2017-09-24: The Botanist's Request
- Log: The Botanist's Request
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber, Kaguya
- Where: November City - Market Street
- Date: 09-24-2017
- Summary: While exploring November City Jacqueline runs into Kaguya, who has a request...
=====================<* November City - Market Street *>====================== November City is the greatest and the largest of the Seed Cities. When it appeared after the Night of Falling Stars, it was already a large settlement, built by the survivors of that day quickly. It has since grown enormously, appealing to people in the Badlands in search of some security and the refugees from failed and lost Seed Cities. Market Street, its main thoroughfare, demonstrates this. On the outskirts of the city, shantytowns and shacks pop up along the street, gradually becoming the larger buildings in the heart of November. The street is named for the huge market that has sprung up across it, occupying the three and four story brick buildings along each side. It's a wide, paved road (a rare thing in the Badlands) and connected to Central Station, where all of the railways come. Here, one can find anything they want. The laissez-faire nature of November City's government makes the black market an open one, and this is one of the few places where ARMs and stolen goods from Aveh and Kislev can be bought with ease. There are also saloons, taverns, restaurants, and hotels to be found. November City is a true melting pot, where Drifters from across Filgaia mix with foreign merchants and locals of every class. Men wearing suits brush by peasants in homespun, while Drifters and knights bump into each other. The police force usually prevents outright gunfights in the streets, but November City's officials are infamously easy to bribe.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
There was much to see in November City, and Jacqueline would be surprised if she'd seen even a fourth of it by now. It was like the city was always changing, like it was an entirely different location with each day. It made it a little difficult to find one's way around, but it also meant that there was always something new to discover.
That's why she's out here today. Jacqueline strolls along, her eyes occasionally straying to the various storefronts that lined the sidewalks. She'd given everyone the day off to rest and enjoy themselves, so now she was taking the time to explore the city a bit more. Perhaps she would discover something new and interesting? A store with unique goods, a good sale on something useful...
...Though if she was being honest with herself, right now she was hoping to spot a nice cafe, particularly one that sold the little cakes she likes...
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya knows for certain that she hasn't found the whole city yet. To be fair though... She hasn't tried much either, often a little sullen or contemplating ather than wanting the strain of walking all over. But sometimes, she feels like a change of scenery, or to pick some things up, or...
Or something.
She happens to turn the corner as she's thinking about how to reproduce a certain flower as she sees Jay and her eyes widen in surprise. It shouldn't be suprising, she tells herself. ...But she steps over anyway, not in her usual finery but in looser, lighter-colored clothes against the heat, her top long-sleeved, obviously meant to hang a bit almost tunic-style, and light green. Her hair is down, but she shifts some out of her face as...
"Um, hey," she says, almost shy. "F-funny running into you here."
She'd probably be at the CaraKin if not for, well.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline pauses. Though caught up in her own contemplations, she managed to recognize Kaguya in front of her though she was dressed differently than usual. Jacqueline herself is...in her usual outfit. It was important for her to be recognizable, after all, even if she was off-duty!
Someone should perhaps get her to lighten up a bit, but that's a task for another time.
Her face lightens up when Kaguya recognizes her, and she sends a wave in greeting.
"Kaguya, hello! Yes, it certainly is, but not unpleasant." She replies and begins to approach, though noting a hint of shyness she leaves a reasonable bit of distance between the two of them. "Is everything alright?"
Relatively speaking, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya's usual attire is kind of a lot of work, and gets sweaty fast out here in November City--out here in the desert more generally. This breathes a little better. She doesn't even have her ARM visible.
She does have her cane, though.
"It was easy to recognize you," Kaguya says, "You wear a lot of the same stuff all the time." Pause. "...Not that that's... bad." It's nice to see ay light up at her though, and she smiles as it's sad she's not unpleasant. Kaguya stays a little out of the road to talk. "Oh um, yeah, everything's... Fine. I'd usually probably nap around now at Atida's stand," she admits, glancing to the side. "I um..."
