Owner	Pose
Donna Troy	It's far from a full hearing of the Themysciran senate. The battle has only been over a few hours and Themyscira is still busy dealing with the aftermath. The biggest break-out from Doom's Doorway in a very long time is not something that can be dealt with quickly. There are numerous patrols scouring the countryside in case any of the dead centaurs escaped, but given the way Hekate removed the bodies this possibility is deemed unlikely. There are a significant number of wounded to be tended to, and a few dead as well. Most of the island is busy, and those with leadership roles tend to be out leading.     Nevertheless this has, for more than one reason, been a momentous day. What might otherwise have been a quite casual chat has at least a hint of formal debriefing about it, and a few of the high-ups in Themysciran society are in attendance, eager to hear what is going to be said. General Philippus, Magala, Menalippe, Pallas and Charikeliea are in attendance, representing the military, magic, the priesthood, crafts and science. Acantha and Hellene, of the senate, are there two. The former a reformist, the latter a conservative. Hippolyta will be well aware that in the days to come Hellene will have words to say about her decision to allow the male Titans entry.     Normally Epione would be here too, but she has a lot of work to do. She will however be doing that work without the aid of Caitlin, who despite her eagerness to help at the houses of healing is going to have to wait an hour or two. The rest of the Titans are being shown guest quarters in the palace.     "...And the rest you pretty much know," Troia concludes. "Once we reached the top of the stairs I alerted the gate guards, and got them to send word to the palace. We waited at the top of the stairs to hold off Ixion's force as long as we could. Fortunately Diana had already rounded up a strike force just in case, and they were able to join us very shortly after the battle started. Between us we were able to hold them at the gate until the army arrived. What happened afterwards... that whole business with Hekate, I don't really want to speculate on. But the fact of her intervention earlier, sending us from the Iron Gate to the bottom of the stairs, it... raises a number of questions. At the very least I think we became embroiled in some kind of squabble."
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin's patience is worn very thin and it shows in the restlessness of her posture. She's still partially armored, her vambrances and greaves wearing a few new marks to indicate they've been properly broken-in through honest battle. Her leather skirts and tunic are splattered with ichor and blood. Not all the blood is Themysciran, but Caitlin's wounds have already healed with pink flesh forming under the nicks and dings that were the sole marks that Centaur weapons could carve in her obdurate flesh. Taking her from the Halls of Healing had literally required the order of the Queen herself to join the report, and the urgency of getting this over with as soon as possible leaves the marks of hasty trauma surgery splattered over her bare arms. Caitlin's focus keeps drifting away from Donna, not towards the Gate but towards the Halls where Epione is working with all skill to save lives and limbs.
Hippolyta	Hippolyta looks troubled. The death of even one Amazon diminishes the Amazons as a whole. The Queen's eyes, usually reserved, have an intensity that is usually only reserved for the heat of battle when, leaping from her horse into the fray, she usually descends with terrible finality to end the lives of those who would dare threaten her sisters and daughters. "A squabble that has cost the lives of our sisters, no less." It would be impious for Hippolyta to speak harshly of the gods, but the expression on her face shows plainly what she thinks of Eris treating the lives of her sister in such a cavalier manner. No-one prays to Eris. There are no cults to her and no altars, and none worship her except those who wish to meet a swift fate. "It would be foolish to speculate on the designs if the Key Bearer. But she did not transport you to the top of the stairs. It left us less time to prepare." Hekate, of course, was not one of the patronesses of the Amazons. Her eyes glance at Magala briefly, a question in her eyes before she turns to Troia once more. "You said you had reason to believe one of Her attendants aided you to ascend?"
