2017-03-19: Sephilia's Dilemma

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<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise gets annoyed sometimes but she's not the sort of person who sits on it and lets it fester - at least, not when there's something she can do. The real problem is that she doesn't know any good artisans in Adlehyde - at least, none she'd trust not to pawn her broken lute for a few extra gella the second she left it in their care. It's forced her to make the repairs herself, and that's somewhat slower going.

Today the half-Beastwoman has picked out a table outside the centre of the action. She's closer to an infamous back corner - as much as it pains her to do the stupid wallflower thing where everyone sits in the corner and generates some sort of n'th-dimensional labyrinthine Escherian maze of corners.

There's just the one corner this time. And she's sitting in it with her lute angled across her lap and supported on her thigh as she sighs and works on restringing it. She's managed to patch up the damage to the head of it and has re-attached the neck. It looks pretty good considering she's not a professional carpenter.

Tongue caught between her teeth, she works to draw out one of the strings, attaching it with care, then giving it an experimental twang. The note that comes out sounds... off.

"Bother," she mutters as she starts tightening the string up.

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.

Since returning from the ruins yesterday, Sephilia has been subdued and quiet, sticking close to her friends but not really being very responsive. It's unusual for the girl to be so distracted, and it's obvious from the way she keeps hugging Chauncey that something's been bothering her severely.

She's also been pretty down since she heard about Talise's lute being damaged. She wants to be faithful to Althena despite the weird decrees about singing and drinking, but this...this is hard for her to stomach. "...do you think you can ever get it sounding the same?" she asks after a minute. "I already miss your playing."

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"I think so. It'll just take some time and a bunch of tightening the strings, then a good bit of polish and buffing out the crease lines," Talise says with a crinkle of her nose, giving the string another good tighten. "It's been damaged before. Piet fixed it a few times in his life, and it...." She trails off, but gives the string another try - and a single note pings from it, pure and sweet. It's almost indistinguishable from the way it was before.

Almost. Talise frowns and loosens it minutely, then gives it another twang. The note shivers in the air.

If there is a difference, it's not one Talise notices. She nods, smiling quietly. "One down," she says.

Her eyes flit to one side, holding on Sephilia in thought. "Hey," she asks, canting her head a little to the right. "What's wrong? You seem really down."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida has noticed the change in Sephilia's demeanor, but has so far chalked it up to their patron unexpectedly turning out to be some manner of creepy sorceress with terrifying demon eyes. Hell, /she's/ still rattled about it. She's been regularly performing the invocations of the God of Light since they left Agatha's company, and she isn't even especially religious. She repeatedly insisted to Dr. Oxford that the recovered fossil needs to be earmarked for collection purposes only, she has no idea if anyone who is not him has actually listened to her. She is stressed. She needs a drink.

        This explains what Ida is doing, approaching Talise's table with a mug of ale and a shotglass of whiskey. She sets the ale down in front of Talise, and keeps the whiskey for herself. "I'm sure the patrons miss your playing, too," she says to Talise.

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia sighs and tightens her arms around Chauncey. "It's...it's nothing," she mumbles. "I'm okay. I just..." She trails off, then forces a smile.

You're not fooling anyone with that, Sephy.

"When can I start learning to sing like you do?" she asks, trying to change the subject. "I bet if people like just you singing, both of us singing would get lots of attention and money, right?" She nods to Ida by way of greeting.


<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
All of this demon stuff was lost on Talise because she and Lynnai were off meeting another creepy sorceress, though Lucia at least didn't flash creepy demon eyes.

The tall woman smiles gratefully up at Ida. "Thanks. And I miss playing for them. It's a great source of income when we're not out hitting the dungeons." Picking up the drink, she takes a long swig from it, then wipes her mouth with the back of a hand, smiling with satisfaction. "Hits the spot, I'll give you that."

The youngest of the three woman puts on that tacked-on smile and Talise doesn't believe it for a second. Reaching over, she gives Sephilia's shoulder a firm pat and a little squeeze, smiling. "Let's do that soon, okay? One day this week I'll teach you some of the basics. And it won't be long until I can play again, provided no one else decides to trash my lute."

Smile softening, she gives the girl a gentle shake. "But seriously, what's bothering you? You haven't been yourself tonight. Did something happen?"


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "It isn't that woman, is it?" Ida says, once she's had a shot of fortifying spirits. "You know that Lynnai, Talise and I are here to protect you." She pauses a beat, and realizes something. It might be that, but it might be the same thing Ida's been feeling off and on for the past week or so. "Poor dear," she says. "Are you homesick?"


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"If too many people find out, I might not be able to work the magic for you," Agatha had warned Sephilia. It makes Sephy miserable to keep a secret from her friends, but she had promised Agatha that she would keep quiet. It's not her fault she's a terrible liar and even worse at keeping her emotions hidden.

