Letters Home

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 2:41 PM

Valerie had gotten quite bored just either training, cooling down after training, or only running across the same two people all the darn time. She had a hunch that they were also trying to avoid her a little because she hadn't seen or heard anything from either of them for quite some time now it felt like. Regardless, she needed someone to do, so she went to the little shopping district on the pier to see what she might want to get for herself. Her eyes gazed upon every stall. There was candy, weapon, armor, clothing, food, animal, and many more shops; too much to really keep a good track of. However, Valerie wasn't looking into any of the shops she'd come across so far; she was on the lookout for a mailing service. After wandering around the town, she wanted to talk to her dad again, and the only way now was with writing letters. She knew he wouldn't be able to easily send her a response, but she just wanted to let him know she was safe. As her luck would have it, though, she wasn't finding any of the mail services on her own...

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 2:55 PM

A girl walked through the mob of people; Delphine would have been familiar to Valerie from the movements of the army and the battle before, her long blue hair unmistakable, styled today with tropical flowers and pinned around her head. She was holding an envelope in her hands, sealed with a wax sigil displaying an amarant flower -- and looking down at it with an expression of deep concern from time to time, marring an otherwise easygoing face. The pier creaked underfoot as she tapped along on it, her steps following a rhythm that was the base of a song, hummed under her breath. She peered this way and that, until she spotted Valerie also walking along. Delphine waved her hand, the envelope flapping in an ocean breeze. Delphine rushed over, scanning a cursory knowledge of the army. She couldn't quite place it, though -- she remembered she was a swordfighter, but... "Ah, you're -- wait, wait, don't tell me, it starts with a V, right? Valerian? Valerie? The power Vested in Me?" The last one was meant as a joke, and she laughed at it, shaking her head. "I'm really sorry about that; I'm normally pretty good at names, but I guess I've never heard it from the horses' mouth."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 2:59 PM

Valerie has finally found a spot that she could write and mail a letter, but as soon as she got to the door and placed her hand on the door knob, a voice seemed to call out to her. Her whole body turned to look at this woman, quick to notice the sealed letter in her hand. Well, at least she was at the right place, which was always nice. However, as the other woman spoke, Valerie got just a little uncomfortable. She didn't fully appreciate jokes against her, whether this other woman meant it or not. When Delphine was done talking, Valerie spoke up quietly with "Yes, that's me." as she turned her body back to the door and started to open it, knowing Delphine wasn't really going to be going anywhere else anytime soon.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 3:08 PM

"Wow, you actually didn't... Hm. Valerie, then? I mean, obviously not the last one." She'd picked up at that slight unease -- and assumed it was at least a little bit because she'd been joking about something that was, rightly, Delphine's fault. She stood a little behind Valerie, hanging around the doorway for when it opened -- she'd written her letter looking out at the sea, agonizing back and forth over what she might want to say -- and ended up with something that might not have been exactly satisfying. Looking down at it for a moment with a wry smile, she added, "Don't mind my dumb sense of humor -- I just wanted to cover up my own screw-up, you know? Sorry."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 3:12 PM

Valerie spoke back with a soft "No, it's fine." as she was now more distracted than anything else. She was looking at what it would take to send a letter back to Barentia, and it wasn't going to be cheap at all, combined with the price of the paper and pen to write it up here. With a small sigh to the prices, she eventually paid for everything and took the letter to a corner and began writing. "Who are you sending yours to?" She asked back to Delphine, wanting to avoid the awkward silence she had actually created.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 3:19 PM

Wow, she is really good at the whole 'wait, wait, don't tell me' thing, Delphine thought as she stepped inside. She almost raised up a hand to say something when she noticed the little sigh Valerie made at her purchase -- that she had money in her pocket to burn, let her -- but the moment was gone. Delphine shrugged and let it roll off her shoulder; it might have been a little much, anyway, or anything. Delphine leaned against the wall in the corner, holding her envelope up the light so the paper of the letter could be seen inside. "To my mother, in Arcias. It's something of an apology -- or a defense -- it's a strange little missive, I admit." After all, Delphine hadn't exactly let anyone know where she had been going -- until now, when she was here, and it was too late to stop her. "I really don't know what she'll think when she sees it."(edited)

