dreamcrystals | S'mores! And a Request

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S'mores! And a Request

Sender: Oriphi
To: All
Subject: S'mores! And a Request

Hello, everyone!

Since there are so many new dreamwalkers who've just arrived, I thought it might be nice to encourage everyone to get together and meet! There is a communal firepit in a clearing just outside of the residential area where I've got a fire going, and I have plenty of supplies to make "s'mores," which I only just learned about recently. (Thank you, Miss Tifa!) If you haven't had this before, please come and try it, it's delicious!

Additionally, I have a request for everyone to please keep an eye out for a few individuals... I realize that this may be in vain since their names did not appear in the directory, but just in case...

Colin
He is a tall, half-elven man with long, dark hair. He is very charismatic and funny and likely to be found busking with his lute somewhere or telling stories!

Aerie
Also tall, but fully an elf, very pretty and intelligent, also with dark hair (but not related to Colin!). She usually has three wolves with her. Extremely competent hunter!

Mellon
Also tall, also fully an elf, he usually does not wear a shirt. He loves to drink and might try to clear out any supply of alcohol... Please do not get into a tavern brawl with him.

Dae
Also tall, and also fully an elf, with white hair and red eyes. He is very good at magic and possibly would want to spar with you! Would likely have an owl familiar with him.

Cibark
Even taller and very very strong! He is a half-orc with green skin and usually wears armor and wields large weapons. He has a very dashing and heroic aura about him!

Sian
Not tall! They usually wear a cloak and a mask. Usually quiet but very sassy. They might be flying around, but they also don't usually remember that they can do that.

[ Ori why are you always surrounded by tall people ]

If at any point in the future you come across anybody who seems to fit these descriptions, please let me know!

(( ooc: Naturally open to these moving into or starting as an action thread! Come get s'mores! Or not. I can't tell you what to do. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ On Ori's end, the invitation is just as much an extension of courtesy as it is a way for her to show Beatrix that there really, truly, is nothing to be worried about. ]

In that case... s'mores may be too sweet for you, but how do you feel about chocolate in general? I have plenty and wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to have some too.

But yes, please feel free to come and monitor!

[ Or, you know, just hang out! ]

It is not a habit I have developed of partaking in.

[Welcome to the 'No Fun Allowed' club where Beatrix is not only the president, but also the one immediate member.]

I will be in attendance. I will consider a piece of chocolate or two.

[But at least she's trying.]

[ Ori honestly cannot help but feel as though Diluc would have been co-president of this very same club, if things had turned out a bit differently. But regardless, although she doesn't know Beatrix nearly as well, she has the feeling that an Attempt is being made, based on her first impressions of the woman. And that much, Ori appreciates. ]

Come to think of it, I haven't gotten the chance to meet you in person yet, Miss Beatrix! I'm so looking forward to it. I look the same as I did in that dream. Please do not hesitate to say hello when you see me!

[Ah, right. Some in dreamscapes look different. Beatrix has been graced with the privilege of looking very much the same. Who knows how long that'll last.]

My appearance is not different either. I believe we will find one another with ease. I shall make seeing and greeting you my foremost priority, my lady.

[ She very nearly and hastily thinks to respond to being called "my lady," as she thinks that this is way too formal of a... title? Means of addressing her?

At length, though, she decides she will simply tell Beatrix in person. Whenever she arrives at the communal fire pit, she'll find that there are a few other dreamwalkers and denizens of Reverein gathered in various places around the clearing, either partaking in s'mores or simply mingling with each other. So far, no trouble has been found. Ori, herself, is standing near the fire, clutching her journal close to her. She's already looking around and expecting Beatrix' arrival and easily spots the woman approaching, giving a polite little wave in greeting. ]

Miss Beatrix, hello! Over here!

[It's... considerably less threatening than Alexandria's social galas, truthfully. In spite of that, however, she feels a distinct wariness. Soirees never have been her thing, which she's had to admit more than a couple of times at this point. She feels so stiff in approaching that she wonders if she just might snap into twain should she bend one way more than the other.

It probably wouldn't kill her to loosen up. She fears she has far too much on her mind to ever appropriately be 'loose' in any form of the word. Perhaps after a bottle or so of wine, if she were to permit herself to fall into it.

