049.1 Aaeru

[Corwin]

[20:12] <Kotono> Neveril and Aaeru thus return to the book as desired. Neveril follows along with Aaeru, pausing occasionally to itch and scratch at the edge of her polished new armor. A little look of pique crosses her face each time, making her squirm and wriggle before hurrying to catch up to Aaeru. As you reach the book she sighs again, pausing to repeat herself.
[20:13] <Aaeru> "Need a hand?" Aaeru offers, grinning.
[20:14] <Kotono> "It's just...it itches!" Neveril frowns, "I start squirming because I'm not used to it, then I start sweating, and the sweat gets itchy under the armor and in all the warm creases."
[20:15] * Aaeru can't help but be happy she doesn't have to deal with anything like that. She can, however, help Neve with a handy and diligent application of Prestidigitation! "Is that better? I can do it now and again!"
[20:16] <Kotono> "It is," Neve sighs happily, closing the door behind her. Once in she eyes the book, "I suppose I could just take it off, but I'm supposed to be getting used to it."
[20:18] * Aaeru can't think of a way to offer her help without being misunderstood, and finds herself nodding.
[20:18] <Kotono> Going to sit, "Why don't you go first, Aaeru?" Neveril suggests, "I have this," A tap on her metallic breastplate now, "To keep me busy."
[20:19] <Aaeru> "Have fun with it!" Aaeru responds, focusing all of her mind to give this a try.
[20:22] <Kotono> OOC: Roll. +3 mod, as you may remember.
[20:22] <Aaeru> roll 1d20+3 I actually didn't, sorry!
[20:22] * Hatbot --> "Aaeru rolls 1d20+3 I actually didn't, sorry! and gets 9." [1d20=6]
[20:25] <Kotono> Hours and hours pass as Aaeru studies. On one hand, it is easier. Aaeru feels as if she's beginning to understand it...but for all her effort, in the end it is for naught. All becomes a swirling mess of pages and knowledge, so much and so potent! (More)
[20:25] <Kotono> roll 2d4 int and wis damage owwies
[20:25] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d4 int and wis damage owwies and gets 4." [2d4=2, 2]
[20:27] <Aaeru> "I think I, like, learned how much I don't know," Aaeru finally says, moving away from the book with a frown.
[20:31] <Kotono> Neveril is there, helping Aaeru down. "It's a hard book to master," she consoles, "It's my turn now, just rest."
[20:32] * Aaeru sighs in regret, but then gets her disappointment behind her and gives Neve a thumbs up sign. "Give it your best!"
[20:36] <Kotono> roll 1d20+6
[20:36] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+6 and gets 14." [1d20=8]
[20:36] <Kotono> roll 2d4
[20:36] * Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 2d4 and gets 4." [2d4=1, 3]
[20:39] <Kotono> Eight hours pass. At the end Neveril sits back, massaging her head, "Aaah, headache..!" she groans, "My head spins!"
[20:42] * Aaeru stirs. "No luck, huh?" she asks, rubbing at her eyes. "Ah well." She can do something about the physical pain, at least, and presses the back of her hand to Neve's forehead. Her touch soothing the headache, she asks, "Wanna do anything after all that reading? Like take a swim or something? I kinda wanna go see your old home!"
[20:43] <Kotono> "What I want to do is go home and sleep off this headache," Neve replies softly, "Then we'll worry about tomorrow."
[20:44] <Aaeru> "Okay!" Aaeru easily agrees, looping her arm through Neve's. "Let's go?"

[Corwin]

