Fistful of Posies

Log Info

• Title: Fistful of Posies
• Emitter: Aryia
• Characters: Aryia, Andelena
• Place: Mountain Road
• Time: February 28th, 2022
• Summary: Andelena finds Aryia punching away at some boulders on the Mountain Road for some miners. Picking her jaw up and making sure she didn't drop the flowers she bought, Andelena chats the the mute woman. Finding some similarities in their upbringing, Aryia suggests that the Sunguard stay and watch for the time being, she might learn a thing or two.

Mountain Road, Late Morning

It's a bright yet crisp day. The clouds lazily coming and going on the horizon, giving the sun a cushion to take the edge off its intensity. The Mountain Road that connects the nobility district to the rest of the rabble down below. The road has its own offshoots that go to various places: Miki's shop, the Vardaman temple, various other living arrangements and buildings.

There's one offshoot that's built into the mountain itself, the path having an open sky for just a few feet before opens up wide. Rocks and broken stone are scattered about the ground, and a faint dust lingers in the air.

Two Khazad are munching on breakfast sasuages and bread, leaning against the entrance with their pickaxes leaned against the wall chatting idle. A sign driven into the stone reads 'Under construction' above them.

"When did they 'ire 'er?"

The other shrug. "Beats me lad, boss jus' told us to clean up once the lass is done."

There's the occasional sound of rocks tumbling against one another coming from within the quarry.

The Sunguard Andelena is here for... reasons.

That much is evident by the fact she's just stepped out of a small flower shop nearby with a small bouquet of flowers. It's an odd situation, but Andelena's glare at anyone whose gaze lingers on her too long seems to put an end to anyone who wants to comment on it. She's stopped at the construction site and just stares at the idle pickaxe-wielding khazad for a moment before she asks, "You wouldn't happen to know if there's a shadow elf back there beating on those rocks, would you?"

Both perk up at being addressed, one dwarf with a metal hard hat with a twirly and plump dark mustache grunts. "Aye," he jabs a thumb into the quarry. "She's in thar. If ya wanna talk to 'er, be my guest. But ah- give 'er a good warning if ya get near 'er."

"She found an vein o' iron, I jus' wanted ta look at it...!" the other Khazad, a woman with two long braided locks that flank her face, pouts.

He huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Huh." The expression on Andelena's face suggests she wasn't /quite/ expecting Aryia to actually be in there--or maybe she was still figuring out the likelihood that Aryia's really the one behind all that racket.

The Sunguard nods in greeting/parting to the khazad and walks closer to the quarry, still holding the flowers in hand. "Ey! Aryia! You breaking boulders in there or what?" she calls out.

Both of the miners step out of the way, one booting their pickaxe clear as they resume their mid-morning meal.

The quarry opens up: not too deep and wide just yet, perhaps a few tens of feet of open space. Though, dust litters the ground, broken shale and stone littering the floor. There are sections where the walls are mined out, but large stones and boulders that have fallen in or been unearthed have been left out. Most have been reduced to a pile of rubble and rocks, and another one in the process of being pulverized.

Clad in a mere black tank top with her green jacket tied around her waist is a familiar looking scarred shadow elf. Rivulets of murky grey and brown sweat drip and fling off from the dust caked on her as she hops to the side with her fists raised, both wreathed in a silver light. Similarly hued lines of energy pulse on her face and trail off down her neck and wrap around her arms.

Then she snaps forward, pun-pun-punching the stone, each strike making a flash of near-blinding light erupt. A fist cocks back-

>CRACK<

A large chunk of the rock crumbles after a blitz fast haymaker.

The pugilist breathes heavily, fists still raised as she looks over her shoulder, eyes shining beyond bright, sweat dripping off her chin in droves.

She simply up-nods.

Andelena watches the display and, well, she's slack-jawed. She has to remember to keep her hand curled around the bouquet, lest she drop it.

"Well, now I can tell Brydion I've seen it in person," she quips. It's the first thing that comes to mind. The Sunguard's stance relaxes a little--as much as she can considering she's in full armor and Sunguard cloak despite the fact she doesn't seem to be 'on duty' at the moment.

