[Catch-All] Reunions, Memories, & the Colour White

[inemeraldfaith]

🧙 WHO: Aerith Gainsborough, You
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-All for June / July
🕒 WHEN: June / July
🗺️ WHERE: Aerith's flower shop, Brocéliande, Camelot city proper, the Bay of Avalon
⚠️ WARNINGS: TBD

[01. Come for the Flowers]

[Little by little, Aerith's flower shop is getting put together. The walls are still a little barren, but contain some paintings done by local artists. Finally, it seems a little more put together.

There's no shortage of flowers on display in intricate arrangements. Planters hang from the ceiling. The scent lingering in the air is some combination of cinnamon and sweet floral notes. There's almost always a cup of tea (or something like it) at the front desk.

Aerith tries her best to keep herself busy, wandering from one end to the other, up the steps to the small loft up the stairs, back down again, making sure that everything seems to be perfect. She hums during the day to herself, overjoyed at being surrounded by some of the things that she likes most, even if she can't glean from them what she would back home.

Perhaps you've stopped in by mistake, maybe you're running errands, or you're here with the intention of finding something in particular. Either way, you're here now, and the little bell sound that chimes once you've come in signifies your entry. It's too late for you to leave now. (Aerith won't be chasing you down if you turn tail and flee.)

Whatever Aerith's in the middle of doing, she looks up from her task and eyes the door with a welcoming smile.]

Hi there! If you give me just a moment, I'll be right with you.

[02. How to Business 101]

Hm...

[Aerith holds a notebook protectively against herself as she wanders the streets of Camelot's business district. She stops every so often in the front of a store window, occasionally pokes her head in to get a good look at the wares and the design. She's doing business research to see what she can do to better her flower shop.

It's also a good excuse to get to speak with owners and others along the way and having never been one to shy away from conversation, Aerith is quite happy to exchange words in idle conversation.]

I wonder how they decided on prices. Did they just compare it to something local?

[A frown briefly crosses her features because she knows her own pricing has been pretty negotiable. But maybe flowers just don't work the same as drinks at a cafe or some of the other wares that Camelot provides.

Her feet start carrying her off to another store, her face is fixed on her notebook, where she's writing in small script her observations. She brushes up against a shoulder, or perhaps she walks headfirst into you, or maybe you simply found her in your way whilst you were trying to pass by. Either way, you are precisely one Aerith richer.]

Oops—Am I in your way? Sorry about that.

[03. Gone Fishing (Not Really)]

[She hasn't been here to visit since her original arrival. Aerith has lost track of time easily, and she knows why. She drowns in keeping herself busy and occupied. It gives her less time to think. The Bay of Avalon is a vivid recollection of how confusing it was to arrive in this new world, with the discovery that the world back home was frozen in time. It's still a little hard to wrap her mind around, but she's continued to adopt the idea that there's no sense in causing an uproar over it.

This is a thing she cannot affect, despite the otherworldly abilities that she may play host to.

It's a pleasant day, one that has her lifting an arm as she takes in what feels like a bay of water that stretches beyond what she can see.]

It's beautiful when you're not swimming out of it in the cold. Or being escorted out by turtles.

[There's a basket over one forearm, not even half full. Aerith has come all this way to see if there's any flowers that might be worth adding to the collection. Down in the water, there's occasional splashes of the fish and the welcoming organic ebb and flow of the water. Maybe one of these days she should consider going for a swim.]

Although it looks a little more serene when people aren't arriving, doesn't it?

[...She wonders if the Lady of the Lake sleeps when she's not bringing newly arrived.]

[04. Communing with Nature]

[Her fingertips splay against the rough bark and for several moments, Aerith remains still, listening to everything around her—the rustle of branches, the far off lilt of birds, and other things she cannot readily identify. For once, she's not out scouting for flowers. Rather, her visit to the forest sitting just outside of Camelot's town is for something more profound.

Aside from the occasional dreams she's had of home, of different times, of times that perhaps have not yet occurred, she hasn't felt the same since her arrival. Aerith hasn't had a way of discovering just how in touch she is with her Cetra abilities. It's not an easy thing to test either, considering the details of her 'abilities' have been complex.

Her touch moves over a subtle gash in the wood and after a moment's pause above it, it takes a gentle push of healing, an encouragement for it to heal. Whether it works or not, she hardly would know. Nature is more hardy than many give it credit for.]

