middaeg | Plip plop, plip plop

Entry tags:

Plip plop, plip plop

Who: Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower (

whomthebelltolls) and OPEN for the most part
When: June!
Where: All about, both within and without of the city
What: Catchall
Warnings: Blood and violence, probably. Self-inflicted injury because of what she is. Others will be ETA

[1: Gardening With Class - Open]

[All that being more or less infirm the last month has Maria a bit... stir-crazy, but the gardening classes have been a nice change of pace. And she does actually like flowers. So, here's a Maria, wandering through the streets, her arms filled with bags containing the seeds and flower pots they gave her to go home. Of note, there seems to be quite a few packets of sunflower seeds poking up around the edges. Feel free to run into her on the streets!

Or, if you're at her home, she can soon after arriving be found out there in the garden with all of those, some tools, and a pair of thicker, more utility-type gloves than the ones she wears with her swordsman outfit, a pair of older, dirtier trousers and shirt, and her hat sitting next to her as she digs out little trenches in the earth to make room to plant the seeds.]

[2: Class - Open]

[Maria would find it rather remiss of her if she missed the classes the Witches here so graciously have been providing to the new arrivals, and honestly... she has no idea how these things work, but she's been a pretty quick study. It's evocation practice today, and she seems to be pretty good at nailing targets with small fireballs. Very small. The kind that would probably just provide a minor irritant to any beast, and so, frustrated, she's turned to something else.

She has a knife in her hand - a small length of metal she borrowed from a kitchen or something, because she doesn't dare bring her Rakuyo to this place - and she keeps running her fingers along the edge of it. After a half-dozen tries, a bit of sweat, and what was probably a curse in a language no one around her understands, her fingers slide along the blade... and a few blueish flames flick to life, thin and almost see-through, but they're there.

Her eyes light up... and just like that her concentration is broken, and the flames disappear. Close, though.]

[3: Public Stables - Open]

[At some point near midmonth, Maria can be found at the stables in town, poking her head around. She seems to be inspecting the horses. Every so often, she'll ask the stablehands or farrier about prices for things, what they recommend, preferred breeders for these things. She's looking for a horse with a pedigree.

And as she walks about, she isn't paying too much attention, and might just walk into another character.] Ah, I'm sorry. Are you here to look for the horses, too? They have many interesting choices.

[4: Fetch - Open, especially to others on the quest]

[Several options, here, since there are a lot of things to bring back:

Tiger Lilies: Maria has this bad habit of "doesn't afraid of anything", and so walking right through the busily buzzing bees is on order. For anyone who is nervous about the buzzy friends, it seems they ignore her as she ignores them right up to the lilies, and gentle shoos a few away, before taking the flowers, inspecting the to make sure they're clear, and walking back out.] That was easy.

[Basil: Not be seen? Clearly, they're stealing, and that actually does give her pause.] ... We are not supposed to take anything from this field, are we?

[Crystal Sand: She finds the rainbow sand easily enough, but as soon as she goes to gather it up, the water stirs and splashes, and something jumps out, trying to bite at her. If the other character doesn't get involved, the fish is going to end up with a sword through its head, pinned to the ground, in short order.] He wasn't wrong about the fish, I see.

[And finally... fur. Hm. Just needs to be fur, right? That's easy enough. Until it's not. For this, she puts a call out on the network: I need a bag full of fur. Does anyone have any good ways to achieve a lot of it in short order? I will even accept it from Monsters.

[5: Walking Armor - Open, especially to anyone on the quest]

[The sun is high, the wind carries a faint breeze from the west. Maria stands, Rakuyo in one hand, across a stretch of beaten earth from the suit of armor, empty, moving a bit - floating in a way that indicates it's empty, but for the magics holding it together. It holds its sword up, and waves it a little, and Maria nods, bringing her sword in front of her.

There's a loud clang as the dagger-end of the Rakuyo is split from the longer sword end, and Maria holds both out to either side of herself, as she steps forward.

The armor steps forward, as well. Maria holds her arm out to one side, the blade of her sword facing the armor as it gets closer, and then runs a weird zig-zag right up to it, quick as a flash, her long legs giving her plenty of closing speed. There's another loud clank as her sword slams into and then off of the side of the armor, and the force is enough to stumble the armor. She's got this.

Until the armor swings a good, wide arc and knocks her backward, stumbling and then tumbling off her feet. When she regains them, she realizes that hurt an awful lot more than it used to, and maybe she should figure out something else. Into the fray, over and over again, taking glancing hits to the armor, but mostly not seeming to make much headway, while each one of its attacks against her rattles through her sword and up into her jaw, shaking her whole body, making her bones ache. Every direct hit is absolute agony. It's hard to tell if she's wearing this thing down, so maybe it's time to pull out some stops. She's not desperate here, but then, no one knows or cares what a "Vileblood" is, so it doesn't really matter if she uses her abilities, does it?

The next exchange ends with Maria nursing a gash against her side, cut deep through the thick leather. It's the perfect opportunity. She turns the long sword-blade of the Rakuyo toward herself... and drags the sharp edge right through that wound, deepening it, smearing blood all down the cutting side of the sword.

And she turns it back on the creature, noting with a frown that the thick, sharp blood crystals haven't lined the edge. The armor charges, she charges back, and she swings the sword only for the usual blood blade to not spray out from the tip of the sword, and so she totally whiffs the slice... only to catch the armor's arm to her wounded gut, and it lifts her and throws her backward.] Agh...

[Well... hm. Try again. Even though the cut burns, and the armor is bearing down on her, her next idea is simple: It charges, she's already low, she goes to her knees and shoves both blades of the Rakuyo up into the joints of its hips. It stumbles right into the ground, the legs "severed" and useless until it can get back up several moments later... then turn to her and bow in defeat.

And Maria leans against her sword, buried tip-down in the ground, because wow that cut smarts.] ... Go home... now.

[And it seems to listen... kind of. It'll probably challenge anyone else to a duel on its way out, though.]

[6: Wildcard - OTA!]

[For anything not covered in the above prompts, or for things we planned out afterward. Feel free to hit me up at

reslari or Reslari#9561 at your leisure for plotting!]

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I tried! I'm sorry!

[ She wouldn't do this on purpose! But really, she couldn't say much to defend herself at this moment.

But look, what's that up ahead? Is that a pond? ]

Will that work?!

[ They were headed for it anyway. ]

[Things Maria is not looking forward to: Diving into a pond in this heavy leather coat. Things she's done on a night of the Hunt: Worse, but this is still not ideal.]

I hope you know how to swim. [That is a 'yes'. Is this pond even going to be deep enough to go out from under her feet, Maria wonders? No matter, if they can get to the other side, the bees should leave well enough alone.]

[ She doesn't. But maybe she shouldn't say that with all the problems she's already caused. Alex just hopes it's not that deep.

Once they're close enough, she takes a deep breath and jumps in--Which is when she remembers he has gills which do flare out once she's in the water, allowing her to breath underneath it. ]

[Luckily, Maria's more worried about just getting not into the water, but to the other side, more likely. There's two, well, three, things she saves - her sword, yanked from her belt and held above her head as her feet splash into the water, the flowers, which she clutches in her hand against the side of the sword's sheath, and her hat, as she tries to find a decently short path around the edge and not just dunk herself into the pond up to her chest, and mostly fails due to a rather sharp and sudden dropoff only a handful of feet from the edge.

She has no such gills, unfortunately, which means splashing over to the other side it is, even as she can feel the water filling in her boots and soaking into the coat and oh this is getting heavy quickly. With some luck, though, she'll be able to get out of the way. It's not her the bees are after, so roundabout to the other side she starts going.]

Nn... [Oh this is so much worse than she thought it was going to be. It's after a moment of taking the shortest path toward the edge she pauses and realizes... she lost her companion at some point.

So much for being able to swim.]

Ah... [... Does she have to try to swim rescue here?]

[ Where she had jumped in was thankfully not as deep as she thought, and she's able to push up to the surface with her toes. Her arms to swing about to try and keep her head above the water, only moving more furiously when it gets deeper, and just jumping wasn't working so well.

So she's, sorta swimming? It just takes a little more effort for her to move across as she tries to find shallower parts. When the bees start buzzing above her though, she goes back under. It's like whack-a-mer over here. ]

[Okay, Maria's gotta take care of her own deal first and foremost, and so she keeps wading around the edge, climbing back up until it's only waist-deep, then knee, then she's out on the other side, soaking wet and now a little cold, but there's one other thing to try to deal with here. Maria's shaken off the bees, luckily, but she can still see things darting above the water, as though searching for the scent they'd just had and not quite finding it.

... And a head that keeps popping up and going back under. Hm. She's not much of a hero or a savior, but she'll try, she supposes. Hat and sword on the ground, she unlatches her cape so she can get her coat off, and it splats heavily into the grass and dirt. She steps forward to the edge of the pond, and the next time she sees the head surface...] Over here, follow my voice. [And the next time...] This way. They're losing your scent, so just keep coming this way.

[ She hears the voice with every breach, and starts to wade her way towards Maria. Maybe more like a weird hybrid of a frog and a doggy paddle, until she finally makes it to shallower waters.

The water seems to help the bees off her scent and they start to circle back towards the other side. Alex crawls up to shore, her scales more apparent on the back of her hands from being wet. She looks up at Maria, rather out of breath. Swimming (or trying to) was a lot more tiring than she realized. ]

Thank you..really. I'm sorry I had you go through that..I can um..wash your clothes for you.

[ It's the least she could do. ]

Mud isn't the worst thing that's been on them. They need to dry, more than anything. [She's more than willing to reach out and help pull her companion a bit further up on shore, as well, even though her hands touch (and without her gloves... oh that is a sensation she remembers now and wishes she didn't) the scales.] Are you unharmed? Or would you require any kind of healer?

[ Alex couldn't not make it up to her though. She'll think of something. ]

I'm..alright. Just..need to catch..my breath..

[ While it did feel nice to be in the water, swimming against it still took energy, especially in clothes. If Maria was uncomfortable with the scales, Alex hadn't noticed yet. ]

Thank you again..You didn't get hurt did you?

[She really won't be expecting anything, so that's all up to Alex! Which, depending on the surprise, who knows how Maria will react. She's got a lot of strange potential reactions... and really only half of them involve her swords!]

No, not at all. If one doesn't count having to walk home looking like a wet dog as an injury; it is only my ego bruised. [She doesn't speak in a lot of similes, but she does sort of feel like a drowned animal at the moment. So much leather to get so wet.

She quietly pulls her hands back to her sides, glad to not be touching the (to her) clammy skin anymore. It gives her a strange feeling.]

I think I will take a moment to let my clothes dry out before I leave, however. I'm not sure about you.

[ Hurting the ego of someone who looked so regal..even when drenched in mud...Alex still felt bad about that. Worse even. Somehow saying they still looked great wouldn't cut it either. ]

Then--Please let me wash what I can. Even if it's just your boots or the muddier things you're wearing. At least that way the mud won't dry too..and maybe it won't look as terrible when you head back.

[ Alex was used to looking a mess, but she didn't want this other woman to do the same. ]

[Hm. This is a strange situation Maria's found herself in, now. Alright, then, she'll just try to make the best of it. It wouldn't do to explain she's been covered in blood and viscera from head to toe after a night of the Hunt and therefore a bit of water isn't so bad - especially considering Yharnam itself tended toward the damp and muddy as a general rule of geography, but...]

Shouldn't you attend to your own clothing, first? Hang some of it up to dry, and we can wash the rest later. We're still in the Wilde. [Just going to... gently try to move this conversation a bit to a different side.]

Mine isn't as heavy as yours though.

[ Leather looked much more difficult to deal with in this situation. It didn't sound like either one of them would relent. ]

I'll also do something about my clothes, but please let me help you out too.

[ Plus with the bees hanging around on the other side still, it might be best to wait it out a bit. ]

[Well, being polite isn't working, but there's also really no reason to turn this down. Except propriety. So... Maria takes a deep breath, and shakes her head.] How about we take care of these things together, for a moment, so it gives the wet clothes a bit of extra time to dry?

[ A compromise. Her body begins to relax, slumping backwards slightly as she sits more comfortably on the ground. ]

That.. sounds like a good idea.

[ Alex does realize she hasn't been the most reasonable, but she didn't want to waste time in making it up to people who have helped her. She'd lost several chances to do that already.

She combs her hair over her shoulder and starts to wring the water out of it first. ]

I'm..Alex, by the way. What's your name?

Maria. [An exchange of pleasantries... alright, this isn't going too poorly. Maria gathers her muddy boots and starts removing a couple other layers - her vest, and her other coat she wears all come off, just leaving her in the thin undershirt she wears. Her pants are a bit muddy, especially near the bottoms, but she's not taking those off. There's still some insects flitting about on the other side, but they're probably forgetting about the intrusion already and getting back to their flowers, if she had to guess.

... And if not, she can smack a few.]

Are you comfortable going back toward the pond?

[ Alex doesn't have as many layers on, but she does remove her shoes and her skirt. She'll keep her top on, which was long enough to go past her hips at least. Whatever Maria takes of she gathers and starts to rinse them the best she can by the edge of the pond. ]

I'll..be fine. [ She'll take Maria's route this time so she's not just hopping across. ]

Do you think we'll still need to?

[ Would the bees really hold on to their grudge for that long? ]

I think the bees will have given up their pursuit. They have more important things to spend their time and energy on. [She takes a few steps to the side and wades in ankle-deep. She's not taking off her pants, but she does want to get rid of the mud around the cuffs.

