Mareuer Catch-All: Open Prompts & Closed Threads

[foundfamilies]

Who: Leslie, guest starring you.
When: Throughout Mareuer
Where: Mainly Aefenglom, but a little Dorchacht and a trip or two into the Wilde.
What: Gardening woes, rain shenanigans, research by the barrel, and a cheerleader outfit.
Warnings: Standard Leslie warnings of "sometimes you realize you're talking to an abused child."

1. One is in the Sun, One is in the Heap. (Three Happenings I(a); throughout the month.)

[ Leslie has been attending the new gardening courses very seriously, taking copious notes with a little notepad that she balances on her lap when she sits down. It's one part wanting to know how to help with the garden at the house she's staying at, one part what a useful skill it can be for providing resources for Alchemy and food, and about three parts it seems fun and interesting. ]

A. [ Today, Leslie is involved in the most joyful of garden activities: weeding. (By which I mean I abandoned the idea of gardening after a few too many days spent weeding in the hot sun and regretting asking my parents to let me have a plot in our backyard.) However, it's not the work that is causing her to frown. She's looking at a small bit of green along the edge of one of the plots. ]

Why do we have to kill some plants just because we weren't the ones who planted them here? Don't they deserve as much of a chance as any of them? Even if it's not what we planned, why can't we transplant them somewhere else instead?

B. [ As seriously as she's taking this, she's starting from zero knowledge. Which is unfortunate, because today finds Leslie looking very worried over a pot. Over the month, she's become very emotionally attached to this one tiny aloe vera plant. She's been helping with a lot of plants around the garden, but this is the one she's raising for herself. She's planning to bring it home after the course. If it survives that long, at least. She was checking its roots when she arrived at the Coven this morning and they don't look good. ]

What did I do wrong? Oh no, am I killing it? What do I do?

[ Hey, did you know aloe vera plants originate from arid climates? It's true! And if you water them too much, like say if the watering schedule is decided by a sensitive child with leftover trauma from starvation, their roots can rot. She's discovered the early onset of this problem, but she has no idea what it means or how to solve it. She'll need help to avoid the fate of everyone seeing a child cry because she killed a plant. She's too young to start feeling like a terrible parent. ]

2. He Is Ferdihound von Dogir!! (Any date after the 4th.)

[ Leslie has literally never been outside in the rain before her arrival in Aefenglom, but she's adjusting quite well. Equipping a coat made with chemically-treated wool means she's plenty comfortable as long as it doesn't pour rain. And as long as a dog doesn't shake himself dry next to her. Huh, that's a very specific point you make, narration.

Unrelatedly, Leslie may be found on this day with a new companion on the end of a leash. Ferdie the beagle, the newest member of Edelgard's household, sometimes politely but firmly requests walkies during the daytime and Leslie readily indulges the boy. He seems to be in a good mood regardless of weather, eagerly splashing through the puddles while keeping in range of the leash, and that good mood is definitely reflected in Leslie's face as well, even if she keeps more to the standard of walking.

Leslie comes to a stop outside of a bookstore where she worked part time the previous month, Ferdie slowing to a stop beside her. Now that they're under an awning, Ferdie takes this moment to dry off by making everyone else in the vicinity less dry. As she's hit by the surprisingly big spray of water from the relatively small dog shaking himself off, she tries to shield her face with her arm and laughs. ]

Ferdie! You should warn me before you do that!

[ She's still smiling when she brings her arm down, but that smile disappears very quickly as she sees that she wasn't the only one caught in the sudden low-altitude rain shower. ]

I'm so sorry! I didn't -- I'll --

[ She looks down as she tries to figure out what she can do to help dry off this poor victim (Leslie it's just a beagle shaking himself off it's not like you turned the hose on someone) and ends up holding out her handkerchief. ...Okay it wasn't that much water, but even then that's not going to be anywhere near enough. ]

3. Leslie's Big Splash! (Any date after the 5th.)

[ Leslie is once again out in the rain in her wool coat (which is a little too big on her because she stubbornly holds to the idea that she's going to hit her growth spurt any day now even though you'd need laser precision measurements to determine if she's grown at all since she arrived last month), this time on her own. However, her actions today have been inspired by the beagle.