"I was kinda... L-looking to talk to you anyway...? If you don't... mind." Pause. "But I mean first how's it going? Am I interrupting anything?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline chuckles good-naturedly and nods in understanding. If that was the case, then that meant it was working. And besides, it wasn't as if she didn't have other clothes. She still had her outfit from the Grand Opening...though she was saving that for special occasions.
"Ah...yes, we've been open all week, so I figured it was time to let everyone have a break. Were you looking for her?" Jacqueline explains, as Kaguya mentions she'd probably be asleep at Matilda's stand.
As it turns out, though, she was the one Kaguya was looking to talk to.
"Oh? Well, I was just wandering, essentially, so you're not interrupting anything at all." She confirms with a nod.
"As for myself...I'm doing alright. I was hoping to find a cafe around here, but I haven't run into one so far...but if you want to talk, I have plenty of time. Shall we find a place to sit?" She replies. Presumably there was a bench or something nearby they could use. If not, well, she could take care of it.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Special occasions! Important that.
Kaguya gently shakes her head at the question. It's easy since it seems the message has come out that Jay is the one she was looking for, but she feels the need to be clearer anyway. "It's been nice..."
Just wandering. Kaguya nods back. "Sure, uh... okay." She keeps her strange eyes up on Jay for the moment, lstening to her. Cafes... "I think there was one somewhere up the street where I came. I glanced at it, since I keep an eye out for places I can sit down." She says it very matter-of-factly. And then--
"Ah, yeah, I'd like to sit down. Thanks..." She looks over to a bench nearby, and starts over, unlikely to be the one who's there first. "I'm um, doing okay too. You know. And... All that." She trails off a little and adds, "I'm not looking for her but it's not like I'd mind running into her either, you know? It's... nice..."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Somewhere up the street? Convenient! Jacqueline would ask if she wanted to head there instead, but perhaps it was better to remain here for the moment.
"I'll be sure to check it out, then." She say, moving to take a seat on the bench. She does make it there first, waiting until Kaguya is seated as well before speaking, her hands resting in her lap.
"I'm glad to hear that." She replies, and when Kaguya continues, there's a slight smile on her face and another good-natured chuckle.
"I imagine... Well, if we're ever off when you come by, you're free to check in with us." She replies.
"So...what was it you wanted to talk with me about?" She was curious, admittedly.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya might be up to join Jay even, but for the moment the small Veruni clearly wants to sit down now rather than later. "It looked nice," Kaguya says, letting out a little breath of somthing like relief when she sits down, turning her head to look at Jay again.
"Mm," Yumi answers about Jay being glad to hear it, and she puts on a small smile. It doesn't last that long, distracted as it is. "I appreciate it," she says, "That'd be... nice."
She pauses, when asked, and looks away immediately, crossing her arms and letting her cane hit the side of the bench. "Ah, that's..." She bites her lip, "I mean I..."
"...I want to come along with you," Kaguya says. But there's clearly more she isn't saying.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I'm sure it is! I'm hoping they have what I'm looking for..." Jacqueline replies...but she realizes she's letting herself get a bit distracted, so she stops and focuses on the subject at hand.
She listens to Kaguya as she speaks. There seemed to be a bit of hesitation there. Was it uncertainty, or working up the courage to say something? Either way...
Jacqueline studies Kaguya for a moment.
"With the Caravan Kinship, you mean?" She asks for confirmation. "May I ask why?"
It wasn't a 'no'. She was asking more out of curiosity, really. Sure, she had an idea...but there might be more to it she didn't know.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"What are you looking for?" Kaguya asks this quietly, with a plain yet understated curiousity, just a little bit apart. She is not the most outgoing girl, when you get to know her. This is one of the ways that that's true, letting the nerdy recluse she was show through a little more.
Jay studies her, and Kaguya looks bak over at her, wondering what she'll say, asking it with her mind. And then... question for a question. "Um, that's..."
