Allura - Open Log Prompts For Mareuer

[quintessent]

Who: Allura and [OPEN]
When: Vague times around March
Where: Aefenglom and specifically Diplomatea for some options
What: Allura is getting settled into life here and also experiences her first rainy season
Warnings: None


A. Princess' First Job (At Diplomatea)
[Allura is thankful to Everett, for giving her a chance with his shop. The flowers and the scent of the tea was what drew her in in the first place – when she found herself without a coin to her name for the first time in her life, and the atmosphere had been warm and welcoming. He'd even been kind enough to give her some clothes (or, a uniform, as some put it. Allura thought it was quite cute.)

She's never had a proper job before but she's a hard worker and so far she's been met with nothing but patience. Putting together flowers is her favorite part, though the tea serving took some... learning.

Maybe she's not paying attention, or it's just a bad stroke of luck, but there's a clumsy moment where her knuckle brushes against the heated side of one of the tea kettles – just for a second but it's a second long enough for her to feel a sharp pain and she yanks her hand back with a startled yelp.]

Ah- [She winces, already hearing someone else hurrying over to her side – one of her fellow employees, or a guest perhaps.] I'm alright, just careless.


B. The vague open ended one (Diplomatea)
[It's late one evening, when the lights from the tea shop glowed warm against the cool night air, the business empty and Allura was sitting, enjoying her own cup of tea, her limbs heavy after a long, but good day of work. It was... nice. She still had thoughts of getting home that hung heavy over her, but days like this it was a little easier. To fall into a routine and feel a little more normal than she has since she arrived here.

The bells at the door pull her from her reverie and she looks up, setting the cup down,]

Can I assist you?


C. Rolling up her sleeves. (In town)
[Now that she has a little money to her name there's an item in town that she's been eying for some time – a simple, sturdy wooden trunk from a local carpenter's shop. It's nice and she's been wanting a safe place to put her belongings from her world until it's time to go home (and maybe a safe place to hide shiny valuables from her Merrow housemate.)

Coin exchanged and trunk at her feet, Allura only now realizes a big mistake: When she arrived in Aefenglom it was without any of her Altean-born powers. Which means no hoisting around heavy boxes like they weight nothing. But what to do with the trunk?

It's pure stubbornness that gets her as far as she gets, lifting and hefting and pushing until at some point down the road she has to stop, Panting as she leans to take a rest against the large trunk.]

Stars, how do humans live like this? They're made of gossamer compared to Alteans.

[Help a princess out?]


D. It's like rain
[Altea didn't have rain. Not in the same way that humans knew thanks a lot Voltron canon and certainly Allura has never experienced anything like the rainy season in Aefenglom. What is a normal, even annoying phenomenon for one has Allura looking up, shielding her eyes the moment rain starts to pitter-patter on the roofs of the buildings around her

It's not the first rain she's seen, and she's delighted, but delight quickly turns into distress as the gentle sprinkle turns into a real downpour. And she quickly jogs for shelter- but not before getting absolutely drenched in the meantime.]

Apologies- [Allura sputters, standing in the doorway of the first building she came upon with water absolutely coming down in rivulets from her hair and dress, in a puddle on the floor underneath her. She holds her hands out, a little at a loss of what to do with herself] That's- Is this a normal amount of rain?


E. Wildcard
[Feel free to throw anything at me, or my plotting post is over here if you'd like to talk something specific! I'll probably be adding some closed starters below as the month goes on as I make plans with people too!]

Comments

\o/

[faithlikeaseed]

[It is an awkward arrangement they've gotten themselves into--Myr gives a brief huff of laughter as she comes to help him, and he eases back from leaning on the door to let her catch it.] Sorry--that could've been better-done on my part, getting it open. Let me just--

[He'll be as decorous as he can at getting past her into the shop, even with the inevitability of bumping against her in the small space. Once he's gotten through, he halts, balancing his armful carefully.] S'there still a table off to my right about four paces? With nothing on it?