She keeps herself turned a bit toward Alex, though, because she knows how close to water she is, and she's seen the fish scales, which means she understands the risks involved here. And while she's left her swords further up shore as a show of good faith, they're within easy view - and teleporting - range.

Still, she has a question she needs to ask.] I must wonder, though... your insistence reminds me of the servants. Were you one, before?

[ If Maria was being cautious, Alex didn’t notice. Partly because she was making sure to get the mud off of Maria’s boot.

Her hands stop abruptly at Maria’s question, and she glances up at Maria briefly without raising her head. ]

No..not exactly..

[ In a sense, maybe she was? Slave was probably more accurate. There was a more specific term but her brain didn’t want to go there either. ]

I just..wanted to repay you however I could right now..

[Hm. An interesting reaction. Not a servant - exactly - but still driven to aid others, even though Maria originally turned down the request. For just a long, long moment, Maria curiously regards her companion, icy blue eyes fixated for just a moment...

... before she resumes cleaning off her pants. A pity this one's a Beast. She's rather pretty.]

It... needn't be so pressing. I would not have held it against you. We were both beset by an unkind turn of events. Did any of the bees sting you?

[ Even with her gaze down, Alex can feel Maria’s eyes on her. Was her answer not much of one? She knows she left it a bit vague. Or maybe it’s the changes that were still visible while she was still wet.

Alright, boots look done.

She looks up this time when addressed. There was a kind of chill in the way Maria eyed her, but her words were kind. ]

That’s nice of you to say..oh, just the one on my arm. [ But she waves it off. ]

What about you? Did they sting you, Miss Maria? [ That, she was more concerned about. ]

[Just a little threat assessment. What's that between new acquaintances?

Back to what she was doing. She wades back up and out of the water, satisfied the bits of dirt that had clung below her knees were cleaned and... very little else. What her clothes really needed was just some time to dry. Maybe she'd set her cloak down and wait beneath the tree, nap in the sun.

Where it was nice and dry.]

I seem to have gotten out without injury. It would be difficult for them to figure out where to sting me, after all. [What with as thickly as she tends to be garbed from neck to toe in leather. The only place they could logically get is her face.

What's more important is the brief amusement that passes somewhere below her expression at the Miss Maria part. She's been "Lady" for so long, it's different to hear herself addressed as such. Annalise would admonish, tell her not to suffer any sleights like that, even accidentally, but the undying queen wasn't here.]

And the sting will not bother you? Then we will call it fortunate we both got out without... further injury. Though... it seems your affinity with water indicates, perhaps, you are of the Merfolk, is that your experience?

[ Alex would apologize if she knew. She's never met a 'Lady' before. 'Miss' was as formal as she got. ]

It's okay. I can handle this much.

[ She does pause at her other question, quietly draping the vest over her arm and picking up the boots she just watched. She offers her hand to towards Maria when she starts coming out of the water. ]

I can hang your..cloak..cape..along with your vest over there if you'd like. [ She gestures over to a low enough hanging branch of the tree. ]

And..no, I'm not really...I mean, I guess I am now, I'm not sure. But this only happened after I arrived here..so I don't really know what I am anymore.

[Then that's the extent of how much Maria will care about this one's wellbeing. Which is a harsh way of putting it, but they've just met. She sighs at the question a little, though.] Yes, that will be fine.

[It's been a long time since she'd had someone waiting on her. No servants or chambermaids or anything at Byrgenwerth, and less so afterward. She's more curious about the answer to the question, though the answer is also about as disappointing as she expected. Another that was just sort of... brought here through no fault of their own and given the worst lot.

And as long as Alex remains in control of her more human faculties, she can also count on remaining 'alive', as well. That's been Maria's agreement with this world. She intends to hold to it, with what little honor she can be said to have.]

It's certainly been a bit of a jarring change, hasn't it? Even for those of us not exhibiting many physical changes.

[Well, with everything up on the tree and out of the way, Maria can take to what she wanted - which is to find a nice, grassy little spot with little dirt, and sit there in the shade of a tree. What Alex does is up to her, though Maria makes no special effort to seem especially inviting to sit next to. She is not.]

[ With both of their clothes hanging to straightened out and hanging to dry, Alex heads over to where Maria has situated herself and sits with her legs are slightly tucked beneath her. She does give Maria some space, of course. ]

Are you also..? Or are you a witch?

[ That still felt like such an odd question to ask. Most people didn't like being accused of being a witch, right? Not that monster was any better either. ]

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