"Assholes," he mutters. Gee pushes his fingers through his hair and lets them slide down the back of his neck. "The Gentry, I suppose, is what I usually call Them. Some people think they're aliens, but I don't... think so."
He wrinkles his nose and shakes off the thought. Some people might have experiences that seem like that kind of abduction, Gee wouldn't be surprised at all. He's heard all kinds of horror stories.
"Right. And you're one of those people. But you weren't a baby when you were taken. Did they leave something behind that was supposed to substitute for you?"
"It's called a fetch. They leave one behind whenever they take someone... made of odds and ends. Sticks, stones, leaves, mud. But it becomes whoever they took and it goes on living their lives while they're in Arcadia."
Gee frowns and leans on the counter. It's difficult not to fidget; he feels restless, he always does when there's the possibility of having to remember things about himself or his durance.
"If you manage to come back within your own lifetime, there's a chance of running into your fetch. Some changelings hunt them down."
Not-Them sounds loudly in Martin's head when Gee describes the fetch, and he can't help tensing up slightly. "What... do the fetches do? I mean, you say they go on living the lives they stole. Are they... do they try to hurt people? Can anyone ever tell the difference?"
"Yes and no. It depends on the fetch, really. Most of them just live your life, but if anyone confronts them, they might get cruel. Or they might just disappear altogether. But no one can really tell the difference, it's rare - Fae magic is powerful. I've heard of changelings having existential crises about it."
Seeing their fetch living their life and wondering if they're really who they think they are. Gee shivers. He wonders if he had a fetch or if his family (did he have a family?) were left thinking he had just disappeared or died or something. Gee stares at nothing and pushes his fingers through his hair.
"Summer Court hunts them down, absolutely destroys them."
"Oh..." Okay. So... Summer deals with Hunt things. Or maybe Slaughter, as well? Martin makes a mental note. He doesn't want to be rude, so he'll just have to listen to this conversation again whenever he gets home.
"I'm so sorry. It must be really hard not knowing anything. Do you need a minute?" He both does and doesn't want to reach out to Gee. Martin settles for leaning in a bit, head and brows tilted in concern.
"No, but thank you." He appreciates the kindness. Gee rubs his neck and tries to shake off the feeling. "They took that from me. Through time or torture, I don't know. But I went into Arcadia as one person, and I came out not knowing who that was."
"That's horrible. Why d'they do that to people?" Because the Gentry are horrible, is probably the answer. "I mean... they must have some reason, even a bad one."
"Because they can? We don't really have an answer for that. Sometimes it seems like a pointless question to ask. Why do kids burn ants with magnifying glasses? Because they can. Because they want to see what happens. They use us as servants, as experiments, as pets, as toys."
He looks down at his hands and his mind drifts to places that are foggy and far away. He can't remember Arcadia well outside of his dreams, though he's found ways to try.
"Because it makes them feel more powerful than the ants when they don't have much control over their own lives." As... another explanation. "Is there anything that controls them? That they're afraid of?"
"Not that we know of. They're weaker in our world, but I don't think they're afraid of it. Obviously not if they come and go and do as they please."
He's never heard of one of the Gentry acting like they were afraid of anything. Even knowing that they have weaknesses in the world outside of Arcadia doesn't seem to make them particularly cautious beyond half-hearted attempts to blend in.
"I don't--I don't know if they feel the same way we do. They might be afraid of each other? There seem to be stronger and weaker Fae, but their society, if they have one, is still kind of a mystery to us."
"Can anyone actually fight the Gentry? Properly? Like are there any changeling groups that are dedicated to-to stopping the Gentry from stealing other people away into the hedge? Not that there have to be!" Martin is quick to add. "Just... it seems like there might be some people who would want to thrwart them once they were free."
He nods. "The Summer Court dedicates themselves to those fights," he answers. "They actively hunt down any Gentry in our world, fetches, or anything else that might threaten a freehold. The Summer Court is all wrath and anger, and we can't blame them for it. The Autumn Court fights them in a different way. We try to take as much from them as they took from us. That's impossible, of course."
