041. Sentinels of the Multiverse

The motley meets a new powerful ally… they assume.

***"Sometimes I would just move the pieces on the board to see how they would react."***

The motley comes down in the morning to find an incredible breakfast set out for them: a diorama of a river scene, complete with scrambled egg water, hash brown trees, and a bacon bridge. Zistor emerges from the kitchen and tells them that he sometimes gives Claude the day off, but that after they've had some food, he has a gift for them all. Down in the Spark's workshop, Zistor presents each of the three with a small mahogany box, expertly crafted. Inside, they each find an identical short length of wire attached to two leads. Zistor explains that, as thanks for all they've done in defending the freehold, he has created for them items to tie them together as a motley. These devices allow the three to share each other's strengths, by allowing them to "spend" the other's Glamour and Willpower if necessary. Sophia is hesitant, but eventually agrees to wear hers; Zistor later confides to the other two that he thinks it's because Sophia is still somewhat frightened of him. "Perfection isn't perfect," he cautions in regards to the sidhe.

Sophia heads down the street to a Kithain coffee shop, The Burrow, a quaint and tiny cafe owned by a badger pooka. She meets up with Marnie, who excitedly tells her that she recently learned of a chimera sanctuary in the Kingdom of Pacifica, which she feels could be perfect for Little One. Marnie also asks Sophia how she is faring after the recent attack on the freehold: Sophia tells her that she "didn't think politics was the way to solve things" once, but that now, she "wants to see how high she can climb".

Back at the Spark, Patches and Braum have a frank discussion about the enemies still out in the world: before venturing forth to the Kingdom of Apples, Braum wants more intel on the political situation in the Duchy, while Patches believes the time is drawing close to mount a final assault on Abford Pharma. A knock at the door surprises them: Lauren is here! She drove all through the night to get to Montreal and begin exploring the world, and she seems to be looking up to Braum even more than she was before. Lauren introduces the two to hear friend and travelling companion, a fiery, redheaded fox pooka, Ramzia. She evades Patches' questions about how she met Lauren, but instead tells her that "a friend" sent her to help the motley in anyway she can: Baya, the pooka who named Patches.

When Sophia arrives, she is absolutely delighted to learn that the universe has finally provided her with a master Oneiromancer to study with, and Ramzia agrees to work with her on unlocking her mastery of the art… and possibly her previous lives. While the pooka admits it will be difficult, Sophia is excited by the possibilities, and also learns that Ramzia spent part of her childhood at the Spark under Zistor's tutelage. Lauren is very excited to explore the city, and asks the motley to take her down to Montreal's Old Port neighbourhood. Before leaving, Braum shows Lauren to her room while Kyoko is intercepted by Patches to let her know about the new guest. Kyoko, for her part, doesn't want Lauren to know right away about their relationship, preferring instead that they have "at least one day". Just before leaving with Lauren, Patches receives a phone call from one of the Garou, Pasebakaenniut, who reports that the vampire lair she stumbled on has led them to "someone even more powerful". They are honour-bound to offer Patches a place on the hunt for this creature, but she defers to their expertise in the matter.

The motley take Lauren down to Montreal's Old Port neighbourhood, where the wilder takes off in all directions, overjoyed to be seeing so many new places and people. It isn't long before Patches realizes that she's "stumbled upon" the fountain in front of City Hall where Braum and Kay swore their Oath of True Hearts. Patches lets Braum handle the situation, cautioning him to "do what he thinks is best" while she ventures off to buy ice cream. Braum sits down at the edge of the fountain with Lauren, all too sure now that the selkie has a relatively high remembrance of her previous life. She presses Braum to know what happened between him and Kay at this location, but he eventually puts his foot down: he will not tell her about his private moments with Kay, because there are firmly "in the past". Lauren declares that she is not in Kay's shadow, and takes off with the rest of the motley.

Back at the Spark, Braum asks Ramzia, a master Oneiromancer, about the possibility of obscuring Lauren's Remembrance, so as to not cause her pain. The pooka chides him, noting that although it may be painful in the short term, there can be joy in breaking Lauren's heart, knowing that she will then be free to pursue others. Downstairs in the workshop, Patches informs Zistor of their guests, including his one-time ward, Ramzia. When he hesitates in wanting to see her again, Patches sasses him into agreeing to a visit, as she'll be very happy to see him again.

That night, Braum stops by Lauren's room and, acting on an impulse, sits down with her to break her heart: she is not Kay, he tells her, and that any feelings she may have for him, real or remembered, can never be satisfied. Lauren heads into the bathroom to weep, as, down the hall, Patches stops in on the cloistered Duke Granville. He asks her point-blank whether he is a bad person, seeing as so many terrible things have happened to him in recent days. In response, she closes the door and kisses him, and the two waste no time.

Sophia invites Ramzia up to her penthouse suite for their first Oneiromancy lesson. The pooka cautions her about trying to master too much at once, and that since she has only ventured into mortal dreams or "damaged ones", her first experience should be in a full Kithain mind: her own. She also tells Sophia that being able to face off "whenever" is the first tenet of the Crystal Circle… a mysterious group of Kithain magic masters, of which she is a member! Armed with this advice, Sophia sets about getting ready to enter Ramzia's dreams….