With a serious expression, she looks to the left...to the right...turns all the way around.... It doesn't seem like there's anyone here that she knows, and no one is standing especially close right now. Perfect. (Except it's raining and she's too short to see over anyone, so her chances of missing seeing someone who isn't right next to her are high.) She stares down at the large puddle.

She kicks into the puddle, watching the spray of water. She smiles a little and, with both feet, jumps in with a huge splash. Her smile grows as she splashes and plays in the puddle, right up to the point when she realizes someone is watching her. She turns red almost immediately. ]

It's...it's not what it looks like!

[ Leslie this isn't the sort of thing that line is used for. ]

4. (Touches the Ground) Something from a Horror Movie Happened Here. (Three Happenings III(a); two days in the middle of Marueur.)

[ Leslie has frankly taken on way too much in the research department this month. Any open libraries have seen a small, white-haired child asking for someone to help her get a book off the top shelf or wandering around the shelves carrying books on such varied topics as chimera physiology, gardening, Abjuration, and architecture.

But also translating ancient languages is the first thing her new tutor/big brother complimented her on after a lifetime of only ever being criticized by her tutors, so she doesn't want to pass up this opportunity to help. Can she read this current ancient language? No, not at all, she's barely gotten her feet under her in learning magic since she arrived here less than two months ago. But she thinks that she might try to figure it out if she gets enough spare time.

There is now a child moving around the cave trying to copy the writings as carefully as she can into her notebook, making sure to note positions and whether it is in the old or new writing. (She also is attempting to copy down the drawings, but despite almost impeccable handwriting and reasonably accurate transcribing of the characters, her attempts to imitate the drawings...could use some work.)

If you are also in the cave, you might at some point be approached by said child, who looks somewhat bashful as she asks: ]

Excuse me. Do you know if there is a ladder that I could use around here?

[ If you look up, you might be able to guess why she's asking, as there is one set of characters written much higher up on the wall than could easily be seen in detail by someone who is only a little taller than four feet. ]

5. Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah (Three Happenings II(a); Marueur 16)

[ Leslie is among the gathering of Marie's cheerleading squad. She is not among the athletic part of the group and her costume, while cheerleader-inspired, is much too big and long for anyone to really expect her to easily do anything especially athletic, but by golly is she enthusiastic about cheering on the players, especially those that she recognizes, cheerfully waving a couple of pompoms that were probably designed for someone much bigger than her.

However, from time to time during the monster-only rugby, expressions of confusion or concern can be seen crossing her face before she catches herself and returns to her cheering duties. After the sporting matches are done and she has turned in her pompoms (though she's retained the cheerleading-esque costume for now), she finally asks someone about it as she looks around at the rest of the festival. ]

Are sports as violent as they look like from the outside? It looked a lot more like what I would imagine fisticuffs to look like.

6. Rainbow Tapdancing. (After the 16th.)

[ A nearly unfortunate incident when seeking out a flower beneath a weeping tree (details pending) leaves Leslie thinking about how the duchess planned to teach her the basics of wielding a sword to build up her stamina back home. She has relaxed a lot being in Aefenglom (this is her being relaxed???), but she can't forget that there are dangers here, too. She has to learn how to defend herself.

But unlike back home, where it was something scheduled for her, here...here she has to ask someone. (She doesn't realize that there's several people who might be just a matter of time away from grabbing her and teaching her self-defence of their own volition.) If she's going to ask, she doesn't want to be a disappointment right away. Her uninformed view of training has her envisioning starting from doing drills with a real weapon, and she's not sure she'd be able to last very long at her current state. So she's accidentally looped in logic enough to actually end up at the early stages of learning to use a sword: stamina training without a weapon at all. In her future, under the guidance of the duchess, this will take the form of running laps. Left to her own devices....

