2017-03-11: Innovation
- Log: Innovation
- Cast: Josephine Lovelace, Leon Albus, Lily Keil
- Where: Adlehyde
- Date: March 11, 2017
- Summary: Josephine encounters Leon and Lily in the Ancient Culture Exhibition fairgrounds.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
The title of the statue here /says/ Innovation. Josie is fairly certain she's read it right the first time, and she's reread at least twice more just to be /sure/ she wasn't mistaken. Slowly, she tilts her head to the left, brow furrowed as she stares intently at the sculpture.
...
... ...Nope, it's still not working for her. Like, at all. "At least they tried?" she comments aloud, to herself, shrugging her shoulders slightly.
It had been a rough few weeks -- especially where the innkeeper was concerned -- but /finally/ she'd hit pay dirt. Of the 'pay off tab and cover essentials' level, but beggers can't be choosers. It's enough that weeks after being robbed, and after struggling to come by anything that she's roughly back to square one. Now it's just a matter of getting a little more spending cash, and...
But first things first, she's going to check out that fair. The one that she's been avoiding just because she knew that not having any petty cash to spend would just be... well, really dang annoying.
Glancing down at her feet and away from the honestly pretty dull statue, Josie watches the black and white pigeon trotting around near her boots. "Hey, you." Stooping, she offers her left hand to the bird. "You should probably come back up, huh? You're gonna get stepped on."
The pigeon coos, and after apparently considering the suggestion a moment, hops on up.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"It's certainly lively."
Stepping through the fairgrounds, Lily Keil is looking about quietly and at her surroundings as she goes, sticking not-too-close to Leon in the process. She isn't wearing her ARM, storing it in her satchel, so she could almost look like an ordinary woman as she walks.
Only almost; there's little ordinary about her intent gaze or her sharp bearing. But then, she at least isn't armed, doesn't look dangerous... Just completely covered up.
Only some of her attention is on herself; more is looking at her perimeter by instinct and the fair around them instead. She manages to hide her caution reasonably well, which is to say she doesn't look paranoid, her black hair not whipping about from sudden looks all around. Instead it rests on her shoulders, her golden eyes settling on...
A statue, up ahead.
"Ah, let's look at this..."
Lily steps up closer, coming to a stop not far from Josie, where she stands a bit shorter than the other woman. "Innovation," she murmurs.
A tilt of her head, and a small smile. She's not very good at relaxing... But she does have an appreciation for this.
"...Hello," Lily greets as an afterthought.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon Albus arrived in Adlehyde only recently. Before this, he had been in Port Timney and on the Silver Coast -- working, as ever, with Lily Keil -- but the Ancient Culture Exhibit was much too large a prize to ignore.
When Lily speaks, he nods once to her, his eyes briefly caught on one of the large pavilions and their displays. The soldier's head is tilted to the side for a moment -- and then he looks ahead, to where the statue is. He follows after, wearing a new grey coat over his white button-up shirt and darker grey vest. Leon's hands slide into his pockets as he walks.
"It's... different," he muses. And then, he looks ahead, back at Josephine. His blonde hair remains cut short, bangs falling down just to his eyes. His eyes, notably, are silver. He looks at Josephine, before he nods.
Then, down at the pigeon. "Ah," he says. "Is that one yours?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie, for her part, is not visibly armed (or ARMed, as the case may be), so except for her weather-worn gear (she really should do something about that, though maybe it doesn't matter right now) she'd look just to be a rather tall but normal messy-haired woman. Minus the fancy pigeon, anyway.
"Hm?"
She stands, the afore-mentioned pigeon perching on her fingers. Penelope -- the pigeon -- jerkily tilts her head this way and that, as if sizing up Lily and Leon. Josie nods, with apparent enthusiasm. "Why yes! This is Penelope. Penelope, say hello!"
The pigeon remains silent and blank-eyed as ever.
For her part, the white-haired woman stifles a giggle. "Sorry, she's not much for conversation. My name's Josephine, Josephine Lovelace. Nice to meet you! Are you two new in town, too?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is not dressed in a particularly military fashion, but today she's dressed in black walking around, rather than red, with a few distinct parts; gold, at her back, for one.
