RP:Rage Mama

From HollowWiki

Part of the Larketian Fault Lines Arc


Summary: Macon, Josleen, and Josleen’s mother (Jessa) visit Augusta (Macon’s mother) for lunch. There, Augusta nitpicks at the newly pregnant queen until she successfully finds and pushes a button. Angry, Josleen leaves the table and Macon chases after her. Stewing, Augusta shoves a servant who trips and falls off the balcony, breaking his spine. The accident leaves Augusta stricken, who never meant to do such a thing, but something furious and unhinged came over her. Macon realizes his rage aura is starting to affect his family, driving them mad even when he is not enraged. He decides to see Muzo again as soon as possible for another treatment.

Augusta Jauzon’s Estate, Larket

Macon and Josleen have been invited by Augusta Jauzon to her somewhat recently completed home for luncheon a week or so following her being given the news of the queen’s pregnancy, which is still a secret to the public and all but the most well informed members of the fort staff. What this entails is chefs from the fort preparing food at Augusta’s home and serving it in a large outdoor space located on the second floor of the stately home. The King is not in his armor, and only brought the precious Rage Axe so far as the front door before hanging it up like a normal person would their coat upon entry. As the meal goes on, Josleen, as she certainly has been already for the last few days, is inundated with Veratoakan superstitions and advice on cultivating a healthy baby. ‘She should really only eat during the even hours of the day.’ This invitation to lunch was, of course, scheduled to begin at a non-even numbered hour. ‘How clumsy of Augusta.’


Josleen has been braving Augusta’s meddling and unwelcome torrent of advice with a radiant, pacific grace. She isn’t even trying. The pregnancy is still so fresh, and she so happy that she sings to herself when alone and has taken up a new, life-giving project, an arborium. She spends as much time with Macon as his schedule permits, and has grown more playful with him. A few days before the luncheon, Jessa arrived for an extended visit at the fort. News of Josleen’s pregnancy had not put Kyl’oriel off his selfish plot, and the heart-broken Jessa pieces herself back together with love for her daughter and unborn grandchild. She still is not quite comfortable in Macon’s presence, especially not alone, but she remains ever polite, and slowly but surely he begins to chip away at her doubts about him. He is, after all, the father of her unborn grandchild, a king (mostly) beloved by his people, and, as far as Jessa can tell, good to Josleen who seems happy. At lunch, Josleen ignores the Veratoakan superstition and munches on a tiny Elimdori olive, cheese, and spinach quiche at the unseemly hour of 1 o’clock. What’s Augusta going to do? In the past, when disobeyed, Augusta simply huffs and move on to her next line of attack. But today, an irrational rage rises from the soles of her feet to crown her head. She inhales sharply and glares at her daughter-in-law briefly before forcing her gaze away. Too happy to notice the unhappiness of others, Josleen chirps to the family, “How about Gregory? Baby Greg, if it’s a boy. Georgiana for a girl. What do you think of Gregory? It’s a good name, isn’t it? Strong.” Jessa laughs and and shakes her head, explaining to Macon, “She had a pet goldfish as a toddler. She named it Greg, then Greg had guppies so she renamed the goldfish Girl-Greg.” “Well, it’s always been a good name,” Josleen says while laughing. “That’s a homosexual’s name,” Augusta says. Josleen bug eyes at her mother-in-law, whose anger befuddles her. How can anyone be angry when there’s a baby on the way? And how rude! One of the local guard, a mage (probably) and also gay (recommended by Percival, there’s a bit of a gay mage social circle in Larket, not that there’s anything wrong with it), is within earshot. How must he feel? She glances at Macon, silently imploring him to say something, for the guard’s sake at least.


