escordvi | [open] april manta quests

Entry tags:

[open] april manta quests

Who: Rem and You!
Status: Open
Where: around
What: Manta board prompts.
Warnings: Include any content warnings

Wishing Tree (General)

It's really beautiful, isn't it?

[ Seeing as this tree blooms only one night a year, many have made their way up to this tree during this very same night. You, too, might have trekked all this way with a friend or a lover in order to make a promise. But, if you're taking a moment away from them to mingle with the other pilgrims, Rem is here to converse!

She is, of course, alone, as she has no one to make a promise with-- but that's no matter, as the tree itself is beautiful enough to justify the entire hike. Doubly so, as it only blooms once a year. Although she appears winded, she smiles through her fatigue, coughing softly into her hand. ] It's worth seeing, it is. [ Rem lifts her gaze to admire the flowering pinks and reds of its boughs. ] Even if the blooms fade too quickly.

Down Where It's Wetter (General)

[ SOMEONE STOP HER, SHE'S BEING SWINDLED BY HANDSOME MERMAN VARIANT #2 BY THE COAST-- ]

Oh, what's that, you need more to be able to buy dinner...? Fishing while being able to breathe underwater must be tougher than it looks. [ Rem reaches for her coin purse, selecting another doubloon. The merman motions her closer, and she blinks, initially confused, and leans in to allow him to murmur something into her ear.

Immediately she turns red, and she hands him the coins. ] Oh, um, that's... You're very kind, you are! [ Wow wow wow, he called her beautiful. That's so nice. She's never had someone call her that before, much less in such a forward way! An embarrassed, bashful smile forms at the corners of her lips, her cheeks retaining that soft pink. This is the look of a young woman who is easily moved, practically made smitten by such kind words. ] Here, take more.

[ It's not like she needs to eat or anything! The merman has to! Plus, he's so friendly! ]

Crab Curry (Special)

[ She's kneeling by a tide pool, cupping a tiny, baby hermit crab in her palms. Rem looks over the little critter remorsefully. ] I'm sorry, little one. I was too late.

[ With her thumb, she pets over its colorful shell. Should you be close enough, you might be able to notice that it's no longer moving.

But she's still holding it. Although her head is bowed, it doesn't appear as if she's praying over it, but concentrating. ]

Wildcard

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[Poor guy, indeed. His worst nightmare has shown up—

Benedikta is genuinely taken aback by Rem's response, her gaze torn between the merman who washes up on the shore and the pouty girl in front of her. What in the world...?]

Was it? If there is anything I have learned about this place, it is that we should not trust our finned friends.

[And, because she feels just the slightest twinge of guilt...]

Are you alright?

I'm alright-- but...! [ She stumbles through her response, trying to figure out why one of her closest companions here has attacked a fish-man who was conversing with her! ] He's different!

[ He's not just some guy!! ]

[Rem looks like she's just killed the fish man and not just washed him ashore, and she glances over her shoulder to check on him. He seems fine, if not a little bit covered in sand as he coughs it up, but she could have made it much worse than that.]

Oh, is he? And how so? Because what it looked like to me was that he was trying to con you out of your coin purse.

[And here he comes, clawing his way across the sand in their direction from behind Benedikta, like some horrific monstrosity and not the admittedly handsome merman that he is.]

[ Rem down at her (near) empty coin purse, then towards the merman making his way back to them, then back to Benedikta. Benedikta surely has her best interests at heart! But Rem's heart flutters whenever she looks at that tail! Although, he does look much less dignified now that he's crawling on the sandy shore. ]

But I don't mind it. [ She replies, but uncertainty causes her voice to break. ]

Giving things to him, I mean. Even if it's gold. He's nice to me. [ And he's hot. ]

[Why is it that guilt pricks at her chest? Not for the merman crawling across the sand—no, she could care less about him, besides that he is, yes, very attractive in spite of it—but for seemingly upsetting Rem like that?

She closes her eyes, and takes a breath, leaning in so that she can lower her voice.]

Well, I am sure there are better things to give him than all of your coin, yes?

[ Rem stares at the remaining contents of the purse in her hands, and when she next raises her gaze, hurt carries within her eyes. It's a pain that comes not with heartbreak, but that despite her (currently bespelled) heart, she trusts the other woman more than herself-- and trusts that she delivers the truth. The merman doesn't care for her.

Later, she'll be embarrassed and laugh at being so enchanted by an obvious con, but for now? She's trying to save face, even as the enchantment wears. ]

I suppose... [ She replies slowly. ] Someone wealthier would be better suited for him, they would.

[ The merman seems to hear this and, realizing that his potential victim doesn't have a lot to give anyway, stops his approach and reconsiders. It's this fact that causes the spell to give, and clarity slowly returns to Rem's eyes. ]

I think the ocean is better suited for him.

[Benedikta misses that moment, because she turns around to the merman just as he stops trying to shuffle along the sand.]

Did you hear that?

