2018-11-03: Turn Over A New Leaf

• Log: Turn Over A New Leaf
• Cast: Talia, Avril Vent Fleur, Fei Fong Wong
• Where: Hilton
• Date: November 3rd 2018
• Summary: Out shopping, Talia ends up having her path crossed by Avril and Fei. A little clearing the air ensues.

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<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

Drifters are common throughout the port cities of Filgaia.

After all, people are headed to Elru soon -- in some cases, they are intending to leave the very next day -- and that means finding boats and hiring crews is a must-do. Even Talia isn't immune to this, though she suspects she will end up hitching a ride with one of her friends. Nevermind, she thinks, the little voice in her mind that asks if she really has that many friends.

Today, she is in the harbor, near the market. There is a shattered, broken set of piers in the distance -- those have been roped off, while crews of longshoremen go to work to try to repair those and tend to the wrecked ship that sank there.

Talia, for her part, is perched over a market stall. She squints down at a dagger, poking it idly with her finger. Talia's lips are quirked up, slightly, in a thoughtful expression. "Hm..."

Poke, poke.

The stall's owner watches her, warily.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "Are you testing the dagger?"

    Thus does a somewhat improbable sentence come from Avril, approaching Talia from behind to almost literally look over her shoulder at the weapon in question.
    She appears to have come almost out of nowhere -- her approach has been a startlingly silent one, aided perhaps by her choice in footwear.

    They'll all be leaving soon. Very soon, as the case may be -- her trip will see her over with the Fereshte with her friends.

    Which is one of the reasons why she's here in Hilton now. There's shopping to be had -- and in particular, a certain bit of shopping which might prove necessary out east.

    She hasn't forgotten. Leah's warning, or the posters bearing her face.

    Someone's waiting for her in Elru.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong is heading to Elru soon and WAIT IT'S TOMMOROW!?!?!? THE GRID IS OPEN TOMMOROW?! AHH! AHHH! THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!

Yeah he is not ready. Grahf's appearance has unsettled him and he is quietly walking through the port city, looking down at a silver chain in his hand--a locket long since decayed just enough that contemplating on its original owner isn't getting Fei anywhere. It's different from the usual one, Fei thinks, so why?

Fei looks up. He looks at Talia. He thinks about Talia trying to kill him and his friends. He says, "Huh."

He walks towards Avril and Talia, eyes widening faintly when he notices the former. "Hey Avril," He says. "Your crew holding up okay? A little worried about leaving the Fereshte be, but the alternative...well..."

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

Talia's finger pokes the dagger once more, then--

'Are you testing the dagger?'

Her red eyes lift, slowly, to meet Avril's. She blinks, her initial surprised reaction being to step backward -- before a smile crosses her face. Then, the black-haired woman quickly nods. "Mm-hm! If a dagger bends when you poke it, it is no good, no? So I start by poking a dagger."

She winks. This is Talia's way of saying that she is full of shit, and just playing around. She pauses, though, as she hears Fei's approach before he speaks. She turns her head--

There is a brief, faintly worried look.

Then, she smiles, slightly apologetically. "Oh, hello!" she says. "I did not expect to see you here, no? It has been awhile. Since, ah, that incident. In the library."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    This explanation is met with an understanding nod. "I see. So if it bends, it may be made of an inferior metal."

    ...Avril may be taking what Talia's saying at face value. "Of course, there are blades that are meant to bend, at least somewhat," she adds, a moment later. "However, a sturdy weapon is preferred in most cases. My own blade, for instance, is unbending."

    If she's joking at all about any of this, she's able to joke about it with a completely straight face.
    The wink may have flown over her head.

    "Oh, Fei."

    She turns, her attention leaving for now the subject of quality weaponry and the like as the young man speaks of the trip yet to come across the eastern sea.

    "Yes. We should be fine. Spreading out should prove the wiser course, lest we tip our hand to our enemies."

    Enemies, plural.

