[WORLD ONE | POST-UVI CELEBRATION]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Coven members and Palai
Where: In and around the Aimintas marketplace
When: Day 39
Open/Closed: Open to All

After an appropriate amount of time for mourning, the Palai have shifted into a more positive mood -- they're a very resilient species, though there is a bit of a muted tone to their celebration. The whole event is a little hodge-podge, mostly because they aren't used to having to celebrate with the coven members added to the guest list. The Palai have gathered together all of their people and have invited the coven members to a small, intimate gathering -- the purpose of the event is to thank them for their service in fighting the Uvi, and the success of freezing the Uvi in their home. While no one knows how long the Uvi will stay gone, any amount of time without the Uvi being a concern is fine by them. The event takes place in the very center of the marketplace, with the Palai interacting on the fringes of the party throughout the rest of the large building. The coven members have time to spend by themselves, but there's room for moving around on their own and also spending time with the Palai if they so choose. A ▢ One of the more noticeable editions to the food the Palai have provided is a large pile of sweet, sugar dusted pastries. You may notice that something about them seems...odd, to say the least. It looks as if the pastries are vibrating slightly, but they smell divine. If you're so inclined to ask what the deal is, these pastries are magically infused by Eltos, which somehow gives them a sweeter flavor and enhances the sensation of tastebuds. The Palai sometimes eat these before meals in order to better the flavor of their entire spread -- though adding this energized magic to an already magical being means magic powers may be a little off kilter. Don't be surprised if suddenly your abilities go a little crazy. B ▢ The Palai aren't participating the party for two big reasons. One, the purpose is to celebrate the victory of coven members. The other reason, however, is one that may be more interesting to outsiders. While previously the Palai were peaceful people, happy to exist submitting to the Uvi, the coven's show of strength and valor has inspired them to be more aggressive in their approaches. Grown Palai can be seen working on makeshift weapons, but the idea of smaller tools like slingshots have already been constructed and almost perfected. The Palai youth have discovered these tools and are playing with them gleefully, though occasionally hitting each other -- and potentially you -- with energized, paralyzing rocks fueled with Elto energy. Watch out or you might get zapped! C ▢ Other Palai youth aren't as fortunate to be so distracted and happy. While fewer Palai died during this attack, the casualty number wasn't zero. Most Palai children still have at least one family member to care for them, but they're still a little disconnected from their people by means of grief. Some are milling about with the coven members, trying to eat or pester them for attention. If you're good with kids this may be more your speed, but those bad with children can find this irritating. Some Palai youth are more muted, however, content to just sit and listen to stories or eavesdrop on conversations. D ▢ For some people, rain isn't that big an issue -- but it certainly puts a damper (get it?) on a party. The Palai seem a bit confused by the sudden shower that comes in heavy as the evening dies down. The Palai have never experienced rain before, using irrigation systems and existing ground water as their means of hydration (both for themselves and for plants). Because the rain is coming from the ocean, the drops are large and salty, and the marketplace quickly begins to flood. The Palai move the party indoors for the most part, but that doesn't mean you or the food aren't already soaked. It's much warming underneath the roofs in the marketplace, but that doesn't provide much relief since the ocean rain is warm and humid. E ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

[alphonse]

[At first, whatever Al was going to say is cut off by Palai children who are entirely too excited about the object of their attention coming closer. Sorry Geir, but nothing is cooler than a dragon. Al carefully restrains one before she can make a leap for the poor guy's head, all the while standing to give him a better look at the figure.]

It's just alchemy. I hope you don't mind we borrowed your likeness. These kids are pretty hard to say no to.

[rootandbranch]

No, it's great! Can you make another one?

[Geir's reaction is pure excitement, not so far from the excitement of the little kids; it's very flattering, at least. alerted to the presence of the kids and their interest in seeing him closer up, he bends his head down so they can see him better.]

Haha, hi, guys...

[alphonse]

[Okay, that's pretty cute.]

