isleofavalon | AUGUST CATCH-ALL

[If anyone thought Claude would sit still after his desert expedition last month, they were mistaken. For now his explorations there have hit a dead end, so he's turning his attention elsewhere, to the Forest of the Fisher King. He knows the local stories that it's cursed, has read books on the story behind it and how it got its name, but the promise of treasure, secrets, or at the very least, magic ingredients from the plant life in the forest was too enticing to pass up.

And who better to accompany him than Aerith? She seems to know a thing or two about flowers, and she seems to enjoy his company, so perhaps together they'd be able to figure out what was safe to take and what to give a wide berth. He's come fully armed with his bow, Failnaught, a sword, and a quiverful of arrows, as well as a satchel and a few sealed containers for gathering herbs and other ingredients in. Standing at the edge of the forest, he takes a look inside before addressing his travel companion.]

Ready? We can turn back if you're having second thoughts. [He grins at her. She seems like an adventurous type, so the chances of that happening are low, but he always likes to offer the option.]

[It's the first time since she's arrived that she's really traipsed into the maw of what could be considered potentially dangerous. With no idea what to expect, she arrives with staff in hand, a very simple rod with very little to note about it. And in the other, a basket. For flowers, obviously. It's true that she may have asked him to escort her, but knowing well that she's not incapable, there's no sense in making him do all of the work. After all, Aerith has more than a few tricks up her sleeve.

Next to Claude, however, she looks grossly undergeared. What does he do back home? She's never asked. At least, she hasn't yet. She imagines their little misadventure into the forest will give them plenty of time to ask prying questions, make terrible jokes, and in general, give Aerith one more friendly companion in a plethora of many that she's made since her arrival. No such thing as too many friends.

Aerith shakes her head.]

Really? No way. We're here, right? I'm ready! I have everything I need. I've been looking forward to this since ever since you suggested it. It's the first real adventure I get to go on. I hope we get to see all kinds of neat things!

[On the contrary, she might be a little too excited about all of this.]

He always does this.

[Lorenz sighs as he simply marches right past the both of them towards the trees. There's no sense in hesitating now and with Darby trotting along behind him, largely empty bags slung over her back, he wants to pick out a path that is a little bit clearer. She won't be able to follow them everywhere but... well if something does happen he trusts her with delicate specimens more than himself. Or Claude for that matter.

If Aerith thinks she's out-geared by Claude then Lorenz' half plate armor is even more excessive. Still he doesn't have any lighter armor and he's not comfortable going into unknown and possibly hostile territory in nothing but his dancer silks. Better overkill than under so far as he's concerned. She might notice that the sword at his hip is, strangely, an exact duplicate of the one Claude has.

She also might be wondering why Lorenz is even here given how much of a stick in the mud he tends to be but potions are a far more complex and fascinating science here, can help bridge the gap between his magic and what he used to have back home, and-

Well he's bored out of his mind and magical research, even if it leans more alchemical, is always going to be one of his hobbies. Was he invited or did he simply see some curious marking Claude had made on his maps over tea and invite himself? Probably a little bit of both.]

Well? We're not going to find anything of note standing around out here.

[They're burning daylight. Hurry up you two.]

[That eager reaction from Aerith earns a smile out of Claude, although Lorenz, being Lorenz, soon puts a damper on it.]

Does what? [Claude pouts, shrugging in exasperation at Lorenz's back as he goes on ahead towards the forest. Really, it could be any number of things knowing Lorenz, but he'll otherwise let the comment slide, heading in after him.]

Just remember not to wander off. The forest is cursed and will do everything it can to draw us in and keep us here, but as long as we stick together, we'll be fine.

[The more the merrier goes the saying and Aerith seems to support this because at Lorenz's very punctual arrival on the scene, she just grins. In fact, she grins so hard that her teeth almost hurt. Maybe she's just remembering how much she antagonised his voice on the network. Now she gets a face to put with it.

~~He looks like a nerd.~~

He's not even there moments and he and Claude are already at it. This is going to be great. She gets an adventure and a show. Aerith can't think of how this could get any better. She should have packed sandwiches and snacks. But foraging for food is a part of the adventure, too, so they'll have to make with whatever they can find in the forest.

