2018-04-17: Bless Us O Althena And These Thy Gifts

From Dream Chasers
Jump to navigation Jump to search 


<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Rain was an expected constant in the city of Pendrago. It hung over the city like a blanket - very rarely was there a dry day. Anyone who wanted to do business there would have to be prepared for that...and fortunately, Jacqueline had.

In a nice, open place in the dock district, a brightly-colored fabric has been unfurled over a series of poles, standing out against the grey surroundings. Coated with a water-repellant mixture of Jacqueline's, it diverted the rain away and channeled it safely to a point where it wouldn't soak anyone and could be turned to productive purposes. This made it a good, warm place to get in out of the rain...and when someone did, they would see a series of tables and chairs, as well as a stall set up by the Caravan Kinship.

Jacqueline had been doing a lot of activity in the Glenwood area, and she figured it was about time to relax...and for her, and perhaps other members of the kinship, the best way to do that was business!

She's reclining in her chair somewhat, watching people pass by. She has the usual assortment of goods, and she's dressed for the rainy weather even if she doesn't need it as much under here. 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

    Lunata hasn't been seen in a period of time since the CaraKin arrived in Lunar. And the reason why...

    THAT MORNING

    Lunata pauses as she holds herself over washbasin, staring at a mirror as she gazes towards her pale self. The way her eyes reflect back upon her...

    She holds her hand up.

    Something inky and deathlike exhumes out of the pores of her dead arm, prompting a frown as she clutches it with her other. "... I can't hear you, Ge Ramda..."

    NOW

    Said arm is tightly wound up in bandages as Lunata stirs a large pot of soup, as is usual. It's kind of nice to be away from the CaraKin. It's a reminder of times... before... before everything got extremely complicated.

    TODAY'S SOUP

    Prawn and coconut soup
     shelled and sourced fresh from the Hunting Grounds
     served with a bed of pilaf 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

There are some people the rain doesn't seem to touch.

Jacqueline will notice a mild stir in the crowd - commoners beginning to make way for someone as yet unseen within the throng. When they do part, however, it is to admit a serene shape in snowy white.

It's someone Jacqueline might find familiar. A Priestess of Althena approaches the woman's stall, her snowy white cloak drawn over her simple white underdress and sash, her deep hood keeping much of her face obscure save for her chin and lips, which are full and painted a very dark red.

Sister Domitia is known in the city as a recent but mysterious arrival in the entourage of Cardinal Runette Forton, and the burghers treat her a bit like a porcupine: Look but definitely don't touch. She does not, at least, ask anyone to get out of the way. She simply steps up to the CaraKin stall.

Her eyes linger for a moment on the girl serving the soup.

"...You went out of your way to use local ingredients," she observes levelly.

Sister Domitia raises her right hand... and allows a very faint smile. "...The blessings of Althena be upon you." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong is hoping to find something nice to get for Elly and has chosen to drop by Pendrago. Less expected was the downpour since Fei had gotten lucky on previous visits and avoided the rain. He ends up stepping under the tarp that Jay spread out, arms crossed over his body as he shivers. He must have been caught out in the rain and rushed for cover here. This is before he even realizes this happens to be a Jay-spot rather than just a miscellaneous covering. He even sees Lunata after a moment.

"Huh--" Fei says. "Uh." He trails off. "Hey."

He waves a hand awkwardly, his eyes slowwwwwly traveling towards that large pot.

"Didn't expect the rain today." He laughs awkwardly. He looks towards Domitia for a moment, frowning faintly, like there's something at the tip of his tongue but he can't quite find the words. "Yo." He ends up saying. 

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

    Shalune looks a little soggy, for sure - her hair is kind of frizzed and split in places, behaving itself even less than it normally does, and her clothes are damp and a bit sodden at the sleeves where she's been trying to cover her bag.

    At least she's warming up quickly, having taken out a new contraption - a small box in white, the same material as constitutes the Little Dipper, with a grille on one side and an array of switches, many of which don't seem to do anything, on the top. However it works, it's sending warm air out from one side of it, gently raising the temperature of their little shelter and offering a moment's warmth.

    Shalune is also using it to try to dry out a model plane she recently, um, liberated; the scale model is more technical than it is toy, made of wood with canvas stretched between the main rods. Affected by the damp, she's obviously kind of worried about having the wood warp, and is doing her utmost to be careful with it.

