PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 8, 2017 3:45:18 GMT
► It was Spring Renewal again!!!
Of all the celebrations Haven held, this one had to be the red headed hippie's absolute favorite. Of course, for her the first day of spring had already come and gone. Being connected to the forest kind of gave her a little cheat. Even so she absolutely adored coming to Haven for the festival despite the fact she wasn't the most social of creatures. It was just so...so uplifting! The moment she stepped foot into the town she could see the celebration was in full swing. The sound of laughter and cheerful chatter drifted through the air like a jolly breeze. Along with it came the amazing smells from the various foods being cooked. Overall there was a buzz in the air that the very trees resonated with from the great vibes the people attending gave off.
It certainly had affected the hermit.
She was practically beaming when they stepped into the town. Blooms had already formed a thick wreath of vibrant colors around her head, and at the rate they were going there was bound to be a flower curtain before the night was out. She was dressed in...well the best clothes she had, though she was a hermit for heaven's sake. Though she had lately been toying with the idea for something to possibly remedy that. But never mind that now; the festival had grabbed her fully attention. Much like how she grabbed her companions's arm in giddy excitement.
"Caroline look!" She didn't even know what she was telling the other woman to look at. The redhead was simply happy beyond belief, both at the festive atmosphere and the fact she'd gotten her neighbor to come. It had taken some convincing for sure, but she'd finally managed to drag the other girl along with her. She'd simply seemed so...bothered by something that she thought a festival could surely do her some good. And, let's be honest, it was the first time Lelianna ever had someone to actually go with. She couldn't pass that opportunity up.
"Look look look! Look, they have games!" Finally the hermit had pinpointed her attention to something. Off she went, semi-tugging Caroline along but her hand soon slipped off the other woman as the redhead moved towards the game section. Oh there was so much to do! Lelianna was simply lost in it all, doing a complete 360 before looked back at Caroline. There was an eager and joyful gleam in her eyes as she practically fed off the playful and happy emotions around her. "Which should we try? There's so many!!!"
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 9, 2017 18:36:23 GMT
 | I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS Caroline wasn't even sure Haven really existed; how could an entire city avoid radar, hunts, even runic magic for years? And yet... here she was. Part of her wished it didn't exist; when Lelianna invited her to accompany her to the festival, she resisted. But even the old agent didn't stand a chance in face of such enthusiasm. Eventually she agreed, but... Something about being in a magi city felt wrong. She wasn't worried for herself, but this was a sacred place and she was a big enemy of theirs for years. The border guards seemed reluctant to let them pass, but given she was accompanied by Lelianna, whose garden inspired parts of the main temple... they eventually gave the okay, with a stern warning not to cause trouble. She pulled the brown hood further over her face. Gods forbid a magi she'd fought recognized her. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin someone's good time, or get into a fight in the middle of what was apparently one of the biggest festivals magi held. She couldn't turn back now, not with Lelianna's good-natured deathgrip on her arm. She could at least try to make the most of it. Much of her hesitation disappeared when they arrived. Oh, she was looking. The place was beautiful, and there were so many magi in one place. She had no idea this many magi were even left in the world; seeing them eased part of the heavy guilt weighing on her heart; maybe it wasn't too late to stop them from being exterminated. “It's really something,” she said. Her barely-visible eye and mouth were wide open. “It's beautiful here. There... are so many people. So many types of magi...” She shifted and sighed. “Lelianna, I still think this is a bad idea, me being here...” Oh but she didn't care. There were games! No time to listen to Caroline repeat “this is a bad idea” for the umpteenth time. Still, the druid's enthusiasm was infectious, and Caroline followed her along with a grin. Her excitement... her energy... the way her hair and clothes flowed with that little spin she did while taking it all in... oh, shoot, she was staring, and feeling warm. She looked around at the different stalls and vendors. “Er... I'm not sure. I... haven't really ever played games. At least not that I can remember. Why don't you choose the first one?” The only time she'd been to small festivals, she watched the kids play, rather than participating. Though there was that time she won that strength game with the hammer and the bell... without the hammer. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 9, 2017 22:27:00 GMT
► No. No "this was a bad idea." Bad Caroline.
Fortunately Lelianna was too dang excited and caught up by the cheer of the festival to get caught by any negativity. Hell, her awkwardness around others was virtually gone in the face of the celebration. Her enthusiasm really knew no bounds at the moment, and despite having been to this a few years in a row the hermit was looking at everything as though it were the first time she'd seen it.
"Ooooh Caroline how could you?" The magi groaned, looking from her friend to all the games. "There are so many! I don't know what to pick!" Truly there were. How on earth was she going to be able to choose? Well getting a better look at everything was probably a good start. Once again semi-clasping Caroline's arm, Lelianna made her way through the game quarter, trying to decide which to try first. There were plenty that tested a wide variety of skills. Though Lelianna sincerely doubted she'd be much good at any of them.
Admitted the maze did earn a stare from emerald eyes. In a surprising bit of mischief Lelianna had to laugh and lean in to Caroline to whisper: "I'm kind of tempted to do the maze to see if I could mess with it." It was probably the most fiendish thing Lelianna had ever considered. With a grin she turned it down though, continuing to search around for an actually game first before she'd get to mess with some of the other earth magi of Haven. A loud ding! noise finally brought her attention to one game in particular. When she saw what it was, a lightbulb went off in her head.