Looking between the two of them for one last assessment, she nods with what seems to be pure, untainted, unadulterated Aerith Approval.]

I don't think anything's going to get past you two, honestly. Come at us, Curses! We'll take you on!

[Because naturally, she has to push the proverbial envelope. How bad could a curse really be? And who knows if it's true or not. Folklore loves to say all kinds of things. There's only one way to find out.]

Unless this cursed forest is as full of demonic beasts as some of the ones back home I'm sure we'll be fine.

[Ah but physical attacks are at least straight forward. This place tends to be more tricky than that but he's hardly going to admit that it might be more of a threat. He just smiles as Claude follows after him, glancing back to Aerith once and as soon as he sees her grin he raises an eyebrow, cautious and disapproving.

That can't mean anything good.]

Is there anything particular we are looking for or are we simply exploring whatever the forest offers us?

Raring to go, aren't you? [He laughs at Aerith, before addressing Lorenz.] Nothing specific, though there are a few rare herbs here I wouldn't mind snagging. If the forest shows us a few interesting secrets too, I won't complain.

[He's keeping an eye on his surroundings as they walk on; the strange blue-green plants, the way the canopy is already getting dense right here on the outskirts. And a strange, unsettling sensation at the back of his mind...

He pauses, resting his hand on a tree, focusing his green magic.]

...Yeah, I'm not getting friendly vibes. From any of the plants here, really. Can you feel it? [Addressed at Lorenz, who he knows has been starting to grasp the basics of green magic, though it would make sense if Aerith had the same magic too, given she owns a flower shop.]

[Looking between Lorenz and Claude as she follows dutifully along, Aerith's very careful on how she touches anything along the way. It's a very surreal feeling, much the way it was when she visited the much smaller forest on the outskirts of the city proper.]

I was hoping to bring back some plant specimens and see if I can grow them in my shop. Crossbreed maybe if I can learn a bit about how they grow. Their habits. Their characteristics.

[She's turning to get the full view of the forest that embraces them. It's unnervingly divine. For just a moment, she's watching Claude. Another person with the Green, as it were, something she [ironically] doesn't have. But she has her own bizarre skills. Aerith's connection to life in Camelot isn't at the same as it is back home. If anything, the core concept is there, but beyond that it's different.

So she takes a moment, many long moments of her own silence, as if she's listening. Hoping to hear something. Anything. There's breeze. Natural forest ambience. Perhaps a little something more that she can't quite put her finger on. What she can tell is—]

I'm not sure I'd consider it fair to call a plant unfriendly. [She begins thoughtfully as she moves toward a flowering plant with blue and aqua hues. Saturated and vibrant. Leaning in to get a better look, she leaves a gentle touch atop a petal, knitting her eyebrows together.] I can't feel anything except life. There's life all around us. It's kind of like... the entire forest is alive. That's what it feels like to me. I don't know how else to describe it.

[A little overwhelming. Perhaps overbearing in its weight of discovery. A source of life, perhaps? Something like the Lifestream? It immediately leaves Aerith curious for more. It's the closest she's come to feeling as she did back home.]

[He doesn't have the same sort of connection that Aerith does and only a few weeks with the green magic. He's never even tried something like this. Claude reaches for a tree but Lorenz crouches down, settling one knee into the rich earth, and removing one of his gauntlets to press his fingers into the dirt. Reaching for the root system that must be massively complex seems like the most obvious way to get a feel for things, to him.

Unfortunately it is precisely as he expects. The lush forest is so full of life that trying to tap into it is a little dizzying. The volume of information too much and his powers too unrefined to narrow it down to something more palatable. He ends up just overwhelmed, abruptly tipping forward and catching himself with his other hand before he face plants into the undergrowth.

Hardly dignified, on his hands and knees on the ground but.... it is what it is.]

Life... is one way of putting it. There's so much... too much for me to get anything out of it really. [He glances up at Claude, giving him an apologetic look before he pushes himself back to his knees, rolling to his feet and dusting his hand off on his leggings.]

But I don't care for it, I'll admit. I don't believe plants are meant to be this alive.

