Repayment

chuklfug | wants to rp-Yesterday at 11:07 PM

The mess hall is a rather modest room- a few lights hang on the low ceiling, illumating a wide room with tables and chairs scattered about. The chefs- or whichever soldiers had the basic expertise to qualify- can be found in one end of the room, preparing the army's meal. A few people sit at various seats, but the room is surprisingly quiet- judging by the dim light that pours in through the windows, it's early sunrise. Albion leaves the front with a tray of food in hand, arriving shortly after the conversation with Shanoa. Chances were, she would be back on her feet, soon- at least if her disposition was any indication. ...Still. He had the sense the wounds bothered her more than she let on. Perhaps he should bring back some food? Although.... Albion reaches a hand into his pocket- the unsatisfying jingle of a few gold coins. His personally allotted allowance for the day. Well... he could give it a little time. Delphine seemed like the bleeding-heart kind of noble, after all- she would hardly let someone go hungry, right? He walks down the hall, scouring the tables for a place to sit.(edited)

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 11:14 PM

Valerie was surprised in herself that she was awake as early as she was. She fully anticipated to be sleeping most of the day after the exhausting past few days, but her body was itching to do something, crushing her sleepiness away, leaving only awakeness and energy in its wake. She had spent some time preparing herself for the day; getting dressed, cleaning up, grooming herself slightly. She was going to forego the bandana for the day because she didn't expect to get into any kind of scuffle, letting her long brown hair drop down uninterrupted from her head and down her shoulders and body. With her small morning routine out of the way, Valerie's stomach growled, which meant her first focus should be food. She decided that the standard mess hall would be a good enough place; she wasn't a picky eater in the slightest. With a slow saunter, she eventually ended up at the place of her current interest. As soon as she set foot inside, her eyes immediately came across a figure she knew; Albion. She had felt bad about not having paid him last time for his services, so she had actually kept a small pouch aside with the payment, plus a little more, in case she came across him. However, she was looking to get into the food line as soon as possible as well. She looked to the man and called out "Albion: catch." As she reached into a pocket and pulled the pouch out, tossing it towards the man, 150 gold nestled as neatly inside as it could be.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Yesterday at 11:25 PM

Albion sets down the tray of food- alerted by the voice, he quickly turns to face the speaker. Both hands grab the back of coins with a fumbling clasp- lowering the bag, he sees who it is- Valerie, once again. He raises an eyebrow, but his voice is cheerful. "...Really? Much appreciated!" Albion stashes the coinpurse into the pocket not bulging with the crystal ball- neatly removing his gloves, he sets his coat down upon the seat. Unconcerned with table manners, Albion takes a meaty bite out of a chop of lamb. He waits for Valerie to get her food.(edited)

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 11:29 PM

Valerie heard his tone of being more chipper than last time he spoke to her, which made her feel better about the entire thing. She had a soft smile across her face as she waited to get her food, even if it was a little sub-par than she had anticipated. Regardless, with tray in hands, Valerie looked for a spot to sit. She had basically the entire hall to find somewhere to sit, but something told her to give Albion another shot after the payment she made. As she went to the spot near where he was and said "Payment for you know what, plus a little more." as she sat down and placed the tray neatly in front of her.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Yesterday at 11:40 PM

Albion chews for a while- once he swallows, he speaks again. "Yeah, I figured." He takes another bite of the lamb. "Honestly- I expected you to call my bluff. Walk away. So you do believe in my fortunes, after all?"

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 11:43 PM

"It's not that I believe all of it, but the fact you went so far and actually got some of it right... I have to give you props for that.' Valerie responded with a neutral, slightly chipper tone of voice. She couldn't remember all of it, but she did remember that he somehow brought up Kristyn and that she would meet an end, most likely to her, even if she wasn't going to let things happen that easily. "Besides, i've kept one part of it in mind, and I won't fall for it when the time comes." She added on, finally starting to eat her food in a much more dignified manner than Albion.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Yesterday at 11:48 PM

Albion smiles, in the midst of chewing. "Still a skeptic- but you're wise to heed my advice. And if you'd like me to read your fortune again.... I'm always available." Another bite. For a relatively slender man, Albion eats rather quickly. "Well, not now. I'm on break. But you get the idea."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 11:54 PM

When Albion offered to read her fortune again, she almost laughed at that comment. Instead, she spoke back to him with "Well, you just called it a bluff, so you just gave away your technique." with a small grin on her face. "Even if part of it happened to be correct."

chuklfug | wants to rp-Yesterday at 11:59 PM

Albion's face freezes in the midst of his chewing- after he swallows, he grins widely. "See, I didn't say I did bluff- there's a difference. After all... I did know about Kristyn. Didn't I?"(edited)

September 14, 2016

NethaEmerald-Today at 12:04 AM

Valerie thought she had the slippery con artist when his face froze; her face showed her excitement there, but as soon as he spoke of Kristyn, the tables turned. Her own face dropped and froze. She did finish the bite she was on, but as soon as it went down her throat, she cleared it and responded with "...H-how- I knew you got part of it right, but how do you know her name?"

