2019-08-18: Fishies Past, Present, and Yet to Come
- Log: 2019-08-18: Fishies Past, Present, and Yet to Come
- Cast: Ivan, Hilde, Naelle Sylkirk
- Where: Kilika - Town Center
- Date: August 18, 2019
- Summary: Ivan catches up with some of his allies in the Guard, and Naelle schemes about her next spying expedition... and her next fish dinner.
===========================<* Kilika - Town Center *>=========================== Kilika is an island off the southern coast of the Spiran mainland, consisting of a small port and village, a large jungle and a Temple of Yevon. The island is renowned for being the hometown of High Summoner Ohalland, who was a star blitzballer before retiring from the game to complete his Pilgrimage and defeat Sin. As a result of this history, the Beasts are one of the most-loved teams in the entire league, and even rival blitz players will stop to pray at the Kilika Temple before a particularly critical game. The port of Kilika was recently ravaged following an attack by Sin, and the surviving residents are slowly rebuilding. They have received unexpected support in the form of the outlanders who serve the false goddess Althena. A few dozen soldiers and craftsmen are using their strange arts - as well as old-fashioned skill - to help with restoration. The Temple of Yevon has put out the word that this assistance will be tolerated so long as the Guardsmen refrain from proselytizing their false creed; an uneasy sort of feeling hangs over the entire village as a result. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXsmMuXLtuQ
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Following the defense of a fortress on the Mi'ihen Highroad against Yevon forces, Hilde has returned to Kilika to recuperate after the difficult battle.
It had been a hard-fought victory - the Yevonites were there to make a point, and the point had gotten across quite clear. This Crusade would not be an easy one.
Today, though, is a bright, clear, peaceful day. The perfect day to be outside and enjoy the sea breeze.
Hilde herself can be found seated on a bench in the village square, her shield propped up in front of her as she performs some careful maintenance on it.
She might be somewhat familiar, though she had not been particularly social up to this point - before Operation Mi'ihen, her time had been primarily spent hunting down and eradicating Fiends. After, she was recovering from injuries inflicted during the Operation.
And now with the war...she needs to remain available in case her services are needed for anything. This does, however, have the side-effect of having a bit more free-time than normal.
She's not quite used to that. It's a new experience.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
<poem>Naelle Sylkirk is patrolling. Specifically, she is patrolling the village square food stalls, buying delicious fishy foods, a big happy smile on her face.
"Fishy fishy fish, nya nya nya!"
Naelle is not singing--that would require a tune. What she's doing is...well, it's not singing, okay? It's only singing that's against the rules, not fishy fishy fish.
She notices Hilde working on maintenance. "Hey, there's a neat trick I can show you to make that easier," she offers, scampering over. "I've been designing some improvements to shields, but the Boss hasn't given me permission to implement the new designs as standard yet..."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan wasn't a part of the battle at Mi'ihen Highroad, though he still looks a bit ragged from whatever he did get up to, generally carrying the look of one who's had an exhausting few days. He is hypothetically on his way to report in to the local command and get some new orders, but functionally he's wandering the streets of Kilika checking a messaging sphere like a person glued to their cell phone. He nearly walks into the two other Guard members, avoiding them only by chance and stopping when he smacks his shins into the part of the bench Hilde isn't sitting on. He frowns at the bench like it's the bench's fault before he notices the two of them there.
"Oh! Uh, hello, how is... the mission...going?"
No! That was a weird thing to say! Be normal, Ivan!
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde hears the singing - excuse me, speaking in a singsong tone, which is still completely allowed - but she doesn't look up from her shield just yet. Not until Naelle approaches her, offering to show her a helpful trick.
"Oh? Do tell." Hilde replies, showing genuine interest. She's about to say something further when Ivan appears looking very distracted, and only addresses them when he smacks his shin on the bench.
He sounds a little awkward. Hilde gives him a patient smile.
"The only 'mission' at the moment is ensuring my shield is in proper working order - and it is going quite well, thank you." She explains, indicating the shield.
"...And, perhaps, heatproofing it." She adds as an afterthought.
"And yourself, how are you?" She asks. He looks exhausted, but she doesn't say that out loud. She feels that's probably more polite.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Oh, heatproofing it, that's easy. You just need to add some rotors to be a fan, and then it's all whirrrrrrrrrrrr. I tried making one strong enough to blow enemies away from you but it's just not practical," Naelle says. "Anyway there's some neat things you can do with spikes and stuff. If you let me see the shield I'll install a nice explosive spike launcher for you!"
Naelle why.
"Ivan! They have fishies, Ivan! Delicious fishious!" Naelle beams, tail swishing back and forth happily.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan makes a grimace-like smile of apology when Hilde clarifies that she is just working on equipment maintenance.
