2023-06-22: Wedding Planters

• Log: Wedding Planters
• Cast: Mariel, Hannah Curie
• Where: Klein Central Ward
• Date: June 22, 2023
• Summary: Mariel needs help moving heavy things to set up flowers for Eleanor and Xiumei's upcoming wedding. Hannah needs to feel useful and not like she's freeloading off of Eleanor's generosity. These are two problems with a mutual solution.

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============================<* Klein Central Ward *>============================

The central ward of Klein City is dominated by the great, imposing castle of House Klein, black stones with great spires stretching up to the sky atop a high cliff overlooking the rest of the city, with a fine view of the sea far below. ...But while the fortress could be imposing, it is largely open to the public, the government offices of the city sprawling from within the castle itself into the sprawling buildings that have sprung up somewhat less securely. The bureaucratic machine that oversees most of the trade of Meria Boule with other nations requires a great deal of upkeep, and many industries have sprung up to provide for and cater to the officials and merchants involved in the process. Klein City occupies a notable place at the east coast of Meria Boule, and it is in many ways its gateway to the rest of Filgaia, particularly outside Aquvy. Accordingly it is fairly cosmopolitan, favoring bright fashions and a sophistication that can sometimes grate on those who prefer more straightforward talk and manner. The rocky terrain means people are often closer together than not, but it is not known for its great machinery or production as a rule, even if it is one of the more bustling cities of Meria Boule.

BGM: Chrono Cross - Another Termina

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

Klein's central cathedral, the oldest Granasian cathedral in the province, is a big, empty place. Old-fashioned, angular and black stone, with dark wooden pews and stained glass windows, it is - in the early evening on a Thursday - not the busiest place in the world. Granasite services tend to be earlier in the day; special events come later.

Which means it's a perfect time to decorate.

There are green-lined paths toward the cathedral, but somebody has planted a tasteful spread of wildflowers that look like they've been there for years, though they weren't here last week. That was easy enough.

No, the hard part is the planters.

One person - she looks like a young girl at a distance, though closer up she looks sixteen or seventeen, just short and slight, with two braids of blonde hair well past her waist, a green robe with sensible pants and boots underneath it, and lapine ears - is attempting to manhandle what looks like large planters that appear to be made of a gritty stone. Many of them contain larger plants, with either naturalistic tangles of flowers or, in some cases, small shrubs.

This is all well and good, but the person in question is not very good at moving them around by herself. There's a lot of pausing and pushing, which always makes her check the undersides of the planters to make sure she's not damaging anything.

Mariel just *had* to try to outdo the last time she prettied up the Granasite cathedral, both because it's her friends and because she's not Granasite and she thinks it looks much better with flowers.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

It's been... a while since Hannah's been to a Granasite church--not that she was really ever particularly devout to begin with, but some events in her recent years have... had an impact. (Where many people seem to turn towards help in times of difficulty, she... does not. It's something she needs to work on.) But she only has a moment to ponder the cathedral, looking up at its decorations in quiet contemplation before she looks around. She's late, and she wants to make sure doesn't get much later since this is for Eleanor's wedding, to at least try to pay her back some for the dress (and for putting her up, recently.)

She's a young woman barely 20 years old, with short pink curly hair and bright green eyes, and dressed in denim shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt, with a red bandana tied around her neck, and sturdy well-worn but comfortable boots. Behind her is slung her bag, with a wrapped rifle attached on top, and on her shoulder is a red-tailed hawk.

The two look around until they find Mariel struggling with a stone planter. "Oh! Hello, I'm looking for a Mariel? I'm Hannah, and this is Zephyr. We're here to help with the wedding preparations? Can I give you a hand?"

She moves to the other side of the stone planter and a hold, and on a 3-count... she helps lift up the planter. She's a little scrappy, so she's doing a great job of supporting her fair share of the weight. "Where are we headed with this one?"

Meanwhile, Zephyr takes off from Hannah's shoulder and goes to find a perch where he can watch the proceedings.