Gee sits back, almost wishing he had some of his fellow courtiers here with him. Any other changelings would have been nice, actually. He'd even take Spring or Winter.
"How d'you... take things from them? Isn't it dangerous to go into the Hedge, if this Arcadia place is on the other side?" Martin tilts his head, looking thoughtful.
"Magic," he answers with a shiver that's more--well, delight isn't the right word, but something in Gee lights up when he says it. "And yes, it's wildly dangerous, but there's so much there, Martin. So many things we haven't seen or discovered."
Gee rubs his fingers through his hair and looks at the fluttering books on the ceiling.
"We--we have the ability to use the sort of magic They use. And being in the Autumn Court means finding more and more ways to do that. The contracts, the entitlements, the artifacts, the--well, anything. And if we can use it ourselves then maybe we have a chance against Them. It helps, you know. We don't fight like the Summer Court does but we do fight."
Gee sounds a little unnervingly like Jon. That curiosity that can't be slaked. And Martin has the distinct impression that the Beholding would eat a man like this up in an instant, if it had the opportunity. Or Elias would recruit him to the Institute as a replacement Archivist now he and Jon have run away. If that's even possible. Can there be more than one Archivist at a time?
"That sounds... really difficult. Is there any sort of... retirement for changelings? D'you ever get to step away from all of it and just live normal lives again?"
“There are those who try to live normal lives. It’s hard, we’ve changed. We aren’t human anymore and being stuck between worlds makes it hard to live wholly in one. And besides, there are obstacles. What if a fetch has replaced you? You can’t step back into a life that someone else has been living without some difficultly or help. Or—or what if so much time has passed that you find yourself in a world so very different from the one you left?”
Gee shrugs and looks down. He thought about it sometimes. About what it might be like to just work in a place like this and nothing more.
“Then there’s the aging. We don’t age like humans do anymore so even if you try to live a normal life, someone will notice eventually. I suppose there’s glamour but. It’s really just safer in numbers. And I don’t think I can go back. I’ve seen too much. I’ve learned too much. And I don’t want to stop and try to forget it all. I’ve forgotten too much as it is.”
"But... what if you didn't have to forget it? Just because you stop, doesn't mean you're throwing away what you had." Martin's not like Jon. He's always been a curious man himself, but he knows how to curb that curiosity, how to avoid letting it consume him. It doesn't seem like Gee really understands how to do that.
"How has it been for you in Deerington? I mean, I know it's not normal, but... compared to your life at home? Better?"
“But if I’m trying to live a normal life, what good does it do me?”
Gee looks away, looks at something far away.
“It’s a hard balance to strike. We are neither one nor the other and trying to be too much in one direction has consequences. To be like Them means a certain kind of madness. To try to be more human means... cutting ourselves off from something. And the cut isn’t clean.”
He turns the full weight of his attention back to Martin and shrugs one shoulder. It’s a reasonable question of course.
“Is this a real life? I’m not so sure. I don’t like being cut off from my kith. It’s... lonely. And there’s no promise that I’m not in danger here, still. If the Hedge is here then They could be, too.”
Not that Martin would know anything about being lonely... He frowns. "Okay, so, what can we do to prepare? I can't get you back home, Gee, but we can make sure you're as ready as you can be if any of the Gentry turn up here."
"I want to understand this place more," he says after a moment. "If I knew what I was dealing with, maybe I could understand how it's all... connected. If it's connected."
To his world, to Martin's, to Arcadia. Gee gives Martin a small, lopsided smile.
"I need to keep studying, I guess."
If he was Summer, he'd train; if he was Winter, he'd ignore; and if he were Spring... well. He doesn't think he could ever be Spring.
"Okay, well... I'll do what I can to help with that, then." He offers Gee a small smile. "I really appreciate you talking to me about all of this. I'm going to share it with Jon. He might have some ideas to help you out."
