2018-09-05: Unexpected Help in the Starfall
- Log: Unexpected Help in the Starfall
- Cast: Seraph Amaranth, Talia
- Where: Adlehyde - Starfall Saloon
- Date: 9/05/2018
- Summary: Talia and Katherine Weaver are teleported to Filgaia. It gets a little awkward when they appear in the Starfall Saloon in the middle of the battle!
=======================<* Adlehyde - Starfall Saloon *>======================= Located in the southwest quadrant of Adlehyde, the Starfall Saloon is situated next to the local Adventurer's Guild outpost and kitty-corner from an ARMs Meister; the mostly-happy not-at-all-coincidence has turned the Saloon into a popular gathering place for Drifters. Even in the wake of the battle of Adlehyde, the Saloon continues its steadfast tradition of serving some of Adlehyde's finest foods and beverages. The building has largely survived the wrath of the Demons' attack -- minus the shaved off shingles that have fallen prey to dragon fire, and a breached room up top that ate a cannonball to its balcony. The Saloon's proprietor and bartender is known as Honest Tom; this is a bit of an in-joke among the regulars, as the man rarely speaks more than a dozen words over the course of an evening. The cook is known to most as 'Aunt Hilda', the woman who, along with waitress Lunata Croze has concocted many delectable, mouth-watering specials and soups. The Starfall Saloon was widely known among Drifters for offering warm beds, cold beer and wonderful grub for a fair price... ...and now, it is serving as an additional hospital and clinic for the injured in the wake of the battle of Adlehyde. Most of the showfloor has been converted into a sick ward with plenty of gurneys and cots tending to the ill and injured -- and rooms are at limited availability with priority going to those who need intensive care. The sign reads: 'DOCTORS AND MEDICS WANTED', along with 'STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS'. Certainly, they have a downsized menu mostly sticking to mass-produced, but still delicious nurturing foods. A cup of warm, comforting soup to recover from a disaster... won't you have some? BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQRL7xws7w
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine and Talia were embracing on a rocky outcropping underneath the Flooded Ruins, recuperating from their wounds when--
-flash-
--their surroundings very, very immediately shift from dank and wet cavernous air to... a very dry and crisp atmosphere, with the faint scent of beer and liquor and trappist ales as well as the shouts and hollers of emergency medics pulling a poor guy bleeding from his arm across the gurney.
Katherine rather drowsily perks up for a moment to go, "W-whuh-- where--" as she feels the faint lurch of some kind of teleportation magic dissipate and...
Well, for one, they appear to be lying ontop of a round bar table.
... and two, they come face to face with the extremely muscular grandma -- no one possessed of so much girth as one Aunt Hilda, who's got her arms folded in front of her. A true tower of power, albeit one dressed in rose-pattern apron as her look intensifies--
"aaaa don't kill me"
--and goes past Katherine's squeal and sets down two glasses of water down for them.
"Welcome to the Blue Star, strangers."
A sproig of Katherine's hair just whips straight out of alignment. "U-uh..." she looks down to Talia. For once, the Seraph looks lost for words.
"???"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
It doesn't help, in the slightest, that Talia had no idea this could happen. Ordinarily, she prides herself on her composure; she prides herself on the ability to take things in stride and not let too much of her emotions show. However, she had been drifting in and out of sleep when the flash happened. It shines, brightly, through eyelids that flicker open slowly.
She pauses, head shifting to the side -- to look at Katherine -- and then her eyes drift up slowly towards Aunt Hilda, with those big arm crossed, and her apron. Talia's mouth opens, slowly--
--one arm tugs Katherine against her, protectively, as she fumbles with her fingers like she might find a weapon or somehting, until she hears the greeting. Then. finally, Talia sputters. Her eyes meet Katherine's, in time to see her hair just spring up.
