shylarah

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Inn

Clean and with a fresh change of clothes, Amuné felt like a new person. She could almost forget the events of a couple weeks prior.../almost/. She offered up a quick prayer to Saint Edos, that her parents were okay and she'd somehow find them soon. But she could look at that search in a more positive light now. The only thing left that she really wanted was a good meal. Cecil was talking about life purpose, for some reason, and that made the girl wrinkle her nose. "You sound like an elder!" she told him. "There's plenty of time to worry about why you're here when you're older. Or...well...hm." He /was/ a Machina, so someone had to have actually built him, didn't they? Maybe his purpose was more relevant to his life than the purpose of people of flesh and blood. "Well we can try to find out, but shouldn't you go where you came from to get answers, not just somewhere random?" Answers wouldn't just be lying around any old where, would they?

First things first, though. Ethan mentioned food, and Amuné seized upon the idea with renewed enthusiasm. "Dinner!" she exclaimed. "Something I didn't need to skin, anything, that'd be nice. Maybe they'll have a fish to make up for the one yesterday." Wyth made a soft noise of anticipation, and the girl frowned at him. "Don't give me that, I know full well you had a rabbit when you caught me one, so you don't need another meal until tomorrow. Ethan doesn't need to buy you something, Wyth, don't be greedy." The moorcat's ears drooped at her tone. He'd hoped for something he didn't need to catch. That was the best sort of food, after all.

"Why would we get thrown out for asking about her?" Amuné didn't understand why Ethan was worried. They were doing a harmless favor for a local. Norman seemed okay; surely he wouldn't ask them to do something that would get them in trouble, would he? Suddenly the girl felt cold. She had a sudden rush of forboding. Something, either Nymira or something related to her, something troubled the child. It felt like her Sight kicking in, but she couldn't tell any sort of details, nor even if it was her gift for certain, and without a reason she didn't dare say anything. Ethan had already wondered about her advanced warning at the bridge. What if he figured out she was a Seer? No, she'd just have to stay quiet and hope things went well.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Bath

Amuné held the second towel around her with one hand, the other hand resting on Ethan's shoulder to steady herself as he gave her hair a thorough drying. Then the man put the towel over her head, getting a giggle from her when he poked her nose. She felt so much better now, all nice and clean. She pulled the fuzzy towel tighter around her shoulders and watched Ethan go over to Wyth.

The moorcat was doing what he could to get the water out of his fur, but he was more than happy to let someone else do the work, stretching out and letting the man rub him down. Wyth closed his eyes most of the way and purred. His thick fur clumped up and stuck out at funny angles. That made the man laugh, and his girl joined in with a happy giggle. The cat just opened his eyes at looked at them, before getting to his feet and stretching out.

Just then a maid arrived with a package wrapped in paper and twine. Ethan thanked her profusely before going to hand the parcel to Amuné. She gasped, and her eyes went wide. "For me?!" she asked, taking it hesitantly. "Is this...you had her get me clothing?" Grateful tears welled up in her eyes, and she gave him a tight hug. "Thank you," she said into his shirt, before dashing off to get changed. Once inside she ripped open the package eagerly. Inside was a skirt, a blouse with long sleeves, and a vest with a cute floral pattern, as well as underthings and socks. "He really shouldn't have..." the girl murmured to herself, looking at the garments. But they were for her, and she really didn't want to make Ethan feel bad after he'd gone to the trouble of spending money on her.

Carefully she pulled the fresh clothes on, and her old shoes, before bundling up the old clothing in a neat ball. It wasn't in good shape, but if they needed bandages or scraps or something it might come in handy, once cleaned. She smoothed the knee-length skirt down, and went outside. "Look, Ethan!" Amuné exclaimed, turning around so he could see. "They're wonderful!"

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Bath

Amuné saw Cecil standing away from the spring, and she felt sorry for the Machina. He couldn't really take a bath, now could he? And that meant he'd never get to feel how wonderful they could be. It seemed Ethan had though of something similar, for he took a rag over to Cecil so the Machina could clean himself off.