Sure. Let me try something a little different.

[He claps and kneels again, transmuting a bigger stone dragon this time--one that's more akin to the size of a playground ride than a handheld toy. It doesn't take long for a couple of the kids to catch on and climb on top like they're pretending to ride the real thing.]

[rootandbranch]

Do they want to ride me? They could just ask.

[Geir puts his nose down to sniff at the stone dragon in amusement. it really does look quite like him...]

This is probably safer, though.

[he's gotten a vague idea that safety versus kids is something that people care about. he guesses that his parents cared a little about it, too, though not nearly as much as for these tiny lizards.]

If you'd make one more of them, I want a little one to give to my summoner. I think he'd like it.

[alphonse]

That and they'd probably never let you out of their sight again.

[Al's hoping he doesn't have to try and talk them out of asking. He likes kids, but seasoned and responsible babysitter he is not.

He gives Geir a nod and produces another small dragon, with a bit more attention to detail since this one isn't immediately going into the hands of rambunctious children.]

You got brought here with someone? That's lucky.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir pauses for a breath to absorb the possibility of showing up in Aimintas without Vern. he knows it's possible -- has even talked with people for whom it happened -- but he's never really quite confronted it, and doesn't really want to. he makes a swift decision that Qri would really get more than she bargained for, if that ever came to be.]

I don't know what I'd do if one of us got brought here without the other. I'm not going anywhere without him!

[scoops the new dragon carefully up in his claws, fascinated by the workmanship...]

This is incredible. How do you do that?

[alphonse]

With alchemy. It's the science of using natural energy to manipulate matter, so something like this is pretty simple. Where I come from it's a common thing to study, but...

[He looks around at the others, shrugging a bit helplessly. Diversity of homelands isn't really something that needs to be spelled out in a conversation between a teenage suit of armor and a talking dragon.]

I guess all our worlds developed really differently.

[rootandbranch]

[with perfect honesty]

I've never studied anything in my life. That's not something I've ever heard of, though.

[he snuffles carefully at the statue, then hoards it in against himself, pulling his claws in close against his chest.]

...different, yeah.

[alphonse]

Well, we definitely don't have anyone like you back there either.

[It occurs to him that Ed would think Geir is the coolest thing ever. Alas.]

I'm Alphonse, by the way. It's nice to meet you.

[rootandbranch]

I'm Geir! It's nice to meet you, too. Someone who can make something out of a rock like that is amazing.

[maybe Geir would have thought Ed was the coolest thing since sliced bread, too?]

Hey, can you put more spikes on the one for the kids?

[...they definitely have an aesthetic in common.]

[alphonse]

[Ah. So he's doomed to be haunted by bad taste across dimensions.]

You're sure that's what you want?

[rootandbranch]

I just assumed they'd like it. What do you think, kids?

[Geir puts his nose down by the rideable Geir model to inquire. it's up to you, small Palai children! do they also agree with the spikes agenda?]

[alphonse]

[Al, who is sporting an ironic number of spikes himself, is tragically the only one opposed to the spikes agenda. The kids erupt in a chorus of cheers almost immediately, and Al knows he's beaten.

(His brother must never, ever find out about this.)]

I guess that's a yes. This isn't usually my style.

[And so the bigger Geir gets a tacky and fearsome new makeover, and the Palai kids waste no time in finding new parts to dangle precariously from. On the bright side, it has to be getting them closer to tiring themselves out.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir watches the new additions longingly. the Palai children are totally in the right. he'd be so much cooler with more spikes.]

I wish you could give them to me for real. You said it's called-- alchemy, right?

[he watches the kids dangling. Alphonse said it was a common field of study where he's from... he wonders when he started learning it. as a child, like these Palai? Geir has a vague idea that for scholars and people who learn things, it starts early.]

Could you teach anyone else?