...This is what has brought her here, inside A Wine Time dressed in pants with her long hair tied back and stuffed into her cap, ready to crush some grapes! ...Once she rolls up her pant legs and sets her boots and socks aside. ]

A. [ Okay, even just one hour to get the hourly wage is maybe pushing it, regardless of how well she's eating these days. Leslie is determined to finish, but she's clearly flagging. She may need some backup. ]

B. [ She survived her hour! Time to get out of the grape-squashing area, walk to a corner where she doesn't think she's going to be in the way, and collapse on the floor, breathing heavily. Please bring her some water. (She's still going to come back another day because her stubbornness outweighs her self-care instincts.) ]

C. [ The hard work done, Leslie is going to take some time to enjoy the benefits of her work: the rainbow legs and feet. Thanks to her shorter height, the stains go all the way up past her knees. She's smiling to herself as she lifts a foot and wiggles her rainbowy toes in the air. ]

I wonder if there's a way that you could do something like this on purpose....

7. You Know Nothing Leslie Snow (after the 16th)

[ Maybe you came up on the wall for the view. Maybe you saw a small child go to climb a stairway that is open for the public and followed out of curiosity. Either way, you're now up on the wall and that child is...Leslie, no, why are you balanced on the battlements such that your feet are no longer touching the walkway just so you can jut your head farther out as you try to squint into the distance?? That's not quite at "dangerous" levels, but boy if it doesn't look dangerous.

If you choose to ignore the child who is being unnervingly cavalier about this despite having half a muscle, she eventually will get back onto the walkway to approach you. ]

Um, do you know if there's anywhere I could get a better view of the edges of the Outer City without going past the wall? I don't think I'm supposed to go outside the walls on my own, but I can't see very far even from up here.

8. Wildcard!! (Mareuer)

[ I left one or two possible prompts off just because the list was getting pretty long, but I am absolutely open to planning out something else happening during March/Mareuer! (Maybe if I write Mareuer enough I'll actually remember the IC names for the months.) Hit me up by PM or on plurk at yobousiesho! ]

Comments

Closed to Corrin: Strae Quest

[foundfamilies]

[The temporary bond Leslie formed with Corrin for the sake of this trip to the Wilde is still new and strange to her. Still, she finds it a little comforting to have an extra sense of another human walking with her as they leave the walls of the Outpost.

Leslie was quite comfortable inside the Outpost as they spoke to several Wilders to find out all they could about where such flowers might be found, but the farther away they travel into the forest of the Wilde, the more nervous Leslie becomes. She's not scared by any means, having been prepared for such a trip when she first saw the request, but she's certainly walking closer to Corrin over time until she's just short of being glued to her side.

Even if it's only a little nervousness, Leslie does her best to hide that she's worried at all from her travelling companion. It's a sign of how unused she is to having a bond that she thinks this will work.]

Have you ever gone searching for a plant like this before, Miss Corrin?

[betweenduskanddawn]

[After her experiences with Edelgard and Azura, Corrin had agreed to the temporary bond with Leslie because it seemed like a good way to ease the kid into it. She was told at least that her own emotions were mostly positive, and that was certainly better than her bonding with someone broody right away. Or as serious as Edelgard tended to be, for instance.]

[Still, there was some apprehension of her own, echoing off the nervousness Leslie was feeling, and she kept trying to keep it under control which just made it worse probably.]

I haven't, no.

[She said as she pushed forward into the brush, moving to the side to hold a few branches out of the way of Leslie. She had her sword out, held loosely in her other hand, and her fingers tensed and relaxed around it.]

But I figure it can't be that hard to find, right?

[At least she was sure of that.]

[foundfamilies]

[Either a broody or serious bond would likely spell trouble as a first attempt. Despite how often Leslie's expressions are cheerful here, she can become gloomy and she has a serious streak a mile long, so it's better to start from a livelier place.]

[Even if we're starting from everyone's favourite bond pastime! Nervousness feedback loop! Leslie is pretty used to functioning under nerves, though.]

It doesn't sound like there are any other trees that leak water like that. Thank you.