Ethan suggested lunch before they set out to search, and Amuné was glad. "Something to eat would be wonderful," she said. "I'm so hungry my tummy is making noises!" Wyth pricked up his ears at the word "eat". He wasn't particularly hungry, but he would never turn down food if it was offered. He squeezed his eyes shut as his girl dumped water on his head to rinse the suds off, before heading with her to the edge of the spring. Amuné wished she could stay in the water longer, but Ethan was drying off, and that meant it was time to get out. Still, she felt so much better now that she was clean.

She checked the bandage on her shoulder, which was quite wet despite her best efforts to keep it out of the water. But at least it was still secure, so that was good. She dashed for the towel rack, bare feet slapping on the damp stone. The girl grabbed two towels, draped one around her shoulders, and went over to Ethan. "Will you help me dry my hair?" she asked holding one out to him. Usually Mommy or Daddy helped her with her hair while she sat wrapped in a towel like a little ghost, but neither of them was around to help her now. She hoped desperately that while they were looking for this Nymira that they'd hear good news about her parents too.

Over

I'm working on a post as well, but my job is killing me. Plus Yom Kippur is in the next couple days.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Galloway Inn

Amuné chewed her lip, but finally nodded. The benefits were too much to resist. "I want a nice long bath!" she exclaimed, "and soap! And I bet it's /warm/, ooh~! Wyth you could use a wash too, I know you take care of yourself but it's been too long and you've got stuff in your fur...." Even Ethan's mention of asking the wrong people couldn't bring her down completely. "Worry about it later," she advised. "Now it's time for a BATH!"

Wyth responded to his girl's cheer by circling around her, whiskers forward in a catty smile. It was the happiest he'd seen her in far too long, and he wanted to keep it that way. And the man seemed to be the cause. To show he had no lingering hard feelings for upsetting her earlier, the moorcat brushed against Ethan's side, and would even allow the man to pet him should he feel so inclined.

At the inn, the thought of leaving Wyth behind made Amuné wrap her arms around him. "No! Wyth is a good boy, he'll behave! I don't want to leave him outside!" Panic hit her at the thought of being separated from the last of her family. But Ethan managed to convince the innkeeper, and they proceeded inside together. After putting her candy carefully in the room, along with her knife, the girl made a beeline for the bath, Wyth bounding after her. "Yay!" she exclaimed, all but jumping in. Amuné was used to communal bathing, so she had no care that she might be bathing in front of other people. The biggest concern for strangers was that they might want to hurt one of the ragtag band, and if they were going to do that it would be silly to pay for a room just to get at them.

After a minute or two, the child located a bar of soap and started to give herself a good scrub. Her hair was filled with twigs, her skin covered in grime, and it felt amazing to finally get rid of it all, even though it took a while. Because there was no current to speak of, Wyth had gone into the water up to his ankles, and when his girl called him, he eagerly came to her side. He could clean himself, but he was shameless when it came to letting someone else do the work. Besides, it would make her feel better, and he certainly enjoyed the attention. The cat purred softly as his girl proceeded to soap him up until the lather made him look more like a sheep than a feline. She giggled a little at that -- Wyth always looked so silly when he was given a bath.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Galloway

Amuné gave the cleric a half-smile. She'd always been taught that the Church was good people, though now she was questioning who was and wasn't good closely. Still, he seemed harmless enough, and he didn't even want to charge to help her. That was nice of him, and very useful. Ethan said they had enough, but did they really? He probably wouldn't tell her even if they didn't. Adults were like that, not wanting children to worry, and Ethan especially seemed to want to keep people happy.

She kept her uninjured arm around Wyth's neck, biting her lip to keep from crying out when the old man touched her shoulder. It hurt bad, but injuries always did. Her father's voice sprang unbidden into her mind, telling her to be a brave girl for her mommy while Mommy cleaned and bandaged her hands and knees where she'd scraped them badly once. The memory made her eyes sting with tears. The priest mistook them for tears of pain and assured her that she was being a brave girl and that he'd be done soon, but that only upset her more. Amuné struggled to keep herself mostly composed, burying her face in Wyth's fur as the moorcat shifted closer. Fortunately the feline knew that his girl was upset because she was injured and that treating an injury hurt too, so he didn't bare his fangs at the cleric.

