middaeg | catch-all (partly open; partly closed)

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catch-all (partly open; partly closed)

Who: Konoe and ~~friends~~ acquaintances (and enemies, and whatever)
When: May
Where: ~around~
What: All the things! So far: herb quest with Dylas; Mrs. Mitten quest with... you?
Warnings: The general stupidity of a catboy chasing a cat? 🙀 Will edit as things come up.
Feel free to use the format/tense you're most comfortable with! I will happily adapt.
If you want to wildcard me for whatever, go right ahead. You're likely to find Konoe around the city, following the magic classes the coven's giving, maybe attempting some very minor magic in a secluded spot, sitting on a rooftop looking out over the city and trying not to feel lonely, or... very much lost because he has no sense of direction.

[closed] HERBOLOGY HELP

It's not for the reward that Konoe does this; in fact, he's not sure what the reward even is. But he's been wanting to take a look at the forest, even if it's supposed to be dangerous, and this gives him the perfect excuse to finally do it. And, since he's not alone... he doesn't have to worry about getting lost either. (Shut up.)

It's strange how much the forest feels comfortable and familiar, yet something about it is still very much off. The smell of the trees and plants is not so different than that of the world he grew up in, but there's definitely something odd on top of that, very faint and sickly sweet, yet anything but sweet at the same time. That's new. The Void never smelled like anything... but then, that only made it more dangerous.

This still feels more like home than a city ever could. Konoe appreciates the comforts of a city, but it's hard to beat scents for nostalgia.

"Follow the river in the forest, it said..." And that's what they're doing. "Do you think it's much further?" He doesn't mind either way. He's just trying to make conversation, in his own way - and perhaps trying to calm down somewhat, with that eerie sickly sweet scent lightly prickling at his nose.

[open] MRS. MITTENS

In a city full of magic and monsters, there's a wide variety of things one should expect to see, and very little that should surprise you. Even so, the sight in front of you may raise a few eyebrows.

"Hey - wait!" There's a young man with a tail and cat ears, his hood long since fallen off his head and flapping behind him like the rest of his mantle. He's running at a pretty impressive speed, jumping obstacles... and perhaps knocking over a thing or two (hopefully not a person or two) in the process, oops.

That's not really the noteworthy thing here, though. The strangest thing to note is that he's chasing... a cat. The catboy is chasing a cat.

"I'll give you milk, so come here already!" He remembers that these Cats are supposed to like milk. He has still not accepted that they apparently - supposedly - can't talk, though... and even if he did, he expects them to at least understand what he's saying.

Clearly this particular Cat is just very rude.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Iramaat is a fan of climbing things or at least getting high up. It means you can see for a great ways, you can clear your head, and you have just yourself under the clear, blue sky (well, if it's not cloudy or raining, anyway). She's managed to find a way onto a roof, tread light as she picks her way forward. There's a breeze up hair and it ruffles at her clothes, tugs at her hair. She pauses to shield her eyes from the sun, looking out over the other roof-tops, quite enjoying her own little adventure.

At least until she notices she has company.

"Oh, hello there-!" She immediately says. This one looks like a "monster", not that she minds those sorts at all.

"Sorry, didn't see you! Fantastic view, isn't it?"

Letting his thoughts drift to where they can't help but go - mostly to his own world and the friends he left behind - Konoe is slow to notice that he has company. Even with her footsteps light, even with the sounds bubbling up from the streets below, he should have taken note of having company sooner, but as it is, it's only just before she starts talking that he becomes aware of it, looking over his shoulder. He's not startled as such, but he's a little wary. Maybe that can't be helped, if you think you're safely alone, and suddenly you turn out not to be.

The horns really don't help. He knows that Monsters can have horns; he has yet to hear of a single demon in this world. But horns will always be associated with demons in his mind, and given how he was tortured by four of those creatures just before coming here, the association definitely isn't a good one.

... He knows that voice, though, doesn't he? He can't immediately place it, but he knows it's familiar.

"Yeah." It really is a nice view, even if that was only half the reason he came up here at best. "There's a lot to see down below, too."

She doesn't quite settle in next to him, but she does drop into a squat and follow his gaze out over the city with a smile. She thinks he remembers his voice, but she's not 100% sure. So she makes a little 'hmm' sound and scratches herself under the chin.

"So much activity. A veritable hive, like a bunch of busy bees. I tend to prefer the woods to cities, but there's a certain sense of beauty to it, no? So many people coming together to do... whatever it is they do."

She waves her hand in a vague manner.

"I didn't think anyone else would be up here, honestly. Here to look at the view or...?"

"It's easier to enjoy from a distance."