"Oh! How about that?" Offered the magi, pointing over at the large contraption where a number of magi were testing their strength. "You're really strong! I'm sure you'd win! I mean, I've never met anyone who could lift Skjorn like that before." Seriously, that had been something else. That whole encounter had been something else. Lelianna was still trying to forget the decapitated talking head part of it, but the suplexing part really spoke about the purplette's strength. "Want to try it? I know I'd do terrible, but you'd do great!" The hermit insisted, looking over at Caroline with a beaming smile. She wasn't about to push the other woman to try anything she didn't want to though.
She'd already dragged her here, and that was pushy enough.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 10, 2017 1:34:25 GMT
Notes I. Don't know how this got so long. Oops! Here's a reference for the bracelet btw | I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS Half-dragged, half-walking, Caroline was led throughout the crowd by her excitable friend. A crowd. Of Magi. Old people, young people, families, children, and traits of all kinds: wings, horns, even taur-like bodies. The amount of diversity here was incredible. Magi weren't just one single entity any more than humans were- if only more humans could see them in settings like this, maybe they wouldn't need to hide.Caroline laughed at Lelianna's suggestion. “I never pinned you for a troublemaker, Leli. I'd be almost afraid of any maze you came up with; you'd probably have one half the size of Arecia.” Day by day, she felt more... like her self. Not a robot, not... Dullahan. Caroline. Lelianna was her biggest help, and seeing all this joy around her? That was doing her some good, too.She hummed. Oh, was this about to be a repeat of the other festival? She looked at the game, to Lelianna's beaming smile... and matched it with a grin. Damn, how could she say no to that face? “Sure,” she said, and for the first time since they arrived, she walked at her own pace towards the game. There was something different this time... about the entire festival, and how different it was from the Independence Day ones. She almost chalked it up to cultural differences, but upon closer examination, the difference was clear.The people running the games here weren't trying to pander to people, to swindle them for money, or to goad them into playing. They weren't carnies. A quick look around with this new insight told her she was on the money; kids played games openly, even without standing a chance at succeeding. Parents weren't fighting or arguing. Nobody was hollering out and harassing passers-by. It was... relaxing. This is how festivals should be.It was only a short wait for their turn to come up next. The man running this area greeted them with a smile, though gave the covered-up cyborg a quizzical look. “Care to try? Here you go,” he said, holding the hammer out between the two of them. Caroline held her palm up. “No thank you,” she said, and stepped up to the contraption. Now the confusion on the man's face was clear. Even the father and daughter who took their swings ahead of them lingered around to see what the odd figure would do. After a quick once-over of the target, she flipped her cloak open to give her arms some room to work. She wound back. Paused. In an instant, her body twisted forward with a loud grunt. She slammed her fist as hard as she could into the lever.Ding!The cloak was already covering her body again by the time eyes drifted from the bell down back to Caroline. She shrugged and walked over to the man and Lelianna. “Well... I've never seen anything like that!” The man said, shaking his head with a laugh. He gestured over to a small rack filled with little trinkets and a few hand-sewn stuffed animals. “We got a few prizes there, help yourself! Everything hand-made in Haven just for the festival! My daughter did most of the jewelry!”
“Thank you,” she said. She looked over at the prizes. It was nothing like she had seen in the city, where the reward was usually some small, gimmicky toy or mass-produced stuff animal worth a fraction of what was spent trying to win it. These were handmade goods... She almost couldn't believe they were being offered freely. But it seemed... in line with everything about the spirit of the festival. These were goods people made with the hope that people would win them. There was jewelry made from gems transmuted by earth-magi, bracelets, wooden toys for children... and a few more modern things. Haven wasn't completely cut off from technology, it seemed. Perhaps the event was just about getting back down to the roots of nature? She... really liked that, actually. Eventually, she settled on a small bracelet, made from a single wire of either copper or gold, with an emblem depicting tree branches set in the middle.“Your daughter is very talented,” Caroline said. “Are you sure I may take this?”He waved her off. “Of course, that's what she made them for! She made a bunch, and did a bang-up job, too! Don't know how the young ones can do all that metal control without tuckering out; I get tired just watching her!”“Thank you,” she said. She took the bracelet and offered it to Lelianna. “Here, I think it would look nice on you. I want you to have it. And I won't hear 'no' for an answer, either; you give me so many gifts, it's the least I could do.” |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 10, 2017 2:03:38 GMT
► "Hey!" The hermit laughed in response. "I'd at least make sure it was a good one! And people wouldn't get too lost." Though from the way she said it, that might not be true. Looks like the redhead was in full playful swing tonight, which honestly was a nice change from her normal stuttering ways. But enough about that, let's get back to the games and Caroline!