[The last part is for holding the branches out of the way. Leslie's own hands are empty right now, but she has a pack on her back and it's probably safe to assume a knife on a belt around her waist given who she lives with.]

I'm glad that it won't be so hard to find. This is only my second -- no, it's my first time outside of a city other than in a dream.

[So she doesn't exactly have extreme expertise. She learned a few things off of a man who never introduced himself in the dream, though.]

[betweenduskanddawn]

I've only been out here a few times myself. It won't be too dangerous as long as we're careful.

[She started moving forward again, keeping generally in front of Leslie in case something dangerous appeared.]

And I should certainly hope there aren't a lot of crying trees. [It would be easy enough to pick up on Corrin's feelings of sadness about that.]

It's hard to imagine what could make a plant cry.

Closed to Marquis Vestra: Familiar Bonding

[foundfamilies]

[Leslie hasn't been down in the cellar lab before and her curiosity results in an initial tendency to look almost everywhere as she follows him down. Short of being told to stop, the only thing stopping her from trying to look at it all is that she has a job to do down here -- one connected with the different shadow following her down inside her own shadow, deftly moving to stay inside it as the lighting changed indoors.

She read up on the ritual and even practiced drawing a smaller version of the spell circle on paper before she approached Hubert to ask if he would help her with it. She always planned to ask him to at least watch in case she made some mistake, but after she discovered just how difficult it can be to draw a perfect circle bigger than the letter O, she changed her request to ask him to help her with it rather than merely observe.

Once they reach the space on the floor that Hubert has indicated for the ritual, Leslie swallows and walks across the space, making two small chalk marks on the way.]

Is this a good distance for the circle to be across the middle?

[Maybe one day she'll learn math and be able to say diameter.]

[bloodypath]

[Little floating lights illuminate the former wine cellar. The place is absurdly neat and spotless, and while cleaned to the best of Hubert's ability, an especially sensitive nose would pick up on the lingering bitter odors of potion components, from medicinal herbs to chemical compounds to metallic elements. There's also a faint lingering scent of blood, though there isn't a spot of it to be seen in the cellar. Labeled jars and containers line shelves, each labeled in a nearly illegible chickenscratch. He's shifted the center table to the side to give Leslie adequate floor space.]

As long as whatever you're Bonding to can fit inside, it will suffice. When you're connecting your guidelines, hold your wrist and elbow still. You should only be moving your shoulder, or your torso; the more parts of you that move, the more your line might go askew.

[Hubert's standing aside, but his gaze is no less sharp for it. He never hesitates to call out anything Leslie does wrong; his tone is never angry, but a blunt statement of fact.]

[foundfamilies]

[Leslie's nose is sensitive enough to just barely perceive some of the odor, but barely within even the range of conscious acknowledgement, let alone recognizing what they might be. She assumes it to be some special cleaning solution Hubert used.]

All right. Hold the wrist and elbow still....

[She frowns a little in thought, drawing a few test lines, making corrections when Hubert points out a time when something bent when it shouldn't have or when her shoulder moved at the same time as her torso. Once she has that technique down and erased the test lines, she starts on the circle proper.]

[When it comes to the contents of the circle, Hubert barely needs to call anything out. There are a couple of lines that are maybe 10 degrees off the perfect angle, and occasionally her arm, not used to being stiff, bends when it shouldn't. In the latter case, most of the time she is immediately reaching to erase, recognizing her own mistakes. She seems to remember the design almost perfectly.]

[It's the drawing of the circle itself that requires the most corrections, as going from practice drawing a circle small enough to fit on a piece of paper to drawing one bigger than she can comfortably draw from sitting in one spot (she's barely over four feet tall) is a big adjustment. Her expression grows frustrated as the corrections keep coming and twice she takes a moment to shake out her drawing arm as it starts to grow tired, but she never voices any complaints, continuing to steadily work on finishing it.]

[Eventually, though, even the circle is closed and Leslie smiles in relief.]

It's done!

[She raises her arms a little in a silent cheer before she turns and briefly bows to Hubert.]

Thank you for helping me, Marquis Vestra. Your guidance was very helpful. After this is just reciting a vow while touching the familiar inside the circle, right?