Then, those crimson eyes dart back to Aunt Hilda and, perhaps, reality as a whole. "Come again!" she sputters. "We're--surely, darling, you must be jok--"
She glances around the room. "Oh--oh, Goddess. KATHERINE," she whines. "We seem to have misplaced ourselves, n-no!"
Her voice can't manage the usual, playful turn of tone to make it sound like a question.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Indeed, if there's something Katherine takes pride of, it's to have that jovial expression that she wears as Katherine Weaver, the seamstress. The maker of hopes and dreams coming true! Yet she's never experienced a cross-world transfer, or anything like this--
--this was like those dreams where she's suddenly on stage in her undies, or somesuch! It's all reversed!
"H-hwah!" Katherine flails just for a moment as she clings onto Talia's hand and tries to sit and spring up, cheeks blossoming as she stares around and goes, "Mis--misplaced ourselves!" she stares agog as she casts around, with a deep frown.
A moment later, a 'BOOM' rocks the entire tavern, as Hilda grunts and peeks outside for a moment. "Cannonry," she mumbles. She whips her head towards the two still on one of her tables. "Stay inside and you should be safe. This town is being assaulted by Metal Demons."
"I-- I have nooo idea what's... going ooon..." Katherine has one of those weak, desperate laughs, looking towards Talia as she slips her legs down one side of the table. "Can you walk?" she asks with concern.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's eyes are a little wide, as she feels Katherine cling to her hand. She stares about, scampering across the table -- she knocks an empty mug over, which clatters to the ground without shattering. Instinct makes her try to hide, but lying flat on her back in the middle of a tavern, well--
--well, she isn't hiding anywhere. Her face also reddens for a moment.
But she tenses, instinctively, at the 'BOOM.' It reverberates through her; it awakens old instincts, and then her fingers loosen. She swallows; her eyes meet Hilda's, and her side screams with a fiery pain that reminds that she was badly hurt. Apple Gels worked wonders, but they can only work so many of them.
"A..aah," Talia murmurs.
She looks towards Katherine with wide eyes of her own. Then, she slides her feet to the side -- and, testingly, lowers them. "I... I think I can. I, um--I should sit down. Is it bad out there? Maybe I should..."
She looks down. "...No, definitely should not."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
There's a soft yelp from Katherine as she reaches towards the glass and nearly catches it, but not fast enough. At least it doesn't shatter. The pain's throbbing through her again, even mended and melded as it is thanks to the liberal application of Gel.
Talia's noise of alarm prompts her to look towards the outside though, with a quiet wince of her own. She sags for a moment...
She sucks in a deeper breath with a wink, though, cheerfully saying, "C'mon, I saw that look just now. Let's not endanger ourselves, but this place's a haven, right? Let's see if there are any stragglers that need assistance!"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's eyes are on the window, for a moment, after she speaks. She sees a flash from outside -- and that fills her with no little amount of dread. She can't even begin to imagine what a Metal Demon is. She hadn't heard of them before today. Still, the name is certainly evocative; she turns, looking at Katherine. She hesitates, before she smiles.
Good thing that she was here.
"It is," she says. "I should sit down, but I could--ah, I know how to unroll bandages, or... um." Blood loss and being flustered help her forget some of her skills. She looks to the side, then she laughs.
"M-Maybe I should follow your lead," she says. "What should we do? Help people inside? Try to distract the people who are worried? I--" She pauses, glancing about the room, then leans in and whispers. "...Do you know if your illusions would work, for the people who can see them?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine winces a little as she hears footsteps outside; like Talia, she's never seen a Metal Demon before, but whatever the heck a 'Metal Demon' is... it's probably a safe bet they earned that nickname through some not terribly nice things.
There's a moment, though, and-- she smiles in turn with Talia. It makes her a lot more relaxed to have her be here. "Let's try to do this like Lastonbell."
