had been too much they had learned this day that was more than simply worrisome (it was, in fact, revolting).

"A long time ago, Heliodora referred to the Sorrowful One negatively. As if they were not someone good, though take that as you will." The opinion of someone who was dead and also was likely culpable in the creation of the charter and what was done with Melany. His expression shifted finally and the look on Jeremiah's face was the kind found on people who learned of abuse and wanted to do something about it but the abuser was nowhere to be found.

It was the kind of face that he had worn when he had put together what had happened to Aleksy in Russia after his father had taken them back.

"It reeks of abuse. As if she expects me to strike her or show some kind of displeasure. It is-" The words were coming out and he would not stop them. "It's not something I would ever do, in any incarnation I believe, but I've seen those reactions before and - so far as I am aware - she has a good relationship with me in, at least, the cycle that she called Shun from. Mind, that version of me is seventy years old." His fingers tapped against the arm of the chair, Jeremiah leaning forward. "The other thing to keep in mind is that the mysterious Minerva on the listserv? She warned me against mentioning her to Noeh. That I look at her as a child," his, "but she is not and- Well, perhaps it is better you see the conversation."

It was saved on his phone, which he pulled out and passed to Shiloh to read. It was, in his opinion, unfortunate that Beel had little to know information. His head tilted, politely, towards him. "Would you be willing to fetch Fell for me? She might have something to add." This his attention went back to Shiloh after he was certain he was done reading.

"I do not want to bring it up to Noeh. At all. I don't want to risk that Minerva's safety, though it may not be what it seems, but you deserve to be aware as much as I do." As he cared about her, potentially more than Jeremiah as he simply felt a need to be there for her. To look after her as if she were his child and care for her as such.

"Kuroda would be the only other one that is currently part of the force that I would show it to, as this does relate to healing Pax. Getting it to others who are deeply part of this is also wise," Algie was someone he would share it (but that was a given) with but also Eve and Leila along with America. They were all people who would be able to aid in this.

"Beaumont, you're not in the company of someone who entirely distrusts Renard and Liam or thinks that they are the absolute evil." He was not going to jump to conclusions about anyone anymore without some sort of solid evidence. No more guilty until innocence is proven. "While they have their own ulterior motives, I have trust in Noor and a some in Leroux as well. It's in their best interests to work with us, I believe, especially if they want the cage to open and see themselves, and their daughter, free.

"If Noor was not missing, I would suggest him as well, but Renard is the one that would know the most, I believe. I want to approach Noeh as well because she did say she would speak of the consequences once we had the charter secured." Jeremiah let out a breath. "It may be best, as we're running out of time if we want to save Pax and Melany, to divide and conquer. One of us to Renard, another to Noeh. I think you'd do well with Renard and I -" he paused, sitting up straighter. "One of my talents I developed as a Noble is to be able to get a truthful answer if I ask directly and will it." Like any magic. "I don't make use of it of it often but I may be able to with Noeh more than I would be able to Renard. It is a last resort but I am willing."

Melanjollies

word count to here: 1612

 

[Melancholies]

Beel stared at Jeremiah and his request. Then he looked to Shiloh.

Shiloh meanwhile rolled his eyes, "If you could?" And Beel nodded at once before slipping away silently. It left Shiloh with some time to parse through his thoughts.

"Kuroda, definitely. He's just as involved with this stuff as we are, just in different ways." He nodded, "I'm, um, probably going to tell Jamie too, but I trust him with my life, y'know?" The sound he made was a little bit like a laugh, a little bit like a sigh. He took Jeremiah's phone and read over the conversation carefully, slowly. "This..." He tilted his head as he tried to parse it.

"Mina wants to kill them?" His head tilted the other way. "That's..."

He went silent, but the expression on his face was building up with growing frustration. For a second it looked like he might throw the phone, but instead he set it down gently. Anger management; thank you Jamie Delacroix. "None of this makes any ******** sense." He said instead, the rage evident enough on his tongue as he spoke. "Maybe you should go speak with Noeh. I... I wanna talk to her, but..." He didn't trust himself not to fly off the handle either. It wasn't that he was mad at her, just that he was afraid and he fought fear with rage.