[bloodypath]

[Hubert is endlessly patient. He never hurries her past her own pace, and frustration never touches his voice even when he has to repeat something. It might be a different story, had Leslie been flippant or inattentive.]

Correct. This variant of a Bond is one-sided, so it need not be a complicated vow, but the core rule remains the same: you must want to do this, and you will experience difficulties if your familiar is not amenable to you.

[Advice: don't bond with a fucking snake.]

Rainbow Tapdancing a

[stopfen]

[Mikasa was here for the long haul. Already mess up to her ankles. She'd made the mistake of wearing a skirt. Which might not have been a mistake. It was easier to keep the fabric out of the way. But meant more of the juice got on her legs.

She just nods when the girl clambers into the berry tub. Keeping her feet moving. Making sure to not keep them above the mush long enough for Leslie to notice them, Tendou pointing out her feet had been bad enough thx. But over all it was an easy enough job. One she couldn't really think of anything to comment about.

Then the girl starts to tire. And Mikasa was awkwardly reaching out to steady her. Don't fall in. That'd be very messy.]

[foundfamilies]

[To think this was one of the few times Leslie is not wearing a skirt, but with her height, she would need much shorter than her standard knee-length or longer to have a good chance of keeping them clean.

When she gets in first, she smiles and proudly returns the nod. That's what people who are cool workers do, she is guessing?? She doesn't realize that Mikasa is doing anything unusual with her movements and is just kind of having fun getting to make money stomping on colourful grapes alongside -- someone she knows and likes. (She's allergic to calling someone a friend without their explicit permission, even inside her own head.)

She sways a bit, but this just means that she runs into Mikasa's hand. She sags slightly against it, briefly, as a bit of respite, but she soon straightens up again. She tries to give a confident smile to Mikasa, but she also does look pretty tired.]

Thank you. But you don't have to worry. I can make it to the end of the hour. [Which is like ten minutes so that's going to be a rough ten minutes.]

[stopfen]

[Mikasa was a good laborer, Strong and enduring. Enough to just keep going, and going. It wasn't like when they'd been forced to work on the farms in winter, or the several day long training exercises. But even before that. When Mikasa had been even younger than Leslie was now, she'd helped her mother in the garden, doing the vegetables, carrying chicken feed. She'd lasted longer than Leslie was before flagging.

So she doesn't pull her arms away. Just leaves them there, ready.]

Are you feeling sick?

[And she's leaning slightly. The fruit juice splattering higher on her legs as she moves a hand. Reaching for the girl's forehead.]

[foundfamilies]

[Leslie shakes her head, breathing heavily.]

No, I'm just...a little...tired....

[What Mikasa discovers by feeling Leslie's forehead depends on how well she can distinguish the warmth of being overworked with the warmth of being sick. She's warm and sweating, but it is entirely because she doesn't have the stamina to do this for long without extreme willpower. (Note: she would also say something like this if she were sick.)]

7.

[finesseblade]

[ Felix had spotted her from outside—a lone speck of white up on the ramparts, noted on his way back in from a trip to the outskirts.

It takes him a full seven minutes to pass inspection at the gates and find his way to the stairs, before he appears abruptly behind her, jerking upward on the collar of her shirt before she topples over the edge entirely. ]

Be more careful.

[ He releases her only once he's certain she won't fall, though he hovers close, both pointed ears cocked straight up in her direction and his tail, beneath his cloak, all puffed up from the scare. ]

If you came back here with a spyglass, maybe, but you'll not see the whole of it without venturing beyond the wall.

[ Though he's been out of commission since shortly before the full moon, Felix has spent quite a bit of time outside with the Wilders, hunting Shades along the borders of the city and providing a guard for the healers and cleansers to do their work. He's seen what lies along the outskirts of the city, though it doesn't compare to what's further north in the least.]

What out there has you so curious you're teetering precariously on top of the battlements, anyway?