A grin looked so much better on her friend's face than the stressed lines and sad expressions Lelianna had seen before. This was nice. Really nice. She was glad she'd been pushy for once just to get her neighbor to come out to the festival. Clearly Caroline had needed it. Plus, Lelianna would get to see her try the strength game! Gleefully she followed Caroline to wait with her for the cyborg's turn at ringing the bell. There wasn't a doubt in the hermit's mind that Caroline would do it. Seriously, if you could suplex a bear you could easily do something like this.
However even Lelianna wasn't expecting Caroline to do it without a mallet!
The redhead too was confused when Caroline rejected the hammer and stepped up to plate without it. Unlike everyone else though, she got wind of what was happening just before the bomb hit. Bam! That little meter soared up into the bell in record speed (at least as far as Lelianna knew). Even the hermit, who'd seen some of Caroline's prowess before, was as awed as the other bystanders. Her mouth hung open for a second before Caroline walked back to her and the man running the game. Then it turned into sheer excitement and happiness for her friend.
"Caroline that was amazing!!!" Cried the magi, clapping her hands together and bouncing a little where she stood. "I knew you were strong but holy smokes! Skjorn better be nice to you." She joked with a laugh. As Caroline picked out her prize, Lelianna simply followed. At this point she was merely happy to be included. Actually having a friend to come to the festival with was... really nice, she was finding. if Caroline liked it, the redhead truly wouldn't mind doing this again next year. If the purplette was up for it, of course.
When Caroline offered Lelianna the bracelet, she was distracted at first. What other games should they do? There was plenty of activities for them to partake in. They had to be careful or they could honestly spend the entire festival in this one section. Once Caroline caught Lelianna's attention, the hermit blinked. A protest was on the tip of her tongue, but Caroline silenced it before it ever saw the light of day. Something that made the magi pout for but a moment. In this atmosphere it couldn't last very long. "Oh alright...Thank you though." She said, taking the bracelete a little hesitantly before trying it on. Once on she observed it. It really was pretty, and simplistic. Not at all like those crazily bedazzled things she sometimes saw. if she wanted to be covered in precious stones, she could literally do that.
A soft smile played on her lips as she looked back at Caroline. "It's really pretty. Are you sure you want me to have it? I'm sure it would look really good on you." Honestly, there was only one piece of jewelry that Lelianna wore almost religiously. Though if Caroline still insisted then this bracelet might become a frequent piece of her attire too. Like a friendship bracelet. yeah, let's go with that.
And if Caroline did insist on Lelianna keeping it, then that only meant one thing. The hermit had to win her neighbor something now. "Alright; your turn to pick the next game! Especially if you're giving me this."
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 10, 2017 15:56:04 GMT
Notes Thought a magic-centered game would be cool
| I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS She smiled and chuckled at the compliment. “Thank you. He hasn’t come near me since that first day; I think he’s still sulking about it. Tell him I’m open to a rematch!” Gently, she took Lelianna’s hand and turned it back and forth to examine the bracelet. She pat the top of her hand twice before letting go. “I’m sure. It looks much better on you; it looks very nice with your hair, and goes with your clothes. I’m not a jewelry person myself, I don’t think, and I wanted to get you a gift for the longest time. Maybe I can win you a few more, hm?” She laughed, the closest to a giggle the steely woman could ever get to; emotions were coming naturally to her. What was it about this place? Was it magic or just… doing things that normal people did? “Oh, is that how it works? Hmm, okay then. Let’s look around some more.” She wasn’t sure what games there were, but Lelianna clearly was not going to let up until she chose one. It was her turn to lead through the crowd. She glanced from booth to booth, wondering what type of game Lelianna would enjoy the most. The one that caught her eye was a curious game she’d never seen before. It was a booth set up like a firing range, and at the end of it was a tree with some hoops, some large, some small, dangling from the branches at various heights and distances. The goal seemed to be to throw an object down range into one of the hoops, but how would they do that? There was a net draped between the standing area and the targets. Then she saw a pair of children trying it. They were lifting little rocks that were across the net, and trying their darndest to fling them downrange. Ah, they used their magic, of course. It seemed to be a game for earth magi, zero magi, and judging by the balls of ice, water magi could participate, too. The boxes of rocks and ice were just on the other side of the net from where the participants were standing- it seemed the goal was to have to throw the rock, rather than guide it down the length of the range. “Oh, I’ve never seen a game made entirely for magic use,” she said. “That looks tough, maybe a good twenty or thirty feet. Do you think you could do it?” |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 10, 2017 16:55:17 GMT
►
Okay now that was actually terribly adorable. Caroline was giggling! Or close to it anyways. The uplifting sound from the other woman had Lelianna beaming. Even her hair seemed to respond to the sound, growing a few more vibrant blooms. It sounded so sweet. The hermit was beyond glad to see Caroline was having fun despite her earlier protests about attending the festival. This was good. This was good. The cyborg needed to laugh and smile more. It suited her much better than the sad and distant looks she'd had before.
Lelianna followed closely behind Caroline. She was genuinely curious to see what game Caroline would pick for her to play. When the choice was made, Lelianna took a moment to observe what the kids were doing. Oh! It was a game that would require her powers to play! Lelianna brightened further (if that was even possible at this point). "Well there's only one way to find out!" Replied the redhead. It didn't look too hard. The distance was pretty far, but she'd had to do much more challenging things in the woods. Maybe not something that required her to aim so well, but she figured she could manage.
