CitrusArms

Pokémon: There and Back Again

Stella Lumite

Inventory

GP: 1000
Items: PokeBall 6x, Potion x5, Antidote x5, Escape Rope, Repel

Roster

Kaebe

Tyrunt, Lv 8 HP: Full/??
Tackle, Tail Whip, Roar, Ancient Power

Ocul

Blipbug, Lv 7, HP: Full/??
Struggle Bug, Infestation

Scamp

Yamper, Lv 5, HP: Full/??
Tackle, Tail Whip, Nuzzle

Niblet

Joltic, Lv 7, HP: Full/??
Absorb, Fury Cutter, Electroweb

Sterk

Rookidee, Lv 5, Full/??
Peck, Leer, Power Trip

PC

Empty

His anxiety drove her to take care of the task sooner than later. It was hard to tell an old man to wait, when he's already old, y'know? She had a little bit more conversation with him before taking her leave and his flowers.

She couldn't help but give the flowers a gentle whiff after she left the manor. Floral fragrances were so nice. As she let out a soft sigh, post-sniff, she began to catch some of the strange looks she was getting. Hmm... She was going to have to teach Niblet about cup phones. As the strange looks continued, she'd finally had enough and approached someone she caught giving her such odd observations, the way to Route 2 just ahead.

"Hello. Uhm," She looked back down the street the way she came, "you're not the first to look at me like that just now, is, uh, is there... Something I should know?"

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: 23rd, Morning
Location: Barracks
Interactions: None
Mentions: Prince Wulfric @SilverPaw
Today's Armor Ensemble

Here comes the Duke Vikena! Ooh, and there... goes... the Duke Vikena. Oh dear. That really was her best in here, wasn't it? Something seemed to have gotten under his collar, but she had little to tell her what. Stratya didn't want to disturb the man while he was already bothered. Surely, she'd see him again, and it wasn't as though her business was pressing.
It felt like she'd missed her chance. She really was not dressed for beach going, either, was she? Wily feet, to bring her here while she wasn't paying attention. She'd never hear the end of it if she got a bunch of sand in her armor, either. She made a short patrol, to see how the ensemble felt to really move around in, before returning to the barracks.

Time: Morning -> Day
Location: Around

She could see why things had started to transpire at this particular time. With as many events as were being held, there were so many opportunities. The chaos would make it harder to see things amiss. With so many guests, a new face was not strange. With so much unusual to be expected, that made it easier for the nefarious to blend in. Ah, but two could play at that, and a masquerade set things perfectly.
The parade armor had to go. It would declare her a knight of the kingdom. She planned to let the guards on duty at the event know who she was, naturally, but such display was bound to give her away. No, she needed unmarked bits. Another chunk of time spent in the armory later and she had the start of something together. If she relied too much on armor, she'd just look like a knight anyway, right? What she needed was more fabric and under armor, like chainmail.
She ended up spending the day with the tailor. She ended up going for an adventurous look, like a prominent member of the guild. She was disguising herself as an adventurer an awful lot lately, maybe she should work with the guild master to set up a fake identity. At any rate, she and the tailor were able to find something to her taste and got it fitted in time. The tailor thought the ensemble rather masculine but Stratya wouldn't hear it. If something were to happen while she was there, she would need mobility to react well.

Time: Day -> Evening
Location: Barracks -> Damien Estate

She organized with the guards who were to be in attendance tonight. She was to be armed, but only with a short sword small enough to conceal on her person. She wore chainmail underneath the blue and black long coat and shirt. A little cape on her hip helped her conceal her short sword and its sheath in her pant leg. It was fit to the inside of her thigh, and she had a cord to pull with her left hand, at the back of her waist, that would pull the sword around to the outside of her leg, where she could reach into the removed pocket on her right side and draw. She put her hair up in a pony tail and fit a cloth mask to her face, covering her nose and upper face. One last look in the mirror and it was time to go.
The masquerading knight approached the estate and spoke for a moment with the guard at the door of the event. A few noteworthy individuals had appeared, but nothing too interesting had happened. The Crown Prince was here, as well, and without a personal guard. Which was fine, this should be a safe event. At the same time, something only needed to happen once, and recent events did not make anything seem safe. Right, then, find the Prince.
As she entered the ballroom, she was reminded of her origins. A small village in the countryside. Out of her element though she was, she had a job to do. Oh, and she'd better try to hide her accent a little bit.
Ah, she forgot to ask how the Prince was dressed. Luckily for her, he had quite the air about him, he'd be hard to miss once she found him.