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He wrinkles his nose and shakes off the thought. Some people might have experiences that seem like that kind of abduction, Gee wouldn't be surprised at all. He's heard all kinds of horror stories.
"They take humans back to Arcadia."
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"Right. And you're one of those people. But you weren't a baby when you were taken. Did they leave something behind that was supposed to substitute for you?"
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Gee frowns and leans on the counter. It's difficult not to fidget; he feels restless, he always does when there's the possibility of having to remember things about himself or his durance.
"If you manage to come back within your own lifetime, there's a chance of running into your fetch. Some changelings hunt them down."
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Seeing their fetch living their life and wondering if they're really who they think they are. Gee shivers. He wonders if he had a fetch or if his family (did he have a family?) were left thinking he had just disappeared or died or something. Gee stares at nothing and pushes his fingers through his hair.
"Summer Court hunts them down, absolutely destroys them."
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"Um... have you met your fetch?"
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Gee's shoulders sag and he looks down at his hands.
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"Because they can? We don't really have an answer for that. Sometimes it seems like a pointless question to ask. Why do kids burn ants with magnifying glasses? Because they can. Because they want to see what happens. They use us as servants, as experiments, as pets, as toys."
He looks down at his hands and his mind drifts to places that are foggy and far away. He can't remember Arcadia well outside of his dreams, though he's found ways to try.
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"Not that we know of. They're weaker in our world, but I don't think they're afraid of it. Obviously not if they come and go and do as they please."
He's never heard of one of the Gentry acting like they were afraid of anything. Even knowing that they have weaknesses in the world outside of Arcadia doesn't seem to make them particularly cautious beyond half-hearted attempts to blend in.
"I don't--I don't know if they feel the same way we do. They might be afraid of each other? There seem to be stronger and weaker Fae, but their society, if they have one, is still kind of a mystery to us."
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Gee sits back, almost wishing he had some of his fellow courtiers here with him. Any other changelings would have been nice, actually. He'd even take Spring or Winter.
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Gee rubs his fingers through his hair and looks at the fluttering books on the ceiling.
"We--we have the ability to use the sort of magic They use. And being in the Autumn Court means finding more and more ways to do that. The contracts, the entitlements, the artifacts, the--well, anything. And if we can use it ourselves then maybe we have a chance against Them. It helps, you know. We don't fight like the Summer Court does but we do fight."
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"That sounds... really difficult. Is there any sort of... retirement for changelings? D'you ever get to step away from all of it and just live normal lives again?"
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Gee shrugs and looks down. He thought about it sometimes. About what it might be like to just work in a place like this and nothing more.
“Then there’s the aging. We don’t age like humans do anymore so even if you try to live a normal life, someone will notice eventually. I suppose there’s glamour but. It’s really just safer in numbers. And I don’t think I can go back. I’ve seen too much. I’ve learned too much. And I don’t want to stop and try to forget it all. I’ve forgotten too much as it is.”
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"How has it been for you in Deerington? I mean, I know it's not normal, but... compared to your life at home? Better?"
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Gee looks away, looks at something far away.
“It’s a hard balance to strike. We are neither one nor the other and trying to be too much in one direction has consequences. To be like Them means a certain kind of madness. To try to be more human means... cutting ourselves off from something. And the cut isn’t clean.”
He turns the full weight of his attention back to Martin and shrugs one shoulder. It’s a reasonable question of course.
“Is this a real life? I’m not so sure. I don’t like being cut off from my kith. It’s... lonely. And there’s no promise that I’m not in danger here, still. If the Hedge is here then They could be, too.”
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To his world, to Martin's, to Arcadia. Gee gives Martin a small, lopsided smile.
"I need to keep studying, I guess."
If he was Summer, he'd train; if he was Winter, he'd ignore; and if he were Spring... well. He doesn't think he could ever be Spring.
"And learn how magic works here."
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