Claude von Riegan (
leicesters) wrote in
isleofavalon2021-06-05 10:14 pm
JUNE CATCH-ALL
🧙 WHO: Claude and pals
⚔️️ WHAT: Beach episode, questing and other happenings for the month
🕒 WHEN: Throughout June
🗺️ WHERE: Various
⚠️ WARNINGS: NPC death, blood and gore in the Scarlet Butcher quest thread.
[I'm adding a mixture of closed and open prompts in the comments. If you'd like to plot anything, feel free to PM me or hit me up here.]
⚔️️ WHAT: Beach episode, questing and other happenings for the month
🕒 WHEN: Throughout June
🗺️ WHERE: Various
⚠️ WARNINGS: NPC death, blood and gore in the Scarlet Butcher quest thread.
[I'm adding a mixture of closed and open prompts in the comments. If you'd like to plot anything, feel free to PM me or hit me up here.]

closed to the golden deer - beach episode!
He's also managed to rustle up a watermelon, which he's placed on a sheet, along with a bat... which can only mean one thing.]
Okay, team, listen up. I thought we could engage in a local custom of watermelon smashing! That over there is a fruit called a watermelon. [He points behind him.] The rules are simple. You take a bat, get blindfolded, we spin you around three times, and you have to try to hit the watermelon. The first person to crack it open wins. Although we all win, in the end, because then we split the pieces between everyone and chow down.
[It's probably more a job for Hilda or Raphael than any of them here, but... he holds out the bat all the same.]
Any volunteers to go first?
yay house beach party!
That said, she doesn't jump at the chance to be the first one to swing the bat. Currently, she's sitting on a beach towel with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her swimsuit is much more modest than that of most beachgoers, but it's far more skin than she's used to showing. She's a touch self-conscious about it, and there's only so much her hair--while quite long when let down like this--can cover.
There's also the practicality of the game itself, which gives Marianne some concerns.]
Isn't there a chance we'll get turned around and hit someone?
[By this, she mostly means 'isn't there a chance that I will get turned around and hit someone?' She doesn't have a lot of confidence in herself with this sort of thing.]
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[ On the opposite end of the swimsuit spectrum, Dorothea is decked out in a maroon and black ensemble that leaves very little to the imagination. A broad black hat keeps the sun out of her eyes as she stands nearby, arms casually akimbo. ]
I'll go first if no one else wants to volunteer.
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[For an army general, he sounds terribly proud of this. He did learn from the best of the best at running away, after all.]
Alright then, this is for you. [He hands Dorothea the bat, and somehow manages to navigate that huge sunhat of hers to tie on the blindfold snugly over her eyes.]
Okay, now I spin you around, aaaand... [One, two, three. He might be spinning her much faster than he would with Marianne or Flayn, but he's sure she can handle the extra challenge. Probably.] Off you go!
[He steps back before she can take a swing at him for said, uh, 'challenge'.]
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For now, though, it's time to have fun with her friends! Actual fun! Wearing an actual swimsuit! And there are toys that shoot water and brightly colored balls - and of course, this wonderful watermelon game.
She backs away, too, once Dorothea has the bat in hand.]
You can do it, Dorothea! Ah, it is quite a shame that Felix is not here. He is the most talented fruit cutter in all the world! I am certain that he could smash it just as well.
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Flayn starts cheering Dorothea on, and Marianne joins in with some clapping.]
Yes, we believe in you, Dorothea!
[It's more soft-spoken, but it's quite a lot coming from her.
The clapping stops abruptly as Flayn continues, and Marianne turns to look at her.]
...how do you know that about Felix?
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[Flayn, this is not usually what people mean when they talk about cutting fruit.]
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All right, here I go!
[ Facing what she hopes is the correct direction, Dorothea lunges and brings the bat down with a mighty swing like the finishing blow of a sword. ]
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Whoa-- You did it! [Although he's sure he doesn't need to tell her that, she must've felt the impact herself.] Way to go, Dorothea!
[He'll head back over to help her take the blindfold off.]
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All right, who wants a piece?
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[A smashed watermelon isn't quite the same as an aesthetically sliced watermelon, and certainly messier, but that's part of the fun.]
Oh, and if you eat the seeds by accident, don't worry about it! They're harmless.
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[Flayn applauds.]
Very well done indeed, Dorothea! What a marvelous strike! You certainly proved to that watermelon who is in charge!