Which is half a 'yes' to her question, perhaps. He still prefers the woods, himself, if only for nostalgia. He doesn't mind cities as such, but they're... kind of a lot. He's just glad he has spots like this to retreat to, for a little distance and quiet. Not that he minds the company (even if he still can't help but side-eye the horns a bit), but there's a huge difference between being with only one other person, and being stuck between hundreds or even thousands of them.

"... Did we talk, before? On the watches."

She starts, as if remembering something and then snaps her fingers, eyes lighting up.

"I think we did! You were the... cat? I think?"

She glances at him curiously, notes the ears and then taps her chin, brow furrowed.

"...not quite like Nox, then. Rather different, honestly."

He's used to looking different from most, and sometimes getting looks because of it, even in a city full of actual monsters. He's not used to being compared to other people's idea of a cat so emphatically, and it annoys him a little.

"It's not my fault you don't know real cats." Nobody seems to, honestly. It's always just the little Cats that people have heard of...

He's more sulky than angry, though, frustrated at being the only cat in this world, and at being stuck in this weird world in the first place. He doesn't always mind it so much - a place to live is a place to live - but he gets a little homesick sometimes, even if his world wasn't all that great.

He looks out over the city again, the spark of annoyance already dimmed again.

"Heroes don't have horns where I'm from, either." Which is him awkwardly saying that other people's worlds are just different, and they'll both have to deal with it.

"Well, perhaps you're both real cats!" Iramaat laughs, light and full of life. She kicks her feet out and finally sits, stretching herself out so she can prop herself on her elbows, "Nox seemed very real to me, after all. And you seem very real, too, unless I'm imagining all this."

She laughs quietly and then settles a little.

"They don't have horns? Curious. I've always had horns and I think of myself as a heroine, so..." She shrugs, "But different worlds, different places. And I am rather unique..."

It's hard to stay angry, no matter how much he wants to, when she's so casual and logical about it all. Even if the cat she knew was one of those small Cats, Konoe can't exactly call it fake. A Cat may not be a cat, but it's still a Cat!

Instead, he just keeps lightly sulking, which is, at least, better than him lashing out at everything and nothing. The environment helps: it's a lovely, comparatively quiet place. Part of him would rather be angry, perhaps: that emotion is clearer, and easier. But it's also not always right, and he's been stupid at her in his baseless anger before. He'd rather not embarrass himself like that again, if he can help it.

"... As long as you're not a demon, it's fine."

Is he really expecting her to just admit if she's a demon after all, right here and now? Apparently so! But then, she looks nothing like the demons he knows, even with the horns. Not that there wasn't plenty of variation...

Iramaat makes a low 'hmmm' noise, "I don't think I'm a demon. I'm a fae, one of the Fair Folk. Totally different from demons, as far as I know. No relation whatsoever!"

She cocks her head and gives him a curious look. He's sort of cute when he sulks, honestly, but she's also very curious about this whole demon business. She crosses her legs at the ankle, one booted toe tapping soundlessly against the air.

"What are demons like where you're from? If you don't mind me asking!"

He really shouldn't feel relieved... but he's still a little relieved. She's not the only horned person in this city: he needs to get used to the look. It's just that he'd sort of been through a lot because of demons, right before coming here...

"They're... big? Bigger than me." Describing the demons he knows as one species is actually a lot harder than he would have expected, but he gives it his best shot. "They have horns and a hairless tail. They can turn into a flame... I guess?" Were the flames really them, or more like a reflection of them? Konoe has no idea.

"They can definitely turn into snakes. And they each govern an emotion."

"Well, I can't really do any of those things and I definitely don't represent any sort of emotion, so that's... not really me! Good thing, too, honestly, because I don't think I'd enjoy being a demon..."

She reaches underneath herself to feel at her tailbone, "No tail, either!"

Well, not yet, but she doesn't know that.

"Very different from me, honestly. Which I think I'm glad of.

The tip of his tail gives a little swish, relieved but still restless. The more she says, the more he can believe that she really isn't a demon, but the topic still gets to him. He gives a little shudder - might be the wind, really! - to shake off the physical discomfort.

"You should definitely be glad." Actually, he's not sure how demons feel about being demons, but he knows that nobody should want to be one, regardless. "I'm glad, too."

"Then we can be glad together," Iramaat responds, as if it's the most sensible thing in the world to say. She's rather direct like that, for good or ill.

"Would you rather talk about something more pleasant than demons? They seem like they're not worth the time or effort, especially considering they are likely very, very far away from here."

Glad together? He glances over, trying to judge if the words were intended to mock him. That doesn't seem to be the case, though, so he lets it go. Being direct is fine; offending Konoe's many petty sensibilities is not.

"Let's talk about something else," he agrees, hoping that any and all demons are indeed literal worlds away. "... Done any heroics, lately?"

He may be mocking a little, but only a little. Banter is just an easier way to connect, sometimes, than outright showing an interest.