Donna Troy	Philippus watches Aikaterine and Troia with keen eyes. Magala sits back in her chair, as mysterious as ever. Menalippe looks perturbed. Hellene and Acantha share a brief whispered converstion, an expression of annoyance crossing Acantha's face. It's easy to guess the topic of conversation - Hellene's eagerness to get on to the matter of allowing men onto Themyscira for the first time in a couple of milennia, and Acantha's dismissal of Hellene's concerns as trivial.     Troia glances sideways at Caitlin. The pair have not yet really had the chance to discuss their experiences on the stairs. "I believe so," she answers the queen eventually. "But I am not certain. It is foolish to be certain of anything on those stairs. But I spent some time talking with someone who seemed more eager to annoy me and make me more determined rather than encourage me to turn from my path."     "Hekate could have sent us to the top of the stairs if she had wished," Troia agrees with a nod. "Or sent word directly to you. She chose not to. I don't know why that would be, but I do not believe she would do something like that without there being some purpose to it."     "Then, after the battle, she sent the bodies of the centaur back down to Tartarus. I cannot help wondering if she intended us to see in that gesture that she could have resolved the situation herself at any time."     "Though I do not wish to speculate on the designs of the Key Bearer, I would also point out that it I find it curious that an artifact capable of sending people to Tartarus happened to find its way to a place we Titans would be sure to hear about it and come looking for it, at such a... timely moment."
Diana Prince	Diana had spent the time since the battle in the Enchanted Forest, with a small party of her fellow Amazons that she's spent years training with prior to her original leaving of the island. They tracked down stragglers of the foul undead Centaurs before they could even hope to get lost amongst the deep magical woods.... Now she is returning, but not through traditional means. The opening balcony that the sun is shining through is suddenly graced witht he presence of a shadow that falls across the floor as the sun is setting lower in the sky outside. Diana's shadow. It stretches across the polished palace floor as the Princess had flown across the city and touched down upon the balcony overlooking the gardens below. She has one hand on the stone archway of the entrance and her long loose hair flows gently in the wind against her otherwise bare shoulders. She stares at the gathering inside of the large room, gaining some of their eyes now before she speaks up. "The Centaurs are fully eradicated." Diana says in her naturally sultry voice as she lowers her hand and starts to walk in to the room, her own armor and visible skin covered in muck and grime from the battle, but she somehow pulls it off! On armored boots, the Princess walks toward where Donna is. Her eyes go to Donna and to Cait, not having to express verbally the relief she has on her face at seeing them okay, again!
Hippolyta	"Nothing Hekate does is without reason," Hippolyta agrees, "And whatever reason she saw fit to necessitate that you and your comrades experience the stairs will, no doubt, bear fruit eventually in her inscrutable fashion." When Diana arrives, the Queen gives her eldest daughter a nod of gratefulness. "Thank you, my daughter. And so ends today's threat." For now, it is the ggreeting that fits the situation- later, once this has passed and all of her daughters gather in her chamber to talk further, there will be expressed relief and sharing of greater details. but the queen has spoken well: Today's threat. The gods are moving pieces around, and it is unknown what might come next. Mercifully, to end Hellene and Acantha's impatience, she moves on to the next topic, "And now we must speak of those who performed a service to themyscira that no man has performed since the memory of this lisland was new. Troia and Aikatherine, these are your companions-in-arms.. Considering the circumstances, there are no doubt questions that some of our sisters will want to ask." She glances at the conservative senator, and then back at the two Titan Amazons. "In a land of immortals, history is not made frequently. "
Donna Troy	Troia flashes Diana a smile, but it's perhaps more one of relief having her sister stand beside her than gratitude for Diana's work scouring the forest for any escaped centaurs. She was already confident the battle was won - she's less confident of standing in front of even this slimmed-down council.     "I would ask a question of you, not them, my queen," Hellene speaks up. "Why was the senate not consulted before you made such a momentous decision? You claim to give us a voice, to rule at our head rather than above us. Yet you know there is no agreement on this issue. Above all, it is our duty to preserve what we have here. To guard the gate, yes, but to guard our heritage too. For over three thousand years we have lived on this island, separated from Patriarch's World. From the urgency and rashness of mortal men. When last we had anything to do with Patriarch's world, it was nearly our downfall. Only the mercy of the Five spared us then. Now you throw open our island to not one but /five/ mortal men. You risk our very future. It is our isolation from the World of Men that has preserved our people and our culture."     "It is our isolation from the World of Men that has made us /irrelevant/!" Troia counters vehemently. "We cannot be a beacon to the world if we hide our light from any eyes but our own."