Oriphi is easy to pick out, though she doesn't seem to be the life of the party either, as it were. Beatrix, unable to divide herself from old habits wastes little time in folding an arm across her chest and bending at the waist in a proper, respectful bow.]

Just 'Beatrix' will suit. [She responds, a bit curtly, but not unkind.] 'General' Beatrix, if you must title me.

[ Fortunately for Beatrix, Ori is likely to be one of the last people around Reverein to organize anything that even remotely resembles an Alexandrian social gala, and that's without her even knowing what those are like. And as such, it's only natural that even in a gathering of her own doing, she prefers to simply blend into the modest crowd rather than pull everyone's attention.

The greeting is certainly more formal and respectful than Ori really believes is due, especially to her, but in the end it aligns with her initial impression of the knightly woman. ]

Oh! General Beatrix.

[ Uh oh, should she be giving some kind of salute? ]

I'll try to remember that. But please, just call me 'Ori,' too. I'm not a proper lady or anything like that, haha...

As I said, 'Beatrix' alone is fine.

[That is, as long as this habit of people calling her Lady Beatrix, or Madam Beatrix, or Miss Beatrix eventually comes to an end. None of those terms themselves are particularly offensive. It's just that they all seem rather above her and whilst she loves to think of herself highly, she knows very decisively where she doesn't belong.

But she doesn't bother to say any of it, feeling that she's probably made that rather clear.]

I prefer to be formal with others if it is something I can manage. At your request, however, I will attempt to... oblige and adjust this.

[Although just the thought of simply referring to her companion as 'Ori' sounds... so... friendly.]

[ Her response gives Ori's pause, and has her looking thoughtful for a moment. ]

Then, if you'd like, you can call me Oriphi instead. I usually ask people to call me "Ori" because it's easier, [ by like, one syllable, but— ] but if you'd prefer to call me by my full name then I wouldn't mind at all!

[ Hopefully, that's something like a compromise. ]

It's nice to finally meet you in person. How are you doing this evening?

Oriphi.

[Yes. That's how she introduced herself to begin with. It's generally what Beatrix calls her in thought. 'Lady' Oriphi, most likely, which is purely by habit alone.]

I find that acceptable.

[She finally agrees, though not without a touch of reluctance. Too late to back out now. As she's looking around, she's settling a hand atop where Save the Queen rests. Seems she goes nowhere without it. This kind of thing...

Dohalim would love it. Maybe she should have recommended it to him. Her attention turns back onto Oriphi and she dips her chin in acknowledgement.]

I am sufficient. I trust you have been well since our misadventure.

[ Beatrix earns a slow blink or two from Ori for her response; "sufficient" is not typically a word she hears in response to something like how are you doing, but perhaps this is par for the course. Still, she's smiling at the compromise they've reached with regards to how they should address each other. ]

I... see. I'm sufficient, too!

Oh, but that reminds me - I had a run-in with another noctaere, in that last dreamscape that everyone was pulled into. Though it was nothing like the one that you and I fought...

[Beatrix suspects she's met with the same word purely because she used it to begin with. Honestly? She's neutral. Not good. Not bad. She simply is and it's very likely that Beatrix has spent at least ten years in that infinite state.

Whatever the case may be, Ori seems to be... well. Good? Good. Probably good.]

Are you referring to the... poorly-written theatrical piece we were a part of? With the Lindwurm nonsense?

[...Because that sure was a Time.]

[ She is quite good, actually. Quite a bit has happened for Ori since that nightmarish evening and the ones that followed it that give her much cause to be good—no, great, but she's mirrored the 'sufficient' response out of politeness.

Despite the nature of their current topic of conversation, the flowers in her hair seem to unfurl and bloom just a little bit, and she wears a bashful expression on her face. ]

Oh... It was badly-written, wasn't it? I have to admit that I wasn't paying much attention...

[ For reasons... ]

But— yes! That. There was a noctaere that looked like a mannequin shooting arrows... did you see it?

[She's an observant sort. Observant enough to remember that feelings do have an impact on the world here. Several times she's inadvertently caused things due to how isolated she is as an individual and how very bitter and unwelcoming she can be. She decides, for herself, and for everyone else, to keep a nice, wide berth. She might be so icy as to simply eliminate the bonfire in its entirety.

