I've got a reputation

[astudyinviolet]

Who: Sherlock, Basker(ville) in one prompt, and whoever wants to show up
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut and Elah mostly
What: Catch all with some MANTA quests and a mopey birthday boy
Warnings: None at the moment, at most some Victorian gay yearning or anger towards an irresponsible dog breeder

A January 6th Birthday

[ January 6th may seem like any other day to most, but for Sherlock, it is a bittersweet and melancholy day. He met John Watson on New Year's Day, and its passing serves as a reminder of how long they've been apart. It's nearing a year now. Sherlock always placed importance on the truth, but he'd be lying if claimed he wasn't frustrated at having learned his own but remaining limbo.

Similarly, his birthday serves as a reminder of Jon's absence. He had only spent his birthdays with Jon for the most part. Mycroft might spare a few minor sentiments, perhaps a small gift if Sherlock hadn't completely infuriated him lately, but after their mother's death, there certainly hadn't been any celebration. Jon wouldn't have it though. He made sure Sherlock enjoyed some part of the day.

Now? It's just him either yearning for someone far away or missing someone who only existed in his mind, so he goes about his day, a little distracted but still going about it. ]

My apologies, you were saying?

MANTA general: Puppy Unloved

[ Anyone in the vicinity will hear Sherlock absolutely lay into the dog breeder for being so irresponsible. Sherlock foresaw this happening, worried about the fates of the other dogs because of what the breeder had said. He doesn't want the breeder to just be worried about the puppy. He wants the breeder to regret their business and to change their ways. This will not happen again if Sherlock has any say in the matter.

Having made his point known, Sherlock takes his Cerberus puppy, Basker, out on a leash to one of the locations which reported wild dog attacks. All three of Basker's noses sniff the air while Sherlock examines some footprints. ]

We haven't done much scent training. However, if Basker shows an interest as he did with guarding the gate, then I will work something out.

[ It could become a fun new game for Basker to do around the Conservatory. ]

These prints do look they they can belong to the missing puppy. The surrounding evidence proves as much.

MANTA general: Infinity Fabrics (Eltrut)

[ Who is the young lady with long silver-blond hair and wearing this charming number? Wait, is that Sherlock Holmes disguised as a woman again? Well, he's not actually in a disguise this time for that would require a reason to be dressed as such. He simply got roped into this somehow. He's not complaining. Making friends with a seamstress could prove useful in the future.

Right now, Sherlock has his hands fully in the skirt's pockets and absentmindedly swishing the skirt around in a dramatic billowing motion. ]

Once more, I am reminded of how much I can store in these pockets compared to my normal way of dress.

Paladin: Waterlogged Writings (Elah)

[ To Sherlock, the main goal is to preserve the information, not necessarily the physical objects themselves. As such, he takes any torn pages and spends time stabilizing them, so the information can be copied. Other books are placed among absorbent materials. They can be further dried once some of the water has been leached away. ]

I am almost done with this page. How is the rest of the book faring?

Wildcard

[ Want to do something else? Write a prompt or drop me a line at Sherry's journal, aviekokyre, or on Discord @ aviekokyre and we can plot something out. (Maybe he needs to join the Great Sing Along with his 3 AM violin playing) ]

Comments

Infinity Fabrics

[deepstar]

[ Sometimes it's okay to just have a little fun. There's not always a reason needed to dress up or go out in disguise. At least Claude doesn't seem to think so. The seamstress has even picked out something that suits him as well. Something to hide some of the muscle that Claude's put on during the war. ]

And does your "normal way of dress" not usually include pockets?

[ Though the uh... wig is getting a little itchy. But he wouldn't let them put extensions in his hair to braid. That's. A no. ]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock is still learning that he can have "fun" in his life instead of needing to spend most of his faculties on trying to survive. He's getting better the longer he's in this world. ]

They include pockets, but they do not carry nearly as much. I've resorted to various pouches and cases to help carry what I need.

[ The light colored wig does make Sherlock's dark eyebrows and lashes stand out more. However, the seamstress seemed to be amused by the idea of him with this color hair. She said something about making him look more like another customer of hers. ]

[deepstar]

[ Just... Who would the other customer be? That's what he would be asking here. But he also knows that, well, moving away from being purely about survival can be. A task. That can take time. ]

Pouches. So does that mean you wear baggy clothing or...?

[astudyinviolet]

[ To answer that, he goes over to where his clothing lay and picks up his belt which has a pouch attached along with a hip case for his casebooks and pencils. He lifts it up for the other man to see. ]

Not at all. I use this. My pockets can hold only small items like handkerchiefs and folded notes as my clothing is tailored to me.

