deercountry | End of May - June Catchall - Swap Meet!

Entry tags:

End of May - June Catchall - Swap Meet! - OTA

Who: Gaia and others.
What: Working on the house, swap meet exchanges, psychometry shenannigans!
When: End of May and into June.
Where: Feed, Crenshaw, Various

Content Warnings: None Currently. Psychometry prompts may have various, will update as needed.

Housing Project - Feed - OTA

For months, Gaia has been living in a house that could, charitably, be called a 'fixer-upper'. Most would have said 'derelict'. But through the efforts of trading for services, lots of heavy labor involved in gutting the interior (with the occasional help from old and new allies and neighboring farms), and when you get right down to it, sheer teenage stubborness, there has finally been a turning point on the old stone house the young woman sheltered in at during her arrival in the harsh months of winter.

The exterior now has a proper roof, the stones have all been firmly fixed in place with new mortar (one can follow the 'old' and 'new' by the contrasting color of the mix laying between the old stones that has yet to be properly weathered). Windows and door frames are refurbished; no longer broken wrecks with missing panes or a series of boards covering a hole. The yard around the home is still looking very ragged but that's to be expected at any construction project in progress. But there's a fenced garden growing a little ways off and it looks like the surrounding area has had someone beginning to tame it. There'll be a proper pasture and yard soon. Small but obviously suited for a family. Well only one young lady living here now but that's beside the point!

The Interior? +expand+

Glimpsing through windows might net someone the sight of base board and framework in the interior; it's still in that stage where the insulation and internal wiring needs to be placed before finished walls and flooring is considered. The only place that doesn't completely feel like a work in progress is the kitchen. Though it'll have its turn in time, it's clear that this is the primary living arrangements. A cot, belongings, a trunk and accourtemants one would expect in a common area or bedroom are as present as dishware, canned goods and cooking implements.

There's many reasons to be traveling here. A visit for the few people that probably know Gaia well enough to have been given an address. Delivering a purchase? She'll have ordered fixtures, wires or even general goods that someone could be delivering. Or arriving to do some of the work that the teen (by herself or no) can't do in the construction. She's sure to have reached out to arrange for a project or two. One could just be passing by if they happen to have business in Feed!

A brindle-furred, on the larger side of medium dog is probably wandering, following the dark-haired woman as she moves from task to task. Some time in the garden at the moment; tomatoes are just beginning to ripen and she has made a promise to Sasuke to deliver some for his teaching. There's also the general weeding and watering care that any garden needs. Though Gaia is largely focused on the efforts of her work, she's not unprotected. The dog is clearly well trained and remains alert to the surroundings; most familiar with the Dog Keeper would probably recognize the look of one of the canines he's bred and sometimes given away. And there's a fair sized (for a fish) omen that appears as a crowntail betta swimming gracefully nearby. One or other of these will no doubt alert her of danger.

Swap Meet - Crenshaw - OTA

Some might remember near the beginning of May when Gaia talked over the network about arranging a place where Sleepers and natives of Trench alike could gather and trade in items they had in excess- for better or worse a swap meet.

But arrangements to make that type of event safe needed some planning and then there was the month of May itself with everyone dealing with transformations and flowery parasites. Was June going to be any better? Odds might be against but in Trench you couldn't just stop a plan forever because it was going to be dangerous or some horror beast was going to appear. Things just wouldn't get done.

Notices, signs and network announcements would be made, some by Gaia and others depending on the source. And there would be signs pointing directly to the venue from the Watch Tower Lamp.

Weekly Swap Market +expand+

When: For the month of June, held every mid-week day from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, with an hour's break at noon.

Where: Residents of Trench will be welcome to gather south of the Watch Tower in Crenshaw and engage in the exchange of items and basic services such as repairs and contracted work.

Rules: Spaces to set out wares are marked out and will be a first come, first served basis. One space per person. Everyone will be responsible for their own items and exchanges. There will be larger areas for 'standing room' exchanges.

Prohibited items include the trade of or services dealing in blood or that may cause a potential blood spillage on site. Livestock should not be brought to the venue but preserved foods and ingredients are welcome. Transactions considered 'monetary' in nature should not be conducted. The aim is to swap and exchange items and services for every day needs. For the safety of the district and participants, requests to remove other risk items should be followed promptly.