"That seems pretty important, too..." he says. He isn't sure if Naelle's idea of a fan is the kind of heatproofing Hilde may have in mind, but as a fire mage, his expertise lies more in burning things than preventing them from being burned, so he hasn't exactly got any other ideas.
Hilde asks him how he's doing and he starts a bit, self consciously. "Fine, fine -- I just ran into a big Fiend -- no, whole a lot of Fiends -- on the road. ...Well, yeah, it was both, it was this super weird combo kind of fiend, like, a whole amalgamation of them combined into one. ...And it kept asking me to join them."
He shakes his head. "Very creepy stuff, glad to be done with it."
Naelle rescues him from this ramble -- if it's a lie, which it certainly seems to be, at least it's a colorful lie -- by informing him about the availability of fish.
"Ah! Yes. Fishies. Good to know," says Ivan.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
"Rotors...? Spike launchers...?" Hilde questions, staring at Naelle. "I am afraid that may be a bit...much, for me. I think I would prefer to keep things more traditional - though I have no doubts in your technological prowess."
She has concerns as to whether or not all of that would make her shield too heavy to carry, but she doesn't voice those aloud - instead, looking toward Ivan. She watches him patiently, and when he is done, she bows her head politely.
"Ah, I see. I am glad that you made it out of the battle safely, then. I must commend your courage." Hilde says. ...She's obviously just humoring him, but at the same time she isn't prying any further, so it's still a win, right?
There's a good-natured chuckle from Hilde as Naelle beams about the fishies of Kilika.
"They are quite delicious." She agrees. "I have picked up a good number of recipes from the local fishermen, though I have yet to try them all out. Perhaps I should cook for you sometime?"
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Hilde is now Naelle's new best friend, even if she doesn't want shield improvements. Big, round eyes stare up at her, with Naelle's purring and her tail twitching eagerly. "You would cook fishies for me?" she asks, forgetting about upgrading the shield completely.
"Ivan, she's going to cook fishies for me!"
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan reddens and averts his gaze, because flattery wasn't among the outcomes he had envisioned for that train wreck of a story, and was perhaps a more just punishment for lying than calling him out might have been. He didn't even need to make up a story, really, it just kind of came out..."Er, thanks, but it was pretty normal, though..."
Naelle, meanwhile, is enthralled with the possibility of the delicious fish dinners Hilde might cook for her in the future.
Ivan, she's going to cook fishies for me!
"I'm very happy for you," he says seriously, almost gravely, in response to her enthusiasm.
"...Did I miss much while I was traveling?" he asks.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
"If you insist." Hilde replies with a polite bow of her head. She knows what it's like to be modest about one's victories, after all.
Naelle, meanwhile, seems to have forgotten the shield enchancements, instead staring up at her with big, round eyes. There's a good-natured chuckle from Hilde.
"If you would like! Improving one's skills requires training - even culinary skills." She replies, then looks toward Ivan. "You would be welcome as well, of course - I would not wish to leave you out."
Did he miss much? Hilde pauses a moment to consider this.
"The forces of Yevon attacked one of our fortresses on the Mi'ihen Highroad - it was a difficult fight, but we were able to hold them off. ...I do not think the fortress itself was their goal, however - I believe they wished primarily to send a message." She comments.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Those guys were jerks," Naelle declares. She bites viciously into the fish that she's been carrying as if to emphasize her point. As for strategic thoughts...Naelle hasn't got any, really. She's more about making machines and being impressive to the Boss. Also being a bad spy sometimes.
"Oh, that reminds me, Ivan, we need to do some spy-stuff," she says. "Speaking of jerks I mean."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan holds up his hands as Hilde invites him to fish dinner. "Oh, no, I'm good, I don't really like to impose..."
He frowns at the description of the battle. "Any particular message? Or just the usual, 'hey, get out,' type message?" Ivan doesn't find it so strange that the Yevonites want them to get out, but this isn't the right company for that opinion.
Naelle invites him to more of her mysteriou spy missions. "Oh. Sure. Uh. Who do we need to spy on? And what are we trying to learn?" He did... not come away with a very good understanding of the purpose of the previous 'spy mission,' but here's another chance to find out.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
"Oh, it would not be an imposition in the least. A meal carries more flavor when shared, or at least that is my belief." Hilde replies kindly. She looks toward Naelle, then, as she comments on 'spy-stuff'. ...Hilde can't help but be curious, but she doesn't ask, especially since Ivan asks the questions for her.
"I believe they wanted to show us their determination to fight against us, with all they had. One of their maesters took to the battlefield, as well. I had thought the lot of them cowards, letting their followers fight for them, but I was pleased to see that at least one of them had the courage." Hilde comments, as Ivan asks about the message. "If Lady Margaret and her unit had not kept him occupied, I feel the battle would have gone very differently."