Maybe she really /is/ a kid.

"I--I'm okay, I promise," she says, trying to reassure Talise. Then Ida hits the nail on the head and Sephy hunches over, hugging Chauncey tightly. "Yeah," she answers, nodding. "I know I'm on a big adventure and I'm...I'm okay, really, and I'm seeing all kinds of stuff and my journal's even coming along." The girl started keeping a journal this week, painstakingly noting details of her travels and even drawing some of the things she's seen, including the Dragon Fossil they'd uncovered the night before. She's not the most talented artist in all the worlds, but she's got a good hand and an eye for the important details.

Still, what she should have shown off with enthusiasm, she'd been quiet about.

"But...I know my Dad and Mom must be worried about me and...and I don't know how to even get them a message saying I'm okay..." Tears well up in Sephy's eyes, despite her best efforts, and Chauncey's head is soon patterned with wetness as she begins to cry--and this time, she can't help it.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"That woman?" Talise asks with a blink; on that score she's clueless, giving Ida a curious look. "What happened, did you two meet a jerk?"

Then Sephilia starts lying, and Talise - growing up as she did on a ship full of rogues, brigands, pirates and con artists - knows a bad liar when she sees one. The hand on the girl's shoulder tightens up for a moment as if to assure her that it's OK, but the way Sephilia reacts to Ida's assertion confirms it for her. "Someone hurt you in some way," she says quietly, her voice taking on a note of worry.

Tears come. Talise sets her lute aside and gives Ida a brief look, but she's already reaching for Sephilia. Her strong arms encircle the smaller girl and pull her in, cradling her against her chest and directing her to a shoulder that she can bury her face in as she holds Sephilia tight. "Hey. Hey there," she urges with a gentle smile, voice soft. "I know it's hard. But we'll find a way home together, okay? We'll see your mom and dad again. And I know they'll always believe in you, and that they'll see you again."


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "Oh, honey," Ida says. Talise is already sweeping Sephilia into a hug, and Ida rests a hand on her back, comfortingly. "Shh. It's all right, we're here. We're here." She can worry about her own homesickness later--and it's not as though she isn't accomplished at hiding her own feelings. She can't afford to get emotional when a companion needs moral support.

        "A woman posted a bill for an expedition," Ida explains, to Talise. "She treated us with respect, largely, though I can't say the same for her interactions with her own servants." Ida allows herself to express distaste, mostly because you don't /do that/ to your servants. That is not how she was raised. "I wouldn't normally say this, but she had an unnerving presence as well. And very strange-looking eyes."

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy hangs on to Talise as though for dear life, Chauncey pressed between them. "Sh-she didn't hurt me," Sephy protests. "She d-didn't even say anything mean." The girl sniffles, and tries to stop crying--how embarrassing. It doesn't help. At least nobody's making her out to be a kid because of this.

"I just..." Sephy tries to continue, but a hiccup of a sob interrupts her. Damn this! "I'm so-sorry," she says. "I know you're here for me. I really am glad. I just don't know what to do."


<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Little does Talise know she might have to hug Ida, too.

Rocking Sephilia slowly in her arms, the tall woman looks across the girl at Ida, her lips coming together. "...What was wrong with her eyes?" she asks, brows furrowing. "Was she some kind of psychopath or something?"

Faced with a bawling Sephilia, Talise just rocks the girl slowly from side to side, her strong arms wound tightly around her. She bows her head for a moment, her hand joining Ida's in patting Sephy on the back, as if to urge her to get it all out. "It's okay," she assures, voice softer, accepting - it's evident enough that she's not judging Sephilia for sobbing like this. Everyone has to. "It's okay to not know. But we'll figure it out. You, me, Ida and Lyn... we'll figure it out."

Giving Sephilia another squeeze, she moves her hand up to lightly stroke the sobbing girl's hair, letting her let it out before trying to ask more of her.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida is relieved Sephilia felt the need to clarify, in no small part because she's fairly sure Talise would be hunting Agatha down otherwise. Creepy feelings aside, she has no idea who or what Agatha is, and she doesn't want anyone "Shh," Ida says, patting Sephilia as well. "Everything will be all right." She gives the young woman a little while to cry, and then a little while longer to compose herself.

        "Black eyes," Ida says to Talise. "With gold irises. I've never seen anything like it before."

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy wails, "I'm not allowed to tell anyone," at this point. "You can't help me figure it out because I can't tell you what it is!"


<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Black with gold irises?" Talise furrows her brows and tries to visualize that, sending Ida a worried look. "I can't think of anything that has eyes like that."

As Sephy wails in absolute despair, though, Talise gives Ida a thoughtful look, then gives Sephilia another firm squeeze and a back and forth rock. Then she brings a hand up to lightly slide a thumb beneath the younger girl's chin. Tilting the girl's head back, she looks down into her eyes, her lower lip bitten. "Why can't you tell anyone?" she asks, voice still quiet. "If something happened that's got you this upset, you shouldn't keep it to yourself... it'll just drive you mad."