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

Mariel is simply older than the Church of Granas is. When you can remember its founding (vaguely, anyway; it didn't seem very relevant to her at the time, before anyone knew it was going to be a worldwide power) perhaps it seems less of an eternal, unchanging institution.

Mariel stops trying to push the planter around - this one has a shrub in it, so it comes in a fairly large one - and straightens up, with a slight smile. "Were you? Well, ah, I'm Mariel, so I suppose you found me."

Ah, moving. Mariel bends back down to help, lifting this time: "This one is going to the left of the main doors; the next one to the right," Mariel says. "I was going to plant it there, but though they let me plant some flowers, anything this size has to be removable... apparently the grounds need to be more austere than that." So why does it have stained glass? Mariel doesn't know. She doesn't sound like she's making fun of it... it's just not something she knew about.

The planter may look like rough stone but it feels more like clay... textured clay. It's not quite terracotta, it feels rough as well as porous. There's some kind of partial mesh on top of it that keeps the soil in, mostly, but lets the greenery out.

"Thank you for your help! When I did this before, I had help, but they couldn't make it this time..." Mariel is, honestly, not all that strong, but these are (theoretically) movable by one person, so it's enough. "Hannah...? Are you one of Eleanor's friends, or Xiumei's?"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

In Hannah's case, she's often too busy and absorbed in her work to think about attending services regularly, constantly on the road, absorbed in her magic issues, and never in one place for very long... at least until recently. (Especially with Eleanor's wedding being so soon; that makes it harder to contemplate taking any jobs that take her out of the city.)

"Oh! Well, it's nice to meet you. Sorry I'm late, I got a bit caught up in... a project, but I'm here now!" They work together to move the planter, and Hannah nods. "Left side, then right. Got it."

It'd be nice if Zephyr could help, but he gets a pass on this one, at least. "Oh, I see. I saw some of the flowers outside, they look really nice."

"Oh, you're welcome! I'm glad I was available to lend a hand." She takes notice of the planter, but waits until they're done moving it to really check it out. "Oh! I'm Eleanor's friend. We met at Sielje when I first started studying there. She volunteered to show me around when I first got there." And then a bunch of other stuff that's definitely not worth discussing happened. "What about you?"

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

Mariel seems to know both exactly where the planter should go and exactly how she wants it to fit in there. She walks backwards with it to guide Hannah, since she presumes Hannah does not know exactly.

"Honestly, that's fine... I don't mind. I still have a day to get all of this set up, after all..." Mariel smiles. "Thank you. I do like working with flowers. It's nice to get to do this for a peaceful purpose, isn't it? And... I do hope the wedding goes well, too."

The last one went well, for certain values of 'well'. But it didn't really *finish*, did it?

"Oh, Sielje! I have not been very recently, but I know of it." They did have to stop there not *that* long ago - but that was a couple years, now that she thinks about it, so it wasn't that recent after all. "I know Eleanor from, um... well, work, I suppose. I'm an herbalist, and I help with ARMs even though I'm not a member. I've also spoken to her about sorcery - oh, I'm not a Crest Sorceress though."

A moment's pause as she turns, adjusting the pot just so: "Is that hawk with you?" Not 'is that hawk yours'. Mariel has opinions about that kind of thing.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah follows Mariel's guidance, since, well, this is all according to her vision, isn't it?

"Well, I'm not running out of town to take on any new jobs, not with the wedding so close, so I'm free tomorrow if you need the assistance... I don't mind getting my hands a little dirty, so..." She gives Mariel a curios look at that choice of word. "'Peaceful' purposes, huh...?" She can imagine a few non-peceaceul means for herbalism... "Me too... I'm..." She frowns, and quietly says, "I'm really sorry I missed the first one." A bit louder she adds, "Though I did hear what happened..."

But Mariel's worked with ARMS. "Oh! I've... I've been helping Eleanor with a few things, but I'm... I'm not in ARMS, yet." What a peculiar way to say that. "Oh, I see. I am." A Crest Sorceress. "Eleanor and I weren't in the same grade but we had a few classes together..."

