september catch-all

[feisticuffs]

🧙 WHO: Jade & anyone!
⚔️️ WHAT: Quests, other open prompts.
🕒 WHEN: Early September.
🗺️ WHERE: Various
⚠️ WARNINGS: Sexual themes/content involved in the Hot Knights quest.


i. hot knights

a. undercover
[There had never been any question as to whether or not Jade would take this job. The description alone brought back countless too-vivid memories, the bright reds and golds of the casino at Octagonia still burned deep into her memory, along with the cries of those who had been captured to become food or playthings for monsters— or, in many cases, monsters themselves. Indeed, there is no question about what needs to be done for these Celliwig knights, and while the predicament she had found herself in upon storming Octagonia on her own should give her pause, it doesn’t. Instead, it only fuels her further, driving her to make use of her experiences in that place to get in and get out undetected.

She opts to go undercover. At last, that costume some power had seen fit to have accompany her to Camelot as some kind of cosmic joke will finally be put to good use.

It’s mildly unsettling how quick the establishment is to take on new talent, but Jade has already decided that this is the best way to gather the information necessary to free the captured knights without causing more ruckus than she absolutely has to. And, should things fall apart and the situation ends up requiring a more direct, violent approach— well, win-win for her. She’ll take that, too.

Of course, being undercover means actually having to do the job, though as a new ‘employee,’ she’s fortunate enough to end up waiting tables. She approaches the table she’d been pointed towards by the bartender with a tray of glasses, collecting herself and letting her lips curl into a sly smile as she does so.]

Hey, there. First timer?

[Regular patron, fellow would-be knight-rescuer, familiar face, or some combination of the above? You decide.]

b. rescue
[Once she has the opportunity to break away from the main floor of the club, Jade spends every free moment she has trying to figure out the layout of the building, mapping out escape routes in her head. None of her breaks are long enough for her to make as much progress as she would like, but once her shift is over in the early morning hours, she quickly sets to finding where the Celliwig knights are being kept. Whether the owner of this place means to use them as talent or keep them as pets, it doesn’t matter— she intends to see each and every one of them set free, and any other unwilling souls who have found themselves trapped here, besides.

Why, of all things, must places like this be constants between worlds?

Once the captives are located, she starts making quick work of the bonds holding one particularly despondent-looking knight— he shies away from her when she first approaches, assuming her to be in league with their captor, but she quickly shakes her head as she frees his wrists.]

Keep it down! I’m getting you out of here!

[Here to help out, or maybe a captive yourself? Whichever the case, better get out quick before drawing too much attention.]

c. wildcard
[Maybe you, too, have chosen to go undercover. Maybe you’re among those friends Jade has informed of her whereabouts— just to be safe— and want to make sure she’s not getting in over her head. Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a compromising position in trying to take this job on for yourself, maybe even caught the eye of this establishment’s monster madame while trying to help the captured knights? Whatever it is that’s brought you to this monster-run strip club, it probably won’t be easy to get out alone and unscathed. Time to join forces!]

ii. shear determination

[Jade hadn’t fully appreciated how tall a single foot wasn’t until she saw these sheep in person. Even aside from their fire-breathing abilities, she can see why even experienced sheep-shearers might have trouble with these— a cautious approach was going to be necessary.

She exhales as she collects herself, folding her arms in front of her as she gamely looks to her partner for this particular quest. No time like the present!]

Well, then. Any thoughts on our plan of attack?

[Caution should definitely be at the forefront of their minds, she thinks. If they do well here, it will be well worth it— the pay being offered is nothing to sneeze at.]

iii. national mushroom month

[Normally, Jade is inclined to take the more active sort of odd jobs that pop up throughout Camelot— typically those that require a rather physical solution in the interest of playing to her strengths, but the simplicity of gathering mushrooms for National Mushroom Month had appealed to her in a way she couldn’t quite explain. As a result, she now finds herself at the edge of the Dusklight Woods with whoever else has seen fit to volunteer for this particular task, gathering and sorting mushrooms depending on what’s fit to eat and what’s better off being sent to the apothecary.