Diana Prince	Diana continues to walk slowly around those here. She puts a hand on Cait's arm to briefly share a touch with the Titan and fellow Amazon, affording her a smile too before she ends up beside Donna to hear Donnan responding to Hellene. A glance is given to her mother before Diana looks to Donna and nods once to her. She puts her eyes on Hellene nextt. "Our isolation has given us the ability to forge a strong culture, a strong society. But it has made us weak in other ways that are not talked about enough." She looks at the other Senators then, sweeping her gaze over them all. "By anyone here." A glance is given to Donna then. "The five men who are being invited to experience, and enjoy, the island now, are being given that opportunity because they have fought for it. This... shows that quality actions are rewarded with quality reward." Diana softly shakes her head from side to side. "If we were to turn these men away, and send them  beyond the barrier back to the world of man, then we would be displaying a true weakness to the world at-large..." "We would be showing the world that we are a fearful people. That we lack the ability to trust in others, to put faith in those who put their lives on the line for our benefit. This is what isolation breeds. It breeds weakness in what lies beyond our comfort zone. Yes, isolation has brought us unmeasurable 'good'. But the negatives it has equally brought onto our people /must/ be explored, and ways to fight against them /must/ be pursued." She motions toward the balcony. "Letting these five brave men experience our home, is one way to push back against the folly of falling too comfortable in our safe, and secure, corner of the world."
Caitlin Fairchild	More hubbub erupts, the decorum starting to break down as the royal family braces themselves against the onslaught of protests from Hellen's bloc of conservatives. Cait's response is a bit more pointed than Diana or Donna's. The redhead gets to her feet, grips her ichor-stained maul with one hand, and shifts the ornately carved head between her feet. The heavy *thud* of Themysciran-forged steel against carved stone rings like a gavel. "You're afraid, Hellene!" Caitlin shouts. The tumult settles into shocked silence. Caitlin's green eyes flash, full of fury and yet also wet with her fraught concern, and several Amazons hold their breath at the implied challenge. The conservative leader turns slowly towards the redhead with a look of absolutely disgusted shock. "Silence, child," Hellene snaps with supreme offended indignity. "You do not have the /right/ to speak to me that way, you are not--" "An Amazon?" Caitlin interrupts. "Not according to Athena. If you want to take that up with her--" Caitlin points a finger in the direction of the Enchanted Forest. "I get to say my bit just like anyone else, so I'm gonna do it and be done," Caitlin announces to the assembly. Her left hand opens and clutches, trembling and white-knuckled with emotion. "You are telling the Queen she did the wrong thing. That Donna did the wrong thing, that /we/ did the wrong thing, by bringing the boys here," Caitlin says. The term of endearment for the male Titans comes with a fierce sort of familial devotion. But she keeps moving forward, stopping two paces away from the princesses. Standing on their side but on her own two feet. "What would you do instead? Close the door in their faces. Right?" She looks around the assembly. "That means going down the Stairs of Erebos. Backtracking across Tartarus. Fighting our way through the shadows towards an exit that might not even exist for us. And it would be *us*, because me'n' Donna would go with them. Because the b-- the men are my family and I wouldn't abandon them any sooner than I'd abandon anyone on this island." Hellene bristles and leans forward a half pace; Caitlin matches her momentum with two strides, glowering at the woman with barely restrained anger. "That's a death sentence," she grates. "You'd rather me and Donna and my friends be dead before letting the men on this island. Am I wrong-- Am I wrong?" Caitlin demands, moving her feet to force herself into Hellen's line of sight as the Amazon tsks scornfully and tries to dismiss Caitlin by looking away. "I'm not gonna let you kill my friends in committee and hide your choices behind a ballot." A few tongues cluck and there's a sound of quiet exhalation as Caitlin brazenly drives her point right at Hellene's sense of personal honor. Inappropriate perhaps for the vaunted impartiality of the setting, but it strikes a nerve.
