be the entire problem

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

After irritating the fuck out of the Dragoons, and terrorizing the local populace with water balloons, Melita strolled quite casually through the rest of Stormbreak in her usual bout of chaos and indifference. Bits and pieces, traces, of the previous bouts were laden and strewn along the streets, and more than once she heard portions of conversations about the previous evening’s exploits.

We were hit by…water! uttered by one hag, that the Honeybee would recall as one of the multiple Karen targeted (with that silent and I'd do it again, bitch in her head). Maneuvering onwards and savoring her hot chocolate, several others by the Tower (listen – she had to know if they were inspired by the Spire or if a majority of sovereigns really just enjoyed phallic symbols) were shaking their heads, dismayed by the chaos. The demigod, deciding to be an absolute shit, simply started asking questions of the guards nearby; batting her eyelashes innocently. “Oh geez, what happened?”

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

Isla had visited Stormbreak primarily to drop in on Everest as a surprise, but also to meet up with some fellow doctors in the medical wing of the Tower. Yes the place was absolutely terrifying, not least because it's the seat of power for Dahlia, but people still need healing, and with the fountain so available in Torchline, Isla always feels as if she can stand to brush up on her field medic skills. So it's from the medical wing that she exits the tower, on the wings of a gore crow rather than on two feet, a roll of parchment clutched in her talons.

Shifting back only once she reaches the vicinity of the guards - the very ones Melita is standing near, coincidentally, Isla offers the missive to one of them (it makes him turn bright red and excuse himself to go to said medical wing, suggesting it might be the results of some tests). "Oh - hello, Melita," Isla says after watching him go, offering the Honeybee a soft smile. "I didn't see you. Chaos here, isn't it?"

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Too enamored in her own brewing chaos, she hadn’t noticed Isla approaching until the missive was passed from healer to soldier, and the other disappeared rapidly. “Hello,” she offered pleasantly, if her eyes widened a little it was only out of surprise, and not the sudden pondering if her reputation had spilled out from Torchline onward, and Isla would know the game was up. “Yeah, strangest thing. Everyone’s been griping about-,”

”Some kind of water balloon fight,” the guard hissed, rolling his eyes dramatically. He started jotting down a few more notes, and more than once the Honeybee tried to peer over his shoulder. ”It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it should be. Innocent civilians targeted! And for what? Just some juvenile fun?”

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

Melita is lucky - having not been exposed to her particular brand of chaos as much as others (and certainly not as much as Stormbreak has in recent days), no part of Isla is suspicious as both the Honeybee and the guard begin to explain the situation. "Well, it is the season for it, so they say." Juvenile fun, trickery, bedlam; all things she has no doubt that Ludo would approve of, and now she does offer a somewhat amused smile in Mel's direction.

"Was anybody hurt?" Isla wants to know, because of course that might change matters - it's all fun and games, etc. etc. Glancing around at those gathered, they all look quite irate, it's true, but no one seems to be sporting any black eyes or injured limbs. "If not, and things are calming down, I imagine it was just a few kids who decided to make the most of everyone being gathered together." But then, Stormbreak isn't her region, so if they want to make a mountain out of this molehill, that's their prerogative, she supposes.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Melita didn’t know Isla well – but just in listening, gained a rapt admiration for the way the woman saw reason in between all the nonsense. Had the Honeybee been the cause of said chaos? Sure – but she also appreciated well-versed logic in the face of the Dragoon’s seething gestures and ridiculous connotations. Her summations would’ve been maybe they shouldn’t have been so bitchy or why not take your kid off a leash, instead of the medic’s rationale, which had the soldier sputtering. ”Well, no, but they could’ve been!” came first, before the man was glancing down at the paper, and clearly trying to find something to go off of rather than tossed water balloons during a season of Ludo worship.

