unknownseas | And we're all adrift together through the cold mist, 'til we're lifeless together

And we're all adrift together through the cold mist, 'til we're lifeless together

[The preparations hit differently this time.

Last weekend was at least an attempt at being festive, even with the light supplies they have; at being joyous, at giving people at least one nice thing to look back upon before things inevitably took a turn for the worse. And now two people are dead, and instead of trying to figure out structure placement and how best to keep everyone entertained and occupied and well-fed, the preparations now are given to much more practical purposes.

Large amounts of bottled water from the machine. Bagels and bread and muffins, light starchy things to avoid forcing anyone to keep meat or seafood down after seeing a corpse. Fruit for the sake of providing energy. Avoiding including bananas for any reason. Quietly pulling aside one of the first people she sees with any experience in the matter and asking them to help her make tea.

Once she's got one of the tables at the party zone set up and the tea is on its way to being prepared, she'll set around letting people know; the invitations are simple, written in Freyja's broad, elegant handwriting:

I think another gathering tonight would be beneficial. Not to celebrate, but to remember; perhaps more importantly, to ensure that no one is alone if they don't want to be.

Tonight is hard. There is nothing further to do but get through it.]

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{Once she's sure that everyone is reasonably settled - or at least, as settled as they can be right now - Freyja goes to seek out Flayn; she really had just sort of voluntold the poor girl, all things considered, and she'd noticed how busy Flayn had kept herself making sure everyone had tea, and...]

Flayn. I wanted to thank you, deeply, for your assistance; I appreciate your help in ensuring that this passes as well as possible.

[I mean, it's honestly fine? Freyja seems like...she seems like the kind of woman who would be in charge, and you ought to listen to, and sometimes you need that.]

It is no trouble. I am glad to help.

[She wanted to make tea anyway.]

...I will not presume to think this shall not happen again, but...I wish for it not to all the same.

Likewise.

[She sighs fairly deeply at that; frustration is more with the circumstances than at anyone involved.]

The fact that it was an accident makes it both easier and more difficult, simultaneously; it's deeply tragic that it should have happened this way, but at least there isn't...concern about the true intentions of anyone involved.

[It would have sucked so much more if it had been an intentional killing.]

...In time, we may have to be concerned of those true intentions of someone's acts.

[Read: Flayn knows someone's going to do a kill for kill's sake. She's not completely naive.]

Might I speak to you sometime in the coming week? I would discuss it now, but I do not feel comfortable expressing it around many people.

[Freyja's getting the "I'm not human" reveal this week, are you excited]

You certainly may. I'm willing to hear anything you may have to say, Flayn; it will stay with me, of course.

[oh my god i'm hype]

[A bit of relief seems to lighten the weight on her shoulders.]

I do appreciate that, thank you.

[Points at eyes, points at you]

Is, um. Is there anything else I could help you with? Keeping busy...it helps.

I can imagine it does; I've been trying to speak with people all evening because it's better than just remaining idle...

[Hmm...]

Even if there's nothing to be done at this instant, would you like me to take you to the bar and teach you to make some more of those drinks? Data taught me several.

...Yes. I would like that very much, thank you.

[Everything's clean now, it's gonna be weird, but like. Some new weird fruity drinks will soothe it a bit.]

[Come on, Flayn, let's go.]

Most of them are very sweet, due to most of what we have to use being fruit and syrups and grenadine. I trust that is not a problem?

No problem at all. I love sweet things.

[Gonna chill out in front of the bar and. Who knows how tall it is but knowing how small Flayn is, she can probably at least peek over the edge to watch.

(She's probably not that short but it's cute to imagine.)]

[We are both like. The most barely 5' of people.]

He taught me several that were...appropriate for the setting, I suppose. The sort of thing commonly consumed during the summer, or on long trips such as this one.

What kinds of things go into them?

[Is there pineapple involved, or coconut, or - dare I imagine - mango?

All these fancy tropical fruits, it's incredible.]

I - I will admit that I am partial to putting the little umbrellas into the cups.

From what I understand, the little decorations are of utmost importance. So you're absolutely correct to put them in.

[GIRLS.]

Many of the ingredients are very tropical; some of the things you can do with the ingredients - such as peeling them in certain ways - is apparently also important.

[oh my god she's gonna show you how to do orange twists]

[Aha, they are now well versed in Fancy Human Drinks!]

I see. No wonder I had never seen some of the fruits before. Fodlan does not grow many tropical things - much of it is imported, if we get it at all.

[Adrestia probably has like, oranges and lemons though? They're down south, it's possible.]

[... :|a ]

...I suppose we could have such things in my realm, though for the time being we do not; the mortals have them, however, they quite enjoy making drinks and the like out of them, as we're doing now.

[And then they fight with them, somehow, because drinks are tomes??]

[That's not how magic works ~~I mean in Askr it is but~~]

There are some blends of tea that use dried tropical fruits in them, but those are expensive. [She knows some of her classmates had particular taste for those, though.] How odd to have those same rarities be so commonplace here, in the middle of the sea.

...One would think we wouldn't have such a consistent supply of them, either. Should we? I suppose there may be supplies delivered from time to time, but apparently bananas spoil impressively quickly.

[IF WE...LEARNED NOTHING ELSE AT THIS TRIAL...]

[We have definitely gained knowledge of bananas, that's for sure.]

I do not think we should. Usually, if a ship were out at sea for a long time, other ships would meet it and restock their supplies. [The Wellerman TikTok sensation has taught us things!] But the only other ship I have seen near us is...the one underneath us.

[And The Dutchman doesn't seem like it's getting crates of pineapples anytime soon.]

Likewise. Plumeria and I are often on the top deck at night, and we certainly haven't seen any other vessels.

Save for the one beneath us.

[...The Dutchman is a whole other pile of yikes.]

...There were men on board that ship as well.

[They may have been fish monsters, but they were still suck there.]

They are just as captive there as we are here.

...It seems so.

[Hm...]

Perhaps we should see what can be done for them. When we leave here.

I would like that. But for now...do you think it is possible to send them things by dropping them into the ocean?

[Like, do they need citrus fruits? To prevent scurvy?]

...Possibly. I don't know what they may require, however, given that they're still alive down there.

[...Some...how. I mean they look kind of jacked up but like.]

Maybe Mister Davy Jones might know. He did say it was his ship.

Perhaps I can ask him. I did intend to speak with him tonight.

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cethflayn - 2021-02-07 22:20 (UTC) - Expand

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