Video | Unseelie locked

[vaccinations]

Hey so.

Ellie here. Or Baroness Ellie, I guess. I'm over at Spire 7, the one near Nimh Gleanne that looks like a sweet fortress. If we haven't met or you're new, consider this a "hey, hello, nice to meet". We don't really get out much since there's the whole "hey Seelie people are just right across the border don't let your guard down" thing. So it's not really a place that natives wanna go hang out at.

But if you ever wanna train for battle or check out some weapons, we got you covered there. No magic, nothing fancy, but we have some of the best damn troops in the army to teach you to shoot or stab shit. Or I guess if you're looking for a quieter get away. We won't turn anyone away.

[A beat as if she's going over the words in her head to make sure that she's covered everything. Introductions are awkward. Usually "hey, I'm Ellie" sufficed in the past but not here.]

Anyway, to the important stuff, there's a shrine for the Shuck at my spire. I'm gonna go up to the north to Quendi and try to bring offerings that have been gathering there since it was built. So if any of you guys who are helping out the Banshees have stuff to drop off, let me know and I'll bring it along with me. Shit seems like it's a big deal so I figure we gotta cover all our bases. Plus the Shuck wasn't too much of a dick to me the last time we met so maybe I'll manage to get there and not piss him off even more than he already is.

[Then there's a quiet pause as she bites her lip and runs a hand through her hair. Despite any position of status, it's still unkempt like she's been running through the woods for days. Then she drops her hands to her side with a long suffering sigh.]

Once this is all over. I'd like to make a formal request for someone to teach me how to swim so I don't sink like a fucking rock and die if I ever come across water. And so enemies don't use it against me and all that shit. [Clearly someone has said told her those exact words in order for her to bring this up.] Of course, I'll use all my powers as a Baroness to reward anyone who is willing to help. I'm sure we can find something that you want.

So uh, thanks, in advance. And don't respond with any snarky shit about it.

Comments

[colecomfort]

[Welp. Now that he knows he'll be going there...]

What sort of offerings?

[vaccinations]

I dunno.

It kind of depends on who's offering. A lot of the scouts offer some of their arrow tips or flowers they find. The vampires sometimes weave these sort of... rings from dead vines. Some people even leave bits of food or rings.

I guess what people think the Shuck would want is kind of... personal.

[colecomfort]

[Apart from the food, most of that does seem appropriate.]

Flowers die when they're picked.

[vaccinations]

...Yeah.

They do. Huh. I guess that's kind of ironic. Or maybe it's fitting. It's just something people do.

[colecomfort]

They offer for themselves, so he will not hunt them.

[It's... something of a guess. But if it's 'just something people do,' it follows that people don't necessarily do it because the Shuck demands it.]

[vaccinations]

Yeah.

I guess. I mean people do it for graves too. So I guess maybe they see a shrine for the Shuck like a gave.

...Morbid.

video;

[fulminants]

Well hey, Baroness. About time we met. [ she looks really, really young, but looks like she'd kick ass, so that about measures up. ] I'm one of the new barons, fourth spire. Johnny Storm.

I'll see if I get any of the tokens, and if I'm passing by, I'll send them your way.

[vaccinations]

Man.

That is the fucking coolest name ever. I'm jealous.

Anyway, welcome to the baron club. Not that we really... have a club or anything.

[fulminants]

[ YOU'RE OFFICIALLY HIS MOST FAVORITE PERSON IN THE DRABWURLD. also that potty mouth is awesome, he's impressed. ]

Hey, Ellie's pretty cool, too.

You know, we should. Get us all talking and on the same page against the Seelie, huh?

[vaccinations]

It's alright. Better than Eleanor anyway.

Yeah. I mean we've kind of been doing or own thing. Or at least I have. I think it might be worth coming together to see how our visions align.

[In the words of her teacher, the Vampire Lainost.]

[fulminants]

[ okay first of all that sounds like a soundbite from The Apprentice, but Johnny can dig that. Ellie's way more mature than rumors suggest -- not that he cares for them, anyway -- and she bears a fleeting resemblance to Ariadne in the strangest little ways. ]

Yeah, I have, too -- no worries there. Has it always been this way? I mean, all of the others just doing their own thing? Barons and Baronesses don't have weekly meetings, or something?

[vaccinations]

Yeah kinda. I mean we all had different goals and ideas. Like Archer wanted to make his spire like a crazy town with lots of fun shit. But I'm on the edge of Seelie territory so not really the greatest space for ~fun~.

We have communicators but we've never done meetings or shit like that. But I guess we could start.

video;

[wasteofbreath]

[Ellie's post catches his attention, partly because he wonders how someone so young got to be a Baroness, but there is also her offer.]

If someone were to teach you to swim, maybe me, would somethin' from your armoury be a fair reward?

[vaccinations]

I could make that deal. Like I said, we haven't got anything magic or super fancy. But we've got well made shit.