Either way, she's going to assume that if Ori wasn't paying attention to the actual story that she was most likely distracted with whatever people were being distracted by. Music, drinks, dancing, flowers, and so on. The same things she was distracted by. She frowns for just a moment, or maybe that's her regular expression.]

I saw it.

[Beatrix looses a huff, seemingly unamused. Maybe unimpressed. Maybe both.] There was a man travelling with me who got hit by one and I had to put him down.

[That's a terrible way to put it. She didn't literally put him down.]

[ And Ori, for her part, is happy to let Beatrix have her space. She has tried to be much too warm and close too quickly to people before and been pushed away instead. She's trying to be more understanding and aware of where people are, when it comes to how comfortable they are with others. While she doesn't know the reasons for Beatrix being as cool and aloof as she is, Ori is sure that the woman has her reasons and is more than happy to respect that.

The shock of hearing Beatrix say that she had to put someone down, though, is visible on Oriphi's face— but after a moment of thought, something dawns on her. Diluc did mention that he was hit by one of the arrows... ]

...Did this man have long, red hair?

[ After a beat, she adds: ] Because if so, then that would be my Diluc...

Edited (can't be using the same icon twice now!) 2022-03-23 21:40 (UTC)

Your Diluc.

[Beatrix cocks an eyebrow. Perhaps that is a customary reaction to... whatever may linger betwixt them. Allies. Something more. The details hardly matter. She shakes her head, evidently finding the concept amusing.]

I see. He is your pet.

[She scoffs.] All the same, that is the way of it. Diluc is a capable combatant, as I have told him, though I suspect his pride wounded in that skirmish. No matter. He seemed to be fine last we exchanged words.

[As 'fine' as a man like Diluc can be.]

[ The very moment that Beatrix echoes her words back at her, Ori's cheeks begin to redden. 'My Diluc' had slipped so easily from her lips in the same way that it does in private, and it's not until hearing Beatrix's incredulous repetition that she even realizes she's said it. ]

Oh, he—

[ is my boyfriend, she wants to clarify, and then Beatrix goes and calls him her pet. The red on her cheeks deepens even further on her lilac skin, and the flowers in her hair perk up and then - poof - they burst into a small flurry of petals around her.

It takes her a moment to collect herself and respond in kind, after that remark. ]

...Y... Yes, he just seemed bothered and not hurt or anything, thankfully.

[ Asides from his pride, surely, as Beatrix suggests. ]

Um— thank you for helping him. And I'm glad that you're all right, too.

[If Beatrix were more a humorous sort, she might take a great deal of joy in it. Instead, what she sees is a reaction that she suspects is likely very similar to what Garnet might have given her in a similar situation. But it only lasts for a breath or two, because she's more caught up in the display. At least the only thing Beatrix does is freeze over lakes.

She supposes there's something charming about bursting flower petals.]

It was nothing.

[Beatrix draws up a hand and sweeps back her hair in that haughty fashion of hers.] It will take more than a mere noctaere to bring me down, even when it attempts to use a man against me. [She scowls just once more and offers up her shoulders in a casual shrug.] There would have been little reason to hold concern for me. I am more frightening than anything we will ever see in such dreams.

[ The gesture may seem haughty to others - but Oriphi, who lacks self-confidence on a good day, sees a very strong, confident woman in front of her, and she feels that same pull of admiration that she felt when they had faced down a noctaere in a stormy nightmare.

She is just so cool. ]

Oh, I don't doubt that at all...! You really are such a strong person, Miss Beatrix.

[ She manages to smile through that look of awe on her face, at least. ]

But even so, I'm glad! I still don't think that I really understand everything going on with nightmare energy and the noctaere, so it can't hurt to be careful... right?

[Strong. Yes. Maybe. Beatrix doesn't always feel strong, but... It's not as though others need to be aware of that. Wouldn't it be better to keep that hidden? It always has been before. No one else benefits from learning about it and neither does she. All it does is threaten her reputation. Her stance. Her position.]