[They got rearranged oftener than he liked, but it was a public business; nothing to be done about it.

In the meanwhile, a bag on top of his stack has begun to list ominously to one side...]

[quintessent]

[And she does her best to give him a wide berth, with polite "Not at all"s and "After you"s peppering the conversation. Eventually, just standing still and holding the door open with the tips of her fingers seems to be the best bet, and she doesn't complain when he bumps against her.]

Ah- right! [Ah,] I mean, correct. Right. There is a table to your right. And there's- watch out!

[That very clear description is cut shot when she spots the bag leaning dangerously and, she rushes over to his side, holding a hand up to bracket the pile of boxes, but it might just end up awkwardly bumping into it. Sending the bag falling the rest of the way, but her reflexes are at least quick here, and it lands with a soft plop in her outstretched hands.]

That was a close one.

[faithlikeaseed]

[Eep! He goes stock-still at watch out!, startled into a momentary freeze with the fur on his tail bristling. It's ultimately for the best, as it keeps the unsteady stack from being jostled any further; and the bag ends up safe at last. It's a heavy thing full of...marbles? Or maybe seeds; something round and cool and hard that would have undoubtedly rolled all over the floor if the bag had fallen and burst open.

Which, Murphy's Law being what it is, it definitely would have.

Myr lets out the breath he'd been holding.]

My hero--what even was it? [He'd felt it fall off, but.] --I didn't stack this one quite so well as I could've, I'm afraid.

[Though with the bag rescued the rest of the pile's not nearly so shifty, and he can inch over to the table to set it all down with aching care. There.]

[quintessent]

[Danger passed, Allura lets out a soft sigh, following Myr over to where he is setting down his load, a careful eye watching for any more stray bags or boxes waiting to fall, but it's sturdy.]

I'm not certain, [She tugs at the string holding it closed, peering inside,] It looks like grass.

[And smells like something, the smell is rather potent with the bag open and she waves her hand by her nose.] Some kind of tea, I think.

[Her attention goes to him as he's setting things down, suddenly fussing,]

Here, you should let me help. [But he's already got his hands on it and setting it down without any trouble.]

[faithlikeaseed]

[Myr breathes in the scent of the bag's mysterious contents...and gives a quiet, amused huff at Allura's assessment.]

Might be--though it reminds me enough of elfweed I'd wonder at the tea Everett's making from it. [His dearest, darling shady drug dealer of a Bondmate. Though if it had been with the supplies Myr picked up from the above-the-board stores it couldn't be anything too potent. Hopefully.]

Oh-- [He does already have the stack set down; the fur on the back of his neck bristles up a little in unconscious reaction as she fusses. Entirely unworthy of him to get miffed at an offer to help, he knows, but there it is; anything that makes him feel the invalid is still a sore spot.

He's a moment swallowing it back.] --thank you, messere, truly; I've got this one, though. There's the rest out on the porch, though--if we take them together we'll be done in no time.

[quintessent]

[It's all done out of concern and she'd feel bad if she knew she was making him bristle from her fussing, but he reassures her and she lets her hands drop for a moment, watching as he finally settles the stack of goods on the table.]

I've never heard of elfweed before.

[Conversationally, as she moves to the door to help with the rest of the goods. It's frustrating, now that she's without her supernatural Altean strength it's been as adjustment period getting used to what she can and can't handle, and there's an embarrassing moment that she crouches and tries to lift a box that's far too heavy for her, before she lets it down with a huff.

Maybe she's the one that needs assistance here.]

oh my gosh i called it elfweed and it's actually elfroot, i don't know my own canon plz forgive

[faithlikeaseed]

[His own stupid, stubborn pride's more of a barrier than he'll often admit, and he knows letting on he's upset is apt to hurt someone. So--

Bury it, along with everything else it's not politic to show or feel.]