"Besides, I've been meaning to ask Sonny a few things, so I could see about hitting Renard up." The tension was slowly easing from his shoulders, "I didn't know Noor was missing though. How come people aren't talking about that? It's—whatever, I can't, I can't—" He stopped himself, took a deep breath. He was getting very obviously overwhelmed, "I can't right now. I'll check into that later. It's not even my problem, but—"

Someone turned the light switch off. They turned it back on again. Shiloh breathed.

"But first," He said, substantially calmer, sort of, "I wanna check something." He took the leather folio and carefully opened it. His fingers were so delicate, his hands so careful as he removed the charter from its protective case. His eyes were shining with a specific sort of reverence, the way he handled it was not unlike an artist adding the delicate touches on his masterpiece.

He laid it on top of the folio in his lap. "Silk said those who marked this would have a reaction if they touched this." He looked at Jeremiah, "I'm not suspecting you, but just in case." He held it out for Jeremiah to touch, but not hold.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I would expect that you would, especially given that Jamie is a moonwalker. He needs to know just as much as anyone else." Jeremiah gave Shiloh a small smile, though the remarks about trusting Jamie with his life were expected. Any comments about how he would likely talk to Algie about this some, at least that they were a step closer, were lost as he watched the emotions flicker across Shiloh's face as he read the emails.

"I don't know what is going on exactly but there is obviously more to this than what we know or have been told. Mina must have answers, more than just what consequences we'll face in trying to change the Charter." The phone was taken back and slipped away into his pocket, Jeremiah letting out a breath because where Shiloh showed his anger, his was kept carefully tucked away. Mostly due to the fact that it, frequently, lead to him going chillingly cold. "I can keep things level and speak with her. If I learned anything from Ezra, it is that."

More control of his emotions, even when his anger got the better of him, was certainly something he had learned from his patron.

"It's being kept quiet," the knowledge about Liam Noor's disappearance, "though only that it is not openly talked about or in the papers. One of my officers as well as Kuroda are handling it. I'm keeping an eye on it myself, though through them. Considering that it's potentially magical in nature, it automatically is being kept relatively quiet from the populace just because of the stir it would create." The Shore family was known to the community and their magical nature known.

His head tilted as Shiloh shifted, impressed to see him do so, but then watching as the leather folio was handled delicately. It was something else to see it closer and there was a similar look on his face, though it was a mixture of reverence and the knowledge of what had gone into the creation of it.

Bright blue-green eyes flicked to Shiloh's face and he let out a huff of breath. "Admittedly, I was going to suggest this. However if it reacts then ... that would be another me, one that existed and died a long time ago." Otherwise, how was he here now? "Likewise, I wonder if people related to those who blooded it would trigger it as well." Though Silk had stated their blood will resonate with them.

Still, he shifted forward and - as Shiloh held the Charter with his own fingers - likewise touched a finger delicately to it.

Melancholies

shibrogane

jeremiah and shiloh are touching the charter which means mels and em are wondering if there is a thing that might happen?

 

[shibrogane]

Shiloh doesn't feel anything special when he touches the Charter. Nothing happened. He was just holding it.

When Jeremiah touches the Charter, one of the thumbprints glows rust red. A drop of fresh blood leaks along the paper, as if the thumbprint had only been placed a heartbeat ago.

Blood calls to blood, Silk had said. Or maybe that had been Noeh, once upon a time.

azuredreams

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

For a while, Shiloh didn't say anything. He watched Jeremiah's hand resonate with the parchment,watched the blood well up as the paper oozed red. More than likely it was reacting to Mina, right? Even if it were Jeremiah, it wouldn't be this cycle, not the one as he knew him. Still; something raw and vile welled up in his throat.

"Well." He said finally, eyes glued to the paper.

Beel reentered from stage right not five seconds later. "Did I miss much?" He asked, and then after a moment his voice drawled out a soft "Well..." in lew of Shiloh's. Maybe they had more similarities than meets the eye.

Shiloh--perhaps instinctively--pulled the Charter a little closer to him again. It was... irrational, he knew, but it was also a reflex he couldn't help.

"I'm thinking we should talk to Noeh and Renard," he drew in a long breath, "As quickly as possible." Something vague and worried tugged at his features.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

A noise, without him even meaning it, escaped. It was a choked laugh, Jeremiah somehow not surprised. "Of bloody ******** course," he said in a low voice. It was a rare moment to see Jeremiah like this, a brief lack of composure, but it went away as he heard Beel enter.

Fell was there a moment later, swathed in silky cloths and a dainty thing. "You called, Constable?" Though she caught sight of the Charter and her expression shifted to something briefly awed before she averted her gaze.

That just had Jeremiah smoothing a hand across his face. Mostly because he still did not understand why she insisted on calling him that. "I did, though I am not so certain it is important anymore." His attention flicked back to Shiloh and he mentally sighed to himself. It did not matter, truly, that it was potentially Mina that it reacted to or that it was some other version of him that existed in another time and long dead.

"Agreed, as I feel we are likely on borrowed time to see us create a new one or repair this one." It likely was not, in all honesty, repairable. Not with some of those that made it dead. "However, pictures are necessary. Especially given what happened. I can at least verify if that is a match to my own or if it's someone else. It did not resonate within me, like Silk stated, but-"

It still bled again as if it were fresh.

"If you would?" If Shiloh could hold it, Jeremiah would take the photos. "I can send them to you immediately after I finish taking them." Since their phones were near to each other and that kind of technology worked. Just no phone or internet.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh was glad Jeremiah didn't make a grab for it at least. A moment later he hated himself for having that thought. "I—sure, yeah, yeah...." He held the charter out for documentation. "I'll try to look into either option. I don't wanna alter this one if it means it'll ******** up Melany." His lips pursed into a thin line, "I already ******** up Sonny. I'm not making the same mistake."

Something in his voice wavered, like he wasn't sure if he could even be capable of that. The thought was swallowed up with all the others.

"I'll just see what Renard has to say, but I'm sure he's gonna have something ulterior too." He sighed. Beel tilted his head at the two of them.

"I must have missed quite the chat in my absence." He drawled.

"I'll fill you in on it, okay Beel?" He told the fetch, "I think it's really important for fetches to know about this stuff too. You're just as part of this Court as the rest of us."

To that, Beel had absolutely nothing to say.

"'Cause I still wanna check a few things out around here before I go." He looked to the document before slipping it back into the folio. It was like removing a painting from its frame; he worried about damaging it. "Beel, is it safe to leave the folio here?"

He tilted his head, "Well," He started softly, "By right of your title, yes. Only the Madame has more clout than her ex-tithes." He looked over to Fell, then back to Shiloh, "But realistically, it'd be better locked up. It isn't as if you have a legion of fetches like the Madame did, though I suppose I can stand vigil."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I've no desire to see this one altered without knowing what we're doing. Considering that it's falling apart we may be looking at having to create another one but-" Jeremiah shook his head before he shifted, moving to take several high resolution pictures of each of the fingerprints and then more of the charter over all and, finally, multiple of the sigl itself.

The fact that one of the fingerprints, the one that reacted to him, was freshly blooded again set him ill at ease. "Expect anything. He may be just as unpredictable as Sunny was. Though he's got age and time on his side to hold himself well."

A glance went to Fell as she waited quietly, watching them. "We'll discuss things later, as it is like he said. You are as much part of this as we are." If not more so because, in so many ways, they had been around longer (though they were the ones who had played roles over and over).

Jeremiah was quiet for a moment after the charter was put back away and he was working on sending the images to Shiloh's phone (they would be in ridiculously high quality because that's why one spent so much money on phones nowadays; the camera built-in). "A suggestion? Considering your status," as a Principal and the Key went by unspoken, "perhaps there's something you could do the folio to further protect it? Not only lock it up but lock it up." What was a key without it's lock?

Then, as another thought came to him, he also offered. "If permittable, and Fell is not entirely put out by this," there was a wry look given to his fetch who merely curtsied, "or yourself or Beel," a look to the other fetch present, "perhaps she can stand by outside of this place? An extra set of eyes." As in she would not be inside this area that was Shiloh's but outside it's doors. Nevermind that there had been that pair outside the Spinel Lady's demesne.

Fell looked more alert that that but, like her Lord, she was waiting to see what was said.

Melancholies