There you are. [She says aloud, though she seems to be addressing the tree. After a beat, she turns to press her back against it before she finds her voice again.] I can't seem to hear anything, though. Even being surrounded by it all, it isn't the same. I'm not connected to you in the same way.

[She sighs, shutting her eyes as she thinks about where to go next. What to do. She's not seen anyone else hunting or searching for any of the ingredients that grow in the veil of trees just yet. But it doesn't mean they aren't there.]

So... what do you think we should do now, hmm?

[05. Wild Card]

[For everything else. If you'd like a closed starter, please let me know. You can PM Aerith's journal or PP me at ofthesky.]

Comments

[faithfulson]

[ Luke nodded, a smile coming to his face as well. ]

I... never really got to see green things growing up, so I like to look whenever I get the chance.

[ His smile turned a little sheepish. ]

Besides, I liked the pun for the shop name.

[inemeraldfaith]

Hmmm! I can relate a bit with that, too. Plants and flowers don't really grow back home. At least, not in the area I'm from.

[But it stood to reason that places outside of Midgar had flowers. Shinra's influence hadn't taken over everything yet, after all. When he continued, her grin grew.]

See, I've been trying to tally how many people weren't amused by the name, honestly. Nice to hear that someone's liking it, though! Aside from being seduced by puns, how have you been?

[faithfulson]

[ Luke couldn't help but smile at that, half wondering if she had been stuck in the middle of a desert too. He'd have to ask later; instead, he folded his hands before him, absently rocking back on his heels. ]

Not bad; I've finally started getting a handle on these new powers we have.

[inemeraldfaith]

[She gestures for him to come along with her. Not to push him around to flowers and make him buy something, but rather to the side table that she likes to occasionally sit at and chatter away.]

Oh? Maybe you should be helping some of my friends.

[Aerith laughs as she takes a seat and invites him to take its very chair companion.] I have one who said he was having some difficulty. But that was when he first got here. I haven't checked with him since then, so he's probably okay now. [Grinning, she continues.] How long did it take you to get comfortable?

[faithfulson]

[ Luke couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle at that. ]

I don't know about that; my issue was very much my own expectations against reality.

[ He slid down into a seat, almost feeling like there needed to be some tea for the two of them to enjoy. Being surrounded by so much greenery, it just felt appropriate. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know if there was anywhere around with good tea; the tavern tried, but it wasn't quite right. ]

I've been having problems pretty much since I arrived. I could manage a few minor things, but there was always something that just made it hard for me while others pushed forward with no problems.

[inemeraldfaith]

[As he explained, she shifted just to get comfortable and settled an elbow on the table, so she could eventually rest her chin in the palm of her hand. Not unlike him, she was considering that maybe setting aside some tea would have been a good idea. Certainly wasn't the first time she'd entertained the idea. She doubted it'd be the last either.]

Your own expectations against reality...

[What a profound way of putting it. She'd never really thought about it, but that core idea could have applied to almost anyone with almost anything.]

Do you use much magic back home or is it that the magic here is a different type? I seem to run into people here who have magic where they come from, or something similar to it, but what they're used to works differently, so coming here it's like they have to relearn it all because it just isn't the same.

[faithfulson]

[ Luke paused a moment, opening his mouth a couple times to come up with an answer, only to close it again as he considered. ]

...you know, I never thought of it as magic before now. I know other people in the galaxy call it that, but it's just... something I can do

[ He offered her a sheepish smile. ]

Unfortunately, what I could do back home worked in similar ways to my powers here, so that's why I was having trouble.

[inemeraldfaith]

'Magic' might not be the right word for it. It's the word I know and where I come from, it'd be called magic, so it's what I'm familiar with. But I'm coming to learn that different places call similar abilities by different names, so it's not necessarily a blanket idea.

[Tapping the tip of her nose, she hung onto his explanation attentively.]

If you don't mind my asking, what is it that you can do? Back home, I mean. And then you can compare it to what you can do here.

[faithfulson]

[ Luke paused a moment, running the similarities over in his head. ]

Well, a lot of the mental powers I got here are almost exactly the same. I've been able to mentally communicate with those close to me, and while I can't actively interact with a person's dreams back home, I can feel the strong emotions associated with a dream, especially bad ones.

[ He paused again, before letting out a faint noise. ]

Being able to influence the minds of others is almost exactly the same.

But back home, I also had the ability to sense when danger was coming my way, as well as manipulate objects, and other abilities I've only scratched the surface of understanding. All of that is gone here.