Macon nods to Jessa and cites his own experience with Josleen naming pets not according to their sex. His example is lying flat in the shade of the table, facing Josleen and waiting for food to drop, head on top of front paws, too lazy to actually beg at the moment. The Rage Knight nearly spits out whatever he is eating, and coughs when Augusta gives her opinion on the name The Queen has in mind. He has no intention of contributing to the apparent epidemic in Larket of naming your children some form of ‘Greg’. Still, he catches his wife’s look and speaks up. Though he doesn't seem to put it all together that he should be defending the guard in some way. Instead he sticks up for the name in question, “Mother, it isn’ a homosexual name.” He knew a fine Kingsguard named ‘Greg’ and he wasn't gay, We think. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Also, none of this matters, because that kid is not going to be named Greg. The mother of the King grumbles and moves on, waving at a servant who is waiting for specifically for this signal. A box is brought over that is too large to be placed on the table with the food, so it is set down by Augusta. Inside it are Macon’s baby clothes, (or were they George’s?), among other things including a toy wooden horse with many little teeth marks in it. “My grandson should have these things…” She goes on to insinuate that Josleen should use her as a road map to being a mother, as she has so successfully raised such a great man, her way -must- be the right way.


Josleen | Gigi, fatter-by-the-day, deeply resents being singled out as a punchline. If you’re going to pay attention to him, that attention better come with a sausage. Josleen and Jessa are both disappointed with Macon’s rebuttal as it doesn’t so much defend gay people, such as their guard, as it does reassure Augusta that a name cannot make a child gay, thereby confirming her bigoted fear as valid. “And whether the child is named Greg, Terry, Violet or what have you, gay or not, they will be loved,” Jessa says loudly for the gay mage’s benefit. Josleen nods, but her tight, toothless smile suggests that while she’d love her child no matter what, she has her own preference and is no Patron Saint of Sexual Progressiveness. Augusta takes command of the lunch once more and Josleen picks through the box more as a voyeur of Macon’s past than a shopper for her unborn child’s future. She holds up tiny knit blue booties for Macon to see and coos, ‘So cute.’ He was once a baby. Him. Macon was once a baby. Mind blown. “Or granddaughter,” Josleen says pleasantly when Augusta says ‘grandson’ for the tenth time, near the end of her patronizing speech. Augusta snipes back, “Not if you do your job right.” The smile vanishes from Josleen’s face and she gets up abruptly to help herself to some lemonade from a side table rather than wait for a servant to top her glass. Jessa glares at Augusta, shaking her head in those tiny peeved shakes that Josleen also does, then glances at Macon to see if he’ll say anything. His mother is especially rancid today.


Macon doesn't need to defend gay people, thank you very much, Jessa and Josleen, with your little head shakes. Clearly his kingdom is accepting enough that so many have flocked to it without fear. Even with that dragon queen, can Frostmaw say the same thing, Thane Josleen? Progressive Larket aside, the Rage Knight growls quietly to himself and shies away from the box. As far as he is concerned that stuff is all planted evidence to support the conspiracy theory that he ever could have been a little baby. While Macon's admiration for the previous Larketian Monarch is well documented, minimizing his preference of a male heir over a female one, he knows that ‘not if you do your job right’ is a particularly nasty choice of words to fling at Josleen given her fears of failing to give the king any heir at all. So no sooner do those words leave Augusta’s mouth than The King of Larket slams his fist on the table in front of him, shaking the spread and plates on top of it violently. “Mother!” He snaps while Josleen is excusing herself. “You will not speak t’the queen this way.” His inherited Rage Aura spikes and both mother and son’s eye twitches towards each other. The hag bites her tongue on another shot that would have been aimed towards Josleen while The Fury Knight stands and gives chase after his wife. He catches up with her inside the home and attempts to soothe with the usual ‘Augusta is the worst’ pep talk that they have shared with each other several times during mother Jauzon’s long stay in The Hard City. Outside, Augusta’s Fury is not gone, but displaced. She rummages through the box and, believing something to be missing, a little knit hat, she beckons a male servant over, stands, and starts grilling and berating. In the face of this the young man makes the mistake of attempting to search through the collection of baby things himself. This earns him more sharp words followed by the best shove the old woman can give. It is not much, but it is enough to send him back a step, causing him to step on that toy wooden horse and turn his ankle, toppling him backwards, against and over the stone railing of the balcony. A female servant screams and the Kingsguard waiting outside the home find that it is raining men (man), with a loud thud. One of the four stays to check on the fallen servant while the others race inside to get to the king and queen as quickly as possible…


