isleofavalon | [Open] Living with painful memories...

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[Open] Living with painful memories...

🧙 WHO: Claire Redfield

cameprepared & You!
⚔️️ WHAT: An open log with some closed prompts.
🕒 WHEN: Early April
🗺️ WHERE: All over Avalon. Primarily the Training Grounds and Camelot.
⚠️ WARNINGS: Possible Strong Language, mentions of Zombies and other Resident Evil canon things, and general violence/blood in quest threads

Note that I will match Prose or Brackets, I have no preference!

Moving Day (Camelot/The Inn)

When the rain starts, the only thing Claire can think of is that old proverb April showers bring May flowers. The heavy, heavy rainfall isn't really unexpected since this is basically magical England, but she can't help but curse her luck at deciding to move during a rainstorm. Renting out a small house with a couple of extra rooms for her and Sherry wasn't exactly straining the budget, so it made sense. They needed room to grow, and so did their familiars.

And so the inn's hallways are filled with the sounds of moving boxes and one Claire Redfield with a stack of them in her arms. Not that Claire has a ton of stuff, but she's been here for a few months and she's a bit of a pack-rat. Also, she's kind of moving alone, not wanting to be a pain.

"Sorry, you mind telling me when I'm about to hit the steps?" she asks, realizing she's not alone in the hallway and can't quite see the stairs around the boxes. "And...sorry for being in the way."

I'm Only Happy When It Rains (Training Grounds)

After getting everything moved over, which is of course when there's a short break in the weather, an exasperated Claire heads over to the training grounds. That's the best place to blow off some extra steam, in her estimation. This time, she's working with something new. Dark Magic she's gotten a fairly decent grasp at by now, but her Green Magic is something totally new. Standing in the center of a circle of training dummies, she's holding out her hands, and out of her sleeves a dozen or so small vines seem to be writhing and growing. They're moving slowly, and Claire is obviously deeply focused, but after a moment or two they go limp and she sags in plain exhaustion.

"Fucking hell, this is hard..."

Spiders, Man! (Quest, Closed to Pre-Plotted CR)

Sliding off of her bike and looking at her companion, Claire makes no bones about her trepidation. The Dog had already run on ahead, sniffing out the location, and she trusts her familiar to do a good job with that...but going into a dark and enclosed space full of monsters brings back some bad memories. Breathing out slowly, trying to steady herself as she checks her pack, she nods. And then nods again, more to herself this time.

"Ready, then?" she asks, voice full of feigned confidence, hand resting on her familiar's shaggy head.

The Library...is Open! (Quest, Closed to Pre-Plotted CR)

Hand on her gun, the Dog at her side, Claire's feeling decidedly more comfortable with the Labyrinth than she had the spider hollows earlier that week. This is at least inside, and it's more within her wheelhouse than giant spiders. Plus, all they have to do is hunt down some slimes and those seem easy enough to kill.

So, flashlight held up, shoulders back, she grins confidently.

"Alright. So did you go down and explore this place before?"

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Chris is just finishing tying up the horse she had borrowed to ride out with Claire. "Just a moment." All in all she seems far less nervous than Claire, due to having faced far worse than giant spiders in her time. However, she can tell her comrade is apprehensive, and she's not the only one. Unlike The Dog, Holly has remained with them, and is eyeing the caverns with a great deal more obvious terror.

"U-Umm, so listen, you guys mind if I stay out here?" She squeaks. "A-After all, someone's gotta watch the horse and hog, right?"

Chris nods. "Fine. But don't fall asleep this time." She says sternly.

"Absolutely no chance of that, FC. Trust me."

"Good. In that case Claire, I shall take the lead." She offers, then holds out her sword, and closes her eyes. It's sort of fitting she makes the spell's debut here, since it was working with Claire primarily that helped Chris find her focus regarding her Elemental magic. Drawing on the necessary energies, she passes her hand over the blade, focusing the familiar feel of fire magic onto the weapon, rather than channeling it herself. Her sword erupts in a sheath of flame where her hand passes over it with a whoomph.

She examines her Fireblade with satisfaction. "Excellent. I'm glad it worked." And it'll provide no small amount of light down there as well. Good for them, bad for the spiders. She steps forward past Claire to take point without fuss, holding the sword out in front of her as a source of light. "Stay close." She tells Claire, and proceeds forward.

