abraxaslogs | inside my quiet heart

Entry tags:

inside my quiet heart

Who: Hilda and various!
When: Throughout the month of January/February
Where: Cadens, the Horizon, Aquila
What: Catch all with open + future closed starters inside
Warnings: Mention/discussion of death

( open starters can be found below, closed starters will be marked accordingly or you can hit me with a wildcard!
for specific things feel free to reach out to me on discord or

timescars. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ah. perhaps he overstepped there. but elrond takes it gracefully, trying the lavender and ginger one first with a careful sip. ]

It's lovely.

[ There's an air of kind consideration when she speaks in her own attempt to brush any discomfort she previously had under the rug. ]

Luckily if you don't like we can easily change it in the Horizon. If we were outside it we'd have to and brew a whole new set of leaves all over again.

[ Hilda settles back into her seat pouring herself a cup of the albanian berry. ]

How have you been settling in?

It is rather convenient that way.

[ he takes another polite sip before setting it down for the moment to consider her question. ]

I'm not sure if I'm quite settled yet. I've never lived among humans before and it is quite a shift.

People haven't been rude to you, have they?

[ She hopes that isn't the case but there's a suggestion in her voice that if that is the case that she'd be more than happy to have a word with whoever it is. ] The locals in Cadens were on edge especially shortly after we arrived.

[ Her mind wanders briefly back to the interaction she'd had in the Sarstina and the man that had tried to get her attention in what was anything but a harmless way. Her brow furrows as she brings her cup and saucer closer to her lips. ]

I hope that that isn't the case in Thorne as well.

[ elrond sighs for a moment. ]

I did have an incident with some strangers trying to touch my ears, but nothing terrible.

[ but he's curious. ]

Do you know why they were?

[ Hearing that earns a twist her lips and a furrow of her brow. ]

They did what? [ And then her expression softens. ] I'm sorry you had to deal with that, Elrond. That's awful.

[ The tea and everything around them may be imaginary to some degree, but the familiar taste from home helps make the situation a little better. ]

Dean - he's another Summoned - mentioned something about the arrival of the Heralds. They're gods of some kind that brought awful omens and effects to the cities before we arrived. Even the dead were raised.

[ that . . . does not bode well. elrond pauses to consider that. ]

Raising the dead? How?

I'm not sure.

[ Hilda gives her head a shake. ]

I don't even think anyone else really knows either. If it's the work of the gods, it's a little harder to explain or get into the how. The Summoned were somehow blamed for it which I guess it contributing to the tension.

[ hmm. he takes another sip. ]

Interesting that there are two events that seem to crop up, designed to make the others distrust the Summoned.

It does seem a little coincidental, doesn't it?

[ It's concerning - frustrating if she thought about it too long and cared about it for more than Hilda would allow herself to care for a world and city that aren't hers. ]

But say they are gods doing this, wouldn't it be in their interest to help us? Unless something happened prior to our arrival that really made them angry. Is there any chance you've heard of anything like that happening in Thorne?

[ Ah, good ol' ~~Catholic~~ religious guilt. Not that Hilda buys too strongly into it; she can barely wrap her mind around being here let alone the whims of omnipresent beings. ]

[ elrond considers this for a moment before shaking his head. ]

I'm afraid when it comes to . . . Gods, I am woefully unequipped to understand their motivations. We have the Valar but they are not gods. They ask for no worship and impose no rules, save one. Our fates are our own.

It's the same for me. The Goddess disappeared ages ago so it's not like we have any physical incarnations of them walking around Fodlan. It's really just the church continuing to upload the teachings.

[ She's never had much interest in organized religion. She knows all the various stories and lessons of course, but she had never taken much stock in it. ]

I have a couple of friends in Solvunn. They might know more about the gods there. [ Her lips quirk slightly. ] The Free Cities is definitely more interested in technology and advancement than gods.

Perhaps it's worthwhile to know. Though Thorne's issues have more to do with men than Gods.

[ Is that the hint of gossip Hilda catches in the air? Something in her body language shifts leaning forward ever so slightly as if that's somehow going to affect her hearing. ]

How so? I've heard things about the Queen floating around Cadens but gossip is all hearsay until there's some truth behind it.

[ oh, that is news to him. ]

I may have to look into that, but mostly we're all contained to the castle. Tensions are high.

Seriously? They don't let you go and explore any of the other surrounding towns?

[ It wasn't as if she had any particularly strong opinion of Thorne but she realizes belatedly that she doesn't know many from there. Either way, the thought of being cooped up didn't sound particularly appealing to her. ]

I know you were working on trying to get the Thorne officials open to the idea of peace, but maybe you could petition them to also let you out to explore.

Not at the moment, no.

[ elrond finds it particularly unbearable. yes, eregion and other elvish dwellings had large castles and areas, but they had never been so restricted. ]

I will certainly try to. But enough about me. How have you been settling in? I met your friend, actually.

[ Her furrowed brow and worry is momentarily set aside at Elrond's question, although it's definitely not forgotten. ]

It's been okay I suppose. I started working at the inn where a lot of the Summoned end up. [ At that, an exhausted pout forms on her face. ] It's exhausting! No one ever told me that bartending would be so much work. [ It isn't, in fact, that much work. ] But I'm hoping to make some money so I can start making some of my own accessories and jewelry again.

[ The mention of a friend of hers perks her up considerably though. ]

Oh - you mean Claude? How did that go?

He's interesting. Charming but with a keen eye.

[ definitely someone who listens to things around him. much like elrond did. ]

Ah, money. I forget that's how important it can be.

[ She nods. ]

All very accurate descriptions of Claude. You two didn't get up to any trouble on board the boat, did you?

[ Never mind that she knows full well that all of her friends had been purposefully eavesdropping on the conversations being had on board. ...And that she and Claude had hustled several people out of a pretty good amount of gold arm wrestling. ]

Do they provide for you in Thorne?

Not at all.

[ interesting that she would say that. ]

Yes. We're well taken care of, at least. The castle tends to us.

[ Trouble always seemed to follow Claude in a mischievous way or he sought it out himself. It wasn't that she didn't believe Elrond - she did! It was the Claude she didn't necessarily trust to not find trouble. ]

With everything like food and clothing too? [ Colour her a little jealous. ] The military in the Free Cities let us stay in the outpost for a little bit but we had to join the military if we wanted to keep being takne care of.

Yes, for the most part. It's not luxurious but suitable, I think.

They asked you to join the military?

You know when people hint at things that they want you to do, but don't really outright say it? [ Ie. A lot of what Hilda practices herself, even if she claims her methods are completely different. ] There was a lot of that.

[ She moves to pour Elrond more tea, offering up a different tea pot this time in case he wanted to try something different as she continues speaking. ]

And don't get me wrong, I understand why. It's not cheap to feed and clothe people, but being in the military isn't everyone's style.

[ ah. yes, it's a manipulation elrond is passably familiar with. ]

No, I'm not sure I would ever agree with such tactics.

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