And I would like a piece of watermelon, as well. Whether it is lumpy or not! It is fortunate that you have smashed the fruit so quickly, as I am quite famished.
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Yes, well done!
I'll have a piece too, please. A small one.
[Marianne has always eaten a bit like a bird, and even at a beach party that remains true.]
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[ Dorothea selects the more aesthetically pleasing pieces of fruit for her friends, because honestly, they deserve to have the best and she can't be bothered about how her own food looks. Marianne gets a small piece, as requested, but Dorothea is prepared to make sure she gets another one later, just so everyone is well-fed.
Only once all the others have a piece in hand does she take one for herself, smiling at them as she bits into the juicy chunk of melon. ]
Oh, it's so sweet!
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Oh, it is! It's perfect for a day like this.
[She may, in fact, take Dorothea up on the extra piece later.]
Did you have any other activities planned for after we finish our snack, Claude?
[The answer is almost undoubtedly "yes," knowing the Deer's leader.]
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[He takes a piece of watermelon for himself, grinning, before adding hastily--]
I was joking! No need for any withering gazes. I was thinking we could try beach volleyball next -- it's that game people are playing further along the beach with the nets. We have an odd number of players, so... Maybe we could take it in turns with someone playing referee?
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Still, this game he's mentioned sounds like fun, too!]
Ah, I am not familiar with volleyball, or any type of game with a ball, in fact. But I am quite eager to learn how! What is a referee?
closed to treehouse crew + flayn
He'd also warned both Blaze and Lizzie in advance that Flayn is sheltered, and while she was trying to move away from that here and in no way should anyone coddle her, they shouldn't do or say anything too outlandish that might shock her to death.
With that in mind, he met up with Flayn and lead her to the treehouse apartment he's been living in, leading her inside with a smile.]
Welcome to our humble abode, Flayn! And I mean very humble, it's no Garreg Mach. But I hope you like it here all the same.
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Before she even climbs the stairs, Flayn stares up at the house in awe. She follows him up the stairs and inside, wondering expression having changed not one bit.]
Oh, Claude, it is a most wonderful house! It is precisely as you described, like a tower in a fairy tale. And now, you have even invited a dragon inside.
[She giggles.]
Your home is absolutely beautiful, I adore it.
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I hear this dragon is friendly, so it's a risk I'm willing to take. [The interior is spacious and leads right in to a sitting area, with windows offering a view of the surrounding landscape, trees, and Camelot. Bookshelves line the walls, not quite bursting with books just yet but well on its way. Mostly (if not all) because of Claude and his voracious reading habits.] I'm glad you like it, anyway! Feel free to make yourself at home.
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(The dragon talk is... odd... but she decides to leave that alone. Maybe an inside joke between them?)]
Ah, you must be Flayn. It's lovely to meet you. I'm Lizzie.
[She reaches out a hand to shake.]
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I am indeed Flayn, and it is wonderful to meet you as well, Lizzie! I have rarely seen anyone with hair of such a beautiful and cheerful shade. In fact, I know only one person - ah, but I am certain that Claude must have spoken of our friend Hilda, has he not?
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[Inasmuch as, as a fellow pink-haired axe wielder, that it's a shame they haven't been able to meet due to Hilda not being here.]
And thank you! I wish I could take full credit for it, but the color isn't quite my natural hue. My hair is usually more silvery in tone.
Your hair color is quite lovely as well. And the cut is adorable--I seem to remember Claude describing you as having longer hair, so I have to assume that's new.
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[He'll let Flayn elaborate if she wants to; regardless, it's not his story to tell.]
Can I interest either of you lovely ladies in something to eat or drink?
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Thank you, I am quite proud of it. Ah, then you have changed the color of your hair! With a spell, perhaps? Or--ah, is it some manner of alchemy? Or a divine gift, like our professor? Oh, er...well, I suppose 'divine' is not quite the correct word, is it. At any rate, will your hair stay this shade indefinitely?
[Why no, she's totally not asking because she's curious about maybe dyeing her hair. Not at all.
When Claude mentions her 'reasons,' she lifts her chin with a slight huff.]
Indeed, those 'reasons' are no longer relevant in this world. [A pause.] Not...not that I do not occasionally miss them, it is only that they were such terribly annoying reasons, and--ah, forgive me, I did not mean to venture off onto a tangent.
How very kind of you, Claude! I would most certainly be interested in refreshments.
