here's a hymn to welcome in the day

[divineconfetti]

Who: Wolf (divineconfetti) & you!
When: Throughout Iuneril.
Where: Various locations.
What: June quests and additional catch-all!
Warnings: Currently: none.

I— leeches and lycanths.
( the small apothecary is a quiet and slightly dusty sort of place, tucked in-between two much taller buildings like a diminutive middle child standing dejected between its two larger siblings. though wolf originally looked to the turnskin owners with some wariness, he found that they were for the most part very pleasant, if not a little energetic and a lot eccentric. they seemed very happy that one of the new monsters had taken up the offer (or taken up the bait?) to help them test out their new concoctions, and they end up shepherding him to a small table towards the back of the cramped, crowded store.

as the two that had shepherded him there move back towards the counter and begin discussing something with yet another turnskin working in a back room, wolf quitely takes notice of motes of dust and shed fur forming bunnies under shelves and in the corners of the room. he sighs, scratching at his jaw. )

a | ( for any other monsters come to leeches & lycanths to act as guinea pigs, they are sat at the same table as wolf after arrival and explanation of their being there. soon they are brought some very... interesting-looking vials of liquid, and asked to drink and then sit for observation for an hour or two. the turnskins leave them to their devices, though wolf notices them looking over towards them with bright, excited eyes from time to time. they gleam in the lower light, and he thinks it might seem predatory if they didn't seem so interested in the effects of the potions rather than the subjects themselves. he returns his attention back to the potion sitting in front of him. the color seems to shift between purple and green as one looks at it, with the odd sheen of an oil slick.

certainly not appetizing, but that is not what wolf being paid to do here. so, without a word to his companion, he takes up the glass vial in his right hand and drinks down the whole thing in one gulp, setting the empty glass back down on the table with a thud. the taste is, in a word, terrible, but he's accustomed to such things, thanks to the bitterness of the healing gourd's medicine.

he immediately feels a little queasy, though he's wondering if it's a side-effect or just unease at the taste and the viscosity of the potion. he looks up to his companion, quirking one scarred eyebrow. ) What do you think? ( if they have already drank it, what they think of whatever they just consumed. if they have not, well... maybe whatever their life choices were, leading them to this situation. )

b | ( and for anyone else around town, you might come across wolf just as the sun is beginning to set. it bathes the city in oranges and crimsons, with the far horizon fading into pinks and purples. it's beautiful, and one might think that perhaps it is a little too stunning, because wolf, looking up towards the sky as he is walking down a cobbled street, begins to... list to one side. and then further, and then all the way to the point where he is collapsing sideways into a sizable stack of bags of potting soil outside a flower shop.

it's quite odd for a shinobi to be losing his balance like that, but it wasn't something he was able to overcome — on the way home from the testing at leeches and lycanths, he had suddenly been overwhelmed by a wave of vertigo. now, rubbing his head with his right hand, he blinks up into what passers-by might be gathering around to see what is wrong or lend a helping hand, finding his vision blurring in a way that makes it hard to distinguish who or what is there.

oh, and there's a sizable greenish mark blooming under his left eye, matched by another that seems to have started to spread across his throat. )

II— fetch!
( wolf had taken it upon himself to try to locate some of the more dangerous objects, and those had to be the ones located in the wilde. should any of those wraith-like creatures appear, he is ready with a variety of weapons — but what he had not been very well-prepared for was the bees.

it had rained in the morning, and now that humidity is rising up into his face as the noon-time sun beams down from above. muggy and increasingly warm, it draws the insects from their homes, which seem to be interlaced all around this particular meadow on the outskirts of the wilde. wolf had listened to the instructions carefully on how to find the objects required, so he is certain that the flowers are nearby. but with the flowers came the risk of the insects, which were lazily droning about and doing their business pollinating not only the tiger lilies in question but also many other types of flowers and plants in the area.

there are a lot of them, and that seems to concern wolf. his brow his creased and his mouth settles into a frown.

he is not alone in this endeavor, however, so he glances to his companion. ) I am not concerned with being stung. However... ( he glances back over the meadow that stretches to the edge of the wilderness, hearing the humming undercurrent of the droning of the bees as he does so. ) They could cause problems. And it was requested that the bees not be accidentally brought back.

( his shinobi training did not prepare him for this. )

III— wildcard.
( for anything else that does not fit in here! maybe looking into obtaining the other items mentioned in the fetch quest! also, in addition to these quests, wolf is also going to be helping out with festival preparations; he will mostly be doing manual labor down in the harbor district, but you can always drag him into making flower arrangements or attempting to bake cookies or something! I am down for whatever, but feel free to contact me at lycanthropic if you wanna figure something out! c: )

Comments

[divineconfetti]

( well, nel... you aren't wrong. it might not be a particularly long story for him to tell, but it would certainly be one you would have to apply a little pressure to obtain. so that would be a fun task for another time, indeed.

at that, wolf falls conspicuously quiet... having worked alone for so long makes him a little blind to his own habits, perhaps, and having them pointed out so obviously in a harmless jab was something that took him off-guard. so he doesn't really respond, but he does do everything he can to keep himself ambulating in a way that was mostly functional. they make their way down the street. it's not really fast, but at least it's not "falling over into whatever of whoever might be passing by." )

No, I... ( wow, this feels so much more foolish when he's forced to actually explain it. but he's already started speaking, so he might as well finish. ) I volunteered to test a potion for an apothecary. There - were other side-effects, which did not last. I assume these are similar.

( the other side-effects hadn't been so strong, though. well, as they say, "the bill comes at the end." wolf is thinking he's going to need to go back to the apothecary and tell them about this tomorrow. and hopefully not get talked into another round of testing... )

[guillotine]

[ Remarkable self-restraint keeps her from crassly snorting at the poor man. It also means that she doesn't immediately launch into scolding him. Nel wonders (privately) whether his willingness to volunteer was for the same reasons as his reluctance to accept intervention.

She hums to signal that she's heard him, considering how he might feel more than see the amicable nod preceding it. ]

Volunteered. Very generous. [ Wolf's dark hair is tickling her cheek, but she's just going to have to power through it with pointed focus on the things he hasn't said. ] I take that to mean you aren't getting paid in the event that you must see a healer.

[ Okay. Maybe a little scolding. ]

[divineconfetti]

( wolf is used to being kicked while he's down, so it wouldn't be all that out of place... but nonetheless it is appreciated that she does not immediately jump into shaming him within an inch of his life, especially ailing as he is.

he realizes as she speaks that he has made a bit of an error when it comes to the decision-making process of his diction. oops. well, at least he would have the coin if he needed to see a doctor about this... even though he would hate to spend it. one might not expect it from such a duty-and-honor-bound shinobi such as this, but it's insinuated that wolf actually rather enjoys the feeling of hording money... )

I... misspoke. They did pay me.

( 500 cunes... he realizes now that probably wasn't worth all of the hassle. )

But I will not need a healer. ( he says, with all of the conviction of a man who still thinks he's immortal, but he definitely isn't. )

[guillotine]

[ Hackles lowering at the clarification, Nel tries to twitch her nose away from an errant hair threatening to squirrel up inside it. ]

No? You're only a little blind and hard of hearing.

[ A passing shop attendant throws them an odd look. She smiles amicably, arm tightening around Wolf's waist. ]

But let's give your symptoms time. You must agree that if they worsen with rest, someone should be contacted...?

[divineconfetti]

( he merely grumbles, giving her that much.

concern and compassion is not something that is often thrust at him, particularly not in a way that was forceful and lasting. he can only think of lord kuro, that had offered him such things, but even then it had often been tempered by what wolf took upon himself to do by his lord's wishes. but with someone else — with a stranger... he feels unsure of how to handle it. especially when he has a warped perception of his own health and mortality. )

If they are like the other symptoms I endured, they will fade with time. ( there is a long pause... ) But - ( and this is all said very begrudgingly, ) if they persist, I will seek the aid of a doctor.

( he squints. his vision is still pretty blurry, and it swims with the persistent vertigo that turns things around and upside-down in his mind's eye... but landmarks are beginning to look a little more familiar. )

Here... Two streets down. We take a left. ( he at least sounds fairly sure about that. )

[guillotine]

[ He had the good grace to collapse close to home, she notes, just a touch more charitably. Nel affixes Wolf with dubious scrutiny before following his directions, taking as much of the street in as she can without rubbernecking.

Not everyone is content to leave the new arrivals be, as she well knows after chasing an intruder down in the buff. ]

If you're leading me in the right direction, I'll know where to check in on you.

[ A threat... laden with kindness, of a sort. An anemic smile passes across her mouth. ]

[divineconfetti]

( it had been good fortune, honestly.

or, well, as close to "good fortune" as being poisoned by an alchemical mixture and losing most of your control and faculties could be.

he is silent; he might have glanced to her, but his vision is virtually useless to him, so he resists the impulse. it... does sound like a threat, certainly. there is a way that wolf usually responds to threats, but how does he deal with one that's compassionate at his core?

he supposes he will accept it, since it seems rude and ungrateful to refuse someone who was hauling his carcass back home when he would have been unable to do so on his own otherwise. ) If you wish to do so, I would not turn you away.

( it's not said in a way that's begrudging, really, but he does seem gruff. or, well, gruffer than usual. )

I would offer my aid to you when I am well, also. As to repay your kindness.

[guillotine]

Ahh.

[ A light exhale, punctuated by the closest a breath can get to a laugh.

One foot in front of the other. Over a crack in the street, where moss crowds in and spreads out through intentional lines. Another heavy-lidded smile, shot at a young man entirely too interested in Wolf's uneven gait. ]

It isn't kindness when I'm holding you to it.

[ Still, Nel's rebuke is so gentle. Could it really mean nothing? ]

[divineconfetti]

( he senses something here. as a shinobi, you are trained to be watchful, observant, keen in all of your senses. you had to detect what was there, yes, but you also had to be able to discern what wasn't there. he gets a sensation of that here, something ephemeral which he cannot yet detect, but which has a sort of precariousness: like walking along a cliff-side, not knowing one of the seemingly-solid stones underfoot was loose.

somewhat on guard, he attempts to be cautious. )

No. It is not.

( he thinks of kuro. is his compassion to kuro worth anything if it stemmed from his sense of loyalty and dedication to him? is kuro's magnanimity to him valid if it took root from his being touched by the lengths wolf would go to for him — when he had been killed while protecting him? the depth of emotion wolf felt for his lord was something he knew was not proper, but it was still something that was real, even if both he and kuro avoided addressing it. the fact that it was something that hid in the empty spaces between what they were to one another did not make it anything but what it was.

he sighs. he is good with a sword, good at staying hidden and learning things that he should not. navigating conversations was something he had lesser skill with. )

Do not hold me to it, then. It is something I do out of my own kindness.

( it's probably something he should learn, right? )

[guillotine]

[ She cannot read any mind, let alone pry out the secrets of a man so reticent to speak or be emotionally expressive. What Nel can sense is that Wolf, understanding on some level the significance of a debt to her, has sidestepped the obligation (the concept of repayment) and planted them firmly in the territory of common courtesies.

So Nel lets it go. Debt collection isn't why she stopped for him; her disconnect is not so perfect. ]

Understood. Do you think yourself a kind man, Wolf?

[ Careful, carefully watching everything— but not his face. If she turns to do so, too much of them will be touching. ]

[divineconfetti]

( he has plenty of time to accidentally amass debt to her in the future.

the question stays him. it seems to lock itself up in his chest, along with a breath he will only notice he is holding when he finally releases it to speak. it is a plain enough question he cannot simply ignore it, though he wishes he could — it rests at a particularly difficult intersection of "answering questions about himself" and "aspects of himself he has purposefully minimized in the pursuit of his duty."

eventually, he grumbles forth with an answer that does seem slightly begrudging. ) No. ( pause ... and he continues. ) Once, I might have been.

( but in order to do what wolf does, one could not be kind. kindness only comes in the absence of cruelty: if he must put someone down, he at least does it swiftly. but kuro had seen that in him, buried beneath the teachings of his masters. he remembers when he gave him kusabimaru, a sword which with its very name beseeches him not to forget mercy.

but what does any of that matter, here? a lifetime of training and service and duty, all strings and tethers severed. )

But... perhaps I could be again.

( he is thoughtful for a moment. ) And yourself? Is helping someone like this common for you?

[guillotine]

[ Waiting out his thought process bears the fruit she guessed it would. Nel absorbs the cryptic answer, the length of time it took to cook for, and lets nothing show. Her face is empty of feeling despite the lurch of her belly that accompanies 'once, I might have been'.

Perhaps is a hopeful note, for the sort of person who requires it. Her Majesty doesn't need a second conscience, just a Crimson Blade. That's what she is and all she aspires to be. ]

Me? Ah, careful.

[ Rhetorical, just a device to buy a few seconds with a street's disrepair and choose whether to lie or fob it off with a partial truth. The honorable thing would be to answer as candidly and sincerely as Wolf has, but regardless of her claims to the contrary, Nel collects dishonorable habits like some people hoard cats. ]

It's uncommon that I turn the other way when action can be taken. [ Truth. Highly unspecific, too. ]

[divineconfetti]

( they are two cryptic creatures, cut so much from the same type of cloth that they wish to try to needle information from the other without divulging too much regarding themselves. and yet there are bits and pieces to be gleaned, depending on where one looks and how closely they examine it. there is also much that seems to be best left well and truly alone.

he is careful, but it more with navigating another rough part of the cobbled streets than his words. wolf has never been precise with such things. it's why he tends to let his actions speak louder for him; what little subtlety he has, it is all in what he does, not what he says.

he hums a nonverbal sound to indicate he had heard, thoughtful for a moment longer. ) To be a person of action is an important quality that few seem to possess.

( though some might also call it being "opportunistic." )

Here. We turn left. ( he can recognize that much from general landmarks. )