Kaguya bites her lip, looking away, her her expession is still visible enogh to see the difficulty she is. "I mean, I..."
Quietly she says, I... You know I... I really, really like Atida. Really. It's hard to say how much..." Breathe in, breathe out, "And um... I..."
Kaguya blushes lightly, looking sidelong at Jacqueline, "I want to spend more time with her." She hesitates, "I haven't... Told her, exactly. I... you know, I like everybody else too but... You know. You know?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Ah, well...you see, I'm...quite fond of these little cakes..." Jacqueline admits, a bit sheepish. She recovers her composure quickly enough, though. Whatever else they might offer, that was her main goal.
Kaguya proceeds to explain, and there's a knowing smile on her face. She could see how difficult it was for her to express this, but it meant a lot to her that she managed it anyway.
"Admittedly, that's not an area I have a whole lot of experience with...but I understand what you mean. I hope everything goes well for you two." She replies with a slight chuckle. She becomes a little bit more serious after that, though.
"If you want to come with us, you'll be expected to contribute in some fashion. I'm certain that isn't a problem, though! We could use a talented botanist, after all. In fact...there's actually a project the two of you might be able to collaborate on." She says. She leaves that hanging just a bit, primarily in an attempt to pique Kaguya's interest.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Oh," Kaguya answers. "Cake." She seems to be low-key positive towards that particular reason for wanting to go, leaving it there as she considers. "I didn't go in and ask about their menu..."
But she explains. Kaguya can spot the smile on Jay's face, though she isn't entirely sure what it means until the alchemist tells her as much. Kaguya reaches up to brush more of her long hair back out of her ae again, where it keeps falling as she looks down. "Y-You do?" Kaguya asks, an smiles. "I... never had time for that kind of thing back in school..."
A pause, as Kaguya nods. "That's... fair, I guess. I um... I sell flowers, so... I can do that too. I migh have to move my flowerbeds..." If she's in the CaraKin, after all, she won't need her wagon.
"Project...?" Kaguya tilts her head. "I could be interested in that. Especially if she's in on it too..."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline nods.
"I'm familiar with that, too. I didn't receive proper schooling, as such...I was tutored, primarily, along with my brothers. So...I didn't really have much occasion to meet anyone outside of family, or Lunata and Shalune." She replies. "And after that I decided to become a traveling merchant, so...I never really settled down anywhere long enough to form that sort of...connection..."
She chuckles a bit sheepishly at that. She was starting to get a little off-topic!
"But yes, we can help you with that, if you like. There's plenty of us who'd be capable of it...and if all else fails, there's Big Shal." She says.
And it does seem Kaguya is interested in the project.
"Have you heard of a 'Blood Elf Orange'? We undertook that 'Gourmet Quest' a little while back, and we managed to find some. We turned some of them in, but with them were some perfectly intact seeds...so we intend to grow some of our own, since it'd be nice to have a healthy supply of fresh fruit. Do you think you'd be able to help us with that?"
Of course, growing flowers might be fairly different than growing fruit...
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Really?" Kaguya asks, and listens to Jay's bakground in a small way, the names not very familiar but the concept clear enough. "I see," she says. "Brothers... Is that common? Tutoring instead of schooling?" Kaguya isn't sure, and adds after a moment, "I'm... Not from around here, so I don't know."
A little off-topic, maybe, but Kaguya doesn't mind that much. The offer of help though, "Yeah, I'd appreciate it. It would kinda take a while, I don't have a lot of... stamina..." A beat, "I have a lot of flowers that might interest everyone."
Butthe project... Kaguya considers. "I haven't heard of them," she admits, "But if people are paying for them they must be popular. If you've got seeds..." She considers, thinking around the concept. After a momnt...
"Huh? Oh right. Yeah sure I can help. I'm a genius, so that's not going to be any trouble for me. And also..."
