[radiantemissary]

Hey there! If anyone wants an event thread with Elias let me know. He could be found doing anything except the Olympics. He's a book nerd who can't be bothered to run unless he absolutely has to.

[brokeassgoing]

He hears the moron more than implied, and that just sets his jaw, tense and tight. He hates this, WHY did he agree to this stupid scam!!!!! He loves cigarettes but are they worth it???

....Yes they are, but not this fucking ass.

"You sure ain't working with me if you're not even hearing me out! Also, you're a dickhead."

Badou grumbles, but he doesn't turn tail and leave (though he should).

[radiantemissary]

"Yeah, yeah. Get it all out of your system." He almost took it as a compliment. Anyway, from his first idea it didn't really sound like he had any good plans that wouldn't end up with them getting punished, so why would he listen? Stupid is as stupid does.

"Once you're done being a grouch you can go take a seat with them. I'm going to go get into uniform!"

[clxscdeyes]

"Okay," She rubs her arm a little uncomfortable. She's never called anyone older than her by just their name. ".....Elias." It was a little bit hard, but she managed to correct herself.

"Yes, I saw that it changed some people's voices, but I think there are other effects to it." She wasn't one to try something so questionable, minus that tea but....Perhaps it was her fault for not paying attention to what she was drinking.

Nodding, Luna leads the way. "Aren't you worried that it'll do something worrisome to you?"

[radiantemissary]

"I wonder if it could finally give me a good singing voice," he mused absently. No fruit in the world could fix how tone deaf he was though. Deep in his soul he knew that. Lucky for him in a choir he could just pretend to sing without making a sound.

"Worried? No...not really." Elias scratched the back of his neck. "In fact, I'd like to see it really does have an affect on me. There aren't very many things that do." Besides getting blasted in the face with fire and destructive magic. Of course.

"Are you worried that something will happen, Luna?" Maybe she was just too scared to outright say it. Humans did have a lot more to lose if they couldn't practice magic--and not many could. "Afraid of making a honking noise ever time you take a step? Ooooor having blue teeth that glow in the dark? Ooor sprouting little plants off the top of your head?" He teased.

[brokeassgoing]

He's...starting to think this is gonna be really stupid. He was all for it, you know for the cigarettes, but all this--

"It's too complicated of a story, dude. Why can't I just trip and fall, and pretend I broke something? Then blackmail 'em for the cash."

It's-- brilliant, in theory, but also Badou doesn't know if he can follow all of that. How is Elias going to follow all that? Well, he's a bartender so that probably makes sense there.

Also--

"What do ya mean 'then what do you know, cigarette money'??? There's a step in the middle you're missing!"

[radiantemissary]

"Relax, it's easier this way. You're going to have to keep up the act of going around town looking like your arm is broken for months. It's a small place here, don't you think?!" Elias looked exasperated. The 'moron' was implied, not directly stated. He lowered his voice as his eyes flicked over to a guard sitting at the bar. "Look. We're not playing a long con here. Get in, get your money, get out. Law enforcement isn't going to get involved over a card game."

Elias was seriously starting to doubt if Badou had it in him. He knows for a fact that his group in Viriath would have been down to clown for this.

"I'll handle it! Sheesh. Like I said. Follow my lead. They're all trying to work against each other, and I am trying to work with you. For some reason. That already makes our chances better. And those three don't seem very bright either. So before I want to give up on you, are we doing this or not?"

[wavescrest]

Flayn found the concept of a café itself entrancing, to be able to see so many people come and go peacefully all with a view and smell of the sea (not to mention perhaps something delicious to eat or drink). What a marvelous idea! She truly could not get enough of the ambience of the place.

Today, however, she shifted a bit nervously upon her usual seat; her infectious smile still there but hidden a bit by the solemnity she felt Elias’ art only deserved.

“Oh, please do not apologize. The fact you are willing to go so far to me is a gift itself, you see – back where I am from we also have connected divination and tea but never have I been able to experience it myself.”