Rising Stars: A Fairy Tail AU

Good, this was the place, her hunch was accurate. She couldn't take too much credit, the clue was kind of obvious. Her new friend- friends were to thank for that. They were quite the pair. It didn't seem the cloud could talk, but what did she expect? A living cloud, though... Could make for an interesting song. The young lady gave a little giggle at the playful cloud as it flipped the duo over to introduce itself. She wanted to pet it but figured she'd have a better chance later. What did it even feel like? Was it solid, or was it D'Angelo's magic that made it solid? For that matter, how much of this was the man's magic? He didn't seem like the con-artist type, but they weren't a good con artist if you could tell that easy. Eh, whatever. What would the con even be, here?

At any rate, seemed like the man and his cloud were busy. Before they left, however, " By the way, that is an awesome instrument! I'd love to hear you play sometimes."

"I'm sure you'll get the chance. Good luck with the work, D'Angelo, Numbus." She waved as they left, the lyre starting to play again even as she did. The strings seemed to strum themselves. Using the same free hand for the door, Trinity entered the guild. She was passed by... someone with a tail? on her way in, but she only really had the moment to look for a moment before proceeding.

It didn't take her long to spot the large woman D'angelo had told her about. "Hello! You must be Jenna? I'm Trinity, I'm looking for a guild to recruit me. I was starting to think maybe I should go back south, haha."

Pokémon: There and Back Again

Stella Lumite

Inventory

GP: 1000
Items: PokeBall 6x, Potion x5, Antidote x5, Escape Rope, Repel

Roster

Kaebe

Tyrunt, Lv 8 HP: Full/??
Tackle, Tail Whip, Roar, Ancient Power

Ocul

Blipbug, Lv 7, HP: Full/??
Struggle Bug, Infestation

Scamp

Yamper, Lv 5, HP: Full/??
Tackle, Tail Whip, Nuzzle

Niblet

Joltic, Lv 7, HP: Full/??
Absorb, Fury Cutter, Electroweb

Sterk

Rookidee, Lv 5, Full/??
Peck, Leer, Power Trip

PC

Empty

It was hard not to feel the weight, in this place. Just this old man, all on his own. He didn't seem like the sturdiest fellow, either. Like he had said, he could only really handle the garden.

He asked her to go to his wife's grave. None of the pokemon in her team would be able to ferry him safely. If she had something like an Arcanine, that might do it. But, no, she couldn't take him there. "Your w... Y-you don't have to pay me for something like that. It's basically my job to wander around anyway, right? I only wish I had the means to take you there, instead." She couldn't take his money for this, no way. Even if he seemed well-off, it didn't sit right. Besides, if he was doing so well, couldn't he hire folks to work on his house? Pride, maybe...

"I'll pay her a visit, don't worry. Flowers from your garden? I can pick them for you, just point out the ones you'd like."

Rising Stars: A Fairy Tail AU

@samreaper

The bard hummed and strummed her way along, though a certain something caught her eye before she wandered too far in the wrong direction. Some fellow in a... puffy, pastel yellow... cage? was rising into the sky to another peculiar cloud that she hadn't noticed before and wasn't moving.

"Hey, there it is."

Trinity wove her way through an alley or two as she followed her direct line to what she could only assume was a local guild. She hadn't seen anything nearly as interesting as that around here, and if there was a word for mages, it was interesting.