[alphonse]

There's no reason someone else couldn't learn, but I don't think I'm cut out to be a teacher. It takes [being completely and utterly terrifying in every possible way] the right kind of personality, or you could end up doing more harm than good.

[rootandbranch]

Oh... that's too bad. I wondered if you couldn't teach the Palai.

[Geir shakes his head regretfully. that would be a much easier way for them to make weapons and cope with their dead parents, after all.]

They need a lot of help. But what kind of person is better at teaching?

[alphonse]

[Dead parents + alchemy is the worst combination.]

Without knowing how long we'll be here and with no other resources to leave behind, I'd probably be teaching them just enough to be dangerous to themselves. Alchemy's useful, but it's really powerful too.

The best teachers don't just teach alchemy by the book. It's more about how alchemy fits into the world as a whole, and how important it is to respect that. And even then...

[Well. A great teacher didn't stop him from ending up this way. He shakes his head, abandoning the thought.]

I don't know. Maybe there's no perfect way to do it.

[rootandbranch]

[he puts the thought aside to find Geir watching him with unabashed interest. where does this guy get this stuff? he's never heard anything like it before-- when his family taught him to fight, in a haphazard sort of way as he started to challenge them, "how to use your power" was never considered at all, and "how it fits into the world as a whole" was not discussed. it sort of makes sense -- Geir's ultimate role was not supposed to be to fit into the world -- but the difference in approach is still startling.]

I guess so... you say a lot of weird things. What does it matter what they do with it in the world? Won't they just defend themselves and do what they want?

[alphonse]

In my country, there's an old saying about how alchemists are supposed to serve the people. It doesn't always end up that way, but the idea behind it is that every person contributes to the flow of the world, so it's important to have a positive impact.

The more someone understands the big picture and the way things are connected, the better suited they're going to be to become an alchemist. When I was being taught, my teacher included a lot of fighting training to show how the principles of alchemy could be applied to all kinds of things you'd never expect.

[Out of context it all sounds a little too philosophical for his taste, and he gives a short laugh.]

But like I said, I'm not an expert. I've gotten it wrong plenty of times.

[rootandbranch]

That all sounds like something an old hermit or wizard would say, but I don't really get how fighting makes you better at giving back to the world... maybe I just don't get it.

[he looks with Alphonse with a great deal of interest, though. Alphonse seems like a very smart, thoughtful person.]

You might not be an expert, but you really sound like you care about it when you talk about it. That's interesting.

[alphonse]

[An old hermit or a wizard... Sometimes it's lucky for Al's social life that he doesn't have facial expressions.

To the rest, he simply nods.]

I've been studying alchemy for as long as I can remember, so it's really important to me. But most people have something like that, right?

[General, because he can't begin to guess what the equivalent might be for Geir.]

[rootandbranch]

Something... they study?

[Geir certainly doesn't have something like that, but he wonders suddenly if he WOULD, if he hadn't been asleep waiting for the end of the world. what would he be passionate about? he can't imagine any more than Alphonse can. there's something scary about that.]

...I don't know. Maybe everyone does.

[alphonse]

Not necessarily study, but something they're passionate about or just really enjoy doing.

[The look he's giving Geir could be read as expectant, but sensing the confusion his tone turns more thoughtful.]

I don't think everyone figures it out as early as I did, though. Sometimes it takes a lot of searching.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir hears his confusion and thoughtfulness and feels the need to speak to it in some way... his tone is almost apologetic. clearly this is one of those things that you typically know already.]

Sorry. I didn't wake up that long ago, so... I don't really know what I like yet. I'll figure it out.

[alphonse]

It's nothing to be sorry for. You've got all the time you need and it's not like there's a right or wrong way to do it. I know being here is weird, but getting to see new worlds is a pretty great opportunity to try new things too.

[Objectively, theirs is an amazing situation. If Al didn't have existing obligations and intense distrust of all things Qri he'd be a lot more excited about it.]

How long have you been [a hint of hesitation; did he hear that part right?] awake?