    When she's not sipping soup, mind you, cuddled around a cup as she curls up in her chair and occasionally checks on the plane. "You shoulda seen it, Lunie! We were super tiny, Jay was kind of adorbs, and Janey and Mikaia were hu~uge," she's telling a story to the other girl, her face all warm smiles. "We had to clamber through dust and everything, it was pretty wild. I wish I'd gotten the schematics..."

    The potential terror of that statement aside, she's obviously fussing a little over Lunata, worried about the bandage. The non-committal answers she got when she first asked about it have made her wonder if it's just part of Lunata's new darque look; in the end, she's settled for well-meaning concern, trying to raise the girl's spirits with a constant stream of natter instead.

    She offers Fei a beaming smile, and--... well, it doesn't have nearly the same unassuming warmth, more in the way of cautious, but she can at least nod at the Priestess in recognition. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline's been a little worried about Lunata, of course, but she was glad to have her along...it was good to get out and about every now then, and a whole other continent entirely is...about as 'out and about' as it gets!

The delicious scent of Lunata's soup certainly added to the comfortable atmosphere this place presented.

Jacqueline grins sheepishly as Shalune refers to her as 'adorbs'.

"S-she's exaggerating, really...! But it was a rather fascinating place. The Artificer must have been an amazing person..." Jacqueline comments, but movement from the crowd catches her eye.

They were parting for...someone, and eventually, a familiar woman in white appears. Jacqueline's attention toward Sister Domitia as she emerges from the crowd. She had to admit, a part of her had wondered if she had just been a dream, so seeing her here and now felt a little surreal...still, Jacqueline bows her head politely in greeting.

"And upon you, Sister. It is good to see you again. I don't think I ever got the chance to thank you properly for your assistance." She replies, and then smiles. "Are you browsing, or just stopping by? Lunata makes the best soup around, so if you have the time, I would recommend you try some."

It is around this time that Jacqueline sees someone else approaching. As opposed to her more modest greeting to Sister Domitia, Fei gets a friendly wave as soon as she spots him.

"Ah, Fei, hello! Yes, it's coming down quite heavily, isn't it? You're free to stick around until it calms down...though that may be a little while." 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

    There's a quiet pause when Sister Domitia comes into view.

    There's a longer pause.

    A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE TOWER OF DEATH, PLEASING GARDENS

    Lunata kneels by Jacqueline's unconscious figure as Neriah flies off, and she quietly hisses with a look of absolute certainty:

    "I will kill you."

    NOW

    The Kill Bill siren doesn't play. Lunata quietly huffs as she pours a bowl of the prawn coconut soup and places it onto a plate with a dome of fluffed-up pilaf with a coriander garnish. "Local ingredients are best... would you like some?"

    A pause, as she glances to Shalune. "I would have stayed and cleaned the entire place up. That sounds like a disaster."

    She looks at Fei as well with a tired little wave. "Hi, Fei... it's been a while." 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

The hooded priestess turns her head enough that Fei can tell she's looking at him from beneath its shadow. He can catch a bit of a glint of colour as the light hits Domitia's eyes just right. The colour might be lilac.

She looks at him for a couple of seconds that stretch into a millennium. Could she tell how much contempt he had for her during their sojourn through the ruins of madness together?

"Good day," she says, coolly neutral but with no real malice. "I hope the days find you well."

Domitia nods slowly and politely back to Shalune before folding her hands once more, turning a little to better face Jacqueline. The alchemist-and-merchant is answered with a slow, polite nod. "It is my honour to help those who adventure into the dark places of Glenwood. I am glad that you could return home safely. I should be pleased to travel with you again, should you seek further dark places."

The hooded priestess nods slowly back to Lunata. "I should like to have some, yes," she says as she withdraws a few silver coins from her sash, placing them on the countertop in front of Lunata. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Nothing wrong with being adorbs, Jay." Fei says.... MERCILESSLY, grinning at her. "Thanks. I better stick around, least till I warm up. Definitely gonna buy some of that soup, though. I'm only human." Don't blame Jaytan if you get a stomachache Fei.

His gaze slants towards Neriah and he seems briefly confused, but seems to shrug it off to say, "Sure, sure. I mean I didn't expect the rain but...what'd you say your name was?"

Did he...did he seriously just forget?

Nevertheless, he manages to give Shalune a big smile back. "You seem to be doin' swell there, Shalune. It's been a while--" His wave somehow has more energy than Lunata's. "Yeah, sure has! If you're still serving up soup, I'd love a bowl. How much is it?"

