[Open, Major Event] 12 June 2066

[geistnet]

Over the course of the last week, you'll have likely noticed the buzz and excitement that's been building all around Metro Manila -- if you've been around awhile, you know what time of the year it is. If you're new: well, this is an experience you're sure to enjoy.

The festive mood surrounding Philippine Independence Day is hard to miss. Wander around the metropolis and you'll note that the streets are filled with tourists and locals; turn one corner and you'll see parades, turn another and you may be treated to performances set up on strategically placed stages.

As for Falner, the colors of the Philippine flag seem to be everywhere you look: the kids who live or study at the estate are mostly running around with their faces painted. If you wander down towards the Fair Grounds in the South District, there are a couple of booths set up offering anything from body paint and temporary tattoos to local delicacies. West District establishments The King's Rest and Liquidated also have special treats aligned with the theme of the day. There's also talk about the annual street party which will be held over at the Baywalk later this evening, and the younger initiates are abuzz over the yearly light show held over Manila Bay that showcase reenactments of all the major battles all the way up to the Darkest Vigil.

Independence Day is also not all that's being celebrated, because for Keepers of the Vigil and supernatural communities all over the world, today marks the second anniversary of Arcis Fortress City.

OOC NOTES FOR PLAYERS

Don't forget to mention in the subject heading if your threads are OTA (Open to All) or Closed, and the time in which the exchange takes place. Feel free to make a top-level comment of your own if none of the placeholders fit. For details on each of the locations found at the Falner Estate, here is a handy link!

Comments

[naberus]

[You have enkindled a warm approval from Naberius, kid. Good job. She doesn't hand that out to just anyone.

Maybe it's because you remind her of herself strongly (well, granted, your eloquence needs work). You'll make a fine watchdog for the Blade King someday.

But not yet.]

What if it is the Lord Consort who caused him distress? What if it's a distress born of the affairs of the heart, a pain that will forge something greater from the ashes of what once was? Will you be able to tell the difference, child?

rolled resolve [3] + composure [4] to resist panic, 0 successes = 3, 7, 3, 6, 5, 2, 7

[lyall]

[ There are several things in that series of questions that makes her mind stutter to a stop. First, why would her King's beloved possibly cause him distress? True, she does not yet understand why they move around each other the way they do, and why her King allows himself to be touched so frequently that it seems that the gestures are so carefree; but she has watched the way Joshua LaRue and her King look upon each other, or even when the other is not. She has seen how easily her King's smiles come with that one.

As for the rest...

She's feeling distinctly uncomfortable now, and while she attempts to hide it, she does not do as well as she hopes. This exchange makes her chest hurt. She sets a hand over it beneath her cloak. She'd scratch the feeling away if she could, but it's there, deep beneath her skin. ]

poor babbu

[naberus]

[Oh dear, did she break you? Well, she won't have that.

She crouches down in front of you and gives you a Look.]

They have had fights, did you know? The Blade King and his Consort. They have fought in the past, over matters that they did not agree on. They will do so again. If you have not noticed yet, they are both strong-willed. Just like you. But a strong will and a strong arm is not enough, child. You must learn. You must be smart.

[She gets up and resumes walking.]

Else, how are you going to keep up with the Blade King?

[lyall]

[ There is a slow nod as she absorbs that, and then she notes that you have begun to walk again so she does her best to catch up.

She's thinking on that now, the things you have told her, Marquis, but she is unsure of how to go about addressing the lack in her. Day after next she will attend the academy at her lord's prompting, and while she is unsure of how well she will fare ( this is not a fight in the Pit, nor is this, she imagines, anything like her lessons with her King's daughters ) she will go because it will help her serve Him better. ]

[naberus]

[She walks in silence with you for a good long while, waiting for you to speak to her again if you are going to. Honestly, kid, if you paused to think about it, you'd know that Naberius doesn't do Walks with just anyone. Heck, she barely does it for Taning.

She stays with you because despite her misgivings, she sees in you an honesty and clarity of purpose that is rare and precious. She wants you to serve the Blade King well. It is something that is no longer for her.

There is an eloquence to her silence, if one listened for it.]

[lyall]

[ She follows you because it does not seem like this Talk is over as of yet, but she does not know what to say or do beyond Think.

Eventually though, she stops and bows ( low and with much respect. ) ]

Thank you, Marquis. I will do my best to learn.

[ She's going to be like that for a bit until you give her leave to be otherwise. ]

[naberus]

Do not thank me yet. I may have just made life more difficult for you. Intelligence is its own curse, child.

[But she bows to you as well, a shallower one befitting your stations, but not mockingly, at least.]

Go and be about your business, Lady Lyall. I suspect I shall be seeing much more of you, now that my soul mate has returned. He will want to meet you, I should think.

[lyall]

[ She straightens at that and nods. She knows of your soul mate, the mage that her King calls brother, the other man that the Assassin of Zangyaku calls son. ]

It will be an honor to meet him, Marquis.

[ She's about to go, but she stops and bows one last time before she takes her leave. ]

Thank you again for walking with me.