[ Okay, so maybe the fit has grown a bit baggier since he originally had his clothing tailored. He doesn't eat nearly as much as he should. ]

[deepstar]

[ Ah! So that's what he means. Pouches added to a belt. Not what Claude had pictured, but maybe that's more with the description more than anything else.

And who does eat like they should? Claude, under normal circumstances, usually forgets to do that too. Sure, he's a big feast guy, but that's more. Ah. The visual and political importance behind them - has nothing to do with Claude or his own appetite. ]

I have an artist friend. He'd wear things like that when he felt inspired by "the goddess's creation" or something to that effect.

[ Though he does know a thing or two about clothing being tailored. Even now, to be in clothing that more closely resembles home, he has to do the same. ]

Though I've never understood what the purpose of pockets are if they can't hold items of purpose in them.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock cannot stop himself rolling his eyes at the artist comment. He knows a man like that, and he is one of the people Sherlock hates the most back in his world. ]

"The goddess's creation"... I believe his reasons differ than mine. I do so for my own sake, not for art or goddess.

[ He's vainer than he cares to admit, but he also goes by his own style. He'll wear one sleeve rolled up, pouches, chains, and perhaps the greatest faux pas for a gentleman, wearing a deerstalker hat in the city instead of relegating it to use only in the countryside. ]

I've never understood why some fashions are the way they are, but those decisions are usually dictated by those with the wealth and power. They aren't necessarily logical.

[deepstar]

[ Well now. What an interesting reaction. Claude himself doesn't believe in the goddess - not like people in Fodlan do - but he doesn't really roll his eyes at their beliefs. Some would think that his meditating every morning and adherence to other traditions worthy of eyerolling too. ]

It could be one in the same, you know. [ Just pointing that out. ] Someone can do something because it brings them joy through the inspiration. Anyway, it was just to make it easier to paint when he felt moved to. He wasn't trying to make any statements, just being practical.

[ It's not really any different than what Sherlock here is saying. ]

Fashion within itself I think is more a reflection of the culture of the age. Sometimes you have fashions that are more practical and others that are more frivolous.

[astudyinviolet]

[ He has seen the horrors others do in the name of god. It's enough to make him wary. ]

To each their own.

[ Doing something befitting of his ideals on justice and what's right could be thought as similar, but Sherlock wouldn't have made the connection. Willingly at least. ]

What a person wears can tell you a great deal about them. I use it enough in my deductions.

[ One of the seamstresses calls out to them, "And sometimes the form of the outfit dictates the magic." She takes a new outfit and start placing it on a mannequin. "Now you two can stand there and look pretty, or you can fly around and look pretty."

Ah, right. These were supposed to be enchanted to fly, among other things. ]

[deepstar]

[ To each their own indeed. Now Claude isn't going to disagree with some of the thoughts behind "deeds done in the name of god." He has his own issues with the Church of Seiros in general. But that's neither here nor there.

Instead he's going to focus on the conversation. ]

Oh I don't disagree with that one.

[ But his attention shifts. Turns towards the staff speaking. Maybe he he does want to stand there and just look pretty! Flying around - ]

I get what they're saying, but there aren't really directions on how to make that happen either.

Waterlogged Writings

[indispensable]

Manageable.

[Just like Sherlock, Alhaitham's main concern is with preserving the information too, not necessarily the books themselves. And given his work as Scribe he has dealt with all manner of things that needs to be transcribed, so while he does make sure to be careful so that none of the pages tear, he doesn't really wait for them to dry and simply just goes ahead with an attempt to transcribe. Unsurprisingly, the success rate in doing so has varied greatly, though that doesn't stop him.

He looks up from the current page that he is working on, seeing the one that Sherlock is nearly done with, then jerks his head back towards himself.]

Put that page here when you're done. I'll look through it again to see if I can catch anything that was previously missed.

[astudyinviolet]

[ What's nice about working with Alhaitham is that neither of them need to fill the silence between them with small talk. They can focus on their work and talk only when necessary. Sherlock copies for a few more minutes before placing it where Alhaitham wanted it to be. Another pair of eyes wouldn't hurt, though Sherlock wonders what it must look like to Alhaitham as there is a possibility of magic bridging three different languages at play here. What would this mean for a cryptogram or cipher? ]

This next page has an illustration. I don't have the means to reproduce the colors with me, and the tears go through the main focus. I could do my best approximation with pencil, but what do you think?

[ There is no saving the illustration as it is. Even some of the color has leeched away into the space beyond its borders. ]

[indispensable]

[Alhaitham definitely appreciates the lack of small talk. Socializing has never been his thing, and doing so while in the middle of a task even less so. Sherlock being of a similar mindset is definitely nice, and its safe to say that the detective has long since become one of the people who Alhaitham has come to enjoy working with well enough.

