Advertise/Affiliate Other Forum Main Page The World Before You Play

I Just Want A Quiet Life... (SilverDragonsBlood)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, September 29, 2017, 05:33:50 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"She doesn't spend much time around people, no." Taza replied before Chrys could object. "Nobody close to her own age, at least."

Chrys balled her fists in anger. "I am a midwife! Being around younger people is my job!"

Taza glanced at her dismissively, the shadow of a smile on her face. "I never said it wasn't. It was just an observation."

Chrys's eye twitched. Clutching her handbag tightly, she turned around and stormed out of the shop. The door slammed loudly behind her.

Taza made a small clicking noise with her tongue.
"Huh. I had figured she was here to buy something, but I guess not." The woman rolled her eyes. "So dramatic..." She looked at Meri expectantly. "You have the money?"

Celegwen

"She did." The girl watched Chrys storm off in an unexpected onset of anger.

She felt that Chrys' reaction to Taza's answer was incredibly passionate; not exactly what even close to what she had expected from the woman. Then again, Taza's tone was a little...dark? Meri couldn't pinpoint exactly what she was holding back.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Meri said, handing the silver coins over to Taza.

As soon as Chrys had disappeared from the shop, Meri smiled with the very tip of her tongue between her teeth and lower lip. It was a common expression she got when she was eager for adventure or mischief. Whichever came first!

"All right," she started, "I make a hobby - more of an obsession now - of studying people. There is no way she got that upset over 'an observation' you made. What's her deal?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Thank you." Taza said curtly as she took the coins from the girl. She wasn't entirely sure who this woman was or why she'd been spending time with somebody like Chrys, so when she asked her question Taza was naturally suspicious. "Well..." she began slowly.

"Is she gone yet?" Randal had poked his head out from behind the basement door. "I checked on all the merchandise already."

"Yeah, she's gone." Taza replied, shooting Randal a motherly look. The boy nodded and got back to work rearranging pots, and Taza looked back at the woman. "You see... Chrys has issues with interpersonal relationships, and it makes it very difficult for her to get along with other people. It's really a private-"

"She asked if she could touch me once." Randal interjected. "Wanted to know if I would hang out at her apartment with her."

"Randal!" Taza said exasperatedly, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Hildegarde asked you to keep that a secret!"

The boy looked at her sheepishly. "Right... Sorry."

Celegwen

Meri's jaw fell, and she accidentally clenched her gloved fist. "She did wh-"

She almost couldn't form the words. Things started to connect in her mind, making links between the way Chrys had acted and the energy between Randal and Taza when she walked into the shop.

If Randal hadn't come right out and said it, Meri didn't think she would actually have been able to piece the whole thing together. Chrys seemed nice, but Meri knew she was hiding something. She didn't imagine it would be so... Chills ran up and down her spine.

Hildegarde, she then thought. Her thin eyebrows knitted together, and she glanced to the right. Why does that name sound so familiar?

She shook the thought from her mind and brought her attention back to what was brought up by the boy. "What happened? Why would Hildegarde want to keep it a secret? Is she close with Chrys?" Shaking her head once more, Meri held up her finger. "One thing at a time. Why is it a secret?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The two florists shot each other worried glances. Finally, Taza sighed. "Randal can you-"

"Already on it!" the boy said quickly as he locked the door to the shop. "You want me to draw the curtains too?"

Taza shook her head. "No, it's fine." She looked at the woman in from of her, eyes cold. "If what I'm about to tell you gets out, you'll have worse than Chrys to deal with." She took a deep breath, then continued. "As I'm sure living here has taught you, there's a difference between a bad guy and a monster."

"We're bad guys!" Randal cut in excitedly. He looked like he was about to say something else, but a glare from Taza caused him to look at his feet sheepishly. "Sorry..."

Taza sighed. "Anyway, my friend Hildegarde has a very... unique sense of humor. To her, letting a pedophile like Chrys live her life normally, only to then get cockblocked at every turn, is high quality entertainment." She shook her head. "I don't get it, but I'm not about to argue with her."

Again she sighed. "I guess letting people know about Chrys ruins the joke somehow? I dunno. She and Sarah are the only ones who think it's funny."

