Court of the Fallen
Rock Steady - Printable Version

+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: Rock Steady (/showthread.php?tid=1001)

Pages: 1 2 3 4


Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-18-2019

He had found what he was looking for, in the broad river that ran along the northwest edge of what had once been the barrier. Tossed and tumbled onto the bank from who-knew-where, the pair of head-sized rocks were roughly round and greyish-brown. Luckily for the loreseeker they were also lighter than rocks of their size might have been expected to be, and with some perseverance he had managed to get them to the Atheneum. After several days of letting them sit, nibbling away at him with uncertainty and a feeling of vague hesitation he wasn’t used to – and didn’t like, he quickly decided – he finally tired of his wavering resolve and forced himself to sling the canvas bag over one shoulder and take up his black iron lantern with its Sparkbird feather ‘candle.’

He hardly needed it in the middle of the day, but he wasn’t intended to use it for light. Jigano made his way through the early afternoon Flowerbirth day, stoically continuing in spite of the playful cloudburst that left him unpleasantly damp and a bit chilled – and which, of course, lifted just before he arrived at the steps of the alchemy shop.

Tapping his knuckles tentatively on the door, he cleared his throat and called out to whoever was within. Remi ? Are you taking business today?” Or… whatever his errand qualified as.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-18-2019

Remi had agreed to live in the guildhall with Ronin and Aoife, but now that his days were not spent fussing over Aoife (his nights still were, though), he found himself back in his shop. Without a baby around Remi was finding that it actually felt a bit good to be messy. To have things laying aboutw, to be a bit stained and grimy and not have to worry about the negative effects those actions would have on a child.

In reality, it felt good to just shuck off his responsibilities for a while, or to at least share the weight of them, now that Ronin was back.

And so,  in a stained (charcoal and paint) white shirt and tan trousers, Remi worked away contentedly in his shop. Hearing the call outside, Remi put down the lenses he was trying to fit into the end of a tube (which would become a telescope, hopefully), and called out, [say]"It is open!"[/say]


RE: Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-18-2019

He wasn't sure whether the young man would be at the guildhall or his business, and if it had been the former, that would have been Jigano's next stop. Seeing as he had a flaming Sparkbird feather, however, it seemed wiser to bring it someplace that would hopefully have better fireproofing first. Luckily a familiar, if muffled, voice called out and the bard breathed a sigh of relief before he squared his shoulders and pushed the door open. Damply dripping, for once the bard didn't look particularly put together - and was almost sheepish as he nodded to the alchemist in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Remi. I was wondering if today was a good time to run some experiments on the feather and geodes? If not, I can come back later," the bard offered, shaking wet hair back. He glanced around, openly curious as he took in the clutter and objects both mysterious and mundane that lay around the shop. It was his first time entering it, though he'd visited Sam's bookshop next door often enough. "Are Aoife and Sugar with you today?" Though Remi had told him that Sugar was denning at the guildhall now, still Jigano was tentatively hopeful he could see the little white dragon again. Isuma had stopped to con a baker out of some pastry crumbs while he had walked through the rain, but he could feel her a little ways off and approaching with a self-satisfied feeling to her fluffy thoughts.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-18-2019

The bell tinkled overhead to announce Jigano's presence, and Remi looked up with a warm smile. Apparently it had started raining at some point, and now that Remi's mind was pulled off of his invention he was acutely aware of the sound.

[say]"Oh, no, of course."[/say] Remi replied with a swift and well-bred obedience. Setting down the pieces of glass in his hands and picking up a rag to wipe his hands on, Remi gestured for the bard to come over and take a seat across from him at the work bench. The shop was cozy in a disarrayed sort of way. If anything it was almost the complete opposite of the guild that Jigano had created. There was clutter and a sort of strange organized chaos, experiments and inventions in various states of completion, but it had an altogether warm and personable sort of feel.

[say]"Ah, no."[/say] Remi replied with a slight shake of his head. [say]"Aoife is.."[/say] Glancing up and tilting his head to the side slightly, Remi laughed a rather hearty sort of sound. [say]"Aoife is with Ronin, actually."[/say] The alchemist thought that perhaps Sam might have told the bard about Ronin's resurrection given that Remi had come to the Loreseekers hall to try and find information about it. [say]"He has been brought back."[/say] The alchemist concluded with a boyishly happy smile.