Rinea cannot see the face of the person behind the boxes-- from her perspective at the door to her room, she was just addressed by cardboard with legs. But something about the voice is familiar in a strange, dreamlike way, and the sound of it makes Rinea pause while she struggles to place it.

"...Oh! Yes," she replies finally, remembering herself and walking out towards the stairway to indicate the landing. "Of course. Um, you still have plenty of clearance... just until you reach here."

Claire unholsters her gun as they arrive at the entrance to the burrow, setting her finger on the safety to quickly disengage it. The Dog appears a moment later, floating out from the inside in his more spectral form, silently taking a spot at the rear.

"Sure. Better that way, since you have the sword and armor, and I have a gun."

And unlike so many people in the movies, she knows guns work best at a distance. No need to be right up on someone to shoot them.

The spellwork on Chris's part earns her an impressed nod. She had figured that her new friend could manage the spell, and all it had really taken was practice. It was good to be helpful, calling her mind back to the first few tips that Caster had given her.

"I'm right behind you," she says, the fingers of her free hand conjuring up an inky shield that covers her flanks.

Lethe had brought little, in comparison; a pouch of medicine and a small knife. Making it across the shelves without detection had been simple enough. But Lethe was still a bit dubious, peering into the dark stone corridor beyond with suspicion. Had that board sent them on another impossible mission?

The Owl had taken up a silent perch on a bit of carved stone, and offered no verbal guidance. But with his help, seeing through the dark was much simpler.

"I made it across the library, yes. But my claws were useless on the enemies below."

Perhaps because all she had were this form's weakened ones. Retreating was wise, but still chafed at Lethe's nature.

Chris nods, and presses forward, into the cave, letting the sword light the way. It's about as good as a full on torch, she notes. A useful bit of information to have, as this surely won't be the last cave she finds herself exploring.

"G-Good luck! Don't let them lay their eggs in you!" Holly helpfully calls from behind them as they enter the caves, though the din of the rain muffles her call.

"Have you ever faced uncommonly large arachnids in your world?" She asks, keeping her voice low. "They are a not uncommon pest in mine, but I know people can find them unnerving." All the legs and chittering can be rather off-putting.

Strung over the opening in front of them are a few white whisps, blowing towards the cave entrance behind them. Chris reaches up and touches one with her gauntleted fist. It sticks in the manner which she expected, and she shakes it off with some effort. "Webbing. It'll get more pronounced as we head in. Be careful not to get stuck to it, it can slow you down."

"Yeah, and my gun was a normal gun at the time. But I've been upgrading."

Claire grinned, feeling a little cocky, but then how much worse could this be than Raccoon's sewers? The answer was "probably but in a different way" and she knew it, but it seemed a bit better to put on a show for Lethe.

"How's your magic? I never did ask what kind you got," she asks, heading into the first room, flashlight scanning the area.

"What the fuck, Holly?"

That's it. That's Claire's parting shot at the familiar. That's totally not helpful, you little devil!

Reorienting herself, she finally responds to the actual question.

"No. The only kinds of monsters I've dealt with at home are...a little less natural. We don't really have them, but that incident I mentioned at the party involved a bunch. To tell you the truth, I've done more fighting here than I have at home."

Then again, she'd thrown herself into all sorts of dangerous situations on purpose, here. It seemed like the thing to do, since it needed to be done, and if she didn't do it then some kid was going to have to. Or some kid was going to try, and get hurt.

"Got it," she says, positioning her shadow shield at an angle to press the webbing out of the way. "What should I be aware of, when it comes to these things? Aim for the eyes?"

[Balthier is fortunate enough to have been staying in a room above the ground floor— he doesn't mind the rain itself, but the threat of flooding seems to be growing very real, and has already done some damage in other structures. It's only a matter of time before the inn starts to get a little waterlogged as well, and so perhaps Claire is simply being forward-thinking by relocating before things get too dicey.

The sound of movement and boxes shifting are what draw him to open the door to his own room and lean out into the corridor to investigate, but it's not until she speaks— for he can't quite see her through the boxes she's carrying, after all— that he recognizes who it is that's making all the noise to begin with.

Interesting. He had thought he ought to seek out those who had caught a glimpse of Ivalice through his memory, but hadn't realized the two of them were hallmates. Emphasis on were, it would seem.]

You're not doing this all yourself, are you? Slow down a touch, you're nearly there—

[He steps out into the hallway itself and leaves his door open behind him, moving to take the topmost box off of her stack to free up her field of vision a bit.]