He then pauses for a few more moments before adding, "Lookin' pretty spooky today." Another pause. He hadn't been thinking about it, but he remembers when she nearly slew Yaro in cold blood. Or maybe it was hot blood. Blood was definitely involved. "New world treating you ok?" 

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

    Puffing her cheeks out to both Jacqueline and Lunata both, Shalune just seems to be trying her best to stay in an indefatigable good mood for both their sakes. Regardless of whatever else happens, she's pretty sure that's the best way to help them - and Fei, too, and who knows how many other Filgaians she might meet here on Lunar.

    "I mean, I thought about doing that myself, but it was the sort of place that hits you with a shrink gun the moment you step inside," she retorts to Lunata's comment with a smile. "I didn't really know what else might happen if I started really messin' around in there. The most I did was take what notes I could--" and a PLANE, "--and hopefully stop that thing from hitting anyone else who walks in. Maybe now the town can clean up proper and turn it into a museum or something."

    * * *

    SOME TIME AGO, SOME DISTANCE AWAY:

    "That should do it," Shalune promises with a bright smile, having removed some of the rigging around the shrink gun. "Okay, let's go." As the door slams shut behind them, the impact makes several weighted steel balls roll off a nearby shelf, onto a sheet of canvas, and over to the firing mechanism to prime it once more. That dastardly cabin...

    * * *

    "I'm getting there," she promises Fei, glancing to the other Carakin members before redoubling her smile. "I mean, someone's gotta be the morale officer around here, so of course I signed myself up-- oh--" she adds, as an errant thought comes to her, and she finds herself instinctively offering the model across. "I found this in an old inventor's place. It's really good work. I wish I were anywhere near as good at technical models," she grins brightly. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"I-It was nothing special, really...!" Jacqueline protests as Fei joins in. She might even be reddening from embarrassment a bit. She kind of hangs her head down to make it harder to notice...

...She doesn't do a very good job of it.

"B-but yes...I considered it as well, but as she said, I wasn't sure what would happen if I started touching things... A-and besides, I had a feeling that place would end up dusting itself up again, anyways...that's usually how it works." She comments, still hiding herself for a moment.

She shakes her head, then looks up to Sister Domitia with a smile.

"Of course. Your assistance is always appreciated, Sister. I do hope our paths cross again." She replies. She was sure that she had her own reasons, of course - even Jacqueline thought it would be a bit unusual for someone to put themselves through such risk wholly out of the goodness of their heart. Still, she did not seem actively malicious. ...She also notes with a hint of pride that she's buying some of Lunata's soup.

"And of course, if there's anywhere you'd like to go, feel free to ask! ...Though I'm sure the Church has plenty of other people on-hand for that..." She adds.

She looks between Fei and Shalune for a moment as the two converse...and then reaches over, ruffling Shalune's hair as she comments on being the morale officer.

"And she does a fine job of it, too." She says. 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

    Lunata peers toward Shalune's model craft, with a curious squint as she asks, "What's that supposed to be, a bird?" She does gesture towards Fei when he asks for a bowl to say, "A silver's fine. Two if you want the sides as well," as she gestures to the pilaf and the garnish as well as the pickles and chutney.

    She does take Sister Dominia's money with a grateful nod. Fei asks her about Lunar, and she admits, "... tired. Everything feels more distant here. Makes it harder to get going..." 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

The priestess inclines her her head towards Fei, politely. "Domitia, one of the Sisters of Althena," she answers, quite politely.

Domitia listens for a moment as Shalune speaks up. She nods slowly along with the CaraKin's favourite blob, though heavens only know if she understands anything about technology. If nothing else she doesn't seem overly bothered by the talk of it.

Quietly, she waits for Lunata to spoon up the soup, though the mention of the pickles and chutney evokes a small clearing of her throat. "They sound very delicious, thank you," she says, and there's just of a hint of a smile hanging at her lips.

When she looks back to Jacqueline, the Priestess's smile gradually fades back to her usual expression of reserve - if indeed she can be said to have much of an expression, what with that hood shadow. "I would hate to endanger you with the business of the Church, especially as you are... visitors to these lands. There are strangers about in the land who are not so well-meaning."