When it came Lelianna's turn to give it a try, she picked up one of the small rocks. "Do your best to get it into one of the hoops!" The stall tender said cheerfully, stepping aside for Lelianna to take aim. Right. Should be easy enough. Lifting the rock with her power was simple enough. Having to churn much heavier pieces of earth kind of helped. She took a breath.
"Ok..." The first shot came close, but she just narrowly missed. A minor pout came to the redhead's lips, but she wasn't about to give up. Another rock beside her floated on up before being sent whizzing down the range in a blur. This time it looked like it was actually going to go in one of the hoops! Lelianna's face brightened from its pout-
Until suddenly the branch of the tree actually shifted the hoop out of the way.
Promptly the hermit's jaw dropped. "Hey! That's not fair you jerk!" She protested, glaring hotly at the tree. With her focus on the plant before her, a sensation came to the forefront of her connection with the surrounding greenery. It was like amusement. That dang wooden jerk was basically laughing at her! As the branch shifted back into place (earning a slightly alarmed and curious look from both the stall tender and other magi at the booth), Lelianna narrowed her eyes. "So that's how you wanna play, huh?" She muttered. Maybe it was the atmosphere in the zone getting to her. Maybe it was the fact she wanted to get Caroline a gift in return. Or maybe it was simply the fact that Arecia, even here, was deciding to have a giggle with her.
A surprising surge of competitiveness suddenly burst through the redhead.
"Ooooh, you're on barkbutt!" The druid challenged. Abruptly the stones provided as ammunition lifted up and began hovering behind the earth magi's head. All of them. Wisely some of the people near her took a step back as earth magi faced off against nature. Since she figured the tree was just going to keep moving those branches, shooting one stone at a time was going to be useless. So her solution? Lelianna had never seen a machinegun before, but damn if she wasn't doing a good job of emulating one.
Stones sped past her head in a stream as the magi focused on hitting those hoops. The tree actually wasn't making it so easy. Branches creaked and groaned as the two faced off in what had to be the strangest battle anyone likely had to have seen that night. A redhead with rocks versus a tree with attitude. Someone add that to the list of "things I did not plan on seeing today." However for all its movement, Lelianna was still managing to score points. It was hard to avoid a near constant spray of earthy bullets. By the time Lelianna had run out of ammunition (plus any bits of earth lying on the ground) she'd managed to get plenty of stones through those dang hoops. A rather smug and victorious look was on her face after the stones settled.
"Take that you cheating little thing!" The branches almost seemed to sag with defeat. Dusting her hands off satisfactorily, Lelianna was quite pleased with herself. Until she realized people were sort of staring at her. A blush- the first one to appear tonight, how about that?- settled onto her cheeks. "Oh um...S-Sorry about that." She apologized sheepishly. Fortunately kids were nothing if not enthusiastic. After seeing the hermit basically gun down her offender with stones, they let out a pretty loud cheer that thankfully helped Lelianna recover somewhat from the embarrassment she currently felt. While more than a few of them were asking for instructions on how to do that, the stall keeper was actually kind enough to let Lelianna chose a prize from the display. Maybe she'd sort of cheated a little since she'd gone way over the limit of how many stones she could throw. But after a display like that, how could she not get something at least?
That or maybe they didn't want to end up like the battered tree in a similar display of power.
Though Lelianna felt a little bad for picking a prize, she did remember she needed to get Caroline something in return for the bracelet. All of it was hand made, of course. Lelianna was half tempted to get Caroline some sort of plushie or figurine, but then her gaze caught a particular color and she froze. Now that was perfect. Once she'd made her selection, she proudly walked back to Caroline. The blush still remained, but she was too happy with the fact she'd actually gotten something for the other woman to care.
"I know you said you aren't really a jewelry person, but!" She held up the prize she'd won. It was a rather simple silver necklace; nothing too flashy or anything. However it was the pendant that had caught her eye. A shard of dark, well cut amethyst hung from the chain in a teardrop. It very nearly matched the color of the purplette's own hair. "I thought this would be perfect for you. If gold somehow works for me, silver definitely would look good on you."