That ought to at least somewhat reduce the risk of a broken neck.

[He doesn't care how combat-savvy someone is, you don't venture towards a descent half-blind.]

[Venti, on one hand, isn't new to romping around in dusty old ruins and places like it. The Labyrinth is a lot like the old ruins around Mondstadt or some of the longer stretching domains. But it's really all the same- dusty and old. Full of monsters that are being pests. And somewhere in the distance, he can hear that telltale squishy noise of slimes... Well, maybe he can collect some condensate from this.

There is a small blue floating ball of energy following Venti. His familiar is quiet for the most part aside from a few squeaks it gives from time to time. And while Venti isn't particularly the biggest workaholic there is he does have a bow strapped to his back.]

I've only heard of what happened in this place once before, something about ghosts and spectres? How slimes infested this place next is anyone's next guess. I'm half a mind to wonder if someone let them in and they bred to their heart's content.

[Venti hums...]

Lethe was...a little dubious of those little weapons some beorc carried about here. She'd never seen them in action properly, though some spells seemed to use them, or aspects of them. But beorc were clever when it came to finding new devices for dealing death, and it really wasn't that much stranger than a mage's tome in the end. So she nodded, despite her reservations.

At Claire's question, though, her ears flicked in what could almost be called a smile.

"Showing you might be easier," the laguz said, as her form blurred and smoldered away. The light of the transformation was bright in the dark, but didn't linger. A panther sized cat, still with Lethe's bracer and green collar, hopped up onto a rather tall pile of rubble with ease, and she looked back with a swish of her tail.

"I can drain...magic, as well." The cat's mouth didn't quite move the same way a human's would, tending to emphasize the growly r's. But the words got there all the same.

[Claire peers over the box, blinking in surprise. She does recognize the voice, and now that she sees the man behind it, she breaks out a small smile.]

If you're volunteering, I don't mind the help. Not as exciting as tomb-raiding, but it's easier with a partner.

[The whole affair was unusual to say the least. She does remember rather vividly the life that other Claire had led, even if it was a fake one. It'd been a good deal more adventurous, but also fulfilling, in a weird way.]

You doing okay?

[Down the stairs she starts, taking it slow.]

Claire stops as she catches the voice, pausing just long enough to process it. She's got an ear for voices, and this one was particularly memorable. Just now, she doesn't really know what to say though, and so she takes a step or two forward, moving slow.

"Thanks. Sorry to interrupt your day. Just wanted to get these boxes done in one trip, y'know?"

As she reaches the stairs, and she's able to lower the boxes just a bit to see over it...she confirms her thoughts

"...And hey you."

"Oh...well then."

That was impressive, honestly. Really impressive. Claire hasn't really met anyone that's tried full on transformations yet. Impressive indeed.

"So, animal magic and siphoning? I think I can work with that. I use Dark Magic and Green Magic."

So, two of the nastier kinds of spells, if she's honest. She does wonder what that says about her...

[Monsters as pests is a strangely far cry from Claire's experiences at home. Monsters as anything but nightmares is a pretty new thing for her. Though Avalon's giving her adventurous nature plenty of time to come out.]

That would be dumb, but hey, who knows. There's all kinds of stupid people that do stupid things. Honestly, slimes in a library?

[Ghosts make more sense. She's seen Ghostbusters!]

Never did as, what kind of magic did they saddle you with?

Meanwhile, Harry is not having a great time with his recently acquired elemental magic, or rather, fire magic as he couldn’t stop accidentally setting things on fire. Even after he explained to Crowley back at the network how he found out about it and getting advice from the demon as well, he still finds it hard to control it properly.

So he is also at the training grounds trying to concentrate in conjuring fire from his left hand and only succeeding in creating a small flame when he hears vines sagging down onto the ground and sees that Claire is having troubles with Green Magic.

“Hey Claire, I could hear vines sagging down, what’s wrong?” he asks her in concern while he tries to make a larger flame to come out from his hand again.

As their gaze connects, Rinea's eyes widen with recognition. That's right-- it's Claire! The dream they'd shared comes flooding back to her all at once. The friendship, certainly: despite having only actually met Claire just now, she feels a certain kinship. But also...

"Oh!" Rinea stammers again, flustered. Her face rapidly begins to color, suddenly mortified. Oh, the things she'd subjected this girl to! The parts of herself that she hadn't meant to unload upon someone who is in reality a perfect stranger...!