Hannah watches as Mariel makes adjustments. "Oh, Zephyr? Yeah. He's my friend." Zephyr lets out a happy chirp from his perch. "Well, and partners, I guess." And they might have some sort of empathic bond but she's still figuring that out. "Don't worry, though--he won't cause a fuss in the church or anything."

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

"Well, I would never hurt anyone with them!" Mariel is very firm about that, perhaps thinking Hannah completely misunderstood. "But a lot of the time these days, when people ask me about plants, it's medical... I don't mind helping people, but I miss things like this, too."

Mariel smiles. "Tomorrow afternoon I have flowers to set up *inside* the church, so I could use the extra help," she admits. "There's fewer heavy ones, there's just... a number. I have most of them already ready... I just need to arrange them. And finish a few bouquets," she adds, "but I'd rather handle those myself..."

"I remember that you were using sorcery," Mariel says. "When we saw Boomerang... and Luceid. I didn't catch your name and I didn't see very much of what you were doing - I'm sorry, I was fairly busy. But I do remember you there. I suppose Eleanor asked for your help? Both of you." She nods toward Hannah...

...and to Zephyr. Mariel clears her throat, then lets out a sound that's close to, though not quite identical to, a red-tailed hawk's call. "I'm not very good at calling like the hawks," she admits, though it wasn't bad by any stretch. "It's nice to meet the both of you. As for the church," and another slight smile, "that's your business, and his." Mariel is not really into telling people if they can or can't make a fuss in church.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"Oh! I see you meaning now... Sorry if I implied anything untowards..." There's a very faint blush at her misunderstanding. "I suppose it must be nice to be able to use your talents to celebrate such a joyous occasion."

"I'd be more than happy to help tomorrow afternoon, then... I... well, I owe Eleanor a lot, so this is the least I can do to make things up to her." Even if Eleanor doesn't think she owes her anything for all the help.

She blinks at the mention of sorcery, and then Boomerand and Luceid, and after a moment of racking her brain... "Oh! You were providing all of the remedies and curatives to the rest of us, right? That was a right help it was." She waves off the matter of not catching her name. "Ah-heh, don't worry about it. I... um..." She glances aside a bit. "... didn't really know anybody else there, either."

She shakes her head. "Oh, no, actually... I was there because I got a letter from Miss Marivel. Though I suppose I did suspect Eleanor was involved..."

Both Hannah and Zephyr seem startled by Mariel's sudden impromptu performance of a red-tailed hawk's call. Hannah with wide, blinking eyes and Zephyr with a curious head tilt. Zephyr makes a hawk noise back, which might sound like a bit of a questioning noise to those who understand them.

"Well now... I gotta tell you, Mariel, Zephyr'n I have been together practically my entire life and I don't think I could do that nearly as well as you just did... Though I must confess, he does understand people well enough, so you could just talk to him if you'd find that easier."

Meanwhile, Zephyr has left his parch and flown back to Hannah's shoulder, peering curiously at Mariel from up close.

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

She owes Eleanor? "Well, I'm sure Eleanor appreciates it. These flowers... they're the least I can do for her, myself. We're actually closer now than the first wedding, and I want them to be perfect for her. Now that she has a proper marriage - I mean, one for love, not an arranged one," Mariel corrects herself. She apparently has Opinions.

Mariel does not understand Hawk - or, rather, she does recognize a fair number of their calls, but only in the same way that anyone who lived alone in the wilderness for a long time might. Holding an actual conversation with Zephyr (even if he is smart enough for it) is beyond her.

"I just thought I'd say hello," Mariel says. "That's about all I know how to say, though - other than saying hello the normal way." She looks right back at Zephyr. "The call is just practice... I lived outside of towns for a long time. I'd offer something to eat, but I'm afraid I haven't anything he'd like."

She's not in the habit of having random bits of meat concealed in her robe, after all.

"Marivel is a close friend of mine, so if she's sending you messages to ask you to come to events like *that* I imagine it's only a matter of time before we met anyway. So it's probably best that we're introduced now. And - yes, that was me. I... don't like hurting people, even people like that. So I don't... but I bring herbs instead."