Hippolyta	Hippolyta remains impassvive as the conversation grows heated. It is that impassivity that almost makes her look like one of the statues that line the temples, unassailable to anger, to time. It can drive some people absolutely batty. Between Hippolyta, Donna, Diana and Aikaterine, they present the full spectrum of reactions. "I will answer your question, Senator," she says with the measured tone of someone discussing a fine point of philosophy, and thus robbing the anger of its thunder, "As soon as my daughter answers a question of my own." She turns to Donna. "These men were given the opportunity to turn back, were they not? What reasoning did they claim for not taking the opportunity?" Donna had, briefly, mentioned discussing the option with the Titans, but here Hippolyta is offering her the opportunity to go into greater detail- as well as allowing Aikaterinea moment to cool down. She glances at the redhead. "Surely they knew that they would not be allowed through the gate." .
Donna Troy	It is fortunate that Caitlin's outburst is keeping eyes fixed on her, because otherwise someone might have seen the struggle Troia was having to hide her growing smirk. She catches Diana's eye and smirks a little wider for a moment before bringing her lips under control.     And then, rather uncharacteristically, she adds nothing. Diana spoke as a diplomat, Caitlin spoke with the fervor and determination that would normally be Troia's, and she does so in a way that Troia is proud of. She sees no need to add anything at that point, though even a year ago it's unlikely she could have controlled her tongue.     It's not until Hippolyta addresses a question to her directly that she rejoins the voices raised in debate, and then slowly and with deliberation. "I told them as much, /matera/. We stood at the gates of Tartarus, a step away from returning to the world of the living, of returning to safety. When I told them that I and Caitlin must go, because it is our duty as Amazons, each one of them told me in turn that they would go too, because it is their duty as Titans. Not their duty to guard the Gates of Doom, but their duty to guard all. I told them that they would have a terrible journey to get to the Gates of Doom. That they would fight a fearsome battle, and if that battle was won, they would in all likelihood have to turn around, to cross the length of Tartarus and face all the evils it has within it to return to the very spot they already stood."     "Each one of them, knowing that fact, elected to accompany Aikaterine and myself in full knowledge of that fact. Their reasoning was simple. Themyscira was in danger. Where only two of us might fail, the entire group had a far better chance of warning the guards at the gate what was coming."     "In that moment, they knew what was coming, and they knew that you did not. In that moment it was youth that had wisdom, and age that had innocence."     "There may be those on Themyscira that have forgotten the law of Aphrodite Phulasso, but in the World of Men there are those who have never heard it spoken, yet hold its edict dear in their hearts. I tried to persuade them to go home; they would not listen. They were willing to risk all to bring aid to Themyscira."     Her eyes find Hellenes. "To bring aid even to those who have forgotten another of laws of the five. Even those amongst our sisters who forget the words of Aphrodite, the first law of Themyscira."      Donna raises her voice, speaking with fire and determination, her eyes still on Hellene, challenging. "'True beauty lies in the unblemished heart, open to ALL! So, greet ALL with open heart and open hand that you may be true emissaries of Gaia.' Has everyone here forgotten the meaning those words, they have repeated them so often? Men and women, we are all the children of Gaia. It is time Themysicra remembered that, and it does no Amazon credit if she must be reminded of the laws of the five by the actions of children of Man's world, uneducated in our ways, but who's hearts guide them to those laws more truly than the words carved on our temples guide us."
Diana Prince	Diana stands mostly motionless as the speeches are made and the passionate viewpoints are shared. There is no ill-will given to any of her sisters here, as the Princess values all the insights of those who hold this island dear here and now, let alone the others beyond these walls across the shores of the island. When there comes a lull after Donna speaks, Diana raises her voice again, though she keeps it calm and collected. "I believe there were many reasons I left this island all those many years ago. I believe one of those reasons was it was to see the change that was sweeping across the mortal world. There were, and are, serious changes coming to the planet that we share. We have fought beings from other worlds, from other realities and dimensions. We have welcomed new allies from far away places, beyond the atmosphere of this world... I left this island because it was the destiny of our people to prepare for what is coming." Diana levels her chin then. "Change." She softly says that last word before sweeping her eyes over everyone again. "We have to change with the times, we have to find ways to push our society forward, or someday... potentially very soon, a threat will come across our shared world that we will not be ready to fight against. It is our duty to protect this place, but we can not protect it if we do not adapt to the changes that are rolling across the horizon." Diana turns then toward the exit of the chamber, but she doesn't leave without one last comment. "If we remain isolated, we will be setting ourselves up for inevitable defeat." And with that said the Princess looks to her mother before she turns to go toward the main exit.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin's not /quite/ so brassy as to replicate Diana's 'I'm out' exit, but she does take advantage of the murmuring discussion to attach herself to Diana's wake. "If... the Queen will excuse me," Caitlin says, her voice a little more timid and mellowed. "Eponia says I may be of some use in the healing tents. I am probably needed there more than here," Caitlin says-- but Donna and Diana are included in that last as well. With permission given Caitlin bows her head (partially hiding a sigh of relief) and moves to follow Diana out. She pauses only to give Donna's fingers a squeeze in passing (and give Hellene a pissy glare) before the redhead picks up her heavy sledgehammer and hopskips two strides to catch up the elder Princess as she makes her way from the ampitheatre.