I doubt very much there is anyone else here who truly understands what goes on in the nightmares. In an ideal world we would have no need to get ourselves involved in these things. Nothing here is particularly ideal. All we can do is be as prepared as time and circumstance will allow.

[She offers a short little nod, as though that ought to be encouragement enough, though she doubts very much that it is.]

[ What a blessing, then - or perhaps a curse, depending on how one looks at it - that Beatrix's reputation, stance or position have less of a bearing here. And as such, Ori truly just sees her for who she seems to be: a strong woman with principals. And in the same vein... Ori also knows that even those who seem the strongest cannot always be strong. And that's okay.

As Beatrix speaks, Ori takes a seat on one of the nearby logs and begins rummaging through her supplies for the evening. She retrieves a bar of chocolate shortly and holds it out at Beatrix. ]

I agree, but in the meantime... Would you care for some chocolate? I know you said that you're not much for sweets, but...

[As Ori moves to rummage through her personal effects, Beatrix is taking the time once more to survey the surroundings. She wasn't kidding when she thought someone might try to use such an event in a less-than-pure fashion. She hasn't seen anything yet, but...

There's always time for things to go wrong. And honestly, it's safer to take preemptive caution than it is to be caught unawares.

When she's addressed, she turns her attention back onto the Tiefling and for several moments, Beatrix exchanges her pointed gaze between girl and chocolate bar. Then after a moment's hesitance, she warily extends a hand and she accepts what appears to be... Well. She has no idea what to call it. It's not a peace offering.]

I should explain that it is not as though I have been afforded much time such luxuries. My princess is likely more inclined towards such things.

[Beatrix draws up the bar of chocolate to give it closer inspection.]

It is disorienting to have been granted the time I have here. And the exposure to things I ordinarily would likely not partake in. [After a pause, Beatrix thinks about the recent days. The times. Where she stands in it all, and—] Thank you.

[Gods, that's the weirdest thing ever.]

[ Were Oriphi privy to Beatrix's continued vigilance over this small gathering, she would surely reassure the other woman that even if something were to happen, Beatrix wouldn't be alone in trying to deal with it-- she's here, too! She is not, however, so it remains a silent understanding at least on Ori's end.

Beatrix's hesitation in accepting the chocolate, at least, is apparent to the tiefling. To her, it's simply a gesture of friendship - it cannot be a peace offering if there is no conflict to be had, after all. Ori smiles even through Beatrix's close inspection of what is... really... just a piece of chocolate, but her expression only brightens and warms further when Beatrix actually... talks about herself a little bit. Ori can't help but feel like there's a small win to be had, here. ]

Oh? I think a lot of people are having a similar experience. So many of us were in the middle of important things, or had so much going on in our respective worlds, and then we were suddenly... here. So you're not alone in that, I'm certain! And-- you're welcome! I hope it's to your liking.

But- what's this about a princess?

[Beatrix very intentionally focuses her attention on the bar of chocolate in her grasp and in a very meticulous, perfected fashion, she's unwrapping. Not a single tear. Not a single rip. Just nice, obsessive gentle pulling and folding before she carefully snaps a piece of chocolate off from the top of the bar.

She simply nods along. Yes, yes. Of course they're all in the same position. More time than they all rightfully know what to do with, most likely. She doesn't dismiss it because it's true. At the mention of 'princess,' her attention moves back onto Oriphi.]

You are aware that I am a military general. [She begins, which is really nothing new. Beatrix seems to always be open about it. What's the point in hiding her capacity?] I serve a kingdom. A queen. Her daughter. Her Highness was to whom I was referring.

[ Oriphi doesn't think too much on the very... calculated manner in which Beatrix unwraps her bar of chocolate. She certainly hasn't seen anyone handle it with that much care or precision before, but everyone has their own way of doing things.

She nods, indeed remembering from earlier in their conversation that Beatrix is a general. ]

Oh... I see! I thought, maybe...

[ ...that she's married to a princess, or something? Maybe? Ori doesn't know her life - although she's learning more and more about it each time they talk, which is nice.

Still, she leaves her sentence unfinished as she trails off before her expression brightens with a quiet delight, the flowers in her hair bobbing excitedly for a second. ]

Anyway, I understand now. A strong, beautiful knight and general to protect the queen and her daughter! That's amazing!

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