OPEN ✿ february solvuun mingle

[aquaveiled]

WHO: Anyone in Solvunn!
WHAT: Mingle Meet & Greet for new and old Solvunn Summoned!
WHEN: Early through Mid-February
WHERE: Primary Settlement: The Drunken Lamb and Welcome Committee's Tree House

[ ooc; This is an open log so feel free to jump in and make your own top-levels! You do not need to have CR with Himeka, Wanda, Nero, or Rocket to stop by as it's right off one of the major roads in Solvunn and would be well-known to the locals, but you are free handwave a word of mouth to get your character there or to the tavern if needed. ]

i. The Drunken Lamb




If walls could talk, these certainly would. The Drunken Lamb, an old staple in the Primary Settlement is where many go to relax and chat after a long day's work. A cup of locally brewed ale and good conversation are a great way to pass the evening and some nights get livelier with heated arguments over local produce and game, and friendly contests over mead and cards. A few nights a week there may also be a musical performance by a bad or just an impromptu sing-along when someone gets the urge. Luckily if you're drunk enough knowing the words may not be necessary.

Don't forget to say hello to the there is an old ewe who hangs out by the front door, either outside or inside depending on the weather. Her name is Myrtle and if she spits on you it's considered good luck.

Though it is usually filled with locals, this evening has been set aside as a special gathering spot for the Summoned, old and new. A few locals will still be in attendance either out of habit or a curiosity about the commune's newest additions, but most of the patrons will be your fellow Summoned. As you enter the Tavern, you will be greeted by a member of the welcoming committee (they're doing shifts this time). (That is until the evening drags on. Later guests will find a table of bags with a sign that says "take one" because they can only handle so much.) In it you will find nice soaps from Wanda, a couple custom tea bags from Himeka, and an expertly drawn brochure explaining all you need to know about Solvunn in minimal detail, by the local acclaimed artist Nero. There is also one small slip of paper with a number on it. Be sure to keep it handy. Now you have been officially welcomed.

The atmosphere inside the tavern is warm, stone walls lit by torches and candles. Everyone is welcomed by the local tavern owner standing behind the counter. You're free to grab a drink or order dinner right away should you like. The tavern boasts some of the best mead and meat pies in the Primary Settlement. It's a great time to chat and get to know your new neighbors, but your hosts for the evening also have a few things planned.

If you want to try your hand at the tavern's beloved mead drinking contest, you are highly encouraged. Some of your fellow Summoned have even been crowned as champions before! They will be facing off one another as well as taking on other Summoned who are also capable of making poor decisions. But worry not! If alcohol isn't your thing (or even if it is), there are a few card and dice games available for any patrons to take up and play with one another. There is also a knife throwing board on the far wall. Because you know knives and mead work well together. For the musically inclined, Wanda has created some simple instruments for anyone to give us an impromptu performance, or an instrument of choice upon request. Sing us a song, piano-man!

Towards the end of the evening, you'll find out that the number you received is actually a raffle ticket! You have a chance to win one of the following prizes...

• A gigantic wheel of cheese from the Gardsbruk farm.
  
• A golden chocobo egg...for you to either incubate or eat.
  
• A "Nero will lift something heavy for you" certificate
  
• Small (non-game breaky) item transmuted by Wanda
  
• A "casting with fire" magic lesson from Himeka
  
• An afternoon with Rocket. What does this entail? Who knows. Could be dangerous. But isn't he just too cute?

If you want to put your character in for the raffle, please reply to this comment and we will roll for winners!


ii. The Tree House - Evening

If you haven't had quite enough of your friends and want a place to stay for the night, Himeka and Rocket have made themselves the designated drivers. (Designated to drive, sobriety non-withstanding.) In carts and carriages designed by Rocket and pulled by "Donut" the Thomas and "Porridge" the Chocobo, you'll all make your way out of town and along one of the roads towards the Secondary Settlement. The cool evening air may keep you awake through the wobbly ride but they will eventually veer off the main road into a grove of nearby trees just south of one of the lakes.