Kaguya leans closer, and puts out her hand, murmuring out a quiet breath as a faint breeze rustles all around her, green-tinged, accompanied by a yellow flowering growing up and blossoming from her hand. Her eyes open. "...I have magic that helps plants grow, when used right." She offers Jay the wide-bubled flower.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Hm...not particularly. That was just how my family wanted to take care of things. And I turned out well enough, so..." Jacqueline simply shrugs, and then smiles when Kaguya accepts her offer of help.
"It'll go much more smoothly with everyone working together...and quickly, besides!" She says with a nod. She didn't doubt that her flowers would be interesting, though.
"Popular, and fairly rare, too...so finding so many seeds is quite the bounty." Jacqueline replies. Kaguya says she can help, and Jacqueline smiles. She was hoping that would be the case...but what she didn't expect was what came next.
She watches in awe as Kaguya invokes her magic, eventually forming a flower. She accepts it and looks it over, still speechless. Eventually, though...
"Wow, Kaguya...that's...amazing! And beautiful, too...we could use a lot more magic like this, these days..." She says, clearly quite impressed. If more people knew how to do things like this, instead of causing destruction...maybe Filgaia wouldn't be in the state it was today.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Oh, okay. I mean it's fine, it obviously works out okay, it's just not what I'm used to. ...A lot of people in Ignas don't have school or tutoring at all, which is weird to me." The concept at least is easy. But... Kaguya is willing to take help in this.
"Yeah, you're right, huh? I hope everyone is careful... Some of my plants have thorns, and a couple of them are poisonous, so I'll have to point those out so people touch the beds, not the stems."
Why does Kaguya have poisonous flowers??
"hmm, okay. Seeds are valuable out here anyway, in the wasteland like this." She's sure she can help. Buuut.. There's one other thing.
Jacqueline is speechless, and a real smile spreads onto Kaguya's face, geuinely happy at that response. "Thanks," she says, "I'm eally happy you like it... It's for you. It'll stick around. Unlike the real thing it won't grow anymore though. A beat, "...It's just what I've always been good at. Since I was younger... All I really wanted as a kid until I got it was my garden that I had at home."
...Kaguya can hurt with that magic too. But this is what she prefers. Speaking of, "Oh and... I can help in a fight, too. My ARM is solid. But m..."
"i should tell you..." A sigh, as Kaguya's shoulders sink. "I'm not always going to be useful. I have bad days, when I can't really even get out of bed, or at least can walk around with difficulty. So... Sometimes I'm gonna be a little of a weight. I'm sorry."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Poisonous? I see...yes, I'll be sure to let everyone know." Jacqueline replies with a nod. She was usually fairly good at telling those sorts of things apart for herself, but she could imagine some people getting a little too eager...
She doesn't question it. She figures Kaguya must have her reasons...especially if she's been taking care of herself, out her in the wilderness.
"They certainly are! And...thank you, I'll be sure to take good care of it." She says with a smile, then listens quietly.
"...That's a wonderful dream, Kaguya." She says. Kaguya mentions that she can help in a fight, but...
Jacqueline's quiet for a moment. Thinking it over...before offering her a smile.
"It's alright. We all have days like that...though our situation is obviously different. But...that's okay. That's why people band together. So that they know there's someone that has their back, who can support them when they need it. So, don't worry. When those days come, we'll be there to look after you." She replies with an earnest nod.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Okay, cool. Those are really useful for some things, but obviously kinda dangerous and all." Still Kaguya's slightly subdued, but she does smile. She's not sure who'd et too eager, but... Maybe she doesn't want these humans to get themselves hurt right there. Maybe not.
Kaguya has been caring for herself on the trip over. But now, she looks down at he flower again, and back up at Jay. "That's really nice," she comments thoughtfully, and smiles at the older(?) woman. She does talk and--Well--
"Mm. I have more I want to do now," she says, "But I still remember that garden. ...I really miss it. She waits, sustained b memories, until Jay smiles at her at what else she saysand--
"Not that I don't already need a cane," she says quietly, thinking about what she said. She watches quietly, a little sad, before she nods. "That's... That's really kind of you," Kaguya says. "For a while I had to just hide in my wagon and hope nobody came asking for trouble. I.. thanks. It's all part of the whole 'travelling with the terminally ill' package, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline nods. She understood that well enough. Some of her mixtures were pretty dangerous...though she preferred avoiding outright poisons when she could help it. Still, they were undeniably useful.