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 10, 2017 21:25:01 GMT
| I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS “I’m sure you’ve got this,” she said. She stood a respectable distance off to the side with her arms crossed and eyes fixed on the targets. She’d never actually seen Lelianna do anything with earth beyond planting flowers, so she was curious to see what would happen. The first one missed, but not by much. The second one looked promising until… She blinked and stared for a moment. Did that tree just move? Lelianna’s fit gave her all the answer she needed and honestly… she couldn’t help but laugh! It seemed like Arecia messed with her as much as she claimed it did after all. But her laughter ceased immediately upon seeing the mass of rocks Lelianna commanded, along with that fierce look in her eyes. Something told her that that tree was in for a world of hurt. She was as shocked as the rest of the onlookers at what happened next. She didn’t know Lelianna had it in her to attack something, let alone be good at it. She’d have been afraid to come up against that; if this was her playing a game, Caroline was sure she had more power than she let off. The hunters should consider themselves lucky she was a peaceful magi. Yikes. She had to clap when the kids cheered and wow’d over that display, and she shook her head with a quiet laugh. “That was something else, Leli,” she said. Definitely an understatement; she found herself wondering just how powerful the unassuming little hermit was. “I may be new to Arecia, but I think the woods might have learned a lesson today.” Caroline’s thoughts froze at the sight of the necklace. Gingerly, she took it into her palm. She examined it in silence, without any indication of whether she liked it or not. Internally… She actually knew what this was. Or she thought she did, anyway. Maybe it was just coincidence. There were a lot of teardrop shapes in jewelry, after all. “This reminds me of my mother,” she said. Yes, she remembered it clearly. “Purple was her favorite color, and these… Do you know that magi sympathizers wore symbols like these during the relocation? A subtle way to show where they stood on the issue. She was more than a supporter, though; she was a volunteer with a legal organization that fought to end the camps.” She smiled and without even an attempt to refuse, put the necklace on. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s… well, it’s a very meaningful gift, even if you didn’t know it would be. I only hope it doesn’t get lost the next time Skjorn decides to knock my head off again.” Her fingers fiddled with the gem for another moment; she focused on the tactile sense, and her memories, and so didn’t notice that she was giving Lelianna a truly heartfelt smile the entire time. Once she realized, she turned her head to the side and readjusted her hood. “Er, I think it’s your turn to choose a game now,” she said, feeling heat on her cheeks. “It’s on now, you know. I’m going to have the last say in gift-giving tonight.” There was a hint of a playful challenge in that last sentence… or at least as playful as Caroline was capable of sounding, anyway. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 10, 2017 22:04:54 GMT
► Yeah fun fact about the hermit: given that she'd spent so many years in the woods by herself with no one to compare her powers to, she actually had no idea how strong she was herself. All that time she'd spent in hermitude was spent using her powers and expanding her garden to incredible lengths and size. Personally she didn't even think in terms of power. She was just...Arecia's tender. A druid, if you would. She owed the forest that much. Little did she realize she'd actually gotten to be a powerhouse pacifist.
Whoooooops!
Caroline's compliments and comments about the tree did make her a little shy. She'd probably be getting the consequences of that later. For now though she focused on giving Caroline the gift. Which...actually got a really unexpected reaction. For a few moments the hermit was legitimately worried the cyborg didn't like it. Had she chosen wrong? Maybe she should have gone with the-- Oh. Oh that was completely wrong wasn't it? More than slightly mystified, Lelianna listened intently as Caroline spoke. It was...shocking that the other woman was revealing this.
Lelianna was learning more about her friend!!!
The redhead hadn't even known about the sympathizers or anything like that. All she'd gotten to learn about the relocation camps had been through her parents. And, well, clearly that hadn't been in a very positive light. But what mattered was that it was positive to Caroline. It was obvious in the smile and the fact the cyborg didn't even fight the magi about the necklace at all. When Lelianna was thanked, it truly felt like Caroline was speaking from the heart. That alone was enough to make the earth magi mirror the smile the purplette wore.
"I...I'm really glad you like it then." Said the girl sincerely. Her heart swelled at the fact she'd (accidentally) managed to make Caroline this happy. This was much, much better for the other woman. However the spell was eventually broken as Caroline broke the gaze and looked away. Lelianna was curious for a moment before Caroline pointed out it was her turn to pick. Not only that, but she vowed to beat Lelianna in gift giving. Well I never... A eyebrow arched up questioningly at the other woman. A rare smirk of pure mischief and gods-forbid confidence curled Lelianna's lips upward. "Oh ho ho! Is that so? You're on, purplette." Consider this challenge accepted! Now, to find another game...
It really was hard picking another. There were just so dang many! Lelianna did admittedly pause near the large maze section. Normally she wasn't one to want to cause any trouble but...It was simply so tempting. Too tempting. Lelianna bit her lip and froze before it. It wasn't technically a game but the magi just couldn't pull herself away. "I know it's not a game but..." She trailed off and pointed towards the hedge. A slightly begging expression was on her face. "Could we do the maze? Please? I just can't help myself." Which was rather strange for the magi typically.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 11, 2017 21:08:10 GMT
| I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS Well, it seemed she was getting better at this whole emotion thing! Lelianna picked up on her subtle challenge. “Good luck; you’ll need it,” she said with a widening smirk. Lelianna wandered by the maze enough that Caroline wasn’t surprised at all when she wanted to try it out. Not how it was intended to be tried, of course, but all the same, they were here, and she was whining. “You don’t need my permission,” she said. “I’m just surprised you want to be such a troublemaker. Maybe Skjorn and Stewart learned their ways from you!” She looked at the maze. Hedges and bits of earth, ever-moving and shifting under the expert puppeteering of earth magi. Magic did some things way better than technology ever would; the kids would have gone nuts for this. Even Caroline thought it could be an interesting challenge. That… gave her an idea. She turned to Lelianna. “Alright. Let’s do the maze, but let’s make it more interesting.” She looked over at one of the magi at the entrance who seemed to help run the attraction. “Excuse me, how long does it normally take someone to make their way through the maze?” “About… oh, say five to fifteen minutes? Sometimes less, sometimes more.” The horned woman replied. “Thank you.” She turned back to Leli. “You want to mess with it, right? Let’s have a bet, then, since you like challenges. I say even with you having your fun with it, I can get through the maze in five minutes. Go on ahead and start making trouble, and then I’ll go in after and try. How does that sound?” But if Lelianna wanted to go in together instead? That was fine, too, and there would be no taunting from Caroline. She’d get her wins at games later, anyway. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 12, 2017 16:41:44 GMT
► Hey! This was a night of fun for Caroline too! Lelianna just wanted to make sure it stayed that way for the other woman. The redhead herself was...well I mean she'd been confident enough to bombard a tree with a hail of stones. Clearly she had to be in some sort of a good-vibe mood to accomplish something like that when she knew Arecia was gonna make her pay for it later. But revenge could come later.