Not something you've got back home? [He lifts his ears, cheered by the opportunity to learn a little more about another world.] I'm half-minded to start a book on all the plants that seem to get across worlds, and the ones that don't. [Seeing as he'd already know about half of what grew on Talam on arrival, and so, it seemed, did a lot of folk...]

Elfroot's mainly used for healing, on Thedas; you can compound it into medicine for just about any common ailment. But there's folk as who smoke the leaves, too, for their--ah--more pleasurable properties. [He goes tapping after her to the door, largely confident in this space he's learned so well--though he pauses on the lintel itself with ears working to figure out where she's gone.

...Oh. Sounds like she's found the heaviest box.] Here, let me get the other side of that, if you--[he musters himself a moment, holds out his hand,] if you could lead me round to it.

lmfao no worries! I wouldn't know the difference!

[quintessent]

None that I've heard of. We have sleep chambers for healing.

[Said matter-of-factly. She has a penchant for flowers and plants, but before working at DiplomaTea, her role was largely appreciation. Her studies were largely involved in diplomacy and trade rather than botany.]

Oh, of course. [She sounds a little sheepish, straightening and then walking over to him. Gently, if not a little awkwardly, she takes her hand in hers and begins to lead him to the other side of the box.

She chews on her lip but then finally, honestly,] ...Does it bother you? To ask for help?

since it was (re)discovered in the year 4:20 in canon, it's a common mistake...

[faithlikeaseed]

[The question catches him short, even if it's not entirely unexpected.

It's just also not one anyone ever asks him directly, and the fact she has elicits...complicated emotions. Part of it's the simple, shrinking, shameful fact it's just easier if everyone politely looks away when he struggles like this--

But what's easier isn't always--isn't usually--good. Myr wrestles a moment with the question as they round the box, before smiling ruefully off at nothing.]

It does, sometimes. I don't have the knack for doing it gracefully yet, not every time. Still too used to doing for myself.

[quintessent]

[She had a habit of being a little blunt at times, but it was born of kindness and curiosity more than any intent to make him feel uncomfortable. Which it has, she can tell by the way he hesitates before answering, and for a moment she questions if she she have kept her thoughts to herself.]

I'm sorry. [Her gaze drops to the large box between them.] When I arrived here, much of my powers were gone. Would you believe that I would have been able to carry this whole thing by myself, just a few phoebes ago?

[It's not nearly on the level of losing one of her senses, she knew that, but it felt more honest than just offering platitudes about there being no shame in asking for help.] I suppose I'm not very good at asking for help either.

[faithlikeaseed]

[That bluntness is something Myr's always found more endearing than not, even if it's made him uncomfortable in the moment. Truth's more important to him than comfort, in the balance of things; someone who's so direct in her pursuit of it was bound to garner his affection.

And the fact she continues honest in response to his own honesty, oh--that has him back on firmer footing, and truly, it is a relief to hear that he's not alone.]

I'd believe it, [he says, smiling the wider.] You went after that like you expected it was full of feathers, it sounded.

[A breath, then.] There's still times I find myself going for a spell, and I've been here more'n half a year. It's a heavy adjustment to bear--but it does give us the chance to learn to lean on each other.

Not being perfect at it yet--there's no shame in that. [From his tone, he's reminding himself as much as he's offering the idea to her.]

[quintessent]

[She laughs a little, sheepish. Not having her previous strength was frustrating more often than not. Leaning on others was still something she was working on, and asking for help with something so simple as lifting a box made her feel weak.

But, Myr's comment rings true. She always preached to the Voltron paladins that they were stronger as one, so then why was it so hard for her to do the same? And she thinks back to Saber helping her carry the box up a hill, to helping Myr with the boxes and him in return.]

If you think about it, if neither of us had needed help, we wouldn't have had this conversation. If we did not have deficits, we would not need bonds to make us stronger.

[Maybe weakness begets camaraderie? Suddenly beaming, she stoops to take the handle of the box,]

Now, shall we get the rest of these boxes inside?