[wasteofbreath]

That's alright, it's all I'm really lookin' for, someone who can make a weapon or two that's suited to me.

You seen or heard about any Banshees near your spire?

[vaccinations]

Well, I'm sure we could make that delivery.

And no, not yet. But I've told everyone to be on the look-out, especially near the shrine.

...It's kind of fucked up though, the banshees. Like the used to be alive but now they're... not.

[wasteofbreath]

Could pick it up myself, but I'll have to check the map, make sure it's easy enough to get to from Caer Scima. [Yeah, he's new, still learning his way around.

He tries to keep his face neutral at her words, she probably doesn't mean anything by them. It is fucked up anyway, in a way, but he's alright with it.] Maybe some of em' like it better now. [A beat.] They don't have undead in your world?

[vaccinations]

We're... kind of aways away. We're pretty far to the South, nearly on the edge of our territory. But it's a pretty easy journey at least.

[Uh. She ducks her head and runs her fingers down her sides until they come to rest at her hips. Then a sigh.]

Not... exactly. We have the Infected. From the Cordyceps. It's a fungus takes over your brain and body and makes you kill people and other fucked up shit. I sure as hell hope none of those people are alive to remember all the shit that their body does and they can't control.

[wasteofbreath]

Alright, think I could make that. Is there a Fairy Ring nearby at all?

[Hmm, he frowns for a moment, thinking of how unfortunate that would be.] So there's no cure? They're just stuck like that? [The thought makes him sad, honestly; being undead felt like a blessing to him in many ways, but he didn't want to imagine being stuck mindless and rabid forever, even less so because of what he did while he was.]

[vaccinations]

No. Umm. They're trying to make one but they haven't been able to do it yet. Haven't got the right stuff.

[She runs her fingers unconsciously across her right arm. She can feel the scars of the bite through the loose fabric of her shirt. There's still so much she has to do here. But even more back home. And the thought of it haunts her at night.]

Anyway, the closest ring is the station ring. Not super convenient but what can ya do.

[wasteofbreath]

[He raises his eyebrows, curious now.] They? The imps? [Fairies are with the Seelie, apparently, or maybe they did the work on the rings regardless of where they were.

He catches her movement, sending he may have touched some nerve or brought up old unhappy memories with his questions. So he doesn't ask anymore, though he hopes something can be done for the people in her world.

A nod, change of subject accepted.] It's alright. Don't mind walking sometimes, and I do like going to the Station. I'll contact you again when things calm down a little. [If they did, but they had before, so...]

[vaccinations]

Nah. People back home. They call themselves the Fireflies. I guess they still have scientists and doctors and shit.

[There's a pause before she continues.]

Yeah, hit me up on the lockets. And I'll tell my scouts to be on the lookout.

[wasteofbreath]

[He nods... yes, of course, right. He wishes he could offer some help there, but he hasn't really got anything that would be useful, so he'll leave it alone.]

Sure, yeah, I'll do that. Good bye. [And at that, he ends the call.]

[hawkethat]

[How old is this young woman, and she doesn't know how to swim? Maker, that's tragic, and should also be remedied ASAP, as she requested.]

I can teach you once everything settles down, if you still need an instructor.

[vaccinations]

Yeah. I mean now definitely doesn't work but there's not really a good time to get on the network and beg for favors.

Thanks. For the offer, I mean.

[hawkethat]

So I've been noticing. Things do seem to happen one right after the other here, don't they?

And you're welcome...though you really don't have to thank me for just an offer. I am planning to return to Nimh Gleanne once all this is over, though. Swimming lessons will be a welcome change of pace from banshee helping and slaver hunting.

[vaccinations]

Pretty much. I think we had like one month where we could be pretend that there wasn't a war or something going down. But that ended quickly enough.

[A sigh.]

Yeah. It should be easier. Hopefully. I mean if you let me drown, Morla might totally fuck your shit up. So don't mess it up.

[hawkethat]

[That gets him to laugh]

Well, I definitely hadn't been planning on letting you drown, but I'll keep that in mind anyway.

My name's Hawke, by the way.

[vaccinations]

Hawke. That's a cool name. Man, so many cool names in our court.

And yeah, not drowning is definitely the goal here. So the focus is appreciated.

[hawkethat]

Thanks. I got it from my father.

...This isn't relevant immediately, since we're not beginning for a while, but there are nearby bodies of water suitable for swimming lessons that aren't also inhabited by nymphs or kelpies or other creatures that would take offense to a little harmless splashing in the shallows, right?

[vaccinations]

Uhhh.

You know that's a damn good question. A someone who usually keeps the hell away from bodies of water, I have no idea.

[hawkethat]

[He chuckles a bit at that]

In that case, I'll ask around. If nothing else, there's probably some puddles we can use.

[vaccinations]

Hey.

I'm brave enough for more than a puddle. At least a small pond.

[hawkethat]

[He resists the urge to laugh, but he'll still smile broadly.]

Alright, at least a small pond. I'll keep an eye out.