071. To the Moon

The motley interview with the Unbroken Circle, and cultivate relationships.

***"What happens after a game ends? Everyone needs to feel good in a competitive situation."***

At Heart's Light, Patches' passionate night with the Duke Granville is interrupted by a frantic phone call from Cog. "How do you know if you did it right?" he sheepishly asks the nocker. Patches does her best to calm him down, but tells him firmly to bring it up with *her*, the person who has the best idea.

As the motley wait at The Spark for Padraic to arrive, Claude tells Braum and Sophia that he's pleased that so many were made "happy" or "satisfied" at Beltaine. When Sophia expresses a bit of sadness at how things had to go with Incisor, Claude tells her that everyone experiences heartbreak, not just Seelie redcaps.

Padraic comes to the Exhaust as a representative of the Unbroken Circle, there to interview Talus on the events in the Deep Dreaming and what happened to him. Talus tells Padraic in a private interview (that Patches spies on) that the journey involved him coming to terms with who he is, not just the label of "Dauntain", and that the chance of what happened to him must have been one in a billion. When asked whether or not he desires to see Arcadia again, the satyr hesitates, but eventually comes back with a "no". The three members of the motley are each interviewed in turn: Sophia swears to tell the truth, and tells Padraic of the danger they were in; Patches explains that she felt personally involved in this case, and not necessarily in other incidents of Dauntain; Braum forgave Talus, but isn't one to preside over the fates of all Kithain. Padraic asks the motley whether they can swear to keep Talus safe at the Spark so that he doesn't have to return to observation, and they bring the good news to the satyr himself.

The three Kithain each "go out" that night. Patches acquiesces to Padraic's request to dinner, but finds him clumsily cooking a simple meal in his live-in motel. They talk about how he came into their lives (with him "dealing with" Markus), and Patches admits that she isn't interested in committing to anything right now. They go out go-karting, and spend the night together. Before dawn, Padraic gets an urgent call that takes him away to Memphis, where a member of the Unbroken Circle was killed by a Dauntain. She helps get him away, then returns to the Spark, where Cog thanks her for being a mentor, and introduces her to a cavalcade of small robots, sort of a "Skag 2.0".

Braum and Sir Xaeron meet at Hurley's Irish Pub, but not before being advised by Claude to do what he thinks needs to be done in the world: if he wants to recreate the Red Branch, screw all those who don't want to join him. At the pub, Braum hears how Sir Xaeron had fun at Beltaine "without having to work for it", which Braum doesn't infer has anything to do with his "talk" with Sophia. As Braum starts to regale his old friend with stories from the Deep Dreaming, Xaeron calls Sophia to ask her out to an art exhibit. The friends part ways, and Braum stays at the pub, chatting with Kian, the young satyr behind the bar. He initially wants to see if there are any mortals in the pub that need help, but ends up giving Kian some company as she flirts with him.

Sophia meets Sir Xaeron at an exhibit, where the artist has constructed a garden where special lighting through a glass dome keeps some of the flowers hidden, and reveals others. Xaeron admits that he had fun with her, and while he doesn't want to be put on a pedestal, he does want to *try* with her. Sophia is non-committal, but intrigued by the proposal. She leaves the exhibit without Xaeron, passing a determined-looking Incisor en route. The redcap doesn't respond to her greeting, and Sophia hears the sounds of twisting metal and electrical wires shorting out somewhere behind her….