Welcome to the Tree House! Named the "Tree House" because they haven't decided anything differently. To some the tree house may be a familiar sight as many of Solvunn's Summoned helped build the homestead when the old Gardsbruk crew left that family farmland. To others, the image of crisscrossed rooms attached to the trunk of a large dark tree may seem ominous in the darkness, but the land lights up as if on cue when the carriages draw near. Built off of the land with local materials, local efforts, and a bit of extra magic to boot--the treehouse looks like it's been there for longer than it really has, welcoming anyone to stop by.

You may be greeted by Clover, "The Little Idiot" otherwise known as "Dot", a plethora of impossibly active lizards, or the resident menace on the property: Eli, the goat. He was originally a member of the Gardsbruk farm but decided to join the Summoned on their move. He thinks he owns the place and he would be correct, no structure seems off-limits in his mind and he has a way of staring unblinking at you from odd corners when you're least expecting it. It's highly likely that you will run into Eli at some point whether you want to or not. Make sure he doesn't try to eat your hat.

Once the carriages are set aside, you'll be given free range of the property. There is a fire pit by the garden and are several balconies open to the canopy that you can enjoy if you'd like to stay outside a little longer. This time of year may still be chilly, but there are several ways to stay warm. Wherever you go, the kitchen is serving hot cider and pastries that you can take with you

There are guest rooms available if you'd like to stay the night in a proper bed, but you are free to lay your head wherever you wish. There are comfy couches in the main living area and sometimes you may even find Nero napping in the shed. Just be careful, Eli sleeps there too.


iii. The Tree House - Morning

The day may start with some rustling around the house. Before the sun is up, some residents like to take trips to the nearby lake. You can join Himeka for early morning fishing or even go take a dip in the chilly waters yourself. In addition to fish, there are other creatures to find by the waterside, most who are friendly.

If you'd like to start your day with something a little less brisk, the underground sauna that Nero spent months working on is finally complete. (If you were here during their move, you may remember the large amount of holes dug around the property. He did have to find the perfect place for it.) Heated by magically imbued rocks and with wood sourced by surrounding trees, it's a great place to relax. There are also small rustic wooden tubs to bathe in if you'd like and there is one that is suspiciously raccoon-sized.

You can spend some time in the garden where you may find Wanda tending to flowers despite the season or run into a willy little shrieking weed. If he's in the ground, best let him stay where he is unless you want to hear him sing the song of his people.

If you'd like to stay inside, you can explore the rest of the tree house. Maybe you're adventurous enough to travel all the way to the top and sneak your way into Rocket's workshop. All sorts of scrap materials and projects are strewn about and he is very adamant that it is his space. So, tread lightly. (Though Dot wanders about freely.)

However you spend the morning, there will be a hearty breakfast served banquet style, so help yourself! It's the perfect time to wind down, share stories, and thank everyone for joining and being a part of what Solvunn has to offer.

You know. Other than all the weird gods and cult stuff.

But talking about that may be a good idea as well...any takers?

Comments

[furibund]

[ Perhaps, any other woman would balk at such a high number of fish needed. Nebula is not that kind of person - twenty sounds easy. A small number, correct to the number of people she's seen around. Perhaps another person would be aware of the frightfully determined Himeka and her cooking skills. ]

[ Nebula isn't. She's contemplative, head tilted low and in the direction of the river as if in calculation. Not unaware that the woman is somehow determined to include her in this little parade of food, but deciding it's really no problem of her own. (It is). ]

... I will catch your twenty fish.

[ She says it with confidence and all the seriousness of someone going into battle, because Nebula knows a challenge when she hears one. She isn't one to back down from one, either. As for the second challenge, ]

Don't waste time on me, I don't eat much.

[aquaveiled]

[ And that is music to her horns! Someone undaunted by the demands of repeated fishing attempts with only the goal in sight. Himeka brightens considerably, though mayhaps even for the very short time she's become aware of Nebula, she should have assumed this would be the reaction.

(Really, so much reminds her of how Estinien was in the early days. It brings a warm fondness with those memories.)

