open 🪶 cut me deep, the secrets & lies

[garudas]

Who: Benedikta Harman & you.
Status: Open log.
Where: Around the Roost, Atnam, and Eltrut.
What: Benedikta is still bitter about the truth, but she has finally come out of hiding after the event with Garuda, and she's trying to re-integrate back into her old life, as well as looking into the pearls.
Warnings: Probably FFXVI spoilers.



🗡️ i. at the roost; closed to the hideaway crew + visitors/close friends

[It had taken a few extra days, perhaps more, for Benedikta to finally come out of hiding from within the confines of hers and Cid's home on the island. Those who have come and gone in that time may have noticed things being a touch more discreet around there, with extra food and supplies—more than what one person would need—being left at the door, as well as no one being allowed inside. And even after those few days have passed, Benedikta herself remains quite inconspicuous, and those who pay close attention will notice that Cid has not only been staying in later in the mornings, but he has been more chipper. When asked, he simply answers with a wink, and something like "our little bird has returned to roost" before carrying on with a smile and no further explanation. (Everyone be sure to thank Kaveh for sound-proofing their house!)

Eventually, however, she will need to leave for one reason or another, mostly to stretch and a need for fresh air, and while she will not seek anyone out on her own and is very sneaky about leaving, she can be found around the island in a number of places throughout the month:

In the high-up gryphons nests, trying to make amends with them, likely cleaning, stringing up some feather decorations or bickering with the younger ones. In the gardens where she (tries to) tend to the vegetables, though without much of a green thumb, she's failing miserably, grumbling curses to herself and at the tomatoes in her frustration. At one of the many beaches on the island taking a lone dip. The library, searching for a book or in the middle of reading one. For those feeling more daring to climb the higher cliffs, she can also be found up there, quiet and contemplative as she lets the winds brush over her and her feet dangle over the edge. Sometimes, she might even have a small owl with her—the very same one that's been around the Roost for several months now. Those lucky enough might even find her up there teaching that owl how to fly. And when not at the edge, she might be in one of the flower fields overlooking the ocean, and while she is typically not one to pick them, she could very well be spotted weaving some stems together to craft something...

While these are the most likely places to find her, it is certainly not limited to just these!]

( OOC Note: There was no announcement made by anyone about Benedikta coming back to the Roost, but people are free to either have deciphered the news of her return from Cid, noticed on their own through piecing things together, or can be surprised to find her! Whatever floats your boat. )

🗡️ ii. special investigations on atnam; ota

༄ a. archives. [Several weeks later after her return, she embarks back out to ATNAM this time. She has a highly vested interest in the search for the pearls and the Ancient Leviathans, namely the relic that can control the rifts, so it's no surprise that she can be found in their Archives, searching. As much as she does enjoy a good book, it is not often that she can be found hunched over one for research purposes—it was never really her forte despite being the Intelligencers' Commander for many years. She had men who would do that while she led them. Her skills lay in subterfuge more than anything else, so needless to say, she finds all this a bit frustrating already as she flings yet another book across the room with a bit of wind and no consideration for anyone who might be nearby.]

Is there not one book in here that has information that does not read like fiction!?

[Though, not all of her books are about the leviathans, but should anyone glance at them, they may spot others about this world's magic, and curses...]

༄ b. guarding the pearls. [She'd have gone down to the underwater ruins if she could have, but even she is not stubborn or stupid enough to do so in her current condition, and her injuries are still very much on the mend. While very grumpy about it, she has instead taken up watch when she has grown tired of pouring through books upon books, and at least here, she feels much more in her element here, with her sword strapped to her hip. Not that anything interesting is happening as she and whomever has been stationed with her walks the perimeter of ATNAM, but she keeps her senses trained and keen on any shifts in the wind.]

I'd have thought there would be more activity, what with these valuable pearls...

[Help, she's already bored and restless as all hell, and as her fingers twitch around the pommel of her sword, she feels that itch to just drive it through something.]

🗡️ iii. looking around eltrut; ota

[It has been some time since she's been on Eltrut. Well over a month now, given how things had gone down with Garuda. She wonders if the leviathan knows anything about who or what it was that attacked it and that she was back here, but so far, she's run into no trouble. She's been keeping herself fairly inconspicuous, not talking to anyone unless absolutely necessary, as she walks through the streets, looking things over. While the cleanup seems to be mostly complete, she notices some differences—places that look changed from before, likely rebuilt after the damage that had been done, and the piers are looking sturdier than ever.

It doesn't make those feelings of guilt any easier to handle. If anything, seeing it all only makes her angrier, the sights dredging up the horrible memories of that day. Those black, lifeless eyes that stared into her soul, and that sense of dread that overcame her. It was a rage that she'd never quite known or felt before, and an in effort to stem that riptide, she sets off to do that other thing that she came out here to do.

When she is not at the lookout by the pier with her pipe in her hand, staring out to the sea with nothing short of contemplation all over her expression, she will be found in numerous different shops. Cidolfus had urged her to try and find something to do to help pass the time while she recovers—a new hobby, a new passion... It's certainly not something that she would have thought of herself. But if she's to get past this and move on, if she is to learn how to stand on her own feet again... He might be right, and she hates it.

It could be in a crafts shop, where she stands there holding knitting needles in her hands, staring at them like they are the most foreign things to her. She knows how to sew, thanks to her "upbringing", but that would be all. Perhaps one of the greenhouses, staring at the the dozens of flowers for gardening or variations of cacti with a look of disdain, and she asks what the fuck a succulent is. Maybe it is at a hardware shop (what? Yes, she's confused about how she wound up here, too) looking at the different types of wood or paints that she can buy, mumbling something about birdhouses. If not there, then at one of the many clothing or jewelry shops, simply shopping around. Maybe even looking for a new dress...

And when she's grown tired of her search, she'll end it in her favourite bookshop, very likely in the middle of flipping through the pages of a book in the magic section with her brows drawn together...]

🗡️ iv. wildcard

[None of these options work? Hit up my plotting comment up over here if you want to plot something more specific, and we can hash out the details! Or you can hit me up in the game discord, via DW PM, or over at crystariums! I'd prefer to plot something out this month since she's being a bit guarded, and likely won't be doing a ton of MANTA stuff either, but I would be happy to figure out something else!

I'd also just like to note that while I don't mind it, Benedikta will likely not be too open to talking about Garuda stuff to people outside of the crew/those who fought her, so bringing it up will definitely be a sore topic and it's likely she will either deflect or bite back. Also want to mention that unless they are part of the Hideaway crew or she has directly told them that she is Garuda's Dominant and what that means, that information is not available to characters. That includes knowing that the beast that attacked Eltrut is Garuda, as only certain people should be privy to that information. If you're unsure, then please feel free to reach out!]