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 3:23 PM

Valerie just nodded to Delphine as she spoke. "Seems we're both writing out to family then." She thought to herself before finally speaking up to Delphine with "And I to my father. I... never told him I left the Barentia military, so I want him to know i'm fine. And to see if someone else is still there..." She continued to write her letter, we writing very small, the page almost becoming half-covered in ink. She was going to make this letter as long, heartfelt, descriptive, and reassuring as possible because of the cost of it. Her hand was almost zooming across the page as she was writing.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 3:32 PM

"It's a bit like that... Someone else?" Delphine asked, following the writing without too much intent to read. She'd aimed for density herself -- density of argument, highness of tone: things that might convince her mother that she was, for the first time in her life, serious. The script had ended up a little fancier, for the same reason, but she respected the energy of it, and smiled. "If you run out of room on that and the reverse, allow me to buy you a second. I don't want to see something with so much passion poured into it be cut short."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 3:37 PM

Valerie waved a hand to Delphine's offer and reassured her with "I've got enough room left for what I want to say." She seemed to be ignoring the part about the someone else, and she regretted even remotely talking about that; all it did was bring back that horrid memory.. and how Albion knew about it without even being there, which only creeped and worried her more. Eventually, she was done with the letter and began sealing it. "But thanks for the offer anyways." She finally added back.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 3:54 PM

And, like her name, Delphine accepted the absence with a note on the inside -- and on the outside, a sort of casual ignoring. What question about who that other person might be? She'd never asked such a question. That sort of bearing. Like it hadn't happened at all. "Well, think nothing of it. I'd say it's because we're on the same side, but... I think if my worst enemy had something they wanted to say to someone, I'd still rather they say it," She admitted, with a thought. Being cut off before you had a chance to say whatever you intended just seemed sad to her, like a butterfly that died half-crawled out of the chrysalis, or a fledgeling eaten by a cat. It was, she supposed, a matter of principle. Worthless principle, but at a certain point, it was all worthless. "I suppose I'm vast, and contain a multitude of reasons... But I'm not sure it matters." She ended up waving off the point entirely, digging through her coinpurse until she found the money she needed to send off her own letter, to what basically amounted to a continent away. She whistled at the prices herself. "It must be a hard trip. You tell your messengers to stay safe," she said to the person behind the desk cheerfully as she deposited the coins and handed over the letter. The wax seal caught her eye one final time -- she wondered faintly why she even brought that ring with her.

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 3:59 PM

"Part of me doesn't want to hear what she has to say." Valerie spoke up about the very first thing Delphine just said to her. "I know she completely hates me, thinks i'm weak, and wants me dead for what I did. There won't be any room for remorse in her heart unless I somehow beat it into her.' She added on, voice clearly upset and sad. This was probably the first time she was openly speaking about it to anyone that somehow didn't know about it beforehand, but Delphine came off as trustworthy enough for her to feel comfortable saying it. "I know i'm going to have to face her, no doubt about that. She's probably trying to hunt me down as we speak. Just wondering when she left home though..." She quietly added on to everything else she said. "Anyways, it's none of your concern; only mine. Don't drag yourself into it further."