Domitia bows her head ever so slightly. "...Not all who walk with footprints glittering with blue starlight," she says, "mean this place well." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei sweats faintly. "Oh uh. How is... Corwynt..? Is he uh. Okay? We sort of ... ran into each other?" There is a pause as he glances away. "...With our fists..." More beads of sweat appear on the side of his head.

This does not stop him from placing down two silver to collect his soup though. He has his priorities and eating Lunata's cooking is pretty high up there on the list underneath 'happy life with Elly!' and above 'defeat Solaris once and for all'.

He glances towards Shalune. "Don't tell me it's the one with the uh...well, I guess if I just say 'the one I'm thinking of', you can probably guess at it if so." He shakes his head. "Yeah I try sometimes but I think I'm not all that great at it. Keeping folks' spirits up is important though and I'm sure you can do it." He grins back. "Oh--Jay's already giving a great review."

Maybe he should ask Shalune to join the Black Wolves.

Okay maybe that is going too far. 

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

    "Aw, Jay, it's not like inventors naturally make dust! I mean, I know what you mean - you could see it in the air - but I bet if both Lunie and I could roll up our sleeves and get down to it, we'd have it licked in no time. The real question is what would blow up in the meantime," she adds sheepishly, scratching at the back of her hair.

    She doesn't dwell on things, at least, lighting up as she looks towards Lunata with sympathy and mild worry, but also a smile. "Sleepy Lunie is pretty cute, though. Hehe, it's kind of like the tables have turned, huh?" she teases gently, but perks up afterwards. "It's a scale model of some kinda flying craft! A really early one, I think, like someone who was getting down to first principles - it doesn't look like much, I know, but it's important because of that. Think of it like-- oh, it's like the mother sauces, y'know? This is an invention's starting point, and really good too."

    Lecture aside, she smiles at Fei as she carefully turns the model over in her hands, then replaces it under the possibly-heretical space heater. "Ah, yeah, I think I know the one. We had to clamber over a house of cards at once point," she mutters uncertainly, but perks right back up as she smiles. "Well, I've got to admit I was pretty down too for a while there. But we all talked it out, and since then I've been feeling right as rain. Lunie, it's okay if you wanna rely on me for some of the cooking too, y'know? I'm not that bad!" she promises, which is a little spurious...

    ... but she lets it go, just frowning a little at Domitia's cryptic statements; it's enough to pick up that she knows about Filgaia, but-- Shalune's not really willing to give away much of anything. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline glances toward Lunata with a hint of concern. Tired...she hoped it was nothing serious. She'd been keeping an eye on her, but there was always so much she could do, especially when she had a tendency to depart to take care of various things.

"Oh, I know, it's just...hmm, how do I put it? I could've sworn that we turned that device off last time, but..." But it turned itself on again, and had been returned to the way it was before any of them got there.

She chuckles a bit at the 'sleepy Lunie' comment. ...It was pretty cute, she had to admit...

Her attention returns to Sister Domitia with an understanding nod. 'Footprints glittering with blue starlight'...it was easy to understand what she meant by that. She was certainly a sharp one... Jacqueline had to wonder if she had figured it out on her own, or if someone told her. Perhaps someone in the Guard...

"I see... I'm sorry about them. But, I understand." She replies with a smile. "Be careful, alright?"

Her attention returns to Shalune as she offers to cook.

"I'd be willing to take care of some of it, as well..." She says. That...probably wouldn't help, since someone would need to keep an eye on Jacqueline anyway... 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

    It seemed like Lunata got the message too, since she looks for a moment at the Blue Star up in the air even past the clouds. It's kind of hard to miss, given the relative size of Filgaia to Lunar. She finishes the garnishes and slides two full plates of her feed, gesturing as she says, "There's salt and pepper over there, as well as chilli sauce. Pendrago doesn't seem to enjoy it too much compared to Meribus."

    She grumps at Shalune again to say, "Yeah, well... maybe I'm owed a nap or three after all that's been happening..." 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

Domitia did in fact read the bounty posters.

She shrugs at Fei slowly, however. "I do not know him on a personal level," she answers. "He is of Althena's Guard. I am not. My senior is Cardinal Forton."

Cardinal Runette Forton is the effective power in Rolance right now. Probably why the burghers didn't want to trifle with the Priestess. Well, that and the reasons Jay got to bear witness to back at the ruins.

"Whatever be the case," she says with a tilt of her head, "I will not pursue his vendetta with you... but you must move with care."