Overall Caroline agreed yet there was something added to it. Lelianna blinked as Caroline asked one of the workers about how long it took to do the maze. What was she getting at? Wait, a bet? Oooooooh. Blinking once more, the redhead heard Caroline out for the details of their little wager. So Lelianna was going to create a maze for the other woman to complete in only five minutes? The hermit mulled over it for a time before a large, nearly wolfish grin grew on her face. Truly this festival and energy was doing something to the magi. It really was like the first day of spring all over again, where the more...shall we say "wild" side of the magi really shone.
"You've got yourself a deal!" The magi agreed. Before remembering one possibly important detail. "Um...if it's okay with you guys?" The ones in charge of the maze had heard everything anyways. Yet even in her current state the redhead wouldn't want to overstep her boundaries. Or at least overstep them in such an obvious manner. As luck would have it though (after a brief meeting) the earth magis officially running the maze agreed to let the two have their fun. So with a little wave to Caroline, Lelianna headed off to a high point to overlook the maze.
Looking back on it the hermit would probably be shocked by how...easily she seemed to be doing all this mischief. Or at least doing it around other people! Animals and the plants of Arecia Woods were different. She could really just be herself out there without any worry or awkwardness at all. But here she was completely reshaping a maze just to have fun with on of her friends. Hell, she actually had people she could call friends! Really this year had been so very interesting thus far. Yet she didn't focus too much on that now. Rather she focused on the groaning and creaking of the maze before her. Sitting on a pillar made of stone she simply focused on creating a wonderfully complex maze for her neighbor to try and complete. Admittedly she started to fall into a bit of a trace as she worked. The vegetation here was simply so alive and with all the current activity...
Come on girl, focus.
After a while the redhead figured that was as good as it would get. "Caroline! It's ready!" She called down, grinning at her friend below her. "Good luck!" Whenever Caroline saw fit to enter, one of the magi working the maze would start a timer. Inside the maze walls, it was obvious the earth magi had really gone all out. The maze had expanded even further, using up as much space as was possible without disrupting the other activities in the game zone. Not only that, but the paths within it had narrowed and thus allowed for even more walls and wrong paths to be constructed. Meanwhile Lelianna would watch her friend's progress from her stone pillar with a decidedly mischievous grin on her face. See the magi, in a burst of giddy fun, had forgot to mention one thing...
She may have forgotten to create any sort of other exit to the maze besides the entrance.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 12, 2017 20:58:15 GMT
Notes Let me know if this is cool? I kinda did it all in one post if that's fine. If not I will edit
| I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS She waited with a grin as Lelianna worked her magic, both literally and figuratively. It was nice of the ones running the place to let her have her fun, and this way she wasn’t going to, say, make a child cry by making the maze too hard for them, or get herself banned from the maze for messing with it without permission. In truth, she didn’t know if she’d actually be able to do it in five minutes, and Lelianna’s malicious grin didn’t do wonders for her confidence. Still, there were some tricks she had up her sleeve for the earth magi. She’d seen her strength, sure, but this cyborg was fully upgraded, and catching her off guard was going to be her only chance here. She gave Lelianna a salute to acknowledge she was also ready. “You, too!” With that, she was off. She started at a normal speed that one might expect from an athletic woman. She noted the narrow passages, and numerous twists and turns. Oh, Lelianna definitely worked in as many false moves as she could. Too bad that Caroline didn’t say she’d play fair. Her first trick? She took a running jump and was able to look over the maze, and snagged a quick view of the layout. It wasn’t a perfect angle, but it might help to reference. And referencing it would be easy, since her upgraded eyes were able to take pictures. And her HUD could pull them up for her to look at on the go. She snapped pictures as she went, too, and reached intersections; it would help her determine where she’d been, and save her time on trying false paths. It’d also help her tell how Lelianna shifted the maze while she was in it, if she did. Yeah, she was absolutely going to leap up over walls until either Lelianna grew wise and threw higher walls in her path, or until the people running it told her she was cheating and to stop. Once either happened, she was back on the ground, but not out of tricks. She bounded forward at quick speeds, able to change on a dime if needed, and could dive down, find a dead end, and dive back out in record time. It wouldn’t be easy to keep up at first, she was sure, but Lelianna knew her magic well, and would no doubt adjust to the higher speeds Caroline traveled at. Even with her hidden cards, it was a long and tough maze that Lelianna concocted, and she started to wonder if she would make it in time after all. The exit in the maze before always came out next to the entrance, so… if she could find her way over there, she’d be golden! Even with the pictures, it was disorienting to take all the constant paths, and there were so many