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 4:23 PM

Delphine blinked, taken aback by the sudden outpouring of feeling from the swordfighter, who'd previously been so guarded before. She'd found a nerve, and Delphine considered it with a soft expression. A small bit of it -- not, admittedly, the bit where she was wanted dead, reminded Delphine of her own troubles with her mother -- a person who you didn't want to hear anymore, because they were so convinced of your worthlessness. But the gap was, she knew, significant. "I'm sorry, then -- that you've got such an unshakable trouble. And that she's so -- so remorseless." Remorse and forgiveness were two sides of the same coin -- and as much as you might like it, you couldn't force either on someone... Even if they could be achieved with a fight, or something stupid like that. She wasn't sure you could even resolve a heart that way -- but, if she was vast, so was the world. Delphine's face grew a little grave as she nodded. "Hm... I'll stay out of it if you like, or at least not pry. If it happens on one of our battlefields, it might end up a little different -- though, uh, not very. I'm not the type. But if you ever change your mind, I won't even charge a ridiculous fee for you to say something."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 4:32 PM

Valerie simply nodded back to Delphine. Her mind had wandered off from the conversation at hand and now went towards what would happen if she were to face Kristyn on a battlefield. It would then surely become someone else's problem when she didn't want it to be. She wanted to be the one to strike her friend down if it ever came to it. It would be what would feel most right to her, even if she fell in battle afterwards. When the other woman spoke to her once more, she snapped back into reality world and gave a soft, awkward smile to Delphine. She knew the other's words meant well, but she was becoming conflicted. She hoped her father would have news that Kristyn stayed, even if it was almost unlikely, like a snowball's chance in lava. "I'll keep you to that if need be then." Valerie finally spoke back with, her face revealing she was genuinely happy that someone seemed to want to be there without any force or ulterior motive.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 4:47 PM

She accepted that response with a gracious nod. "I hope your news is good," she said, smiling in return -- an optimistic gleam that, even if she didn't always feel it, she tried to keep afloat when she could. Delphine headed to the door and paused, a wry smile across her face as she waited in the entryway. "You know. You say you'll hold me to that -- but I have no idea if you even know my name." After all, it wouldn't be unthinkable if they hadn't. Their little band seemed to keep mostly to themselves, in little secluded groups. "We're all so scattered the moment we stop moving as a group -- like a flurry in the wind. I don't think anyone talks very much."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 4:51 PM

... It was true: Valerie didn't even know her name. Though it wasn't like it was ever going to be hard to find her in their little band of fighters. As Valerie was about to speak up about the name, the next thing Delphine said kind of got to her. It reminded her that she needed to be more open to others and actually try to make some friends in this group before they would eventually part ways. "Uh..." Valerie muttered, coming up with a blank about her name, though not really wanting to admit it, even if it was clear based on the look on her face.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 4:56 PM

"Don't worry about it; it's understandable. My name's Delphine," She said, without even attempting to hold back an amused smile. After the trouble -- or, at least, only a little over-literalism -- to get Valerie's name (Which Delphine was only 99% certain actually was Valerie), it seemed only a little fair. She was going to have to make an effort, too -- to try and keep at least some portions of the group from being strangers.

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 5:03 PM

Valerie felt stupid that Delphine had to even tell her considering how easily the other woman got her name. Regardless of that embarrassment, the Sword Fighter nodded and said "Thank you for that, Delphine" repeating it back to it would stick in her own head easier; at least she hoped. "Well, I think i'm going to head back; took care of what I needed to." she added on, waiting to see what the healer was going to do now.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 5:09 PM

"Very well, then," Delphine said with a gracious little nod, accepting the whole name thing without much more than that; she'd had her fun, there was no reason to make the poor girl feel bad about it, after all. "I'm heading back out wandering, myself -- I can at least enjoy the view of the water a little more now that I've gotten that done with." She'd been too busy worry about her mother, colder than even the northern Arcian sea, to really worry about that. She waved and started strolling away, adding, "Don't be a stranger, now."

NethaEmerald-Yesterday at 5:11 PM

Valerie simply waved back to Delphine, not wanting to shout and/or yell at her and distracting everyone else in the area. Now all that needed to happen was that Valerie needed to get stronger and collect herself.

LadyDeme-Yesterday at 5:16 PM

=== RP End ===