middaeg | She works hard for the money [Open]

Who: Caren and you!
When: Throughout the month
Where: Knit's Wit, Daisy Chain, throughout the city streets, various brothels
What: Quest time good time
Warnings:

I: Knit Wit

[Thanks to Justine, she's been able to find work, and a new set of clothing, at the Knit Wit. Which means that Caren can be found in the shop fairly often, quick and nimble with her fingers as she works on whatever project it may be-whether it is doing up a hem or adding embroideries to sleeves or other bits of clothing. It could be easy to hover and watch her for awhile.

Or she could take notice of someone crossing the doorway, and have to stop her work, and ensure her needle was stuck in the fabric so it wouldn't unravel.]

May I help you?

[Let's hope her customer service isn't terrible.]

II: Gardening with Class

A: Flowers and the City

So if this also has a magical property...

[She's excited, and leaning forward as she types down notes. For those who have seen her before, in any location...Caren is far more animated. She's absorbing everything, or as much as she can, even as she writes it all down in her Watch.

But she also has to wonder...]

Does this mean we could make a profit off of our plants? Sell the surplus to witches?

[If that means she can sell excess basil when she's sick of it...that's not a terrible idea.]

B: Arrangements and you

[She'd rather that the plants stayed in the dirt, but well-that was the price of doing flower arrangements that were pleasing to the eye. But...there were a few things that caught her eye. While some had given certain flowers, there were her favorites in anothers hands. So she had to go around, with other flowers in her hands.]

Excuse me. Do you mind if I exchanged my flowers for your hydrangeas?

[She looks actually girlish and hopeful for once.]

III: Festival Preparations

A: Harbor Cleaning

[It was good to do some cleaning. True, she was doing that in her new home quite a bit-there was who knew how much dust there-but she enjoyed making the Harbor presentable as well. Cleaning was something she knew how to do, and do well.

Though she never helped with a city wide clean up before. But the latest project-that she had to get to one of the windows and clean it off-was somewhat difficult.

It was a little out of reach.

She went up onto her toes. No dice. She tried to hop up and get it in bits, but it didn't help either. Seeing someone come by, she called out:]

A little help?

B: Blooming Pastries

[She wasn't always assigned to the harbor. Most of the time, she showed up on a day she wasn't working at the Knit Wit, since she needed to save up. After hearing what had happened to Connor-and how he just suddenly had a tail-she wanted to be certain that she had ever had that happen, or that Somnus had it happen to him-that there would be a nest egg ready.

Having 2000 cunes a day weren't anything to sneeze at. So she was working whenever possible.

Maybe it wasn't surprising that in the midst of making Apple Rose tarts, that her knees buckle. She might knock against you against as she starts falling to her knees.]

Sorry...

IV: Gardens with Class

A: Language of Flowers

[So they're supposed to...learn how to flirt and ply other people with drink was it? Well, this should go well. She could do this. And it was time for an exercise! They were paired off randomly, just so they could see if they could do it without the tips that were offered, more or less.

Shouldn't take more then a minute or two they said. She could do this. Easily!

Caren took in a deep breath, and leaned over, so she was pressed arm against arm with her companion. This might look intense, or it might just look slightly ridiculous, depending on the height difference.]

Good evening. Have you been enjoying your time here? I have, no that you're here.

[And she smiles. She's doing great, right?]

B: Flowering in the City

[All right. She doesn't understand this class at all. She huffs a little, and folds her arms under her chest, before murmuring to one of her class mates.]

Isn't it just a matter of flashing a little skin and making some false promises to charm someone into giving you money? That's how I thought it worked.

[Caren why are you saying such horrible things so casually.]

C: A perfect Arrangement

[Caren sighed. She didn't have anyone to bring with her, not really. She didn't know who she would ask to come with to this class. So it was a random pair up for the dancing, and she was standing there, shy and uncertain.]

I've never...danced before. So I don't mind if you take the lead.

[She paused, and continued:]

I'll try not to step on your feet.

Wildcard:

This can be for exploring the city, settling in Haven, all sorts of shenanigans! Or for making something completely different. If you have questions, you can contact me on plurk at

nammah

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, very.

[She knows it. As for that...]

The dead can't do anything. The living can.

[This has become a strange conversation isn't it.]

[To be fair... she's speaking to a man who can force the most mundane topics through an off-putting or troubling lens. Sometimes it's intentional, but often... it just grows that way from an innocent root, crooked and strange.