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I did do some research on how it works here, just in case. There are shops here that use alchemy to change hair color, if you're interested in that kind of thing.
[By which she means salons that use hair dye. But Lizzie doesn't really have the world experience to know the difference.
She chooses to leave her questions about these reasons to herself. It's fairly clear that they're a person, and perhaps it's better not to ask. Instead, she gives Claude a smile.]
Could get used to being treated as a guest in my own home. Yes, drinks would be wonderful. I think we have lemonade made?
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[She reaches up to pull a strand of her hair forward, to look at it.]
You see, the color of my hair and eyes marks me as a direct descendant of my homeland's dragon goddess--my grandmother, Sothis. Such a color is quite rare these days, as are my people, and it pleases me very much that I can carry a reminder of my grandmother and the rest of my family along with me wherever I go.
[Her eyes twinkle with a bit of mischief.]
But if it might be possible to change my hair's color only for a little while, then I think that I would like to try it!
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She's dressed like she just came from the gym, and perhaps she has, since she likes to frequent the one nearby after learning what a gym even is. ]
I'm home-- oh!
[ Her smile broadens when she realizes they have company. With a swing of her hips, she pushes the door shut. ]
Hello there! You must be a friend of Claude's.
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He's back in time for Blaze showing up with a tray laden with lemonade, greeting her with a grin.]
So she is! Blaze, this is Flayn. Flayn, meet Blaze. [He leaves the drinks on the coffee table, before moving to take one of the sacks of groceries off of Blaze's hands.] Here, let me help.
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Oh! Hello, Blaze! It is wonderful to meet you! Please forgive my staring, but I have never met anyone as tall as you before. I believe you must be even taller than Raphael or Chef Dedue!
[Flayn, she doesn’t know who those people are.]
And I see that your hair is a similar shade to Lizzie’s. Perhaps Claude should turn his hair pink as well, so as to better fit in!
[She giggles. If the thought crosses her mind that Claude might have A Type, she doesn’t voice it.]
Was yours colored by magic as well, or is it that lovely, vibrant shade all on its own? I have just been speaking with Lizzie about perhaps changing the color of my own hair. What color do you think would suit me?
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[ She doesn't know who those people are, no, but she can guess that they're rather large people if she's being compared to them. When Claude appears, she's happy to hand some of the groceries off, her sojourn to the kitchen stalled in favor of conversation. ]
I'm probably one of the taller people in the whole city, I think.
[ If there's someone who has her beat, she's yet to meet them. That aside, Flayn's sheer enthusiasm makes her laugh - as does the thought of Claude with pink hair. ]
Mine's natural, if you can believe it. As for you... I think a nice lavender would really go well with your eyes.
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[Flayn brightens at the color suggestion.]
Ah, truly? Hmm, I believe I can see it now. Another friend from home named Yuri had such pretty lavender hair. Perhaps I shall try it as well!
quest - the scarlet butcher (OTA) - cw: gore, blood, npc death
So he's checking out the latest crime scene, a gruesome discovery a local made in a back alley. He's also armed in anticipation of a confrontation, with the Sword of Begalta sheathed at his hip and a bow and quiverful of arrows on his back. Overkill, perhaps, but he knows he was lucky to escape with his life last time. If his hunch is right, he might not be so fortunate this time.
There are body parts strewn across the alley, blood staining the ground and even splattered on the walls. Mouth a thin line, he doesn't get any closer yet, turning to the person accompanying him.]
Are you sure you want to take a look? I don't mind if you'd rather keep watch while I check things out.
Re: quest - the scarlet butcher (OTA) - cw: gore, blood, npc death
I'm used to sights like these. Kinda part of my job back home. Well, my old one anyway.
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And what job did you have, exactly? Were you a sellsword?
[Or an assassin, maybe... meaning his choice of investigation partner was either a good one or a very bad one, depending on how one looked at it.]
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Shinobi student of Hebijo, though we were allowed to take on jobs for experience, and I ended up quitting. I guess now I kinda am a mercenary...granted I technically have no jobs back home.
[Taken just before offers could be made sadly.]
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Sounds like you have experience enough to at least get the gist of what's happened here. My guess is... [The body -- or at least what's left of it, its limbs strewn around the alley -- is face-down, but Claude doesn't disturb it except to check its temperature to the touch.] This victim looks like they were dismembered by a bladed weapon. The body's cold, so our killer is long gone by now.
