[ strohl jr happily wiggles!!! he seems to be happy and vibin....
no one answers to knock knock. it's nice, though - the feeling here is just nice. the sun's warm and dappling overhead, the breeze enough to ruffle but not enough to chill, and eventually - a little girl comes down the pathway eating an apple. she looks up at vi - horned, like strohl, so a clemar - and beams at her, waving.
"Hi Vi!" excitedly, as comes running up to vi as if they have known each other forever. "Hi Junior! What're you doing? Do you want an apple?" ]
the sun is nice - that's funny, actually. it's been so long since she's seen the sun like this. she's lived most of her life underground, and then hopping from game to game, she's been in artificial places more often than not. for a second, she tilts her head back and lets the sun warm her face.
and then the little girl comes running up, and vi is totally thrown off. bwuh. but - okay, she can deal with this. ]
Oh - uh. [ aaaaa ] Hey. Sure, I'll take an apple. We're just taking a walk. You okay?
[ also important to note this child has an accent just like strohl's! she beams, missing a tooth, and pulls a little apple out of her dress pocket. here you go.
"Huh? I'm okay, I'm helping mother by doing the shopping while she's helping out up at the house up there." as she pulls out a little coin purse and wiggles it proudly, and then another little apple and hands it to strohl jr, standing on her tippytoes to do so, she points up at the street to a house.
perhaps she has not spent her money correctly and has too many apples. this is fine. anyway she looks back at the house. "Are you looking for Lord Strohl? I think he's over there, too."
[ up the pathway she goes! the little girl beams and waves with a last bye, vi! and then heads off on her way.
along the way, a few people take notice - there's cheerful greetings from a baker nearby, who coaxes strohl jr over with bread crusts and hands vi a little bag with a pastry in it, "on the house, just don't tell the missus", and smiles and acknowledgment from others. no one here is dressed in wild finery or anything like it; they're good, hardworking people, warm and kind and friendly, accepting. a place that feels sort of like home.
the house up the road is the largest house in the place. it's still dilapidated, more or less - really, it's only about a quarter of a house, and there's a pile of black, burnt wood and stone off to one side of the house, but the place is abuzz with life. a few people are working on laying bricks, a few others doing carpentry, sawing planks and laying the groundwork. she'll hear laughter coming from somewhere around a corner, and past this main facade of a partial house, she'll see a familiar yellow coat hanging from a tree branch. ]
[ oh... the pastries... she takes them, and promises she won't tell, laughing. she gets into this, actually. loses herself a bit in the fantasy of it, waving to people, giving little salutes. a place that feels like home, huh? that's new. she doesn't think she's felt that for a very long time. this sort of community is different than what she's used to, but she doesn't hate it. not at all.
but, ah, there he is. she knows that coat. she leaves it alone for now, palming strohl jr like a basketball and carrying him the rest of the way as he munches happily on bread crusts. he is a black hole of munchies.
she peeks around the corner of that house, trying to see where the laughter is coming from. ]
[ the laughter is coming from a group of men and women gathered around a wall structure, all rope hoists ready to be pulled - more specifically, it's teasing and happy, playful, and at the center of it is of course a red faced clemar with his sleeves rolled up and his arms full of a tiny bundle of blankets that has to be a child, holding onto one of his horns. ]
You can only call it "practice for the lord" so many times before it becomes "free babysitting so I can go to the tavern", you know, Benedict. [ one of the men who i just made up a name for thanks internet roars with laughter and claps strohl on the shoulder, hard enough he makes an oof noise; another in the group spots vi across the room and immediately calls out for her with a cheerful Oi, Vi! Perfect, just the lady we need! We could use another hand, yeah? Lord Strohl's are occupied!
strohl glances over and spots vi, and his whole face warms up. he looks - happy. just, so happy. the near omnipresent dark circles under his eyes are faded away, the general weight on his shoulders lifted, as he carefully returns said child back to her warmly smiling mother nearby. ]
Afternoon. Come to the usual Harangue Strohl hour?
[ ouughghgh. she has a lot of feelings about this, too.
the picture of the baby clinging to strohl's horn makes her heart clench up. she isn't sure she necessarily... wants him to be stuck in a marriage for heirs like he keeps talking about, but just based on what she's seen? she knows he'd make a good dad. he's good with kids. community is important to him, in a way that resonates so strongly with her. when the others call out to vi, she barely even hesitates.
vi goes right to the group of them, giving the one that called out to her a grin. ]
Yeah, it's what you pay me for. [ she says to strohl, joking around. ] Break it up, now. I'm the only one around these parts that gets to give him shit.
[ teasing...
she glances at him, and sort of just... takes him in. it's remarkable how happy he looks, for something so simple. ]
[ she's immediately greeted with chatter and joy - the people here seem to recognise her, greet her with warmth and commentary, easily let her into their little circle. "The only one! We've known him since he was up to my knee! You should've seen the young lord, did you know the first time he rode a horse he got bucked off--"]
--Okay, I think that's enough, thank you, Rangief, let's head back to work. [ strohl protests, to more raucous laughter; one of the clemar winks at vi as the crowd scatters, heading over for the extra work. she can see there's a setup to pull up a large wall and make it vertical nearby - all they need are hands for the ropes.
strohl puts his hands on his hips, then blinks, looks over at her. ]
[ ohhh, she likes this so much. she laughs when they tease back, when they let her straight in. and when they scatter, she's left with a sense of warmth.
as for strohl, she just kind of - huffs. ]
Yeah. It's just - right here. [ gestures to all of his face, teasing like an asshole. ]
Ha ha, very funny. Remind me to pay you your jester's fee.