    Which may be the point when Talia apologizes for an earlier incident. The question may be visible on Avril's face: 'the library?'

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei looks at Talia for a while and then looks to Avril. He decides to explain. "The Black Wolves were looking into Cardinal Runette. She was there to get in our way." He turns to look back to Talia and adds, "I'm not sure what she's doing on Filgaia...but..."

He shifts his posture faintly, fanning out his fingers before he raises one hand up. "I suppose I shouldn't overanalyze the situation."

Yeah he remembers the library. He is in a guarded position but is, at least, not assaulting poor Talia just yet so much as carefully watching her.

"Is there a back you have planned to stick that into?" Fei asks.

Naturally, the situation prevents him from really blabbing more on the matter of how they're spreading out, but maybe his FAITH score in Talia is not exactly high since the time before the library was also not exactly the best meeting.

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

"Er--well--yes."

Talia's face scrunches up for a moment. Avril seemed to take it so seriously. For a moment, she wonders if she should explain that it was a joke -- and then her head tilts to the side. "Your blade? I saw it a couple of times. It did look impressive," she says. She opens her mouth, and then closes it, as she looks back at Fei.

She hesitates, visibly.

"Well, it is what he said. I was working for some people who did not want information about the late Cardinal getting out, no? So I was hired to destroy some evidence," she says. "Those rather unsavory types that I used to work for."

She frowns, slightly, at the mention of planting a dagger in someone's back.

"No," she says. "I am out of that business now. I am sorry about attacking you and your friends, for what little it is worth."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Any further discussion of blades -- let alone Avril's own -- might be for the moment waylaid.

    Fei tells her about the library. Avril creases her brow. "The Black Wolves... Oh, the mercenary group, isn't it? I seem to remember some word regarding an incident in a library, now that I think of it. Hmm, was there a fire involved?"

    (...Sort of?)

    ...It's really by turns that she eventually addresses the other, perhaps more pressing topic: that of Talia's opposition to them then.

    Thus, as calmly and without rancor as usual: "Fei, there is no need for such comments," she says, when he brings up the daggers and the art of where they are put. "I am aware that Talia had been in the employ of some untoward agents. It appears the matter was not of her choosing." She pauses, then glances away from Talia. "...I believe it was after she had attempted to harm Rebecca that she had decided to change her course in life. After that, she ended up returning to Filgaia with the rest of us."

    Her gaze slips back to Talia. "Have I gotten the sequence of events correct, Talia?"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei's pride doesn't seem to prickle when Avril chastizes him. For a man often frought with self doubt, he doesn't seem to be all too bendy right about now. Friendliness and kindness is common amongst his friendship sphere, but Fei has a particular concern as it pertains to assassins. Perhaps it's because of all those attempts to capture Pearl, or something darker. Nevertheless, Talia explains she is out of the business. Avril further explains it was not exactly her choice and that she had attempted to harm Rebecca. That gets Fei to tense up again, but only briefly--an instinctive response rather than a measured one.

Fei lowers his hands. "Well I'm not in any position to judge someone over some bad choices. It's alright. I understand situations like that can be difficult to get out of and it's not like you killed any of my friends. Water under the bridge."

He nods to Avril. "Thanks for letting me know.

Though Fei may only truly be loyal to the only cool murderer in his life.

That's Elhaym van Houten obviously.

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

"Er, well--the fire was more of an aftereffect, but yes," Talia ventures.

She falls quiet, though. She didn't really expect Avril to defend her; try as she might, she had trouble reading the silver-haired woman. She never seemed unfriendly, but she never seemed like the sort to step in for her -- even as it proves so utterly calm. She hesitates, and then nods.

"That is the long and short of it, no?" she says. "I... ah. It involved some unfortunate circumstances. And fortunate help from a few friends."

She folds her arms, and then leans back -- resting against the wooden post of the stall she had been looking at. "And now I am, er, on Filgaia. And going to help with this thing known as Mother. One of those friends mentioned that."