[He tries to scramble away, clawing and kicking his fin uselessly, and... wow. She almost feels sorry for how pathetic he looks, and wonders if perhaps she should just put him out of his misery.

Actually, you know what—]

Off you go.

[She lifts him with her winds, sand swirling beneath him, and she does exactly what she thinks to do, which is flinging him up and across the beach and back into the water, where he lands with a sad plop.]

How in the world did you end up like that anyway?

[Turning back to Rem.]

[ With the merman now even further out of sight (and out of mind) the enchantment she’d been under rapidly evaporates. Rem’s eyes widen into saucers before she lifts her hands to her face, burying it onto her palms. Try as she might to hide the new blush that spreads across her face, the very tips of her ears expose her. ]

I—-… I don’t know! I’m usually more careful than that, I promise! [ She squeaks, but is not distressed. Mortified, maybe, but in a way that suggests she’s equally embarrassed and relieved than actually upset. She confesses to Benedikta as if she were a parent catching her child sneaking out. ]

Benedikta, you know me! I don’t go chasing after the nearest handsome man!

[ It really was nice to feel as if she was wanted by a handsome man, though— ]

[Seeing her as flustered as this, Benedikta leans forward to bring her to a better height to examine Rem, not missing the way that her ears have flushed along with her cheeks.

...

...

And then she grins.]

Are you certain about that? You seemed fairly smitten with that one, and he was quite handsome, I admit.

[She's teasing.]

[ Moooommmmm—

Rem peeks out from between her fingers, then slowly drags her palms down her face. Dramatic, but this situation is dramatic! She is smiling despite it all, though. ]

N-no, it was completely the enchantment! [ She defends herself, laughing. ] I swear I have more of a thing for dark hair!

[Oh, very dramatic indeed, and Benedikta arches a brow at Rem with that little confession as she reaches out to pluck a piece of her hair that had gone astray back into place.]

Dark hair?

[She snorts, glad to see that Rem is at least laughing about it now. She hadn't meant to chastise the girl so harshly, but at least it woke her from that stupor and saved her a few more coins!? Benedikta will have to go fishing later on her own to get it back—]

And you found this out how?

[Sorry, she's not getting out of this one.

For now, she'll throw her arm around Rem's shoulders and... just gently nudge her away from the ocean before any other mermen show up.]

[ There comes that blush again!! ] It’s— [ Stalling…! ] Because I had a childhood friend with dark hair, that I, um, grew to admire.

[ She curls her fingers, coughing into her hand and clearing her throat. ] A-anyways! Thank you for shaking me out of that. I’d do the same for you. Although I doubt those mermen could handle you.

[ While it was admittedly nice to feel as if she was loved, it’s worse to know that it’s all a lie. Better overall, still, to know the truth. ]

[She snorts under her breath, giving Rem's shoulder a protective squeeze.]

I am absolutely certain that you and I could do better than them.

[Though, for about a half a second back there, she wondered if she might have felt some effects of their magic. Just the tiniest speck of it before she was able to shake it off.]

Remind me to ask you about this friend of yours sometime.

A little girl talk, hm? [ She smiles quietly at that, although she doesn’t commit to a definite response. Talking about said friend is easy when it’s anonymous, not when it’s in front of someone she looks up to. ] That doesn’t sound bad…

[ Rem lifts up her hand, tucking a strand behind her ear. ]

I should probably be heading back, though.

[With a slightly arched brow, Benedikta opens her mouth like she's about to say something else...

...

....

But instead, she lets her hand fall from Rem's shoulders.]

I will walk you.

[ Rem lifts her chin, looking up at Benedika as they walk back. ] ...You're really nice, you are.

[...?

It's not often that anyone calls her "really nice", let alone nice at all. She doesn't think herself so, simply looking out for those she chooses to look out for and take under her wing, but beyond that...

Which is why Benedikta fixes Rem with a look of surprise.]

I very much doubt that.

[She is at least aware of it, and honestly, she doesn't care so much about whether or not others think that way about her. Though, coming from Rem, it does make her chest flutter just a bit with pride.

As they walk, she finally does say what she'd meant to.]

So. How has that little project of yours been going? Cidolfus tells me that you are trying to make some more headway on it.

[ At the change in subject, Rem’s gait briefly stutters. ]

Oh… Essentially, he’s said not to pursue it. He convinced me to become stronger on my own. [ There’s a pause, and she adds, reflective: ] Not unlike what you told me after we first met.

So… I suppose we’ll see what happens. [ But as her tone very much gives away, she’s wrestling with the resignation. ]

[A tone that Benedikta very much recognizes... An echo of the past.]

And how have you been doing that, then?

[She knew that Cid had told her not to do it, and Benedikta certainly had some choice opinions on that, but she knows that she doesn't know the entire story. She knows that there are things that he kept from her, and she didn't pry because it was none of her business... And while yes, she has found herself caring about Rem a great deal, she isn't going to push it here, either.

If she is trying to get stronger on her own terms, then that is at least something that Benedikta can perhaps help with.]

The typical way.... Practice.

[ She lifts a hand, waving her fingers, and then making a fist as if to symbolize casting a spell.

Whatever she says here, she's no doubt it'll somehow be relayed back to Cid, and vice versa. The two are inseparable. Rem's head lifts, and she turns to look at Benedikta, the smile gone. Compared to the levity with the mermen moments ago, her countenance has completely shifted to something grave. Whatever practice she has in mind will involve quite an uphill experience-- but she is no less determined. Both to succeed and try this way instead. It's this, or she's dead.

She stalls again, debating before telling more. Simply saying that she’ll be doing something a “typical” way already implies there are unconventional means— and even if she hadn’t…

It’s risky enough to tell someone the means by which her class acquires power… but Cid already knows. Besides, it’s already suspicious enough that simply becoming stronger, or rather Rem’s definition of it, involves more than mere, ordinary practice. Ironic that her reluctance to talk, rather than outright lying, gives away too much already. Perhaps this is why her class had orders or execute those who know, or came too close to the truth— to prevent the messiness of guarding and managing such information.

(They’re not in Orience, she reminds herself. She can make exceptions… can’t she?)

And so at length, Rem volunteers: ]

No eidolons. [ A tremble accompanies her breath as she draws it. She clears her throat. ] No souls.

[ There. Now another person knows. Rem waits, watching cautiously for her reaction. ]

Edited 2024-05-21 18:21 (UTC)

[There's a lot that goes through Benedikta's mind in that stretch of silence that Rem responds with. She hadn't thought it a difficult question, but she can see Rem warring with herself, conflicted over how to answer. Benedikta, however, waits patiently for her to finish stalling, and for her to come up with some sort of response.

Whatever Rem has to say, there is no judgment in Benedikta's expression, simply a patience and tolerance that she so very rarely exhibits for others. There may have also been the smallest squeeze of her shoulder.

Because yes, the "typical" way implies that there are other means to do so. Again, not that she is in any place to judge given her own... coloured past... but it is certainly not a path she wishes for Rem to walk if she were to strengthen herself.

So... when she finally admits, there is a slight stall in Benedikta's step.]

Souls...?

[Only confusion draws her brows together as she stops and looks down at Rem, her arm tightening just a touch around the girl's shoulders.]

What souls?

The souls, or "phantoma", as we call it... that my class and I harvest. [ Harvest, also the term they use, as if corpses were crops at the end of autumn, waiting to be reaped.

To Benedikta, it might appear as Rem is only lifting her hand, palm upward with nothing in it. But to Rem, there is something there: a misty, ivory sphere, resonating with neither warmth nor sound, or even presence. Her fingers curl as she recaptures the soul.

It reminds her once more that, even if she is to honor her agreement with Cid and not going to use them, she still has to find a place to store them. Her being almost swayed by the merman to come with them is proof enough of that. Should any monster enchant her and capture her, they'll have hundreds of other souls in their possession all at once.... and access to a lot of power, if they're capable of using them. ]

It's part of our duty as Class Zero. [ Rem glances at the hand on her shoulder, then at Benedikta. It's difficult to read the other's expression, but as for Rem's, she can't exactly mask the defensiveness in her tone. ] And using them is how we become stronger, too.

[She's still not quite sure what to feel about this, or if she understands fully what it is that Rem means, and the way her eyes flit between Rem's face and her hand, it's clear that she is processing this information—or trying to, anyway.

And she'll just start at the most obvious place.]

When you speak of souls, or phantoma... do you mean those of... people?

People... monsters... [ Rem answers, looking away. ] All sorts of beings have souls. [ Her answer is vague, but it's not as if further details are necessary. ]

We don't discriminate when we harvest.

[ They hold out their hand, and they-- ....rip them from their bodies. Her brows pinch together with guilt. It seems so wrong, now, but it feels equally wrong to tell one more person about this. ]

[Something in Benedikta's demeanour shifts. She doesn't let go of Rem's shoulder, and she won't unless she steps out from under it herself, but there is a new hardness to her expression. Not angry or disappointed, or even sad... but rather, steeling herself against that spike of emotions that gather in her chest. It's... certainly not what she was expecting Rem to tell her, and it is so far from what she could have imagined this process to be.

It only hits a bit of a deeper place because... well, she's dead. Would they have harvested her soul in that case? Would she have been among those who had their souls... ripped from her? She isn't even sure how that works, or what being "harvested" even means.

Could she say that she blames Rem for it? No... not really, because if she were in Rem's shoes, Benedikta might have done the same. Back then, she would have done anything that anyone asked her to if it meant being stronger, and being able to stand on her own two feet in a world that would try to knock her down at every possible turn. She had, in a way, only through different means... So, she can at least sympathize with her on that front.

But there is still conflict in the furrow of her brows, and Benedikta is silent as she starts to lead them into a walk again, thankful that the path that they take to return to the city proper is quiet.]

And what exactly does the... [A pause.] ...harvesting of souls do for you here that training with a sword and magic cannot?

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