2019-02-08: Toast to an Explorer
- Log: Toast to an Explorer
- Cast: Layna Manydays, Seraph Lanval, Sephilia Lampbright, Quin Rosenberg
- Where: Port Timney
- Date: February 08, 2019
- Summary: A group friends, old and new, encounter in a bar, taking time to relax. One of their number voices some insecurities...but they're quick to offer their reassurance.
==============================<* Port Timney *>=============================== Port Timney is the Kingdom of Adlehyde's premier port town. The city hugs the southern coast of the ranchlands and several trains terminate in Ardyne Grand Station at the northern part of the town. Cattle brought from the ranchlands tend to end up in the northern part of town, before their meat and hides are shipped as far as Krosse and Nortune. Timney has the look of an industrial city, without much of the simple style that Adlehyde's other cities are popular for. While it has few factories, it has many workshops and tanneries in the northern parts of town. Most of the people live in between the northern factories and southern docks, in apartment homes of varying quality. The markets are functional, meant to serve locals rather than sell the imports and exports making their way through the port. The docks, however, are something to behold: numerous large piers, fit for both wooden sailing ships and the newer ironclads, extend out onto the blue waters of the South Ignas Sea. <Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Port Timney - a bustling port town serving as Adlehyde's main port. For a sailor like Layna, this place was a frequent stop. Her ship, a large crimson vessel called the Ruby Empress, was often seen at the docks.
And where there were sailors, there were bound to be bars for them to meet up, drink, swap stories, and just generally relax from the time spent sailing.
And that's where Layna can be found today. She'd picked one out that matched her preferences perfectly. It wasn't too packed, so she could relax with a drink in relative peace and quiet while still being able to keep an ear out for the odd rumor here and there. And if she ever wanted to bring her crew by, there'd be plenty of room for them.
At the moment, though, she's just here with a couple of friends, reclining her chair and taking a swig from a mug of some manner of drink.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's been enjoying his time at this bar. He's been enjoying his time a little too much, because currently he is face-down in a great shiny, clean, clear puddle of water. Think of how much grime the ground could have accumulated here in this bar. It is not a puddle with blood, or foodstuffs, or tobacco, or anything else. It's just a puddle of clear water.
This is a less savory appearance if one has the Resonance to see the obese, ragged, silver-haired water spirit lying down there, but one could drink it up off the floor without risk to one's health. (EDITOR'S NOTE: please don't)
Arguably, this is Seraph Lanval's natural state of being, and so one can say all is well until one slips on the puddle. Even so... this is about as 'life as usual' as it's going to get.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia Lampbright is one of those friends! The normally loquacious young woman is quiet and pensive today as she sits, apparently lost in thought. Chauncey is propped up on the bench next to her. His eyes reveal nothing of his mood.
<Pose Tracker> Quin Rosenberg has posed.
Quin really gets around, don't she? As it turns out she's walking into this place, looking more than a bit dusty. And with a little bit of a black eye, from the looks of it. It seems as though it's about gone, though -- little more than a bit of greenish discoloration around her eye.
She can't really see Lanval, though she'll avoid the puddle of water, most likely thinking that it's something other than pure water. But she does see Sephilia and offers a wave in her direction. Once she's in earshot to her, she offers, "Hey there. Fancy meetin' you here."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Lanval is being Lanval, and all is right in the world. Layna would be concerned if he wasn't finding somewhere to lie down, even if it was someplace inconvenient.
It's been quiet, but she doesn't mind that. She was usually fairly talkative herself, but even she needed to take some time to relax and plan out her next move every now and then.
It isn't long before things become a little less quiet, as a young woman she doesn't recognize approaches and greets Sephilia. Layna takes a brief moment to look her over, noting the mostly-healed black eye. Before long, she offers her a wave of greeting.
"Ahoy there, lass. You two know each other, I wager?" She asks, looking between Quin and Sephilia.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy almost doesn't notice she's been addressed at first. She blinks and shakes her head rapidly. "Huh wha--oh, hey there! I guess being all over the place is just part of my job as an explorer, after all!" If there's a moment's hesitation in there before the word explorer, it's hard to say...
"We've met! Quin, right?" Sephy manages a smile. "It's good to see you well!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval, being a water spirit, is kind of drawn by nature to where water would rest and collect. If one would spill a drink anywhere from the countertop, he would go where it would collect. It's science!! (also because there's a spilled drink there)
The layabout spirit shifts from where he lies, facing up... sort of. Facing sideways? One eye opens half-lidded as he considers Quin's arrival. A part of him thinks that maybe he shouldn't be letting his guard down too much in general - he knows he's not far from one of modern Filgaia's first known run-ins with the Malevolence phenomenon. Even if he kind of likes the way he settles on this kind of floor. The trees of Filgaia aren't as healthy, and the wood produced by cutting them down has a rougher character to them. It's hard to describe unless your bizarre sense of physicality is just able to appreciate the dimensions and imperfections of it. (Also if you don't have to worry about splinters nearly as much.)