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle looks both ways, as if afraid to be overheard, then stage whispers, "we're gathering information about the Caravan Kinship, Ivan! Obviously!"
Naelle is a bad spy and people are looking at her because she is acting suspicious.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan shrugs as Hilde insists it's no trouble. "Well, I'll think about it, then..."
Although really that might be more of a way to wriggle out of it politely. Regardless of whether Hilde sees company as enhancing the experience, he's uncomfortable accepting 'gifts' under most circumstances.
The further recap of the battle is more comfortable territory.
"Lady Margaret is pretty powerful. It's good she was able to hold him off."
Naelle tells him that, of course, they have been seeking information on the Caravan Kinship! "...I mean okay, I guess we did do that... ... but is there a particular kind of information we're trying to get?"
...Not their location, apparently, since they definitely got that and nothing came of it. Which is probably for the best since he's kind of settled into the new normal where he doesn't relentlessly menace anybody from the Caravan Kinship. It's true that they made enemies of the Guard, though...
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde nods toward Ivan, and doesn't press the subject any further.
"Indeed." She agrees, then considers the subject that Naelle brings up.
Spying on the Caravan Kinship, though...mysteriously, Hilde doesn't seem to know that much about them!
"Well, I wish you luck on this mission of yours - spying is very dangerous work. I trust you will be careful, and not risk yourselves more than you must?" Hilde comments, looking between the two of them. "I do not know much of this 'Caravan Kinship', but they must be dangerous if they must be spied upon..."
She's getting completely the wrong picture in her head.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"They're super dangerous! They beat up the Red Priestess! They're scary dangerous! That's why I'm infiltrating them! It's a brilliant plan! They'll never suspect me! Nya ha ha ha ha!"
Now even more people are staring.
"Then when they least expect it I'll tell the Boss about all of their weaknesses and he'll be so impressed he'll say nice things about me!"
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"Oh, yeah, super dangerous folks..." Ivan says, more because it seems funny to agree with the idea out loud than anything else. His tone borders between doubt and sarcasm.
Naelle reveals... ... sort of... more of what her plan with the Caravan Kinship has actually been about.
"Ah, so we're trying to learn their weaknesses." That might have been useful to tell him before their first spying effort.
"I don't think I've learned any, yet. Have you learned any so far?"
... ... ... he has actually learned a lot of weaknesses, probably. For example they tend to be way too kind and generous with giving people second chances. Dangerous folks, indeed.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
"They beat up the Red Priestess...? I see - that must have happened before I joined the Guard." Hilde considers. Up until Althena's decree, the Glenwood church had kept its distance. She smiles a little, though, as Naelle's motivations are revealed.
"I see...well, I wish you the best in that endeavor, then." She says, with a polite bow of her head. "Everyone has their weaknesses - it is simply a matter of determining what it is."
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Um, well, Miss Jacqueline is uh, really nice, and uh, for some reason even though I know the traitor Kourin travels with them she's never around, and there's that Ethius guy." She nods somberly as if that explains everything about Ethius. It basically does.
"And I'm trying to get Miss Jacqueline to give me information about Crest Sorcery cause Lord Borgan wants to know about that and it would make him really annoyed that I learned it before him and it would serve him right, he's really mean to me."
She's leaving someone unmentioned in all this, of course.
Naelle is finished her fish. Only bones are left. "Hey, Ivan, can you get me some more fish?" she asks plaintively.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"Being nice can be a pretty major weakness in some cases," Ivan agrees. He isn't sure if being Ethius is a major weakness. He doesn't know enough about that guy to tell.
"What about Catenna? I think I heard she unwisely gives swimming lessons to some super sketchy people."
He pauses. "Or... ... Lydia?" That's a whole story unto itself, and not one he intends to tell....
He wonders how absurd this conversation must be sounding to Hilde, as they discuss the kindness of their enemies like it's a fatal flaw. Then Naelle asks him to go get her more fish.
"What, me? Why?"
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde doesn't know who any of these people are - and she especially can't comment on this Jacqueline individual, for reasons as mysterious as why Kourin never seems to be around whenever Naelle is, as Naelle observed.
Mysteries that will endure for an eternity, certainly.
"They certainly seem like an...eclectic bunch." Hilde comments. Dangerous? ...Well, she's increasingly less sure of that, but that doesn't mean they weren't harmful. Even if they're apparently way too nice.
"Kindness is a valuable trait, but one must be careful not to let themselves prevent them from doing must be done." She considers for a moment.
With that, however, she stands up.
"I will leave you to your mission, then. I should, perhaps, file a report or two. Thank you for this conversation, it was a most thrilling diversion." She picks up her shield and begins to walk away, though she pauses to look at Naelle. "I will be sure to prepare some fish for you sometime."
And then, she continues to leave.