that it was getting hard to tell which picture went with which intersection. She shifted her sight to thermal vision, and grinned. The crowd would be near the entrance, making a massive heat signature. All she had to do was make sure she didn’t backtrack to the entrance, and make her way over there using a different path! Easy peasy. Along with everything else, it would be a simple matter of speed. Unfortunately… she was running out of time, and she knew it. “Not bad, Leli!” She called out. “But don’t count me out yet!” She wasn’t going to use her propulsion; it would make her way too obvious as a cyborg. Minus the high jumps and quick bounds, everything else was subtle (and surely there were magi who could do those things). But now she had a direction. After a seemingly endless amount of dead ends, she found the right path towards where the exit should have been. Except… something was off? She could see clearly through earth and hedge that the thermal signatures of the crowd were on the other side of the wall. She couldn’t have moved the exit elsewhere… could she have? Tricky, tricky. There was no way she’d have time to backtrack and find the hidden exit. Instead? She slammed her fist through the wall of earth and pulled it away to form a hole, and forced her body through. Her badass entrance was ruined by an errant vine, however, and she fell forward onto her hands and knees as she exited, covered in dust and twigs, the center of attention of those who were lined up for the maze, and those who ran it. “Er… time?” She said as she stood. “Five minutes and two seconds,” the magi said. Caroline groaned. Shoot, there was going to be an endless amount of bragging to be had. Hell, she wasn’t sure if she actually even finished it, since as far as she knew, she made her own exit, and didn’t leave through the proper one (which Lelianna no doubt remembered to put in). Still, she chuckled. “Really? Da-“ There were kids around, Caroline. “Dang.” |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 12, 2017 21:41:35 GMT
► Gods this was going to be fun! Whatever wild and impish mood had taken over the redhead certainly didn't fade away once Caroline went in. The moment she started on her way, Lelianna kept her focus up on manipulating the walls of the maze to her heart's content. But wait what was this? Good grief Caroline could jump! The first time she did it, the redhead was so caught off guard she couldn't react to it. Oh that sneaky devil!
Says the magi who didn't put an exit to her labyrinth maze.
The second time Caroline tried it, the spectators didn't even have a chance to say anything. Vines suddenly shot out from one of the hedges and wrapped around Caroline's foot. With a yank it brought her back down while a voice rang out: "Ah ah ah! No jumping!" As the words floated over to Caroline, the walls indeed became higher just in case. Lelianna certainly wasn't pulling any punches with this maze. Did Lelianna create an actual exit throughout the entire ordeal? Well...
It wasn't as though the cyborg needed one when she suddenly burst through the wall near the entrance.
Truthfully Lelianna didn't care too much for the fact Caroline didn't make the time she wanted. The hermit was all too happy with the fact that she'd actually gotten to do that! This whole thing! It had been so much fun manipulating the maze! Creating twists, getting rid of old passages, making false paths to an "exit" that didn't really exist; She'd never before gotten to do something like this! Who would have thought that she'd actually find a companion- a humanoid companion- she would have so much fun with?
With a joyful laugh the magi jumped from her now descending pillar and dashed over towards her friend. It was truly a testament to how badly this festival was effecting her because the girl didn't stop her approach until she was right up by the other woman. And I mean literally right up by. Hope you like hugs Caroline, because in the spur of the moment two arms wrapped around the purplette in a warm embrace. "Caroline that was so. Much. Fun!!!" Exclaimed the magi quite happily. Her hair had nearly reached a full flower curtain by this point. Multicolored and bright flora adorned her hair as it came back to rest from her rush over. She held the cyborg out at arm's length for a moment, positively beaming. "Thanks for letting me do that! You did great!!! " Truly it had to be the highlight (thus far) of her night. Still appreciative, she pulled the woman into another quick squeeze. But as she did, there was just a tiny hint of slyness to the hermit's expression. "Especially since there was no exit." The confession came out as a soft whisper near one of Caroline's ears before the hermit ended the hug and took a step back from her friend.
What a troll!
Before Caroline would be able to say anything though, the hermit turned towards the ones who had originally manned the maze. Her smile for them was truly appreciative. She even bowed slightly. "Thank you so much for letting us do that. It was awesome!" They really had been sweet to let the hermit play around with her neighbor like that. Speaking of which; as the other magi went back to remap the maze, Lelianna started walking off back towards the other games. Though she didn't stop walking, after a few steps she glanced back over and shot Caroline a smirk. "I think it's your turn to pick something to do?" She intoned the question (more of a statement really) playfully, a glimmer in those green eyes of hers.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Sassy
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Post by Caroline Vorlan on Apr 13, 2017 17:23:44 GMT
Notes Someone's got a cruuu-uuush. And is also too dumb to recognize it.
| I AM NOT MERCIFUL
I AM NOT KIND
I AM NOT AFRAID
TO MAKE YOU WISH THAT I WAS She couldn’t help her smile at Lelianna’s giddiness; she definitely seemed to have her fun with the maze, and Caroline had to admit it was a good time testing her wits and limits against Lelianna’s cleverness. She finished brushing the dust off and turned to her just in time to catch her hug with wide-eyed surprise. She… froze, for a moment. This was the first hug she had since… since she had her self back. It was different from all the others; this felt... nice. Her cheeks flushed in response as the druid embraced her tightly. The whole moment was slow motion. The world around the pair of them seemed to disappear, leaving her alone in the moment, wrapped in Lelianna’s excited grasp. She blinked twice, and looked down at her. Her hair was full of vibrant, beautiful flowers. Her skin was soft and warm. But there was something beyond tactile sense here that shocked her. It… It was a very nice feeling. She hadn’t felt this way in, well, ever. When Lelianna pulled away, Caroline was still dumbfounded, focused on Lelianna’s smile. It made her heart swell… or, what her brain thought was her heart, anyway. “Ah, ye-yeah. You, uh, you too, that was f-UHN?” The second squeeze caught her off guard. Before her confidence could return enough for her to hug her back, her brows raised at the whisper. No… ex…it… It was a good thing Lelianna was distracted by the other magi, because Caroline needed time to process that thought (along with the feeling that the world seemed… colder after the hug was over) There… was no way she could have won from the start. Lelianna set her up! What could she do but laugh? “You troublemaker!” She said. She looked back at the broken wall, which was easily being fixed by earth magi. “Well, that’s fine. I made one for you, after all.” She followed her back to the realm of games, shaking her head at her trickery. What the pair didn’t realize is that they had an unofficial following; some curious children wanted to watch the really strong woman in the cloak and the really powerful druid with the flower hair and see what other crazy things they would do in the games section. The maze definitely grabbed attention, too. Eventually they came across a classic; just a throwing booth, where the goal was to toss a ball downrange into a stack of bottles and get them to fall down. Kids were having fun at this booth, but some adults were giving it their best, too. It certainly wasn’t as easy as it looked; the bottles were clearly thick and heavy, and even if people managed to hit, they had trouble knocking them all down in three throws (Though there was a kid’s side with a closer table, and lighter bottles). She looked over at Lelianna. “Well, you can assault a tree with rocks pretty well, but how’s your throwing arm? Want to give it a shot?” |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY West
| I know how to talk to people, I swear! |
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Post by Lelianna Varna on Apr 13, 2017 20:19:07 GMT
► Whereas the world had slowed down to a magical crawl to capture the moment with Caroline, it was the exact opposite for Lelianna. Everything was a whirl of sound, scent, and sight. All of it was thrumming through her as though she'd become a nexus for the energy. Her connection with the surrounding vegetation was firing on all cylinders. Never before had it seemed so strong! It was as though she were running on a breeze with no signs of touching the ground yet. Which was probably good for Caroline since it meant the blush and stammer would go unnoticed.
When Caroline finally registered the fact her hippie friend had basically cheated, the smirk on her face turned into a wide and toothy grin. Again it was a testament to how good she was feeling. "See? I didn't even need to make one." Her trickery totally justified now (totally), the hermit walked on. She was unaware of the little following they'd managed to amass. If she had been, Lelianna might have been slightly embarrassed at the attention. Or found something to entertain the kids with. Probably both. As it were she let Caroline take the lead and find them a game to play.
Oh hey, a classic! Lelianna had seen this booth many times before. It was basically a staple for these sorts of events. The hermit laughed and threw Caroline a playful glare. "Hey! That tree deserved it!" It had cheated after all! Though so did Lelianna after so...eh. Nonetheless Lelianna decided to give it a shot. Again, she wasn't the best aim here. Also she didn't have her powers to help her out. Considering she wrestled bears on a regular basis though she wasn't a slouch when it came to power. Dear gods not nearly on the level of Caroline, but decent enough.
When it came Lelianna's time to throw, she stepped up to it. Now so long as she didn't accidentally hit anyone with it, she'd call this a win. Fortunately enough, after a determined frown and narrow-eyed stare, the hermit had thrown and actually managed to knock some bottles down! Not all of them but some was better than nothing! She still managed to get a prize for the other girl. Now what would work...Getting more jewelry just seemed silly. Especially since Lelianna doubted she'd ever be able to pick something that was so (unwittingly) significant to her friend. However her mischievous side was still going strong and there was fortunately something other than jewelry to win. With a grin Lelianna picked out her gift and went over to her friend.
"Here we go!" Unfolding the thing she'd gotten, the hermit swung it out around her friend before drawing it back in. It was a handwoven blanket. The pattern on it was a mix of warm colors and it was blessedly soft. However there was one feature that didn't reveal itself until after Lelianna had helped settle the thing safely on Caroline's shoulders. Once that was done she reached back and pulled up a hood that was built into the blanket with a grin. Which meant Caroline was technically wearing two hoods now. "Tada~!" The magi announced proudly with a wide smile. "It's super soft. I hope you like it." Soft things were good to give, right? And who didn't like blankets? "This means I'm winning our gift challenge though." Oh yeah that was still going on. The redhead intended to win!
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