2018-06-06: A Perfect Fit
- Log: A Perfect Fit
- Cast: Seraph Amaranth, Talia
- Where: Meribia - Blue Dragon Way
- Date: 6/6/2018
- Summary: Talia finds a new cloak from Katherine Weaver.
=======================<* Meribia - Blue Dragon Way *>======================== Blue Dragon Way is the name given to the area where Meribus's governor used to make his home. Several years earlier, the governor and his entire line were slain by a group of cultists who ravaged the city; it was only the arrival of a wandering martial artist named Lunn that saw their reign of terror end. In the time since the cult's defeat, the administrative buildings of Meribia have been replaced by dozens martial arts dojos, each operating independently. The dojos attract students from all over Lunar, and the resulting competition (which is /generally/ friendly) has given Meribia a secondary purpose as one of the foremost repositories of martial talent on the planet. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3jru8_hq_s <Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
The Festina Lente is a peculiar store within Meribia's market row -- a shimmeringly white building of high pillars and beautiful awnings that...
... can't be seen by anyone not Resonant.
Amaranth is taking a little bit of a break from design today, and is instead grooming some of her plants that she takes care of just outside; they've been concealed underneath an illusory veil as well, but less so -- as a tease for those whose senses are juuust underneath the surface, the way her watering can moves...
The violet-haired Seraph is dressed down today, in a simple blue gown with a white capelet and red sash. Adventuring wear, more or less -- as she hums and goes about her business.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia isn't, she tells herself, having a crisis of conscience after Lastonbell. The decision to spend a few days away from Glenwood -- even if Hyland would see to her needs, in their camp, after what she did -- is unrelated. She doesn't, really, do crises of conscience.
Or so she tells herself.
Thus, walking down the market row of Meribia is... pleasant. Talia whistles lightly, as she walks along. Her hands are at her side, resting upon her hips. When she spots the Festina Lente, though, she stops. A building so white that it seems to shine, beautiful awnings, and the move of a watering can and -- she realizes -- a violet-haired woman. Talia looks for a moment, before smiles.
Recognition tickles at the back of her mind, but doesn't blossom. She last saw her in a mask and suit. (And there were two of her.)
"Hello!" she calls out. "Oooo, nice store, no? What sorts of things do you sell? Flowers?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth pauses for a surprised moment from where she's pouring water on her little amaranth flowers--
And turns around with a delicate smile as she expresses, "Oh, hello there, miss!" Amaranth's hair is done in two ponytails seated to either side of her shoulders; her hair is voluminous and thick, with errant flyaways. She takes good care of it. Her golden eyes gleam for a moment as she smiles wider and expresses, "Oh!"
She beckons to the store and opens it toward a resplendent, sunlit display floor of gowns, suits and other such wonderful garments. "Welcome to the Festina Lente, miss... my name is Katherine Weaver, a seamstress. May I interest you in taking a look?"
She waves her finger and expresses, "I specialise in bringing happiness to my customers."
The look of recognition is no less on Amaranth's side; this was the woman with the strange weapon and the teleporting capability... that strange weapon that had a certain resonance to her. But she masks it well underneath the cheer of Katherine's nigh-bubbly demeanor.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
The irony, of course, is that a person with Resonance can't always tell the difference between something hidden from sight from most and something that anyone can see. The clueless, pleasant smile on Talia's face suggests that very fact. Today, there isn't the sly and playful expression that she often wears.
She gasps, softly, though. The door to the shop is opened and the splendors within are revealed! Her red eyes widen slightly, before she looks back at Amaranth -- and where one settles on why the other is familiar, the other does the opposite. Talia can't place her, even then.
"I'd be happy to," she says. "I'm Talia, by the way. It is a pleasure, no?" She winks, and then she looks back inside. "I'd be happy to. I suppose... well, a nice new cloak has always made my dryer. And that usually makes me happier!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Indeed! And Amaranth seems happy to play up that cluelessness, especially since Resonance is not always an active skill -- the sensory power to detect the spiritual is as much a subconscious thing, after all.
"Talia. Oh, what a lovely name! Are you from across the ocean, or from around? I haven't seen you around here," Amaranth makes idle chatter as she lets out a quiet hum. "Cloaks, cloaks..."