For a moment she was curious what had happened to that garden of Kaguya's. Whether she had left it behind, and why...but from the way Kaguya spoke, it sounded...rather far off.
And then...
"Hmhm, well, partially, yes... But we'd do the same for any one of our number." She says, with a good-natured chuckle.
"There was a time a while back where...something terrible had happened to us. I was...a wreck. My confidence in myself completely lost. If I had been alone, I don't think I would've been able to pull out of it...but I wasn't. The others were there to help bring me back up again." There's a wistful smile on her face for a moment before looking back at Kaguya.
"So don't worry. While you're with us, you won't have to hide in your wagon anymore. ...Honestly, there's so much large machinery following along behind us that sometimes it's hard to get even the people we want to approach us show up."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
That garden... Kaguya doesn't immediately talk more about it. It's not that she wouldn't, but thinking about it reminds her of just how far it is, in its own way. ...Poisons aside. But...
Jacqueline says they'd do it for any of them and the small Veruni blinks up at her again. "Uh?" The story goes on, even if it doesn't have all the details, and Kaguya can see that smile. She can see the wistfulness. And when Jay says it...
Well, when Jay says it having to hide in her wagon sounds scary, and sad.
"It all seems really nice," she says softly. "It's... Nice to be around it." She bites her lip, and nods. "Okay. I... Thanks. Travelling out here is so overwhelming sometimes..."
She smiles, "I bet it is huh? It's nice to have though." A beat, "If you... want to go look for those cakes... If you don't mind me leaning on you to get there, I could go with you. It's..."
"I mean I like you too, even if not... Um... Y-you know..." She glances to the side, "Is it obvious...? I feel like it's obvious." With Matilda.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"We're glad to have you with us." Jacqueline nods. Yes, she knew how overwhelming it was, travelling out here. It was easier, though, with people around...and having a really sweet vehicle to ride around in certainly helped, too!
Kaguya offers to go with her to the cafe, and Jacqueline.
"Of course! I don't mind at all." She says cheerily and stands from the bench. She extends a hand toward Kaguya to help her stand up, then chuckles good-naturedly when she alludes to her feelings toward Matilda.
"It's a little obvious. I don't blame you, though. She's a very talented and intelligent individual." She replies.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Really?" Kaguya asks, and then laughs awkwardly, "I mean... Um, thanks. That's nice to hear. I know I can be a little rough..." She has the grace not to demonstrate or list how. ...But admittedly, the idea of travelling in the sweet vehicle does sound really nice. She wants to try it.
Kaguya smiles a little more warmly, taking Jacqueline's hand and picking up her cane as she does. She takes Jay's arm after that, leaning on her a little more than she would if she didn't have to...
But Kaguya is both tiny and very, very light. She's well short of being even a hundred pounds.
"Heh... I guess I don't mind if it's obvious. I just..." She sighs, lovestruck. "Oh um, right, she's... She's definitely that." A beat, "...Thanks. Really. It'll be... nice." She laughs suddenly, a little happier, "Great even."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline would like to say that they have some pretty rough folk in the Kinship already...but admittedly, the only person that comes immediately to mind is Cyre, and he really isn't all that bad...
...And also Ethius, though for entirely different reasons.
She takes Kaguya's hand and helps her to her feet, and then begins walking in the direction that Kaguya had indicated she'd seen the cafe. Walking like this does emphasize just how light Kaguya is...it's a little sad, but there's not much that can be done for it. So instead, she just focuses on the positives.
She smiles when Kaguya sighs, and then when she laughs not much later than that.
"I'm certain it will be. I look forward to traveling with you, and to helping you get acquainted with everyone else! But first...there are some cakes that have our names on them."