[She takes the fact that her companion has broken from their task as permission to take a proper break, herself, and takes a long swig of water from a flask. Then she rubs one of the patches of scales on her face, grumbling indistinctly. They are dry and itchy. The rest of her skin sweats just fine...]
A goal is nice; I prefer having fun on the way there.
They're fine, they're fine- [she waves the hand she was scratching them with dismissively, then goes back to get that one last spot where it meets her jaw,] -they just itch. It happens when they dry out. A bit of oil or lotion is all they need.
[She stretches, rolls her shoulders, sore from the repetitive task. Gods, she hates botany.]
A race might be distracting. I wonder what stories you would have to tell?
[She'd be right. It's the same sort of product used to soothe dry skin in any other race. If the guild keeps sending her to Thanalan or Coerthas though, she may just have to buy her usual vendors clean out.]
Oh, are we combining the two, then?
[A challenge, she'll take, and the idea of it puts a spark in her eyes.]
[Sayano stands and stretches, then pulls her sickle back out.]
Ready! I'll take the one southeast of here and we'll see who gets the most!
[Ideally, they should wind up with about the same...except Sayano hasn't been paying as much attention to learning the tricks of the trade and she'll come away with a perfectly average yield.]
[K'pandolu salutes, and sets to work on her own patch. She's keeping an eye out for extra shards- it's always a nice bonus! It's a good yield. She gives Sayano's yield a curious look, nodding.]
That's not bad! I think I may have found a few more, though. Shall we count them?
[She's making slow progress, wanting to be sure it's fair, but when Sayano calls it, she glances over.]
It looks like it- but not to worry! I'm sure you'll learn how to spot more in time. [She nods, gathering the shards into a pile again.] Yes, please! Perhaps something from your childhood?
Nowhere - or, um. I grew up on the road. But while I was very young, we didn't move around as much. I think it must have been somewhere in the northern Shroud? We started moving again when I seemed of a suitable age, and it must have been south. I don't remember it very well...
[She has to pause to think about that, though. It checked out, of course, the Shroud would have been the place to move from if she hadn't seen very many Lalafell, but...how did her family come as complete strangers to the Shroud and not see resistance from anyone or, more importantly, anything?]
Oh, the forest was much more dense! Despite spending so much time there, I remember we lost our way so often. That's how I stumbled on my adventuring career, actually! It was...
[She looks up at the sky, unnervingly clear in light of her memory.]
...Dalamud hung so low in the sky, its shadow interfered during the day. It was already disturbing the aether in some sense- none of us really had a good sense for it but my brother's always had...something of a knack. Something that should be trained, but- no, he's too pacifistic. He said something felt "wrong". Did you get that feeling, too? Or do you think it was just the foreboding from, well, having a monstrous thing threatening to fall on all of Eorzea?
So I'd heard! It… must have been difficult, for those unfamiliar with the woods.
[She glances up as well, tail flicking.]
Me…? Not exactly- I wouldn't say I had that sort of knack. And we were a lot further away- not in Vylbrand proper- though it was hard to miss that something was wrong, from observing the world… Of course, it's possible he was picking up on something! Because- Dalamud did after the land strangely, from all I've heard.
You don't hear much anymore about what happened before it fell. It's understandable, really. Everyone's memories surrounding it are so varied. I wouldn't question it if someone said they doubted their own thoughts.
[That's kind of somber for her. Her tail's tip flicks.]
But, even if they may not match someone else's memories, they're still mine!
[That's better. She rolls one of her collected shards between her fingers.]
[Tales only five years old, not so much, she thinks. But she doesn't mention it because it is important, to have your own tale, and your own memory. There are gaps in hers, in the five years between the Calamity and returning to Ul'dah. She was aether-sick for a while after, with the dramatic shift in the ambient aether. Who knows how many "memories" were only fever dreams? (and how many "fever dreams" were the faint first calls of Hydaelyn that she ignored as her own imaginings?)]
I'm surprised you couldn't see it from everywhere at its size. We were in Ul'dah when it struck. My- [she falters for a second.] -friend, who introduced me to adventuring, he said we should leave for our own safety. That, because it was a dragon, or the shade of one, that caused all this destruction, Eorzeans might turn against Au Ra.
[She pauses, and smiles a bit.]
You have exactly one guess as to where he was from.
We took his advice and left for a while, stayed away from large cities while we were in Eorzean borders. We could have just barely missed crossing paths, if you were living off the mainland, too.
[Some tales do get changed- but most aren't like this one.]
It was very distinct! As though it wanted to be seen, perhaps. [she straightens a little as Sayano goes on, tail twitching.] Ul'dah- that would've been a lot closer. And- there were a lot of troubles, weren't there? I've only heard rumours, but- your friend was probably right to say that.
[she gives Sayano a wry grin.] Ishgard?
We could have! It sounds a little nice, getting to meet you earlier- er, if you wouldn't have minded the rest of our part of the family, anyhow.
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valoirs
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[She takes the fact that her companion has broken from their task as permission to take a proper break, herself, and takes a long swig of water from a flask. Then she rubs one of the patches of scales on her face, grumbling indistinctly. They are dry and itchy. The rest of her skin sweats just fine...]