"Mmmmm," he mmmms, or maybe even mmmmmmphs. Either or, really. He recognizes Sephy's been quiet more lately, but hey, she's being social with that young woman there. That's good, then.
He starts to raise an arm against the nearby counter, as if to start the laborious process of lying about somewhere else.
<Pose Tracker> Quin Rosenberg has posed.
Quin nods to Layna's question. "In passin' yeah," she notes. "We met at a similar place. Name's Quin Rosenberg," she offers pleasantly. If the area of Little Twister has a specific accent, she's got it. She'll find a place to sit that's near enough she can still be in the conversation, but not so close as to be invading Layna's space.
She also nods to Sephilia's question. "Tha's right. Quin Rosenberg," she offers again. Lanval does still go unnoticed by Quin as he moves around, offering proof, if any be needed, that she's basically just another person who happens to travel around a lot.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
There's plenty of space, fortunately! Layna nods as Quin introduces herself, taking note of the accent.
"Well met, then, lass! I'm Layna Manydays, Captain of the Ruby Empress." Layna replies with a grin before nodding in Sephilia's direction. "Aye, she's a fine explorer, she is."
With that said, she turns her attention toward Quin herself.
"What brings you to these parts?" She asks. She glances briefly to the side after that, watching as Lanval shifts slightly. He seems to take notice of Quin too...but it seems to Layna that she can't see him.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy smiles, and fidgets, letting Layna do the talking for the moment. She gazes at Lanval for a moment, curiously, but then falls back to a troubled face, listening half-attentively to the conversation.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's used to having people talk around him for well over five hundred years, so the idea of having to be temporarily excluded from a conversation isn't too emotionally heavy. After a mighty struggle of supernatural lethargy, he manages to be upright just in time to double over across the counter and just lie like that half-way, because he can get away with doing that.
"Mmmm... hey, Shephy," Lanval speaks up, mumbly and slurry. He's had a lot more to drink than usual. This is as clear as he's gonna get. "Shomethin' up?" Lanval asks, with that gentle but still dumb cat-like smile of his. "Quin over there... she sheemsh like a good short... shomethin' 'bout her gettin' to ya?"
<Pose Tracker> Quin Rosenberg has posed.
"Pleased t' meetcha," Quin offers to Layna's introduction. As for what brings her out here? "Travelin'. I s'pose you'd call it wanderin', really. Don't ever got any set destination in mind." A look is sent to Sephilia at the troubled expression, a bit inquisitive. It looks like she's going to ask... but after a moment she seems to think better of it, and just orders a drink. Non-alcoholic, of course. But she does look concerned for Sephilia.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna sends another glance Sephilia's way. Lanval asks how she's doing, so Layna decides to let him see to her while she focuses on Quin.
"Goin' where the wind takes you, aye? A fair life, that is." Layna remarks with a grin. "My crew and I, we're much the same."
She spares another glance toward Sephilia. She seems to be thinking about something, but Layna can't tell what.
"Aye, lass. You can tell us. Unless you'd prefer to keep quiet about it! Nothin' wrong with that, o' course." She comments.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy shakes her head. "Uh-uh," is her response to the Seraph. "It's...it's just...something silly, really," she says a little evasively. "I'm just..." The girl tries to find the right words, gesticulating as though that will make sense where speech has failed. (It doesn't.)
"It's...am I really an explorer?" she finally blurts, cheeks blushing with embarrassment at how minor she feels like it sounds, and the realization that she's now the center of attention...
Sighing, the girl elaborates. "Only being an explorer means doing exploring and basically everywhere on Lunar and on Filgaia someone has already been before, so I can't really call it exploring after all. There's people everywhere already! But if I'm not an explorer, I don't know what that makes me!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval stews on Sephy's worries, and it kind of hits him that maybe he doesn't have the most experienced perspective on this. It's... novel, but also kind of troublesome. He rolls over onto his back, so now he's leaning with his back against the bar counter. Man, if he were corporeal and visible, wow, would he be shooed off of there like that. If not thrown out, because yes, he has had a looooot to drink.
"If it meansh shomethin'~" He starts. "nnnnnnnnn," this is a more realistic transcription of what's being said as opposed to the tilde but the tilde has an iron-clad contract preventing the use of backspace, it will be re-negotiated in time to be in line with the other punctuation on hire.
"Can't shay I'd know much 'bout... goin' everywhere, sheein' everything," he smiles, "yer a convincin' one ta me!"