[ strohl rolls his eyes, but there's a smile on his face, and he gestures over to the ropes with his head, where the rest of the men and women are gathering. with two left, all they have to do is hoist the thing to a standing position - the first wall on a rebuilt manor. to a home, rebuilt by community, piece by piece. ]
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no subject
no one answers to knock knock. it's nice, though - the feeling here is just nice. the sun's warm and dappling overhead, the breeze enough to ruffle but not enough to chill, and eventually - a little girl comes down the pathway eating an apple. she looks up at vi - horned, like strohl, so a clemar - and beams at her, waving.
"Hi Vi!" excitedly, as comes running up to vi as if they have known each other forever. "Hi Junior! What're you doing? Do you want an apple?" ]
no subject
the sun is nice - that's funny, actually. it's been so long since she's seen the sun like this. she's lived most of her life underground, and then hopping from game to game, she's been in artificial places more often than not. for a second, she tilts her head back and lets the sun warm her face.
and then the little girl comes running up, and vi is totally thrown off. bwuh. but - okay, she can deal with this. ]
Oh - uh. [ aaaaa ] Hey. Sure, I'll take an apple. We're just taking a walk. You okay?
[ instinctively protects this child ]
no subject
"Huh? I'm okay, I'm helping mother by doing the shopping while she's helping out up at the house up there." as she pulls out a little coin purse and wiggles it proudly, and then another little apple and hands it to strohl jr, standing on her tippytoes to do so, she points up at the street to a house.
perhaps she has not spent her money correctly and has too many apples. this is fine. anyway she looks back at the house. "Are you looking for Lord Strohl? I think he's over there, too."
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vi smiles a little, warm. and then, gently: ]
I was looking for him, yeah. Thanks for the help, kiddo. [ gives her a hair ruffle. ] Good luck on the shopping.
[ and she'll head towards that house, tossing her apple up and down in one hand, strohl jr in the other. ]
no subject
along the way, a few people take notice - there's cheerful greetings from a baker nearby, who coaxes strohl jr over with bread crusts and hands vi a little bag with a pastry in it, "on the house, just don't tell the missus", and smiles and acknowledgment from others. no one here is dressed in wild finery or anything like it; they're good, hardworking people, warm and kind and friendly, accepting. a place that feels sort of like home.
the house up the road is the largest house in the place. it's still dilapidated, more or less - really, it's only about a quarter of a house, and there's a pile of black, burnt wood and stone off to one side of the house, but the place is abuzz with life. a few people are working on laying bricks, a few others doing carpentry, sawing planks and laying the groundwork. she'll hear laughter coming from somewhere around a corner, and past this main facade of a partial house, she'll see a familiar yellow coat hanging from a tree branch. ]
no subject
but, ah, there he is. she knows that coat. she leaves it alone for now, palming strohl jr like a basketball and carrying him the rest of the way as he munches happily on bread crusts. he is a black hole of munchies.
she peeks around the corner of that house, trying to see where the laughter is coming from. ]
no subject
You can only call it "practice for the lord" so many times before it becomes "free babysitting so I can go to the tavern", you know, Benedict. [ one of the men who i just made up a name for thanks internet roars with laughter and claps strohl on the shoulder, hard enough he makes an oof noise; another in the group spots vi across the room and immediately calls out for her with a cheerful Oi, Vi! Perfect, just the lady we need! We could use another hand, yeah? Lord Strohl's are occupied!
strohl glances over and spots vi, and his whole face warms up. he looks - happy. just, so happy. the near omnipresent dark circles under his eyes are faded away, the general weight on his shoulders lifted, as he carefully returns said child back to her warmly smiling mother nearby. ]
Afternoon. Come to the usual Harangue Strohl hour?
no subject
the picture of the baby clinging to strohl's horn makes her heart clench up. she isn't sure she necessarily... wants him to be stuck in a marriage for heirs like he keeps talking about, but just based on what she's seen? she knows he'd make a good dad. he's good with kids. community is important to him, in a way that resonates so strongly with her. when the others call out to vi, she barely even hesitates.
vi goes right to the group of them, giving the one that called out to her a grin. ]
Yeah, it's what you pay me for. [ she says to strohl, joking around. ] Break it up, now. I'm the only one around these parts that gets to give him shit.
[ teasing...
she glances at him, and sort of just... takes him in. it's remarkable how happy he looks, for something so simple. ]
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--Okay, I think that's enough, thank you, Rangief, let's head back to work. [ strohl protests, to more raucous laughter; one of the clemar winks at vi as the crowd scatters, heading over for the extra work. she can see there's a setup to pull up a large wall and make it vertical nearby - all they need are hands for the ropes.
strohl puts his hands on his hips, then blinks, looks over at her. ]
...What? Something on my face?
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as for strohl, she just kind of - huffs. ]
Yeah. It's just - right here. [ gestures to all of his face, teasing like an asshole. ]
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[ strohl rolls his eyes, but there's a smile on his face, and he gestures over to the ropes with his head, where the rest of the men and women are gathering. with two left, all they have to do is hoist the thing to a standing position - the first wall on a rebuilt manor. to a home, rebuilt by community, piece by piece. ]
Shall we?
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Yeah. Yeah, of course.
[ there's something special about this, enough that she's forgetting where they really are. she wants to give it the weight it deserves. ]