2019-10-19: Peace and Salvation

• Log: Peace and Salvation
• Cast: Day Muirwall, Hilde, Skylr Paer
• Where: Dragon Roost Island
• Date: October 19, 2019
• Summary: A group of Guardsfolk converse while on patrol on Dragon Roost Island.

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============================<* Dragon Roost Island *>=============================

Dragon Roost Island is one of the tallest islands of the whole Great Sea, a towering, active volcano that pierces skyward. Within the mountain's more placid caverns live the Rito people, a race of birdlike beastmen with duckbills for noses and functioning wings. The Rito are a small tribe but a social one, and a number of them proudly serve the people of the Great Sea as delivery people, ferrying messages and small packages from island to island.

The island itself is made mostly of barren, scarred rock, but for the pockets of verdant grasses and trees at the shore. Eruptions are rare, but flying Gears have confirmed that the interior is still active. They have also confirmed the island's most mysterious denizen: A tremendous dragon, made not of metal but of flesh and scale, who roosts in the volcano's mouth. Lately, this great dragon, whom the Rito call the Spirit of the Sky, Valoo, seems to be in distress, thrashing about in pain and sending boulders and even splashes of magma out into the Great Sea.

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

"I don't suppose asking you to stay with the rest of the Guard would do me much good, would it," Day Muirwall sighs to the auburn-haired woman with him.

Clasping her hands delicately, the young woman - in big glasses and a weathered peasant dress, closes her eyes with a kind smile. "Sir Day has always kept me safe so far."

"Sir Day would rather not take chances." The young knight sighs and looks out over the water.

Evening's coming on, and the Guard contingent has stopped to eat after a day of patrol. For his part, Day didn't wear his heavy platemail today. He put on a long white tunic with a red and black geometric pattern about the cuffs and collar, a pair of brown slacks beneath it, though he kept his sword and shield with him and there's clearly a mailshirt under that outfit. Indeed, a subtle jingle can be heard as he stokes the fire that's been built up in a shallow pit near the water, half-shielded from easy view by rocks and scrub. A side of bacon turns over the flame, a pot of beans beside it. Simple fare for a simple man.

Shielding his eyes from the setting sun with one hand, Day looks out over the water. The sea breeze tousles through his loose sandy hair, flicking a few locks back from his forehead with quiet drama. "...I wonder how many islands this land of Aquvy has," he murmurs. "The sea here feels nothing like the one I grew up near."

<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.

Another day, another day of patrols. Hilde supposed it was one way of keeping herself sharp. She needed to be ready for whatever approached them, and she couldn't do that by lounging about.

Hilde herself stands at the edge of the water, still in her armor - though her own sword and shield have been unlatched and set aside safely. She looks out over the water for a moment quietly before looking back toward Day at his question. She watches him for a moment with her good eye - the one not covered with the eyepatch - before looking back out to sea.

"Some say it goes on forever." Hilde comments. "It does not seem like even the people know - even now, they have yet to chart them all out."

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 Skylr is out in the water proper, bare feet abound. Her shoes and stockings are next to her bag neatly near Day and the food, as she washes out some small pieces of cloth that look like pillows for wee dolls, looking at Hilde for a moment.
 
 "It feels like a long ways." She says, softly. "Yet, sometimes, things feel so small."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Queitly stoking the flame, Day looks off towards the water, to where Skylr is playing. He can't help but smile faintly, small, but with an obscure sadness behind his pale green eyes. The fire dances in their malachite clarity, as if taking an old memory for a whirl.

"The Blue Star is much bigger than Lunar, isn't it? I can tell - Lunar looks much smaller in the sky here than the Blue Star does there," he muses as he reaches for four wooden bowls. Lifting the lid from the bean pot, he begins to serve some out.

For a moment, his gaze drifts to Hilde. That guardedness hasn't left him, but he hasn't brought up much more about their previous day's conversation.

"Lady Paer," he asks, "I'm curious... are those pillows?"

Not far from the fire, Day's quiet companion has sunk to her knees and picked a small wildflower. She traces her finger along its petals with simple fascination.

<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.

Hilde looks toward Skylr for a moment, taking in her words. She considers them for a moment, nodding.

She looks toward Day, then, as he speaks.

"So it would seem. Even fair Ladylake can hardly match the scale of some of the towns I have seen since our arrival." Hilde replies to Day with a nod. "It is...sobering, to look upon my home from so far away and see how small it appears."

Hilde, too, hasn't brought up that conversation - nor has her behavior seemed to change much.

She moves over toward the fire as Day begins to serve some out, taking a moment to glance over toward Day's companion. She had been hesitant about taking her with them on patrol, but she supposes that it was fine as long as they weren't expecting combat.

She looks back toward Skylr, then, as Day asks his question - but doesn't add to it, letting Skylr answer at her own speed.

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 Skylr blinks at Day, then at what she's holding.
 
 "Oh... no. These are for my poultices and such." Skylr explains. "I use healing magic, as I am blessed in that way by Althena herself, but for little things, I try not to wear myself out. So I have nice cleansing poltices and potions and the like."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Whatever gulf lies between Day and Hilde, he seems to at least reach across it in this instance - in this case literally, offering up one of the bowls for her consumption.

He sets another bowl out for Skylr and a third for the young woman, sliding it to her with a nod. His own is left in his lap, and he drags his fork through the beans without eating just yet. "Pendrago has its own splendors. But the communities here seem different. More... mechanical, I think. It's said that the Blue Star has newer technology than we do."