All exchanges will be the responsibility of the parties involved to agree upon and see through. Individuals are responsible for their own possessions. Security will be focused on keeping the peace and safety of the venue at large.

All participants are expected to disperse no later than one hour before dusk to for the sake of security to the Crenshaw district.

The area in question is a somewhat wide grassy swath south of the Watch Tower's lamp location. It has a bit of landscaping and paths, generally used as a small common park for the district. Every Wednesday in June, volunteers and Hunters will keep a sharp watch on the area in case the gathering and noise attracts trouble. They will also firmly escort or request removal of anything that would bring undue attention, noise or risk to Crenshaw; not the least of which the aforementioned blood trading, but also very loud noises or commotions. But they're here for the safety of the district from the threat of beast and monsters and outright violence or incidents of blood corruption, not to serve as a policing force against theivery and fraudulent deals. Spaces to set up a table or lay a blanket to display one's offerings are marked out, leaving wide aisles to prevent clogs in any traffic of bodies. Natives of Trench and Sleepers alike are all invited to participate in the exchange of goods and services; the emphasis will be strong on daily necessities and trade over specialized products and monetary transactions.

Have a hoard of items you've picked up, collected or salvaged over the past few months and don't know what to do with the excess? Maybe your extra junk will be someone's treasure.

[OOC: Players are welcome to use the Swap Meet Comment as a place to put prompts or use this event in their own TLs. Nothing major is planned; this is meant as a form to help generate CR both old and new!]

Psychometry - Various Places - OTA

[OOC: This is a bit of a wildcard. Looking for encounters dealing with Gaia's Darkblood awakening to unbidden psychometry this month. For her it'll be an odd mix of accidental glimpses of both good and bad things mixed with an innate gift that's similar to it- see: FFXIV's 'the Echo'. HMU if you're interested in working out an encounter!]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

If you want to use this to place some swap meet prompts, please feel free. You're also welcome to use the idea for your own top level. It'll be every Wednesday in June barring the unforseen.

A.

The advantage of being a driving force in organizing an event is being able to scope out the venue early in. Well time will tell if many people will show up, though there's at least a few natives who have placed their own small collection of items down for consideration.

Gaia has spread a piece of clean canvas on the ground. Of the items she has to present, there's still a variety of scrap metal- mixes of iron, steel and bronze that look like they come from disassembled tools, construction, fences and simple machines that probably couldn't be fixed. The 'selling point' if you will is that they all seem to be cleaned of rust and corrosion; though much of it shows signs of familiar rust 'pitting' to suggest it was there at some point. There's quite a bit that could be useful by simply repurposing it.

But there are many kitchen tools; useful pots, pans and wrought metal utensils used in cooking, particularly with a hearth fire, but there's probably more than a thing or two that could find a place in conventional kitchens.

But what else? Some early garden vegetables, including about a dozen tomatoes, a basket of potatoes and are those strawberries? That's certainly a couple small pints nestled in obvious sight. They're small and not very even in size so it's possible she lucked into a collection in her wanderings rather than succeeded in growing them herself. There are some other herbs and spices but they seem to have been dried and stored in a much longer term than 'recent'.

Another small jewel of an item is six small containers with a sign marking them as 'handmade lotion'. It'll contain a decent quality lotion with a pleasing neutral scent of herbs. It's definitely, so Gaia will be the first to opinion, many steps above... well, lard.

Another sign notes what the teen is looking for, who will be resting for now, a brindle-furred dog at her side and looking over her omni from time to time when there's no one nearby. The sign notes things she's looking for, which consist of help with restoring a house, furniture and fabrics; and possibly items to expand a sewing kit, particularly if she came across some cloth.

B.

Later Gaia will be wandering around to look for items of other hopefuls who have spread their wares for consideration. She can't expect them all to come to her after all. The dog will stick close to her side without a leash, following well-trained etiquette while in crowds. There's an omen, a crown-tail betta floating (swimming?) in the air beside Gaia, another layer of alertness. But it's clear from his behavior that the teenaged girl is in a fairly good mood.

By now some things have been exchanged and she's obtained items that will (probably) be useful in improving her living conditions. But what other things are there to be had?