[foundfamilies]

[ She doesn’t notice Felix approaching behind her, so his collar grab comes with a child yelp as her current balancing act results in a sudden acceleration and she doesn’t immediately realize it’s in the opposite direction to gravity. Her momentary fright is short-lived, at least, once she sees Mr. Aegis’s face instead of the onrush of ground. ]

I’m — I’m sorry. I thought I was being careful.

[ She might need her danger sense reconfigured, but at least she stands firmly on the walkway and not especially close to either edge now.

As she listens to him, she does vaguely think about the dogs she’s met here when she sees his ears move like that (she doesn’t have a good view of the tail, as Felix intended) — what had they been doing when she last saw one do that? She’s soon distracted by the confirmation that her ability to scout was limited from inside the wall and she deflates somewhat. ]

I was worried it would be like that. And even I could use it to see the whole outer city, wouldn’t a device used for spying be illegal to purchase?

[ Add “spyglasses” to the list of things Leslie doesn’t know about the outside world. As for the answer to his question, she looks a little embarrassed to explain. ]

I wanted to see what the borders of the outer city look like. ...I’ve been trying to find out how this wall was built, and made to keep the Cwyld out. Because — when I got here, the welcoming people told us how it was safe inside the walls, but that the land outside the wall is dangerous. When Miss Nessie was talking to me, [ and making sure her shadow friends didn’t mean she came pre-infected ] she made sure to stress that. Yet there are people who are living outside of the Bright Wall all of the time, or at least, that’s what Miss Kaede says. They don’t have the protection that we do against the Cwyld. It’s not right. They should have the same protection from the Cwyld as anyone else in Aefenglom.

[ By this point, her expression has shifted from embarrassed to something more neutral — or possibly even a little angry? ]

[finesseblade]

[ Felix settles with his arms crossed on top of the battlements, letting her talk and get out her reasons for being here. With the scare past, his face is impassive, unreadable—but both ears are still angled in her direction, betraying that he’s listening intently, obviously interested.

His eyes stray to the landscape beyond the wall, one he’s grown more intimately acquainted with as the weeks pass. ]

You’re right. It’s not. [ He sighs, leaning a little more heavily on the edge of the wall. ] But that’s the way of things anywhere. I saw it during the war, back home. Those with a little wealth and power stay safe behind their barriers, while those without have to make do with living in constant fear of assault from without.

[ And he’s not unaware that he counts among those with the wealth and power to stay safe—but then, he’d never shied from throwing himself into the fray. He’s never been content to hide inside his walls while others risked life and limb, not when there was a fight to test himself against. ]

You won’t find much of interest on the outskirts—what patches of infection appear are quickly burned and cleansed by the Wilders. Further out, the Cwyld is deep and dark. It’s the shades that wander toward the city from that place that the people fear the most, and without a wall, there’s nothing to keep them out.

1/2

[foundfamilies]

[ Unfortunately for Felix, Edelgard adopting a dog means that, over time, she's going to get better and better over time at reading Felix's moods as she learns dog language from the far more honest Ferdie.

The existence of the slums had been a nasty surprise for Leslie, whose small world before Aefenglom had been among the nobility and those who served them directly, but she's had a glimpse at two such worlds and she's found them to be decent guides to that which she's seen here. The Salvatore mansion scaled well to her experience among the Mirrorbound, where people were kind and giving, even some who seem intimidating at first glance. Unfortunately, the larger society often seems to resemble the Sperado mansion more, but with a wider pecking order. ]

So it's the the shades that are the bigger problem than the infection...would it be okay if I asked you some questions about what you've seen? I'd have to ask someone to come with me before I could go out past the wall, and I don't know if I'd have been able to notice something like that on my own. If it's not a bother. Let me get my notebook.

[ Even if he says no, she wants to make sure to write down what he said there. It seems like it would be important. As she crouches down to dig into the bag she'd placed against the wall and thankfully hadn't tried to balance with on her ill-advised perch. ]

three!