She pauses to give one an experimental sniff after picking, looking thoughtful for a moment.]

This one is safe.

[Into the growing basket of edible mushrooms it goes. Something about foraging reminds her of some of the warmer moments in her childhood; there hadn’t been many, to be sure, but she and Rab had spent so much time on the road fending for themselves that there had certainly been many instances in which the only thing they had to eat was whatever they could find for themselves in the wild. A faint smile pulls at one side of her mouth as she approaches the next cluster of mushrooms; when she had been small, she’d always hated chores like these, but Rab had managed to spin things by turning foraging into a sort of game, knowing that speaking to her competitive nature always put the princess in better spirits.

Fond memories are interrupted as she investigates the next bunch, recoiling and wrinkling her nose as the scent marks them as clearly not safe to eat.]

Ah— apothecary, for these. [She makes sure to put it in with the appropriate findings, then looks to whoever is gathering alongside her.] I think it’s been an even split so far. Find anything particularly interesting?

iv. shining karaoke

[Jade’s work at Shining Karaoke typically keeps her in the kitchen, but tonight the establishment’s public bar had been a bit short-handed, and with the security portion of her job being typically light given the nature of the business, she had been quick to offer her help. It was good for her to keep busy, especially lately, and over the last few months she’s found herself quite at ease with the bar’s general ambience.

She smiles and approaches any newly-arrived patrons who may head towards the bar, leaning against it with one arm as she inclines her head to greet them.]

Looking to make use of a room, or just here for a drink?

[Either way, she’s happy to help.]

Comments

[feisticuffs]

[Jade nods to him before trying another door— nothing— then crosses the corridor to join him. They're running out of options; it has to be this one or the next, otherwise they'll have to consider that the knights might have been moved.

Heavens above, she hopes not.]

By process of elimination, there's a good chance.

[She curls her fingers into a tight fist, ready to launch herself at anyone who might get in their way— but if they're lucky, the knights will be untended for now. If everyone is supposed to be working, a security might have decided a lock was enough, and between the two of them, she's sure they can break or pick it.]

[tantailizing]

Taking a chance then...!

[It's 50-50 and if they're wrong, they knock anyone inside out and run to the last room. From there, they could bail... but now that he's thinking a little, would they be able to get the knights out of here scot-free? When there was a spell keeping underage patrons out?]

[They can worry about that later, he picks the lock and opens the door.]

[cantgetanyworse]

Right.

[She knows the tactic. It's the same kind of one that a pack of predators would use. Pick a member of the pack that's wandered out alone, circle it, then close in.

Gulp.]

I'll go this way.

[She tips her head slightly, then starts moving off in that direction. Carefully, now. Don't want to startle the little thing.]

[standvastig]

Princess!

[Hendrik cannot help but exclaim in alarm when he hears her in (what seems like) pain, distracted away from approaching another of the sheep as he looks over to her in concern. He hesitates upon seeing she isn't aflame or something worse before firming his jaw.]

The way I recall seeing sheep controlled was by hooking an arm around its neck and lifting so it is off-balance.

[Easier said than done when sneaking up may be the toughest part of this endeavor. He tries to return his focus to catching a sheep for himself, only to find the closest one has already scampered off in the commotion.]

[sereneadherent]

[Marianne shakes her head slightly.]

We weren't. And aren't. My adoptive father is a distant relative who more a politician than anything else. I'm grateful that he took me in when I had nowhere else to go, but... I suppose it was what it was.

[Not very long ago, Marianne would be speaking of this with a great deal more sadness and anger. But she's grown as a person, as much as one can during a war, and she's working harder to make peace with the circumstances of her adolescence and young adulthood so far.]

We're learning to understand each other now. So I have that, at least.

[She pauses after Jade offers her condolences. Really, the other woman's strength of spirit and character despite what must have been a difficult life is nothing short of amazing.]

Thank you. And I'm sorry you had to run from yours, whatever the reasons were.