Edited 2022-06-01 03:13 (UTC)

At the start of June, Shouto gets the urge to swap many of his possessions for fruit, lots of fruit. He's a Paleblood on a mission to bleed himself dry for every piece he can get his hands on making him a prime target for the unscrupulous.

Weighed down by six full bags of the summer harvest, and feeling a little dizzy from peddling in blood, something's gotta give. In this case, it's a bag, full to bursting with papayas and dragonfruit, that finally gives. Without warning, the fruit tumbles out spilling all over the market forcing a few customers to hop out of the way. While the young man tries to save the fruit - It's just a little dirt - a few choice papayas come rolling to Gaia's feet. Please take pity on this idiot.

Six, full bags. Gaia had been observing the situation with some concern. Maybe she didn't recognize the signs of anemia or anything like that; those sacks do a lot to disguise dubious conditions but they had been pretty wobbly. And she had been considering stepping forward and lending a hand.

A step later and suddenly everything gives. Oops, a bit too late. Gaia huffs a sigh- more at herself than at Shouto's circumstance and begins to call over.

"Do you need some hel-- Uri, no!"

The dog, clearly the 'Uri' in question, had been nosing at the papaya in a way that could have been musing whether or not it should be picked up and brought over. Certainly not eaten. The teen does a bit of a whiplash motion to return to pick up the fruits she'd stepped past on the way to help Shouto putting the bags down.

"Hey, if you need help you should ask for it." Why on earth was he carrying so many bags at once anyway?

Uri hears the order and sits down, licking his chops and waiting patiently. He'll just guard the papaya then.

Edited 2022-06-01 03:44 (UTC)

Busy balancing the bags while trying to bend down and salvage the fallen fruit, he misses Gaia's first call, which is how he ends up startled when she appears in front of him and RIP! another bag tears and four pineapples hit the ground with a solid THUNK while a dozen mangos go rolling down the street towards freedom.

"Watch out!"

Shouto tries to reach them but freedom comes at a price and they get trampled by incoming traffic leaving no survivors.

Edited 2022-06-01 04:09 (UTC)

Okay now the fruit's just getting feisty! Well Gaia probably doesn't look at it that way but there's a sense of purpose in her gestures as she waves a hand at the pineapples. Rather than a 'thunk' of hittig the ground, they stop just short and lift upward, saving them from some dire crime against fruit. A darkblood's manipulation of gravity comes with benefits.

Or someone tripping and injuring themselves. The mangos? They are a terrible tragedy that she can't help. It's too late for them.

"Hold still!" Shouto is given a look that indicates that he might be the next of Gaia's levitation victims if he doesn't hold still and stop shedding fruit. But she's concerned. Really!

Just look at the way her omen is now guiding a papaya back toward the the central focus of the incident with graceful curves of his body to knock the fruit continuously forward. Uri, bless his intelligence, has begun to copy the gesture but without the grace. Sometimes it wobbles off sideways and he has to circle around to nose it properly forward. Pray consider it to be a lost cause as well by the time it arrives.

"Are you alright?" the teen finally asks Shouto.

Or doing their best to run away from a fate worse than death. Pickled plums, canned fish, honey mustard. Just your everyday ingredients for a ~~cursed~~ jam recipe. Thankfully, the display of power is enough to bring him to a halt. He stills, eyes flicking down to the floating pineapples rising in the air.

A darkblood.

Almost a year in Trench, and he can identify the blood types by their powers, and this one - gravity manipulation - belongs to only one class he's rarely come across. Maybe that's why he refrains from moving as instructed, or it could just be he's trying to preserve the other bags after two went down back-to-back.

"I'm not injured."

If anything, the mangoes - with their guts spilling into the streets - got the short end of the stick here. At least the papayas seemed to have survived the ordeal. He catches sight of one being rolled so delicately by a dog; nose to fruit with determination.

He looks a Gaia, grey and teal, settling on her with a questioning look behind those mismatched eyes.

"Is that your omen?"

Edited 2022-06-01 06:51 (UTC)

One may question if the dog is turning it into a game. Sometimes Uri pauses, dropping down low and staring intently at the Papaya to intimidate it as if it were a sheep, but then continues to roll it further. But since the goal seems to be to 'get it to Gaia', it will end with the same result.