[usurpers]

[ there’s usually a time in the day where eren settles from his usual (countless) errands and escapades that kept him busy in aefenglom only to keep from overusing his mentality. rather than looking to drinks at a bar or a partner to share a bed, he looks to one of his newest “hobbies”, though he’d rather call them speed blocks for his spiraling, destructive mood falls from time to time. per elliot’s suggestion, it’s been . . . working, actually! at least the dragon finds himself calmer.

he’s been watching leslie for a different reason beyond low-key babysitting— under a protective awning for passerbys, eren has stationed himself with an arm sized hard-bordered canvas in his hands, poncho hood up and well hidden, for the most part, mostly because he doesn’t make an effort in being noticed. messy, messy hands, caked in blotches of color from palm to crystal talons smear and move around the stretched fabric, and when caught—

he doesn’t stop, or really look up beyond a serpentine flitter of his tongue out and in. ]

Checking for craters?

[ he’ll indulge you, sweet leslie. ]

[foundfamilies]

[ oh nooooooo mr. krüger saw her being silly. she initially takes the offered lifeline in both hands. ]

Y...yes! I have been taking Ferdie on his walks through here from time to time, and it would be bad if it turned out that the puddles were much deeper...than the looked.....

[ she can't do it. she can't lie to him. she covers her burning face completely with both hands and speaks through them in a tone that would suggest she's admitting to a crime. ]

No. I'm sorry, that's not true. I...I thought it looked fun when he splashed his way through the puddles....

[usurpers]

[ he could tell she wouldn’t be able to hold onto the excuse for long before her words begin to stiffly crack up into an alibi visibly full of holes. with only a small pause in whatever stroke he paints, eren uses a nearby wooden pillar to scrape his horn. that led to dragging his cheek, then his neck, splinters becoming dull against ripe, new scale and shaving off the old.

he picks most of them up, one by one, and sticks them in his pocket as he hums out, and then follows with: ]

What’s wrong with that?

Splashing; 12th Mar.

[arturiarex]

[ Saber is still feeling the affects of her evening during the full moon - perils of having a (mostly) human body, apparently. Aches and pains tend to linger. She's bundled up against the rain and wet as well, with a long coat she's purchased. Her tell-tale, bright blond hair is free, though. Maybe her height is why Leslie doesn't spot her. She pauses to watch with a slight smile on her face, a little curious about what the little girl is up to.

She doesn't quite burst out laughing, but she does arch a brow. ]

Oh? What am I seeing then?

[ Her hands stay tucked in her pockets. At least for now. ]

[foundfamilies]

[ Despite her obvious sincerity, Leslie can lie. When she is facing her hated family with a matter of life or death on the line, not even a single muscle twitch belies her words.

This is neither of those things, though, so her eyes drift away nervously, a guilty expression all over her face. ]

I’m...checking how far these puddles splash? So I know how much room to leave if Ferdie jumps into one, to not splash other people walking nearby.

[ She sounds extremely uncertain. ]

[arturiarex]

Oh, I see.

[ Saber seems to accept this at face value. Maybe it's because Leslie is a child. Or maybe she's just fond of her and wants to spare her embarrassment. ]

That sounds like it's important. Who is "Ferdie", though?

7

[getting_better]

[LESLIE NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? He noticed someone on the battlements as he passed and when he realized who it was Bishop quickly scrambled up the stairs (and may need to apologize to some witches and monsters he shoved out of the way as he did) and made it just in time to see Leslie walking back. Oh thank god.

He stared for a moment when she asked him the question, AS IF SHE WASN'T DOING SOMETHING COMPLETELY DANGEROUS JUST NOW, but he's quick to let it go and straighten the lapels of his coat wearing the smile he always carries around.]

I do in fact. It moves too. Wanna see?

[foundfamilies]

[For a moment, Leslie thought that Bishop looked a little frazzled, but with the same smile as usual returning, she wonders if she was imagining it. She can’t think of what could be causing him to feel rushed to get on the wall.]

Yes, please! It would help a lot with my project.

[getting_better]

[What indeed.]

Alright then. Upsy daisy!

[He immediately scoops Leslie into his arms, placing one under to keep her up and the other to hold her steady.]

There! High up, yeah? See anything nice?