RE: Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-18-2019

It was a bit of a relief to see that the truce still held, Remi's smile swift and not looking too forced. Jigano crossed the floor once he was offered a chair, letting his gaze continue to roam curiously across the shelves. The clutter didn't seem to bother him, though a few half-finished inventions gave him pause as he admired the work in progress. In truth, it was the first time he'd really seen the alchemist's inventive side at work. In the past he'd experienced Remi's magic, his ability to create useful objects out of thin air, and there had been the patch for Sam, which hadn't looked like much and had needed the Voice's touch to finalize... a memory that the bard purposefully turned away from, smiling ruefully as he set his lantern on the table and the awkwardly heavy bag of rocks on the ground.

A moment later he found himself blinking at the unexpected laugh from the often-sad young man, and the name that fell so easily from his lips. "Ronin is back?" Jigano repeated, stunned and not attempting to hide it as he sat down rather more abruptly than he'd intended. "That's wonderful news but how... who... when?" he asked eloquently, bewildered and a little afraid to let himself believe the impossible so quickly.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-18-2019

Grinning openly, a reverie of the sunny man Remi had once been, he nodded not even bothering to try and contain his delight. [say]"He fell from the sky and arrived naked, in a very Ronin-like fashion."[/say] Remi added with a laugh. [say]"A few days ago only. Honestly he does not quite know what happened either ... He remembers what felt like lifetimes with Vanya in the sky...of being able to watch Aoife here and then suddenly he was falling back to the ground."[/say]

With a shrug, Remi idly picked at a splinter of wood in the table. [say]"I think Safrin had something to do with it. She said that he was not a god, but not just a man either. His body is not the same as it was before....he has no scars, but also none of his reflexes or muscles either."[/say] Glancing across the table to see what the bard might make of this, Remi nibbled the inside of his lip.


RE: Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-18-2019

The bard only raised a brow in amusement at hearing that arriving naked was a 'Ronin-like' thing to do. He'd only met the man while he was clothed, but perhaps that was because it had been winter at the time? Vanya... one of the names of those lost during Long Night, and the Guildmaster's wife, Jigano remembered. Perhaps the second star they had seen in the sky after Safrin had raised Ronin up to the firmament following the great battle against the Spire Demon? It made sense with what Remi was saying, and the bard nodded slowly as puzzle pieces began to click together.

"She put him up there... it makes sense that she would be the one to bring him back down again," Jigano agreed cautiously, though he tapped a finger thoughtfully against the wood of the table as he considered the business of 'not a god, but not just a man.' "Almost as if he was reborn?" he said, voice soft as his eyes slid to the Sparkbird feather lantern. An old story, a legend from his world, about a bird of fire that was reborn from its own ashes... "But Aoife has her father back... and you have your friend," he finished, smoothing away the worries that troubled him, for Remi's sake. It was, strangely, rather nice to see the alchemist honestly happy for a change (the puppydog eyes bright instead of gently sad), and this wasn't the time to rain on that joy, not with everything else that had happened to him with gods and punishments and lost memories. Instead he smiled at the young man, clearing his throat a little self-consciously. "I'm glad for you, Remi. For all of us. Incredible as it sounds... well, these things seem to happen here." And perhaps the more charismatic Ronin might be able to heal some of the breaches that had opened after his assault on the Spire. Perhaps not... but with the cachet of returning from the dead, it was a strong argument in favor of the gods' approval of his actions that might soothe some of the more pious Naturals, at least.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-18-2019

[say]"Yes. Though... I suppose I thought it was strange...If she could keep his memories and whatnot, why not give him the body he had? Surely that is within her power to do?"[/say] Shrugging to himself as he talked it through, he added: [say]"Though perhaps it was a kindness."[/say] Glancing up, Remi nodded in earnest. [say]"Yes."[/say] He agreed, wanting to say that Ronin was so much more than a father and a friend, but yielding to the bard's stare and simply leaving it at that.

Perhaps that was why when the bard expounded on what he said Remi looked as surprised as he did overjoyed. Smiling widely now, cheerful cheeks pushed up to create small dimples, Remi sipped a stream of air and held it, nodding in agreement.

[say]"Oh!"[/say] Turning, Remi reached behind himself, where on a small shelf sat a glass jar with cloth wrapped firmly around the top. [say]"Would the guild have need of something like this? It is the Wicker Woman's sap we spoke of."[/say] Remi said, placing the half-full jar delicately on the table before them.


RE: Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-18-2019

"Mmm. I suspect there are balances of power involved," Jigano murmured thoughtfully. "Or perhaps... well. Not all of those who came through the portal were human to start with," he said, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "But something about the process of being brought here made us human. I wonder if there was a similar circumstance for Ronin, being brought from the stars back down to earth?" He gave a little shrug. "Then, too, we've seen limits to the powers of the herald-gods like Safrin and Ludo. Goddess though she is, that simply may have been beyond the scope of her power... or perhaps, what she was allowed to do with it." Just as there had been things they hadn't been allowed to say or do before the Barrier fell, wouldn't the act of bringing someone back from the dead be no easy thing? He doubted Ludo would approve, though as gentle and loving as Mort sounded, perhaps that was why it had been allowed.

Remi was smiling, full-on dimples and a bright cheeriness that was tragically rare. Jigano couldn't quite help himself from smiling back, even knowing that the brief moments of rapport likely wouldn't last. Still, that was no reason to rush their demise, and he let himself enjoy it before Remi was distracted and reached for a little jar of...

Oh my.

"That was fast," Jigano couldn't help but chuckle, reaching for the jar and lifting it to the light to examine the sap curiously. "Hmmm. I don't know that the Loreseekers can use it, but it seems like the sort of thing the healers might find useful?" he suggested tentatively. "I admit to being curious about its properties... but that sort of testing is probably better done by professionals." He set the jar down again with a rueful grin. "Especially if we want to try and contrive an antidote for it, in case someone gets caught and needs to be treated. Vai might- no, wait, she has the new baby," he caught himself, murmuring to himself before shaking his head. "Damn. Evie, maybe?" he threw the suggestion out tentatively, remembering that she was an apothecary. "She might know what to do with it, and how to go about neutralizing it? Ah, I don't know... if you ever met Sam's sister?" He asked cautiously, uncertain of which memories the alchemist had been left with.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-20-2019

At the suggestion of balances of power, the alchemist could only shrug gently. Having come from a world where none of this was even hinted at in fairy tales, his mind could hardly even theorize the reasoning behind such things. Still, the notion that not everyone was human made Remi's brows furrow with interest and a comical sort of skepticism, as if he couldn't tell if the bard was being serious or not. [say]"Not human? What makes you say that?"[/say]

Having not heard to them referred to as herald gods before, Remi chewed on the word silently, storing it away for later and merely nodding in vague agreement.

[say]"I had help."[/say] Remi said with a laugh. Surprised that Jigano declined the offer—having found little consistency in what the bard thought fell under the purview of the loreseekers and what did not—he tilted his head to indicate ignorance at the mention of the name. The sunny sort of neutral expression on the alchemist's face darkened somewhat at the mention of Sam, his smile slipping and his eyes flashing that rainy-sort of sad colour for just a second as he shook his head. [say]"No, I have never met her."[/say] Remi confirmed, forcing the smile back.

[say]"But enough of that."[/say] The alchemist said cheerfully, carefully levitating the jar of sap back towards the shelf and then turning his attention back to the bard. [say]"It sounds as though you have brought some rocks to begin with?"[/say]


RE: Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-21-2019

"I say it having met some who were forcibly made human upon arrival here," Jigano chuckled. "And on my world - and on the worlds of several other Outlanders I've spoken with - humans were far from the only sentient races. Elves, dwarves, gnomes... and many others." For a moment he hesitated, his bone-deep wariness and paranoia warring against the slow revealing of his secret among several others. Many of his friends still didn't know, and to tell Remi seemed unfair to them, but then again... he and the alchemist had been through a great deal together, as well. "And... from personal experience, as well," he acknowledged finally, voice soft as the words came out with more effort than he'd meant to reveal.

