117. Together

The motley take part in some courtly love.

***"When I play Netrunner, I prefer to play in person: the bluffing, the banter, the camaraderie."***

Sunday mornings at The Spark are pretty relaxed: Patches and Incisor enjoy some breakfast prepared by Claude, while Braum and Kyoko make their way over after having installed some ethernet cabling (a "great quest", according to the troll). Meanwhile, upstairs in Sophia's penthouse, her chimera Mab is sleeping off her celebration from the night before after having recorded her first "solo" EP. Sophia is disturbed by a rapping on her window: outside is a small, colourful gecko-like chimera with eyebrows! He pops inside and makes a beeline for Mab. When Sophia politely by firmly turns him away, telling him to wait for her chimerical harp to wake up, the gecko doesn't back down, and Sophia flicks him right out the window!

In the garden below, Patches is surprised to see a small gecko chimerical land in the middle of the pond — plop! She offers to find it some food and keeps Incisor from eating it. She watches, bemused, as the gecko rolls around in a pile of pepper to create an approximation of a "lipstick kiss" on a napkin. Sophia arrives in the Exhaust along with Braum and Kyoko and puts an end to the curiousity. Calling upon Willow Whisper, she is able to communicate with the chimera, learning that its name is Ziovanius. An enchanting song brought him many miles to this place, he tells her, and his whole being is consumed with meeting this "perfect instrument"… and getting to "play" and "pluck" her, as well. Sophia is put off, feeling that he's objectifying Mab (although Braum is quick to point out that Sophia herself often has this effect on mortals). She heads upstairs to try to wake her chimera.

Kyoko insists that she teach Ziovanius a thing or two about how to court a lover. She takes time to write a beautiful note on a piece of parchment, seals it with a wax seal, and tucks it into her jeans, where she "accidentally" lets it fall in front of Sophia. While Braum thinks it's maybe intended for her, Sophia recognizes it as a love note for Mab, who rolls her eyes at it. Kyoko informs the group that there is due to be a garden party at 12:30 sharp… and despite being a pooka, everyone goes along with it! Meanwhile, Cog arrives at the Spark trying to conceal something: it's a rose welded from metal, a gift for her "sensei", Patches!

At the garden party, Braum proposes a toast to springtime and to friendship. Cog asks Patches if he can visit the Grand Bes Din sometime to see her work… and to maybe spend some time with the High Queen Lenore again? Patches insists Cog pretend to be a spy in order to try to keep Lenore from slander and gossip. Meanwhile, when Ziovanius makes his intentions clear again to Mab, the latter walks over and smacks him across the face with her tail! She then proceeds to use both Braum and Sir Xaeron to try to make him jealous, leaving the gecko to melodramatically sprawl out on a tree branch.

Kyoko subtly asks Sophia to join her inside. When the sidhe asks her why she's encouraging the chimerical gecko in pursuit of Mab, the pooka tells her it's in the service of courtly love, an elaborate ritual in which a whole freehold would help two lovers unite. Sophia wants to know whether Kyoko has told Braum her secret yet, and saddens her when she is resigned to Kyoko's misdirection: "Whatever you say, Kyoko." She quickly retracts the sentiment, and tries to push Kyoko to open up to her partner. "He'll want to love as much of you as he can, Kyoko!" The pooka asks Sophia to send her husband in.

When Braum arrives at her office, the pooka lays it all out: how she stole Whisper, requested she be able to execute Boli, and used the treasure to unmake him. "It's not fair," she laments, "you're supposed to hate me!" Braum tells her that part of him is all base instinct, and wants to rage and destroy, but that he knows that their relationship is as much a part of him as being a troll is. Honour to his vows includes honouring, and deepening, his love to Kyoko, too.