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida squeezes Sephilia's shoulder, scooting her chair closer so she doesn't have to lean all the way over. It's pretty clear she's had to do this with younger siblings at some point. "Did anyone threaten you?" Her voice is still calm, but there's steel in it. She doesn't remember anyone doing anything of the sort, not even Agatha, but the thought of it makes her angry. What sort of person would do that?

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"I promised I wouldn't tell," Sephy says, sniffling again. "Nobody threatened me! It wasn't...it wasn't anything like that." She shakes her head to emphasize the point. "Just...just...If I tell you it might not work, she said! She said I couldn't!" Tears well up again. "She told me I couldn't tell anyone or...or..."

The girl's clearly torn up about this, and even more obviously wants to tell so she can get advice, but seems to be taking the apparent ultimatum, or promise, or whatever, very seriously.

Chauncey slips from between Sephy and Talise and falls to the floor, button eyes looking blankly at the ceiling.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

With Ida scooting closer, Talise brushes her thumb over Sephilia's cheek in a slow stroke, seemingly trying to calm her down.

Quietly, she lifts her eyes to Ida, a growing realization dawning behind them. Her lips press into a firm line.

"Sephy," she says, her arm falling from the girl's face and coming to rest on her shoulder. "That's not how things work. You talking to someone won't make things impossible. But...."

Reaching down, she lets go of Sephy for a moment. One hand closing around Chauncey, she lifts from from the floor and offers him back to Sephy. His blank button eyes look up at her. So do Talise's more lively green eyes, though here they're steady with a mix of resolve, worry and affection. "...someone who wants you to keep secrets from the people who love you, even when doing it hurts you like this... that kind of person doesn't really have your best interests at heart," she explains.

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.

Sephy takes Chauncey back, hugging him tightly. "Chauncey," she whispers, then her eyes widen. "Chauncey, I wish I could tell them that the lady offered to send me home, but I promised I wouldn't," she says, carefully keeping her eyes locked with the doll's button eyes. "I wish I could tell them but that would be breaking my promise. But...but you know already, Chauncey," she says, hugging him tightly. "So maybe you can tell me what I should do."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida's eyes narrow, ever-so-slightly. Talise may recognize this as being as close as she gets to a look of anger. "Sephilia," she says. "Who is this woman?"

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"The job posting just said 'Agatha'," Sephy explains, hanging her head.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Talise has been young and innocent before. She also grew up on a ship full of scum. She tilts her head towards Ida; her shoulders visibly clench up, and a muscle in her neck tenses. Ida's seen Talise in combat mode before. She's never seen her having to hold back anger like this.

The tall woman lets her breath out in a rush and closes her eyes, taking a minute to compose herself.

Then she rests a hand on the back of Chauncey's neck and eases herself downward into a crouch, positioning herself so that her head is behind Chauncey's.

"You're a good person, Sephy," Talise says in a higher-pitched voice, moving Chauncey's head a little to make it look like he's talking. "But there's something important you need to know about that woman.

"Some people in this world will promise you things they won't ever really give you," she continues, still in her high-ish Chauncey voice. "Those people just want something from you. Sometimes it's money. Sometimes it's to force you to do things for them. Other times, it's for evil purposes. They tell you to keep it to yourself so that nobody can save you from them when they decide to hurt you. There's a name for those people. Those people are called con artists. What they do is called scamming.

"I know it hurts," she continues as Chauncey. "I know it's really hard, and it feels like you could get everything you ever dreamed of. But there's one lesson you should learn, Sephy-dephy-doo.

"'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'"

She gives Chauncey's head a waggle. "Yiff yiff!"

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.

Sephy snorts back sudden laughter. "Yiff yiff?" she asks incredulously. Then she erupts back into tears, hugging Talise.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "I knew she was up to no good," Ida says, allowing herself a look of distaste. She allows Talise to handle the rest, because it wouldn't have occurred to her to play along with the scenario that Sephy was constructing. Clever young lady.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Once again, Talise wraps a powerful arm around Sephilia and pulls her in - but she makes sure to keep the other arm around Chauncey, ensuring the soft plush fox is nestled up against the girl as she hugs her. "There, there," she murmurs, patting the girl on the back a couple of times as if to coax the tears out of her. "There, there."

For a moment she looks over the top of Sephy and lets her cry it out. Her eyes lock with Ida's. She's not letting it show in her body language or her voice, but the gaze tells the tale. Her eyes have darkened noticeably and something utterly furious burns behind them.

