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. )

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Is there really a limit to bullying Sylvain?

[ Claude says this thoughtfully like he's giving it deep consideration when in reality he's doing no such thing, if only because whatever the answer is - he's not going to change his ways any time soon. Neither is Hilda, if he had to guess, and not so long as Sylvain continues to cave to both of them. Rather convenient, really. Now that the jelly has been sufficiently moistened, Claude looks at it with his lips pursed to one side in thought. ]

I think we've gotta... gently shove it onto the canvas as much as we can. [ There's a fair amount of skepticism in his voice despite trying to keep it out, if only because based on how the animal seems to look like it's mostly (and barely) contained liquid he hasn't really the slightest idea of how to go about doing so. In a way that won't hurt them or it, that is, but he straightens up like they've been called to a task and smiles at Hilda. ] This'll be easier than trying to get Raphael off one of the benches in the monastery where he'd fallen asleep, anyway. Nothing can be worse than that.

[ Claude's still not sure how that was supposed to help the man in question's muscles after training, especially when they'd been sore enough to make it difficult to move, but then again: a lot of Raphael's training methods had been a mystery to him. But that's not the point here, so he sets his bucket down and holds up his hands to waggle his fingers to remind Hilda of something important. ]

And we have these gloves to protect us. [ Supposedly. ] So... on the count of three, we push and see if it moves any?

[ They both know the answer to that one and the mischevious look that Hilda gives him is indicative of that. Bullying Sylvain (affectionately of course) was one of her favourite past times. She didn't want to say that pestering and teasing people was one of the reasons she and Claude got along as well as they did, but it certainly didn't hurt their friendship.

It's entirely unclear if the grimace on Hilda's face has more to do with the thought of trying to heave Raphael off a bench or needing to pick up the jellyfish. Knowing Hilda it's probably a bit of both. ]

Jellyfish don't even have bones so I guess I can't argue with that. [ But then she does. ] But Raphael never tried to shock us for trying to move him! The worst that could happen is getting crushed under him. But fine.

[ She stoops down gingerly, trying to find some purchase against the jellyfish's skin waiting for Claude's signal, but still tries her luck anyway. ] Are you sure we can't just take one tiny break?

Can you imagine if Raphael knew Thoron? We'd both be in for it then.

[ As accidental targets, that is, considering the gentle giant in question was never one for hurting friends through anything other than a genuine accident. Being crushed under him gets a snort of laughter from Claude since Hilda's not wrong about that being a definite possibility as well. Likely also accidental, but that's not going to be comforting in the middle of being injured.

He's about to reach out to place his hands on the jelly... somewhere, but he stops to give Hilda what's supposed to be a flat look but is laced through with amusement. ]

If we don't take a break now, we can take a way longer one later. Like when we're finished! Then there won't be anything to do but sit around and enjoy this beach like we're supposed to be doing.

[ This is the spirit of Leonie Pinelli coming to haunt Hilda by goading her into their task through efficiency. Without further delay Claude places gloved hands on the jelly, takes a second to squint at it to make sure it doesn't seem distressed by this development (not that he knows what he's looking for either way), then starts their countdown as promised. On the signal to go, he gently pushes it. Nothing seems to happen, so with the logic of moving Raphael in mind Claude pushes harder, and this time earns a zap for his efforts which makes him wince. ]

Hey, c'mon. We're trying to help here!

[ The thought of Raphael getting so enthusiastic about casting a spell is enough to draw an expression onto Hilda's face that looks a lot like she's been shocked herself before laughing a little despite herself. ]

I'd rather not think that. He'd probably give Lysithea a run for her money if he learned that one spell.

[ Raphael's enthusiasm was bar none; when it was infused into his fighting, Hilda couldn't help but think that any onlooker would think the gentle giant was enjoying himself on the battlefield despite it being the farthest thing from the truth.

Of course it had fallen on deaf ears. She knew it was a long shot but withholding the comment that they'd probably be at until the sun set in which case there wouldn't be any time at all to enjoy the beach. In lieu of commenting, she rolls her eyes. Placing her hands back on the jellyfish she pushes at the same time Claude does, receiving a similar zap to her system. Her eyes immediately mist over in pain as she pulls back immediately. ]

Hey! What's the big deal? [ This isn't very Marianne of her. ] I'm sorry but there's no other way we can get you back in there until we push you onto the canvas.

[ The jellyfish seems to wiggle slightly at the scolding and Hilda immediately turns her ire towards Claude. ]

If we can't move it what are we going to do?

[ Raphael accidentally challenging Lysithea without realizing it and the mental image of Lysithea immediately working herself up over it is enough to get a snort of laughter from him even while he's struggling to shove the jelly as gently as they've been told it requires.

Which is the problem, he thinks, since if they could give it one good hard shove - wouldn't that surely solve how to move it? That risks hurting it, however, given the fragility of the body he can feel beneath their gentle attempt. And after the initial tiny jolts probably meant to be a warning he's not keen on risking something more painful, so he looks up to meet Hilda's complaint with an exhaled huff of air somewhere between amusement and acknowledgement they have a problem. ]

There's gotta be something we're missing here. If they didn't think we could move it then we wouldn't be here, right?

[ Maybe; it's not the best logic he's ever employed but despite that Claude's already considering a solution while eying the jelly and where it's destined to go so they can carry it back to the sea. ]

I guess pushing isn't the best method. Let's try sliding it since the canvas is kinda wet from the water we dumped on it, so that's gotta make it easier. That or we could channel Leonie and try digging beneath it like one of her traps, but that might end up getting us shocked again.

[ Nothing to it but to Attempt this, so Claude puts on a brave face and moves to slide a tentacle or two over one by one to - hopefully - convince the jelly they don't mean harm. If it's angry or charging up more electricity, though: he hasn't quite figured out how to read it yet, so fingers crossed the gloves keep helping out. ]

[ It's hard for Hilda to not grumble a little bit, but that's nothing out of the ordinary when she's confronted with a chore regardless of how small a task it was. ]

Well maybe if these gloves were a little more electric-proof it wouldn't be=as much of a concern. [ She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. Despite her complaints she is still trying to push through this and contribute something to their predicament.

Either way his ideas work for her and she falls to her knees, pulling the canvas close to the jellyfish and trying to wriggle it under its body. The canvas isn't heavy and neither is the jellyfish, but she's just incredibly mindful about getting jolted again. ]

There has to be a way to move them without touching them - there has to be magic for that, right?

[ She realizes belatedly that if Claude did have any kind of spell like that in his repertoire that he probably would have used it by now (or maybe he wouldn't - he did enjoy trying to make things difficult from time to time). She knows she would have. Working smarter not harder had always been her style if she had to do any work at all. ]

[ At her huff Claude sends her a sheepish look for the lack of any kind of planning going on here. It's partially placation, and partially just that Hilda's stated a fact considering being electrocuted wasn't on his to-do list for today. As if on cue, as he withdraws his hand after letting go over the tentacle he'd moved there's an ominous crackle of what feels like lightning. Maybe his joke ("joke") about Thoron wasn't too far off. ]

You have a point about the gloves. But I think if I used a wind spell on it that'd just make the drying out problem worse, and then we'd have to dump even more water on it than before.

[ Where's a mage when they need one? Rather than continuing to stay in the half kneeling half squatting position he's in having been under the illusion this whole process would've been much easier and taken considerably less time, Claude leans back on his heels to think. ]

Maybe if one of us moves the canvas the other can work on sliding it onto there, and then, [ with a hopeful glance back over his shoulder towards the sea, ] it's not far of a walk. If we hurry we can probably get it back into the water before it thinks about shocking us.

[ While talking Claude's working on shifting more parts of the jelly ever closer to the canvas, assuming that - with all the worries about being shocked - Hilda might prefer that part. Fingers crossed acting like he knows what he's doing here might pay off this time, though he does crinkle his nose when he makes one shift too many and gets lightly shocked for it again. ]

Man, this thing's crankier than Lysithea when you treat her like a kid.