Sure enough, when she got to the place beneath that cloud, it was a guild hall. The plucking on her lyre simmered down to a lighthearted suspense as she peeked in through the front doorway, just as the jolly fellow she saw go up came back down. She turned and glanced only quickly at first, but turned more fully once she realized he might have information. Quite likely, all things considered. Besides, he seemed a lively guy. Besides, he had an... calling the triangle an instrument felt like strong wording, but she shouldn't be a snob. Even she had a cowbell. Not that she ever used it... at any rate, he seemed to be enthusiastic about music. Or that was merely his dinner chime and he was a cook for someone.

"Oh, hey. Good mmmm," though she'd been smiling, her face grew perplexed as she looked at the sky, found their local star, worked out her directions really quick and turned back to D'Angelo, "mmm-afternoo... oon?, is this the guild hall? My name's Trinity, I'm looking for mage work." She didn't see a guild mark on this guy, either it was hidden or he wasn't with this guild, "are they recruiting, do you know?"

The cloud must be a part of this guy's magic, right? It looked very soft, but it was clearly not just any cloud. That other cloud was gone now, too, she'd noticed when searching the sky for the time. This guy's magic was clearly something impressive, or maybe he was just powerful.

Rising Stars: A Fairy Tail AU

The musician couldn't help but observe the tension in town, after managing to find herself a place for a coffee. She strummed lightly on a lyre as she meandered the streets. The guard seemed spread thin here. She'd seen that caravan leave town, accompanied by two who were definitely not guards in uniform. Was there a guild here?

Honestly, she was more interested in trying to find someone who could sell her a local instrument, but... err... she might actually be a little low on cash for that. Hnm. Maybe she'd better find that guild hall after all.

As if to cement her fears, she found an instrument shop. Passed by the large window, with an instrument she'd never seen before on display. She gasped, but the light in her eyes didn't last long when she saw the price tag. Yeeaah, it did seem a complicated thing, didn't it? Not simple to produce. She wondered how long it took to make one. Was it hand made? She'd be back to ask questions when she had the money.

She found herself singing softly as she meandered the town, strumming her lyre, "gotta make money~ for the thing I wanna baahh-iieee-aahh-iiee-aaiiee," she followed with a giggle, "punk bands are so fun. Now, where's that guildhall..."

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: 23rd, Morning
Location: Barracks --> Beach
Interactions: None
Mentions: @FunnyGuy Duke Vikena
Today's Armor Ensemble

The investigation into the assassination was crowded. It was a fairly high-profile occurrence and, admittedly, her efforts were best spent elsewhere. The assassination reeked of magic, which made things interesting. Rather than make a big huff by taking the reins of the investigation herself, and giving away her involvement, she would poke around quietly in parallel to the full investigation force. That an assassination on an important target was attempted told her that another high profile party was involved. Alternatively, someone from the common folk with a grudge or an agenda got their hands on some magic tricks… but that didn't seem likely.

One thing was clear, and that was magic in the capital. Somewhere high in the capital. And that meant mingling. Aah, she was hoping to avoid this. Her, socializing with nobles? And maybe even the royal family? Little ol' her from some village scarcely on the map? Ooh, waily, waily. She got a squire to help her with a bit of plate before she'd go to begin probing the nobles. A little bit of parade plate helped liven up her appearance without being overbearing. A quick look in a mirror and she'd say she looked pretty good.

Her preparations done, she had no excuse to continue loitering around in the barracks. Her feet brought her out into the sun, which was rather high in the sky already. She'd spent a bit of time fussing over her appearance, which was something she hadn't really done before. It was refreshing, and a bit of fun. Reminded her a bit of when they'd have a formal event for the guards and she'd have to get dressed up, only this was much more enjoyable.