The priestess does not explain what she means. It seems clear enough to her, at least. She folds her hands neatly, one hand clasped atop the other. "I should wish the same of you, Jacqueline Barber. You have a heart of kindness. I trust that you will not allow doubt or fear to creep into it, for there begins calamity."

When Sister Domitia unclasps her hands again, it is to...

...to pick up the plate Lunata provides. She takes a spoonful daintily, letting the taste fill her mouth as she chews, then swallows it down.

"...You are very gifted," she compliments. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei is less surprised that the servants of Althena know about people being from the Blue Star. After all, there's plenty of ways a servant of Althena could have found out by now and, well, some of them (fei) have a wanted poster on Lunar now too. Not too strange. He frowns as Neriah mentions her senior is Cardinal Forton.

"...I have no idea who that is..." Fei murmurs quietly. What? He didn't look into the intricacies of the Church! He half expects Grahf to show up demanding he off Althena or something!

"Oh geeze." Fei says to Shalune. "Our trip was a uh. It was a trip alright. Least we made some money." He shakes his head. "Actually I'm doing pretty alright now thanks to a lucky string of jobs, but I know how quickly the pocketbook can empty."

He smiles and adds, "Don't worry about needing a pick me up yourself. We've gotta look out for each other. There isn't a single person that can carry that kind of weight."

He takes a plate and chows down. He adds some salt and that seems to be it for him. "Amazing." He says. "As usual, Lunata, you've a gift." He looks her over for a moment before adding, "And it goes for you too. You need an extra hand, I'm there." 

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

    "Maybe it's a haunted inventor's cabin," Shalune concludes from Jay's statements, rubbing at her chin in a way that almost demands a too-big-for-her deerstalker and a pipe that blows bubbles. "But, I think it should be okay? I mean, I did pretty much shut that place down. I just wish I'd gotten the chance to learn more from it, but-- oh well. Maybe I'll go back for another look sometime, once we manage to tie Janey to a chair."

    Lunata's grumble gets a fond look, at least, and a genuine nod. "You definitely are! I keep telling you, anytime is good, we'll help out. I'll make sure Jay doesn't get near the pot," she winks with a definite toothy grin, and abruptly stands up to bobble over and pat Lunata on the shoulders, squeezing there a little in support. "Sit down and I can handle serving, at least."

    Whether she does or not, she does at least nod at Fei. "Mm, mm, I know what you mean. I'm good, I promise," she adds as she pulls some pink hair out of her face. "I'm all upbeat, and to be honest it felt really good to be helping out in Zulan, y'know? Get back to basics, just knock up a bunch of shelters as fast as me an' Big Shal could. It's dead easy work, but it was nice being able to help properly. No-one even fussed over Big Shal too much, we were so busy," she half-reports to the Althenan Priestess... but without much explanation as to who or what that is.

    She also got to play in snow, mind you, and that counts for a lot. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"You definitely deserve one." Jacqueline says with a nod toward Lunata. If anyone did, it was Lunata...there was a lot on her shoulders. She then chuckles a bit at Shalune's comment.

"You know she'd somehow find a way out of that. But...I agree. I wouldn't mind another visit, myself. I still have so many questions..." She replies with a nod toward Shalune, and then a frown that's a bit too intense to actually be serious.

"H-hey...it'd be fine, I'm sure!" She protests.

She does calm down a bit when Sister Domitia compliments her.

"O-oh...thank you, Sister. I will be. I have my friends to look after, after all...I have to be careful, for their sakes." She says, once more looking a bit sheepish, and then nods. "I'll try not to, don't worry..."

Of course, it was natural to experience some amount of doubt or fear. In Jacqueline's mind, the important thing was not letting herself be burdened by it...though she was better at saying that than actually doing it...

"They did a lot of good work...the people of Zulan were really thankful." Jacqueline says to Fei, then glances toward Shalune as an afterthought. "We should probably head back up there to check on them again sometime..." 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

    There's, at the very least, a little bit of a chuckle afterwards. Jacqueline saying she deserves one gives her a very light blush to her cheeks, as she nods to say, "Thank you..." she nods at Shalune as she describes her work in Zulan, even if she mostly stayed inside and cooked... well, at least there was warm food waiting for everyone when they got back.