They have so much technology and magic here, I don't understand why there isn't some magical jellyfish scooping machine that could just do this for us.

[ Unfortunately it didn't seem like that was going to happen and there won't be an easy way out of this no matter how hard she'd like to will it into existence. Rationally she knows that Claude is right, but the prospect of getting electrocuted isn't her idea of fun and she'd rather toss bucket of water over the jellyfish than risk it. She has half a mind to start developing better gloves for this kind of task, but then immediately waves it away; why would anyone need gloves for what seemed to her like a very niche task?

A small trowel had been given to them as part of their equipment and while Hilda hadn't been able to imagine why at first, it was coming in handy now, realizing she could probably dig a little dip in the sand so that the jellyfish could hypothetically slide right onto the canvas if she moved it there. The gloves make the work more difficult than need be, but it's that or risk getting sand under her nails. Her annoyance is cut through with Claude's humour as she shovels another trowel full of sand away. ]

And here I was just about ready to promise and feed them sweets.

[ When she's sure that she has enough of a dip in place, she shuffles the canvas over it and huffs. ]

What if we tried rolling it? This should work right? Because I didn't just dig a trench for nothing.

Edited 2023-02-09 23:47 (UTC)

[ Hilda has a point with that too and it makes Claude stop and consider that: why are they doing this by hand? With how the supply run was routed through a portal for part of the traveling - surely whatever technology needed for this could've done the same. Unless it wasn't that safe, and in which case he's not comforted by the fact that they're allowed through the portals.

That's a tangent - to say the least - and given how their current task is going Claude has a feeling that maybe, just maybe, Hilda won't be delighted about that one on top of everything else. It's just in time to be distracting all the same. ]

What do you think this thing does eat anyway? [ Another sizzle of electricity; this time he jerks his hands back in time to avoid it and waits for the sea creature to settle before picking right back up. ] Seaweed, maybe? I don't think I ever saw any hanging around Derdriu, but I guess they probably would've preferred warmer waters south.

[ Like in Adrestia, but he's not saying it aloud when they both know what it means. Hilda's been diligently working on her own solution and Claude stops what he's doing to eye it and then the jelly. ]

It can't hurt since that's better than us trying to pick it up, or shove it, or... whatever else they said not to do. You hold the canvas in place so we don't make it worse and I'll get it started. Ready?

[ Perhaps it's the proximity to this particular jellyfish that makes the sound of the air crackle louder than it should, or perhaps it's the sound of all the other jellyfish doing the exact same thing at the exact same time -- either way it makes Hilda recoil back, a whine of protest escaping her lips despite herself. ]

Fear maybe? [ She pulls herself together, her brief moment of shock shaken off. There's definitely a certain level of caution about her though as she continues to wriggle the canvas into place. ] But if I had to guess - fish? If we're comparing them to a meaner Raphael, there's no way these things get this big without eating some kind of protein.

[ She does know what he means and she only casts a momentary glance towards him before continuing to wriggle the canvas into position beneath the jellyfish and hold it in place. If she never saw a jellyfish again for the rest of her life, she'd be okay with that. ]

Ready when you are.

[ Fear gets a snort of a laugh from him since if that's the case, this jelly has to be absolutely feasting on having the both of them around. ]

Just as long as it's fish and it's not going to get any ideas about eating us like half the things in Cadens' deserts want to do.

[ Speaking from experience, perhaps, though he'll never tell. This next part actually does require his whole focus since Claude's still concerned about the jelly being injured from him jostling it about, and despite snarky comments it does rank higher than worry about his own well-being from either electrical shocks or this jellyfish being among the predators here. Hilda says she's ready, so with a brief countdown like before so they're on the same page he gets to work.

It's slow going, because he does get zapped every so often for his efforts, but after a bit of trying: the jelly finally slides onto the waiting canvas and Claude can't help a cheer as he sits back. Not to rest, it turns out, since he leans forward to grab two corners of the canvas when the jelly begins to slide along it; he is not repeating this retrieval process, thank you very much. ]

Thank the gods. C'mon, let's get this one back where it belongs before fate gets any more bright ideas.