She snaps her fingers with a wink, and a rack suddenly slides out from the wall in a burst of doves and pink clouds and confetti. "Hmm... I've a range of robust travel cloaks that also cut a stylish trim--"
She holds up a black Dracula cape with red inner, expressing, "And the dramatic to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies!"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"F-Fear into the heart of my enemies?" Talia stammers out, with an awkward laugh. However, the laugh shifts into a thoughtful (and surprised) murmur, as the rack slides out of the wall. She turns her head, following one of the doves that flies away from her, and then swivels her head to look back at Amaranth. "That is a neat trick, no? Very showy! And..."
She steps forward, taking the cloak between her thumb and forefinger. She strokes, thoughtfully, to appraise the material. "This is, too. Though... I don't know if the cowl is me, no? What about something with a hood?"
A beat, though, as she realizes she was a little too surprised -- and neglected to answer a question. "Ah, yes, thank you," she says. "I'm from Glenwood, by birth. I've only started coming over to Meribus recently. From Pendrago. Are you from here, originally...? Or from Vane, perhaps?"
She is reasonably certain this place uses magic.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"Ah, the more practical sort," Amaranth muses as she looks towards Talia's natural colours and picks one more suited for it. She picks one with a slightly more earthen colour and no trim, with a hood and an inner layer of slicked, water-resistant leather. "This is my most robust offering, with water-proofed pockets within the inside and even space for a cane, blade or other thin, slim object!"
She feels a little bad inside, because she might be teasing her a little.
"I am also from Glenwood, originally. I was just a simple country girl from a village of no great import... but I decided to strike it out on my own to Meribus and pursue my dreams--"
She skillfully moves her fingers as she makes a mannequin float out and drape that same cloak over itself. Talia's trained eyes can spot that there's puppet wires from each of Amaranth's fingers, which detach and reel back towards the rings around them.
"--and make another person's happiness be realised in the cloth!"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I'm afraid," Talia says with a wink, "being practical is one of the few ways I can be dreadfully boring." Earlier, the playful, knows-too-much smile was absent. Now, it is here in spades -- until Amaranth finds the earthen cloak, and her eyes widen. It's the sort of look that is rare on her face: as someone who keeps herself guarded, behind a strong wall of pretending that she does not care in the most pleasant way possible, she doesn't often look genuinely affected.
But the cloak is what she wanted; dark, with no trim, and with the sort of pockets to make it practical -- and dry. Her eyes are wide, and she runs a finger over it. "Ah--it's spectacular," she says. "I do like it."
And then it slips from that tentative touch, as the mannequin slips out. Talia spots the wires, but it doesn't lessen the sense of wonder -- if anything, it heightens it. She stares for a moment, unsure what to make of a heartfelt speech about clothing.
Then, she smiles. "...I'd say you're doing a good job of it, no? Quite the store--and then display. And your work is... first-class, to say the least. I'm glad you ended up here."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"Fufu... I knew it. You've the look of a mountaineer or some other traveller on you -- no sense for frills in your journey?" Amaranth winks. "But do enjoy a fanciful thing once in a while -- life is so dreadful when you don't play with your looks once in a while, is what I always say!"
There's a lovely smile as Amaranth bows -- it's quite the theatrical bow, as if she's just finished a stage play. She holds her hands out and expresses, "Well. I am merely glad the Goddess Althena has gifted me with magical powers, such that I can express myself creatively! My customers are all my kings and queens... and it would not do to miss even the most minute of details."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Mm, well... frills make you stand out. I am, I'm afraid, a sellsword by trade. It can be a rough business for looking your best. Though--" She poses, slightly, with a hand on her hip and then a wink. All told, though, her blue garb and leather armor is more functional than form. Her grin stays. "--I try to not be completely drab. I just..."
Have to contend with an employer who doesn't want her to stick out, she doesn't voice.
She shakes her head, then she lifts a hand to her lips -- and giggles. "I'm sure you have to get a few bores, no? Royal bores, perhaps. You can really find something that suits anyone? Is that part of the magic?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"A sellsword? Well, I do not judge here. We all have to do what we must to make ends meet," Amaranth speaks very softly. "And certainly I have made use of some adventurers' services when I need to travel! I am a seamstress, not a fighter, I am afraid... and the roads are quite perilous at time, whether it be bandits or agitated monsters."