[Claude takes a concerned step towards his friend when he looks ready to keel over, but Lorenz manages to right himself in time before he faceplants.] Easy, Lorenz. No need to overdo it this early on.

[Then he frowns, wondering how to explain it to Aerith.] My magic lets me tell how plants are... feeling? So I don't think it's unfair to call them unfriendly. 'Mischievous' might be the most charitable word for it. Regardless, we should be careful.

[It's a concept not too strange to him, when Petra had once talked of trees having spirits and feeling things like anger, but actually experiencing it with magic is another thing entirely.

He offers a hand to help Lorenz up.]

I'll take the lead for now. If there's any change in the forest, I'll be best-placed to react first.

[A hand poises at her chin and Aerith nods slowly.] I have some friends who have similar magic, but they told me it was for affecting the growth of plants. I didn't know that you could communicate with them.

[Maybe Makoto and Claire don't know that. She makes a mental note to drop that information to both when she sees them again.

More over, she's actually a bit pleasantly surprised that the Green magic appears to be something similar to what she has by default. Rather, purely by circumstance. It's like being in the presence in another Cetra. In other words, for those moments of realisation, Aerith doesn't feel quite so alone.

Her attention turns onto Lorenz and she straightens herself right up. The mystery of the forest and its mischievous life remains.]

I can keep an eye on things behind us and play look out.

[Accepting Claude's assistance getting back to his feet is perfectly natural when he's not huffing or sulking about things. It's all for show whether he'll admit it or not. Still having Claude lead makes sense... having Aerith insist she take up the back makes him feel a bit useless. Perhaps they'd have been better without him tagging along.

But he's never going to get better at the magics if he's never in a position to really stretch his understanding of it all.]

We both can.

[Directed at Aerith, trying to make it clear she doesn't need to baby him. But he still lets her fall in step behind him, keeping a hand on Darby's lead and an eye on Claude even as he tries to keep his magical senses extended somewhat, searching for the things Claude has said he recognized within the forest as well as any changes.]

Right, right. It's not a competition.

[Claude tosses over his shoulder as he goes ahead, aimed in Lorenz's general direction. As they proceed, the journey is initially uneventful, although soon the canopy thickens overhead until the sky becomes impossible to see, aside from the wind stirring the branches, allowing the smallest streams of light through.

Something catches Claude's eye and he gives a short 'oh!' and goes off-track, sliding down a short incline, then moving to examine the base of a tree. On closer inspection, he's crouching down and looking at... some very strange blue-green mushrooms.]

Ahhh, I wish I could take these. I bet they have all kinds of interesting properties!

[Lorenz's reaction is almost a surprising one. In truth, she's thought he'd go take the front line with Claude. Or maybe Aerith's just content to let them play escorts and bodyguards, though she is, to some extent, very capable of handling her own. It's sometimes wisest to portray one's self as the least suspect. Underestimating her is safer.

Either way, she can't help but laugh a little at Claude's interjection.

She follows along with them, occasionally casting a look behind her.]

The further in we get, the more vast it seems. Like there isn't an end in sight. This forest must be huge.

[When Claude moves down the incline he's found, she follows after him. Leaning over to get a look at the same mushrooms that have caught his attention, she offers a momentary glance to the path they've stepped off of. It'll be wiser not to leave it for too long.]

Is there anything really stopping us from taking some? I came here with the intentions to take samples of the plant life in hopes of growing it at my shop. Mushrooms are plants. Let's see if we can dig them up.

[This can't possibly go anywhere good.]

[Lorenz is perfectly content to let Claude lead but he's hardly surprised when the other man gets distracted so soon. But it is rather what the purpose is so he finds it strange that Claude of all people would be exceptionally cautious.

For once he agrees with Aerith.

Still with the both of them off the path he's not quite comfortable leaving it so he crouches down himself at the top of the slope they went down, not more than a step or two from the path.]

She's right. You had the same plans and don't try to pretend you didn't. What is stopping you from taking this particular plant?

[Though as they are discussing disrupting the plant life Lorenz does tug a kerchief from his pocket, prepared to cover his face if they do decide to take a sample. Just in case.]

AUGUST CATCH-ALL

CLOSED - FOREST OF THE FISHER KING

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