Wondering if she could take some of Isla’s experience and mature notions, rather than giving into impulse and thinking about striking the man with something, her head tilted. “I thought Stormbreak was all about reverence to the gods,” Melita began to hum, giving a grin that seemed to be both mocking and innocent; parallels for the soldier to decide, she supposed, as she gave off pretenses and airs. Placing her arms behind her back in some faultless way, she peered around at the streets. “Seems to me they were doing exactly as Ludo would’ve liked.”

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

Raising her eyebrows at Melita's addition, earnest as you like, Isla tilts her head up at the guard as he fumbles with his paper and tries to find a crime amid the volleys of water balloons and what appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a bit of harmless chaos. "Mm, I can only agree there," she says, glancing back at the gathered people making a fuss about nothing. "Well, I for one wasn't hit with anything, so I doubt I'll be any use for your inquiries. But I hope you enjoy your afternoon answering these questions."

Questions that she imagines will seem like boring overreactions now that she and the Honeybee have made such very good points. "Anyway, I ought to be going. Are you busy, Melita? I was going to get something to eat before heading back to the Skyport, if you want to join me." Probably somewhere close to the Tower, so she can enjoy watching the fallout from all of this.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

At Isla’s agreement, Melita seemingly grew about three inches taller – very poised, dignified, like a lady, rather than a rampant chaos gremlin. She could hear the soldier fumbling through his papers, stammering and muttering to himself, and the healer seemed to be making a quick exit; the Honeybee was inclined to do the same. Especially at an invitation for food. “Mm. Good luck, sir,” and she gave a salute that likely came across as mocking, before walking a few steps away. “Sure. That sounds great.”

And she absolutely wasn’t busy; she’d already caused enough acts over the last few days – covering her tracks and disappearing for a bit seemed a good excuse to ensure she could return seasons later, and do more shit. “Anything you wanted in particular?”

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

Isla has the good grace to wait until they are out of sight and earshot of the guard before she lets the smile creep across her face, her warm laughter filling the air as she glances across at Melita. "I had no idea that Stormbreak was so stringent with its rules on disorderly conduct," she trills. Indeed, given that the region is governed by one of The Family, this almost feels like a childish use of the guards' time. Never mind, though; glancing around at Mel's question, Isla gestures to a small bistro in the shadow of the Tower.

"How about there?" she suggests. "I will take a well deserved glass of wine after that business." And according to the specials chalked onto a board outside the bistro, there is soup to be had and a toasted sandwich to pair with it, all of which sound very acceptable to the Remedy. "What brings you up to Stormbreak, anyway?"

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Melita had known a number of adults that would rampantly disapprove of her actions – but Isla didn’t seem one of them. She gave a Cheshire grin in response, but certainly didn’t let her secrets out, rolling her eyes playfully instead. “Right? Don’t they have anything better to do?” Maybe they didn’t – she’d certainly been giving them plenty of options over the past few days. “I wonder if it’s always been such a stuffy place.” High on religion and then not much else, unless their little underground shindigs and brothels and shit were something they kept more under lock and chain.

With companions in tow, the Honeybee glanced across the way towards the bistro – more than content at the idea. “Gods, that sounds amazing.” Surveying the board outside had her already planning out a large order to appease her appetite, and the inquiry seemed innocent enough. She just wasn’t going to reveal everything. “Mm, I was sparring with some of the Dragoons.” Not an outright lie – but she also didn’t mention harassing them. “Thought I’d snoop around too. You?”

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

"Apparently not. Though I feel as though that guard will wish he had something better to do after speaking with us," Isla says, grinning back to Melita and, at her very enthusiastic agreement, leading them towards the bistro and inside. "I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling that around this part of Stormbreak, stuffiness is baked into it," she says in a quieter voice, not wishing to offend their hosts (you never speak ill of anyone providing you food, she has learned) and smiling politely as they are offered a table by the window.