Again she gives Sephy a squeeze. "Please don't feel ashamed of yourself... many grown-ups have been hurt by con artists," she murmurs. "Many con artists get rich by pretending they can give people all their dreams. And I know it seems hard... that Lunar feels far away. But she can't really get you home... all she can do is hurt you. But even though that's the case, I promise you... we'll get home. Me, Ida, Lyn... we're all going to help you, and we'll find a way. Together. Okay?"


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia nods, wordless for a time as she listens to Talise reassure her. "'kay," she says at last. "A-and when we do, my Mom'll make everyone meat pies. She makes the bestest meat pies, did I ever tell you?"

There's a bit of the old Sephilia back!

Chauncey's button eyes reveal nothing of his feelings on being used, puppetlike, to talk to Sephilia. They do reveal a bit of disapproval at "Yiff yiff", though. Somehow. Amazing how expressive buttons can be.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "I promise, Sephy," Ida says, giving Sephilia's shoulder a firm squeeze. "We'll find a way to get you home. Be strong. We're here for you."

        "I don't think I ever heard about the meat pies."

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise makes a note to apologize to Chauncey later. Truth is, she has no idea what the fox says; she grew up on a boat.

Squeezing Sephilia firmly into her, the tall woman smiles, her hand joining Ida's on the girl's shoulder. "We're all in this together. And we will get back. Promise." A grin tugs at her lips again, showing the points of her incisors. "You might not have told me! I can't wait to try them, and to meet your parents."

Her hand tightens to give Sephy a squeeze, and she looks briefly up to Ida, then down to the girl. "While we're here," she says, "I'd like to meet this Agatha, too. Have a talk with her."

She doesn't give any particular emphasis to the word 'talk,' but Ida could probably infer it.


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia beams through the tears. "Mom's meat pies are the best!" she reiterates. "They're really special, better than any of the meat pies here! Sometimes I'll go..." Sephy falters, just for a moment. "Sometimes I would go out for a few days and Mom would have a meat pie just fresh and waiting for me when I got back, like she somehow knew just when I'd be coming home."

Sephy's eyes grow a bit distant. "She used to worry a lot but Dad told her that as long as I had Chauncey with me I'd be safe," she remembers. "And then after the first couple of times I went out and came back she stopped being so worried." She chuckles slightly. "I was a total brat and ran off anyway even though she worried, of course," she adds. "Even when I was a baby Mom said she'd turn around and find me out of my crib somehow, and that it only got worse as soon as I learned to walk."

Sephilia pauses. "She said she'd find me," she says quietly. "Agatha, I mean."


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "Did she now," Ida says. Her lips tighten a little. She wonders if there is some sort of time frame involved here, because that would certainly simplify things, wouldn't it? The anecdote makes Ida smile, though--not the least because it reminds her of herself.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Your mom sounds like a really special lady," Talise murmurs with a smile, giving Sephilia's shoulder a squeeze, though there's something wistful in her tone. A memory dancing silently behind her eyes. we'll be back soon, tal. i promise. stay with piet while we're gone.

Her hands move to loosely grip Sephilia's biceps, giving each a little squeeze. "I was a brat too when I was younger. I was always bigger than other people my age - even the boys - so nobody could really do anything about me."

Lips coming together almost at the same time Ida's do, Talise looks off towards a window, breathing out a slow breath through her nose. "...Stay close to me, Ida and Lyn over the next while, Sephy," she suggests, her voice quiet. "And if Agatha tries to get you alone, don't go. She wants to get you alone so she can tell you lies and nobody will stop her. Don't give her the chance."


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia sighs. "I've never been bigger than anyone," she says. "Except really little kids, I mean. I wonder what it would be like sometimes, but then when Chauncey goes big and I ride on his back I kinda know." She pauses. "I'll stay close, I promise," she says. "No more wandering off alone..."


<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"You don't have to be big to be a strong person," assures Talise with a gentle smile for Sephy. "You're fifteen. A lot of people wouldn't know anything about adventuring when they're fifteen. I know a lot of people much older than /me/ who'd be helpless out there." Giving Sephy's arms a squeeze, she grins broadly. "Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not a strong person just as you are. Just /stay/ strong, and learn every day how to be the best Sephy you can be. Okay?"


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia nods. "I promise," she says firmly. "I'll stay strong and get stronger and then we'll find our way home!"


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Probably a half hour after the group disperses, a man who has been passed out at one end of the bar raises his head. He's dressed like a common worker, but as he lifts his head, he reaches up to move his dusky grey hair out of his face. One eye, completely black except for the red pupil, looks at where the group of ladies had been talking a short time before.... and he staggers out of the bar into the night. 
 
 He makes it about half a block before he stumbles into a nearby alley, coming to a stop. He doesn't say a word, and simply stands there for a long moment. 
 
 "Good work," the Pyre Witch states, running one pointed finger along the dusky man's cheek. And the minion melts into shadow, puddling on the ground before sliding over and merging with Agatha's own in moonlit alley. 
 
 "Good work... indeed."