She pauses.

"You both are, too?"

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    To be fair, it's somewhat difficult to read Avril even under the best of circumstances. The woman is frankly rather odd, at once possessed by a deeper understanding of the world's current and yet also astonishingly naive.

    Avril simply nods when all has been said and done. "My pleasure, Fei. I admit that I did not know any of this until afterwards, myself, but it appears that no lasting harm had been done." And more importantly, Rebecca had been up front about not holding any grudges, herself.

    "I'm glad. I had been for a moment worried I might have gotten an event out of order," Avril explains, when Talia says that's more or less right. "Or omitted something, perhaps?"

    Amnesia is a frightful thing...

    Found herself on Filgaia after that, in fact, just in time to get involved with the Blue Star's troubles. "Then you are also traveling to Elru, Talia?"

    A pause.

    "Yes, I am. Not only must I help against Mother, but it may be that what I am seeking is also found to the east."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei enters that awkward place when you kind of point out someone is an assassin and they're like 'but i don't do that anymore' and you're like 'oh ok'. This is pretty awkward. Honestly, confronting someone who attacked you before is nicer than thinking about Grahf related matters. He hurt Elly, he thinks. He hurt her because he was there.

No, not just because he was there. Because his friends stood up for him. It's for the best, splitting the group up like this. Hardly the end of the world but--but it would have likely happened anyway, he thinks.

"Your memories?" Fei asks of Avril. "I have a feeling that I have something to look for there, too. I wonder if we ran into each other, before. I suppose it's possible we weren't on the best terms, but I guess it wouldn't be a first, heh."

Fei honestly thinks it'd be ridiculous of him to hold a grudge over Rebecca if Avril doesn't seem to be. And presumably Rebecca isn't seeming to either but he does say, "I have to fight Mother. I..." He frowns, and goes quiet, but maybe it's because it's Avril and a total stranger who has no reason to care he adds, "I feel like I might've..." He cuts himself off. They'll think he's crazy though. "...Well, I had an ominous dream about her right?" He manages a smile. "That's pretty much how the stories go right? So I have to go. No ifs ands or buts."

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

"The omissions are things I never mentioned before, so it is nothing to be worried over, no?" Talia says, glancing sideways at Avril, and then flashing her another smile. "And not all that important. Though... well, I didn't intend to come here." She glances up at the sky -- but the moon isn't in it.

She looks there, anyways, for a moment.

She shakes her head, before she glances back at Avril. "What you're seeking? Ah... your memories?" She echoes Fei's question. She scratches at the back of her head, awkwardly. "To tell the truth... this is Elru is as new to me as the rest is, no? But... a dear friend is from here, and this Mother caused her trouble. And, ah, you are a friend now, no?"

She glances at Avril. As nice as it is to be told to not worry about past actions by Fei, leaping to call him a friend would be hasty. "And Rebecca. And Dean. So, I should help you too. But... no sense of foreboding, no strange dreams." She smiles at Fei, then at Avril. "I think my carefree attitude and stunning good looks made the fates decide to leave me alone, no?"

She winks again.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei has noticed all the extra winking. Fei Fong Wong is also a moron. Fei frowns at Talia for a moment before reaching into one of his pouches and drawing out something i to his hand.

Then Fei approaches Talia and places the item in her hand. "I'm sorry for not noticing earlier. These should help you feel better."

Talia has received eyedrops x1 whether she wants to or not!

Fei smiles this time though

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "Yes," Avril answers the both of them simply, coupling the reply with a short nod. "It may be so, Fei. It seems someone there may be seeking after me. Perhaps they may know more, or perhaps they may be my family."
    Avril, in truth, has her doubts on the last -- something doesn't feel right. Their methods, for one.
    "I suppose I shall see for myself once we make our way."

    Dreams, Fei says.
    Avril's had nothing like that but the vague sense she's done something like this before.
    Perhaps it's the anticipation, the preparations, the act of setting forth into the unknown. It would make the most sense of that nagging feeling of deja vu.