[ What she suspects is meant to be a throwaway comment but probably has some basis of truth gets a brief stare from her. She'd probably be able to confirm from Petra and Sylvain later if that was really the case or not.

Hilda can't help but sympathetically wince every time she feels the residual static in the air or the audible "zap" that comes from the jellyfish. She's grateful that Claude is willing to take the brunt of it, and there's a part of her that is almost tempted to offer to swap places with him but with a final shove, the jellyfish is on the canvas. She scurries up to aid him in dragging the canvas towards the sea. ]

Does it just get heavier the drier it gets? [ This wouldn't be work if it didn't come with Hilda complaining. To give her credit, she does at least keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't dry out before they get it to where it needs to go. As the water begins to lap at their feet Hilda quickly positions herself behind the jellyfish, folding up some of the canvas to use as an added barrier between them and its body. ] We can use the canvas to push them into the sea. I don't want us getting shocked while it's in the water.

It feels like it.

[ At this point Claude's not going to deny her some grumbling (or finally add his own) since they've both earned it for all this trouble, even if it was completely voluntary. If only there was some way to communicate to their aquatic friend that they really are trying to help since it seems to be enjoying the ride along on the canvas even less than being poked and prodded.

Something else he hadn't thought of: how do they get this into the water without getting fully electrocuted themselves? The mildly concerned look he sends Hilda's way over yet another hurdle before them isn't an act for once. ]

Maybe if we tip it out slowly we'll have enough time to run back to shore and out of its range? [ Reaching down he scoops up a handful of water to put on the jelly but this doesn't seem to placate it any. ] I'd say we could just... [ with a brief motion with his free hand to suggest flipping the jelly out like they're holding onto some kind of parachute, ] but that's probably frowned upon. Let's take our chances doing what you said, and then the sooner we can be free of this jelly and it can move on to living happily ever after.

[ If Hilda agrees to that, yet another countdown it is before they're both going to have to avoid the last bolts of electricity. Hopefully. ]

[ There's another grumbled thought under her breath about how it goes completely against what should make sense -- but as she reminds herself, the whole premise of them being here doesn't really make sense either.

Eager to get out of them both out of the range of being shocked, they time the push so that their prickly friend is swept out in the next wave. Hilda shoves it as hard as she can without hurting it, and she can feel a zap through the canvas in protest. They're so close now though that she can't let up -- and soon enough they're rewarded when the feeling of the jellyfish being washed away.

Hilda falls back onto her butt, her annoyance fading as the jellyfish disappears from their view, swallowed up the crashing waves. A feeling of having done good and maybe having made Marianne proud somewhere back in Fodlan blossoms in her chest despite being covered in sand and now damp from the spray of the sea. ]

We did it. [ The disbelief leaves her body as a laugh and a triumphant grin spreads onto her face as she looks towards Claude, still clutching the canvas. ] That took so long but we did it!

Edited 2023-02-13 23:31 (UTC)

[ Claude's positive the two of them look rather comical: between launching the jelly off to a better future and then immediately fleeing that'd be entertaining enough for any onlookers. But when Hilda falls Claude stumbles over her and after an attempt to not fall on her, he's off-balance enough to drop into the sand by her with a laugh. Guess the jelly got its last revenge on them after all. ]

We did, [ he agrees, flashing her a grin before throwing an arm around her shoulders as they sit on the sand with the surf tugging at their ankles like it wants them to go out there again. ] And I think we got our yearly supply of being shocked in while we were at it, so thank goodness we don't have to worry about that anymore.

[ They could keep sitting here now that they get a chance to relax and without anything else to do for the day, but soon enough Claude draws his arm away to push himself up to stand. ]

C'mon, Hilda. I think you've earned that break and we have definitely both earned a snack out of all of this.

[ There's a grin as he holds out a hand to pull her up too since he'll never pass up a chance to tease her, but taking her somewhere to get something to eat is absolutely on their to-do list as they wander off to find a cafe by the shore to do just that. ]

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inside my quiet heart

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