Josleen trembles with rage, buoyed in part by Macon’s infuriating aura. “Why is she so nasty to me! I try to be patient, and she mistakes my kindness as weakness!” she hiss-whispers. Outside, Jessa looks away in embarrassment as Augusta chews out the help. “Augusta, it’s -got- to be somewhere.” Augusta can’t hear Jessa over the blood throbbing angrily in her ears. A madness takes Augusta that Jessa had never seen before, not even on Josleen and Macon’s wedding day when Augusta treated the event like a funeral (which was pretty crazy, but this...) Jessa watches the events unfold in slow motion: the shove, the trip, the stumbling, the fall. She pushes off her chair to snatch at the man’s shirt, as does Augusta (to her credit), but both women fail to grab hold. “Oh my gods!” Jessa screams. Augusta cries out, “Mackie!!” Leaning over the railing, she looks down in horror at the servant’s broken figure, the blood. “How is he?!” she calls down to the guard. Josleen races out onto the balcony on Macon’s heels, her eyes wide with disbelief. She did not think Augusta capable of killing, not like this. Jessa grabs hold on Josleen protectively. When Macon arrives, Augusta stammers, “I didn’t mean to! It was an accident. I didn’t think he’d--” She’s quaking under the weight of what she’s done and grabs a champagne flute off the table, spilling some of its contents en route to her lips. She downs the whole thing in one go then drops the flute on the table on its side, trembling too fiercely to set it right. “Is he alive?”


Macon rushes to Augusta’s side when he reemerges on the balcony, narrowly missing tripping himself up on that same wooden horse. The old woman can’t speak straight enough for him to know what exactly is going on, but when he leans over the edge of the railing and looks down at the fallen man, he seems to understand what has gone down. ‘Why?’ is the word on his lips, but it doesn’t come out as he looks towards his mother, fearing that he knows what has caused this sequence of events to occur, and that his ambient rage aura is to blame. Below, the lone kingsguard finds the servant’s breathing severely labored and that he either refuses or is unable to move his limbs. A broken back. The royal guard looks up and give the news, “He is alive, but…” The remaining three royal guardsmen burst onto the scene and Macon is quickly turning and barking at them, “We are fine! Ge’ t’the infirmary and bring someone immediately!” The Rage Knight moves towards his shook mother and places his hands on her shoulders, putting her back into a seat. “Wha’ happened?” He can tell what happened with the way everyone else is looking at Augusta, but he is just trying to keep her from having a heart attack. Instead of actually listening to the retelling he is looking towards Josleen with a grave expression, clearly afraid that he has caused this tragedy as well.


Augusta stammers through the story, intermittently sobbing and mashing Veratoakan words together, speaking their homeland’s language (which is similar to the common tongue, but a dialect of it, but just different enough for Josleen and Jessa to not understand half of it). She was looking for a hat. She couldn’t find it. The man came to find it, was rummaging through the box, and she just… it was so strange. She was just so mad, she can’t explain it, then suddenly she was shoving the man, but she didn’t mean to! It just happened, like her arms were acting on their own, that’s how alien it felt. But she never ever meant for him to fall off the balcony! Never! Never. He tripped on the toy and the rest was an accident. “He is alive?” she repeats in their native tongue. She heard the guard, but his tone wasn’t reassuring, “Will he survive?” Josleen meets Macon’s gaze gravely, and Jessa doesn’t miss the silent exchange between the couple. Although Jessa doesn’t know about the rage aura, she felt the fury spike too, albeit less dangerously as hers turned on thoughts of Kyl’oriel, which given recent events, didn’t seem out of the ordinary. Still, what prompted those angry thoughts? And it happened at the exact same time Augusta turned on the servant. Is it a coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. What exactly is going on here? She watches Macon carefully as Josleen steps up behind Augusta and reassuringly rubs her mother-in-law’s arms. “It was an accident,” she says softly. “You didn’t mean for him to fall. Do you have a medicine cabinet? I’ll go tend to him now.” The Queen is, after all, a healer by training, albeit not very powerful. All Josleen can do in the interim is administer a pain reliever and align the broken body without causing further damage. When the doctors arrive, they bring with them blue iron salve that helps reset bone, but the damage to the man’s nerves in his spine is not as easily remedied. They put him on a stretcher and take him back to the fort where doctors will puzzle over how to treat his lower-body paralysis. Emotionally wrecked, Augusta downed half a bottle of wine as she watched the doctors tend to the man. When they leave, she buries her wet face in her hand and crosses her glass-wielding hand across her narrow chest. Her petite frame appears even smaller now, crushed under the weight of guilt and regret. Moved by Augusta’s genuine remorse, Josleen squeezes Augusta’s shoulder sympathetically, then leaves for another room with Jessa so that Macon can have a moment with his mother. Jessa and Josleen discuss what happened, with the mother fishing for details. Is Augusta mentally ill? There’s been trouble with witches, perhaps a curse? Josleen dispenses with the prying by insisting that accidents happen, but her worry lines give her away. The King needs to see Muzo again.