<Pose Tracker> Quin Rosenberg has posed.
"Sorta," Quin replies. "Less that an' more... well, somebody wanted me t' go explore the world. Dunno why. He just said he didn't want me t' grow old an' rot there where I was born. I think he thinks I'm gonna make somethin' of myself. Poor guy... I think he got th' short end 'a that stick." She chuckles ruefully.
She didn't hear Lanval prompting Sephilia for an answer, but she did hear Layna doing so. And so when Sephilia mentions what's bothering her? She offers, "Well... when you see a place that'cha never seen before, you're seein' it for the first time with your own eyes. So it's new t' you, right? S'about how I feel about it. Sure, other people might'a seen it before, but I hadn't. Not 'till I lay eyes on it. Ain't nobody gonna see it the exact way I do 'till I see it... and nobody's gonna ever see it the exact way I do again after me."
Hopefully it's as convincing as Lanval's statement! Because, well... it's true, there's not a lot one can do about places being explored already. Maybe this'll put a new perspective on it.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna chuckles to herself at Quin's response. She means it good-naturedly, of course.
"Ahh, I see. Well, maybe you will, maybe you won't. Just as long as you have a good time doin' it!" She comments with a grin.
This grin fades a little as Sephilia explains what's bothering her - is she really an explorer? Layna thinks about this, and Lanval and Quin offer their own takes on it.
"Well said!" She says, nodding toward both of them before looking toward Sephilia herself.
"An' if you ask me, I'd say it makes you..." Layna pauses, as if considering her words or just making some room for suspense before grinning. "...Sephilia Lampbright. And I can't think o' anythin' better than that!"
She shrugs, then.
"'Explorer's just a title, lass - if you want it, take it for yourself and to hell with anyone who says otherwise, aye?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy lurches into a hug, throwing her arms around Layna. (She doesn't do this to Lanval because Quin can't see him.) She withdraws a moment later, looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I just...it was bothering me..." she says.
Is it a trick of the light or is there pride in Chauncey's eyes? (It's probably a trick of the light.)
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval keeps that smile going as Sephy finds that moment of peace with her fellow mortal friend over there, turning a half-open eye over towards Quin's choice of drink. He can tell it's not alcoholic. He does find that unusual. Filgaia's a rough world, one without living in plenty. He muses inwardly as to why she might not want a drink... but it's not something he can (or should) change. More for him! Always more for him!!
Quin, a near-stranger, is going out of her way to be kind to Sephy about it, so hey, it's good to know she's as all right as she appears to be.
He exhales contentedly. Seraphim don't need to breathe, but the concept and the action is always just so relaxing...
<Pose Tracker> Quin Rosenberg has posed.
"There's gonna be some good and some bad," Quin replies to Layna's words of having a good time. "Can't always be smooth sailin', after all. But I guess as long as the good outnumbers the bad -- or at least makes up for it -- it ain't been a total waste 'a time." And she nods to Layna's assurances to Sephilia. "Right. Can't nobody be you as well as you can." She smiles broadly as Sephilia hugs Layna, seeming relieved that it appears to have made her feel better.
Unaware of Lanval's confusion with her drink, she raises said drink to toast, "To Sephilia Lampbright, Explorer." A smile. She doesn't mean it snidely, either. "Does have a nice ring to it."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Aye, lass. That's a good way o' seein' it." Layna agrees with a nod toward Quin. As a pirate and a sailor, that was a lesson she knew well.
Sephilia moves in for a hug which Layna accepts. When Sephilia withdraws, she offers her a reassuring grin.
"No problem at all, lass. You're free to speak your mind around us, aye?" She replies with a nod, and a glance over toward Lanval. He seems to be pleased by this...and so does Quin, who echoes her sentiments and suggests a toast.
"Aye, I'll drink to that!" Layna agrees, raising her mug as well.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy, seeming a little embarrassed, raises her mug too--it's got a watered down cider drink in it. She's not the kid she once was!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Cheersh~" Lanval says, holding up his drinking gourd. Toasts are serious business.
...
Serious leisure. They are serious leisure. This is an important distinction.
<Pose Tracker> Quin Rosenberg has posed.
Quin nods. "Yeah, I got no problems with anybody speaking their mind," she agrees. "But yeah... don't let what anybody else says bother you. Most everybody's just doin' their best, and that's what's important, when all's said 'n done."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Quin gets another grin from Layna and a nod.
"Aye, well said." She repeats, then glances over to Sephilia. "If anyone does give you trouble over it, lemme know, aye? I'll deck 'em good for ya, I promise you that."
And Layna tended to keep her promises, particularly when they involved punching people. Those were her favorite kind.