Knowing that Sherlock only speaks where there is actually something worthwhile to discuss means that Alhaitham feels no need to have the noise cancellation of his ear pieces on, so when the other addresses him it only takes a moment for him to shift his attention over, glancing at the page and illustration in question.]

An approximation is fine. [He says after having taken some time to examine the ruined image for himself.] You can add a written description of the image too, if you want. If the image is truly deemed important then I'm sure they'll get a proper artist to do a new rendition.

[It's been done a good number of times in the Akademiya—a bit less so in the later years, as Azar enacted more of his policies and changes, but after he was ousted it didn't take long for that practice to return. And while Fontaine's Kamera technology did help with that, its not like everything in the Akademiya's books could be referenced with a photo, especially considering how some of the topics and subjects were about things long past the current era.]

[astudyinviolet]

A sketch and a written description. I can manage that well enough.

[ Alhaitham has already seen how skillful Sherlock is with his sketches, and Sherlock finds that he trusts him in making an accurate judgement on what he can do. He'll take a photograph only as a general record. Sherlock still wants a physical copy. He finds that photographs capture everything with the same amount of importance when some details should be captured in greater detail or else they get lost in the whole. Especially when those details might be needed in a recreation later. ]

It is a shame so much of the binding has been lost to the water and the handler before us. The manner in which it was bound would hint to the perceived importance of the information within its now dissolved covers.

[ Was this some personal record? A revered tome? A tale for the common masses? Or a step beyond that with the addition of color printing? ]

[indispensable]

[The sentiment that Sherlock expresses is very much one that Alhaitham shares himself, and so he lets his agreement be known in the form of another hum. Regardless of the exact nature of what these books are, it is a shame for so much of what they contain to have been lost like this. No matter how bad these books may truly be Alhaitham is of the belief that there is no truly useless knowledge; or perhaps more accurately, there will exist the right knowledge for the right kind of people. One man's trash is another man's treasure, as the saying goes.]

We might still be able to glean something off with whatever that's left, [He says after another moment.] Though I would say it's hard to make any judgement based off the binding alone. Every person has their own idea of what is 'important' to them; what they may deem as such may in fact have no relevance for us in the present.

[Not that it isn't a good idea though, at least on paper. But Alhaitham has more than enough experience to know that what seems good in theory often tends to not go that way at all when actually applied to real life scenarios.]

[astudyinviolet]

[ One simply has to look at Sherlock's casebook to prove that while a cover and binding could hint to how important the contents are to the owner, it is not definite. The contents have untold value to Sherlock, a way to record things that does not depend on memory. Although, Sherlock might also argue that his case book is constantly in progress and not a piece made for publishing. He's also of the opinion that some books aren't worth the paper they are printed on. (He's looking at you, Bazookaeology: The Adventures of Nabe and Laura by Wallace De Aurum. All three of them.) Some knowledge needs to be removed from his mind attic to make room for more important things. This philosophy on knowledge may be something Alhaitham could teach him whether more formally or by example.

Sherlock continues to sketch the illustration as he thinks. ]

The binding process would at least tell us something about the labor and materials involved. I've used a paper's quality and the envelope to glean certain details about the writer. I've even used the writing inside as data.

[ It is not foolproof and risks leading one astray, but it can give another avenue for analysis. Sherlock has put it to use in his detective work. ]

What they deemed relevant has value in the sense of their history and reasoning, even if the information means nothing to us. It reveals their biases, and for scientific endeavors, can show their blind spots.

[indispensable]

[Once again Alhaitham can't disagree with Sherlock's suggestion there, and he hums to show his agreement just like before. After all, as the Scribe he too has handed many books beyond his own personal collection, be it for simple archiving or for something closer to research. Though present day texts are much more uniformly produced, the ones from older times and eras definitely can say a lot from their make and material alone.

He pauses for a moment in his own work then, to get a better feel of the quality of the paper itself and the way the book had been bound together.]

...the pages themselves looks to be uniform, damage aside, and while they do seem loose, it's not in the way that suggests that they were held together by an adhesive. I'd have to actually rip out the spine to be certain, but its highly probably that it was bound by needle and thread.

[Not uncommon, certainly, but that level of handbinding is indicative of some things, at least in his opinion.]

which book should they be working on?

[astudyinviolet]

That could be something to better investigate after we've recorded all the information from the pages.

[ Even if they were to save the pages by drying them all out, the pages would have expanded and warped to need a new binding should they desire to keep everything together. That requires first separating the pages. To properly dry everything, they will need to make sure the pages can be separated from each other lest they dry glued together.

Sherlock puts the finishing touches on his sketch before passing it to Alhaitham for input or approval. ]

Does this seem clear enough?

[ The sketch has a lot of details and areas labeled with colors. ]

Puppy Unloved

[feralhumanity]

[Sherlock isn't the only one here investigating. Nanaki has arrived as well, sniffing at the tracks alongside Basker. He's familiar with the big cerberus pup who's been acting as a guard dog, so he's able to single out Basker's scent and filter it away from the rest. He lets out a small snort, lifting his head.]

Yeah, it's hard to say, but I think the other pup's definitely been here. And all this... I think he's upset.

[His ears droop a bit at that.]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Basker tries to be a very good guard dog. He has not mastered being on a leash as he keeps trying to wind himself around Sherlock. (Who then has to try to prevent themselves from getting tangled up.) ]

You are able to tell?

[ Sherlock can see the evidence of the pup's presence, but his mental state is not so apparent. It isn't as if Sherlock doesn't believe Nanaki. He can believe the pup to be feeling a number of negative emotions, and he agrees that the pup likely feels as such. It's more that he wonders if Nanaki has some sense that he does not and can tell with more certainty. ]

[feralhumanity]

[Basker is a good guard dog, even if he's not used to a leash. In Nanaki's opinion, leashes aren't all that great either, but he's also biased.]

[Nanaki turns away from Sherlock, out towards where the tracks are leading. He has a contemplative look on his face.]

Well, I'm not sure exactly, but dogs are pack animals, right? And if a pack animal doesn't have a pack, or a family of any kind...

[He looks back to Sherlock, his ears low.]

I know I'd feel really upset if I felt like I had no family, or felt unwanted.

[astudyinviolet]

[ The leash is simply because Sherlock doesn't want to lose Basker should he bolt, and if he's on a leash, anyone they come across should be less likely to think him a monster or wild beast. That is the hope at least. (And once they are back at the Conservatory, both leash and collar are off.) ]

Hm, I see.

[ So Nanaki doesn't have additional information in that sense. No matter. They will use whatever evidence is available to find the pup. Sherlock understands the feeling of being unwanted all too well. ]

Let's follow these tracks. We've seen all we need to here and may find more to go on further down. Come on, Basker. The game is afoot.

[ Basker stops sniffing circles around Sherlock to trot beside him. ]

[feralhumanity]

Yeah... I probably won't know until I ask him.

[Speaking Cerberus should be easy, right? Especially since they're both mammals. But he nods to Sherlock's words and turns to the tracks, sniffing at them briefly before looking up.]

I'm not sure how fast he could have travelled, but I think between the three of us, we have a fair shot of finding him.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Nanaki could start picking up bits of the language from Basker. He gives curious barks and woofs at strange things that catch his attention. It doesn't seem to be anything related to the missing pup, but he's possibly talking to himself. He does have three heads, after all. ]

This is what we know. The pup has attacked other animals. He wasn't trained to do that, or that was the case for Basker in order to "domesticate" him. That would suggest that he's had to rely on instincts, and he would not have the practice to hone his skills.

Whether for anger or food, those attacks would slow him down... and possibly more if any of the other animals had injured it during the fight.

[ Sherlock does have a healing spray that Professor Turo developed, but that'll depend on how injured the animal might be. ]

[feralhumanity]

[Sherlock speaks rather impressively, and Nanaki finds himself nodding along. Though it does make his ears lower a bit, his tail swishing anxiously behind him.]

Then I really hope we're able to find him. If he's angry, hungry, or hurt... I want to make sure we can find him. Before he hurts anyone else, or himself.

[He then turns to Basker.]

You think you can find him??

[astudyinviolet]

[ Basker gives a small little woof in surprise when Nanaki asks him to find the missing pup. However, soon his little puppy mind makes a connection between needing to protect the animals in the Conservatory and the pup. He has to find this pup because he needs to be brought back to the Conservatory and protected.

Three sets of noses start sniffing. He leaves some wet nose prints on Sherlock's trouser leg, and he sniffs at Nanaki too. Then those noses start sniffing the ground as he begins to learn the different scents. Tree. Grass. Bird. Insect. Rock, Dirt...

Sherlock follows along diligently, never letting the leash tangle or go taught. He doesn't want to influence Basker in any way.

Basker lets out an excited sets of barks and runs. Sherlock runs as well to avoid his arm being pulled from his socket. ]

I think he's found something.

[ He's at least found a scent that's different from the other scents he can identify. ]