She slides the pot a little. "We can get the next one - it just goes in the same spot, but mirrored. On the other side of the door." It's looking suspiciously empty right now.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"I didn't find out about the first wedding until recently. I just assumed that it had happened years ago..." Why would she not know about her friend's wedding? She shakes her head a little, "I know it was arranged, but I met Montgomery while I was at Sielje. She used to be quite taken with him, at least by my estimation." She doesn't quite have Opinions in the same way. "That said... she also used to talk about Xiumei quite a bit too. They would exchange letters. I'm happy they seem to have... worked everything out, somehow."

She's not quite sure what to make of Montgomery dating Eleanor's sister, but if everyone directly involved is okay with it...

Mariel just thought she'd say 'hello'. Zephyr chirps to that, but then resumes his previous perch. "Oh, it's not a problem. He went hunting right before we came here, so he's not hungry just yet. The offer's appreciated, though."

"Oh, really? I... well, I've known Miss Marivel since I was little." She's certainly addressing her as 'Miss' in the same way a child might address an adult... "She asked for my help with the Memory Maze, the fight was... a bit of a surprise." So was the Memory Maze, to be fair. But Mariel doesn't like hurting people... Hannah's expression grows a bit more somber as she glances aside, "Me neither..."

And yet she was fighting.

She looks to Mariel and nods, walking over to the other pot. "Okay. Think I see about where it goes. I'm ready when you are."

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

"Well..."

Mariel really doesn't feel right *gossiping*, especially because she really doesn't know Montgomery well. "Yes, things do seem to have worked out at least. People seem happy with the way things have ended up, and... the objection at the wedding was very touching. Even if there was some yelling, at the time."

A pause. "And even if a lizardfolk did steal the cake," Mariel adds, which is absolutely true and also the thing people believe least about the wedding when she tells the story. "Well, actually he didn't steal it so much as land on it. But I suppose they didn't need it for the wedding any more."

ANYWAY.

"You've known Marivel that long? I haven't - though sometimes it feels like I have." Mariel has a bit of a faint smile. "She asked my assistance with the Memory Maze too - so I suppose we have that much in common..."

Mariel hefts up the new pot. This one is pretty much the same as the last; it's supposed to be symmetrical with the first one, framing the door. "So I suppose then - we will be working together again, if you're helping her out. So - it is a pleasure to meet you...!" Mariel would curtsey but, well. Not carrying a shrub.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah blinks. "Wait, objection? Eleanor and Xiumei didn't mention a..." Her hand goes to her mouth as she gasps a little. "Oh don't tell me..." Okay, she's not much for gossip either, but she's just trying to get the full picture. "Is that how Xiumei confessed her feelings?" She doesn't quite look scandalized, but more amazed.

She blinks. "Huh. I heard they still held the reception though, so I guess the rest of the food was okay..."

That faint smile is met with one of her own, "Yeah, she's... well, she's tought me lots about technology... If I hadn't gone to Sielje I'd probably be an ARMs meister..." She turns thoughtful. "Suppose I could still do, someday." She nods. "I suppose we do, at that."

"Yeah, I'm... I'm planning on staying in touch this time, so I suppose I'll be helping out more..." She hefts, and helps move the second pot to where it needs to go. "Yes, it's nice to meet you as well, Mariel."

Zephyr repositions himself to get a better view of the entrance, and as they get the planter almost in position, he lets out a chirp. "We should move it juuuust a little bit more to make it even."

<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.

"She did! I hadn't been to a Granasite wedding before, but apparently asking if anyone objects is a tradition? Though, I got the impression nobody expected anyone to actually do it..." Mariel shakes her head.

Mariel is *not* an ARMs meister, or at least doesn't consider herself one, even though she is increasingly an expert on Elw technology - both the things she'd seen before, in her youth, and the more complicated things she's been looking into these days. "I know Marivel loves her machines," she says, with a bit of fondness. "If she is teaching you than you are in good hands. I'll wish you good luck with that, certainly."

When Zephyr chirps again, Mariel smiles. "I think he agrees. It's just a little offset - we just need to slide it over this way. Don't worry; the planters are tougher than they look, I was just worried about tipping them when I was pushing them..."