She hasn't seen nearly as much sun as Josie. She looks at the statue for a little while longer though, before once again diverting her attention to Josie. "...I can't fault someone for being quiet," Lily answers after a moment with a brief look of humor in her eyes. "...Yes, we're new in town," Lily agrees, though she doesn't follow up on that at all. "My name is Lily Keil. It's good to meet you."
And she watches a bit more carefully.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Oh, it... er... has a name," Leon says, with a slightly wary look at Penelope. He didn't have pets growing up. He doesn't quite understand them, which leaves him looking down at the pigeon as its head jerks up to look at them. He looks sideways at Lily.
He stands only a little taller than Josie. His hand rests in his coat pocket, while the left comes up to adjust his collar a little awkwardly, while Lily speaks.
"We are," he says. "We came in by way of Port Timney." The truth, but also a lie of omission if there ever was one. "I'm Leon. Leon Albus. A pleasure, Miss Lovelace."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Dark eyes skim between the two. They seem pretty young. Well, in relation to Josie, anyway.
"She," Josie corrects, in the manner of pet-owners everywhere. Other than the plumage -- different from the birds that mingle in the street -- Penelope certainly looks more or less the same as any other pigeon. She certainly seems about as bright, meeting Leon's gaze with that unyielding blank-eyed stare.
"Lily. Got it. Here to see the festival?" Josie asks, regarding Lily for a moment before redirecting her attention to Leon. "Port Timney, huh? I haven't been. How are things out..."
That is, technically, a frown. But it's a frown that would probably be classified as playful at worst. "Oh, no, no. Don't you 'Miss Lovelace' me!" she mock-scolds, looking as if she would probably shake a finger at him if it weren't currently occupied by pigeon. "You can call me Josie, okay?" She grins. "It's nice to meet you, too, Leon." Once again, she looks between the two of them, as if evaluating something. Hmm.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"She has a name," Lily repeats/teases Leon. She glances down at the pigeon again herself, and back up to Leon with the easy familiarity that suggests she does that rather a lot.
"Yes," she answers simply about the festival in the meantme, dipping her head in acknowledgement. She might say more, but Josie goes on and then...
Lily smiles vry slightly, rather than outrightlaughing. "Josie it is." She remains fairly quiet, of course, but she at least has epresions to read. She also stands fairly close to Leon without seeming to think much of it. <Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
There is, for a moment, a confused stare from Leon. It has been some time since he has felt his age -- and it takes a moment to realize. She must think him younger than her, and he is. It feels strange; it feels mundane in a way that he isn't used to. He frowns, for a moment, before he nods. "She," he says. "And... Josie, then."
Leon's eyes dart sideways at Lily and her black hair. He looks faintly embarrassed for a moment -- and his hand fiddles with his collar, nervously, before he looks back at Josephine. "Right. Er... yes, to see the festival. We might try to contribute."
No sense in hiding that they're Drifters.
"...Port Timney's well enough," he says. "Busy as ever, it seemed like. We were just passing through before that. What about you? You're here for this festival, too?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
A bit of the quiet one? Quieter one? Lifting her pigeon-bearing hand to her shoulder as she glances between the pair again, Josie silently urges Penelope to perch there.
That look on his face. She can't help it but say "You're cute, kiddo. I bet you were a good catch." She grins, casting Lily a knowing look. Uh oh, it's probably /exactly/ like being in the presence of some nosy auntie...
"Oh, that's good. Perhaps when things are settled here, I'll set out that way? --Me?" She points at herself. "Actually, I came looking for an old colleague of mine, but when I heard about the festival -- I'm an archaeologist," she adds, by way of explanation. "And a few other things on the side, I guess!" Which is just a nicer way to say 'also a Drifter'. "There's been some work in the area, if you're looking. Seen anything you like at the festival so far?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily watches him a moment through his nervouness before looking back to Josie, in better spirits than earlier already. "Yes, we might," she agrees after what he says, though she doesn't add to the rest of what he says for the moment.