    But here, Talia admits she doesn't have anything urging her hither to Elru -- no fate, no ties to this world. No weird dreams. Nothing but her wish to lend assistance where she can.

    And this provokes Avril (particularly when Fei interjects) to...

    Giggle, actually. If just momentarily.

    She shakes her head. "To be honest, I find it refreshing. Furthermore, I'm glad you're willing to travel with us, Talia. It may not be easy, whatever awaits us." Between Elru, their pasts, and the fight looming ahead. "Nevertheless, we will not be in this alone."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei has noticed all the extra winking. Fei Fong Wong is also a moron. Fei frowns at Talia for a moment before reaching into one of his pouches and drawing out something i to his hand.

Then Fei approaches Talia and places the item in her hand. "I'm sorry for not noticing earlier. These should help you feel better."

Talia has received eyedrops x1 whether she wants to or not!

Fei smiles this time though and adds, "Few reasons better than that but..." He frowns. "It's going to be more dangerous than likely you have ever faced." Except maybe the whale but Fei isn't counting natural disasters like Vash the Stampede either so the giant death whale gets a pass.

He imagines if Talia bites it, it will depress him, but it probably wouldn't crush him? Then again Talia might worm her way into his heart next to Jean or something and then he would really stress out about it. Assassins are always good at reaching the heart, Fei thinks to himself in frustration.

He smiles at Avril's giggling. There is a sense that he agrees with her that its a refreshing reason. There are worse ones.

Fei does eventually add, "Be careful Avril. Just because they are family....well... I've seen family be the problem a lot as of late."

And then he adds, "Avril...do you ever feel like maybe its better if we dont remember?"

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

Talia glances between the two of them. Her brow furrows, a little, at the mention of the word 'family.' There is a slight nod, not really an agreement but an acknowledgment of what she heard. She keeps quiet, at first, and listening; she looks sideways at Avril, and then she cracks a wider smile when she hears Avril start to laugh. The former assassin shrugs her shoulders, lightly.

"I am happy to come, no? It may be hard, but... I learned a few things, about fighting." With one finger, she taps the hilt of Mirage, sheathed at her side. "And if you do have a family waiting for you, then... it is all the more important that you find them."

Then, she has something placed in her hand. Talia looks down, staring a moment at the eyedrops. She blinks, slowly.

Then, she puts a hand over her face and sighs into it. "...y-yes, thank you, Fei," she groans.

She looks up, though, and glances between the two of them -- after all, she has her memories. She doesn't have anything to worry about in that regard. She doesn't speak up, immediately, but waits to see how Avril answers.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "I feel we may need your expertise in that field, Talia. I'm afraid the Metal Demons have every reason to fight against us." She has her sympathies... but the price for their victory would run too high. This is their planet. Is the only choice between the two?
    Is there truly no other way?

    "Yes."

    Her answer to Fei's warning is a simple one. "I have no means to assume they are family, at that. I intend to proceed with caution. To think that they set a bounty for my return... something about it does not feel right."

    Did they do so not knowing what people in Ignas might do for a bounty's reward, or in spite of knowing?

    "I have thought that, once or twice," Avril admits, after a second's worth of pause.
    She's thought that it wouldn't really matter to her if she never did reclaim her memories, and whoever she was. If she could travel with her friends forever...
    She shakes her head. "However... I must find Johnny Appleseed. To do that, I must recover my memories. ...I cannot explain it. It is simply something I feel I must do. I suppose you might say it has been bequeathed to me from whoever I once was."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Some things you can't fight," Fei says because he has to. "Least, not with a blade." He is no doubt this time totally thinking about the giant death whale. Fei imagines even what happend to Lahan would just irritate the beastunless

Fei doesn't finish the thought, because Avril is admitting something. Fei closes his eyes, thinking it over. It's a more helpful answer than what Xantia would give: 'huh? no way! I want my memories duhhh!'.