[gunmettle]

[ At some point after Jade departs, another denizen of the bar sidles up to him. An impossibly delicate-looking woman, who even Juzo thinks is pretty in a way that he can’t quite pin down. Perhaps if he were better versed in this whole magic thing, he’d recognize the fey for what she is, and the glamour that drifted around her like a sweet-smelling breeze. It makes it hard to focus, harder still to respond when she asks him to accompany her to the back of the club for some private time.

He gets the “no” out eventually, at which point she pouts, and blows a fistful of glitter in his face. After that, well. He doesn’t remember much. The world started to swim and eventually went dark, and when he comes to, he finds himself in a small, dark little room, his hands bound behind his back – and he’s not alone either. There’s a handful of other men – the missing knights, he’d wager.

Shit. Some help he is.

All this to say, when Jade blows by Juzo’s table to collect him, the Resolver is nowhere to be found. His drink remains, untouched, and a dusting of magicked glitter adorns the table’s surface.

She’s on her own, at least for now. ]

[feisticuffs]

[Oh, getting out of here scot-free was always a distant, distant dream— but they'll deal with the consequences when it's time. For now, the most important thing is locating and freeing the prisoners.

The door swings open, and a number of fey knights bound in iron shackles look up at their would-be saviors with some small amount of trepidation, while Jade clouts Zidane on the shoulder as she passes in quick, wordless thanks of his lockpicking skills.

"Please, let us rest, or feed us—" one of the knights begins, and Jade shakes her head, holding a hand up.]

We're here to let you out. Keep it down, will you? We'll get these bonds broken in no time.

[feisticuffs]

[Jade nods in response, inclining her head in the opposite direction.]

We'll meet in the middle, then.

[She turns to leave, giving the sheep itself a wide berth to start with, and when she begins to make her way back in, each step is as quiet as it is careful, keeping her center of gravity low just in case she does end up getting bucked or headbutted.

She extends a hand outward during her approach, fingers spread in an attempt to present herself as non-threatening. So far, so good...]

[feisticuffs]

[She holds up a hand in response to his sudden distress as she rights herself— it's still touching, in a way, that he worries even though he does not share her memories of them fighting alongside one another as adults, but she supposes that with or without that experience, Hendrik will always be Hendrik.]

I'm fine, I promise— and really, you can call me by name, at this point.

[She wishes he would. The title means nothing to her here, and she would rather be "Jade" than "Princess" to those she considers close friends.

His advice, however, is quite sound. She smiles as she spots the sheep currently scampering in the opposite direction; they had made a good bit of noise, hadn't they?]

That seems like a sound approach. I've never seen that before. They're so small, I worry that they might wiggle free, but regardless of size, I suppose sheep are still sheep?

[And anything that might help them get the job done is worth trying.]

[tantailizing]

[Right, it'd be too boring if it was so simple.]

[Seeing the fey knights locked up in iron shackles, Zidane makes a mental note and nods to Jade after the tap on the shoulder. While she approaches the knights, he spins around and closes the door again. He'll hold back and listen out unless she needs his help.]

Think you got those handled?

[feisticuffs]

[Jade gives a solemn nod of understanding as she listens closely, watching her friend's face for any particular tells. Was the relationship actually contentious, she wonders, or just cold and distant? But it seems that in learning to understand one another, there's room to move forward— for things to change.

It would never be the same as having her own parents, she's sure, but she's glad to see that Marianne seems focused on the present and future, rather than the past.]

I wish you the best, when you see him again.

[And when Marianne offers her own condolences in turn, she pauses for a moment, wondering how much she should say— how much she wants to say. Eleven is gone now, as is Dimitri as she'd known him, and she and Hendrik don't share the close friendship that they had under different circumstances. Otherwise, they would all have been obvious choices to share these sorts of thoughts with, but as it stands...

She doesn't wish to burden Marianne, but she does want to be honest with her.]

... when I was very young, a neighboring kingdom was invaded by monsters— creatures of darkness, acting as a single army. The kingdom fell, and the influence of those monsters as well as their leader spread. The kingdom I'm from— it fell under that influence. My mother had already been gone for some years, but my father— the king— had his mind taken from him by the Dark Lord.