Lily's eyes do light up very slightly at the comment about Leon being a good catch though, at the knowing look. "He was," Lily answers with a fint smile, "Still is, too."
A beat, "It's a good town." Shelooks thoughtful for a moment. "An archaeologist... That's a handy set of skills to have out here." A pause, "I hope you find your colleague." As for the fetival, she actually quiet, still considering her answer.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Cute?" Leon sputters, his expression screwing up for a moment -- and then he shakes his head quickly, trying to get more of the serious expression back on his face. The twenty-one year-old rubs between his eyes; he can't hide the fact that he is flustered, now. His face even reddens a little.
And then more, when Lily says that he still is a good catch.
"Ah," he says, "an archaeologist. That makes sense. There's a lot to uncover there." He glances sideways at Lily and nods, before he looks back at Josie. "We only arrived a day or so ago. But... I think some of the old ARMs are interesting. I saw a few pieces of an excavated Gear. And some of the stone tablets and other things from ruins."
Then, he smiles ruefully. "...Not that I know the significant of most of them. I'm not much of a researcher, to my chagrin."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
And that reaction of his only makes Josephine grin like a cat. Especially when Lily joins in. "See? She thinks so, too~" she says, all teasing sing-song. It may already be too late for Leon.
It's a useful set of skills to have, indeed. "Mmhmm." But Josie shrugs, a little helplessly, and shakes her head when Lily mentions her colleague. "I hope so, too. We haven't spoken in ages, so..." So it goes, essentially. "But I'm sure we'll catch up soon."
Leon mentions the ancient ARMs. "They're fascinating, aren't they?" she breaks in with, a slight gleam to her dark eyes. "I've been digging around in ruins for a while now, and I've never seen anything like /that/ before. I almost wish I could take one apart, but..." She sighs, a little wistfully, before adding, in near afterthought, "...Or get a closer look at those tablets. But I know, they're just for display." Josie curls one hand into a fist. Determination? "I suppose I'll have to do a little delving of my own, huh?" She looks over at the dark-haired girl. "How about you, Lily?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily actually laughs at Leon's question and Josie's grin, a brief thing that's nevertheless clearer and brighter than usual... Not that she usually laughs that much.
To Josie, "I see." She's already said wha she would intend to say about it, so she just keeps watching Josephine for a moment later before she... well, leave it at that.
"I also like the statues," Lily says. "Overall this is very interesting. I'd be interested in..." She considers, "Well, ancient ARMs have an interest to me, too. But I'm interested in whatever we might find there."
"Yes, a bit of delving of your own. I... If you're asking just for /me/... I'm curious about anything sorcerous I might find down there. It's a... personal interest."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"I-I'm... er, I'm aware," Leon says. He keeps from scuffing his foot, but his face is red -- and he looks away sheepishly. He does look back, though, as the conversation shifts back to the exhibition and her colleague. He notes what she says about the colleague, but doesn't voice more yet.
Instead, he looks up, and then he nods his head once. "Yes. I'm curious about those. There is one I've been looking into. It's similar to a Gear, but... autonomous, and supposedly smaller. One called Gryndille."
Leon says the name with the slightest edge -- the barest hint of anger, which stays well hidden.
Then, he nods at Lily, with a brief look at her. He knows why. "Delving into a dungeon yourself isn't so bad," he says. "I suppose it's a chance to... learn something new, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie smiles, just a bit. "Maybe we'll end up as partners on a job." Pause. "Or rivals? Either way is fine by me~" That smile only broadens. "A little competition isn't so bad." It can make things more interesting, sometimes...
Just as long as she can still get paid, though. She still needs to eat.
"Ancient ARMs are fascinating -- powerful, too, if you can get them working, I heard. They just don't make them like that anymore." She shakes her head at her own little joke. "But sorcerous, huh?" She looks Lily over, this time a little more critically. "So, what's your specialty? I haven't seen anything /here/, but..." But she's been spending a little more time eyeing the ARMs on display.