To Skylr, he cants his head, then raises his eyebrows with a slow nod. "You use Her gift respectfully. I'm sure She honours that you don't take it for granted." With a look down to his bowl, he clears his throat. "...I have some of Her gift along those lines, but magic isn't my strongest suit."

The auburn-haired young woman has taken her bowl in hand, looking up at Day. "You saved me with it, Sir Day."

Day closes his eyes and exhales. "...Perhaps. I wish more in Lastonbell had been saved.'

<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.

Hilde accepts the bowl with a thankful nod, though she pauses before eating to listen to him speak.

"So I have heard, though I have not had the opportunity to visit, myself." Hilde replies. For, perhaps, obvious reasons. "But, indeed. I have seen more machines here on the Blue Star than I have in my entire lifetime."

It was quite the shock, at first.

Only then does she dig in, though she pauses once Skylr responds to Day.

"A wise choice." Hilde praises with a nod. "You never know when you may need a more immediate source of healing."

She looks toward Day then, as he speaks.

"Coincidentally enough, my own magical talents tend toward healing as well." She considers. She goes quiet, though, when Day brings up Lastonbell.

Was he speaking of the invasion? She had not been there for it, herself - her posting had been elsewhere. But she had heard of it.

It didn't feel right to say anything about it.

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

"My momma taught me." Skylr explains. "She can use the same type of magic I can, but she also taught me about the poltices and stuff. We... ran a farm, outside Azado..." Skylr's voice laspses into nothingness, frowning and scrubbing the cloth more vigorously.

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

The anonymous girl watches Day with quiet pity in her expression. She looks down into her bowl, finally closing her eyes.

Day, for his part, lets the silence hang a moment before looking up again. His gaze finds Hilde, and he nods slowly. "Funny that we would have similar talents, isn't it, Knight Hilde."

He doesn't put any particular emphasis in his voice. But there's still that hint of something sad behind his eyes that he dismisses by glancing somewhere else. Namely, towards Skylr.

Skylr, who has sadness of her own. Day exhales, setting his bowl to one side and watching the girl for a moment before holding out one of the bowls.

"...Would you like something to eat," he asks with a faint, welcoming smile, letting it slip sympathetically through the heavy mood. "Lady Paer."

<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.

"Funny indeed." Hilde comments back, with a wry smile. Was this fate, perhaps? ...She wasn't sure.

And then, Skylr explains where she learned her magic, and Hilde goes quiet. Azado...where Sin first revealed itself to the world outside of Spira.

Hilde offers her a faint smile, as well. ...Though, of course, since Day's the one with the food, she can't offer her anything else.

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 "No thank you." Skylr responds automatically. "Sorry. I ruin the mood whenever I end up mentiong that."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Shaking his head, Day sets the bowl off to one side. "You don't have to feel bad about that, Lady Paer. You've hurt. If it helps, you don't have to suffer by yourself."

He folds both hands in his lap and lowers his head. A few locks of sandy hair briefly veil his eyes.

"My father is the Margrave of Muirwall, in the peerage of Rolance," he says quietly. "But I have no place in his house. My selfishness hurt people who should never have been hurt. That's why I've given my life to Althena. Through all that has happened to us in our lives, I at least feel comforted knowing that She is with us, and that I can seek peace and salvation in service to Her."

There's a rustle of movement near Skylr as the auburn-haired woman moves to stand near her, listening a moment. She looks to the shepherd with a small, kind smile. Her green eyes shimmer like a sunrise.

<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.

"Not one of us would think you hold it against you." Hilde chimes in, as Day moves to reassure Skylr. She had suffered so much, after all.

She listens, then as Day explains where he came from. Hilde listens quietly. That does explain a lot about him.

"I hope you are able to find the peace and salvation you seek." She replies to Day with a nod.

She looks back over toward Skylr as Day's companion moves to join her, smiling slightly before turning her gaze back to the fire.

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 "Mhm." Skylr says, neutrally. She looks at the other girl when she approaches.
 
 "You're going to get wet." She warns her. Then, carefully: "I know it's hurting me, still. But we weren't able to actually see what happened to anyone. They could be dead. All of them. My heart aches with that. Hope is so slim, these days."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

"I've been wet before," the young woman says, sliding off her shoes. Her bare feet dip into the water as she reaches out. She's woven a small headband from little wildflowers, and she sets it gently atop Skylr's head. "I think it's okay to feel afraid. But even if the worst has happened, wouldn't they want us to live our lives to the fullest?"

Day watches the woman for a moment before voicing a slow sigh, turning his eyes to Hilde again. "I hope we all do, Knight Hilde," he says quietly, before looking to Skylr.

He gestures to the young woman. "Vess and I met in Lastonbell. She lost much in the Fell Dragon's attack."

The woman lifts her head, the breeze rippling through her hair. "But not hope for a better tomorrow. I think that's hard to kill, Sir Day."

"I hope so."

<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.

Hilde smiles slightly, before glancing toward Day with a nod.

"...Yes, as do I." She replies. And then, he explains what happened. So, it was the Fell Dragon...

"It may not mean much, coming from me... but I am sorry for your loss, Miss Vess." She says, offering a polite bow of her head in the young woman's direction.

Hope for a better tomorrow, hm...?

...It's a poignant thing to say.

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 "... thank you. Miss Vess. Lady Knight. Sir Knight. It means a lot to know that I'm not the only person struggling, but trying to have the little bit of hope still."
 
 "A-anyways... I have other things I need to do, so I'll need to step away for a bit. PLease be safe."