She reaches into her satchel underneath her cloak and pulls out a small hand towel. "It's clean," she announces before she tosses it over to Aryia. "Those two outside looked positively bored. Did whoever hire you know /what/ they were getting?"

Aryia rolls her shoulders as she shakes herself loose, a shimmering hand snapping out to catch the tossed towel as she approaches. She wipes her face off, a line of dust now caked onto the fabric as she keeps her breath steady. "Thanks," she motions with a free hand, the bright glow fading on the down swing. Though, the silver lines stay for the time being.

She glances to the entrance, then lightly shrugs. "Used to be a show, now it's just business. They let me punch stuff up here and a little bit of coin, they get the hard rocks reduced to something manageable."

She glances to the flowers, and raises a brow. <Handpseech>

Andelena nods a little, making an expression that amounts to an inaudible "not bad." "Sounds like a good little deal. Especially since those guys at the Colosseum won't let you go all-out anymore. What's the fuckin' point of having a training area if you can't train?"

She looks down to the flowers and a tiny flush colors her cheeks. Not exactly a common thing to see on Andelena. "Ah, yeah, these. I, uh, I just happened to be here and I decided to get some flowers for Bry. He does sappy shit for me all the time so... might as well return the favor."

Aryia wipes down her arms, the hand towel now properly sullied. She lightly sighs. "Because when I want to train and push myself, I end up breaking all of their things: the walls, the structure, targets for the others. It gets expensive for them, and for me."

The silvery-lined mul blinks, and a corner of her lips quirks upwards faintly. "Cute. Don't forget a vase or a cup or something, else he'll have to awkwardly toss them when they wither." <Handspeech>

"Shit, right. I guess I'll like, reuse that bottle of wine or something," Andelena says, looking off to the side for a moment. "I guess I could find another shop to get a vase--"

Andelena looks at Aryia. "No wait. The jars I use to hold my oats. I could use one of those. Fucking /smart/."

Then she seems to remember why she's here. Andelena shakes her head. "Fuck am I doing. You're over here punching boulders to dust and I'm trying to figure out how to present these damn flowers."

Aryia smiles more, shining eyes crinkling. "Smart," she gestures before tapping her temple with a finger.

The pugilist tilts her head to the side, her stepping forward and holding out the soiled towel towards Andelena. "Okay? And?" she gestures dryly, like the difference in severity and the reality of the stark dichotomy was nothing more than choosing what colors the flowers should be. "Would you rather I ignore you?" <Handsppeech>

Andelena blinks a few times. "No, I just... I dunno. I just kind of realized here you are working your ass off and I'm just out here carrying around flowers and worrying about my man like I'm some kind of airheaded little ditz with big tits. If I was serious about this whole 'protecting people' thing, I should probably be trying harder, right?"

She laughs a little. "Just was a thought that occurred to me, really. I want to be as strong as you, if not stronger, so I have to work to get there."

Of course, the Sunguard's saying this like she isn't /already/ more muscular than most people.

Aryia stares at Andelena. Silent, unmoving. A bit off putting as she looks not just at her, but through her. Cutting through the chaff. With straightforward signs, she gestures firmly, "What's the point of protecting people if you don't have people to protect."

A glance to a pile of rock and dust. "I have times where I laze with my lover. Small moments drive the big ones."

The much smaller woman looks Andelena over. "Then work at it when your heart is in it. Practicing while in bad form bakes in problems for later." <Handspeech>

"Believe me, I know /all/ about bad form as of late." Andelena grins. "Gods know you've been making me work to not be halfway so sloppy. I may have years of experience at this, but, you know, I was busting small-time shit. Was mostly just making nobles shit their pants as I told them they needed to pay up the taxes they were embezzling or I'd make 'em pay."

She crosses her arms, still too smug at the recollection of what can only be a memory of a noble's slacks turning from white to brown. "Good fucking times. You would have loved it too, I bet, Aryia. Nothing fucking better than the corrupt getting their dues."

Aryia's lips twist into a light smirk. "That sounds hilarious. I hate nobles. I broke one's leg once here. Worth it."