She sympathized too with the flow of aether turning her magic to an unfamiliar pulse inside her but kept that to herself for now, nodding at the next question.

“Yes. Please let me know if you need anything else from me. If not… well then, I look forward to watching you work.”

[radiantemissary]

Elias's brows upturned in surprise when Flayn spoke. He had not known someone so polite in a long, long while. He hadn't been so sure that he was deserving of such kindness-- to say that he had given her a "gift". This girl...she sure could melt a heart away! Elias momentarily placed a hand to his chest and smiled warmly.

"I'm glad to be able to show you then," he began to pour some water over the leaves in both of their cups. "My mentor did this for me a lot, but I don't think he was always entirely truthful about his readings...Especially when I was younger." Elias was chagrined to remember these times, and it showed on his face.

"First things first--you're going to think about a question you want answers for. The next step is probably going to be your least favorite part. We have to carefully sip the water down until there's about a tablespoon left, without a strainer of course. So if I get any leaves in my teeth you have to promise not to tell me. Then we're going to swirl that remaining water from left to right. That gets all of the leaves settled. Then we can start to read the symbols."

Elias began sipping from his own cup to demonstrate.

[hearthwifey]

Right away, Genna decided this place was weird.

She couldn't really do much. It was like a weighted blanket was muffling her whenever she tried to use a spell. Without her winged boots, too, getting to this house was a pain. "Can't believe I forgot how hard walking sucked," she muttered, staring at her key as she looked for a house with a matching number. Was she really getting so spoiled?

Suddenly, someone grabbed her, and suddenly, she was being spun around in someone's arms. Genna squawked at the sudden man-handling and was about to start kicking and squirming to turn around and go for the eyes, but, she'd recognize those scrawny nerd arms any day.

"Elias?!" Her husband was here, too?!

Still a bit dazed, she had no clue what he was yammering on about. This was all so, so weird. She'd pinch herself to check if she was dreaming, but Elias promptly took care of that for her.

"Waggh—cut it out!" She grabbed his hands, pulling them off her, and stuck out her tongue. He was such a kid!

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm surprised, too," she said, squinting as she stood on her toes and gave the area another look-around before looking back up at Elias, her brows furrowed. "Uhh... You know about extraplanar shit more than I do. Do you recognize his place? ... I don't remember stepping through our portal at home."

[radiantemissary]

Elias blinked slowly, and it was a classic situation where his wife looked on to see his playful smile slowly crack like a block of ice. This whole time he had assured himself that this island was just some sort of resort. Now a dreadful reality began to blossom in his chest. If he was here...and she was here...just who was looking after those rowdy children of theirs?

They were going to go back to a home burned to the ground. Guaranteed.

"Extra-planar stuff. Right. Right." Elias tried picking through his studies to decide what exactly this place could be. "It seems like a demiplane. Like where our home is. But this demiplane has some kind of strong magical resistance that the body gets used to." Elias waved his arms as if he was trying to grasp his thoughts and connections into physical existence. "And I don't recognize it--I mean sure it looks familiar to many places I've been, but...I'd never heard of a place called The Aevum Isles on either Viriath, or Krynn, or The Forgotten Realms, or any of the outer planes. With magic neutralizing effects I would think it most similar to the Outlands like the Hidden Vale but I know that realm like the back of my hand..."

His history knowledge was making him spiral. It was made all the worse at her very simple observation. She was right. He hadn't remembered stepping through the portals either.

"Well, that's not great. I'm going to have to do a lot of research." He bit his lip. On one hand he was ecstatic to see his wife again. On another, he was in a state of panic. It was all very confusing.

[radiantemissary]

Link: What Brand of Stupid Are You? Quiz

[radiantemissary]

For Elias, it didn't matter how many days, weeks, or decades went by. Whenever he and Genna were apart and they were reunited, he would feel butterflies in his stomach when he saw her. Now was very much the same as he walked back to his residence in Seaside, stopping in his tracks as she turned her housekey around in her palm and read the numbers on the sides of the buildings.

