[open] hydaelyn's house for wayward souls

[exarchal]

Who: Anyone!
When: All of November.
Where: The Haven, at the "classy" grade house maintained by some people from the FFXIV cast.
What: It's mingle time. Drop by for a visit, make your own toplevel, maybe ask who that weird old guy sleeping in the yard is. (It's probably crystal grandpa.)
Warnings: Mind FFXIV spoiler warnings in threads!

[ Located past the fanciest manor houses is something a little more modest. The most prominent thing one would notice about it is the front yard, which someone obviously spends some time in, though the cutting of certain bushes is a little close to amateur. More importantly, it looks a little messy but very inviting, and there's almost always the smell of something warm and delicious coming from inside the house. The lush and flowering garden in the back has a recently-scrubbed fountain and running water, as well as a near-permanent host of small birds. Is it magic? Probably. Most of the flowers are roses, though, which are a bit hardier than your usual flowers.

The interior is just as cozy, with a fire in the hearth that's almost always going, and plenty of books loaned or purchased from shops. Furnishings are occasionally sparse but the kitchen is fully-stocked, as is the family room where most people spend their time. The dining table exists and it's nothing fancy, but there's almost always a smorgasbord of fruit and other snacks left out for visitors.

New this month are tiny sigils drawn in faintly glowing paint along the windows and doors. Teleportation wards are in place, as well as soundproofing for each bedroom (ahem), so anyone teleporting directly inside the house will find themselves repelled.

There is a spare housekey under the mat, though, if someone gets locked out. ]

Comments

Rose | OTA

[poisontippedcure]

[Tending to the Garden]

[Rose has spent the majority of her time in her new home tending to the garden. Even if she doesn’t possess a green thumb, there’s something refreshing in tending to the flowers. She does what she can around the outside garden, but spends most of her time tending to the roses.]

[Anyone passing will likely find her with clippers or a gardening can with her, and a hat to block out any sun. She seems immersed in her work, but may welcome the conversation. Or may not, depending on her mood.]

[Early Mornings]

[Rose has begun to develop a ritual, of sorts, and that ritual involves copious amounts of coffee in the morning. She hasn’t slept well for the past few years, and so anyone in the kitchen in the early mornings will likely see her with a cup of coffee in hand, nearly nodding off at the table.]

[To anyone she knows, she’ll mumble a greeting before turning back to her cup. To any strangers who might be in the kitchen, she’ll glare, before asking what business they have here so early in the morning.]

[Do Not Disturb]

[When Rose is not in the kitchen or the garden, she has a habit of sequestering herself away in her room. The room is very clearly hers, bearing a nameplate with her name adorned with flowers on the side. There’s a light fragrance that wafts through, and anyone walking by as the door opens or closes will see a hint of pastel.]

[The door is locked, although anyone is welcome to knock. Whether or not Rose answers is another story entirely.]

[Wildcard]

[Want a prompt not listed here? Just let me know!]

Emet-Selch | OTA

[unsundered]

i

[If there's one thing Ascians do even more than Calamities, it's teleport.

Having to walk everywhere had been just the capstone of insults that this city seemed determined to lay upon him. So once he'd learned that teleportation magic existed, it was one of the first things the Ascian focused on. Practiced. Studied. Gradually built up the distance he could travel at once- from within a room, to within a house, to the grounds outside, and so on.

But finally, finally, Emet-Selch was reasonably confident in his ability to safely traverse a respectable distance. Or at least, far enough that he could visit the Exarch's chosen manor in a single jump. Finally, he could haunt the place on a whim, steal inside without having to use the door like some kind of mortal/person with manners. Not that he hadn't anticipated that the Exarch would look for a means to prevent him- but he didn't expect those means to be completed so soon.

Nor did he expect the result.

Outside the manor, there's a sudden crash- the snap-crack in the air of magic backfiring, and the sound of a large object being propelled along what was previously a relatively-tidy hedge. Flowers are torn and trampled, scraps of shrubs litter the area, ripped unceremoniously from their beds. It's absolute carnage. At the epicenter is one extremely stunned Ascian.

And Emet-Selch just remains where he is for the time being, awkwardly splayed, half-covered in foliage, half-conscious.