Hippolyta	Hippolyta gives Aikaterine a nod to excuse her. In the quiet gesture, there is also something else: pride. It is the same glance she gives Diana and Donna, before turning her attention to the senator and her bloc. When she speaks, it isn't with the preternatural calm that she had displayed, but with steeley resolve. "The answers that my daughters have given to you, Senator, are very perceptive." Her eyes roa mthe chamber, taking in everyone as she speaks. "Senator, I would ask you to reconsider and meditate upon the source of your anger. Five men braved Tartarus with the full knowledge of The Ban, accepting its immutable nature. Five men came to warn our sisters, to fight /by their side/, Senator. Five men who had no Amazon training and who had only an infinitesimal fraction of our lifetimes spent knowing two of our sisters." She walks, with a measured step and purpose, "I shall forever grieve the sisters we have lost today. Even so, their lives were plentiful, living among us in love and sisterhood for entire ages of the world, and they return to sweet Gaia with the tales of hundreds of lifetimes in the wake of their sweet toil. Yet these men, these children of men, have but a moment's blossoming and are swept away, gone in a moment." 5rShe stops, glancing outside for a moment. "Was it not in Clio's ode to the seasons where she posits that that which is fleeting is all the more meaningful in its passing than that which has endured the longest, for there is less time in which one may enjoy it?" She turns around to face the Senator once again. "Senator, you are bringing into question my decision to extend a grace to these men who chose to risk their brief, fragile lives into the jaws of Thanatos that fewer of our sisters may die. You speak of protecting us against the threat to our traditions, of preserving them- and so I ask you: what did these men do, if not act to preserve? To protect? Furthermore, I ask of you to consider that the Key Bearer did not place them at the top of the stairs, but at the very bottom, and by that gesture she did not grant them anything, but rather made it so that they would either earn their ascent or perish in the attempt." "While I cannot presume to know the intentions of Hekate Apotropaia, I also cannot ignore the wake of her passing." She returns to her starting point. "You would ask me, Senator, to turn my back on Aphrodite's law, as my daughters have pointed out, and on the practice of Xenia, to men who would have gladly abandoned their lives in the defense of Themyscira, as any of our sisters would have and have done? If that is so- then my final question to you is: which Themyscira is it that you wish to preserve? The Amazons were created as a bridge to a greater understanding, but a bridge that does not cross a gap is of no use to anyone. This is something that has taken me long- perhaps too long- to fully understand."
