middaeg | If you're going through hell, keep going.

Who: Red Wine & YOU
When: Second half of Feb
Where: Around Aef.
What: Some open things
Warnings: None yet

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i. Quest #1 - Part-timers Wanted! (Inkspell)

[It's a soothing, quiet thing to be doing, and Red Wine sinks into it with very little complaint. He spends a few hours every other day in the shop, mostly rewriting books damaged beyond repair. His own handwriting is careful, neat, elegant, and he even takes the time to replicate the illuminated initials in some of the older texts.

Now and then, though, he runs out of one ink or another and looks to the person sitting nearest--]

Do you have any of the red left?

ii. Out of the City (Fighter)

[As it turns out, this is a good way to work of his latent aggression... and said aggression has only grown worse since his 'death' and full slide into becoming a vampire. If the daylight makes him feel weak, he doesn't show it, though those who know him well would be able to spot the slower reaction times and the way he occasionally pauses and winces as if his head hurts.

He's fierce enough in battle, kind and quiet when dealing with those who are already infected, and always on hand to calm a panicked child or march someone away from somewhere they were about to create a scene.

In down-time, such as it is, Red Wine is silent and thoughtful and spends his time sharpening his sword or reading a book. Now and then, he simply looks morosely thoughtful.]

No one should have to live like this.

iii. Home (open to housemates, visitors)

[Living with Caren Ortensia and the others in the house isn't something Red Wine would have really had in mind when he first arrived here... but it seems like a natural thing to do now. After their residence burned to cinders in the fires when the kidnappings occurred, Red Wine and Steak had both been almost homeless, living in the barracks until their move here.

And it's better. He'd missed having some privacy and a place for himself. He'd realised, too, that he'd sorely missed having some sense of luxury and comfort.

So, when he's home, he spends his time either sleeping (usually during the day), reading in the shade near one of the windows, or spending time outside around dawn and dusk. In truth, he isn't there all that much and is quiet when he is, but he takes care to keep the door of his room locked.]

iv. DiplomaTea (outdoors)

[He shoots occasional glances to the quiet bookstore beside the tea shop, his expression unreadable. Aziraphale had been one of very few people here that he would actively seek the company of, and he's been noticing the loss.

He has, though, retrieved the book he had put together for the angel and continues to work on it while sitting outside the tea shop, unheeding of the cold. Funny, how he used to hate it... now it just doesn't bother him.

Catching the eye of someone hesitating near the outdoor tables, he tips his head towards the front door.]

It's open. Go on in.

v. The Habour District

Yes, let me know if you get any scrap.

[Some of the people at the harbour still regard Red Wine with no small amount of suspicion, but he's managed to forge out some contacts and "business acquaintances" (not friends, though people he can turn to if necessary) along the docks since his arrival. Looking terribly out of place in his fancy clothing with the sword belted to his hip, he still manages to make the sailors and dock workers laugh with off-colour jokes and sharp wit.

There are a few, though, who would rather that he didn't keep showing his face in the area. A small group of them follow him as he leaves one of the shops he's more friendly with, and he pretends not to see them as he walks along beside the water in the gathering darkness. He rests his hand on his sword hilt while he walks, ready to draw it the moment they try to cause any trouble.

Maybe you'll join him... or maybe you'll be the one to start the trouble?]

vi. Wildcard

[Hit me with a top-level!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I see.

[He sets his pen down, closes his book and picks both up as he gets to his feet.]

Then come with me. I'll get something for you.

[ Oh! That... was not her intention by mentioning that. ]

[ But she won't say no to being saved by someone who dresses like...

Hm. Well, not quite the dashing prince, nothing like Prosecutor Gavin, but she's pretty sure he would get a starring role in a few novels. ]

Thank you!

No thanks necessary.

[He holds the door open to let her pass through first, and even gives her a small smile if she happens to look at him while she passes.]

Consider yourself my guest, if it helps.

[ Well then. She nods, smiling gratefully at Red Wine. Manners make the magician! ]

Alright-y then! [ She almost adds his name to that, but it feels strange and clumsy on her tongue. So, after a brief pause where she gathers her composure once more, she asks; ] Say... do you have a nickname?

[ Because saying "Red Wine" as a whole name just... isn't intuitive to her, not yet. ]

[He looks down at her, hesitating before he steps inside and lets the door close behind him.]

No. [None that anyone but a certain redheaded idiot uses, and none of them are flattering. Red Wine straightens his collar, sliding his thumb neatly along the underside.]

... But I suppose you can call me Red, if you must.

Red, that's so cute!

[ It's gonna stick now, sorry, Red. But first, she's gonna pick a table and sit down. ]

Were your parents big drinkers?

[ She... really hopes daddy doesn't name any potential siblings Grape Juice, to be honest. ]

I don't have parents.

[Oh, and his name isn't even the strangest one as far as foods go. Wait until she hears some of the others.]

I'm not of a race that's born as you would understand it.

Oh?

[ Headtilt! Her curiosity is piqued now. This place sure does have a lot of interesting people. ]

What kind of being are you?

[ Maybe he doesn't even like to be called a person, if he isn't one. ]

A Food Soul.

[He turns his attention away from her for a moment to place an order, then looks back to her with a small smile.]

I suppose you've never heard of them.

Nuh-uh. [ There's a shake of her head, but despite the new terminology, Trucy doesn't seem particularly perturbed. ]

I haven't heard of a lot of things in people's worlds. I guess my home is pretty boring.

[ Though there's some very unusual murders, but she's sure there's even stranger murders in a place with something called Food Souls. ]

So... does that mean you're made of red wine?

[ Or... is red wine made of him? That's. Uh. Unnerving to consider. ]

[He chuckles softly.]

No, not exactly.

[Yet she isn't as far off as she thinks. It's the first time he's really needed to explain it to somebody - people either accept it without question or never ask about his name at all - and it serves as something to pass the time with while they wait for their tea.]

Before the start of recorded history on Tierra - where I come from - the God of Beginnings released an infinite amount of souls into the world. They infused both animate and inanimate life. A long time after that, when humans had come to dominate the world through their advanced development--

[And a war, but he skips over that part.]

--they discovered the souls lying dormant in different foods. Their recipies, the histories behind them, the importance they held in cultures. They discovered how to summon these souls into physical, humanoid forms. Forms such as myself.

[ She's not sure what she was expecting as an explanation, what she could possibly expect to hear about something called Food Souls, but that... ]

That's impressive!

[ People really managed to draw out souls from their food and drink? How would you even think about doing that? ]

... I wonder if there's souls in our food. [ Why wouldn't there be, logically speaking? Food is just as important on Earth as it is on Tierra, and lots of it is made from living things.

This might change how she looks at pudding from now on. ]

Something to give consideration to, though I've sensed no such magic here.

[Now, wouldn't that be something. Foreign, alien Food Souls. He wonders briefly about what kinds of creatures they would be if they existed.]

It's strange to imagine places without them. But perhaps it's better that way.

[ He can sense them too? That's really cool. But before she gets a chance to say so, the order arrives, placed neatly between the two of them. ]

Oh, thanks!

[ Okay, manners sorted, where were they? ] Do you think? I bet it would be interesting to have that many types of beings on one planet!

If you're going through hell, keep going.

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