Jigano had to admit that he was glad that Remi hadn't tackled the task alone, his relieved grin almost skirting the edge of approving - though he held it just barely back, considering that the alchemist might take it poorly. He didn't miss the way those green eyes darkened at the mention of Sam, however, and the bard opened his mouth to ask what had happened--

And bit those words back at the last second, swallowing them down and nodding simple acceptance of the young man's unfamiliarity with the young miss Wordsworth. Sam might tell him later, and damn if this wasn't a reminder to check up on his old friend and make sure he was alright.

He let Remi change the subject without further small talk, nodding in agreement as he shifted to lift the stones from their bag on the floor to the table individually. They were sizeable specimens, and didn't look like much on the outside, but Jigano grinned as he tapped a nail on the outside of one. "I wasn't sure if your earth magic was an easier way to open them up," he explained. "If it could manipulate stone or not. But I figured that an alchemist might have tools that would suffice if magic did not. Or if you could transmute the outsides without also changing the insides? I admit, when it comes to much of the magic here I am a student once more, having to learn the basics all over again... made even harder by not being able to follow along myself." An admission he had grown adept at making with a cheerful face, burying the twinge of envy deep in his heart whenever it came up, and trying to ignore the way it silently ate him to have lost so much of what he had once been.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-23-2019

[say]"Oh? Anyone I know?"[/say] Remi asked, his curiosity evident, if still polite. With a bewildered shake of his head at the mention of the other races—words he'd heard in stories maybe, and only years and years prior—had this been anyone else Remi would have openly voiced his disbelief. But this was Jigano, and though the bard did have a jovial side, it was not one that Remi had ever seen, and so the alchemist thought him about as far from the joking type as one could get.

Remi had made the mistake once of cavalierly rushing past the door the bard had once slowly opened for him. He had hardly seen it then, his rudeness unintentional though not excusable, and though he didn't think he would have a second chance at it, he was keen to make up for that fate-twisting blunder. [say]"Oh."[/say] Remi said, not prying, though the invitation for the bard to elaborate was writ clearly in the widening smile of delight prying Remi's lips apart. Rather than viewing the bard as some strange alien to be studied, Remi's expression was perhaps like a child seeing a mythical creature, or in another world, Santa Claus. It was entirely whimsical and politely restrained.

///

Remi was appreciative that the topic of Sam was sufficiently skirted. Not because Remi wasn't in need of someone to talk to about it, but because Jigano was Sam's friend. If anyone deserved to have the bard as a sounding board, it was the bookmaker.

Not knowing Jigano's prior abilities, Remi merely interpreted the sentiment at face value: that it was simply harder to understand something when you couldn't practice or test things out for yourself. Understanding this well enough, he sighed and shrugged in agreement.

[say]"One way to find out."[/say] The alchemist responded with a grin, and then paused. [say]"Obviously there was effort in retrieving these...but are they especially precious otherwise?"[/say] Though Remi was making an effort to be less reckless in his life, it was not coming easily to him. Being with Jigano only highlited just how often he was liable to blunder along, and so he was being far more careful than he normally would have been. [say]"Specifically I am asking how...ahhh, careful I should be in my experiments. If I can try to manipulate it with my magic, even if that might mean destroying this specimen. I would help you collect more if that happened of course, but if these stones are in themselves special..?"[/say]


RE: Rock Steady - Jigano - 04-23-2019

The initial question was met with a wry smile and a slight shrug. "Perhaps? I am not sure how much of their stories are mine to tell, however," he admitted. "For some I have spoken with it is a deeply personal... wound, almost, to have been changed so drastically without permission. A... violation on a spiritual level." He looked to Remi intently to see if the young man understood what he meant. "Perhaps you have met other Outlanders who have come through with their magic changed or taken from them? It is like that but... worse, in many ways." He took the patient, smiling invitation and drew in a slow breath, his guts squirming with a half dozen eels as he sought for the words he had shared with only one other person. It seemed a betrayal of his other friends to tell Remi before them and yet... how many of them had truly explored his past? Sam had tried, once, but it was before Jigano was ready. Gods above and below, but he needed to have a talk with his friend and soon.