She claps her hands together and stretches a weave of lights out that read 'SAFETY OVER HERE!' with that usual pomp and splendour. "I'll try to advertise people to come in, and you can triage and tend to those that need it first...!"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Hm, like Lastonbell...?" Talia glances sideways at Katherine, and then her smile turns into a slight grin. "With less being hurled through a building, this time, rest assured." She winks at the seamstress. Her hand claps her, gently, on the shoulder. Then she strides three steps forward, proudly, with a confident swagger to her step. She has practiced that walk!
The effect is rather spoiled when she sags to one side. "O-ow... right, right--" She starts forward at a slower pace, ending up by the door.
"Through here, through here!" she calls out. "Trust in the sign! And--"
A wounded Adlehyde guardsman comes through, hand over a burn wound on his side. She stares at him. Then, she shoves an Apple Gel in his mouth. "MMF--"
"Eat up, soldier!"
Talia may, unfortunately, have a thing or two to learn about offering aid and comfort.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine yelps just very lightly with a laugh and a grin as Talia clasps her on the shoulder, watching her move forward and holding her hand out to support her if she needs it.
While Talia's concentrating on calling people out, Katherine's punctuating the yells with bursts of light and colour that could be seen through the smoke; doves fly ever which way to go back towards the Saloon as beacons, and when the Adlehyde guardsman--
"Wait--"
Katherine stares agog as the soldier kind of goes 'HORF!' and winds up chowing Gel, scratching her cheek and laughing as she goes, "You'd think we'd make something more easily applied sometime... ...or something less tempting as a mid-day snack...?"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia pats the guardsman on the back, and moves him along. She actually has to wave in a couple of people: a young lady in scholar's robes, from Linga, who mutters about exhausted magical stores and a pair of children, who are quickly scurrying over to Aunt Hilda. Talia's eyes turn from them, with a worried expression, and then to Katherine. Her head tilts, and she cracks a smile for a moment.
"You would think so! Ah, but... it may be a delicacy on the Blue Star, no? If they don't have Gels--" She stops in her tracks. "These might be worth a lot--um. Nevermind!"
She laughs, sheepishly.
Then, another person runs in the door. He waves his arms wildly in the air. "Has anyone seen my cat!?" he calls out. "She got out this morning and now I can't find her!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine does catch that look as the children run off towards Aunt Hilda, with a pang of familiarity that's starting to ratchet up that anxiety for this town. Fortunately, the town seems more than ready for another attack -- in a sense, catching glimpses of the discussion:
"W-when is it going to end, Auntie...?"
"We're scared... is it gonna happen again and again...?"
That it isn't the first time. Talia distracts her and prompts her to crack a grin, however. "Hmm. Perhaps I should try a Gel shop for the Festina Lente's debut? Gelly donuts even..."
Now there, Katherine thinks, is a possibly devastating idea.
Her eyes widen as the next person comes in, and she says-- "Ah, er-- describe it to me. I'll have my doves check," she chuckles as she looks to Talia again.
She really didn't think she'd be saving cats off trees when she woke up today, but... it's not a bad thing at all, this.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's eyes are, briefly, on the children. Something about two children, a boy and a girl, facing a dangerous situation brings back memories. Her expression is distant for a moment; it may not be hard for Katherine to realize who she is thinking of. She shakes her head, though. Again, she thinks.
She swallows.
"I'd tell you I would shop there, but..." Talia winks at Katherine, coming out of that moment of distraction. "I think we both knew that, no? Now, ah--"
"Your doves?" the man asks. "W-Well... a tabby, with a red collar and a little silver bird on the front! I'm not sure how your doves will help, but if you think they will, I'm glad for it! Pets of the world, unite!"
Talia's mouth opens -- and then closes. No, she thinks, best to just let this one play out. She does, however, hurl an Orange Gel to the student from Linga. She blinks at it, then bites down.
"Mm!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"They'll be back, girls," Aunt Hilda affirms them with a very soft, but firm voice. "The Drifters will be back to help protect us from the Metal Demons."
It's not just Talia that's reminded of memories; but there's something in the way Aunt Hilda's reassurance makes her feel... it's going to be all right this time. "These people are routinely taking on the world by themselves, huh?"
She can hear the sounds of battle erupting around them. She chuckles just for a moment, a little anxious, perhaps, but...
"Been a while." She winks at the man to go, "Hold on, then--" She clicks her fingers and has those doves of hers fly around the treetops and glean across the rooftops of Adlehyde again... a hum...
"There! One block over, I'll just--" there's something approximating effort as she starts to wiggle her fingers in weaving pattern... and moments later, several overtaxed doves are carrying a rather confused and hopefully not terribly hungry cat towards the porch of the Starfall Saloon.
Katherine huffs as she dismisses her doves, saying, "Be a good kitty and stay with your owner!"
She perks up towards Talia and says, "Of course. I'd want you to sample things at the bakery first..." she giggles. "Ah, that feels like a good retirement plan..."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's eyes are softer. Drifters? She heard the term bandied about, some. The mercenaries from the Blue Star had, back in Rolance and Hyland, called themselves that. She thought it was a curious affectation. The tone, today, is different -- like they must be saviors. Her lips fall down, into a thoughtful frown that doesn't show any particular sign of unhappiness. It is a thoughtful sort of frown.
Talia's eyes widen, though, at the way doves appear when Katherine's fingers click. She draws in a light gasp, and then she feels that little bit of amazement that she never realized.
Conversely, Katherine hadn't made that many doves; she associated that more with Amaranth.
She does, however, applaud when the doves return with the kitty. The man picks the cat up, and hugs the cat in his huge, nearly tree trunk-thick arms. Tears roll down his cheeks, then up the edges of his handlebar mustache. "Oh, Luceid! Don't ever do that again!"
"Mrrrow."
Talia hides a smile behind her hand, trying to not laugh too hard. She turns her head, then, and tilts her head. "It does sound like a nice retirement plan, no? Oh--oh, did the Festine Lente come with you? I, er--I don't know how it... ah... works, exactly."
She speaks while she waves in a young woman, who looks relieved -- and snatches a beer from a table, then has a long drink.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
In a different timeline, Amaranth is more acquainted with the plot and points to the man to go 'So this was all your work!' as she accuses the cat of summoning Metal Demons due to perceived slights of naming a cat Luceid. At least stick with dogs.... even Tony was a dog!
Unfortunately, the name just is a terrible curiosity to her, one that prompts her to giggle as she watches the man, then looks towards Talia again as she-- squints to go, "Ah... it's a great bit of effort, but I can always--"
She makes big gesturing motions as if she's going to do magic. "Put it down again somewhere. All it is is an illusory shell, around which someone lovely can stay around, hehe." There's a part of her that's like 'did I just flirt??' but decides to just go with the flow.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia has a bright smile as she pulls a bandage around another Aldehyde guard's arm. For all of her uncertainty about how she could really help -- could really do something besides hurt people -- she has deft fingers and practice in tying off bandages. She does it while looking back at Katherine.
"Oh, that sounds splendid!" she says. "And--" Her cheeks turn ever-so-slightly red. If Katherine did just flirt, it appears that it was successful. "Someone lovely? But--oh, Katherine, if you're there already, who would that be?"
She winks.
Talia, conversely, knows she is flirting. However, the sigh of the soldier who she tied a bandage around their arm distracts her. She shakes her head. "Uh."
"No, no, it is surprisingly relaxing," the guard says. "Don't mind me!"
Talia gently gives the guard a nudge and pushes him into the crowd. He sighs again, but stumbles away without complaint.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
There's a look of pleasure from Katherine, a happiness as she looks at Talia working the bandages and keeping people healed and out of danger. For all she knows, keeping busy's been a pretty good remedy against letting one's thoughts dwell too hard...
"Maybe a certain lovely lady I'd terribly not mind visiting," Katherine tries to not sound too rattled given t-they're flirting right in front of the children!
There's a faint laugh of apology to the guard as she waves at him as he goes off. She glances back towards the saloon to say, "There's a good crowd here. Looks like a tavern, but they're ready to just become an infirmary at a moment's notice..."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
It is, in a way, remarkable. Talia has seen her fair share of shattered cities in the last few months. To call it 'only' two would be ignoring the fact she hadn't seen any until the Saint of Sinners. This town, though, has a resilience she has never seen before. She finds it inspiring, in a way.
Something worth thinking on.
She smiles, a little bit more, though. "Well... I was hoping I might." She brushes a couple of strands of hair back over her ear, trying (and faiing, because one lock of hair always seems to fall back, rebelliously).
She looks back at the door. By now, members of the guard who they helped, a man with a handlebar mustache and a cat on his shoulder, and a scholar from Linga are helping others in. Talia nods her head, with a satisfied look. "It is, isn't it? Oh, but it is nice, no? Seeing them all helping. And, ah--"
She sinks down, not entirely voluntarily, into a seat. "...Ah, but I think I may need to sit for a moment."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
There's a puff of breath from Katherine as she murmurs, "I think-- I think that's a good idea. I'm a bit winded myself from everything, and I don't hear any more cannon fire..." as she slumps on down towards that seat next to Talia.
She watches the citizenry of Adlehyde helping others in, nodding as she says, "... there's a closeness. Something you wouldn't see in-- say, Rolance. It feels good to watch..."
A pause, as she scratches her cheek and-- dares putting an arm gently around Talia's shoulders. "Good job, by the way," she responds, endeared.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I don't either... such loud shots, though," Talia murmurs. "Those weren't the ordinary trebuchets and catapults. Such power." She looks out the window with a flash of concern. Being around armies for a few months, she had learned more about siege weapons than she ever needed to know.
She shivers, a little. Then, she looks at Katherine -- and she smiles. "It did. It felt... it felt nice. I look forward to getting to look about the city, no? It--mmmm."
She feels that arm around her shoulders, and she sighs in a way that sounds content. She leans over, a little, into Katherine. "I did? I--well--I never really... did things like this, before, no?" Her head tilts.
Her red eyes stay on Katherine's. "You did, too--" Her voice quiets; Talia learned how to whisper so her voice won't be overheard when she was young. "--Ammy."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"I know, right? Sis Ragnell showed me an 'ARM'-- those things those Rolancian riflemen have been toting around. Terribly noisy and uncouth, those things are..." Katherine recounts with just a little displeasure in her voice, like she's just reminded that she has to go till the compost or something on that level.
A pause, as she arcs her brows to say, "Once we're rested? I imagine I'll see what they need... even if it's just a cheery little bakery, hehe," though such pies and gelly donuts will only be available to those who can see. Given the Blue Star, though, she's confident she'll have more attendees here.
She looks back to those red eyes. She swallows gently. "N-no... definitely not," after it registers for a moment that Talia's not talking about travelling to another world or fighting off Metal Demons and saving people.
"But I'd love to find out with you," she speaks, after she hears that name of hers. Ammy...
Anyone else and she'd want to be Katherine instead. Why's there so much genuineness in the way she says it? Ammy... it makes her feel so...
So Ammy.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I saw a few of those, when I was with the soldiers. I admit to being a little curious, but... to be truthful, I mostly wanted to avoid being shot by one," Talia admits. She didn't avoid that; Rebecca had scored a couple of hits on her.
She is glad, however, to not dwell on that topic.
"Mm, that sounds wonderful, no?" Talia says, her lips curving up into a smile. "I would love a bakery. Oh, but--there's the clothing here. It looks different than what we're used to? Who knows what inspiration you might find!"
Her smile lingers, but it turns less playful. Her cheeks redden a little -- then, a lot. Her eyes glance down at the floor, and she leans her cheek into Amaranth's shoulder, and tries to tug that arm around her shoulders tighter.
"So would I," she says, and the smile stays.