[feisticuffs]

Juzo, could you—

[She finally whips her head around to search for her partner in this venture, expecting to spot him at his table, only find it empty. The glitter is eye-catching enough that she can quickly put the pieces together— he was rather to the madame's current tastes, after all.]

Oh, hell.

[She sighs heavily as she grabs hold of the edge of the table and springs back to her feet, turning just in time to jam her elbow into the gut of one of the bouncers as he catches up to her, then turning sharply into an uppercut before she grabs hold of him and throws him directly into his partner, sending them both flying so that they crash into a table and end up in a heap among a number of chairs.]

Guess I'll have to do this part myself.

[Well, time to put those breaks she spent mapping the back corridors to good use. She has a strong suspicion she knows exactly where Juzo's been taken.


Ten minutes later, the door to the room in question is kicked off its hinges, revealing an extremely harried-looking Jade and, just past her, the unconscious body of another security guard sprawled on the floor.]

Juzo!

[gunmettle]

[ It turns out to be a good thing that it takes Jade a while to get to him. He spends a good few minutes shaking off the effects of the magic, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He’s been drugged before, knocked out, but this magic shit is on a whole different level. His extensions don’t fight it the way they would something physical.

He hears the commotion in the hall long before Jade bursts into the room, and he tries his damnedest to snap the restraints keeping his hands bound. Yet another reason for him to miss his usual strength, because his efforts yield little but sore wrists.

Soon enough, the door goes flying, clattering to the floor at Juzo’s feet. He’s embarrassed as hell to be caught like this, but manages to keep it out of his tone. ]

Good news, found the missing knights.

[feisticuffs]

I've picked a few locks in my time— and if all else fails, I can slice or punch my way through.

[Fortunately, it looks like there aren't many actual shackles involved— though the variety of bonds used to keep the the captives in place does raise a few questions.

Not the time, she supposes.]

You'll keep an ear out?

[tantailizing]

If that doesn't work, I'll trade ya.

[But he doesn't think she'll have much trouble getting them out.]

Yeah, I got it covered. Try to be fast. Never know when the Madame will show up.

ARRIVES LATE WITH BUBBLE TEA.

[inemeraldfaith]

[Aerith laughs and make an observation that in Camelot, meeting anyone at any given time tends to be under questionable circumstance when one considers their united circumstance.

Leaning onto her forearms as she exchanges her gaze between Tifa and Jade, she listens intently. She can't remember having a lot of opportunities to practise the arts of subterfuge in the past, but there's a first time for everything. The prospect of being a new hire—pretending to be, anyway—is an appealing one. But that's because she's still viewing it through the lens of adventure.

She nods slowly.]

I have elemental magic. Not sure how useful it'll be, but I'm sure I can use it for something. [She's taking another moment to assess the club and its various accents here and there. If need be, there's plenty of things not bolted down that they could probably use. Hopefully it won't come to that, but...] Tifa and I can act. We're both pretty good at it.

[She looks over to Tifa with a knowing smile. A certain adventure with Don Corneo settles in her mind.]

[ofsilverflame]

"I appreciate it." Chris replies as they head off the floor. "Hey, do you mind if I ask how long you've worked here? You really seem to know what you're doing." It gets them off the floor, which was step one. As they pass through the employees only door into the back halls, Chris looks around, her posture straightening, her expression becoming more...focused. Intense, even. "Gosh, this place is bigger than I realized." She says. "How do people avoid getting lost back here?"

Maybe she can get some intelligence on the layout of the off-limits area of the club. If the knights are being held anyway, it'll likely be in whatever passes for the performer's rooms. A minute or two to pump her chaperone for a little information, and then...the rest rooms. That should provide an adequate excuse to step away for a "minute or two"...and hopefully get the knights out of here.

[feisticuffs]

[Well, at least he seems to be taken this in stride. The fact that he's able to offer even a deadpan response is far better than she'd expected, given she can only imagine what someone must have tried to do to him in order to force someone of his size and strength to cooperate.

It could very possibly be worse. She exhales heavily, propping a hand against her hip.]

You certainly did. Nice work.