Celegwen

The girl fought the smirk creeping up in her, but she liked Hildegarde's style. "Not funny at all," she whispered, the very corner of her lips turning upward. "Bad guys are fun," Meri said, giving Randal a genuinely playful wink.

"My sister knew of a Hildegarde," she said, "in Hyoite a few years back. She was a... unique person."

Meri sighed, looking at the jasper plant. Regardless of Chrys' perversions, didn't she still need...? "Wait, is that why Chrys is a midwife?" She asked suddenly, thinking aloud more than actually expecting an answer.

Even for a pedophile, that seems a bit young, she thought.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Taza's eyes flashed dangerously. "I wouldn't talk about that here. Lady Hildegarde doesn't like her past being brought up."

"We didn't even know she was from Hyoite until Addie joined." she added silently to herself.

Taza shook her head. "No, I'm pretty sure she's a midwife so parents will let her into their homes." She shuddered. "Ugh, just talking about her makes me want to take a bath."

Randal, who had been staring at the woman excitedly, finally spoke up. "Are you a bad guy too? Like, with bad guy magic and stuff?" He beamed. "I bet you are!"

Celegwen

Lady Hildegarde? Meri thought to herself. Didn't know she was nobility.

"If that's so, let's not talk about her anymore," she said. "For now, at least."

Meri looked at the boy's excited eyes, and she couldn't help but smile. The innocence of a child, no matter how much they've been through, was something she loved to see. His question was complicated, though. She wanted to say that was good and her magic was forced on her, but was that completely true?

With a slight shrug, Meri wiggled her gloved fingers on her left hand at the boy. "You would win that bet," she said, giving him the simplest answer. Her smile lied and her eyes did a poor job of hiding the conflict she was having with herself, but someone as eager as Randal wouldn't have noticed. "Bad guy magic and everything!"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Taza watched with interest as the woman told Randal that she was a "bad guy". She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Well, this is interesting. Most people here shy away from that label."

Randal bounced on his heels, grinning wildly. "Really? What do you do? Do you kill people? You're wearing black, l bet you're an assassin or something awesome like that! All the super cool people wear black!" He slowed down and took a deep breath. "Well, except Lady Hildegarde. She wears pink. I asked her why, and she said-"

Taza cleared her throat. "Randal, calm down." she said, an amused twinkle in her eyes. "You don't even know her name yet." She leaned across the counter, arm outstretched. She smiled at the woman. "I'm Taza."

Celegwen

"Meri," the girl said, nodding her head to Taza.

She grinned at Randal's little burst that nearly left him breathless. The boy's excitement was contagious and warmed her heart. Meri glanced at her glove for just a second. Even if he would be excited, her full self wasn't something she wanted to reveal, especially not to strangers.

Still, what's the harm in giving him a little taste?

"Keep back," she said, her heart racing. "I don't want you to be accidentally hurt." She hadn't used her power for entertainment in...well, ever.

Meri took a common little flower and removed her glove, placing it next to her jasper plant. She waved her left hand over the flower, as her eyes turned completely black. Streams of smoke emerged from her fingers, twisting around the plant until it shriveled. Her eyes went back to normal, and she slipped her glove back on.

"I'll pay for that," she said in a small voice.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Taza's eyes narrowed as Meri ignored her outstretched hand and merely nodded at her. She crossed her arms. "Rude."

Randal watched in awe as the woman took a potted flower and, taking of her glove, promptly killed it. The boy bounced up and down excitedly. "Wow! That was so awesome! And it was a aegis poppy too, those things never die! That's why they cost so much!"

Celegwen

Of course, Meri said with a defeated smirk. Maybe I should listen to Padi when she rambles on about flowers.

She knew that her refusal to shake hands would be a little off-putting, but she had an issue with touching people when she had recently used her magic. It wasn't really a fear, but more of a cautionary habit to make sure she wouldn't do something by accident. Since she used her magic twice in a single day, surely there would some remnants of...death...on her.

"Yeah, well," she shrugged. "That's my bad guy magic. That's our little secret, okay?"  Looking at Taza with slight regret on her face, Meri forced a smile and pulled out her coin purse. "How much for the poppy?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Taza looked at the dead aegis poppy, eyes wide. She the looked at the woman's coin purse. "You'd need a bag three times that size to hold the amount you owe me." she said bluntly. "Unless you have anything else valuable on you, you'll need to work off your debt somehow."