Gaia seems to be focusing. Ingredients that can be saved, will be saved and pulled back to a collection (more terror for those who will be in a pickled jam later, no?). And the bags he's still trying to juggle? Hopefully he won't protest too much, she'll lessen the weight of them. Suddenly he'll find them far easier to heft.

"Alright. Give me a moment, I need to focus." Many scattered targets after all. Pulling out a blanket from her satchel, she puts it on the ground. And once the ingredients are grouped together, they'll be placed on top of it to be collected in a more orderly fashion. Gaia looks pleased with herself.

But she looks up and around, a little confused by Shouto's question. "What? Oh, the fish is my omen. His name is Arte. Uri is just a dog. But a rather smart one."

As though it would be perfectly normal to be uncertain whether it was the air swimming fish and not the dog that was an omen in this equation.

Fondly Gaia chides Uri as she approaches to retrieve the papaya that's nearly present. She does this is a more mundane fashion. "Here, let me have that."

This is of course so she can pet the dog fondly. "You really are smart, aren't you? Were you copying Arte?"

Arte adds the Papaya he was taking care of to the blanket. Then with a flick of the fancy fins, he's flitting off again.

Edited 2022-06-01 07:58 (UTC)

Summer has been fast approaching and here it is, June already. Gaia has been fairly cheerful these past few weeks and a lot of this can be attributed to progress on the place she's chosen to call home. Or in this case, notable forward progress, wherein the outer walls are now structurally sound and there is a proper roof that isn't rotted through.

Anyway there's a small problem that needs to be addressed. The roof over the kitchen area had been replaced during the winter while the new roof within the last couple of weeks. The place where these separate installations joined proved to leak. Something easy enough to fix now. Part, if not all of it can be seen to from the inside which might be the important point for the person who's offered to address the matter in lieu of that occasional place to sleep.

Gaia was happy enough to leave him to it and go around tending to other chores and tasks. There are ample supplies, tools are easy to find and that should be that. Still, it's not like the teen won't come up to the attic to check on her occasional houseguest.

"D? Are you still around?" The teen announces herself before finishing the ascension of tight attic stairs into the eaves of the house. Though if the windows are closed and the curtains drawn, she probably will have a bit of an expression on her face. A summer attic without the windows open is probably low on the list of places she'd want to be.

[OOC: See the TL for main home descriptions.]
It's probably a given Gaia would be at the Watchtower faster than Nara'a. Less time, knows how to get less distracted and she did mention she was probably going to arrive earlyish. Well the Dog Keeper makes his home there and Uri was once one of his, before the canine that had rescued Gaia from the frozen waters of the Pthumerian Ocean. The canine that keeps the teen company is on the larger size of a medium, brindled fur breed that seems to be alert and well trained but otherwise happy to meet Nara'a.

And yes, Gaia did name the dog.

Her omen takes the form of a crowntail betta whom she calls Arte, though there'll be no awareness that there's some connection to a long ago past. But then, the teen wasn't really keen to talk about their mutual past either. At least at the meeting spot or on the way to her home in Feed.

Gaia's attire is a far cry from the fashion she'd insisted on wearing on the First after her rescue. But Trench doesn't lend itself well to walking around with bare skin. Her outfit may be summer weight, but long sleeves, pants and gloves, along with leather thigh boots make for a practical outfit. Her hair is braided in what would be called 'French' style in other places than their homes. Certainly well matched and coordinated, but not rich or pricey. There is a hint of makeup, though. She hasn't given up on everything.

"Well, this is it," the teen says on their arrival to her home. And inside, the kitchen is still the most comfortable room to socialize in so that's where she would take Nara'a. If the miqo'te had anything bulky amongst his possessions that would crowd the kitchen, there's plenty of room to set it aside in the unfinished portions of the house.

"So it won't take long to make some tea. I'm afraid I don't have many options besides that and water right now. But dinner will have some meat. So there's that to look forward to."

Edited 2022-06-06 02:05 (UTC)

Nara'a stays mostly quiet on their walk to the home, watching and listening to be alert for dangers. This whole place has him a bit on edge, his tail swishing slightly as they walk. He's aware his light fur stands out in the darkness, but covering up with a hood is uncomfortable.

What to do? Nothing, at this point.

It's a little surprising to see Gaia in what he would call more practical clothing rather than her expensive attire he's used to seeing her in - but it makes sense here. It's not like there's really anyone to impress in this place, no real social order like Eulmore had before it was torn down.

The sight of the building makes him blink a little in surprise - it's nice, for this place, but definitely not something that he would have expected her to settle for. Then again, there's not much choice to settle for in this place anyway, is there? He heads inside, the somewhat strange smells assaulting his senses. Wood and the smell of new construction, plus something else...

She definitely needs help. He can see where she's improved the place, but there's still a lot of work to be done. He's never built a house, but he can lend a hand with manual labor. But that's for later. For now...

"Tea would be nice, thank you. The meat... you don't hunt it yourself, do you?" If she does, he'll be very surprised - and impressed, to boot.

Edited 2022-06-06 02:45 (UTC)

Yes, for despite following the road through the woods between the Watchtower and her home, Gaia is always pausing to looks around and keep alert for approaching threats. The dog seems to be in 'working' mode as well and Arte swims through the air a little ahead and sometimes through the trees, seeking signs of lurking dangers in ambush. They are fortunate this time. But the tension that something could occur was very real.

She's certainly grown, if that's the word. A bit more hardened and experienced. But hardship is obviously reality here. Her clothing may be practical and it might have to do with the social order, some also look second-hand, mended and patched.

There's places to sit in the kitchen at least. Stools at a plain table, which has a few pieces of scattered projects or papers on top of it. Putting a kettle of water on still means stoking up the fire in the hearth and hanging the kettle on a hook. Water is poured in from her canteen, cups and leaves set aside for when it's time.

Though her guest's question does seem to prick at her pride a little. Though Gaia's response is mostly lighthearted. "Well you hardly see anyone else around, do you?" But the young woman shakes her head. "This time it's a bit of pork. I traded with someone down the road.

If Nara'a happens to look around himself keenly, he might notice a certain air around the living space. It has a bit of self-sufficiency, signs of drying herbs or preserved goods. Signs that some of the self-sufficiency is still a bit clumsy but satisfactory. Certainly something you'd expect from a person who might have had to learn quickly, but has put their all into the effort to achieve success.

Tea is prepared and cups are brought over. There's some sugar if it's needed but sadly no cream seems to be on hand. That is a delicacy.

"So, I guess you'd have questions."

Whether she's speaking about herself or Trench? Well, Gaia's going to let Nara'a decide on what to address first.

He sits at the table, watching her work and waiting for the tea. His hands jerk up near his chest in surprise at the joke, for a moment thinking she's offended, before relaxing a bit. "I see. I can probably help out with that... I grew up hunting, and while I'm useless with a bow I've other weapons at my disposal." Thank the gods for job stones...

Questions, questions... there's so many that he's having trouble deciding. Best to start simple. "How long have you been here? It seems like you've settled in nicely." Ryne would be proud, in all likelihood... once she got over the general air of the place. But Nara'a at least is pleased that she's managed to find herself a place to live with a decent foundation.

In multiple senses of the word. He sips at the tea as he waits for her answer, tail curling comfortably around the stool's leg.

One thing Gaia seems to be careful about doing is avoiding touch. Rather than hand Nara'a his mug directly, she places it on the table and lets him take it. It's a minor lack of courtesy, but it might be noticed, particularly since she has been doing so since they met at the Watchtower.

"Thancred was here for a little while." Gaia sits and wraps her hands around the mug of tea. It's a simple black with no frills about it. "He taught me how to set snares and a lot of other ways to be self-sufficient. And there's someone who's teaching me the basics of archery."

Everyone has to start somewhere, right? And some don't have the luxury of job stones. When Nara'a mentions she's settled in fairly well, Gaia looks away briefly.

"Well it's not as if I had any choice in the matter. But thanks. I've been here nearly six moons. I arrived near the end of what they call 'December' here. Which seemed to be midwinter by all accounts. Thancred came at the same time. And I imagine you know Alisae? She was here too for a time."

But by her tone, they're both clearly not anymore. Briskly, Gaia continues.

"Well it's not as if it hasn't been hard, but I've managed to pull through. I imagine there's a few people who would be surprised."

Interesting. But he puts the lack of touch aside for a bit - she's likely just uncomfortable with touch, and that's all right. He's aware that he can be overly affectionate at times, but while he's comfortable with Gaia she doesn't seem to remember him. It would be rude to push touch on her so quickly.

His ears shoot up at the mention of Thancred and Alisaie being here, but they lower when he realizes they're obviously not here anymore, or they would have responded. Still, at least they were able to help. "I daresay you'll be far better at archery than I was." Not that it's all that difficult to do, given that his scar alone is proof of his lack of hunting prowess.

"I'm not surprised, though. You're... a survivor." Of many things, but she's got the spirit of someone who doesn't give up, especially if someone else thinks she can't. "The hunting makes sense now, with Thancred helping you to learn, but you've clearly kept up the practice. I can help now that I'm here... maybe bring in a little more to help sell to others." He doesn't want to take over anything from her unless she needs the help, of course. She's got her own agency and he wouldn't want to take that away from her.

The brush at the end of his tail flicks back and forth as he thinks, sipping tea while he does. "I've a few abilities that should help... though I'm a bit interested in becoming one of the Hunters I hear about. Apparently it's not much to do with traditional hunting... more about keeping people safe?"

Gaia was certainly known not to be overly affectionate and maybe the lost memories are playing a part here. It's good enough that she's comfortable inviting him to her home right away and seems friendly enough given the circumstances, right?

And his jest about probably ending up better at archery than he was does earn a smile from the girl. As does the compliment.

"I'm glad you think so. If nothing else, I'm a survivor." And that's not a bad thing to be able to hold on to. Once Gaia has settled herself again, she adds a bit of sweetener to the tea. "I won't take handouts," she firmly answers. "But I won't say no to lessons if there's something you're able to teach." The teen looks around herself then cants her head to the side as she regards the miqo'te with a wry look.

"And of course if you end up living here as a housemate, I'd expect you to do your share of things." Whether that's hunting, gathering, chores or upkeep of the place. "But you can think about what you want to do. Feed isn't exactly a safe place to live, but there's a lot of advantages."

There's a little bit of a pause to give Nara'a room to think and respond. When he does, she frowns a little bit while drumming a finger on the table's surface. She looks a little concerned. "Understand I'm not saying you're not up to the task. Since you're him that's a given. But I'm wondering if you are really aware of all of it. The monsters, the blood corruption. And the beasthood."

Her expression says a lot. That Gaia has enough of her memories intact to understand the person before her, being who he is (should be), has what it takes to strike down someone who has been corrupted to beasthood, to do so with deadly force and without hesitation. Knows what it's like to slowly corrupt from the inside under the burden of too much aspected aether.

Well blood corruption might work differently than the afflicted destined to become sin eaters. But the analogy is frightfully apt.

D had taken the invitation to stop by whenever he wished as an invitation to do just that. Sleeping in the attic was perhaps more than Gaia had intended, but she didn't seem to mind. Between the place to sleep and the errands she had run for him, D definitely owed her.

While it wasn't something D did often, he was more than capable of handling repair tasks around the house. With the sun up, he much preferred to patch the leaky section of roof from the inside where it was comfortably dark.

"Yes."

He wasn't always easy to see with how his dark clothing and hair blended in with the shadows and that was before taking his natural affinity for Dark into account. If the heat bothered him he showed no sign of it, still dressed in his coat and scarf and hat.

"It won't be handouts - more like earning my keep. I need to test how my abilities are here, anyway. But I can teach you how to use some other weapons, if that's what you're after." He listens as she continues, nodding. Of course he'll do his share if he's going to live here - he can cook and clean well enough to keep a place from falling to mess.

Still, the other questions - or almost-questions - give him pause. He sighs and slumps his shoulders a bit, ears pulling back. "I don't. I admit, I've jumped in on things without knowing much. Not that I'm unused to that, but I don't really know much. I didn't really stick around after being handed some supplies." His bag sits a little ways away, a solid camping bag with a few scraps of fabric peeking out from it.

"Monsters... I expected, in a world with this much fear around. But I don't know anything about blood corruption or beasthood." He knows what it sounds like. They both do, and he doesn't need to say it. His thoughts also drift to Iceheart's followers and their transformations, but sin-eaters...