Then again, for some people, buying clothes might as well be a life-or-death matter, given the difficulty involved.]

Inaction isn't necessarily good, and action isn't necessarily bad. If you die, all that you are and ever will be is set in stone. You're not doing harm, but you're also incapable of correcting past wrongs forever. That's worth thinking about, I believe.

[Maybe it's for the best that L walked through this door. Since...well, it looks like two strange people have found each other and are enjoying their strange way of seeing the world.

Her expression is at least thoughtful as she considers what he says.]

It is worth thinking about. Choice...that's only something that can be done by the living, whether one decides or not.

[For the isolated detective, who will quickly forget how to behave around other people at all if he doesn't engage every now and then with another sentient being, this encounter has absolutely been a net positive. His glazed and dead exterior is a little warmed through, a little lighter, a little less like something feral and wary.

The fact that he's now dressed in something resembling a stylish outfit likely helps. Now if only he could learn to comb his hair.]

Not deciding is, itself, a choice. The ability matters a great deal to most people.

[The question, hanging in the silence after he speaks, is doesn't it matter to you?]

[She's still adjusting really. There's a lot of things she can't do yet and-it chafes. It's difficult to socialize sometimes. But here with L-it wasn't so terrible.

And it helped that he looked less like a tattered hobo.]

It does. And it's a precious thing. More so when you're not used to having it, and need to learn how to use it to its fullest extent.

[Which...hopefully answers the question. She values it, but...it's difficult to use.]

[In a lot of ways, they're almost eerily matched. Socially, they have probably had similar enough experiences that their attitudes have been shaped in like ways; even what they don't say about the subject seems to be quietly, mutually understood. At least, that's L's interpretation, and he leaves the dressing room in a pair of belted grey slacks, a white button-up shirt, the cream-colored coat, and as he's passing them, he also reaches for a pair of brown leather boots off a shelf in his size. They seem sturdy and comfortable, and the shoes he wore into the store look more ready for the garbage than his robes.

He's actually almost presentable, to the point where catching a glimpse of himself in a nearby mirror actually seems to startle him a bit.]

I think I know what you mean.

[It's not just blowing smoke. She might realize by now that he actually does have some kind of sense for it.]

Even a mundane choice can feel very significant under those circumstances, I'm sure. Worthy of celebration, or stress, or perhaps a bit of both.

[It's really strange how much they're alike. They've been shaped in different ways, for different but similar reasons and here...they can get along. Though Caren is glad that her styling wins over ragged robes, as this way he looks more comfortable, more like someone who is comfortable in his skin.

She also nods in approve of the boots. Those will last him a long time, and would be good walking outside or inside of the city proper.]

I thought of all people, you might.

[Which...no, she's honest there. It does feel like he'd understand what it's like.]

Sometimes it's a relief. And sometimes, the fact that you made that choice-it's stressful, knowing that others will object even to the most minor of things.

My apologies for going off topic but-how do you feel about this selection? Does it feel right to you?

[He's said little about his life before, because in truth, he prefers to keep that information close. Maybe starting over here, as fully as possible, is very appealing to the detective, because even if his enemies show up and try to find him, what would they do to him without his resources and the motivation to bring them down?

If Kira showed up here, would L bring him down? Could he?]

Well... I don't believe that anyone would object to these boots.

[He sounds like he's on the edge of laughter when he says it, because the conversation has taken such a somber turn. They're just clothes, and he can recognize the humor of assigning them such a weighty significance when most would not.]

I like it. It's different from what I wore before, but... in a way that's sort of the point. I want to look normal.

[Because just looking normal is probably the best L can do, honestly.]

[She won't ask. Even if she is curious-he was so excited before-she's not going to go over the line. Not when he likely has a variety of reasons not to get into what his world was like, his hobbies, the little things.

After all-there was no way of being sure they'd meet again.

Caren still had to smother a smile and a snort of amusement behind her hand though at the boots comment.]

They're very unobjectable boots.

[She says it gravely, but there's that glint of amusement in her eyes as she says it. She had been taking this seriously but-he looks better. He might even be standing up a little straighter.

Maybe.]

The robes were worn out. You're too young to play the hobo hermit in the woods.

You'll blend in nicely. Normal but-also someone to take seriously.

She works hard for the money [Open]

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