April Catch-All

[wolfish]

WHO: Yuri Leclerc wolfish & others
WHAT: Catch-all for April
WHEN: Late Pelu
WHERE: Various locations
WARNINGS: None, will update if needed.


I. Resupply Run (Old Springstar)
[ Yuri isn't yet acclimated to Skysong. In truth, he's not entirely certain how long that adjustment is going to take. Adaptable as he is, he hails from a world in which mass literacy is nonexistent and flight entails mounted travels. For most men, that's wyverns.

Seeing how it's been over a century, the house needs some creature comforts. Given the improvements to local technology, this day that means Yuri's drifting from one store to another examining their new wares.

A. Background Character
[ Occasionally, this leads to him being stopped by strangers who begin regaling him with their backstory. The prevailing trend here is that it's always something about their parents or grandparents — people Yuri either saved or helped. Orphans who moved on to have happy lives and families.

The thing is, Yuri doesn't know what to do with effusive gratitude. So, without fail, he'll be standing there like a deer in the headlights, clutching some kitchen gadget or other like a lifeline, in the face of strangers' enthusiasm. ]
B. Gadgets and Gizmos
[ On the occasions when Yuri manages to evade what's proving to be a small army of orphans' descandants, he spends his time examining the new innovations Old Springstar has to offer. Each time he encounters a new appliance that is neither enormous nor impossible to lift, he picks it up for manual examination, turning it about between gloved hands with rapt interest.

It may or may not be clear to passers-by that this is something beyond curiosity in the sight of something novel. Rather, he appears to be trying to discern what makes it tick. ]

II. Old Routines (Alenroux)
[ While the world has changed a great deal, developing in ways Fódlan certainly hasn't, some things are near enough to the same. At least, Yuri tells himself as much, holding to whatever scraps of familiarity if he can. For him, that means resuming the activities he'd used to pass his time previously.

In this case, Yuri spends the "early" daylight hours in Alenroux training. When he doesn't have a partner to spar with, he instead rigs up targets using whatever he can find — old buckets, broom handles, fallen branches — and slings spells their way. It's a flashy bit of a show that comes in two flavors.

Sometimes, visually identical magic strikes the target much more feebly.

Others, Yuri tosses one spell at his training dummy, then another, different spell, observing how they combine. In these cases, the answer is usually that his constructed target gets blown apart, its shredded components sent sailing in all directions, leaving him to sigh and trot off to retrieve them. ]


III. Free to Good Home (Communion)
So... Turns out before Fluffy joined Byleth for that incredibly long nap we all took, he found himself a sweetheart or two first. Now, we're swimming in cats. Much as I'd like to think looking after tham all is doable here, I'm not thinking it's ideal for them.

[ The cats, that is. Fellow Harbingers may be treated to fleeting mental images of cats and dogs milling about the grounds of Garreg Mach Monastery, uniformed students and recognizable clergy pausing to pet, feed or play with them. Then, too, are images of people who are evidently thugs and brigans...still fawning over cats in the underground halls of what some might guess is Abyss.

Yuri can't help the strength of his nostalgia in this. He spent a fair amount of time pining after feline affection due to just how bad his allergies are, not having the means to overcome them until he admitted his troubles to Marianne. By then, they were in the midst of war, far from Garreg Mach.

At least he's not sneezing to death now. ]

So if anyone's interested in giving a good home to a cat or two, let's make some arrangements.

[ Apologies in advance that they may answer to odd names already. ]

IV. Wildcard
[ ooc: If you have a different idea, feel free to drop a starter here! No need to plot ahead unless it needs some prior coordination. If it does, DM Yuri's journal or hit me up on discord (matchadrop)! ]

Comments

[fishfearme]

[The jest, unsurprisingly, went sailing over Byleth's head, as he seemingly gave Yuri's words some serious consideration, judging by the minute frown on his face.]

That is true. With a sufficient amount of books, these bags can become dangerous bludgeoning weapons at a push. But Kowloon is known for its dangerous entities... we'll just endeavour to be cautious and maintain awareness of our surroundings.

[wolfish]

[ Classic Byleth. Yuri takes his humor failing to land with grace, well aware it's ever a coin toss. ]

That's true — best to keep our wits about us.

[ They're strong enough that attacking them would be a reckless thing indeed, but not everyone will know or remember them. Not to mention, they aren't the Ashen Demon and Savage Mockingbird here.

Yuri shifts his weight idly, cats bumping against his legs as they're wont to do. ]

Any other provisions you think we'll need?

[fishfearme]

Hmm, I suppose we should take some food supplies with us, just in case.

[...are they going down to another town or hiking deep into the wilderness for this book shopping spree???]

We don't know if they price things differently due to food scarcity, or if the food there is edible for those who hadn't lived there for decades. A lot can change in a hundred years...

[wolfish]

A lot can, though I'd like to think we'd be warned if it was that kind of hazardous.

[ Still, Yuri can concede that bringing snacks isn't exactly a bad idea. They're going to be lugging around a lot of books. He holds no illusions that it will be anything less than an absurd quantity with how voracious a reader Byleth is.

And they may or may not find dining establishments down there will welcome their coin, depending on how people view Meridian collectively. ]

We've got some fish jerky still, and I set aside some sweet buns...