"Not since I arrived - oh, wait," Iramaat pauses, struck by a thought, and then grins, "I did help a lady in distress. She apparently arrived without clothes and badly needed a bit of help, so I decided to do what I could for her - invested some credit to help her get better equipped. That's heroic, isn't it?"

She glances at him, waiting for approval.

"That's pretty heroic," he agrees, not-quite(-but-almost) reluctantly. Heroic or not, it's a nice thing to do, and that's more important than semantics. "She arrived without clothes?"

And he thought he got a bad deal on his arrival! That was mostly due to the situation he'd arrived from, though, so nothing actually to do with his arrival at all.

"Apparently! And the only thing the Coven gave her was a robe, so she wasn't doing all that well, you understand?" Iramaat sighs and shakes her head.

"The least they could've done was given her a bit of money to get something more than that, but I suppose they have their own problems..."

She pauses and frowns, "Not that I care all that much about coin or wealth, but there you are. It's a sad necessity, I think. Especially here..."

Arriving naked... And Konoe thought he had a shocking experience, falling out of a mirror!

"A robe is a start, but it's definitely not much." He's actually a little surprised; the Coven seems to take decent care of people. At the same time: they can't exactly be forced to hand this host of new arrivals everything they want on a silver platter, so Konoe doesn't hold it against them that they only did the bare minimum here.

"Seriously." He agrees wholeheartedly. City life isn't so bad, but needing to deal with money and what not is a huge complication. "At least there are jobs available that even we can do."

"Yes, there are..." Iramaat muses, "Although I'm not particularly used to working for coin. I normally provide for myself or at least i don't need the money. So this is going be... interesting. A change of pace."

Then she brightens, "But I've always liked new experiences, so at the very least it won't be boring! What kind of job are you looking into? Anything interesting?"

"You... You're pretty enthusiastic, aren't you?"

Surely she is way too excited for this new world adventure!? Not that he really minds it; in fact, he can't help smiling a little. (It's just because she's being weird, he swears.)

"I don't know that I want a steady job just yet... I'm going to stick to one-time jobs where I can discover the city and its surroundings for now."

In part, he doesn't want to commit to anything steady, when committing feels like accepting that he's stuck here. In part, it's just scary to let his financial future depend on a boss, when he doesn't know if said boss will be reliable... or if they're willing to accept cats in the first place.

Random quests feel like a much better idea all around. (Except for the part where he'll likely get lost all the time, oops.)

"One has to be enthusiastic! There's so much to do and see and experience in the world that it would be a shame to be dreary and depressed about it. That's no way to live. No way to live at all..." She trails off with a little laugh and glances over at him, listening to him speak.

"Well, if you find anything particularly interesting, let me know. I'm not going to be so much looking for something steady either. I'm more interested in venturing out there-" She waves a hand vaguely in the direction of the city walls.

"Seeing what there is. That's my calling in life!"

How is she like this? Seriously - how?! The enthusiasm is already more than Konoe can understand, but her having an actual calling in life? That is beyond anything he could ever even imagine for himself. And that's fine! It's not like he needs a calling. In fact, he's not sure whether to envy her or mock her, at this point.

But he actually admires her a little, he thinks. Even if she's kind of weird, holding on to beliefs like that is seriously impressive.

"I'm not sure this is the right place for too much 'venturing'." Discovering the immediate surroundings is one thing; going far into infected areas is more like suicide than like an experience. "But at least if we stay fairly close to the city, we should be fine."

"That's a part of it, though! The danger!" Iramaat spreads her arms, as if to emphasize the point, "Adventuring is dangerous. It's the unexpected. It's risking life and limb. If there's no danger, it's just a stroll in a well-manicured garden and... well, while I don't mind strolls in gardens, that's not what adventure is."

She taps the side of her nose and winks, "After all, a ship in harbor is safe - but ships aren't meant to spend all of their time in harbor, are they?"

"Even a ship is supposed to return to a harbor after it sails, though." Just sayin'. He's no scaredy-cat, but he has enough common sense to weigh risks against benefits before doing anything dangerous.

"There's always danger in a forest. Bandits; monsters..." The Void, he almost adds, but this world is a little different. Still, even the forests of his own world weren't infected everywhere. "That's fine; those are things you can fight.

"The Cywld is different. Even the Coven can't fight it."

More than courting danger, messing with the Cywld feels like committing suicide.

"As far as they know, anyway," Iramaat points out cheerily, "Maybe one of us has the solution! Maybe we're the chosen few who have been brought here for a reason."

She thinks that's likely more true of her than anyone else, but she doesn't say that. Not just yet, anyway. Instead, she cocks her head and makes a little 'hmm' sound.

"To give up before you've even tried isn't really all that great, is it? If you think you'll fail, you'll fail. Believe in success!"

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