It's what Leon has to say that gets her attention, though. Her brow creases. "An autonomous... I'm not really familiar with regular Gears, but I've never heard of an autonomous one. Hmm..."
In silence, she appears to think for a moment, a finger pressed against her lips as she watches Leon. "Is it like a Golem? There's some models on display of a few, but I didn't hear about them being active... I guess I don't know much about those, either. Sorry," she says, shrugging her shoulders emphatically enough to make Penelope puff out her feathers and readjust her perch, "Guess I'm not much help there. But, if they're like that Gryndille thing at all, maybe one of the ruins around here might have answers?" Golems, apparently, are really not her specialty.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily obviously--even with her own clearly reserved nature--takes a little pleasure in Leon's blush. It shows in her eyes, just in the way she looks at him. But she's not a lovestruck teenager anymore; she doesn't stop to stare at im rather than Josephine for too long.
Besides, what she has to say it interesting. "I'd prefer partners," Lily answers. "I like a little competition, but I'd take what help I can get for these ruins."
"Yes..." Lily agrees about ancient ARMs, but the question for her gets a nod too. No tattoos are visible on Lily whatsoever--but then, neither is any skin below her neck. "Fire is the element I've worked with the most, though not the only one. In a fight I'm more likely to rely on my spells than on my ARM, but it's good to have it just in case."
Autonomous. Gryndille. Lily quiets at Leon's mention, save to look at him once, her mouth thinning into a line, one of the few, subtle signs of her own feelings about this /thing/ they talk about. She does not chime in immediately.
"...It's fine. I don't know much about Golems either. Gears, a bit more." Lily glances at Penelope, and back to Josie. "We were thinking the ruins might have such answers, but it's proven difficult to get far when it's just the two of us."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Rivals...? It could happen," Leon says. "I suppose we could be hired for cross purposes. Of course... we could just as likely work together." His expression is more thoughtful -- not quite smiling, but pleasant enough as he weighs the options.
He stays quiet as Lily explains her magic. He knows well enough about Lily's magic -- and enough to stay quiet to not give away something. His silver eyes shift back to Josie, then he nods. "Nothing to apologize for," he says. "Something like that... it may be one of a kind. But it could be like a Golem. I think it might be an avenue to explore more."
After all, Golems were supposedly monsters as much as machines.
His features turn concerned, before he nods, and glances sideways at Lily. "We had little luck in the Sult Ruins," he admits. "Even with the two of us. We had one too many surprises in there, I think."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
They're close, that's for certain. Josephine can't seem to help but smile a little bit, knowingly, as she watches the two of them.
Who can say where the fickle finger of fate can fall? "To be honest, partners is just fine by me! Still, if you ever want to have a competition, you just have to ask~" she says in response to the both of them, her tone just a little teasing.
A nod. Josephine glances at Lily, but it's not as if the younger girl's suddenly showing any more skin than before. "Fire, huh? That's pretty handy." Just a bit, she furrows her brow, as if considering something. "...Symbology, or Crest Sorcery?"
One of a kind, huh... Though not exactly any more sober than she's been, Josie certainly seems thoughful. "It's a place to start, at any rate."
She nods, slightly, as if somewhat distractedly, when Lily says she doesn't know much about Golems, either. Watching them both just now, she gets the feeling there's something...
She tilts her head, just a bit, to the right. "Over in Sult, huh..." A scant few seconds pass, before she presses both hands together briefly. "Well, in that case, how about we team up? I'd like to get a look at more of the ruins in the area, and hopefully earn a few Gella at the same time." It takes money to find someone after all...
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily watches Leon again for a moment before she looks back to josie, and stays looking at Josie for a minute. "I'll keep that in mind," Lily comments about competition, and it has the low, almost wry quality that suggests she really will consider it.
But she doesn't look at Leon while discussing her magic. It's not the first time there's been a discussion batting around it... Though Lily likes that it's a matter of what magic she has, rather than whether she has it at all. Her golden eyes sty on Josie.