At any rate, she found her feet carrying her toward the beach. Not the first place she might have gone, but not a bad idea, either. It was a nice day, and much of the city, including noble estates and taverns, were right on the beachfront. She still wondered how she was going to- oh? It seemed there had been a disturbance. The Duke Vikena was here, and looked like he was about to depart, likely back to his estate. She would ask him as he passed.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: 22nd, all day
Location: The barracks, the slums
Interactions: None
Mentions: None

It really was something else, living in the capital. Back in her village, certain fruits were only really available at one time of year, when a merchant came by with a fresh supply, on his way to bigger sales in the city. In the capital, however, these things were much more available. Even baking powder and baking soda were readily available. It made a baker's life easy, it was no wonder the baking here seemed so… advanced. The powder and soda would keep, she should send some to her mother.

Bananas, strawberries, lemons, and baking soda. That is what the recipe for the yearly bread recipe called for, besides the usual stuff. They typically had to do without lemon, however, which also meant switching from the soda to powder. The capital had all these things and more, so she could use the older form of the recipe. She slipped into the kitchen after most of the breakfast cooking had been done and got right to work. She'd grabbed all the muffin tins and bread pans she could find to make a large batch. Admittedly, they did not have many muffin tins. She would have to acquire more.

Now, what had she found Callum doing in the slums? What she'd heard about him disturbed her. He'd gone and thrown coins at some poor bloke as a means of provocation? She couldn't tell if he'd smelled of his activities or just of the slums when she found him. It was concerning, but she said she'd keep her nose out of it. But, well, maybe she wouldn't. Her service was to the Queen, after all, and she could only imagine the Queen wound want to see the lad's doing alright. As a royal in Caledonia, he probably wasn't.

The bake went smoothly, though there were other tools she'd need to obtain. She made enough bread for the whole barracks to have a bit, and then some. She'd had to do two rounds of baking, as she had not had enough tins for the whole batch. She had the oven space, with two small ovens and one large in the barracks kitchen, but not the tins and pans for it. She would have to get more, if she wanted to do more baking here. She loaded up a basket with muffins, dressed into her adventurer getup, and made a return to the slums.

She had a few people to go through, and a few mouths to stuff full of muffin to stop them from asking too many questions. However, she eventually found satisfying information. The man in question was a known nuisance. What she found was troubling. Perhaps she'd be sticking her nose into matters, after all, but there was the distinct feeling that his family would not aid matters. This would be something she had to do on her own, and she'd missed an opportunity.

Callum. She didn't much envy him the position of Edin's son. She'd caught a glimpse of how the King could be, especially to his family, but she couldn't imagine how bad it was when there weren't eyes to see and ears to hear. Nobility and royalty had to be very, very good about that sort of thing. Perhaps the fallen prince would attract the unsavory sort looking for a high-society in. If he wanted to live so poorly as she witnessed yesterday, she might be able to show him a way to do so without the beatings? She didn't normally involve herself in the high court's internal affairs, let alone the royal family's, but if the prince were in a position where he couldn't rely on his family, then she would see if she could help him, as service to the Queen. Surely, she would seek her son's health and welfare?

Aah, but she would have to find him first. That would have to come tomorrow. For the rest of the day, she would be catching up on any ongoing investigations, particularly with anyone who had done interviews or interrogations yesterday with regards to the gunfire and assassination attempt.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Night of the 21st
Location: Slums
Attire: Leather and chainmail with simple clothes
Interactions: Callum @Helo
Mentions: None

"Oh fuck, he says." Had she been recognized? Why else would he be so upset to- Wait a minute. Ooooh. She"d heard his voice before, which helped her identify his face. He did recognize her, and her position. "Aaaaye, shyte," she groaned, obliged to see that the prince is well. "Ye well know I can't be goin' and ignorin' y', aye? Much as it seems y'd prefer tha'. C'mon, then. Le's away somewher' me eyes don' feel so robbed and w'll get ye patched up. Shouldn't dip in the river with an open wound an' all." A phrase from the country, emphasizing proper rest, care, and maintenance of things, lest they break worse.