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Seems rather excessive, definitely. If they were both fighters, it would make sense, like if they had to force them to go all out. But considering the area....do you think they enjoyed it or something?
[That would at least make Homura grimace a bit, if ever slightly. She was used to things, sure. Didn't mean she liked it. Fighting and brutal murders were different in her mind.]
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[He can't see one on the corpse's belt, but it makes sense that they might've had a chance to draw it first, if this was a fight rather than an outright murder.]
cw: more dead body parts
Not under the body. Then...[She put it back down. Okay, obvious spot was a no go. In a fight, if caught off guard, maybe it got knocked away? Fear or genuine skill could have done it. Or consider the mess...wait, the missing parts, like a hand. Staring at some nearby trash bags, a blade barely visible between them, she smirked. Then--]
Under there. [She was on the move again, and pulled at it from under some nearby trash. Though the smirk faded as...well some of the fingers came with it, not helped with the rest of the hand looking just as bad as the body.
She didn't give it a second though, briefly shaking the rest of the decomposed body part off. Bugs didn't bother her, but this was testing her patience now. She handed the knife to Claude, handle pointed at her partner.]
Anyway, body horror aside, can you tell anything from this thing?
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[ Honestly, she could smell it before they even arrived. Blood, the stench of death, it was unmistakable. And while part of it made the back of her mind itch, needled its way into memories of similar scenes... she didn't have that much trouble shoving it all down. Her lifestyle lent credit to that. ]
Besides, you need a killer to to track a killer. I'll be able to tell you, better than most, what happened here.
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Her usual cheerful demeanor is missing today; she is solemn but focused, almost businesslike, in a way that probably reminds Claude strongly of her father.]
I have seen far more war and death than even you have, Claude. I shall be all right. Please do not worry about me.
[She steps up to stand beside him and survey the carnage. True to her word, while the scene is of course disturbing and gruesome, it doesn't even come close to the kind of slaughter she has found on battlefields throughout her life.]
How may I assist?
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I already have a suspect in mind for who could have done this, but we still need clues. Whoever did this wanted people to find the evidence -- there's no way they'd do anything this showy otherwise.
While I check the body, can you look around for anything else that might be useful? A discarded weapon, maybe, or something else our killer or victim might've dropped.
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[She's not as worried about herself or Claude; they have been through much, and five years gone are the days when someone like the Death Knight could lay their hands on Flayn without a fight. But there are many in Camelot who are not veterans of war, and may not be able to defend themselves at all.
Still, looking over the carnage mournfully, for the first time since she arrived in this world, she finds she wishes her father were here. He would know what to do, how to find the killer efficiently. How to organize the efforts and make quick work of it. ...and, quite frankly, it would be comforting to have him here.
But the time for such wishing is not now. She traverses the scene, searching the nooks and crannies for anything that seems out of place or potentially helpful. Mostly she just finds more blood. She takes a moment to pray silently for this poor soul; perhaps her grandmother was never caretaker of this world, and the version of the professor who's here no longer carries her power, but the ritual itself is a kind of comfort, too.]
OVERFLOW
@ flayn
So Macuil really was the Wind Caller! I knew I was onto something. It's a shame he seemed to hate humans -- I bet he could have been a real help in the war.
[Though maybe Flayn and Seteth being there was the reason the big old thing just dozed off and let Claude take off with the treasure he guarded. Which he still carries with him here in Camelot, as a matter of fact.]
Flayn, I know this must be a difficult question to hear, but... Did Rhea make it? The last I remembered we'd rescued her from Enbarr, but she was in a bad way when I questioned her. [There's things he still wants to ask her, things even Flayn might not know, and he has no idea if she'll be around long enough to answer them.]
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[She sighs.]
I have tried many times to explain to him that the humans of Fodlan now are not the same as Nemesis and his terrible ilk, but he will hear none of it. Perhaps now that the war is over and the Professor is changing so many things for the better, he will yet change his mind. I do hope that someday you will get to meet him properly. He is much like you in some ways! I believe that if he only allowed himself to get to know you, he would like you very much.
[She gives Claude a small, reassuring smile.]
Worry not, Claude, she lives still. It was certainly no sure thing - she wished to participate in our battle in Shambhala and simply would not take no for an answer. When the Agarthans sent their horrible javelins of light to destroy the city and all of us with it, she transformed and flew into the sky to stop them. There was quite a harrowing time when we were not certain she would survive, but she is recovering now in Zanado.