Please rescue and/or laugh at the Ascian in the hedge.]



ii

[This time Emet-Selch has actually used the door like a normal person, and thusly avoided any unfortunate mishaps involving wards.

For someone who doesn't live there, he seems entirely at ease going through the cabinetry of the kitchen, pulling things out, frowning at them, before putting them back. There's plenty of food around, but he doesn't want any of it. Not that he's sure what he's looking for, but he's certainly not finding it.

It's probably not hard to find him in any of the common areas of the house, poking through things that don't belong to him, and generally being irritable.]

omg ascian catte down!

[inlikethebrume]

[Mira simply wanted to go see the Exarch and the others for a simple visit. Just to say hello and catch up and maybe get some information on what is the deal with this place. What she doesn't expect is one of her roommates looking like he got into a fight with a pack of chocobos and lost. And stuck in a bush. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she inhales sharply because what the everloving hells Emet as she goes into the shrubbery and taps him on the shoulder.]

Are you still with us?

[At least she's not laughing at his stupidity...yet.]

i!!

[poisontippedcure]

[As it happens, Rose is tending to the flowers when Emet has his...accident. She’s out of the way enough that she avoids a direct collision, but isn’t so far away that she misses the carnage. Her flowers!]

[Ascian or no, this is unacceptable. When Emet opens his eyes, he’ll be greeted to the sight of Rose standing over him. There’s a frown on her face, and her hands are on her hips. She has a small shovel with her, too, that she is strongly considering using for murder.]

I suppose you have an explanation for this?

[unsundered]

[Everything hurt, he was still disoriented and covered in twigs and thorns. And then there was a voice and someone was tapping him, and... hells, this means someone was there, someone was witnessing this.]

Unfortunately.

[Even the sound of his own voice made him wince, and it's only reluctantly that he risks opening one eye again, seeing a bleary mix of green and Mira.]

[unsundered]

[From being murdered in a climatic battle, to being cut down by a shovel in a garden.

If his fortunes could fall any lower... well, he didn't want to know about it.

Perhaps fortunately, Emet-Selch is still too disoriented to feel particularly threatened yet, staring somewhat blankly up at the miqo'te hovering over him for a few seconds, before closing his eyes again. Maybe he could just pretend this wasn't happening.]

Several.

[Not that he offers any yet, though. Working out things like 'consciousness' and 'location of limbs' were taking all of his concentration.]

[poisontippedcure]

[Never underestimate a woman in her garden. Rose may be talented in the battlefield, but this is her natural environment, and she doesn’t take kindly to trespassers.]

[She couldn’t be frowning harder, and she’s not in any hurry to offer him a hand up.]

Then I would like to hear them.

[Except for Emet doesn’t seem in any hurry to get up, and does look particularly disoriented.]

If you are having trouble, I would be happy to heal you.

[She wants to make sure he feels this.]

[inlikethebrume]

[Someone indeed was witnessing this and thankfully not the kind who would use their little device to record what was happening. Oh no, karma itself was the reward and it might be much funnier once she learns the truth. But for now, Mira will brush away any stray branch and greenery from Emet's form and take a hold of both of his hands once done.]

Alright, let's get you up before there's a bigger mess.

[And she's gonna pull on him tightly. Whether it causes him to stand up or fall back down is all on him, she can only attempt to pull the idiot sorcerer out.]

[unsundered]

[The voice wasn't leaving, no matter how hard he pretended it wasn't there. Disappointing. The offer of healing causes the Ascian to bristle- and from there, to wince. Everything ached, and the awareness of all his little cuts and scrapes was starting to creep in.

Even so, the idea of needing healed felt insulting.]

...unnecessary.

[It's only slowly that he's working out himself what had happened. His spell had been successful, his casting perfect- it had to have been something on this end that had interfered.

With extreme reluctance, Emet-Selch pushes himself up slightly with one arm, bits of broken plant falling around him. He keeps his eyes closed against the new rush of dizziness.

Sorry Rose, he still needs a minute.]

Aymeric de Borel | ota

[endsought]

i

[Back in the garden, Aymeric is tending to it. Pulling out weeds that are trying to sprout, and doing the daily watering. Whether they be Warrior of Light or Lord Commander, chores are chores and must be done. There’s something calming about doing this, granted it’s more that he doesn’t know how to deal with all the free time that’s now on his hands.