[She steps over the fallen door to circle behind him and inspect his bonds, crouching down to quickly put herself to work loosening them.]

I knew I shouldn't have left you alone— you're exactly the boss' type!

[feisticuffs]

'Fast' won't be a problem.

[She's quick to set about her task, occasionally glancing back towards the door to make sure nothing is amiss, but moving through the room to either break or pick her way through bonds. One by one, the knights are broken free; there are sighs of relief that echo throughout the room as the captives shake out their limbs and joints, some dropping to their knees once they're free to do so.

Soon enough, they've all been cut loose— but there's the sound of movement in the distance that indicates they're not going to have the clean getaway they might have hoped for. Jade frowns tightly, then reaches to break the lock on the nearby window so that she can slam it open— it's high up, but it should make a decent enough exit for the captives.]

All of you, go through there and run— we'll keep these guys occupied to buy you some time, then follow!

[feisticuffs]

"I've been wondering the same thing. It's almost like a maze in places," Jade offers easily, looking back over her shoulder to study her fellow new hire for a moment before she opts to answer her first question. Well, no harm in that, is there?

"I'm actually quite new, myself. I just catch on quickly. It seems there have been a lot of new additions."

Including certain knights.

[ofsilverflame]

Chris brushes an errant lock of hair away from her face. "Yeah, that's what I heard too. It's...why I signed on. They seem to be taking as many people as they can get." Even if the people aren't willing.

However, Jade's comment has opened up an opportunity, so Chris decided to try her luck. "Ah, a friend of mine actually got hired here before I did. As a, um, performer. It was a pretty surprising career change for her, to be honest. Hey, do you know where the performers are kept? I mean, before they go on?" She asks. "I thought if I got a chance I'd go let her know I'm working here now too, and wish her luck before she goes on stage tonight, but I haven't had time yet."

[tantailizing]

[He promises, he's got the door good and locked down, keeping and ear close, but also looking back over to make sure she's got everything under control. The chains are loud when they rattle off, but no one's coming still...]

[... Ah, there it is. Zidane moves so he's not behind the door but right next to the wall beside it, hands resting on the wall and ready to pounce.]

Yeah, we got this! [Though, he might also insist she follows them just in case someone's waiting outside the window.]

now I want bubble tea 🥺

[starshower]

[Tifa could probably use magic, but she's about ready to lay down some punches on the "Queen" that took these men hostage. But first, they'll need to find them.]

We've had some practice.

[All three of them are on the same page at least with the need for subtlety, except this might have to be handled a little more delicately. Where there were only the three of them at Corneo's, there are others they need to watch out for this time. Not just the knights, but the other people in the club as well. Innocent people who can't get caught up in the crossfires of the job, so they'll need to be more careful.]

So, after we get the costumes, what'll it be? Do we know where she's keeping them? What we should be looking out for?

[Do any of them even know what these Knights look like?]

[gunmettle]

[ It still feels a little like his head isn’t quite attached to his body, like he’s just woken up from a nap that’s left him groggy. It’s not the worst or the most harrowing out-of-body-but-not-really experience he’s ever had, but it’s sure damn annoying. The fairy lady probably had to use some potent stuff to get him back here. ]

Lesson learned, huh?

[ He’s starting to really dislike being certain people’s “type”.

Juzo’s restraints appear to be plastic zip cuffs. There’s a bit of magic in them to strengthen them, but nothing so extreme as making them indestructible. He cranes his head to get a look at her as she tries to pull them loose. ]

Got a knife? Otherwise, I can snap ‘em if you let me borrow some of your magic.

[reresurrected]

Well...

[And here he lowers his voice and leans in just a bit as if he's about to reveal a secret to her. It's more theatrical than anything else - the way she'd glanced over her shoulder like that just confirmed his suspicions, that she's most likely here for the same reason he is - but he might as well keep up the show just in case anyone happens to be watching them.]

Just between us, I like a man who looks like he knows his way around a battlefield.

[It's a perfectly logical thing to not want to broadcast to the entire rest of the club, nothing odd at all about wanting to be a little secretive about that.]