[ Yuri drifts over to the kitchen, pulling out whatever he thinks they can easily carry. No surprise he got right to work on replenishing their food supply once the dust was cleared. He does so enjoy feeding his friends. ]

[fishfearme]

[Oh, Yuri, always so reliable!

Byleth trails after him, unzipping Fred in a silent indication that he will be the Food Guardian Whale for this little venture.]

We should pack some water too, just in case. I think some bottle containers survived the passage of time, since it was made out of that 'plah-stick' material.

[They were part of his fish merch too, so of course said bottle containers were brightly coloured with cartoonish fish painted on the side. Unlike the waterskins that hadn't fared too well from time and neglect, plastic was forever!]

[wolfish]

Good thinking. No way to tell how the water is down there.

[ Even if conditions in Old Springstar are stable, it's very possible that the water contains something they can't stomach. Yuri has heard tell of locals in remote parts of Fódlan being hale and hearty but visitors fall ill after drinking their water.

So first, he entrusts their food supplies to Byleth and his boon companion Fred, handing the jerky over. He steps aside, sweeping a hand toward the other snacks Byleth can choose from for their foray.

While he does that, Yuri strolls over to fetch the water bottles. ]

Amazing how this material hasn't changed much at all.

[fishfearme]

[Byleth promptly piles in the supplies into Fred, though he did have a moment of indecision where he realised that an overabundance of food supplies would mean less space to carry books... but it'd be best to be overprepared than under, so he dedicated a good half of Fred's innards towards food supply.]

Yes, it's quite intriguing, isn't it?

[He zipped Fred up, and turned to face Yuri.]

I inquired about the methods of its construction, and it's crafted from some form of oil? I'm assuming some clever spell work must be used to solidify it...

[It'll blow Byleth's mind to know about the various uses of crude oil, which in Fodlan is deemed to be a smelly, dangerous liquid whose only use is its flammability... and even then, other, more convenient substances were better suited. If Rhea had any say of it Fodlan will never learn about the mysteries of plastic...]

[wolfish]

[ The information gives Yuri pause, turning to gawk at Byleth. The guy isn't the sort who typically jokes around or makes something up to see what kind of reaction it garners — that'd be Yuri himself. Even so, it's hard to wrap his mind around oil being used to create these colorful containers that weather so well. ]

Oil, seriously?

[ In the next moment, he spurs himself to resume his task: filling the water bottles. They have a great many books in their near future, hopefully. ]

I wonder what sort of magic that'd involve. Bet you Constance would have ideas, if she heard about it.

[ For better or ill, because... Constance. Rainbow tea, magic volleys raining from the sky on friend and foe alike Constance. ]

[fishfearme]

Constance would somehow weaponise it...

[Byleth practically muttered under this, having witnessed one of Constance's experiments first hand. He'll admit it, she was a brilliant mage and an expert spell-crafter, but she was, er, adventurous (reckless), and didn't really think about the consequences of her experiments until they (sometimes literally) blew up in her face.]

But I'll do some research, when I have the time. It'd be useful to learn how to make 'plah-stick' before we return to Fodlan. Think of the benefits they'd bring...

[Storage boxes that didn't decay! Bottles of water that were sturdy and not at risk from bursting (waterskins) or suffering leaks (barrels)! Amongst other things.]

[wolfish]

[ Yuri catches that near-mutter, evidenced by an amused snort as he caps off their bottles. He's absolutely right about Constance, no denying that.

It really is a remarkable innovation, this material. By some mercy, while colorful, it isn't the same neon eyesore as the sea of "appropriate" clothing they'd waded through in Xanadu.

As to the rest, Yuri nods along when he turns around, offering Byleth one of the bottles. ]

Good thinking. I've been doing the same, seeing as we've got so many books at our disposal. [ A luxury afforded to few in Fódlan, that. But he realizes he'd neglected an essential detail, hurriedly appending to the thought. ] About agriculture, in my case. Ways to overcome Faerghus' poor soil.

[ It makes good sense that they avail themselves of anything they can here, while they have the opportunity. ]

I'd be interested to know what you find out once you get to it, if you'd want to talk about it.

[fishfearme]

Certainly. I'll feel like it'd be good to pool together what knowledge we learn here, so that...

[Here, Byleth paused briefly, as if debating over the bluntness of his next words.]

Well. So that in case the worst happens, at least one of us returns with useful knowledge. This land... it's getting more dangerous by the day- or, century, in this case.

[He's still trying to wrap his brain around the whole 100 year nap - especially as this Byleth didn't have the timeskip nap at the bottom of a ravine! The concept is rather unnerving and alien to him...]

[wolfish]

[ Yuri puffs out a tense breath, unable to deny the words, yet wshing he could. Byleth's pragmatism is seldom off the mark in his experience, something he often appreciates. ]

No denying that, is there? Waking up to a whole new damned world, practically. [ He tucks a bottle into his whale bag, lingering on it for a beat. Centering himself. Back in Fódlan, Yuri could be sure of his results, more or less. Here, it's not so certain. ] I've still got every intention of seeing us survive all this, but there are no guarantees.

[ Yuri may have that idealism in him, but he's led a rough life. So has Byleth. There's no denying that any of them could be a casualty when they don't even know the dangers they may face. ]

Let's gather as much as we can for home. If all goes well, we can spread word even further. If it doesn't...we'll have ourselves covered.

[ He offers Byleth a hand, so they can shake on it. ]