044.2 "Is there, like, an empire down there?"

[Corwin]

[20:08] <Kotono> Ah, the early evening. Night has fallen as Whurric come to Whimsical Sweets. Awaiting him there is Yuria - wearing long blue gown, smiling and without her scythe. "Hi!" she waves as Whurric comes in.
[20:13] <Whurric> "Evening, lass!" Whurric greets with a wave as he approaches, dressed in some simple generic clothes, nothing fancy, but at least more appropriate than armor and weapon in hand, and his beard looks a bit more elegant than usual with it being combed and tied...well stylishly for a dwarf anyhow. Who knows what a human would think of it.
[20:14] <Whurric> "That dress looks rather pretty on you! I feel like I didn't dress up enough!" he adds with a laugh as he reaches her.
[20:17] <Kotono> It's a long gown that reaches to her feet, nothing but elegant, swaying blue. It clings to her figure in the right places as she blushes and smile, "Like, totally! You should be be wearing something nice with a cape!"
[20:21] <Whurric> "Ah, I lack capes in my closet, I'm afraid! Well, if we see a shop that's still open at this time and y'think it'd look good on me, I'll waltz in and buy it, though I figure people will be too busy looking at the pretty girl besides me t'spare me any thought," Whurric says with another round of short laughs. "Where are we off to anyway?" he asks.
[20:22] <Kotono> With a half smile at that, "Well, I thought we'd go get some dinner first!"
[20:24] * Whurric nods. "Works for me! Y'have any thoughts on the place, or want me to pick one? I probably don't know the town as well as you even with the stuff that crazy book stuck in my head, but I'm sure I could pick something nicely if it came t'that," he replies with a smile as he offers his arm to Yuria.
[20:26] <Kotono> "Oh, I know a great spot!" Yuria says with a smile, "Like, I just know it'll be nice!" Taking his arm, leaning to the side a little to make it work, "Let's go!"
[20:29] <Whurric> "Alright then, let's!" he replies, continuing to smile as he lets her lead, as part of him hopes his brother's having fun with the others...and not doing anything silly due to his lack of knowledge of human customs. Well, Janson knows him well enough to do damage control surely, he has more important things to keep in mind like making sure Yuria enjoys herself.
[20:31] <Kotono> You go to the New City. Here on the curve of the bay is a restaurant, just against the edge. Behind it are several tables, a beautiful view of the nighttime bay. Candles all about provide light, as a well dressed waiter bows and takes you to a table. One seated Yuria looks out over the bay, "Mmm. It's nice watching the waves, isn't it?"
[20:36] <Whurric> "It is," Whurric agrees easily. "The sound of them crashing into the shore and drawing back into the next is very relaxing as well, and the light from the night sky adds well to the atmosphere from the candle lights. I can see why you like it. Y'come here often, or just on special occassions?" His smile pulls into a bit of a roguish grin at the last part, partly teasing.
[20:37] <Kotono> "First time," Yuria blushes a little, "Like, I came by when I first got here, but there wasn't much point coming alone." Gaze out over the waves, "There's like, no ocean underground, is there?"
[20:40] * Whurric frowns a little at the question, not quite understanding it. "What d'you mean, lass?" he asks, leaning a little forward as he strokes his beard at the mention of an underground ocean. "You mean if the bay goes deep under?"
[20:44] <Kotono> "I mean, like, do you have an ocean underground, or even like an ocean of lava or something?"Yuria says, "But isn't it, like, dry underground?"
[20:47] * Whurric nods, understanding now. "Ah, well, there are times that water seeps deep into the earth, sometimes enough to form lakes, we even have a small one back home...can't say I recall ever hearing of an ocean, but if a lake or river isn't out of the question, there might be one out somewhere in the world..."
[20:48] <Whurric> "It's a pretty big world, and I've not seen enough of it, I dare say!"
[20:55] <Kotono> "Oooooh." Yuria nods along, "I was just wondering." As she looks out she smiles a little bit, "So tell me, what do you think of Balmuria?"