"There were many intelligent races on my world," he began slowly, "and the nearby realms. Some looked almost human. Others... very much not. Some lived very long lives, or had abilities that set them apart. In some areas, one race or another predominated, while in others many races lived together." He tilted his head, looking past Remi's shoulder to the shop beyond him, though not seeing the shelves of bits and bobs but somewhere else entirely. "My parents moved to a country distant from their homeland, where our kind were... rare. There was already enough to set them apart, and there could be a danger in being too obvious with your... differences. But one of their race's abilities was to shapeshift into a form that appeared indistinguishable from humans." He slid his gaze cautiously back to Remi's face to judge his reactions, uncertain about continuing even now. It was so hard to tell when the alchemist was genuinely interested and when he was merely being polite...

///

Jigano raised a brow at the cautious question, something suspiciously like a surprised smile hovering at the corners of his lips at Remi's new-found circumspection. "Precious only for what I hope is inside them," the bard reassured, lifting one of the stone more towards Remi and taking care not to scrape it across the table. "And I was lucky in finding two of this size, but there should be others along that stream. I knew they might get... mm. I don't know if 'ruined' is the right word? But if they are sacrificed to learning how to work with them, it's no problem," he explained with a chuckle. "I just wasn't strong enough to bring back any more than this on my own, so I wouldn't say 'no' to future assistance - if it even proves necessary." He shrugged, his usual wry smile returning. "Though it might not even come to that. So what do you suggest as the first approach to these beauties?" A curious term for such blandly ugly rocks, but it was what was inside that Jigano hoped would sparkle. Careful of his words he tried to limit his own suggestions; mindful of the sharp honesty of their past he tried to let Remi guide the experimentation without forcing his own opinions quite so strongly onto the process.


RE: Rock Steady - Remi - 04-23-2019

Nodding his understanding, Remi's smile was meant to indicate that he'd withdraw the question. [say]"I see. Where I am from...the change, especially becoming a shapechanger, is always a choice."[/say] With a pang of guilt he thought of Ianto and the life thrust upon him, and frowned inwardly at the recollection. [say]"It is strange for me still to hear of such things in light of how it is here."[/say] He added apologetically. [say]"Thank you for reminding me that is not the reality of this world."[/say]

With a humbled and soft expression, the alchemist listened with a sort of intellectually rapt sense of wonder. The mention of our kind made Remi's fingers twitch on the table, his curiosity a nearly palpable thing. Still though he forced himself to stay his questions. As Jigano's gaze settled upon his once again, the look on Remi's face was one of contemplation, trying to put the pieces together that were offered but finding himself utterly at a loss. The tapestry Jigano was weaving was forming an image that his mind could hardly comprehend given how bland Northaven was compared to all the other worlds of which he was learning.

[say]"So...Like the opposite of me, in a way."[/say] He ventured, studying Jigano's face anew. [say]"Where I was human, but could become something else, you were the something else, who could become human. Or, at least appear like one."[/say] Biting the inside of his lip, Remi found himself unsure what he was allowed to ask or how far he could toe the line before going too far. [say]"Was that as a defense mechanism?"[/say]

///

Remi couldn't help his boyish laughter. [say]"No."[/say] He agreed. [say]"I always knew you had something up your sleeves, but I did not think it was muscle."[/say] Remi added with a wry smile, meaning it entirely harmlessly and hoping that Jigano would take it for the jest that it was meant to be.

[say]"Well—"[/say] Remi said, wiggling his fingers over the smaller of the two. [say]"From what I have seen of other stones, they grow from the outside, in. Is that right? That is, they are almost hollow at their centre. So even if I could transmute the outside, we would still want it to be more or less cracked, so that all of the gem is accessible?"[/say] Picking up the stone in both hands and with his lip held firmly between his teeth, Remi tightened his fingers as if his mere strength alone would be enough to pull the stone apart. It wasn't might that he applied though, but magic.

And quite easily his earthen skills allowed him to dissect the stone into two nearly equal halves.