A little sigh leaves her through her nose, her scratching her silver-lined cheek with a hand. "Small stuff is how you start to tackle the big stuff though. When I got here, I did a lot of minor things. Shit, a fucking grub almost killed me. A. Grub." She frowns and rubs at her outer thigh. <Handspeech>

"Me-fuckin'-too, Aryia. I was born noble, and I got disowned for wanting to marry Bry on top of never living up to my parents' expectations--and good fucking riddance, honest. I sleep well at night knowing every coin I have is coin I fucking earned and not stole from some hardworking common person just because I happened to be born in the house they work in." Andelena makes a dismissive sound. "Fat fucking sack of crap. I do what I do for the people and not for the few."

Once that rant rolls out of her mouth, she shakes her head. "Yeah, gotta work your way up and all. Although, of course, I can hardly picture you getting fucked up by a grub /now/--that's progression for you. It's like walking into the middle of a play like a lost child and you don't know what's going on."

Aryia looks at Andelena, her tilting her head to the side as she listens to the rant. She nods slowly, more in 'I'm listening' and less 'I agree with you'. "I was born noble too," she comments and doesn't extrapolate upon.

Her face colors slightly: a sight hard to tell under the silver lines of energy that still softly pulse. "It grabbed onto my leg and wouldn't let go," she lamely explains. "Really? It feels more like walking into a fire pit and everyone is dancing in it while you're trying to not burn alive." <Handspeech>

"Well, shit, I would totally expect a grub trying to burrow to feel like that," Andelena says with a massive cringe on her face. "God. That had to fucking suck."

She shakes like she's trying to dismiss the sensation she's conjured up in her head. "Anyway. I guess you get it too then, right? Just... I prefer being here on the ground with regular people. I like helping people who need it. I like protecting people who need it. Not everyone can afford to hire bodyguards and not everyone is simply capable of becoming a badass who can defend themselves."

"Or crush boulders," she adds with a grin.

Aryia, in an expression that belies her usual gruff and grit exterior, juts her bottom lip out and performs the most massive pout one could manifest. "It fucking sucked a lot and I cried like a little bitch afterwards."

The mute shakes her head as well, looking back to the boulders. She snorts and thumbs her nose. "Took a lot to get to crushing boulders."

A pause. Then an admittance from moving fingers and twisting gestures. "I just don't want to be beholden to anything. I want my freedom to be the best me I can be. I don't care about the altruistic bits. That left me a long time ago."

A little shrug. "Stay and learn. Leave and love. It matters none on the how, just that something is done and hands are not idle." <Handspeech>

Another nod from the Sunguard. It's her turn to listen--well, to watch, but it's listening. Hands speak, too.

"Yeah. I can understand that. It's hard to focus on altruism if you're just focused on surviving and caring for you and yours. 'S why I don't preach about Daeus at every turn like they might want me to. Nothing more fucking annoying than some self-righteous piece of shit, especially if they're not practicing what they're preaching. There are plenty of people who get by without care from the gods. Doesn't make 'em any worse than me, nor am I better than 'em."

Andelena offers a smile. "Least, that's what I think. I know there are plenty of jackasses who would disagree."

Aryia shrugs lightly. "I'm glad you don't, else I wouldn't be teaching you. Nothing frustrates me more than someone preaching at me," she gestures slowly. The mention of such a thing brings to light the fact the mul'neissa has made no off comments of any common deific sayings, harbors no sigils or symbols, nor has she states her alignment on any sort of constellation.

That addendum makes her smile lightly. "And those assholes would be wrong if they did disagree."

She looks over her shoulder to the remains of what she was beating up on. "I got to finish up with these. Feel free to stay and watch, might learn a thing or two. Just... don't try and copy me, you'll shatter your hands." <Handspeech>

"Sure, I'll watch," Andelena says. "For a while, that is. Should probably go toss these things in a jar and some water at some point or I'm gonna be giving Bry some dead flowers."

And they say romance is dead.

The Sunguard happily stands and watches the seeming atheist go to town on the boulders. After all, there's nothing like a free show.

-End Scene-