Leslie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
foundfamilies) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
middaeg2020-03-13 08:44 pm
foundfamilies) wrote in middaeg2020-03-13 08:44 pm
Mareuer Catch-All: Open Prompts & Closed Threads
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! ]
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! ]
no subject
Then I will call in the evenings, at a time that she finds convenient. I will send her a message first, so as not to arrive unannounced.
[ She pauses and then draws a hand out of her pocket - there are claws, now, carefully clipped and filed down - and lays it on Leslie's shoulder. ]
I am glad to see you doing well.
no subject
I feel the same.
[ She runs that back through her head and makes an almost certainly unnecessary correction. ]
That you're doing well, not that I'm doing well. I'm also happy about that, too, but everyone here among the Mirrorbound has been doing so much for me that it would be more strange if I wasn't doing well. So I'm more glad that you seem to be doing well.
[ Thank goodness Leslie isn't good enough at reading people to notice Saber's aches and pains or the things on her mind that have lead her to wandering this evening. It would be an awkward story to come up with on the spot. ]
no subject
[ Maybe. Kind of. She had a bit of a breakdown and now she's trying to work through all of that. It's complicated and she's not going to burden Leslie with her dilemmas. She's a child and doesn't need to take on Saber's worries. ]
I'm hoping that my own changes will stop soon, but... it's hard to tell when they've all finished.
no subject
So it's more difficult to know when a -- [ Leslie glances down at the tail and up at the claws. ] -- turnskin's? changes have finished.
[ She wants to say that it'll be fine, but as a witch and not even one who has been bonded to a monster going through such changes, she doesn't actually know what it feels like. ]
...Is it hard? Having to change like that.
no subject
[ She unconsciously flexes her fingers in thought. ]
In a way, yes. It isn't painful, at least, but getting used to them is another thing entirely. I have nearly closed a door on my tail on a number of times...
[ Which is probably funnier in thought than it is in practice. ]
no subject
[ Leslie is a better person than me, because she winces instead of laughing at the idea of Saber shutting her tail in a door. ]
That would really hurt. Do you think you could line the doorways and doors with some plush material, like thick carpeting?
[ The doors would no longer close tightly, but it mgith rebound off her tail.... ]
no subject
I don't think that will be necessary, fortunately. I've gotten used to it by now and I've managed to avoid shutting it in doors.
no subject
I'm glad. Have you been needing to get used to not scratching the doors when you open them now, though?
[ It seems Leslie's brain is stuck on doors. At least she doesn't suggest putting carpeting on the doors to stop them from getting scratched, too. ]
no subject
[ Saber actually looks sheepish. ]
I've been trying to keep them trimmed, honestly. It's better than scratching people or objects accidentally.