[21:03] <Kotono> It takes most of the next day to catch up to Marianne. When you find her, she's lying atop the roof of her home. The day is brisk, chill and unusually sunny. Marianne lies back on the slanted roof, staring up at the sky.
[21:06] * Aaeru bestows herself with the power of flight, even if only for a few precious minutes, and floats upwards. Not stepping atop the roof, she indicates it, asking, "Can I?"
[21:07] <Kotono> Marianne pats the roof besides her, "You can."
[21:08] <Aaeru> "Thanks!" Smiling in gratitude, Aaeru lands by her side and immediately asks, "What are you doing?"
[21:23] <Kotono> "Thinking," Marianne says quietly, "I've found I have a lot to reflect on."
[21:26] <Aaeru> "I figured. I guess I did, too?" Aaeru rests her head back on her hand, sprawling over the roof somewhat haphazardly. "Wanna talk about it? If I can help you figure some stuff out, that'll be great!"
[20:04] <Kotono> "Things." Such a statement begs more, which comes after a little more reflection. "Just wondering at the fairness of the world, or the severe lack thereof."
[20:06] * Aaeru tilts her head slightly to have a better view of Marianne. "But hey, why would the world be fair?" she asks her back. "Like, if everything was really good and so were all the people and there were no problems then it wouldn't be our world, right? It would be, I dunno, Celestia or the House of Nature or other places like that?"
[20:11] <Kotono> "Naturally," Marianne says, voice dry as a desert wind. "That gaudy little toad of a man, Dolomir? He is right about something - Tymora favors who she favors, and mercy help you if you aren't one of them."
[20:12] * Aaeru shrugs. "You sure about that? I mean, I don't think she likes me much? But hey, I'm still here! Even after all those people tried to kill me! And I have Neve. And I have my friends. And I have people I'm helping! I'm pretty lucky even without Tymora, right? So it's all about me, right? What I do, like, with my life and stuff?"
[20:17] <Kotono> "You're lucky, no matter how much has tried to kill you," Marianne agrees with a moment's smile, "What do any of us do? We live our lives. As long as we're alive, we live. As long as we live, we keep going."
[20:19] <Aaeru> "And it's fun! We can make friends because we're alive! I met everyone at Whimsical Sweets, and everyone at the House of Suffering, and you and Lyris, and Yuria, and lots more! And we help people, too! That always feels so great! You like it too, right? The fun parts of life?"
[20:22] <Kotono> "If you don't, what's the point of living?" Marianne smirks as she looks up, "You may as well fall on your sword and leave life to those who care for it."
[20:25] <Aaeru> "Yep, pretty much," Aaeru agrees. "It's all up to us! If you wanna make the world more fair or whatever, that too. It's how I think. You can do all sorts of things, and start small, and just change things. But I'm no good at the planning thing so I can only help out at the temple and donate and pick the jobs where I can help others. If you've got better ideas, though, I'll totally be there and we could do lots more!"
[20:31] <Kotono> "Mmm-hmmm," Marianne murmurs to that, no other reply at first. She stares at the sunny blue sky, even as a chilly wind blows. "Winter's coming. Will you really be alright in that cove of yours? It can reach freezing when we get cold snaps."
[20:34] <Aaeru> "Well, I kinda did it before," Aaeru muses, thinking back. "It's my third year here!" She laughs. "I wonder why I never came across you guys. I'm sure we would've been great friends from the start!" Her laughter trails off, and she looks a bit pensieve. "But it's a good point, I guess. I know I trained myself to, like, never be cold or hot, except when I'm Hell, but that's also kinda bad because I forget that Neve didn't train like that. I forgot that she needed to eat once and I felt really bad after, so thanks for reminding me! What should I do?"
[20:40] <Kotono> Marianne smiles during all of that, "Make sure she stays fed, really. Make sure there's always food in the cove. Somehow," With a half smile as she glances at Aaeru, "I can believe you forgot."
[20:42] <Aaeru> "I was just happy walking with her, you know?" Aaeru says defensively, though she has to smile. "But we totally found some food once she said she was hungry!"
[20:51] <Kotono> "I imagine." Chuckling at all of that, "Lyris learned to hunt for that reason. She's devastatingly good at it."
[20:52] <Aaeru> "Hehe." Aaeru smiles wider still with pride. "I'm, like, a natural or something!"
[20:55] <Kotono> "Mmmm." Letting her eyes close and going quiet for a few moments, basking in the cold sunshine, "What do you think of our newest benefactor?"
[20:56] <Aaeru> "Huh?" Aaeru thinks really hard about what Marianne could be talking about, and tries to guess from context. "You mean Vessy?"
[20:58] <Kotono> "Yes, Veserya." Marianne says, "She has come unbidden and offering support. What else can I call her but a benefactor?"
[20:59] * Aaeru files that word away. "I don't know lots of elves. She's, like, the first one I actually talked to for more than, I dunno, a couple minutes? She's very nice! We'll all be great friends!"
[21:04] <Kotono> "She does seem agreeable," Marianne's own words back are lazy, eyes staying quite pleasantly shut. "If it were a warmer, this would be a perfect afternoon for a nap."
[21:05] <Aaeru> "You're surprisingly like a cat!" Aaeru blurts out before she could stop herself.
[21:06] <Kotono> That gets one eye to open, "Really?" Marianne's voice is the height of dryness, sitting up on her elbows a little bit.
[21:09] <Aaeru> "Totally!" Aaeru insists, nodding her head several times rapidly. "I had no idea at first, but it all makes sense now! Like, how you go for the high places and how you're kinda lazy when you're not doing something important or how you just act, you know, in that draw attention to you without trying casual way cats do! Hey! Do you think everyone's like some cute animal? What's mine, then?"
[21:13] <Kotono> You draw a blink from Marianne as she settles on not replying and lying back. Only after that does she speak, "You remind me of a good dog. Loyal, quick, protective..."
[21:15] * Aaeru turns until she is fully on her side and facing Marianne. She grins, nodding once more. "Yeah, sure thing. I'm great with dogs! Ah, but I don't bite, and I don't hate cats either! If I can, I want to make them all my friends, dogs and cats!"
[21:19] <Kotono> "Meow." Marianne has a slight smile on her face, blowing out a breath before turning a bit to Aaeru, "What does that make Neveril?"
[21:23] * Aaeru taps her lips in thought. "Dolphin? Uh, because they're really playful and smart, but normal people don't see them a lot because they stay away from them? And they're very cute, too! Adorable's a good word, too!" Aaeru nods to herself in satisfaction, before asking, "Please become good friends with her, too! You and Lyris!"
[21:34] <Kotono> "Time will tell," Marianne says, but softens after that. Sitting up and licking her lips clean, "Speaking of, I haven't seen her most of the day."
[21:37] <Aaeru> "Lyris? Think she found a date while we kept trying to look for one? That'd be kinda funny!"
[21:40] <Kotono> "She does prefer to do things herself," Marianne admits, "She was piqued about how her last relationship crumbled under these circumstances."
[21:41] <Aaeru> "Hey, you know, if your boyfriend can't get over you missing a date to save an important friend, you shouldn't, like, be with him."
[21:59] <Kotono> "Indeed," Marianne says, "Neveril has patience?"
[22:01] * Aaeru blushes at Marianne's words. "I'm not perfect, alright? But I really try my best! I always try my best! For her, too, of course!"

[Corwin]

[20:08] <Kotono> "You're lucky. Patience is a rare quailty," Marianne admits as she smirks at that blush, "Very lucky."
[20:09] * Aaeru rolls her eyes, still quite flushed. "Yeah. Like I don't know that? Yeah, it is."
[20:12] <Kotono> With a smirk that threatens to grow too large for her face, "Especially one of that persuasion. I would imagine that the pool of lesbians is much lower than the pool of men for normal women to choose from. Would you call it Ilmater's blessing?"
[20:16] * Aaeru winces. "I kinda hope he's not, like, involved in my life that way? And you know, it's not like it's about math. I'm sure, like, Sylvie could go on about how it actually is true, but it probably doesn't really matter. Like, if there's so many more men around then why are most of my friends single? So, like, if you liked girls and was totally about not finding one I'm sure it'll be totally fine!"
[20:25] <Kotono> "It's simple," Marianne laughs as she looks up at the sky, "Most men are pricks, or only think with their prick. One is worthless to everyone, the other is only useful if you need a fun night. What's left are the good men, and good men are always in short supply.:
[20:26] <Aaeru> "Just like the really good girls?" Aaeru asks with a grin.
[20:28] <Kotono> "I suspect most women are much easier to get along with like that," Marianne's own observation is idle, "If nothing else, they aren't thinking with the wrong head."
[20:31] * Aaeru doesn't really think women are superior in some way, but decides not to argue over the point. Marianne is free to believe what she likes, after all. "Hey, speaking of that," she says instead, "you know I meant all I said, right? The whole bit about, like, helping there if you need it? Like, for making the world better, or even personally and stuff? Anything! I'll be there for sure!"
[20:34] <Kotono> "We shall see what the days bring," Marianne says with a smile.