    Fei compliments her on her cooking, and so does Domitia. "... it's, it's not a big deal. I thank the farmers and the fishermen nearby, they have really excellent produce even in the midst of all this rain," Lunata twiddles her thumbs gently. Aww, it's like she's more her usual shy self... 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

It is up to you to determine how much Sister Domitia dost desire the power. Right now, however, she seems to desire the soup with about as much dignity and grace as she can muster. She quiets, just eating a few of the delicious spoonfuls.

The mention of an inventor's cabin doesn't seem to ruffle her. She picks at some of the garnish for now.

As Shalune chatters away, the Priestess sets her plate down and tilts her head a little as she listens. Slowly, she nods back to the CaraKin's team blob. "The Goddess appreciates that you went out of your way to help those in need, as do, I am sure, the villagers of Zulan. The reputation of your band for kindness is not exaggerated, I see."

Sister Domitia sets her bowl down as Lunata puts on that bashful act. The Priestess shakes her head, a dark curl briefly stirred against her cheek before vanishing from view into the shadow of her hood again. "The art of cooking comes from all. The blessings of earth and rain to nourish the crops; the skill of the farmer to nurture their bounty; the skill of the chef to transform it into something that delights the senses. All can take credit." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei looks uncomfortable but he doesn't comment on it.

"Heh, I guess picking out good produce is part of cooking too," Fei isn't quite a saiyan as Xantia, but he is making great progress on his meal. He's a hungry hungry Fei who just so happens to be uneasy around mirrors. He must have to eat a lot to maintain whatever ridiculous workout he does.

"You helped out in Zulan too?" Fei asks of Shalune. "I was there too." Pause. "With people." Pause. "It was actually kind of a close one, really, and... it was pretty stressful in the end? but I think we did good. I guess!"

He closes his eyes a moment and adds, "I feel warmer already." 

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

    Shalune just meets Jacqueline's Very Grumpy Grin with another of those bright and dazzling smiles, her expression picked up as she says no more about the poor alchemist's cooking skills. "Well, I wouldn't mind another look. Maybe I can offer to go poke around there, see if I actually can clean the place out properly like Lunie suggested," she wonders to herself, but... well, the way she's turning the model carefully around in her hands does rather suggest a different motive...

    She's still as quick to fuss over Lunata as ever, smiling warmly. "Aw, don't sell yourself short, okay?" she adds, as if she can read the expository text - or more likely, knows just how hard on herself Lunata can be at times. "Hot food was kind of a big thing there. You really helped out a ton of families who were having a rough time. That's good, honest Carakin work, isn't it?" she nudges - and perhaps that's a fair claim to make, the relative simplicity of 'a town under a blizzard' when compared to matters of statues and demons.

    "Aw, we didn't go up the mountain or anything. We just did-- Wayside stuff, you know?" she explains to Fei the next moment, bobbing on her feet a little. "I put up some temporary shelters, we did some runs to get blankets and bedding for people who needed it, Lunie fed the masses, things like that. We were in a position to help, so we just sorta-- did," she adds with a pleasant shrug. "Real surface-level stuff, but it was good to see people a bit happier. Hehe, the kids loved Big Shal, too."

    She rubs at the back of her hair as the priestess compliments them, a little bashful along with Lunata. "... it's just-- what we do, I guess. I mean, I think it helped me as much as it helped them." 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline just continues to frooown at Shalune, but lightens up quickly with a smirk.

"Let me know if you do, I'll tag along. It'll go much faster with two of us, and I have some cleaning solutions I've been experimenting with that I'd like to try out..." She says.

It was important not to underestimate the value of knowing there'd be warm food waiting for them when they got back could have for morale! It definitely helped provide some motivation to do the job properly. Jacqueline nods in agreement as Shalune tries to reassure Lunata.

Jacqueline can't help but smile slightly as Lunata twiddles her thumbs shyly.

"It's like I said before, Lunata makes the best soup around. Now that you've give it a try, I'm sure you can agree." Jacqueline says proudly.

Domitia comments on their reputation, and Jacqueline smiles.

"Like Shalune said - it's what we do. If there's a problem, we can't ignore it..." She says with a nod. And then, of course, there was the matter of all the work that went into a single act of cooking. It could apply to other fields too, of course.

"Yes, I agree... There's only so much a single person can do by themselves, after all. It's only by working together that true progress can be made..." She says with a nod.

Retrieved from "https://dreamchasers.space/index.php?title=2018-04-17:_Bless_Us_O_Althena_And_These_Thy_Gifts&oldid=5721"