[20:59] <Whurric> "I like it! I'd only been her once before, but only for a little bit while I was doing a job with some group I was working with from Parsifal. Traveled a bit here and there, but Balmuria seems the most interesting place I've been to, not that I've been to that many places either, to be honest. What about you? Like it as much as your old home?"
[21:02] <Kotono> At this dinenr comes - looks like fresh seafood, nicely cooked up. Lots of fresh vegetables, too. Yuria looks out at the sea, "No." Her voice goes quieter, "I mean, it's not, like, a bad place to live. But my enemies are here, you know? Everyone who ruined the Empire is treated like gods. Captains Alicia and Seira, Commander Oberuth..." A stop and a shake of her head, "Ugh. People that ruined
[21:02] <Kotono> everything from the Empire."
[21:13] <Whurric> "Ah, that's true, there has been a lot of history between Balmuria and Malmuth, hasn't there? For what it's worth, it was a war, and war rarely has one side that's truly evil, just a lot of misery all around until one side finally has lost too much to keep going. I can't speak for 'em, never really met any of those you mentioned, but they may have just been trying to keep their own safe,
[21:13] <Whurric> and it's why they get treated so." Whurric pauses and shrugs. "That said, time heals all wounds, so with the right people guiding it, I wouldn't be surprised if your empire could make a comeback. Might not be to the same level, might be even better, all you can do is work to see it bloom, right?"
[21:15] <Kotono> "Yeah, gotta," Yuria says as she pauses to have a long drink of the sweet tea put before her. Her gaze travles back out to the sea, "Like, it just has to!"
[21:19] <Whurric> "Well, if nothing else, it's probably appropriate that you're gonna be earning money from Balmuria's pockets. You might be helping them with their problems with the work we do at Josa's shop, but your hard work also means Balmuria's helping to repay your empire, right?" Whurric says as he raises his cup. "So here's hoping jobs that follow will pay well and go well!"
[21:21] <Kotono> "Cheers," Yuria says, her normal smile gone. She takes a long draught from it, "What about you? Is there, like, an empire down there?"
[21:26] <Whurric> "Nah, no empires. Lots of communities, some of 'em large cities in their own right like our Irongates, but no empires. We have enough problems with others like goblins, shocker lizards, and tons of other pests to bother making trouble amongst ourselves."
[21:33] <Kotono> "Mmm-hmmm," Yuria drinks down, "Those damn electric pests." As she eats, "So like, what do you do when you're not doing things, huh?"
[21:44] <Whurric> "Y'mean besides fighting or training?" Whurric asks rhetorically as he muses the question. Finally he shrugs as he answers. "Mostly just hang around my brother, and we find some mischief to get ourselves into. But I like hearing jokes and drinking as well. And can't say I'm against spending time with a pretty girl. I'm a man of simple pleasures, honestly, just happy living my life from one moment to the next, y'know?"
[21:51] <Kotono> "Mmmm," Yuria listens to it, "Don't you have any hobbies or anything like that?"
[21:57] <Whurric> "Not really. I try stuff from time to time, but nothing's quite as enjoyable as the things I mentioned already," Whurric admits. "What about you, lass? What do you do on your off-time?"
[21:58] <Kotono> "Oh," With a giggle, "I like to men-watch, watch the ocean, and talk, of course," Nodding along, "You can do most of those on the road, which is, like, nice."
[22:02] <Whurric> "Being on the road's nice enough so long as there aren't any mind-controlling demons out to get you," Whurric agrees, before snorting, shaking his head. "Still can't believe Orval just jumped right in like that."
[22:04] <Kotono> "Agreed." Laughing ab it, "Did he really do that? What happened?"
[22:11] <Whurric> "Well, s'you know, we were camping out in the barbarian lands, watching over the client, bless the poor bastard's soul. We saw some light off in the distance before we were gonna turn in and went to investigate. Soon as we approach, all of a sudden, both Orval and Filazan rushed into the lake with all those naked nymphs! Couldn't even stop 'em, they were pretty much men possessed!
[22:11] <Whurric> Literally as Janson and I found out later, too late for Filazan, still sad to say."
