2019-08-21: Tales from after the Gutter
- Cutscene: Tales from After the Gutter
- Cast: Odjn, Sibyn (played by Riesenlied)
- Where: Tindus Town
- Date: 21st August 2019
- Summary: Long after the fall of the Photosphere, a Hyadean has turned to potato farming and comes across a familiar minstrel...
"... an' the cruel Mother she did rise,
Puppets we all were, for her grand prize.
But the Drifters, oh they came a' knockin',
And they gave her hiney a good ol' floggin'!"
A pair of eyes belonging to a weary-looking Adelyn farmer turns groggily onto the saloon floor. He blinks a few times. "Mushh be seein' things... how come our minstrel's a lizard?" he asks no one in particular, head slurred, voice thick and groggy from the steel tankard of half-drunk ale in front of him.
The bartender, a wiry and lanky man, scoffs and wipes the rocks glass in his hand as he hollers back, "Jim, Y'ask that every single day! We ain't got anyone else singin' the tunes here in Tindus Town 'cept for Odjn here."
"Odjn? What kinda shilly name ishh that?"
The tiniest little Metal Dragon you ever saw bobs in front of Jim, spinning as she strikes a pose with the foppish feathered hat on her head. Her scales are black and pinkish-red. The world's tiniest mandolin is in her arms, perfectly suited for her paws. "'s gonna be a household name anytime now! Be on the lookout for my tunes! Ruby 'n Odjn's gonna take the music world by storm!"
"... aaah, shoo, shoo, y'lizard ..."
The tiny Dragon lets out a huff as her cheeks puff, the bartender waving her over. "Here here. Have a coin on the house for y'troubles. How's Old Petra... er, Wayside doin'?"
Odjn perks up and hovers on over, catching a silver gella piece along the way. "'s fine. Val'n the others keepin' your shelves full and your customers' throats wet?"
The bartender leans back and pats the bottom shelf with a cackle, holding up a clear bottle of a liquor with a certain barkeep's face that reads 'VAL'S DEMON VODKA'. "Ain't nothin' but the finest rotgut for our patrons. Also, ah, there's that girl sellin' potaters too, right..."
Odjn blinks a few times, and then lights up in expectation as she goes, "Oh, you mean..."
The double doors to the saloon swing open, revealing a red-haired woman with a metallic tinge to her skin. She's wearing a straw hat and coarse hemp overalls, the look of any Filgaian farmer you ever saw.
"Sibyn! There you are!" Odjn lights up. "Y'stock clear okay?"
Sibyn shifts her hat gently and looks a bit flustered at being called out, walking closer. "I found a buyer who took up a contract with us for a couple months. Said the potatoes we grow're bigger and heartier than what they can manage down at the Ranchlands."
A toothy grin takes Odjn as she points out, "That's cause we got Mariel's saplings to start things off a while back! An' with everyone's love, the garden just kept on growin'! But, hey, don't discount yourself there, right, girl?"
She looks flustered still as she murmurs, "I'm not sure I'd call myself an expert farmer yet or anything... but..."
"But yer givin' it a good honest try, an' you know that's what counts in Wayside," Odjn's grin is no less toothy.
"... true," Sibyn answers. "Still, you took my brother in after Adlehyde, and through everything... through the Demon of Elru... through the first Wayside's fall too. It was the least I could do. Even if he still hasn't woken up, one day..."
Odjn sobers up just a little as she adjusts her hat, floating over to her and-- giving her a friendly 'boop' on the nose. "We wouldn't just turf anyone out like that. That ain't what the Wayside we all built's all about." She waves to the bartender and beckons Sibyn out to the streets.
More than a year has passed since the dramatic events at the Adelyn countryside. The scars of battle could still be seen here and there, and yet, the road of recovery has shown itself to be quite the smooth one. Somewhere, Gylfi's Cannon is still perched in half-destroyed state and has become a minor tourist attraction.
Sibyn's eyes gaze to two other Hyadeans trying to carry a large sheaf of wheat out of a wagon and towards a barn. "I see more and more of our people each day. Drifting, making amends, taking up farming jobs..."
Odjn has a wry smile as she remarks, "Life's gotta go on, right? Jus' like you an' your potatoes."
The red-haired Hyadean nods in return as they continue walking down Tindus' dusty main street. She shifts her rucksack and looks up towards the skies, pausing a moment as she catches a glimpse of the Old Moon. Of Lunar. She purses her lips and frowns as the little Dragon continues moving, humming to herself...
"Hey Odjn? Why'd... you stay behind?"
Odjn blinks a few times, catching the young Hyadean's look, then up towards the skies.
"Ah. You're talkin' about the Outreach and where everyone else've gone to, huh?" Odjn cracks another one of those endless wry grins of hers. "Lunar again. That was a heck of a trip the first time. Don't know... don't know that I have it in me a second time right now, huh?"
Sibyn frowns quietly. "You used to be inseparable to Riesenlied. Right...? You both would travel around everywhere together..."
Odjn is quiet for a moment longer, her head sagging. "... she's takin' on a lot right now. She keeps hurtin' herself. They all are. After everythin' in the Photosphere, after what Big L told me 'bout meself up there ..." She stretches her arms out, as if yawning. It's a not terribly subtle ploy to hide the frown on her face. "'m taking a break from all that right now, y'know?"
That doesn't quite sit right with the red-haired woman, dwelling a little in thought as she keeps her gaze upon the Moon.
BOOP
"H-hey! Not the nose again!" Sibyn blurts, interrupted out of introspection.
"It ain't like I got sick of her. Or Noeline or Zed or the Wolves or Ida or the Kinship or anyone else," Odjn lectures. "But there's just as much work t'be done here as there is up there. An' we'll see each other again. Y'can count on that... cause..."
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwANeoOGxXk )
"We ain't gone to the ends of the wilderness yet."
Sibyn chews on her lip... but then nods once more, looking up towards Lunar again.
"We're all waiting for your return. All of you."
A pause.
"Thank you."