Servants are nice, but mainly because there’s not enough time for him to get things done.

Once he’s done tending to the garden, he snips off a few fully bloomed roses to place in a vase and bring back into the house. ‘Twould do no good to have a dreary place, after all. Even the smallest of decorations does well to liven things up.]

ii

[Probably everyone living with the Lord Commander has noticed that he has a routine by now. Wake up, go train somewhere, come back and either make breakfast or eat breakfast that was made, probably go read some books he found, train some more, food again, probably patrol town out of habit, return, dinner, sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

They’ll see that every waking moment of his day is spent doing something. Granted he’d probably consider sitting on the patio and reading a time he’s resting. Also probably using it to just be the literal neighborhood watch.

While he’s reading.

A knight’s habits don’t just disappear.]

iii.

[The wildcard option.

Come in and join him for a drink that will end up actually being dinner and a drink... We can wildcard it from there. Don't worry, it's not a date. He's not that smooth right now...

Whether it be dinner he's made for the housemates or just a random gesture. It's Aymeric. lbr.]

[unsundered]

[Mira was kinder than he deserved. But he would appreciate her discretion.

And Emet-Selch takes the brushing in good grace (not that he had the coordination to do much else), though he huffs a little at her words.

But he was not at all prepared to be pulled, and while the Ascian fights gamely to both stand up and stay standing- the sudden rush of blood to his head causes him to blackout again. Only for a few seconds, but it's enough for him to lose his balance, stumbling forward onto Mira.]

[poisontippedcure]

[Perhaps it’s because she knows that it will only make him angrier, but Rose elects to heal the injured Ascian. His injuries aren’t life-threatening, she can tell, but they’re bad enough to need tended to.]

Nonsense. You may be an immortal being, but that doesn’t render you immune to injuries.. Especially stupid injuries.

[She should know, she’s tended to plenty of stupid injuries in her time as a healer. A lot of people are idiots.]

So, again, what were you doing that brought you here so suddenly?

ii

[poisontippedcure]

[While this is the first time Rose has lived with Aymeric, she knows him well enough to know his habits. Mostly, that he keeps himself working every moment of every day. There isn’t a time that Rose can think of where Aymeric hasn’t been buried by work.]

[Which is probably why she’s so surprised when she sees him on the patio. She walks up from the garden, a genuine smile on her face. A genuine smile coupled with teasing, of course.]

Color me surprised, the Lord Commander is taking a moment for himself. I never thought I’d see the day.

[She’s going to take the seat next to him, asking be damned.]

[unsundered]

[All of a sudden, the stinging, the dull ache- all of it was reduced. The awareness has his attention snap back to her, eyes narrowed, trying to ignore that it was still difficult to focus on her.

He wanted to protest, but since the Ascian was in no position to stop her- he bites it back, though the glare he gives her is rather resentful.

Even if the healing did make it a bit easier to concentrate, and when he speaks again it's not quite as uncomfortable.]

I believe your Exarch added a few... defenses, and I happened to run into them.

[endsought]

Is such a thing really so surprising to you?

[His tone is actually sincere here. For so long he's tried to delegate duties to others, alas, only to be told he's the one most qualified. Whether it's being a representative or actually leading Ishgard, his full intentions were to relinquish that to someone else.

Sadly, Ishgard did not agree.

Who knew turning Ishgard into a democracy would work against him?

In any case, he places a bookmark where he's reading and closes his book. He fully intends to give Rose all of his attention since she's here.]

This also is a rather good vantage point to ensure that there is peace where we are.

[In other words, no, he's not taking a moment to himself.]

[inlikethebrume]

[She had done this before and both parties seemed to be alright in the end. Mira's strong enough to use Shadowbringer with ease and holding a body is fine for her depending on height and weight and other forces at play. Unfortunately, she's shorter than the ascian and so when he stumbles onto her, she tries to hold him steady.

Keyword: Tries.

Weither it's his weight, the ground around them or sheer bad luck, Mira can feel her legs give out and she fall flat onto her back. Unfortunately, she is the only thing breaking Emet's fall and the force manages to knock the wind out of her lungs. By the gods-! It is only luck that she did not have her sword with her otherwise it would hurt much worse.]