It eases Fei's anxiety somewhat. "I guess that I can understand. I hope you find Johnny Appleseed, Avril. I'll keep my eyes open."

Maybe they run a farm, Fei thinks. It sounds like a good farming name.

"A bounty? So that's what it's about..." Fei murmurs, thinking it over, but he can't seem to come to an answer on that so he shrugs. "Won't let them cause you any grief if I can help it."

He must have some loyalty to Avril. Nevertheless, he looks to Talia and adds, "We'll have to watch each other's backs." Fei says. "It's possible to be overly cautious but in this situation? It won't be easy. We'll appreciate your help." He bows his head faintly.

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

"I've... seen a little," Talia admits. "I wasn't in shape to help, but I did witness the aftermath of that attack upon Adlehyde, no? I will be ready."

She listens to the exchange between the two, regarding their memories. Her eyes narrow as she looks down. Try as she might, she can't push the memory of blood pooling around her feet and a shaking hand on Mirage's hilt from her mind. Her fingers ball into a fist at her hand. If she could, she would forget.

But it seems cruel to share that.

"Johnny Appleseed...? Well, if I can help... I will do so, no?" she asks, with a smile. "Maybe we can find him there. Or something about him. Though--mm." She glances at Fei, and then she nods. "It is something we can handle. You just have to scare the bounty hunters off, no?"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Honestly, with a bounty of 'one billion', I don't expect they even intend to pay." Fei says, blissfully totally oblivious to Talia's dark past. Well maybe not totally since she knows she's an assassin, but he probably is grateful for the lack of details. There's enough murder in his own memories and when Fei looks at Mariel, he often sees lots of dog eared corpses. "I'm sure if we politely inform them of this fact they will stop bothering."

He smiles broadly :D.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    What can Avril say to that save a: "Yes, I hope so, too. If more people are searching for him, perhaps..."

    Gwen had raised the issue some months back that Johnny Appleseed might be more title than proper name. Given the history of the wine, the man by that name who lived so very long ago... it's certainly possible.
    If by no means a sure thing. Would it really change how they searched?

    "Yes." This time, it's a response to the fact of her bounty. Upon which she elucidates thus: "It's for one billion gella, as Fei said. It seems to be a lot of money."
    Truly, said like a woman who only passingly has a sense for the value of coin.

    Just scare them off? Avril tilts her head to one side. "Perhaps so -- I may have need of you if it comes to that, Talia. For now, however... I think it might be best if I found a change of clothing or some means to disguise myself. I intend to learn who it is who is seeking me before I return to them."

    Little by little -- she gains a savviness that comes at odds with her somewhat-clueless approach to most elements of this world. It's been helpful, if hard-won.

    "Perhaps you might be able to assist? Something that might help me blend in, for now, might be best."

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

"A billion? That's absurd. There couldn't be that much silver in all the Blue Star's veins, I should think!" Talia actually laughs, a little, at that. She shakes her head, and then runs her fingers down her chin. Her lips purse, though.

She doubts, really, that the average low class thug would know or understand that. She sighs, slightly, and then looks between the two of them. However, her eyes end up settling on Avril. She blinks, before lifting a finger to her chin. "Well... I do think I can be of help! We could ask Katherine, but... I think her talents best suited for something flashy, and that is what you want to avoid, no?"

She winks again.

"Let's have a look around," she says. "We can find something functional, but not too eye-catching, I should think."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Honestly," Fei says. "It'd be more effective as a bounty if it were lower. For a billion? Bounty hunters should have the sense to know it's trouble but..." He frowns. "...Maybe the bounty isn't there to be claimed but to discourage people from giving Avril--or Lucia for that matter--safe places to stay."

Avril mentions wanting a disguise. Fei rubs the back of his head faintly, wondering if Avril could PULL OFF a disguise. She has a very ... clear personality. And besides which...

"We'll probably want a wig of some kind too." Fei says.