Elias rushed up to her and picked her up, spinning her around as if he was relieved to just be alive. A question had been gnawing at the back of his skull since he came to this place--essentially what he figured was some sort of odd resort getaway. Not that he was really listening that well when he was handed his phone and keys. Having people treat him like some kind of celebrity was uncomfortable.

"Honey...when you booked this trip for me, how long did you think I needed to be away? If you were planning some kind of surprise for us, the tension is damn near killing me." He put her back down on the ground, pinching her cheeks like a childhood bully.

[hearthwifey]

You're about to get booped a whole lot more often.

[radiantemissary]

[radiantemissary]

[brokeassgoing]

Again, Badou saw that reaction. If he's surprised at Badou of all people being an info broker, or it's the pets thing, who knows. Time will only tell. It doesn't appear as though he'll outright tell the info broker to fuck off, so that's nice.

"What, you want my resume?" He laughs. Then brightens at the mention of cigarettes again. "Hell yeah! Absolutely."

[radiantemissary]

Elias rubbed his hands together and wiggled his fingers as if this next task of theirs would require careful dexterity. "Great. So, you go over to their table looking like you've drank a little too much. You know...,"

Elias calls over a waiter at the bar and whispers something in the guy's ear. The two both nod at one another and Elias starts to get up from his seat when he takes a drink on the waiter's round tray and splashes a little on Badou's shirt. "...Real messy. Disheveled, even." Elias reaches over to adjust Badou's collar. "This guy here owes me a favor or two." Elias motions with his head over to the waiter, who was standing in the line of sight of the men playing cards to block their view. "So he's gonna let me borrow a suit to look the part of a waiter, and every time I come around and try to explain the daily specials, you should know that you need to fold your hand. Bring up the sports scores or criticize the teams to start some infighting. Then what do you know? Cigarette money."

Yeah, he was bored.

[flameindream]

@radiantemissary

"The 'Gilded Captain,' huh..." Grimm repeats the name of the elusive fish that the sailors had been chattering about, idle gossip perhaps turning into a local legend before them. It was said its species was not known for golden scales, yet multiple sources had reported a sighting of a fish dotted in that lustrous shade, glowing beneath the now calm spring waters of the barrier islands. And it was not even a gem fish! A blessing of the Aether, they said, though there seemed to be debate about whether it really was a sign of good fortune or merely a wonder of nature.

"Think you we might actually see such a thing, Elias? I know not how I feel myself, but it makes a little outing to the beach far more exciting, does it not?" he laughs, turning to his new companion for this trip. The fellow was of immediate interest to him—much more than the Gilded Captain, really—with that gentle feeling of divinity laying over him... Was it him, or was he merely touched by one? Grimm wanted to know more, and oh! How odd it was that he'd sensed so much divine energy of such varying types in this small place. Assuming that his senses were correct, that was...

But Grimm was quite willing to leave it all unsaid, and no god he'd stumbled upon yet other than Loki seemed to feel any reason to speak on it either—like the elephant in the room was wearing a suit and tie and walking around and still ignored. What impressive humbleness, he'd thought.

The boat then approaches and comes to a slow stop at the beach of Arcus Cove, the soft sound of treading water replaced with the caws of cumulus gulls. The last time Grimm had come out this way, it had been a churning sea horror... but now, spring had calmed it all.

"Not to interrupt ye conversation, but we've arrived. You two just give me holler when you want to return to the mainland, aye?" the sailor pipes up, setting the ramp out for them to step out.

[radiantemissary]

"Hoh?" Elias said absently, taking a moment to process what Grimm had just asked him. He was standing at the Bow of the ship, looking through a spyglass to see if he could catch a glimpse of something. Off in the distance he saw the fins of a large fish peaking through the wave crests, but alas it was not gold in color. Elias squinted and frowned. "Sure, I'll be happy enough just to find some shells I can bring back for my daughters to fight over. I can't say that I wouldn't be a little disappointed if we didn't find this legendary fish, though. The locals said that one with that hue only appears once every few decades."