She hums very quietly to say, "Royal bores...? Hmm, I hardly ever have royal company over, unfortunately. It would be quite the exciting challenge to garb a princess or a king, I am sure!" She sniggers for a moment. "Nobles tend to already have opulence -- what they want can tend to surprise the mind very much."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"It's not a bad life. There's a certain draw to it, I think." Talia sighs, softly. "The idea of being free, to do whatever you'd like, no? Not that it ever ends up that way, but..."
She cracks a smile, but there is something slightly distant to it. Then, though, her expression lights up. "Do they? Well, come on, dish up the dirt! I'd love to know what sorts of absurd things that nobles ask for. I've never much cared for them." She winks. "And a good laugh at their expense... well, they can afford it!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth looks absolutely aghast and offended, playing it up as she fans herself and puts her hand to her chest. "My, Miss Talia! How uncouth, I would never kiss and tell!" She squints as she remarks, "... of the tale of the young noble prince who really wished for a suit of bear pajamas. Oh, he was terribly cute, perhaps no more than eight years old? And he was absolutely stifled by the epaulets and double-breasted jackets and tights his mother wished for him to wear."
She grins and says, "Perhaps it is true what they say, of there being a primal nature in each of us?"
She hums very softly to say, "I suppose so! You do have a point. I'd prefer to hide from a monster than fight, unfortunately... there's something terribly-- sticky about the whole affair of combat..."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia tilts her head to the side -- before she starts to giggle, laughing and not even into her hand. Her mannerisms, which can be more polite than she otherwise seem, slip for once. The black-haired woman wipes at her eye. "Oh, that's adorable! I was expecting scandal, but I think you beat that. It's good that he finally got something to wear besides something gaudy and stiff as a brick."
She cracks a smile, then she bobs her head. "Combat can be sticky, yes. It's not a life for everyone--and it tends to be a longer life, if you stay away from monsters. But... there is a certain fun in it, at times. A thrill--enough to make you forget how you're doing something... well... foolish and dangerous."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"Right?? Nobility forget that their noble children are still children, and need a bit of fun in their lives once in a while," Amaranth laughs. "I wonder how he's doing now..." setting aside the fact that he's long dead because the tale took place over a long period of time ago. But she's still allowed to ruminate about the departed.
"A thrill..." she whispers.
She swallows, letting her eyes glance away. "I am uncertain... the terror of taking away life always stays my hand, even when I've come close to having to defend myself. Moreso than the adrenaline and sheer rush of the whole affair, I think."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
'Nobility forget their children are still /children,' Amaranth says. Talia laughs, because if she doesn't laugh, she might do something worse. She smiles, and her poker face is excellent; the sly, knows-too-much smile only flickers for a moment. But it does flicker, and if someone pays attention carefully, they might see.
She hesitates, then, and feels -- perversely, she thinks -- grateful for an excuse to let her expression become more severe. "It's not... easy," she says, finally. "It shouldn't be. That's what my mentor told me. Something you do, because you chose to, not because you want to hurt and kill."
She shakes her head. "I think... if you're the sort of person who doesn't have to -- who finds the very idea so hurtful that they can't -- then... that's better than finding out you can."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth is silent for a while. Maybe a little longer than someone who's never dipped her toes into the pool of blood that is combat and killing. She closes her eyes, as she shifts for a moment. "I see..."
She nods very gently as she says, "Unfortunately, there are a great many things in this world of ours that necessitate such things. Children, cast away from their parents..." She scowls for a moment. "And those that would sweep them up into a life of violence. Do you know the Shadow Dragon Cult? Despicables, the lot of them."
A pause, as she waves her hand. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me -- a bit of unpleasant news that has spread over the gossips of Meribia's watering holes. Do be careful, though."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I've heard... a little about them. Martial artists, aren't they?" Talia asks. "Though--I didn't know that they took children, to train them. That..." Her expression hardens, after a moment. "...It's despicable," she agrees. "Unforgivable, even."
She shakes her head, and then she smiles. "No, no, don't worry about it," she says. "A little news never hurt to share. And... besides." She caught that silence; it was thoughtful enough that, she knows, Amaranth must have caught onto something. "...I'm glad you're not caught up in it."
