middaeg | . summer's play

Entry tags:

. summer's play

Who: Dimitri + Babysitters
When: April - May 2020
Where: Aefenglom, Outer City, Wildes
What: Catch all
Warnings: None (will be edited)

[ catch-all for april + may | contact @

tendopeshuu or here ]

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[The only luxury Dimitri has afforded himself thus far is a weather resistant cloak. Draped over his shoulders, it would typically obscure his form, but the wind on the docks lifts the fabric easily. It whips around audibly, not unlike the brilliant blue sails adorning the assigned ship.

After boarding, a crewmember carrying a hefty barrel had told him to wait near the plank for his partner. While Dimitri wants to be confident he could handle this conflict himself, he's thankful for the additional support.

Some of the sailors mill about easily, chatting amiably before the journey - and their work - fully begins. A few have settled against the railing nearby, arms draped over its edge. Dimitri stands rigid in contrast.

He's gotten lost in the ropework of the sails, trying to follow the machinations that capture the wind's power. Sailing isn't foreign to him in concept, but he's certainly never done it himself.

It sounds like hard work - he's eager to get started.]

Edited 2020-04-03 01:25 (UTC)

[A lens through which one could view the stars... Dimitri recalls reading about the object almost immediately upon being offered one. It's a small contraption. Curious, that such a little thing can reveal so much about the world.

More curious that such a common instrument in this world was deemed dangerous.

He takes one hesitantly, but as he climbs a hill to view the meteors his excitement grows.

When he reaches the apex, he holds the lens to his eye-

It's blurry.

Which means it needs adjustments. Carefully, so carefully, he begins to twist the dial.

There are people milling about, though they've all been keeping to their little groups. Standing alone, Dimitri is a bit of an outlier - he's not the only solitary observer, and with monsters in the crowd he's not the tallest, but he is the only one without his eyes turned to the sky as the brilliant rainbow brightens and casts an ethereal hue over the stargazers.]

Edited 2020-04-03 02:06 (UTC)

[A soft blue glow rests on Dimitri's lips, though he doesn't think it stands out much among the much more brilliantly colored people milling around him. Several cometflies still drift through the air, listless despite their narrow lifespan.

Dimitri finds himself watching them more closely than the skies for the moment-

One had flown into his mouth when his gaze was turned upwards, and he'd nearly choked on the thing. Did it live through being spit out? He has no idea... but he can hope for the little guy, and try not to repeat the same mistake.

Looking around him rather than up means he spots Felix easily, and despite a sudden lurch in his stomach, he approaches directly.]

Good evening, Felix.

Are you enjoying the meteor shower?

Edited 2020-04-03 01:47 (UTC)

[All around him, both monsters and witches alike delight in muted festivities beneath the aurora. Dimitri has, as the night progressed, taken to watching bonded pairs, families, and solitary observers with comparable awe.

He appreciates the ease with which these people mingle. It's not a lonely feeling... rather, a hopeful one.

A group of children weave through the street, catching cometflies in glass jars. It's quite a collected, corked and stored any way the kids could manage to carry them. A few clatter to the ground, forgotten in the exhilaration of their game, he supposes.

Without thinking, he bends to pick one up - a small red glow waxing and waning calmly inside.

He approaches the first lone child he sees and offers the trinket forward with a smile he hopes is as friendly as he intends.] It seems some of your friends have started a collection...

Would you like one?

Edited 2020-04-03 02:06 (UTC)

[Hours have passed, and the ranks of children on the streets have thinned. Dimitri doesn't truly register how late it is, however, until he finds a bench unclaimed. Many had been used to stand on, or for the elderly to sit and enjoy the company of their families.

Now, he takes the space, and it feels cold.

With a sigh, Dimitri pulls out his telescope - now broken into several pieces - and begins to fiddle with the instrument in his lap. He's hopeless at delicate work...

He doesn't know why he's trying to fix it instead of looking up at the illustrious view with his bare eyes.]

Edited 2020-04-03 02:05 (UTC)

[With a spear and a trident strapped to his back, Dimitri is clearly here for guard duty. He'd offered his assistance to loading the cargo as well, and some of the crewmembers looking for an easy day had taken him up on it. With one barrel on each shoulder, he falls in line with the loading procession.

It's sweaty work; he's already worked up a sheen across his forehead.

On his way back down the plank, a brisk skip to his step, Dimitri stops.

A new face?]

Hello.

Forgive me for being so bold, but are you here as one of the hired guards?

Edited 2020-04-03 02:10 (UTC)

[Despite more than half of the class ignoring his introduction, Dimitri can't help but be charmed by this group. They chat eagerly among each other, sharing wildly overblown stories about the Wilde. Some nervous, some excited, they're a mix like one would expect.

He's looking forward to their company - and he's sure he'll learn just as much as they will on this excursion.

Dimitri had tried to tell the group as much when he'd introduced himself, but they hadn't even cared to hear his whole name.

Oh well.

He'll wait for a lull in the preparatory conversation between their teacher and the guide for the trip to approach her.] Hello, my name is Dimitri- [Alexandre Blaiddyd...

He'll skip that part.] I'll be here as back up should anything unforeseen come up, but please don't hesitate to put me to work wherever you need.

[These kids will probably be a handful.]

[ she stands there in black-and-silver officer's garb, the only visible armor being greaves and vambraces, with a dark blue cloak over the top. symbols of adrestia, the emperor herself and the crest of flames are marked here and there. still, that shock of blonde hair stands out in her periphery, and... sure enough. that's the boar prince. she's connected the dots on what those devices are as well—the empire had started producing them for scouts anyway, as she recalls—and bites down a flare of anger at seiros. so much suppression, and for what?

still. maybe meeting like this is a chance to try again. ]

It's a bit tricky to get them aligned properly, isn't it? [ she speaks up from a solid five feet away, very much giving him his space. ] ... You seem well, Dimitri.

Edited 2020-04-03 02:38 (UTC)

[ sylvia also has warm clothes for the occasion, even if fashionably it doesn't match. it's an athletic jacket from her world, which is very modern and nothing like something in aefenglom would wear, but it works. she's mostly here to help out with cargo, but when they instruct her to go to the plank to meet her partner, she perks up. she's glad for the help. labor is hard work!

she follows one of the sailors and is immediately introduced to a man with striking blue eyes and blonde hair. he's certainly more dressed for the occasion. sylvia grins at him and holds up a hand in greeting. ]

Hey! Looks like we'll be working together. You're Dimitri, right? I'm Sylvia.

[Sypha had no trouble at all with taking on an assignment like this. She had been working tirelessly to get her magic back in order, and she was getting quite proficient at new spells, so the payday for the opportunity to explain some very basic stuff to a bunch of children was not something she'd miss. She'd been all smiles and her scholarly background (along with having to consistently chastise Alucard and Trevor) had helped her keep them more or less under control thus far.

When the bodyguard approached as the teacher took over the lesson, Sypha bobbed her head in greeting, and even managed a smile.]

I am Sypha, it's a pleasure, Dimitri. [He looked young...perhaps a decade or so younger than herself and Trevor? It was hard to say, but he did look strong enough.]

Hopefully we won't have any difficulties with Shades. The Wilders have kept this area well clear for months, I'm told, and I personally come to the area to gather herbs.

[They'll be fiiiiine.]

Are you a recent arrival?

[ There's a spot out atop the low garden wall, tucked behind the shed near the street, where Felix likes to go to spend a few quiet hours when he's not utterly wrapped up in his drills. Usually, he can go unnoticed out here, but being close to the garden means being close to a convergence of the tiny, glowing insects crawling up out of the greenery—which means there's not just one, but a dozen little points of light dusting his shoulders, his hair, even stuck to the tip of one pointed ear where they've lit upon him for fleeting seconds.

He'd probably be more irritated about that if most of them weren't blue and gold. However many of them have had an effect, he's... oddly placid about it, ears swiveling toward Dimitri as he turns his head. Whatever strange mood they've put into him is just enough of a buffer that maybe a few old, stray feelings of warmth aren't immediately eclipsed by disgust at the sight of him.

Felix stares at him for a moment, eyes inevitably drawn to the blue glow smack in the middle of his face. He snorts—and then actually chuckles. ]

It's certainly a change of pace from the cakes they were slinging at me when I got here. [ He's still grinning, bemused. ] Don't tell me you ate one of those. How do you know they're not toxic?

[What are the chances that the first lone child he saw would have the symbol of the Black Eagles sewn on like a badge on her chest? Maybe it's just a coincidental black eagle, though. Even with the case of Lysithea to push down the boundary, she looks too young for the Officers Academy and she doesn't seem to recognize Dimitri even a little.

Regardless, it appears he succeeded on his friendly smile roll, because Leslie returns it with a smile of her own, though her face really brightens in excitement when she sees the jar of cometfly.]

Oh, so they're catching them...but is it really okay if I do take it? I've learned a little about how to look after pets, but I never thought of having an insect as a pet before.

[She places one hand on one cheek as she thinks, which is particularly noticeable because the index and middle fingers of that hand are glowing softly yellow thanks to a previous cometfly landing.]

[It was easy to forget... well, everything, when nights like tonight occurred, lively local customs that he could get swept up in and forget himself in the excitement of. Tonight had been no different, but with people dissipating into their homes, he's left to walk the streets mostly alone.

The melancholy mood that settles in isn't bad, either, for a little while.

But just when he's thinking about chasing away that melancholy mood by heading to the entertainment district, hitting up a bar or tavern, falling back on old pursuits, he sees a familiar figure sitting alone on a bench, fiddling with something in his hands instead of enjoying the sights.

So he closes the distance to him, instead, sits next to him, drapes an arm around the back of the bench.]

Mind if I join you, Dimitri? Shame for you to have to enjoy the sights alone.

[Gently urging him to look up at the sky instead of the broken instrument in his lap, nbd.]

[Dimitri is familiar with slums - the sprawling habitat that offers little more than a chance of survival to the people living within. He's only passed them through, ushered by royal retainers to keep a pace that wouldn't endanger him.

Someday, he'd like to simply linger and learn.

Aefenglom may not be like his world, but certainly there's some knowledge to be gained by living not at the level of a prince, but of the people.

He'd thought the outer city would be much like the shanties tucked against the wall...

He was wrong.

Dimitri's first visit to the periphery leaves him at a loss. He'd refused the gloves, the masks, but so too must he refuse the outstretched hand of a man wrapped in thin black strands of sickness.

Alone, in a dour state, Dimitri walked the dirt paths until he lost track of time. As light is beginning to fade from the horizon, sunset rays overtaken by the glow of the wall, he comes by a frail woman - she couldn't be much older than him - struggling to prop up her make shift refuge.

With a quick 'please, allow me' he steps in, easily lifting the wooden planks and jagged metal sheets. While nothing is too heavy for him, he cannot seem to quite balance the structure correctly alone...

He speaks up to the next person passing by.] Excuse me! Would you please grab that board? <small[He nods towards a length of plywood next to the shelter.]

Edited 2020-04-05 23:10 (UTC)

[It's easy to discriminate between those who call the outer city their home - for many their final resting place - and those who reap it for profit. The faster someone walks, the more color in their face, their response to muddy patches in the road...

The people who are alert, free of illness, are either here to help or here to take what they can for themselves.

Dimitri has been walking after one such individual for a while now. Perhaps they've noticed him, he isn't exactly stealthy, but a philanthropist would have stopped to give aid by now. This man... is simply waiting for an opportunity to lose his pursuer.

Which isn't a crime, so Dimitri hasn't intervened.

It seems he won't need to-

After taking an abrupt turn around a corner, the man turns and raises a knife.] Leave me alone, you hear!?

Or I'll cut your hands off!

[Dimitri startles, only for a moment, and then presses a shoddy smile onto his lips.] I'm sorry for disturbing you...

I was simply curious as to your purpose in this area. It isn't safe to wander.

It's none of your business, bastard! [With that the man attempts to charge, knife held forward with intent to force Dimitri to dodge and allow him the chance to sprint away.

Dimitri does side step, but he quickly trips the man, who stumbles, and eventually loses his footing.

Right in front of a specific passerby.]

Edited 2020-04-05 23:10 (UTC)

[She's a little bit of an odd sight here - dressed for a hard day's work but there's an unflappable air of nobility about her that tends to turn a few heads when she shows up with staff in hand. (It might be the golden tiara that she never removes). She struck a serious but petite figure, and without any of her supernatural Altean strength to back her up, she can't so easily just life a few man-sized boxes to prove her moxy anymore.

But everyone mostly leaves her be - and she's interested to be near the docks. It's her first time being so near a sea ship!

And she's peering curiously over the edge, at the rudder of the ship when a voice speaks up and she makes a small noise, jumping before she straightens entirely, both hands on her staff.]

I am! I was just... checking if there were any merrow down there. [She says, her accent a gentle lilt.]

[Falling asleep hasn't been more difficult since Dimitri's arrival - it hasn't been any easier, either. But, somehow, he finds himself wanting to rest more often, like a particularly urgent lethargy that feels as important as eating or drinking.

He still can't quite calm himself enough to drift off regularly.

Chamomile doesn't always do the trick, but the fragrance does help him relax. So he takes the morning to seek out a tea shop, careful to open the door as gently as he can manage.

Once inside, he does not announce himself. Instead he sets to looking over the products quietly, intent to be in and out as efficiently as possible.]

Edited 2020-04-05 23:10 (UTC)

[This time, when Dimitri sojourns to the outer city, he brings a dozen wooden swords with him. Packed in a roll of fabric, he's quick to make his way to a particular dirt yard. About three boys are waiting for him there, between the ages of five and twelve - he greets them with a wave and sets his parcel down in the dried mud.

It's the flattest ground he could find in the area.

These children do not appear infected, though if they did Dimitri would likely be undertaking this endeavor all the same. He supposes it must be their parents who either are currently suffering the illness, or have died from it and left them to find care with others.

He hands out three swords, taking one for himself. Drills first, which the boys follow with the sort of diligence that can be expected of their age. Then, sparring, which quickly devolves into the three of them rushing Dimitri-

He knocks their swords away easily, splintering one on impact and sending the pieces flying towards a passing woman. The boy with the broken sword screams in surprise, and Dimitri yells a warning he hopes isn't too late.]

Watch out!

Edited 2020-04-05 23:11 (UTC)

[Physical labor comes easily to Dimitri - he quickly learns how to hoist a sail, tie a knot, and where to shift cargo. It's waiting that's difficult, and once they're on course, it's all there's left to do.

He doesn't initiate small talk with the crew, instead pacing up and down the starboard side of the ship while his cloak whips in the wind. There's nothing to see but water and the slowly diminishing port on the horizon.

A few seagulls perch on the railing near him, watching him carefully.

He doesn't know how terrible of a choice it is to feed them...

So he offers a small piece of hard bread to the pair, and soon dozens are descending. Calling loudly, crashing into one another for the chance at a crumb.

Oh no-

With a bit of fear in his eyes, Dimitri turns and tries to make eye contact with anyone he can. The crew, understandably, avoids the throng of greedy birds, which leaves only the other hired help within the vicinity.]

Do you... do you have more bread? [If he feeds them enough they'll leave, right????]

[One does not venture into the Wilde without a bond, they'd warned. But at Dimitiri's insistence, the group had permitted him to venture at the side of an experienced witch. They'd slipped him a temporary bond potion - implication clear - but he's hesitant to lead with such a proposition.

He wants to know what he alone is capable of out here, and he doesn't intend to rebuff the attempts of his friends for bonds to run off with a stranger.

Spear in hand, he jogs up to his partner with a friendly smile.

Their mission today is simple routine maintenance - making sure paths previously carved out are still able to be traversed. An easy task on paper, but there will almost certainly be fighting.]

It seems as if we'll be working together. My name is Dimitri - thank you for allowing me to accompany you. [No, she doesn't look like the friendliest person, but he can't help being polite.]

[After figuring out how to adjust the lens on his telescope, Dimitri had settled into watching the meteors through the device. Time passes unknown to him, the hour of the night far from his mind as a little comet fly lands on the tip of his instrument.

He lowers it, looking over the glowing yellow thing with fondness for just a moment before trying to gently...blow it away and on with its evening. The insect doesn't budge. He blows again, to the same effect, and then shakes the telescope.

Still, it sits, flashing its light as lazily as before.

He tries to nudge it with his finger, to no success... Any harder, and he might hurt the thing.

At a loss, Dimitri stands like a tall blond doofus in the middl of a crowd, locked in a stupid staring contest with a stubborn little bug.]

_{[It's...definitely endearing catching sight of the young man attempting to rid himself of the frail insect without actually harming it. Most wouldn't think twice when it comes to knocking the creature or squishing it between their fingers. Not even Tataru can judge, considering she'd probably eat it with the right spices...but it's nice to see care out of a Hyur toward something far smaller than them.

Smiling she goes up to him, a small twig in hand, before she's tapping him against the leg with it.]}

Here, you ought to use this. It'll work better than a finger.

[Hector loves animals. Way more than most people. It's just fact. But at this moment, he's not inclined to be charitable to anyone, man or beast. 'Take a trip on a boat, it'll be fun', he'd told himself, nostalgic for the sea after so long away from his hermit's cottage in the east of Rhodes.

Now his sheep-faun's wool is waterlogged with salt water and he can't get warm and the sound of dozens of cawing seagulls is drowning out any soothing ocean waves against the ship's prow.

Forget the screams of tortured souls and demonic growls. Hector is pretty sure the ambient noises of hell are going to be the cacophony of gulls' cries that some idiot has been foolish enough to throw bread to.

That idiot sidles up, asking for more bread, and Hector glares at him.]

No. Stop feeding them! You'll draw even more in.

[Jin Guangyao was the kind of man that always had something to do, always something he was putting his mind to. Although he felt the cold more since arriving in Aefenglom, he was still warm enough from the day's activities to continue building his own mental map of the city well into the evening: feeling out the relationships between the people, Witches and Monsters, what was typical and what was forbidden. Freed from the politics of his own world's sects and left to his own devices, it is not so much that he feels at a loss, and more that he's left to contemplate his own place in this new life, and what he should do with it.

Venturing beyond the wall for the first time today, he felt confident that any official maps would hardly reflect the reality -- which turned out to be even more true than he had thought at first. Where he'd grown up in Yunping had been far from the best neighbourhood at the time, but not the worst. But this was an entirely different situation. A place of desperation and corruption. That didn't necessarily mean unsalvageable, though.

His contemplation of other stragglers is interrupted by the call of this man who seems, at a quick glance, as out of place as himself.

With his arms folded into his long sleeves, the problem is not so apparent. He hesitates a moment and with a faint smile says:]

Of course. One moment.

[Stepping lightly over, he grabs the board with his left hand alone, but it's a little awkward to manage. He angles himself to avoid making the complete absence of a right hand too obvious, using the side of his arm to try to wrangle it into a better grip. He'll really need to do something about his missing hand sooner or later, but the easily obtained prosthetics look obviously fake, and Jin Guangyao has always cared about appearances. Better to simply hide it with the voluminous sleeves of his robe, for now.]

Where would you like it?

[The man falls in a crash of momentum directly in front of Itachi, who is little more than a shadow off the street, dressed head to toe in unassuming black. His eyes slant down at the groaning body. One foot lifts, and for a moment gives the impression it's going to kick—but instead nudges the man's shoulder in order to roll him upright.

Mud is smeared over the man's crude features, and there clutched in his hands is the knife. Itachi presses the same foot across the assailant's throat, eliciting a gurgling sound of protest, that blade once more upraised in a glint of silver.]

Release it.

[The man's voice chokes off, knife falling loose of bloody fingers and thunking to the ground. In the effort to catch his own fall, he had sliced open his own hands. A hazard of inexperienced handling.

Impassive eyes drift back up as Itachi maintains the pressure of his heel. He surveys the younger man, and reflects on the polite words of just a moment ago.]

He may be more amenable to questions now.

[Was he stalking this whole interaction? Yes, maybe.]

Edited 2020-04-07 02:03 (UTC)

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Page 1 of 14

. summer's play

. sylvia

. byleth

. felix

. leslie

. sylvain

. allura

. sypha

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nyooms here

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. jgy

. itachi

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. lorenz

. alex

. hector

. maria

. tataru

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