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 12:12 AM

His shit-eating grin widens. "You can't expect me to disclose that for free, can you? Maybe if you loosen your purse strings, I could tell you..." Albion sets down the slab of meat- holding one hand up to his face, his voice lowers to just above a whisper. "I'm just saying, you have a lot of enemies. Maybe you should watch your back- you might meet that fate of yours sooner than expected!"(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 12:17 AM

Valerie went from surprised and shocked to upset at him in the blink of an eye. She huffed at his remarked and responded back with "You... you're just in everything if the price is right. Guess charitable isn't in your dictionary..." She took her tray and stood up, a lot of food still on it. "Well, sorry, but i'm not going to part with any more coin, so I guess we're done here." She now began to look for somewhere else to sit. "And this is even after I paid you more than I should have..." She sourly thought to herself.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 12:24 AM

Albion's face drops- he leans back in his seat, a little disappointed. "Hey- Hey! Come on, it was a joke. There's no need for that." Gullible and touchy- she was really a peach, wasn't she? But she was a comrade, so... "Come now, sit. I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot here."(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 12:26 AM

"And what's considered a right foot to you?" Valerie asked back to him. She wasn't looking for another table to sit at right now, but instead stood where she was, wanting to hear what he had to say before she made her decision.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 12:31 AM

Propping his arm against the table, he leans his head onto one hand. "We're comrades, right? So we should... get to know eachother. Where we came from, why we're here, all that nonsense. It's a bit of a formality- seeing as I already know about you- but I think it would be a good experience. Wouldn't you say?"

NethaEmerald-Today at 12:33 AM

Valerie sat back down at her originals spot and quickly said "Guess so; just don't make me pay for what I already know." as she started to eat her food again.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 12:47 AM

He bows his head a little. "Thank you." Albion grabs an apple from the tray, taking a bite- after munching for a brief while, he realizes Valerie isn't going to start. "Me- I come from Floribar. Worked as a fortune teller for the venerable Count Albane. The moniker was a joke among all the lords and ladies- he was a decrepit old bastard- but the fool never really realized it. Wed with two kids, a daughter and a son. He hired me on when I was about thirteen- I was still in his service, until recently." He takes another bite. "What about you?"(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 12:50 AM

Valerie listened to what he ad to say, eating the entire time. When he shifted the conversation back onto her, she said "Very blunt there. Fine, but this might be redundant to you. Grew up a blacksmith's girl, testing his weapons and helping on the job. Eventually was forced into military service for Barentia. Met some nice people, like Kristyn. Left the army after mandatory service was done to join Finn, but Kristyn didn't want me to. We fought, and I won, grating me my release." Valerie took a gulp when she was done with that before saying in a more worried tone "Just worried she's still trying to hunt me down."

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 12:58 AM

Albion nods. "She is, if your fortune is any indication. If she was willing to kill you before, that's not going to change now- and she has something to prove." Another bite of the apple. In contrast to his former apathy, Albion starts to look legitimately intrigued. "...Didn't you care about her? Why would you just leave her behind?"(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 1:01 AM

"Because I wanted to join Finn's army. I wanted to join the fight against the Ethysian empire. I don't want them to take over Barentia's neighboring countries and spell doom for my homeland. Kristyn didn't want to do that, so she fought to keep me in Barentia in fears of losing her best friend..." Valerie eventually explained to Albion.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 1:08 AM

"Tch..." Albion shakes his head. What a waste. "Why throw that away? Your best friend in the world- just to be a pawn. One footsoldier in another man's army. In the grand game that Gualter plays... when the dice fall, do you really think it matters where you stand?"(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 1:10 AM

Valerie looked down when he said that. She was well aware of what she gave up to even join this army, and all the consequences that followed along, but she was willing to do it for a more active role. "Maybe not, but I wasn't going to sit idly by while something was happening. Something maybe big. We don't know what will happen in the end, but it's the gamble I took, and it's too late to turn back now."

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 1:15 AM

The explanation seemed... emotional. Impulsive, more than anything. Still, she wasn't entirely wrong- some things couldn't be undone. "I suppose so." Albion takes another bite. He had made the first move- now, it was her turn to ask.(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 1:17 AM

"What made you join this army?" Valerie asked back, dying to know if his explanation would even be more justifiable than hers.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 1:24 AM

"Well, when Castle Albane was sacked... I lost everything. The count was put to the sword- his wife and son, taken into custody." He pauses for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "...His daughter was unscathed- off in Celantus, married to some foreign lord. But his son, the heir to the house- he was in the Ethysians hands. I escaped with some gold, my crystal ball... a few odd trinkets and possessions, but nothing of much importance to me." Albion smiles, dropping the core of the apple to the tray. "So, you see- I have plenty of reasons to see my homeland freed."(edited)

NethaEmerald-Today at 1:32 AM

"As do I, though my reasons are different from yours, yet also the same." Valerie spoke back as she was finally finishing the meat on her tray. She clearly was a much slower eater than Albion was, but she couldn't be bothered to care. "Anyways, if you want to leave, I won't hold you up; not fun watching someone else eat."

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 1:40 AM

Albion scratches his chin. Delphine was supposed to fill in for him, wasn't she? Perhaps he should go check. "Well, I'm not quite done- but I do have things to attend to." He stands, lifting the tray from the table. "That wasn't so bad, was it? A pleasure to talk to you, Valerie. And remember- my offer still stands."

NethaEmerald-Today at 1:41 AM

Valerie nodded to Albion, saying "I'll keep it in mind." even if she wouldn't be willing to pay for stuff from him that she might already know.

chuklfug | wants to rp-Today at 1:42 AM

Nodding in farewell, Albion walks off with the tray in hand.

NethaEmerald-Today at 1:43 AM

==RP END==