She smiles, distracted only momentarily as there's finally a decent tug on her line. Himeka stands up as she reels in the catch, a decent sized perch from a quick overview. She pulls the fish onto her lap, heedless of the dirt and water on her skirts as she removes the hook before placing it into the bucket with the others. ]

Food is never wasted on anyone.

[ Another statement of fact. ]

If you don't eat much, then it makes every bite that much more important.

[ This is not an argument Nebula will win, but she's welcome to try. ]

[furibund]

[ Nebula... watches and perhaps her lack of real fishing knowledge becomes apparent as she does watch Himeka. She's not appalled by the dirt and grime the other woman puts on her clothing, nor is she much else, but her head tilts towards the bucket... and then down to her poor, squirming friend. ]

[ And she moves to dump it in with its friends in Himeka's bucket. ]

[ She hates that the other speaks facts she can not rebute, even if she grunts in acknowledgement. ]

Not really.

[ She counters, because this she can refute. ] As long as it keeps me from starving, that's all that matters.

[ Not exactly true, not a lie either. She knows now the difference in tasting food - has had experiences with food that tastes good or bad. But she is not a person who goes out of her way to try new foods, may never be, because she was taught the lesson of food being a necessity and what it means to be without in as harsh a manner as anyone could be. ]

[ It's a commodity not to be wasted, and to be given to those most in need. That's not herself (she tells herself). ]

[aquaveiled]

[ Unraveling Nebula's thoughts on food does confirm her suspicions a bit--it's utilitarian, but it's also a big opportunity, in part because Himeka simply cannot imagine someone would never care about delicious food if they had the chance to sample it. Now, she admits what someone considers delicious will vary, but that's all part of the fun...getting to find out what Nebula would like!

It's definitely a project that Nebula isn't getting the chance to consent to. Sorry. ]

You think so?

[ Himeka muses aloud as she resets her line, clearly unconvinced herself. ]

There are a lot of ways to cook one type of fish, you know? And what someone may do with it can depend a lot on what tools they have available, what other ingredients, where they grew up, if they lived with family...

[ Her next cast is smooth as the lure bounces out towards the center of the lake. ]

You can learn a lot about someone by what they like to eat, or a new town or country by what dishes they like to cook. Food can say a lot without saying anything at all.

[furibund]

[ And this will be how she never comes to visit Rocket again. ]

[ Nebula doesn't immediately answer for two reasons: One, she thinks it's pointless to. Yes she does believe that. And two, Himeka goes on to express a sentiment... that makes some sort of logical sense, but isn't something Nebula remembers ever experiencing. ]

[ But then the one memory she really has of her home world is the day she was taken from it. She won't even let herself wonder what could have been. ]

[ She stews a moment. ]

It does not tell you what it is important.

[ Finally, she returns, steadily: ] If you can trust someone.

[ Well, maybe if they do or don't poison you that helps but she's of course not meaning that one specifically. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ Himeka does believe she has an irrefutable stance, though she does understand that circumstances definitely dictate the ability to relate to it. She does know what it's like when food can be scarce, what with Sui-no-Sato being so cut off from the rest of the world. One bad haul or sickness in the oyster farm could be disaster for the entire settlement. Seeing children outside the walls of Ul'dah dreaming of scraps was even worse.

But it is something she hopes that she can help people see for themselves if they haven't gotten to before. Food changed her life and she believes it can do so for everyone.

Nebula's response isn't one that she expects. Himeka sombres a bit, giving the weighty statement the pause and consideration it deserves.

Trust is extremely important, something that Himeka gives notably much too easily. But...Nebula, she has to wonder, it is much more hard won. Earned, more like it. And it sounds as if this is what sits above all else. ]

Mmm...mayhaps not.

[ Definitely been there with the poisonings, but she won't sour this too much. ]

What do you think is the best method of determining that?

[furibund]

[ It's an honest statement, the heart of so much of who she is. Trust had been a thing her heart had yearned for so many times in the past - it had also been the weapon she handed to someone who stabbed her in the back with it. Over and over again. ]

[ Trust for her certainly is won, over all other things, but the question is one that's far too personal. ]

[ She scoffs. ]

Trial by combat. Obviously.