Macon sends off the remaining servants and guards so that he alone outside with his mother. He is stuck in a similar boat to Josleen, trying to comfort Augusta and convince her that this was not her fault, just an accident, and that she didn’t mean for this to happen. The last point is at least true. However, neither of the Larketian Royals are willing to give up the key piece of knowledge, of the king’s Rage Aura, that would do all the convincing in this case. His mother rants in between his attempts to calm her, “I ‘ave killed ‘em!” “Wha’ will ‘appen t’me, Mackie!?” He promises that she will be alright, and everything will be made right. ‘Larket has the best doctors, after all.’ Macon is conflicted, deciding between leaving his mother here at her home, or bringing her back to the fort and exposing her to the furious aura, which is clearly a problem, further. Eventually, after both mother-offspring conversations are complete, Macon and a drunk Augusta head back inside the home. Yes, he needs to see Muzo again as soon as possible. This cannot go on any more than it already has.


Josleen stands when Macon and Augusta rejoin them. Judging by Augusta’s anxious expression, her mother-in-law clearly doesn’t want to be left alone in this massive estate. The irony is that leaving with them for the fort puts her at greater risk of lashing out again, possibly at Josleen, too, who is often the target of her rage. Josleen feels guilty when she suggests that they should go, and thereby leave Augusta alone, but she also feels that it is for the best. Jessa disagrees. “Why don’t you come back with us, Augusta?” Josleen shoots Macon a worried glance as Augusta’s face brightens a little for the first time since the accident. She doesn’t want to be alone either. “I think I will. It would do me good to keep myself distracted as I wait on news of Jerry. If I am welcome?” She looks to Macon for his permission, a first as what she really seeks is validation and reassurance that she is not considered a pariah now, that she is not at fault, and is still loved. Josleen grimaces into her hand and plays it off like an ill-timed, unconvincing yawn. There’s no good choice.


Macon mirrors Josleen’s expression as she looks his way, but short of spilling the beans on his infuriating condition, it is just too strange to deny Augusta coming with them after Jessa extends the invitation. “Of course.” The King of Larket says simply while nodding to his mother. The four of them collect their things and head back towards the fort with the contingent of four Royal Guards assigned to the King and Queen today. The black cloud of what has just occurred hangs over them and the Jauzons, at least, are mostly silent during the short trip from west to east parallel to Larket’s northern border. While he won’t deny the invitation to stay at the fort, surely Macon will do his best to find some excuse to not be present at dinner with his mother, as he has decided to stay as far away from her as possible until he can see the naga alchemist to rectify the spiking Rage Aura. This might not help with convincing Augusta to dismiss that worry that she is now a pariah, so hopefully the excuses he comes up with are good. When he can find time to be alone with Josleen, they can finally speak to what they are both thinking, he must see Muzo immediately…