"Work it off?" Randal asked, frowning. "You mean she'd be, like... indentured? You know I don't like that stuff."

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Taza replied. Randal was silent for a moment, then shook his head slowly. Taza sighed. "Exactly." she said. She looked back at Meri. "I don't think you can even begin to fathom how long it took me to get that flower."

Celegwen

Slowly putting away her purse, Meri frowned at Taza slightly. "I understand. As long as it doesn't interfere with my duties as a midwife, I don't mind."

She smiled at Randal softly, assuring him that she was okay with Taza's request. His visible discomfort upset her because she didn't want to think of him as forced into dark situations.

"Just so you know, I'm quite close with someone who...has access...to any kind of herb, flower, or root that you need." Meri smirked, rubbing her arm. "You could have seven aegis poppies within the month. Never mind that, though. The most valuable thing I have is my magic, but I'm sure that's not what you're looking for. What kind of work will I be doing?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Your sure the decay magic isn't what I'm looking for? Really now?" Taza thought as she studied Meri carefully. "And do you really expect me to believe you have connections like that? What a load of malarkey." She blinked slowly. "If you're trying to hint at something, you may as well just tell me. I'm down several thousand, I'm not in the mood to play games."

Randal watched the two women nervously. "Uhhhh..." he said, trying not sound like a nuisance. "If she can kill stuff that good, won't Lady Hildegarde want to know?"

Celegwen

"I'm sure Lady Hildegarde has better things to tend to than a girl with deadly magic," Meri said to Randal.

She was slightly unnerved by the way Taza was looking at her. Meri didn't feel intimidated, but rather guarded suddenly. It was a completely instinctive reaction, and she wasn't yet sure whether or not it was warranted.

"I'm not trying to hint at anything," she said. "I have someone who can easily get you whatever kind of natural supply you need. If I'm good for anything, Taza, I'm good for my word."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Taza sighed. "No," she said flatly, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Randal is right, Hildegarde will want to meet you. If your power is what I think it is, she'll be very interested in you."

"Why does she have to be so insufferable though?"

Randal bounced on his heels excitedly. "Do, d'you want me to go get her?" he asked, grinning.

"Honestly, it's better you take her." Taza replied, motioning to Meri. "I still need to run the shop, we can't hold a job interview here."

Randal nodded. "Okay!" Assuming Meri would let him, the boy would grab her hand and lead her out of the shop. "Come on! She's nice, you'll like her!"

Celegwen

When Randal went to grab her hand, Meri whipped away quickly and shifted her position. "Sorry, kid," she said. She took his hand with her gloved one, making sure he would be safe thanks to the magical seal on it.

She walked out of the shop with Randal practically pulling her along. I'll get the jasper from Padi, she thought. Let the thirty silver pieces go towards replacing the small fortune she had cost Taza.

"So, Randal," Meri started, swinging his hand while walking, "do you have bad guy magic, too? I bet you do!" Her voice mimicked his own when he asked her the same question.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Randal led Meri out of the shop, leaving Taza behind. "Oh Kia, this is so cool!" the boy thought, grinning excitedly. "There haven't been any new friends since Addie joined up!" Randal put his finger on his chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, she joined after walking into Blue Orchid too..."

Meri's question snapped the boy out of his thoughts. "Yeah I do!" he said as he pulled Meri down a side street. "Hildegarde calls me a synchromancer, but I don't know what that means." He looked up at the tall woman and beamed. "It's really cool! I need drugs to do it though..."

Celegwen

Meri smiled at him practically glowing. "Well, I don't have any drugs on me, but I'd definitely like to see that one day."

She looked around at the unfamiliar scene. She hadn't come that way before, always sticking to the streets that were necessary for her. If there was some event, she'd take a look, but the girl knew it was better to keep relatively unnoticed in a rough place.

"What can you tell me about Hildegarde?" Meri asked him. "Taza seemed pretty secretive, but I'd bet you have all kinds of cool stories about her. What should I expect, huh?

Tags: