skysteal | [ open rp post ]

[ she's.. really not cut out for this, is she?

it was in a fit of uncharacteristic impulsiveness that lucienne took on the request to clear out a recently unearthed temple in the heart of dry, dusty thanalan. well, maybe it wasn't so uncharacteristic. not anymore. all her life luci has tried to be.. good, to be calm, and rational, and obedient, a good daughter, because her familial experience sure is a whirlwind - someone has to be the level-headed one, right? every one of her siblings is a handful in one way or another, and she had never wanted to rock the boat any further. she had never wanted to cause trouble, or inconvenience her already busy parents, or risk speaking up and saying something stupid and feeling foolish about it after the fact.

but now.. lately..

lately she's begun to change, and she doesn't entirely know why, nor does she particularly like it. her temper feels like it's growing shorter by the day, things that once did not bother her now find their way under her skin. well.. maybe those things always did bother her. maybe she was just too much of a coward to give voice to it, or even acknowledge it to herself. regardless, something is changing, and that's a little scary. a few years ago she never would have accepted a job like this, she never would have thought that she could be capable of adventuring, no matter how it runs in her blood. just because her parents are, and her siblings seem to be eagerly following in their footsteps, doesn't mean she has it in her too, right? that isn't how it works. she's just the odd duck in her family, and she thought she had been content with that.

but clearly she isn't. now she's here, staring down the ruins of an ancient temple that looks completely unsafe, and she barely survived the trip to the doors unscathed, past the golems guarding the area without. what hope does she have of making it through the temple itself? lucienne stands stiffly, dressed for the occasion, both hands clutching her grimoire to her chest, while selene flutters about her head, tugging playfully at her dark hair, trying to distract her, loosen her up, but it isn't working. her heart is thumping in her throat while she waits. she's supposed to be waiting on someone, but.. what if they don't show?

maybe that would be for the best. ]

Edited 2020-12-07 05:34 (UTC)

[ Punctuality is not among Peony's talents, and today is no exception, even if she is supposed to meeting someone for this particular job. Neither is she especially used to teaming up with people she doesn't know, and if she's honest, it makes her a little...nervous. Not enough to keep her from going — she could really use the gil — and maybe it's just the general paranoia of being back in Thanalan getting to her. At least these remote ruins are far removed from Ul'dah itself, and the likelihood of her running into someone she knows are slim to none.

If the job itself didn't sound so exciting, she wouldn't have picked it up at all, but how often does she get to spelunk into ruined temples? She's no archaeologist, but aren't places like that loaded with cool treasure as well? With any luck she'll be walking away from richer from this than even the payment for completing the job.

Which is to, you know, find some ancient tablets, blah blah, she has a picture of what she's supposed to grab. That's good enough for her.

After just long enough for Lucienne to wonder if she's been ditched, Peony arrives with her firearm on her back and her aetherotransformer on her hip, her tail flicking behind her as she jogs up to her would-be partner. An Elezen, huh? Though that certainly fits the bill with the mouthful of a name she has. ]

Hey there! Didn't keep you waitin' long, did I? [ Yeah...she totally knows that she did. Still she stills out a dusty gloved hand. ] You must be Luc...Luci...y'know what, I'm probably gonna just butcher it, so let's stick with Luci.

[ she sure did keep her waiting long!! long enough that lucienne was beginning to worry that just maybe she was at the wrong place.. thanalan must be chock full of old ruins, right?? maybe she was mistaken, maybe she read the note wrong, maybe she should just.. go home.

she is beginning to think that she should perhaps do just that when someone arrives, a miqo'te trotting up the path toward her, past the slain golems. thanks for your help with that, peony!! just kidding, luci doesn't seem angry at all that her partner is late, though she's definitely almost a little.. disappointed that she even showed up at all. now they have to go into that place. ugh. what was she thinking? one moment of rebellious pride was all it took to land herself here. ]

Oh, um.. Luci is fine..

[ it's not as if she's not accustomed to people having trouble with her name. she looks to peony's hand for a moment, before extending her own in an awkward handshake. she doesn't really know how to give a handshake. ]

And you're.. um?

[ had they given her a name?? ]

[ It doesn't escape Peony's notice that Lucienne doesn't exactly look thrilled to be here, but she's not about to take that personally. She's worked enough of these jobs at this point to know the adventuring spirit isn't what draws everyone to them — sometimes, the gil is enough, and to be honest, if she weren't a little low on funds herself, she might not have picked this one up.

Though the fact that it sounded dangerous and exciting is definitely one reason she chose it over the customary delivery or mercenary gigs...

Anyway, she gives Lucienne's hand a hearty shake even when its reluctantly given, flashing a grin. ]

You can call me Peony! Everyone else does. [ That's a perfectly normal way to introduce yourself... ] So! You're the one keepin' us alive in there, yeah?

[ Peony is good at making things angry and hitting her...less so keeping herself and others safe and healthy. ]

[ .. everyone else does?? what a weird way to give your name. but peony.. that sounds like a nice name. and it sounds a little familiar. maybe she's come through the bakery? but maybe that was another peony.. a lot of faces come through on any given day, or week, or month, many people in revenant's toll are only passing through. ]

S-so it would seem..

[ she hadn't really been thinking about it like that!! but uh, she sure is the one keeping them alive in there. don't let them die, luci, no pressure. her grasp on her tome tightens, and she glances up toward the crumbling gates. ]

.. shall we?

[ better to get it over with.. right? ]

[ Better to get a move-on, yeah! Peony doesn't do well with staying in one spot for too long, especially on the cusp of an exciting expedition! So Lucienne has barely said the words when Peony is traipsing towards the entrance to the ruins, grabbing her weapon from where it's slung across her back. ]

We shall!

[ And then she starts running...Luci better hustle if she wants to keep up! ]

[ oh my GOD she's one of those tanks who just sprints right at the beginning without waiting for their shield!! lucienne gasps in surprise, frozen still for a moment, before - ]

W-wait!

[ and she's quick to dash off after her a few moments later, quickly opening her tome in her hands, while selene flutters behind her, trying to keep pace with them both. ]

Be careful!

[ She sure is one of those tanks...good luck putting an adlo on her before she's gone!!!

To Peony's credit, when Luci calls out behind her, she does slow down somewhat, though mostly due to her own sense of self-preservation. She has a few potions on her, sure, but those don't do much compared to a true scholar's work. Not to mention, she's never seen a faerie in action before...it could be neat! ]

Of what? This place has been abandoned for —

[ She definitely steps on one of Those Tiles that makes arrows start flying across the room. ]

Oh, shite!

[ GOD, THE WORST TANKS!! peony is gonna have to LEARN.

thankfully, lucienne's instincts are sharp and her reflexes are even sharper; the moment she hears that telltale whish of flying darts, the spell is out of her hands before she even thinks to cast it - tendrils of golden aether lash forth like a whip, curling around peony's body and yanking her forcefully back, all the way to luci's side.

she sure did use rescue on her 5 seconds into the dungeon!! luci does her best not to look entirely, deathly panicked, but mostly fails. ]

Of that! Hidden traps aside, these walls are crumbling - one misstep and you'll fall through the floor, or the ceiling will crash down onto your head!

[ ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN, PEONY!! with a frown, lucienne cracks open her grimoire. its worn pages are littered with notes and scrawlings, and many, many drawings, drawings of geometric shapes and grids of all shape and form. aether gathers around the tips of her fingers, pulling the image from the page, and in a glittering burst it leaps toward peony, reforming into a shining, aetheric shield around her body. neat. ]

[ Oh, oh no, she's a goner for sure, this is the end for the great Peony Havencrest, and she didn't even get to prove her greatness yet, she's the only one who knows it!!!

But before she can meet her untimely demise, she finds herself yanked sharply backwards, and then suddenly next to Lucienne. Did she just...do that? That's a thing?? Wow, handy spell... ]

Hey, so long as you've got my back like that, then what's there to worry about?

[ Then comes another spell, this one even prettier than the last, and Peony's eyes widen with fascination at the burst of light that engulfs her. Wow, maybe she should have been a healer instead! Their techniques are sure nice to look at. ]

I feel unstoppable now! C'mon, let's see what else these ruins have in store for us!

[ And then she's running forward...again...though at least she watches her step now. ]

[ oh no she doesn't!! lucienne has enough siblings to know exactly what will happen the moment peony is able to run - she will run again, and so luci is PREPARED. with the reflexes of a soccer mom she snags the back of peony's collar, hopefully clotheslining her a little in the process. ]

Oh no you don't!

[ SPRINT ISN'T A COOLDOWN, PEONY!! luci snaps her tome shut with her free hand and tucks it beneath her arm, before carefully.. releasing peony's collar and beginning to move. ]

Let's keep it to.. a brisk jog.

[ that's a fair compromise to the snail like crawl she would prefer, OKAY!! ]

[ Not an especially graceful girl, Peony does nearly topple when Lucienne grabs her collar, though she's saved by her catlike reflexes. Get it??? Because she's a cat. She turns an almighty frown up at the healer, but relents with a sigh far bigger than the situation calls for. ]

Fiiiine...wouldn't want you to get caught by a trap, so better I'm by your side to supervise, anyway!

[ That's her story and she's sticking to it. She starts at a brisk jog then, making sure that Lucienne keeps up with her this time. Soon enough, they encounter a couple of bats, and...a bee? ]

Aha! Let's get 'em, Luci!

[ She pulls out her gun and fires off the flamethrower!!!! This is RP and no level sync exists here! ]

Did you.. did you just shoot fire out of that gun?

[ she's never seen her dad do that.. but also he's kind of protective, and does not often allow her to get into combat, even if her mother does not necessarily agree.

anyway, bats and a bee.. that can't be too bad, right?? they're not even that big.. but peony sure does just engage them immediately! lucienne gasps and draws back for a moment, but they're in the shit now, so she has to do what she has to do. at least she isn't sprinting out of sight anymore, because rescue has a cooldown. ]

Bee careful..!

[ thanks for that great joke, dad!! lucienne is quick to snap her tome open again, drawing forth the geometric patterns on the pages and releasing them, applying biolysis to the bats and bee alike, before conjuring a swift physick onto peony, whom the critters are scratching and biting at. they don't yet seem to have noticed lucienne.. which she's fine with, thanks. ]

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