She looks back at the mannequin. "I think I will take the cloak," she says. "Though... do you happen to have two?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"Yes, I believe they primarily carry their orders out with martial arts," Amaranth expresses with a quiet huff. "I'm rather glad Meribia has an upstanding master like Blue Dragon Lunn to oppose them. His disciples have been vigilant about their presence here, I heard. It makes me feel just a little bit safer."
In many ways, Amaranth is tipping her hand more than she would either, but... maybe it's not too bad, sometimes.
"Two? Sorry, no... this is actually a bespoke order that never came through," Amaranth apologises. "But you can take this one, and I can manufact another for you to pick-up next week."
A quiet focus, and she weaves her hands again -- there's a sparkle of pink lights, and an identical copy of that cape appears... though it's an illusion, one that flickers lightly as she smiles, "I don't need a physical copy of the item to work on my art, fortunately."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Mm, yeah... Meribia is a safe town," Talia says. "I'm used to some pretty rough areas, from--you know. The whole sellsword thing. I like how it's so... bright, here. And cheery. It's different."
She winks again. "Though I wouldn't mind a little excitement. Maybe some of the less life-threatening and darker sort, though, no?"
She pauses, though, as Amaranth begins to explain. "In a week--" Talia starts to sound surprised, even if she only has the faintest idea of how long it would take to fashion something. Her eyes widen.
Then, she breaks out into a wide grin. "So you do make them with magic! I had wondered how true it was." She nods, happily. "The other one is for my brother, Ivan. He'd love to know it's made with magic."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"... that's part of it," Amaranth admits. "Glenwood got dangerous. My village probably has probably been devoured as part of the infighting, I... don't have the heart or the courage to check, to be honest."
'Probably' part notwithstanding, she knows this to be a truth anyway. Even if the devourer itself is time as much as anything else.
"No no!" Amaranth protests. "I do everything handmade, just like any other seamstress would. But no one says I can't create a reference with magic!" She winks. "Besides, isn't it better to let my customers wear something to make sure they're happy with it, before it truly comes into existence?"
She snaps her finger again, as if to illustrate her point, and the second cape disappears into a puff of smoke and doves.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Mm... it did, didn't it? Or maybe it always was, and I never noticed until I was older," Talia says, with a slightly sad smile. She shakes her head. "I don't blame you. I'd offer to check for you, but... it sounds like maybe you'd rather not know for certain."
The smile becomes less sad. The protest is endearing; the way Talia's red eyes light up says volumes about that.
"Ah, ah, I see! Well, I won't argue--I do like the idea of true craftsmanship. But it means that the cloak is at least a little magical." She winks, then she leans closer, and whispers conspiratorially: "I'll still tell my brother it's magical. He'll have fun with that."
She pauses.
"More to the point, I'll have fun with telling him that, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
There's a very soft grin as Amaranth remarks, "Oh, you always have the fallback excuse, dear: It's magical because it's made with love. And I guarantee you that the love of my craft runs through every single thread of my fabrics!"
She takes the real cape and gestures, expressing, "Would you like to wear it out, or should I wrap it up for you?"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"That is quite magical, no?" Talia asks, with a laugh. "I'll tell him just that, then."
She looks the cloak over for a moment, then extends a hand. "I'd like to wear it out, please! If you don't mind," she says. "Though... how much do I owe you?" Something, perhaps, she should have asked at the start.
But after the job for Hyland, she isn't too worried about money--nor, really, was she ever.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth hums for a moment and expresses, "Oh, since I've had so much fun, and this was a half-paid commission... does the sum of twenty silver sound fair to you?"
(amaranth's said player is making this up and could be charging the equivalent of a bag of peanuts for a lavish cape, ahem)
"Really -- I make quite enough to get by, so the company is more than enough than the pay, fufu..." Amaranth laughs. And she means it literally too. Having someone walk into her door can be a rarity over the years, after all... and this year has turned out to be an absolute winner.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I think it does," Talia says, with another smile. "And another twenty, for the second, when it's done!" She fishes down into a small pouch at her belt. A few coins are pulled free, then offered out to Amaranth.
"I'm happy to drop by again," she says. She winks. "Though, most people get irritated with me sooner or later, Miss Weaver! Something about being irritating, eating all of their food, and making a nuisance of myself. But... you seem like you'd not be so easily bothered, no?"
She winks again, with no idea that it might be rare.
But, it is nice to be able to go somewhere that isn't connected to her other troubles.