By the Fury-!

[Hey! Hey, wake up before someone sees!]

2

[inlikethebrume]

[It's one of those times where exploring the house was a good idea. She's at least someone who doesn't go where she shouldn't be like some gremlins and during one of these treks, Mira spots Aymeric with what appears to be a...book of some kind.

Call her curiosity piqued as she clears her throat, like announcing herself.]

Hello again, Ser Aymeric. It is not often someone sees you rather relaxed.

[To the most that he can. It's weird not seeing him at a desk ok.]

iii

[wordsinthesoul]

[He'll still find some way to tease Aymeric, given time.

For now, Thancred simply offers the other man a smile.]

It's good to see you again. How have you been settling in?

[unsundered]

[As consciousness flickers back yet again, Emet-Selch is in a new position, and nothing makes any more sense. Wherever he was, it was somewhat more comfortable than a hedge, at least. Warmer, and with the strangest hint of skin.

He was still in a fair bit of discomfort, though, and when he opens his eyes finally and meets Mira's, confusion mixes with the... rest of his confusion, honestly, and he frowns down at her. But hadn't she been over him a moment ago? What was she doing down there? Where was he?

It takes him a few moments to work out the recent series of events, and it's with some effort that he pushes himself up slightly, enough to at least slide partially off of her.]

...I'm not sure if that was... helpful, Mira.

[endsought]

[It's a rare sighting, seeing Aymeric take a little time to himself to simply read in the house. Perhaps it's the fact that the mental list of things he must do actually ended for once, and now his mind is giving him the time to relax. Granted, he felt fatigue back in Ishgard, but it's different now knowing there's not something pressing demanding his attention.

Well, now there is as he looks up to see who is there and offers a genteel smile.]

Mistress Mira, 'tis a pleasure to see you again. I take it you have come to visit our humble abode.

[Quick to mark his spot in his book, he stands ready to do something to be a proper host. No, apparently he can't just sit down and chat now that he sees her there.]

[endsought]

Master Thancred, 'tis good to see you as well.

[A respectable ally in this place that is probably just confused as he is about time shenanigans. Alas, that's probably not what he wants to speak of right now and instead offers him to come in further, not before producing two wine glasses.]

Care for a drink?

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose sees the resentment in his glare, and she enjoys it. After everything that Emet put them through, making him suffer feels justified. He still seems rather out of it, but he can handle this on his own, as far as Rose is concerned.]

So, you were trying to trespass, and we stopped you. And in the process you ruined the flowerbed. Is that it?

[She didn’t know of any enchantments on the house, but she wouldn’t put it past the Exarch to put something up to ward off the Ascian. It’s probably a good thing he did, considering that Emet has already tried to break in.]

[poisontippedcure]

Yes, it is. Usually when I see you, you look like you’re about ready to keel over at your desk.

[Is a brash way of putting it, but nonetheless correct. The only exception she can think of happened after her collapse at the Ghimlyt Dark, and even then he had only stayed long enough to ensure that she was okay before returning to the battlefield. Not that Aymeric knows it, of course, which is probably for the best.]

[As much as she is grateful for the attention, she is less grateful for the follow-up comment.]

What is much less surprising is that you’re still finding a way to turn this into work. Vigilance is good, but everyone has their limit. The neighborhood won’t burst into flame if you take a moment for yourself.

[inlikethebrume]

'Twas too late when I had learned of it.

[She sounds like she's out of breath but once the extra weight is off of her, Mira slowly pulls herself into a seated position. Give her a moment, she's still catching up as she shifts herself enough that she is not on him and vice versa.]

Care to explain why I had found you in a bush?

[unsundered]

[Suffer through healing, somehow. And though irritation remained, his head was gradually clearing, enough that he could at least look around a bit.

And for the first time, Emet-Selch notices the damage he's sitting in the middle of. It gets a thoughtful hum, but no sign of dismay. If anything, he's pleased that he damaged the Exarch's grounds. Served him right for blocking him.]

It's never been a problem before. If my presence were so unwanted, he could have simply told me.

[And he would've ignored it, but.]