#thread: task board

[jehannandancer]

» downtime

starter for: @celestialbloom

faculty and staff mission board: The late arrival of the distress call means that the knights are already in a losing battle against time to cross the continent to the far reaches of Faerghus. Of course, even the church’s most elite soldiers need to rest and your unit’s commander decides to stop in the middle of the Faerghus countryside. Help set up camp, assist with food preparations, or just bundle up with your comrades and grouse about the cold. The monastery’s dormitories certainly look luxurious now.

It felt nostalgic to dance for soldiers again, although she wished there was never a need to.

Tethys’ mind blanks as she dances, tuning out her thoughts that started knocking on long-closed doors in the back of her head. There was no need to dwell too much on the situation at hand. It was yet another conflict among countries, just in another land. It was not her job to worry about the whys and the hows of war, only about how the people on her side are doing.

She spins, she sways. Her arms reached for a seemingly random spectator in a crowd of many-- but in truth she makes sure to give even a second of attention to everyone. Be it through a smile, a wink, or a faint touch... Tethys’ dance aimed to capture everyone’s attention, and in turn, ease their weary minds. 

As her performance ends, Tethys arches her back and offers her arms to the sky, eyes closing as the jiggling of her bracelets slowly comes to a stop. 

The events that come after were all routine. She smiles, she humbly accepts the compliments. She mentions her home country. She mentions how dancing is her life. And then, when the opportunity to slip away presents herself, she excuses herself, telling them she’ll assist in the cooking.

As much as she’d like to think her performance can comfort her companions, the effects of a hearty meal trumps everything else.

A small group gathers for the kitchen duties, and soon divided themselves into even smaller groups, each preparing different portions of the meals for their large group. Tethys ends up partnering with another redhead-- royalty, from what she knows. 

“Chili seems like a wonderful meal to combat this cold, don’t you think?~♪” Tethys offers a kind smile to her partner and begins preparing what they need. Beans... meat... bowls.. spices....

“I didn’t take you for the type to cook, Princess. Was it part of your noble training?” She doesn’t mean to demean and was legitimately surprised. The nobles she’s used to doesn’t seem the type to stay in a kitchen, let alone cook for an encampment.

[jehannandancer]

» i solemnly swear —

starter for @jehannanmage

It started off as a passing thought.

For each letter Ewan sent, Tethys grew more and more curious of these new lands her dearest brother went off to on his own. It was different back when he was just under a certain sage’s tutelage. They at least saw each other every now and then. No matter how much their interests and goals varied, they were still in the same continent, never too far from one another. Even when Tethys branched off from the life of a mercenary and started focusing on her dancing, and when Ewan further studied and trained his magic, the siblings always reunited somehow.

When he moved away, they didn’t have that luxury anymore. 

To think, her darling baby brother was all grown up, travelling to another continent on his own, finding and carving his own path-- or lighting it up on fire, who knows? She’s so proud of him. And for every letter he sends, she replies in turn with stories of her own, making sure he knows she’s living her best life, too. Keep the worries away so he may only need to worry about enjoying his own life, that’s what she thought.

Or that’s how it’s been for the last few months, at least. The last month has been eventful for Tethys. She was granted the opportunity to venture further-- away from the comforts of Magvel, and to unknown lands that revered her dancing. A one time chance to express herself among foreigners led her to think-- what if she doesn’t go back to Magvel and travel further? What if she takes a daring leap and tests her charm and skill to where she’s not known yet? 

To Fodlan.

She smiles as the idea never leaves her. All the stories her brother sent her way suddenly became little devils that poked at her every now and then. Soon enough, she’s writing to Ewan, hinting at a gift she’s preparing and sending his way. Her preparations to depart was slightly delayed, after a couple of weeks, she finds herself employed under the Church of Seiros.

Now here she is, a desert flower blooming in the middle of a snow-filled monastery. 

Letting Ewan know of her arrival was the tricky part. Her last letter spoke of a gift, but never mentioned her own arrival. And so she starts taking a page from his book, recalling the times he let the child in him take over and make fun of every body else through pranks and jokes.

It started off with a frog in a jar on his desk. Then another frog outside his dormitory room. When she managed to get access to his room (a hairpin can do more than make her hair appear neat and stylish), she started placing them in his shoes.

She felt silly doing these, but it was about time he got a taste of his own medicine. That, and he wanted to leave crumbs of her presence to him. Let him find her, instead of simply revealing herself.

The problem came when the frogs ran out, so she tries to recall his other pranks that she can leave out as gifts. It was... shameful, but she went around the monastery looking for a volunteer. A kind, no-questions-asked man that can help a charming young woman without asking for anything in return. All she needed after all was his mustache-- half of it, in fact! she wonders if he’ll get the memo if he wakes up one day to find little hair trimmings... but he’s a smart boy so she doesn’t worry too much.

“Oh, you poor thing, I told you not to move too much.” Tethys was currently at the Knight's Hall, armed with an incredibly sharp blade as she begins shaving one of the Knight’s face clean-- or at least, half of it. It was all going smoothly until her hand slips, enough so for her small blade to cut him. “I’m sure a strong Knight such as you have been through far worse-- this is nothing, hm~?” 

[jehannandancer]

» a taste close to home

starter for @freliaes

non-mission task board: Over the centuries, the people of Fódlan have come up with clever ideas to stay warm and entertained during the long, dreary winter months. One of the most long-standing of these is the annual Spice Festival. Visit the dining hall to partake in the chef’s spiciest creations to clear out your sinuses and warm you up from the inside out, or sign up for the pepper-eating contest to see how well you can withstand the heat. You might also catch some of the younger students furtively daring each other to scoop spoonfuls of unattended spices into their mouths. They claim it’s an ancient shepherd’s game, but you have your doubts.

Tethys expected Ewan to be in the monastery, but was delightfully surprised to find other familiar faces around. One less so than the others but beggars can’t be choosers-- kidding, she adores the presence of the Frelian Prince. Pushing his buttons was always fun, and so was testing that pride of his.

She can barely settle on how to do just that-- where can she even begin?

Thankfully, it seems the Goddess that watched over this country smiled down on her and blessed her int he form of a festival. A delightful little festival that both gave her a chance to pester Innes, and explore the cuisine in Fodlan along with what kind of spices they use.

Arms hooked, she somehow managed to drag him to the dining hall. All around, there were students and faculty alike taking turns trying out the samples available. Tethys herself can’t wait to dive in, but before that...

“Oh, Prince. I’m positive you can handle this. There is certainly no other that can.” She eggs him on, gently patting him on the arm. It was taking every bit of restraint in her to keep herself from chuckling. The most that she shows is her usual smile. 

“You should set an example, you know. The spices in Magvel--” In Jehanna. “--are far superior than the ones they have here. Surely, you can take them without problem-- look, that over there’s a seafood cutlet smothered in spices! You’re a fan of seafood, right?”

[jehannandancer]

» as the fire roars

starter for: @lalumierel

faculty and staff mission board: The village where your unit is staying suddenly erupts into flames, but as if circumstances can’t get any worse, water poured over the fire dissipates ineffectually into steam. One of the villagers points out a hooded figure wearing the characteristic mask of a dark mage moments before he disappears into the shadows. You have a choice: go after the arsonist, or seek out someone familiar with Reason magic to figure out a way to stop the fires. [Grants Reason +1]

When you lived through war and the devastation of your home country, you’d think you’ve seen it all. A simple mission to aid a neighboring village seemed so gentle and harmless compared to the missions Tethys encountered both as a mercenary and an ally of the Renais’ siblings. That is, until their peaceful slumbers get interrupted by the raging fires that seemed to come from nowhere.

Panic, no doubt, ensues. And no matter how fast they reacted, no matter how quickly the Knights, the villagers, the students, and faculty such as Tethys responded to the emergency, it was impossible to control fire, especially when no amount of fire, or sand, or magic seem to extinguish it.

Everyone seemed to spread out quickly, either to assist or to save themselves. Tethys chose to join those focusing more on evacuating the villagers and simply guided them to where it was safer. When panic takes over, those in-charge needed to be calm while continuously being conscious of their surroundings. “The fire is quickly spreading, please leave your belongings and go over here--”

It was then when she saw her. Among a small crowd of running townsfolk, was a child barely above Tethys’ hips. She was running with them, crying and clutching her arm. Not long after, her legs seem to give out, and she stumbles to the ground while everyone else continue to run.

Alarmed, Tethys rushes to her, pushing through the crowd going the opposite way and crouching down over the child on the ground. On closer inspection, majority of her arm and back were burnt, charred cloth sticking to flesh, skin a gross and painful red.

“Healers! Please! Is there a healer around?!” Tethys shouts to the top of her lungs, hoping her voice can be heard in the middle of the screaming of the panicked villagers who were still in the middle of evacuating. 

“...h-hurts... it hurts...” Her voice was so faint yet so pained. Tethys shields her from possibly getting trampled on and can only offer a small smile of reassurance. Empty, for now. “I’ll get you some help, child. Be strong.”

And once more, she calls out, “Help! Please! This child needs healing!”