A goal is nice; I prefer having fun on the way there.
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[the better to prevent any accidents.
Definitely time for a break. K'pandolu eyes Sayano's scales, a little worried.] Are your scales all right?
Of, that's certain. So we could try to think of something to make it so…? A race of sorts, or stories while we pick them out?
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[She stretches, rolls her shoulders, sore from the repetitive task. Gods, she hates botany.]
A race might be distracting. I wonder what stories you would have to tell?
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She grins, stretching her arms above her head.]
Well, you'd find out if you won, wouldn't you?
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Oh, are we combining the two, then?
[A challenge, she'll take, and the idea of it puts a spark in her eyes.]
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That was my thought! [she grins.] You like it, I take it?
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Um...actually, we both have fairly deft hands, don't we?
[Yeah that line wouldn't work if their skillsets are similar. So much for hitting the ground running.]
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[K'pandolu's just grinning, amused by the idea- and thinking a little more of needles herself, but it comes to much the same thing, doesn't it?]
Still, that means neither of us has too much of an advantage, right? It's all down to skill.
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[What is a proper challenge without a bit of the unknown?]
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[She picks herself up and shakes herself out, getting ready to go again.]
Ready?
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Ready! I'll take the one southeast of here and we'll see who gets the most!
[Ideally, they should wind up with about the same...except Sayano hasn't been paying as much attention to learning the tricks of the trade and she'll come away with a perfectly average yield.]
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[K'pandolu salutes, and sets to work on her own patch. She's keeping an eye out for extra shards- it's always a nice bonus! It's a good yield. She gives Sayano's yield a curious look, nodding.]
That's not bad! I think I may have found a few more, though. Shall we count them?
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Halfway through counting, she looks up at K'pandolu's haul.]
...You're right, it looks like you did find more. I couldn't find any more than four at a time. So - I owe you a story, don't I?
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It looks like it- but not to worry! I'm sure you'll learn how to spot more in time. [She nods, gathering the shards into a pile again.] Yes, please! Perhaps something from your childhood?
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[She gathers up her own pile as she thinks of a suitably interesting story.]
Well there was the time I saw a Lalafell for the first time. In my own defense, I was no older than five, but- ...well, I.
[She smiles weakly.]
...I thought they were children, too. They were - rightfully - offended.
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[she huffs, a little amused, before she gives a thoughtful hum.]
So- there weren't many Lalafell around where you grew up? Remind me where that was?
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[She has to pause to think about that, though. It checked out, of course, the Shroud would have been the place to move from if she hadn't seen very many Lalafell, but...how did her family come as complete strangers to the Shroud and not see resistance from anyone or, more importantly, anything?]
We were lucky, I think. Or maybe it was my Echo?
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[It's definitely odd. K'pandolu makes a soft sound.]
Well- if you treated the woods well, I imagine you'd have been fine… I've only ever heard stories of how it was, though.
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[She looks up at the sky, unnervingly clear in light of her memory.]
...Dalamud hung so low in the sky, its shadow interfered during the day. It was already disturbing the aether in some sense- none of us really had a good sense for it but my brother's always had...something of a knack. Something that should be trained, but- no, he's too pacifistic. He said something felt "wrong". Did you get that feeling, too? Or do you think it was just the foreboding from, well, having a monstrous thing threatening to fall on all of Eorzea?
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[She glances up as well, tail flicking.]
Me…? Not exactly- I wouldn't say I had that sort of knack. And we were a lot further away- not in Vylbrand proper- though it was hard to miss that something was wrong, from observing the world… Of course, it's possible he was picking up on something! Because- Dalamud did after the land strangely, from all I've heard.
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[That's kind of somber for her. Her tail's tip flicks.]
But, even if they may not match someone else's memories, they're still mine!
[That's better. She rolls one of her collected shards between her fingers.]
Where were you, then?
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[K'pandolu stills, her tail flicking, turning watchful.]
Yours, and no one else's- and none have the right to take that from you.
[She shakes that off after a moment- humming thoughtfully.]
Oh- one of the islands to the south of the mainland. We could just about see Dalamud descending there.
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I'm surprised you couldn't see it from everywhere at its size. We were in Ul'dah when it struck. My- [she falters for a second.] -friend, who introduced me to adventuring, he said we should leave for our own safety. That, because it was a dragon, or the shade of one, that caused all this destruction, Eorzeans might turn against Au Ra.
[She pauses, and smiles a bit.]
You have exactly one guess as to where he was from.
We took his advice and left for a while, stayed away from large cities while we were in Eorzean borders. We could have just barely missed crossing paths, if you were living off the mainland, too.
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It was very distinct! As though it wanted to be seen, perhaps. [she straightens a little as Sayano goes on, tail twitching.] Ul'dah- that would've been a lot closer. And- there were a lot of troubles, weren't there? I've only heard rumours, but- your friend was probably right to say that.
[she gives Sayano a wry grin.] Ishgard?
We could have! It sounds a little nice, getting to meet you earlier- er, if you wouldn't have minded the rest of our part of the family, anyhow.
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[Other than his sympathizing with Au Ra, of course...]
What was your family like, K'pandolu?
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