"All done," the priest said, digging in his bag for a piece of candy and holding it out. "You'll be fine, child. Here you go."
Amuné mustered a wavery smile. "Thank you," she murmured, taking the treat and shoving it in her pocket for later. Her mother always said that she'd ruin her dinner if she ate sweets before the meal.

Ethan seemed to think an inn was a good idea. "I don't care if it's a river so long as I can wash up," the child told him. "And we need to wash before we get new clothes! It's no good putting clean clothes on a dirty you."

Over

Ignore me again.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Norman's shop

Amuné gave Norman a shy smile. She considered about asking for oil, but she didn't think Ethan had much money, and they were already in the mechanic's debt -- a fact that he quickly made clear. Looking for a person wasn't too bad, though it meant they'd have to talk to people, something she wasn't sure was wise if there were bad men after them. But Ethan cheerfully agreed, so she stayed quiet, save to call Wyth back when he started nosing around the shop into things she wasn't sure were okay for a moorcat to get into. Amuné listened to Nymira's appearance. She was pretty good at finding people, but that was back home where she knew everyone and everywhere they might be. She hoped they'd have luck finding the woman.

Outside the shop, Amuné sighed to herself. Ethan admitted that, yet again, he had failed to think ahead. She supposed she wasn't surprised, but it was worrisome, his utterly carefree nature. Still, she probably had that to thank for him taking her under his wing, so she couldn't object too much. When he crouched to put himself at her level, she gave him an uncertain smile. She was worn out from travelling, and the gash on her shoulder was a dull ache. She desperately wanted a warm bath, and something to eat. But there were other concerns to think about. "Do you have enough money for that?" she asked, grey eyes shadowed. "Really, if I just wash it out it /should/ be okay...and the same goes for my clothes...." Yes, they were worn and her mother would have been aghast at the sight of her daughter in such rags, but they would do. "I...I just wanna wash off, really." She brushed at the dirt smudges that covered her exposed skin, a futile gesture. "I'm all dirty and it feels icky. And lunch, lunch would be good since we missed it."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Norman's shop

Amuné looked at the mechanic's hands before moving aside to let him at Cecil. She moved close to Wyth, one hand tangling in his fur, the other going to her mouth as she bit her knuckle. Norman opened Cecil's chest, and then the Machina made a noise like a slight intake of breath before going limp. Was he dead? The girl prayed silently that he wasn't, but this wasn't like any operation she'd ever seen. Not that she'd seen many. Her mother insisted that she wasn't yet old enough to help with the serious stuff. This was sorta like surgury crossed with machine repair. The mechanic removed the old battery, and the girl blinked, taking half a step closer. Was that...?

Upon his return with a fresh power supply, Norman saw it too. It was a magic crystal. It made sense to Amuné if not the two adults. After all, Cecil was a special Machina, and he had magic. Maybe this was how he got it, since she wasn't sure if Machina could get the blessing of a saint, being created and not born. Or maybe they could, but he needed a crystal to access his power? Magi with weak blessings could use crystals far more effectively than non-Magi, she knew.

Amuné held her breath when the new battery was put in place. At first nothing happened, and her anxiety skyrocketted. But then Cecil's eyes regained life, and he sat up. So relieved was she that he seemed alright that she nearly went to give him a hug. But she knew better than to get in between healer and patient, so she instead moved closer to Ethan, giving him a smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Cecil," the girl said aloud, turning her smile on the Machina. "I was really really worried, you looked /awful/. Um...Mr. Norman...? Will he be okay now? Or might he get sick again?" Her voice became quieter when she addressed the mechanic, and she didn't quite look at him. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with him.

Tverios: The Conquest

@Vahir Sorry, RL attacked me. ^.^;; Um, by "control spirits" I meant "force a spirit to follow direct orders". But you said no ghosts or whatever, so I suppose spirits wouldn't really exist either, since they usually fall in the same category, even though they're just a different type of creature. Alright, then new char it is! I'm drawing a blank on OH. HAHA I KNOW.

A historian who wants to see history and be part of it, or something like that. Quaylu. Joins up, and is decent in a fight, works her way to Oromis' trusted lieutenants. Ororor maybe he has enough of an ego that someone chronicling this appeals to him?! *wiggle*

Please ping me, as I don't get alerts when there's new OOC stuff.