"I have been down to the Silk Houses, though. That is much more... colourful a place," she says slowly, the bounce of her eyebrows giving plenty of indication of the sorts of colours Melita might find down there. "Ah, are you considering joining their ranks?" she wonders of the Dragoons, pausing to let their waiter come over to take their order. As well as her soup and a sandwich, Isla asks for a glass of crisp white wine and a side of roasted vegetables; after being an Ascended for years, the Ancient has rediscovered her appetite and does not plan to lose it again.

"Me? I was checking in at the infirmary in The Tower. With the healing fountain in Torchline, I don't often need to rely on my traditional skills as a doctor, but I like to keep them sharp."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Baked into it made her snort, but rightfully so – maybe that had always been the feeling around here, to Melita, anyway. Whether it had been through trials years ago, or just brewed into the surface now. She nodded in agreement, though arched her brow at the Silk Houses comment, committing that to memory. Maybe she’d embarrass Koa by asking about it.

She couldn’t contain her laugh either about joining the ranks of the Dragoons. “And be beholden to rules?” Shaking her head wildly, crimson locks all over the place, she strived to compose herself enough to read over the menu and order some wine and a hardy soup and sandwich as well, anticipating the journey home and not wanting to be starving in the midst of it. Nor drunk, but eh. “Nah – just wanted to ruffle their feathers a little.” She grinned again, rifling through her bag to snag at treats for Fangorn and Sila, who were quiet and content.

Isla was much more of a mature adult than Melita would ever be, but she listened just the same – reminded of her mother, healer through and through. “Oh, that makes sense.” More than picking on Dragoons for the hell of it, probably. “Especially if people end up in shit, far away from healing fountains.”

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

"Ah, of course. I do apologise, what was I thinking?" Isla chimes a laugh, tipping her wine glass towards Mel in a cheers once it arrives and taking a small sip to taste it. "If they are anything like the rest of the guards up here, they deserve to have their feathers ruffled a little," she adds, grinning and glancing out of the window towards The Tower where complaining people were still gathered, as if moaning about water balloons is the equivalent of an afternoon out for them.

Setting her glass down - what Mel sees as more mature Isla would argue is likely just a difference in personality, since she can also have her moments - she offers a more solemn nod as the Honeybee continues. "That was my thought as well. It has happened a few times, especially out in the Oerwoud and the Feverlands. I do have a magic called Bloodboon, but it involves me hurting myself, so it can't hurt to keep up my traditional methods alongside it."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Given that she’s gotten one of them to participate in the nonsense, however reluctantly, they weren’t all bad. But gods, these people needed to partake in some chaos occasionally. “I’ve never seen so many not know what fun is.” And it hadn’t been the Family’s influence, because they’d been stuffy well before then. Her eyes flicked towards the Tower too, where a sea of Karens were still spouting off, showing pieces of water balloon and holding them out so the guard could inspect them. She could even hear one of them yelling from their current distance away. It’d probably been the woman with the leashed kid.

Sipping at her own wine and finding it quite delicious, the smuggler arched a brow, very familiar with venturing out into the barbaric unknown (partially because she found exhilarating and chaotic). She hadn’t heard of anybody hurting themselves to heal another, a bit ass backwards, so she frowned slightly, wrinkling her nose. “And you can probably get items for that too?” If Dygra felt inclined, she supposed, not knowing much about the goddess.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Isla

"At least it looks as though some people are doing their best to show them what fun is," Isla says quietly, and only now does the sly raise of her eyebrows question whether Melita might have had something to do with the water balloon incident that has so many still crowded around the guards outside The Tower. The faint sound of yelling has her laughing under her breath, and she reaches for another sip of wine before glancing up at the arrival of their food.

Murmuring her thanks and instantly spearing a bit of roasted carrot on the end of her fork, she smiles around the mouthful at Melita's frown. "It heals more than it hurts," she clarifies after swallowing. "I could give myself a shallow cut to heal a deeper wound, for instance. But yes, I imagine there are likely items out there that could do the same thing, if I were so inclined."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything