expiationlogs | [ OPEN ] willkommen, bienvenue, welcome

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[ OPEN ] willkommen, bienvenue, welcome

Who: The Adults Of Aldrip
Where: A handy dandy bar!
What: Claude has collaborated with one of the local bar-owners to host a Chosen-only night for the adults of Aldrip to have a nice night away from the prying eyes of locals.
Warnings: Alcohol, drug-use, grown men making embarrassments of themselves, potential hand-holding.

Welcome one and all to a place where the Chosen are able to unbutton that top button, sit back, and relax, free of the badgering eyes of locals, and able to mingle amongst like minds! Your local Apothecarist, Claude von Riegan, came up with this idea with one of the local bar-owners as a good way to drum up business amidst the Chosen for a place for the Chosen and the Chosen alone to be able to shed some of that weight they've been carrying. Claude himself has made no secret of the fact that he's the one who put this shindig together, openly advertising it as something of his own creation, a community building effort for everyone to bond with one another in a context in which they're not forced to do so by threat of death or imprisonment.

For this evening, liquor has been put out for the Chosen to serve themselves, and runs freely enough that everyone will be able to drink their fill, though there's a table at the back of the room laden with all sorts of bar snacks to help fill people's bellies and soak up some of that liquor; flatbreads and fried delights, a generous selection of meats and cheeses, and confections enough to satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth.

Along the south end of the bar there are a collection of booths, far enough away from the booming sound system to be able to chat quietly amongst themselves, if you're the more retiring sort and would just like to have a nice talk over a pint or two. In this area, you may also find a few hookahs at your disposal, filled with tobacco or hashish, courtesy of Claude himself -- though he hasn't shied away from cheekily including business cards at each table, advertising his place of business should you wish to purchase teas, salves, potions, and yes, all manner of smokable delights.

In the centre of the establishment, chairs and tables have been cleared away to make room for dancing, if you so please, with the sound system at the Chosen's disposal if they want to pump up the beats or put on a slow song to rock to and fro with a honey or two (or three?).

Lastly, there's a brand new karaoke machine that's been installed along the far east corner of the room, in case anyone would like to thoroughly embarrass themselves. What do you mean, you're a good singer? Then get out of here! You should know by now that that's not what the spirit of karaoke is about!

If there's anything else you would like added, dear player -- just write it in, and it's yours! Whatever can feasibly fit into a bar, you can assume it's present for all and sundry to enjoy.

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Oh, not as many as you might think. The owner and I do good business together already -- he needs all sorts of botanicals for his bitters and whatnot, and we have a deal that he gets first pick before any of the other bars. Add in a dash of good publicity and a night off, and you'll find it was a very persuasive pitch.

[ There's a flash of white teeth as he grins at her, something entirely too pleased in the expression, mildly predatory in the same way that you may expect from a dog that's got his fangs in a particularly juicy bone. ]

What do you think? Having fun?

Ah, so you're just cashing in on favors already owed. [Given how extensive Claude's collection is, she can will imagine how useful that is for a creative tapman.

She props her chin on a hand, observing his entirely too self-satisfied grin.] You know, I am. It's been... strange, knowing that I'm only two or three years older than many of the people here, but feeling as though it's about a decade?

Canny as ever, Ethlyn! But not to worry -- I still have a couple of dozen favours where that's from.

[ He grins, cheeky and pleased with himself; he had worked towards cementing a place for himself in this world for the past year, not for the sake of being liked, but for the sake of knowing just how much being well-liked and well-regarded will get you at the end of the day. He knows, too, that Ethlyn's got his number.

In a manner of speaking, he had given it to her freely. ]

You're right, though. I know that I'm different now than I was just a few years ago. But I don't know if I've ever felt that young. [ He was. He just doesn't remember it like that. ] Different stages of life, I think. Experience means more than the sum of your years.

[ Ethlyn is devoted daughter and sister, yes, but also a mother, a wife, a leader. Claude in contrast... ]

I've yet to wed, so compared to you, I'm just some young upstart!

[Ethlyn recalls their conversation where they had found themselves comparing their different upbringings... she can well believe that Claude had to shed the childish mindset as quickly as a deer, born already capable of running, as it would need to.

But his conclusion can't but make her laugh.]

Now you're pulling my leg. You know well that maturity takes far more than simple marriage. [She grins.] I know a few people who positively rushed into it the moment they were able to... and it wasn't out of a sober desire to build a household and cement their family affairs.

[NOT TO SPELL OUT WHAT THEIR ACTUAL DESIRES WERE.]

It's like they've been allowed to stay young for longer--they aren't worried about those things yet, and they don't think they need to. Quite possibly they don't. I wonder if it's down to what they have in their worlds versus ours.

Everyone knows that only commoners sire bastards, [ Claude says cheekily. It's one of the better things about this place, away from the trappings of the nobility and all that unpleasantness entails; they are now able to say the quiet parts out loud instead of cloaking it behind innuendos and titters behind open palms. ]

You might be right, at that. Though... when I've spoken to some of them, they've certainly had heavy things on their plate.

[ Gang leadership, murder investigations, dead parents and family dynamics galore. They are still young, though, still somehow inexperienced. He doesn't quite know how to put it. ]

I think... that it might just be that they're from a different time, with fewer -- or different responsibilities. Not all of them have the weight of their family resting on their shoulders.

[ He props his chin up on his hand. ]

If I were to have children, I think I'd quite like for them to experience the same. It's not such a bad thing.

[Oh, Claude. You would say something like that. And here, away from it all, with a glass of wine and a friend whose secrets she knows and vice versa, Ethlyn can outright laugh.]

Of course! It's much better to pledge a lifelong commitment to someone you barely know than have to make awkward explanations. Unless, of course, you're rich enough to just bribe the problem into going away... and then you still haven't sired a bastard, you just have a distant relation somewhere.

[Fewer responsibilities... different responsibilities. Maybe it's the latter more than the former. Ethlyn had to learn so early how to shoulder those.]

...They have better medicine. Diseases aren't so mysterious and frightening, injuries more treatable. Maybe that's why they don't have to be in such a rush to grow up.

[She's immersed herself so deeply in the study of modern medicine this past year-and-more that it's where her mind goes immediately. To have names for things like eclampsia and epilepsy, to know the difference between a cold and influenza and tuberculosis and how to treat them all, to be able to stop an infection when it starts and not resort to amputation... it would have changed so many things in her own life, and the lives of everyone she knew in Jugdral.]

...I can agree to that. Even if my children hadn't been forced to grow up in the aftermath of what we couldn't stop, I would still have spent so much time fretting over their safety and happiness.

[ A distant relation until you croak, and then everyone goes scrambling for an heir, that is. He doesn't think Ethlyn would much approve of the way they do things back home in Almyra, where one doesn't so much have bastards as much as they sprout a dozen different heirs with a dozen different mothers. In this case, he will afford her that judgment; he doesn't much like it either. ]

Good health counts for a lot. [ He tips his glass a little, the dim light from above shining through the gleaming amber of his ale, still mostly untouched. He will drink this one, though. He can afford himself that much, unworried about any potential threats while surrounded by people who are, if not his betters in fighting, at least his equals. ] As does all of their technology. Everything is just easier. Messages sent in the blink of an eye, water flowing freely from pipes as though by magic, food ready in fancy little packets and water in bottles. They've got some things going for them, I'll admit that much.

[ He finally puts the glass to his lips and takes a sip. ]

If not a carefree life for your children, then a carefree life for their children, and so it goes. I'm not so naive to think that my kids would have it any easier than I did, but... maybe somewhere down the family line, they will. Then they can spend all their time complaining to their elders about how horrific it is to go without electricity for a night too.

[ He's trying to keep it light, a little. He and Ethlyn have a tendency to lapse into considerations of their respective duties, which is all well and good when the poor woman isn't considering her orphaned children. A part of him wishes that her children would arrive here, if not only to give her the opportunity to raise them just a little more before they were forcibly parted. ]

[Ethlyn notes the way Claude tilts his glass. Is he checking for poisons? Really? Here? She would never have even noticed that before, but since their conversation under his unwilling truth spell she has thought a lot about it.

Talk of children inevitably leads to thoughts of Altena and Leif. From what little she saw she knows that their life was anything but easier... but Claude knows this, of course. Still, there may be hope for their own grandchildren, as Claude says. Who knows what may happen in five years, or even one?

She doesn't want to drag things down either by ruminating on what her children's life might be like and her guilt for leaving them alone.]

And their elders will just scoff and say "when I was a boy, I had to make my own rushlights!" And go uphill both ways in the snow for the reeds, no less. [Not unlike the things her father used to say when they were complaining.] If they only have to complain about training even if it's wet out, I would consider myself well contented.

[ Claude chuckles. ]

No kidding. You should hear some of the stories my parents told me, back in the day. And even worse? My Mom could make up whatever she wanted, and I'd have no way of knowing! Fodlan is way different from how she described it.

[ Oppressive. Stuffy. Overbearing. Arduous. It is all those things, he'll grant her that much, but it's so much more than that too. Similarly, she didn't have many kind words to say about her own family, but they had welcomed him with open arms.

Funny how that works. ]

It's a shame the kids here have a lot more to complain about. And nearly all of them mention going to school back home -- but there's nothing of the sort around here. I suppose there wouldn't be much point to it. Still, it seems like a shame for them not to continue their education. [ Oh, he's one step closer to being a father, isn't he? ] Or at least not to be out here getting some sort of apprenticeship, you know? There's too much time to just sit around twiddling your thumbs.

Though you've taken on a couple of apprentices yourself, haven't you? Like that Minato kid.

She could have used that for truly mischievous purposes if she wanted to.

[Although Ethlyn's actual suspicions are closer to Claude's true memories--that his mother used it as a way to complain of her homeland instead pf spinning elaborate tall tales.

Ah yes, her apprentices--who she actually hasn't thought to call apprentices before, now that he says it. They've come and gone over the course of the year. She laughs a little, both at his characterization of them and for his solicitousness over the town's youths.]

It would be better for them. Without any better purpose than trying to make it through Aldrip day-to-day, waiting for the next disaster... at least with school or training, they'd have something else to think about.

But I hadn't yet thought of Minato as my apprentice. [She smiles.] He is a very willing student. And Toph, she's become a friend too.

[After more than a little friction.]

They're sweet kids. I'm not thrilled about them being here, but it is what it is, right? You and I being here makes at least some modicum of sense, but them.... [ He clicks his tongue. They both seem self-assured enough, confident in going forward with what they need to do, but in reality, he knows that both should be in school, with their friends and families, not at the behest of this world's whims and fancies. ]

So it's good they have a mentor like you around. A mentor and a friend, [ he adds on with a quirk of his lip. ] But even if they don't admit to it, it's always good to have someone to look up to, especially at that age. It's not as though either of them are attending proper academic classes, and a sense of routine is important.

[ He laces his fingers. ]

What's your take on Minato? He's quiet, that one.

[Ethlyn laughs. Sweet kids... Minato, certainly. But oh, she can imagine how Toph would loudly protest such a description.]

Yes... I know my brother's time at the Officers' Academy helped him a lot. I don't know if the 'kids' here would appreciate something like that, but we could try setting up something beyond just my first-aid classes.

[She laces her fingers together and rests her chin on them as she considers Minato.]

I won't lie... Minato worries me, sometimes. He was in a bad way after that... incident with the miasma. He is very quiet, hardworking... I believe he thinks far more than he speaks. But I wonder if there's something he's hiding, you know? Keeping to himself when he should talk about it.

I don't think they would, you know. They don't think of themselves as kids. Neither did I, back in my Academy days. Most of us considered ourselves quite grown up by then, [ Claude says, a hint of laughter on his breath. ]

The way you're doing things now, training in specific skills, apprenticeships -- I think that's the way to go. Attach it to a task, and they're all the more eager to learn. If you slip in a few life lessons while you're at it... well, they'll hardly notice.

[ It's what Claude tries to do, when he hires help. It's for his own benefit, yes, but also for theirs. ]

He is a quiet sort, I'll grant you that. Very watchful. I haven't quite managed to get a good estimation of him. [ He hums. ] What happened with the miasma?

Oh goodness, no. We were so tall and confident, ready to take on the entire world with nothing but complete confidence. But I suppose you're right... just a general education doesn't really give the same sense of purpose as something like learning to heal or fight or run a business.

[And then the world had proven to be bigger. But they don't need to get into all of the things that it threw at them--things that they could recover from, and those which they couldn't.]

The miasma... it affected everyone who came into contact with it rather badly, so it isn't surprising that he suffered as well. But it did take him longer than I expected for him to recover, given his youth and health. [She has a sudden realization and raises her eyebrows at herself before she can tell Claude that the lad was out for days.] --Not that it's my business to tell, of course.

But given that, I'm glad that I have, well, a legitimate excuse to keep an eye on him and watch for anything that's more troubling. [She smiles.] Youth also comes with a distinct reluctance to let anyone do that, sometimes.

[ Claude presses a finger to his lips. ]

I've heard not a word about it from you, our dear healer.

[ She takes confidentiality seriously, he knows. But he's a safe man to confide secrets to, all things said, and has a similar regard for the youth of the area, a hope for them to turn out all right, all things said and done. So Minato's poorly -- not in mind, but in body, is he? Odd. He hadn't noticed any such things when he'd been with him, though he is a skinny whelp of a thing, as though more used to being kept indoors like a noble's son than one of the big strapping lads working in the fields. Interesting. ]

I've hired him for some work, here and there. Do you think it'd do him good to keep it going? I've been considering expanding my field of business, lately. My sales have only improved since this place... changed, and I'll need more hands on-deck.

I'm glad to hear it. I wouldn't want my reputation in this town to suffer, so I rely on your discretion.

[She knows just how deeply his capacity to keep a secret extends now... so much so that he didn't even realize it himself until he was forced to reveal anything and everything after his sentencing.]

I think he would benefit from it. It would do him good to have people keeping an eye on him, in an unofficial sort of way, I think. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who will talk about his troubles unless he absolutely has to. [She props her chin on one hand and grins.] Something the two of us don't know anything about, of course.

Not at all. We're as forthcoming as they come, [ Claude says with a quick wink. ]

But we do have each other, at least. [ He trusts Ethlyn as a friend and confidant by now. Quite unlike anyone else he's met, actually -- he thinks that perhaps she's his first true friend, bound not by fate and the nature of his birth, but because they truly and genuinely enjoy each other's company.

It's odd in all its novelty. He wonders if others know how fortunate they are to have this from the very beginning. ]

I'm sure he has plenty of friends his own age, but none finer than mine, so it's worth keeping an extra eye out.

[Oh yes, they are the most open and artless people in Aldrip, the pair of them. Ethlyn laughs at the absurdity of the claim.]

I'm glad we do. [Claude has been a good friend. Sensible--mostly--and bringing things to each other that they lack on their own.] I don't know if we'll ever actually manage to keep each other out of trouble, but at least we can do a pretty fair job of getting out of it.

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[ OPEN ] willkommen, bienvenue, welcome

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