Donna Troy	"I acknowledge your right to make the decision you have made, my queen," Hellene replies, giving Hippolyta a cross-armed salute. "But I am disturbed you chose to make it without the agreement of the senate. You allowed your daughter's rash ultimatum to force your hand. What is done cannot be undone. What I ask you is do not discard three thousand years of decision-making by the senate, and that this issue is raised by a full hearing that will determine whether this event should ever be repeated."     The question of the laws of the goddess is not something Hellene has any intention of touching right now, and when Acantha realizes this, the hint of a triumphant smile flickers across her lips. Hellene is not quite done yet though.     "However... do not lecture me on words you learned on your mother's knee, when I lived through them, Troia!" Hellene snaps in Donna's direction. "In another three thousand years you may yet have the wisdom to understand them. There was a time when we all saw things as simply as you do. Disaster befell us in those years, and we have grown far wiser since. Some of us, at least."     Her eyes turn to Caitlin as she departs and a brief flicker of anger crosses her features. She gestures in Caitlin's direction and turns to Hippolyta. "My queen, I have served on your council since before we left the shores of Thermodon. I bow to your judgement, and I hold in the highest respect the words and deeds of your /adult/ daughter, but I will not be lectured by an over-indulged child and this... this... fake Amazon friend of hers. They came before us to give us their report, not to speak as if they had earned a seat on the senate."     Acantha has been silent this whole time, but those who know the senators will be well aware her stoic face is undoubtedly hiding considerable amusement and pleasure at Hellene's discomfort. Finally she speaks up. "The little princess has travelled vastly further than any Amazon who has lived a hundred times her years and more, perhaps she has learned some scraps of wisdom on her journey, Hellena. I confess I still see in her the skinny little thing making too much noise and playing with her wooden sword, but perhaps today I have learned to enjoy her play a little more. Perhaps instead it is your wisdom that has shrunken, because when you name Aikaterine a fake Amazon, you show yourself at odds with the wisdom of Athena herself."     Menalippe rises slowly to her feet. The court falls silent. Menalippe /never/ speaks at these things. "Aikaterine is a true Amazon. This is the word of Athena herself, and has been vouchsafed me. You offend every one of us by denying it, Hellene. You offend Athena. You offend everything we stand for." She turns her back on Hellene, and faces Hippolyta. "My Queen, I will not sit on the same council as Hellene one moment longer, until she has sought the forgiveness of Aikaterine and of Athena. My decision is final."     Menalippe stands, and walks out after Diana and Caitlin. The court is silent.
Hippolyta	The moment before Hippolyta speaks again almost feels like an eternity. "Hellene, you have said that you lived those words, and yet you seem to have forgotten our history. How my sisters believed that our rightful place was to wage war upon the warlike men instead of cultivating our peace and understanding in seclusion. How, driven by prejudice and mistrust, they separated themselves from us, how they took from us things invaluable..." the Queen's eyes shine in an unaccustomed flare of emotion, as an episode that is seldom recounted from Amazon history is brought to bear, "And we lost more than our grief has ever been able to fully express. And the cause of such, as with everything else, was the discod of an intention that sharpened a tongue to cut rather than to mend." In the sepulchral silence, the Queen continues, "Eris wanders the world, at first small and insignificant, but she soon raises her head up to heaven. It was her delight to bring this torment about on us. Do you wish to give her a bitter triumph by this also being the date where an Amazon insults Athena Parthenos, who gathered Aikaterine herself to her and anointed her as one of our number?" But Hellene is not the only one in the queen's sights. "Acantha," she adds, turning to look at her, "Let us not forget that possessing some measure of wisdom in one subject does not entail infallibility. For even as you speak, your chosen language diminishes the very same experiences you seek to to embrace in troia, and couch your words in barbs to Hellene." She pauses. "We all grieve for our fallen sisters, and we all feel the shadow of change and destiny over our heads. But the daughters of Harmonia should not face this by tearing each other apart." She turns around, then, and adds, "I shall go to the temple, where all may seek guidance or forgiveness." And with that veiled suggestion, she starts heading out.
Donna Troy	Acantha is quick to salute Hippolyta. "I allowed my pleasure in seeing a position I eagerly dispute so clearly undermine itself, that it clouded my judgement, my queen!" she says. "My apologies to you and to the council."     Acantha is an old hand at this.     Hellene's salute comes just moments later, but her response is a simpler "I shall make my apologies, my queen," and she too heads for the exit.     Troia's reponse to Hippolyta is simpler - a big smile. In years gone by that might have come from pleasure at having got her way, but it might occur to Hippolyta that she's witnessing her youngest daughter taking pride in her mother. She too salutes, adding simply "I must see to our visitors," before she too turns to leave. But not before flashing a quick wink to the still-silent Magala, who's tiny smile in response is as enigmatic as everything the strange sorceress ever does.