escordvi | closed 🪶 i'm in the end, just what you made me.

[At least Eltrut is relatively tame in comparison to Nogard, is it not? At least, that is what Benedikta has found when she is not loitering around at a table in the Minstrel and Cask waiting for a bar fight to break out. And maybe she had been hoping for one when she finally did perch herself at one, but by the time she downs the last drops of her pint, she's only left feeling disappointed that absolutely nothing of interest has happened since she sat down.

She might have liked to sink her claws into a man just for the hell of it. They were itching still, even after her encounter with that fucking goose that Shiva, of all people, came to her rescue with. And a cat. Annoying as it was, that had been an interesting day. But it still didn't scratch the itch in the place between her wings, her anger and veiled panic all but wrapping themselves together into a tight coil in her shoulder blades.

Benedikta is still taking the loss of her king and the news of returning through the rifts terribly, she knows, and it is the rest of the world that would face her ire.

She leaves the Minstrel and Cask with a click of her tongue, shoving the door open with an unceremonious kick, and what happens next is entirely unexpected:

A mouthful of feathers and small plumes flying right into her face, and eight(?) large heads honking viciously at her, some stretching to peck and pluck at the feathers that line the collar of her new shirt! She thought she beat this thing!? Not even a couple of days ago!? So why—!?]

You have come back for more, have you?

[She is prepared this time—or so she thought, because the goose reaches down and unsheathes her sword and carries it in his mouth, waddling away before she can reach out and grab it. And it will be just as Dion is coming around the corner that it will come barrelling his way, blade in bill and waving about as each head honks, with a screeching Benedikta bringing up the rear—]

Edited 2023-11-06 07:00 (UTC)

[ Dion's day was going pretty well as far as his days go and he's run a few errands, picked up some more tea because despite being on the seas this long he was still getting queasy now and again. Unfortunate, that.

What he's not expecting when he turns the corner is to be startled by a goose coming at him with a knife.

He doesn't drop the bag in hand but he does jump backwards, landing and taking stock of the situation.

It's coming right for him!

He didn't even known the geese here could wield swords. He unsheaths his halberd and turns his attention. ]

Back, beast! I'm warning you! [ He actually has yet to notice Benedikta, it was more alarming to have a goose trying to kill him. ]

[That poor halberd is no threat to this ungainly beast. One of its heads simply stares at it while another stares at Dion, its wings flapping uncontrollably, before a third head tries to snap at him and grab it for itself. Who would have thought that a dual-wielding goose would be the most eventful thing on Eltrut today...

Made that much worse by Benedikta Harman coming in behind them, looking as vengeful as ever, if not a little bit weary. If her shouts don't give her away, that blast of aether-filled wind certainly will, but all it does is shove the goose further at Dion.

And when she notices him—]

Put your weapon away before it takes it too, Bahamut!

[ The goose is pushed closer to him and one of the heads takes the opportunity, grasping onto the staff of his halberd and giving a good yank. Dion is taken off guard between her shout and the goose itself and so he fails the opportunity to pull it back.

Now the goose is indeed running around dual wielding. ]

Blast it all. [ Dion mutters and moves in persuit. ]

Halt! Beast!

[Well, Dion won't have to run very far because the goose is indeed turning back around to go after Benedikta, now with both the sword and the halberd in its grasp, and at this point, she's afraid to ask if it has more hidden under those enormous wings.

She reaches a hand out in an attempt to grab her sword, but the head with the lance swings it around, forcing her to take several steps back to dodge it.]

I am not sure what I did to deserve this...!

[In case he was wondering.]

But—augh! Fuck! [She retreats when one beak bites her hand.] Any ideas, your Highness?

[ He wasn't actually thinking that Benedikta did anything in fact, but there is a goose on the loose, and much like her attempt to grab her sword, his attempt at grabbing his lance back is equally fruitless because the goose seemingly tries to stab him. A leap back out of the way avoids him getting nicked.

Fantastic. ]

I see no other alternative. [ He raises a hand, summoning a ball of light and sends it towards the goose instead. Unless it is magic-resistant, they might be in trouble. ]

[Well, fortunately for Dion, the roll was a whopping 17, and the light magic does something to reduce the beast back... for a spell. It's enough that Benedikta can leap in and wrap her arms around its body, taking that risk for the both of them to hold its many necks still.

They peck, scratch, and the edge of her sword even nicks her arm, but she's had worse wounds to her pride just now that a light scrape of a blade is nothing compared to the shame that she feels at having to grapple with an eight-headed goose.

But if this is not enough for him to take his spear back, she might just have a few choice words to say to him after they are through!!!]

[ His luck is in tow and he's able to wrench his halberd out of the beak of the beast, not to mention jab it once as he withdrew it. It doesn't seem to help much or affect it much, but it makes Dion feel better.

He huffs and lance tucked behind him he grabs for her sword. ]

Unhand it, demon bird. [ Dion orders. Fortunately, his gauntlets are pretty sturdy, it's probably safer for him to try and get it rather than Benedikta. ]

[Benedikta looks around the goose's body at him.]

Try grabbing it from the other—ow!

[One head pulls at her hair and forces Benedikta to let go for just a moment to swat it away, but that's enough to let the bird escape from her grasp and try to make a run for it. The escape, or attempt at one, is clumsy, of course, because how exactly does an eight-headed goose run with a sword in its bill without attacking any of the other heads? A question for the scholars, really. She has no fucking clue what's going on.

But at least Dion has his spear back!? She supposes!? Maybe that will make it easier to get her sword.

Maybe. Because one head thinks that Dion's gauntlets look very delicious, and it will drag the rest of the goose along to try and steal those. Shiny!!!]

[ Dion would like to think he has a decent handle on his temper, but that's just not true. Part of him knows it, but mostly while he's putting his spear away in that split second his gauntlet is being pulled off of his free hand and he can't quite react in time.

His reaction is very unbecoming really. ]

Are you fucking kidding me?!

[ Ah the privilege of hearing the prince sink so low as to curse so openly.

Obviously this is not just a goose and his response is to summon a trio of balls of his light magic and blast the stupid thing, hoping that it will be crispy when he's finished. ]

[Through all of her struggles, Benedikta's ears sharpen and zero in on one single thing.

...!?

And that is the Prince's voice cussing out an eight-headed goose.

She stares over the creature's many heads at him, her eyes wide as if she cannot believe what she's just heard—because she can't. Never, in a million years, would she have imagined that she'd hear "fuck" come out of his mouth. Always so prim and proper...

Her surprise is cut short when a goose pecks at her first, pulling on a strand of her hair, before she feels a small surge of aether in the air, and the bird's belly and several of its heads have gone crispy, the feathers seared right off its body.

She stares down at the goose, then back up at him because—]

Did I just hear what I think I heard?

[She'd laugh, and there is a small glint of amusement in her eye before one of the non-burnt heads waves her sword around, clumsily of course, because it's in shock, and that gives Benedikta the chance to grab it and wrestle it back.]

[ The crispy nature of the goose means hopefully that the menace is injured enough that it's much easier to take down. His gauntlet retrieved - thank you and secured back on his hand.

At her exclamation, Dion has the grace to blush lightly. ]

Please forgive my ill manners, Lady Benedikta. That was very inappropriate.

[ A bit of an overcorrection in the other way, but his heart is in the right place. ]

[She's not sure which is worse, or which is better... and whether or not she should laugh—Dion Lesage dropping an f-bomb or swinging so far the other way that he calls her Lady Benedikta, a title she never once imagined he would find it in him to utter to her. And she doesn't know if she hates it or prefers it.]

Lady!?

[She almost forgets that the goose is there in all her shock, and when one head honks at her, she finally plunges her sword through its belly, putting an end to this absolute mad farce. What a bad look for her feathered friends...

Except as soon as she drives the jagged end of her sword through it—

HOOOONNNNNK—POP!

The goose disappears with only a flurry of white feathers proof of its existence, gone as if it were never even there...

And now it's Benedikta's turn—]

Where the fuck is it?

[ Dion is flustered to say the least, but he's just going to let that sit and not respond to her question. Rude, perhaps, but he has no excuse. He was just trying to be polite which is apparently amusing to her.

He suspects very much he can't win and perhaps he should mind his temper a little more.

When the goose disappears with a pop, he's just as bewildered, turning suddenly - his back to Benedikta, something he never would've considered but it's a reflex.

That goose could be anywhere.

Only thing is, he's not seeing the menace. ]

[Listen, there's a lot going on right now. She is just as flabbergasted at Dion as she is about the way that goose just suddenly disappears, and how she's left spitting out the feathers that had flown into her mouth the moment that it popped out of sight. She looks up, around, then up again, her arms shielding above her head in case it drops down, but—]

It's gone.

[The silence alone is telling, but she doesn't even sense it on the winds...]

How did... did you do it?

[ There is a lot going on, especially after the goose has vanished. He can't hear it. He hasn't sensed it either. It's truly just...vanished! ]

I can assure you, I didn't do anything.

[ Dion is just as bewildered. ]

Well, whatever happened to it, no doubt that beast will be back.

[She's staring up at the sky again, stepping away from the building they stand next to and slipping her sword back through her belt.]

Shiva and I had taken down one like that only two days ago. Or the same one. I don't know how many of these geese are running about.

That's not terribly encouraging. [ Dion admits with a sigh, but sure enough they're goose free at the moment. He dusts himself off slightly. ]

What a nuisance it is too. [ A far more refined complaint, not laden in curse words. ]

I would keep your eyes and ears sharp. And, if it shows up again, do call me so I can come help you take it down with my own hands.

[That is her way of saying thank you for the help, because this is the second time that she has been bested by a goose.

And with that, she'll start to walk, not away, but in Dion's direction.]

I need a fucking drink.

[He is coming, yes?]

As you wish. [ He certainly will tell her, should it appear again, although he's somewhat hoping it won't. It's a vexing creature.

Dion is surprised, but he doesn't show it, he just smiles and falls into step with Benedikta.]

As do I, after that encounter.

Good. You still owe me one anyway.

[She intends to make him cough up for it right now. Yes, she knows that he helped her with the goose, but her thanks is in not trying to take his eye out along with the goose's for coming to her rescue at all. Her pride might be gravely wounded, but not so wounded that she would do such a thing.

At the moment.

There is a tavern just down the road—actually, there's a bloody tavern on every single block of this street—that she leads him to.]

Doubtful that wherever that thing went, it will find us in here.

[And she kicks the door open hard enough for it to swing wide to let Dion through first.]

That I do, and I am a man of my word.

[ He accepts the unspoken invitation and leads the way inside the tavern. He calls attention to the barkeep and holds up two fingers, and takes out his coin. ]

Anything to eat? [ It would be rude not to offer, after all. ]

[She immediately slides onto a stool at the bar, knowing full well that someone had just been sitting there and had gotten up and walked away for a moment, and she slides their drink out of her way before she starts to pick at and straighten her hair, brushing the feathers that had been caught in it away.]

Anything good?

[She's never been to this particular tavern before, and though she doubts that Dion has, she searches for a menu and slides it across the counter at him.]

Or perhaps... anything with roasted goose in it?

Amusing though that would be, it seems as though they don't have that, however they do have a hearty stout stew, made with game meat if that suits your fancy.

[ They were just running around, a heavier meal is not out of the question for Dion at least. ]

Anything with meat might suit my fancy right now.

[She presses her fingers to her forehead and rubs her temple as the bartender hands them their ales.]

I suppose I may owe you now for that favour in helping me with that thing. [Because she does not want to be further indebted to the Prince.] I'd never seen a hydra goose before.

closed 🪶 i'm in the end, just what you made me.

🐉 for dion.

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we can probably start bringing this to a wrap! 💚

All done :3