[22:11] <Kotono> "Oh wow. That's like, really cheap. I mean, wow, that's when they really wanna get someone." Yuria whistles, "That's horrible of them! That's totally unfair!"
[22:13] <Whurric> "Glad we at least saved my brother, but jeez, I'd been expecting to have to save people from bears, giants, or -something- I could just hit. And I didn't really know anything about nymphs, certainly not enough to know something was screwy and they were succubi. I'm not sure but I think they hit us with some weaker version of what they hit my brother and Filazan with, cause we just turned and left the two to die."
[22:16] <Kotono> "That really wasn't fair," Yuria agrees, "Stupid sluts!" With a scowl, "I mean, like totally they could at least do something that makes sense, like being nice about it or charging for it or something! But no, they're just out there giving women a bad name and acting like trash!"
[22:16] <Whurric> "To be fair, we didn't think they were gonna die, but eh. Still a messy situation. And those creatures made my beard hairs stand in shivers once they were revealed. Mighty uncomfortable with the things they wanted me to do."
[22:17] <Whurric> "Ah, don't worry, they weren't real women, in the end, right? So don't think they really give women a bad name, don't you worry. I certainly don't think less of you after meeting them!"
[22:19] <Kotono> "Hmph," Eating some food and scowling, "LIke, a woman is a treasure, not a naked pool frolicer!"
[22:20] * Whurric just laughs at that.
[22:22] <Kotono> "What's so funny? Like oh my emperor, are women like housebound over there and forbidden from wearing clothing or something?!" Giving WHurric a glare, "Are dwarf women completely repressed?!"
[22:26] <Whurric> "No, no, not that. Peace, lass, I didn't mean anything bad about it," Whurric says, still laughing. "I just find it cute to see you get all huffy about it. The elders of Janson's village just went and blasted them into ash and that was that. Don't think it's something to really worry yourself over, lass."
[22:27] <Kotono> "Good! Hmph," Crossing her arms, "At least you aren't like those complete pricks in the desert! Women are supposed to be, like, pretty and quiet over there! Like, if you aren't popping out babies or sucking dick, you're totally supposed to be making them dinner!"
[22:30] * Whurric lets loose a whistle. "That's pretty harsh," he notes. "By the by... s'that something you should really say outloud like that in public?" he asks as he looks around discretely to see if people have started listening in since Yuria's been getting a little...heated up. It doesn't really bother him that much, but he figures it might bother Yuria once she calms down a bit.
[22:33] <Kotono> Oh, yo'ure getting a bit of attention. Gazes here and there, most either amused or annoyed. "Hmph," Yuria mutters, and in a lower voice, "Already had that happen a few times." Rubbing her jaw, "I totally got into a fight the first time I got tipsy and said that the Crimson Guard were a bunch of disloyal cocksuckers. I know I need to not run my mouth so much, like."
[22:38] <Whurric> "Happens to the best of us," he says, still looking amused. "And hey, as long as one enjoys themselves and doesn't end up in jail for it, it's not so bad, right?"
[22:39] * Whurric pauses and asks. "Did y'at least win the barfight and leave some poor men crying?"
[22:40] <Kotono> "Sorta. I knocked two of 'em out, then, like, I'm waking up with the Guard carrying me to the stockade! That was totally unfair, but at least they were nice to me. Balmurian guards are pretty nice as far as city guards go."
[22:41] <Whurric> "Ouch. Well, at least you weren't stuck there for long, right?" Whurric says sympathetically.
[22:42] <Kotono> "Not too long," Yuria says, rubbing the back of her head. "But it really wasn't fun."
[22:43] <Whurric> "I bet."
[22:44] <Kotono> As your food is finished, Yuria stands up, "How aboutw e go take a walk now," she says, tossing a few coins on the table.
[22:46] * Whurric nods though he looks at the coins. "I can pay for the both of us, lass, your company's payment enough tonight, and you've got more use to save every coin than I," Whurric says, bringing up the earlier conversation about restarting Malmuth.
[22:49] <Kotono> "Thanks!" Yuria scoops her coins up as the meal is paid for. You go ou tand walk now, and as you travel the streets, "Like," Breaking the silence, "Have you ever been in love before?"