'Corruption' is a good word for it, and he frowns. "If you could tell me what you know, I would appreciate it."

If it was more than Gaia intended, then she got over it. Case in point is that after a visit or two D would have just found a blanket, a pillow, and a sleeping pad from a certain point on. Proper furnishings will have to wait until the house's interior is finished.

Once he answers and despite the shadows, Gaia at least seems capable of discerning his general location. At least in the sense that she's more or less comfortable stepping into the attic proper without worry that she'll bump into him. Despite this confidence, the teenager is still hume... human enough to divert to the nearest of the windows.

If not for the dhampir's sake, then her own and probably with a shake of her head at D's habit for stuffing himself into dark corners or whatever assumption is going through her mind at that time.

"I wanted to see if you were willing to go with me on a trip into the forest," Gaia explains as she's reaching to draw the curtains back, probably to open the window and get some circulation going. "I found a patch of herbs the other day that I think would trade well, but it'd be comforting to have someone watch my back while I'm collecting them. I'd be willing to split the profit of course."

It's really an innocuous offer. Nothing wrong with it and D just happened to be in the right place for it to be made. The problem actually rest in the window which probably will, once uncovered, threaten the space the man occupies with the early afternoon sunlight.

There's a glance at the bag followed by a nod before Gaia turns back to Nara'a.

"The bag is yours. It's... like mine."

She had the satchel shaped back in question with her when she's picked up the miqo'te. And she points to it now where it's been set aside.

"Focus long enough and you can just... tell it's mine. But, I imagine you also found some of your belongings from your world. ...Don't worry about the lamp. They're harmless. But don't put it down until you're ready to place it." This is spoken hastily. "It's basically a personal aetheryte to add to the network, but you won't be able to pick it back up after."

The reason Gaia hasn't put hers down yet? Because she wants the house to be officially 'done'. It seems wrong to do it any earlier. For her, anyway.

Still, there are monsters. Gaia sobers again and nods. And she'll even begin to speak about some of the things that can be found here. About Pthumerians who aren't really monsters but aren't exactly 'gods' or Primals even though they're worshipped by many, particularly the natives of Trench. About monsters and threats and horrors that can appear here without particular rhyme or reason and some she's witnessed as common.

But it's largely a boilerplate (although useful) for what follows.

"There is so much power in blood in this world that even a drop from a normal hume can affect the environment." Power, aether. "It's... overwhelming, really. So much so that what abilities you may be used to calling on might well be diminished in favor of it. Incidentally..."

Gaia gets up and moves to a shelf. After rummaging for a little bit, she brings down thick glass jar. "Do you have a knife on you?" If the miqo'te mentions he doesn't, she'll bring one of those as well. And is that a set of basic medical supplies?

"I imagine you didn't think to do this, but we should probably try to find out what blood you have."

Blood pollution? Beasthood? Well she'll be getting to those in a moment or three.

"I did find a few things. Some useful and some... not." He'd found a heavenscracker in there - he'd been keeping those in his chocobo's saddlebag, not on his person, so he's not sure what it's doing here. But... ah. No wonder there was some kind of power coming from the lamp. He'd not been able to determine what it was, but 'small aetherytes' makes sense. It's at least something to hang on to in this confusing mess of a world. But then, she continues.

He listens carefully, leaning in slightly in attention. Monsters he's used to. Things that aren't quite Primals... well, he's experienced a few of those, especially recently. Godlike beings that aren't gods as he knows of them... that matches what he's aware of, though they seem a bit more mysterious than what he's thinking of.

"Blood being power..." Well, he knows that there's been studies about practitioners of Void rituals using blood in their rituals, so clearly there's some kind of power in blood already. But when she asks if he's got a knife, he shakes his head. "I have a rapier in one of my job stones, but that's a little unwieldy." Never mind the sword or the scythe...

He casts a glance over at the medical supplies - good to have, practical. Something useful for surviving in a world that seems to not have healers around as readily as he's used to. There's no Arcanist's or Conjurer's Guilds around, and he himself has very limited healing magic. When she comes over with the knife he holds out a hand for it.