Truth be told, Elias knew that there was something a bit off about Grimm's presence as well. He sensed a great magical power that permeated his presence, but he couldn't really tell what kind of power that was. At least it didn't feel particularly good or evil either way, regardless of how his appearance reminded him of a yugoloth. If anything it just felt foreign. There was a bit of tension there between the two about their origins, surely, but Elias refused to make any judgments or bring it up. He didn't like to step on toes if he could help it.

The island was approaching, regardless, and the man set his sights to the waters once more, offering Grimm a look into the spyglass. The boat slid peacefully towards the dock and the crew began to filter off the vessel to do some maintenance. Elias and Grimm disembarked together bidding the captain farewell for now. Elias walked over to a small wooden stand that advertised the seasonal catches, as well as sold some cheap touristy beach equipment. He handed over some money and came back with two pails for collecting shells and some rented fishing poles.

"Here. A second set of eyes wouldn't hurt." He said casually, offering the bug man his own set of gear.

[clxscdeyes]

Kids, huh? So he was a father. She wonders how many. It must be tough being away from them. She wishes she had the power to send him back if only so that way he could be with them. Unfortunately, no one has that power.

Her own gaze meets the tapestry. Her heart feels so, so heavy and she looks back at the gentleman. "My name is Luna. It's nice to meet you Mister Elias." She bows her head in greeting.

"Exploring what else the isle has to give might be a fun thing we can do," She says with a nod. "I've seen some things already. Uhm, a friend of mine really likes the Logus fruit." Maybe it'll put a smile to his face if he tried one!

[radiantemissary]

Elias winces and shakes his head for a moment. "Just Elias is fine. No 'Mister' necessary, Luna." He had been resigned to living his life without honorifics or reverence from anyone, including his own family. He didn't much care for those that thought themselves above others, even if this girl did appear to be young. He just thought of himself as some guy.

"Logus fruit...I've heard a rumor or two about that. Hasn't it been changing people in weird ways?" Elias pondered for a moment. Well, most things don't affect him as a divine being anyway. Maybe it would actually be fun if something did affect him for once. "Alright, I'll try it. What's the worst thing that could happen? Let's go down to the docks and take a peek around."

[clxscdeyes]

Oh. She hadn't expected to come across someone tearing. Honestly, she felt this. She felt how he was feeling. A holiday like this would bring and remind people of those they left behind, those whom they may never see again. with that in mind, the young teenager digs into her bag and pulls out a Kleenex for him to use to dab away those tears.

"I know it isn't much, but the most we can do is just....have fun in their name." hypocrite. She's such a hypocrite.

"Would you like to do some things with me for the festival?"

[radiantemissary]

Oh, no. Well, of course he would be noticed as a bit of a weirdo getting all worked up in the middle of a public street like that. "What? Oh...!" Elias puts a hand to his heart and appears startled. "I don't--" he ultimately sighs, and resigns himself to take the tissue and thank the girl for her kindness.

One question ripped him from that sentimental thought, however.

If he were to have fun in someone else's name...did he really deserve it? Would they have forgiven him?

Elias dabbed at his eye.

"That sounds nice. Truth be told, I miss going to public events like these. Where I live, I'll just say it's a little hard to keep up with when they're being put on, and when I do find myself at one with my kids I feel more like I'm herding goats. Ones with very short attention spans." Only his oldest was trusted to stay away from trouble. "I guess you can say this tapestry one struck a chord. But, I wouldn't really mind just wandering and exploring to see what these Isles have to offer, sure. Did you want to see something in particular? Uhm..." It just occurred to him that they were strangers. "My name is Elias. And yours?"

[radiantemissary]

oops

[radiantemissary]

He's looking at a flyer for the Tapestry of Traditions and making a complicated face. His mouth is definitely not quivering. He's definitely not thinking too deeply about it, of friends he has lost to time and of family that he cannot currently see, and that certainly isn't a tear forming in his eye. That would just be embarrassing.

[radiantemissary]

Even now it's like I can hear her voice, and I know she's right here with me.