"Lady-- Lady Claire," she manages, hands to her cheeks and expression creased with increasing shame.

"Goodness, I... I'm sorry. I don't know what to... What to..."

"Just...needs a lot more magical stamina than I've got right now. I felt like the spell was going to come apart the whole time."

Realistically, Claire probably started with a spell that was entirely too big for her, as a newbie to the magic. It was much, much more difficult than working with her Dark spells, especially shadow.

"I just need to practice. Build up the muscles, I guess."

That whole thing had been a lot. It had been a massively confusing time, and that false life had been interesting. A knight, or near enough, and a Lady. Someone with a lot more focus and direction than she had right now.

"Hey, it's okay. Why don't you start by taking that top box and helping me get it downstairs? It's not heavy."

She's still smiling though, not bothered at all by the perceived impropriety on Rinea's part. She truly doesn't care! Claire's a helper, and she'd have done that for anyone.

Precisely, of anywhere they could let in a horde of disgusting slimes that multiply faster than rabbits in spring... Ehh!

[Ick ick. At least meanwhile Venti seems to lift a hand and an arrow from his collection seems to float up and hovers in the air between them.]

I've been gifted with kinetic! And, hm, cognitive too? But I've yet to try this new skill out yet. I suppose it was too much to ask for some wind magic.

Harry gives a quiet nod in return, he could relate to the struggles she is dealing with their newfound secondary magics. He is slowly getting used to kinetic magic by now, though he knows that he still has a long way to go to fully master it. But man, elemental magic is going to a lot harder than he is hoping to be.

“Okay, I see. At least practising does help a lot, though you’re right on some magics needing a lot more magical stamina than we currently have at the moment,” he admits to her, “Currently, I tend to accidentally set some things, mostly trees and bushes, on fire right now, so I do feel like I was trying too hard to make things work.”

Both still useful.

[She...doesn't actually know many Elementalists. Though she does create a few globes of shadow. And a vine slips out from inside her jacket, waving at him.]

I have Dark and Green. So, I'd say we're probably okay when it comes to slime smushing.

"Yeah. Definitely take it slow with something that dangerous. Fire's...well, I mean it's fire."

Definitely don't get burned, Harry. You already have one scar.

"Have you tried water? That might be easier."

“I did tried to think hard for a rain shower one time to extinguish a fire on a large fallen tree, but I ended up snapping it to vanish and leave the tree without being harmed,” Harry replies to her, “I’ll give it a try though.”

So he turns his attention to a dead long tree branch and does his best to try to conjure up water to wash it away, only to not be successful in doing it. Well, maybe the elements tend to show up at random. Maybe he needs to focus harder to generate water properly?

“Well, no luck so far, I think I have better luck levitating a tree branch than summoning water or not burning things by accidentally right now,” he remarks in his current hapless luck with elemental magic.

"Merlin wasn't kidding when he mentioned the second magic was harder. The most I can manage with Green magic is this."

She holds up her hand, breathes out, and a small flower seems to sprout from thin air. Just appearing in her hand. Twirling it, she tilts it to him with a flourish.

"Good for parties, not so much for world-saving."

"A good strategy, if you have the skill to aim for them." Chris agrees. Roland was quite artful with his bow and could usually put out an eye or two when he encountered such beasts. "Their underbellies are often softer, good for striking at, if you can get below them as well." Though that might be something of a nerve-wracking proposition.

"They tend towards the venomous as well, if they scratch or bite you." Chris warns. "Assuming a similarity to the ones back home, it's not fatal, but the nausea and sickness they cause can sap your strength quite quickly. Your Dark Magic transference may be useful in that situation.

She pauses at the threshold as the cave widens into a larger, open, and very dark area. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up; they're close, she can feel it. "And keep your wits about you. They often like to attack..." Suddenly she thrusts upward with her flaming sword, and above her there's an angry squealing noise, and eight hairy legs drop down from above as her blade finds purchase. "...From above!" From the darkness beyond there's a cacophony of chittering, and multiple beady points of light in the darkness ahead, a sure sign that they've found the warren of spiders as Chris wrestles with the spider above her forcing it to the ground with her sword and giving it a good STOMP for good measure.

The battle, it seems, is upon them.

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[Open] Living with painful memories...

So Many Spiders

Moving Day

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Library

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moving day/the inn

the library is open

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Ugh I literally never got this notif! I'm so sorry!

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I’m Only Happy When It Rains

Absolutely no worries!!!

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