"Let me do it." He takes a breath and carefully slices across the pad of one of his fingers, watching. The blood seeps out of his skin, but freezes almost instantly as soon as it comes into contact with the air. The cold makes Nara'a flinch slightly, and he looks up at Gaia. "... So... what does this mean?"

Edited 2022-06-07 01:35 (UTC)

"Sure," D said. Splitting the profits meant it wouldn't count towards paying Gaia back, but he could stand to have more trade options for the few things he couldn't readily provide for himself.

He didn't give much attention to Gaia's specific location until he heard her hand touch the fabric. Then he was beside her in a moment, his left hand reaching for hers to stop her from opening the curtain. "Don't."

D could stand sunlight, and forced himself to do so regularly to avoid becoming complacent. But it didn't change the fact that he was a creature of the night and more comfortable away from the sun.

"Not just blood being powerful, but the power in blood being extraordinarily potent. Like a whole other source of aether that can over obstruct your natural ability. Or not."

Please remember, dear reader, that Gaia is not a scholar. The teen grimaces. "Well you'll find out what's stronger once you practice." Native talent or blood type.

The knife is carefully placed on the table rather than handed directly over. Again that careful avoidance of touch. There'll be things taken out of the kit and the jar is also pushed closed to Nara'a. Also a towel. Whatever comes out, it's clear she's intent on making sure it doesn't hit the ground... or escape?

Is it really the cold that makes the miqo'te flinch though? Coldbloods are generally immune to temperatures, probably even their own blood's particulars. The intent expression Gaia's wearing clears and she seems to relax.

"That's Coldblood. It's very good for elemental magic and enchanting weapons." Gaia says with certainty. She points at the jar. There's a cap beside it that'll be good to seal it. Honestly it seems to be a bit excessive for a drop or two but still. Best to have been prepared. "Scrape it off and put it in here. You'll heal fairly soon but you should wrap that."

She looks relieved and it's probably around this point that she lets down her guard as she's passing items in his direction to make sure the 'bleeding' (such as it is) is properly taken care of.

He takes the towel, shuddering a little at how strange it looks. He's very familiar with his own blood from training, fighting, and the general rough travel that adventurers in general - and the Warrior of Light in particular - deal with. Carefully he scrapes off the 'blood' - it's still strange to call it that - into the jar.

Nara'a hands it back over and starts to wrap his wound, but as the blood vial scoots across the table to Gaia, she'll find herself seeing something else for a brief moment -

the sting of spikes on his feet and legs, ripping through fabric, colorful ribbons bound up in the shape of a man, the sense of vertigo as he tries to regain his footing and the sweet relief of a spell binding up his wounds as he bounds to the side to avoid a strike by a sword -

and then it's gone, Nara'a suddenly standing up as he looks at her in concern, trying to figure out what just happened. Was that an Echo headache? But no, she doesn't have the Echo. ... Does she?

He's relatively sure she doesn't, but given her connection with Ascians it could be something that she'd developed. He's not sure what's going on - but at least his finger is wrapped and she seems to be back from... whatever that was.

This and that were different things after all and it hadn't seemed right not to offer a split of profit before considering favors owed. Gaia isn't in a rush to be paid back.

Being aware of D's general location doesn't mean she's completely aware of what he's doing. Not to mention he moves fast. Her hand is able to grasp the curtain and start to shift it, but stills at the simple mention of 'Don't'.

"What?" She won't think to move her hand. A bit too distracted, too startled to find he's suddenly right beside her to think he might also be reaching out to touch her.

Because it's not as if she isn't aware, by this time, that touching someone or being touched is not a great idea. Wide-eyed, she looks up at D. A certain 'weren't you just over there?' confusion becomes shock and a sharp gasp on the contact of D's hand with bare skin. Of course she wasn't wearing gloves in her own home as she would outside. Why would she?

That something is starting to go wrong becomes very evident very quickly as the teen's pupils begin to constrict, her body freezing in place while on a metaphysical level, something massive surges toward her.

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End of May - June Catchall - Swap Meet! - OTA

Swap Meet Prompts!

Items for Offer

Weekly Swap Meet

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Whispers of an Attic - Psychometry prompt for D.

Meeting New Old Friends - Closed to Nara'a

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6.1 spoilers

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