She would lead the prince away from the slums, where at least the moonlight held more ambiance around them. Luckily for her, adventurers tended to be the prepared sort, so she had been able to bring supplies with her without drawing attention. This included a basic first aid kit. Treating relatively minor injuries like cuts and splits and scrapes was relatively easy. It was just cleaning, and covering to keep it clean. She learned a lot from caring for the boys back in her village, and she'd asked one of the doctors in the city to teach her more. If one of the men under her command was injured, she wanted to be able to try and keep their injuries from getting worse. Those that would suffer injury for their work should be treated with special care.

The prince's purpose here, however, was unknown. What had he suffered these injuries for? The lives of nobility and royalty were strange indeed, and she dare not assume something at surface value, but should she really pry, at the same time?

Maybe not, but she couldn't just ignore this, either. "The slums is certainly an interestin' place to find someone like y'self in such a state. And what a story ya left behind for me, too. 'Some nutter got himself a beatin' for bein' a rich pest.' Y'did go and buy it, too, I hear." Threw coins at the man. "Can't see the sense in it, but I won't pretend to understand that complica'ed web of complica'ed people you were dropped into. Jus'..." The knight considered how to phase her sentiment for a moment before continuing, "I don' think either of us wan' me involved in ya business, aye? Aye. Now, I'm sure ya don' want or need me to hold yer 'and. Good night. maybe get some rest?" It was best not to address him by name. He was quite a sight, and she didn't want to cause undo duress to the royal name. This was a delicate situation. One she wanted to distance herself from quickly.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Evening
Location: Park -> Slums
Interactions: Callum @Helo
Mentions: None

The park festivities had been exquisite, nothing like what they had in her village. The knight couldn't help but think of her hometown for a moment before bringing herself back to the present. She'd have to bake something, to fight this homesickness. Tomorrow. For the rest of tonight, patrols. This city has been getting quite loud, and not in a way she appreciated. She said fair well to the festive dancers and one musician (who'd had his guitar borrowed) she had gathered and got herself another skewer as she strode off to the city.

The streets, at this point, mostly bustled with people going back home from the park, but there were merchants trying to make one last sale for the day and other citizens who planned a whole night of partying and revelry. She might have joined then, but she was wearing just a little too much heraldry. Enough that she could be identified as a knight. She'd already given herself some rest time, recently. As well, she could smell something brewing, so maybe it was best she was rested already. The day's assassination attempt was a pretty big red flag, after all.

"Haaarrrr," Stratya haw'd to herself as she walked the streets, "if'n I were in a wizard's cabal, where might I be hidin'? Hhhrrmmmm." The warehouses, maybe, but she'd already been there. On a different investigation, but she had. Anywhere near the castle would be too guarded, you would think, and she'd have to have evidence, before she went poking around in any of the estates. If she were do stumble on something, it would have to be when they'd let their guard down, and that would be more likely farther from the castle. Farther from King Edin's many eyes. Between the enforcement centers and the castle, the furthest you could get from the guard was the graveyard (and there was scarcely anywhere to hide, there) and the slums.

The slums, huh? Plenty of holes in the wall, there. They might even be able to muscle out some tenants to claim their own building without raising a great fuss, gods know the king couldn't be bothered. Ah, but she was so certain the people of the slums would be happy to help. Yes, after so long of being ignored, they'd just love for a knight to walk through their streets. For this reason, the knight stopped by the barracks and dressed down a bit. A bit of leather here or there, some chainmail and common clothing later, she looked a bit more like someone from the Adventurer's Guild than a proper knight. That was the point.

Her preparations made, the knight strode back out into the night, making her way to the slums. She meandered her way through, stopping to talk to the occasional slummer. Ask them about anything weird. She got an answer sooner than she thought, though it wasn't what she was looking for. Some crazy bugger had made a real nuisance of himself and gotten himself beat without putting up a fight. The coins he spilled were a big occasion, too.

Apparently, that happened over here. The knight nearly kicked the poor fellow by accident, in the darkness. "Here ya are, aye?" She sighed as she looked at him, seeing his sorry state but not quite recognizing him in the dim moonlight in the alleys. "Alright, lad, let's up and away. Can ya walk, are ya awake?"