Welp We're Here and That's What Matters

[ahelpingpaw]

[Perhaps it's tradition by now, he doesn't know. Still, he does send a note to everyone some time after the trial. Simple and to the point:]

Because everything on this ship is awful, I think a drink is needed. Come get some at the bar, it'll do you some good as long as you don't drink too much

Filbo (pawprint)

[Indeed, if you come to the bar you'll find there's one of everything. Filbo seems to have asked literally every drink he knows or has at least heard about, and lined them up from the most mellow to the strongest. There's one of each, so it's limited, take yours before it's gone! Or...ask Jimmy Buffett for more, he's right there.

Should he be encouraging drinking? He's not completely certain, but he had to do something! And this is as good as anything -- not festive because this is no time to be festive, but also social enough to encourage coming.

This will do.]

Comments

top deck gazebo

[scouserer]

[It seems as though Flayn isn't the only one who decided to slip away from the bar and head to the top deck for some fresh air. Constantine hears her voice before he sees her, and as he cranes his neck, he can catch a glimpse of the doll.

He approaches quietly, careful not to startle Flayn. After getting within a few yards, he clears his throat to announce his presence.]

How's Emily doing?

[Because right now, it's easier for him to acknowledge the doll than it is to acknowledge...well, anything else.]

[cethflayn]

[She looks up at the voice - and definitely appreciates Constantine announcing himself. Flayn doesn't know if she'll ever be able to just be okay with folks barging in on her.]

...She is alright. I kept her away from the scene today.

[Sara would bring Emily everywhere, but Flayn would like to spare her the sight of more death if she can. The teddy she made for herself, on the other hand? He's gotta go through the grim shit with Flayn, he has no choice.]

Jimmy Bear is a bit shaken, but I think with time he will be fine.

[scouserer]

[Constantine would ask if Flayn was feeling alright, herself, but...they both know the answer to that. He leans against the railing of the gazebo, looking off towards the lazy river and the spot he occupied last week.]

Ah. Glad to hear that. I'm sure Sara would've wanted her to be kept safe.

[He glances towards her pointed ears. He didn't comment last week, since...he was ridiculously drunk at the time, but...]

So, you're done pretending that you're an ordinary human, hm?

[cethflayn]

I am. And I am sorry I lied - poorly, apparently.

[She's never going to realize that she's just terrible at lying, is she.]

I do not even like to lie.

[scouserer]

Well, I could tell that from the get go. But it wasn't my place to pry, and it wasn't important at the time, so....

[He crosses his arms, giving Flayn a measured look.]

S'not like you have to apologize for anything. Everyone has things they'd like to hide about themselves. [He cocks his head to the side.] So, then, what's the actual deal with the ears? You an elf or something?

[cethflayn]

[She pushes a lock of hair behind one of those ears. It feels nice not to hide them anymore - she's not used to the novelty of it.]

My people are known in legend as the Children of the Goddess of Fodlan. But I am, in actuality, a Granddaughter of the Goddess...we called ourselves "Nabatean". There are very few of us left. [She lets that factoid sit in Constantine's mind for a moment before adding,] We can live for an extraordinarily long time, and can usually shift between a human form and our true form, which I think you would consider akin to a dragon. But I have not been able to do that for a long time.

[Constantine...so far, has proven himself to be a good man. A sad man, but a good man at heart. So, Flayn trusts him enough to explain being a dragon person.]

[scouserer]

[Constantine arches his eyebrows and lets out a low whistle.]

Huh. Did not expect that, of all things.

[You know. Flayn really being a dragon, but also that whole thing about her being basically descended from a goddess....]

You say there used to be more? What happened to the others, if I may ask?

cw: fucked up fire emblem shit

[cethflayn]

They were killed.

[Which is, uh, the very short and kind way of putting it.]

It was very long ago - the Goddess was slain in her sleep by a bandit named Nemesis. He and his followers killed all the Nabateans they could find residing in our ancestral home, Zanado, and took their bones, hearts, and blood to bestow crests and power unto themselves. [Flayn brings her arms up to sort of hug herself.] The only one who survived was my aunt, Seiros. Saint Seiros. My father, and two of my uncles, and myself...we did not live in Zanado, so we were spared, but after that...we had no choice but to fight back. And once Nemesis was defeated...well. I was hurt, and had to rest for many years. But once I awoke, my father made it very clear that I could not be myself among people. We had to hide who we were, or...

[Or the same fate could befall them.]

[scouserer]

[Constantine frowns, rubbing the back of his neck as he listens quietly. Yikes. It's not something out of place to hear in Constantine's own world, but...hearing it from Flayn is something else entirely.]

That sounds--if you excuse me language--incredibly fucked up.

[He sighs deeply, looking away from Flayn.]

I don't blame yourself for hiding it. There's a lot of selfish people in this world--people who'll take what they want because they think they're owed something or because they deserve it. Doesn't matter how many people they hurt along the way.

...If it's any comfort, I don't think I've encountered anyone on this ship like that.

[A pause.]

Except maybe Magica. And Jack.