[ She says it so dryly that it's impossible to miss even her brand of humor. Tilting her head away as she considers and then shrugs. ]

I do not know.

[ Part of her thinks trial by combat is definitely the way - fighting hand-in-hand. Words were too easy, too quick to manipulate. It's why she had to turn her heart off to others. Now... She wants to believe, but knows how easily that precious commodity is given and broken. ]

It does not matter the method when people will betray it just as easily.


[ Nailed it. But really isn't that all the reason she should trust strange food, if she can get poisoned that easily? (no) ]

[aquaveiled]

[ Had the delivery not been so intentional, Himeka would have absolutely taken Nebula at her word. "Trial by Combat" has been something employed so liberally across her own travels that she wouldn't question it's ethics in whatever culture Nebula was raised in.

Still, Himeka gives it a moment's thought. ]

Fighting side-by-side with someone is a decent way to earn trust, I think.

[ It may not be what Nebula meant, but there is a ring of truth to it.

But considering how firmly she states it, it seems clear that betrayal is something that Nebula has felt just as deeply. How or why, she has a feeling the other woman may not want to share, but Himeka is a patient person. It certainly makes sense that trusting others would be exceedingly more difficult when burned time and time again. ]

Is trust something you think can be earned back after broken?

[furibund]

It should be enough.

[ Despite her half-of-a-joke attempt, her response carries that same usual severity. She couldn't disagree. She'd spent half her life thinking that because her and Gamora were sisters in arms, trained to fight, that meant something. Of course, that same sister showed her time-and-time again that her trust could be misused until Nebula had given up. ]

[ Given in to that fostered hatred and jealousy until she saw red... Now. Her heart had always yearned to trust: for a friend, a partner in arms, a family. It had always yet wavered, but at least these days she knew - felt? - she could trust those she called combat in arms without them stabbing in her back. ]

[ Even Gamora. ]

[ It's why she thinks, why she stews. Why she quiets, hearing Himeka's question and taking it seriously - For the woman. Or for herself. Because what does it say about herself that she allowed herself to trust, after everything, if she says no? ]

... That depends on the person. What they do to earn it back. Not all trust was deserved in the first place.

[aquaveiled]

[ It should. It ought to be. But even though Himeka said as much, she's well-aware that comrades in arms may indeed be temporary or there for entirely different reasons. Fighting along the Crystal Braves alone proved that, but...even then, there had been goodness amongst them. People who deserved second and third chances.

She believes wholeheartedly in those.

Hope springs ever eternal, wavering but resilient. Nebula's own response is a balanced one, something that even Himeka's all too-trusting nature can't deny.

So she nods again in acknowledgment, taking another pause as she considers. She hadn't expected such a serious topic of conversation over fishing, but it feels an important one. These sorts of things arise when they choose to, don't they? ]

Sometimes...I think people do bad things for good reasons, or good things for bad reasons. Both can make it hard to trust them.

[ Or should, even if she struggles with that. ]

Not everyone can make up for what they've done, but they deserve a chance to try.

i'm sorry this is late!!

[furibund]

[ This is what happens when you barely know how to trust people... ]

[ Or no. That's not right. She's always trusted people -that's been half the problem. All of the reasons she did get stabbed in the back were because she trusted, yielded to that fragile sentimentality that would see her dead. But wasn't it that sentimentality that truly had allowed her to live, in the end? It wasn't the anger, that's for sure. ]

And sometimes people do bad things just to do them. Because they want to. They're the ones who won't learn.

[ Her father was that kind of person; There is no world in which she'll agree he and any of his methods were right. There is no world where she would think he deserved another chance at life, even if some part of her mourned him as the only father figure she ever knew. That part she wanted to crush up and throw in the garbage. ]

[ She does not disagree some people deserve second chances; It was practically the Guardians motto. It's something that had saved her. ]


Some people are too dangerous to give any more chances.