"If we work together, I can show you more of what I can do." A pause and, "I'm a Symbologist." The lie is completely smooth, without any obvious tells whatsoever.
"It's better to explore all our options rather than ignore one we could otherwise have. Right?"
A place to start, indeed.
She can't say what's distracting Josie, but she can hear about her suggestion. "...Yes, there's a matter of money," Lily agrees, and glances to Leon. "Well... What do you think? We could use the help." She gives him a look, and then looks back to Josie.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Some competition never hurt anyone," Leon muses, with a small smile.
He looks in Lily's direction -- and not, really, because of the lie. He has become practiced at going with it, and telling his own lie of never blinking when she says she knows Symbology. His eyebrow raises, but he considers what Lily asks, before he looks back at Josie.
"I think it's worthwhile," he says. "We could use the help. Those ruins have sent us packing twice, now." He can't say, really, that they have anything related to Gryndille.
But it can't hurt to look and it sticks as a matter of pride.
His arms fold, before he nods. "We can leave later in the week," he says. "I know we have a few things we should see to -- resupplying not being the least of them. I'm sure you do, too."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie, for her part, looks amused, or at least intrigued by the prospect. Hey, it could be fun. "Good! I'll look forward to it, either way."
Dark eyes meet Lily's gold.
Josie is quiet for just a moment, before nodding. Just the once. "A Symbologist, huh... So am I. My specialty's more with lightning than fire, but it's a little similar in the end, right?"
It's a topic swept aside as Lily accepts the offer and asks Leon's opinion in turn. And at that--
She gives him a thumbs-up. "Great! I've had a hard time with some of the places around here, too, so the more the merrier."
Her interest on the other hand is purely academic. Or to be more accurate, financial.
"Later in the week," she repeats, with a nod. "It's a date, then!" He's right, she does have a few things to do, particularly since that one's a little ways out (to put it mildly), but after that...
"Now that that's settled, did you want to take a look around together?" She pauses, again looking between the two. That grin appears, slowly. "Or did you guys need some private time?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily certainly doesn't disagree. But she keeps watching Josie through her statement, rather than meeting Leon's eyes this time, and waits for her answer. She inclines her head. "Lightning, that's very different... Though I can see the similarities, yes. It reminds me of..." Finally she does glance to Leon and back, "Well, I shouldn't go too much into t."
But it seems they agree in short order. "I'm not still sore, but I feel like I /should/ be from those ruins." A date. "The... more the merrier, yes. Though we're not all that merry..."
Lily laughs a moment later, "Time alone, hm?" She doesn't quite flush herself but she does glance away, "Tempting. But we have a little more to discuss, like where to meet. And I don't mind making more of an acquaintance if we're going to be working together."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Lightning magic? Leon hasn't seen that much lightning magic before. Save, of course, for the times he fought people with lightning magic -- but that wasn't common, and the battles with Gebler forces in the past may not be the wisest idea to mention. His eyes narrow with thought, and then he looks up at Josie. "That sounds like a plan, then."
He doesn't call it a date. He looks sideways at Lily -- and his mouth opens, and he flusters again, though it's subtler than before. "That--ah. Yes, we can all go together."
He scratches behind the back of his head.
"Let's have a look around," he concludes. "I'm sure it'll be educational. And interesting."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Well, you know, when lightning hits a tree..." Josie seems just as content to wave it off, though. "Sure, we can talk trade more later."
It's just a slight smile this time, but it's there all the same. "That's fine, I can be merry for the lot of us," Josie opines.
That might have just been a two for one, there, to judge by both of their reactions. Somehow Josephine manages not to smile. Too broadly. "True, true. Still, I wanted to give you both the option~" But at least she's not about to drag out the torment too much as she twists slightly at the waist to glance across the crowded fairgrounds. This only mildly disturbs the roosting Penelope. "If you haven't yet, how about we take a look at the Golem display? I didn't look at it too closely, so it'd be good to have a refresher."
There's only a moment's pause before she outright turns, as if to lead the way. "Shall we?"