Visitors, Cupcakes, and Relationships

Visitors, Cupcakes, and Relationships
Date of Scene:	01 July 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - Watchtower
Synopsis:	Maira stops by for a visit to the Watchtower, only to be beset by addictive cupcakes, relationship advice, and... dun dun dun: Percival.
Cast of Characters:	Faruja Senra, Zia, Maira, Minerva, Percival

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Maira has posed:
Fluorgis. This city has come to hold a lot of fond memories for her. Unsurprisingly, Maira is feeling nostalgic as she walks through the city leading Mao by the reigns. This was the site of the fire crystal, wasn't it? She'd used her fire to break the phoenix stone, restoring the power of the crystal and revealing a world shard. How awe inspiring it has been, holding a piece of the world in her hands. She wonders if any more have been discovered lately?

As Maira approaches the tower, she smiles up at it for a long time, remembering the days she spent here with her 'guardians' hiding away from the Dark Knight. Of course, he had found her. She'd faced him. She'd met Leon. Though he was gone again, she couldn't bring herself to regret what she'd done. Now, she knew it was possible. It was a longer road than she hoped, but they were going to get him back.

Happiest of memories are the times she spent with her friends here though, especially Perci. "Wonder if anyone is home..." she muses to Mao, who leans down to headbutt her affectionately. "No way up unless some one brings me after all."

Zia has posed:
Someone must be home, because there is some measure of warm air being vented from one of the upstairs pipes. Leave it to the two Manhattanite gargoyles to try to modernize their home. The sight of a female on a chocobo is bound to get some attention in this neighborhood, and a pair of shady looking individuals are seem to be tailing Maira as she approaches the tower. To them, she looks like an easy mark who had gotten lost in the wrong part of town.

"Hey, pretty lady." One croons from behind her, "You look lost."

The other chuckles, "Yeah. Real lost."

"We'd be glad to show you how to get back to the main road..." The larger of the two grins, missing more than a few teeth.

Obviously, helping her is not their intention at all. These are the sort of people who don't just set off warning bells, but warning /sirens/.

Maira has posed:
Maira doesn't have the warning of incoming people that she use to. Uist use to keep an eye out for her. Maira has luckily developed her instincts considerably since joining VALKYRI, not to mention she seems to have an innate sense for darkness. Defense mechanism. Of course, not all evil in the world radiated darkness...

Mao however, is just as defensive as Uist was. He warks in warning and turns his head toward the men, narrowing his birdy eyes. Every been kicked by a chocobo? It hurts.

Furthermore, ever been lit on fire? That also hurts. Maira turns her head to look toward the two men, smiling, trying to appear confident. She doesn't immediately go to threats. "Oh, hello! No I'm not lost actually. I don't need any help," she assures them. She's giving them a chance to back off before /bad things/ happen. Maira has just about had it with creeps and Heartless.

Zia has posed:
The two men exchange a glance, but clearly neither of them are aware of the pain that is destined to befall them for messing with this particular woman. "Oh? Is that so?" The taller man cracks his knuckles while his partner just chuckles as if he were the Fluorgis version of a hyena. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to insist." The smaller thug laughs then, "Yeah. Insist. Real good." These two must have hit every branch on the stupid tree when they were dropped by their mothers.

That's about the moment when Zia appears in the doorway of the Watchtower, looking bored. "Wha have Ah told ye morons aboot harassin young ladies in this part of town?" The white gargoyle folds her arms, leaning slightly against the door frame.

"Uh." The hyena-like thug freezes, then starts tugging on his friend's arm. "Go. We should go. Go go. I don't wanna get zapped again. It hurt my bottom."

His friend shrugs off his companion's fear, rolling his eyes. "Jeeze, you're afraid of a couple of girls?"

"Not a girl. Not not a girl." He aims a trembling finger at Zia, who just waggles her own fingers in reply. "AHHHHH!" And off goes one of the thugs. He might even have managed to run away, if there hadn't been a light-pole in his way. *CLANG-THUMP*

That just leaves the thug closest to Maira, who hasn't seen the wisdom of backing out now that he's outnumbered. "Alright, I've had enough of this..." And then he lunges, trying to grab at the fire-haired woman.

Faruja Senra has posed:
White Knight senses go! Faruja Senra has had the oddest desire to be out and about as of late, when he isn't in the Cathedral, staring at the Chalice and praying. The Templar, though showing no outright alarming signs, has certainly become more faithful as of late. Which, considering this is Faruja, is saying something. Anyone common to Fluorgis' bar may hear a few grumblings about missing rats; the Templar's been known to buy a round or two.

And as usual, this means taking to the rooftops, since Fluorgis has these odd notions of not allowing wyverns flying about their city. The rat lands atop a roof before the large tower, marveling at its renovated state. This must be the tower Zia was talking about!

Before he can leap to the front door, he spies a duo of red, one in hair and one in feathers, in the middle of an altercation. Zia initially beats him to the punch, appearing and seemingly scaring off one of the thugs. Tail lashing, he scowls as one doesn't get the hint, and /dares/ make a grab for Maira. She's had a little too much stress as of late. Time to end this.

Actions ---> Jump

A gauntleted, clawed foot will contact the lunging thug's head as Faruja quite simply lands atop him, leaning forward slightly to hopefully slam him bodily to the ground. Nor does he spare the claws! While he himself may be light, plate mail is decidedly /not/.

"My, my, my! How thoughtless of me, Ser! Be thee /quite/ alright?" He manages to say it with a straight face. The little flick of his tail, however, would show he's enjoying giving justice to a punk.

Maira has posed:
Sigh. Yes, they had clearly been bludgeoned with the stupid stick rather mercilessly. Things were not going to get any better for them.

Maira looks over toward the tower as she hears Zia. Eee, she loves that accent!

What the, is she turning into Avira!? Loving accents...pfft.

Right, trouble. One of the men has the sense to try to run away, running into a pole as he does so. Maira just blinks and winces. That must be /really/ embarrassing.

Maira turns then as the other man lunges for her. What the heck!? What is he even thinking he is going to accomplish!? Maira isn't even thinking about the terrible things a young woman could have happen to her from normal thugs like this--she's use to people trying to EAT HER HEART.

Maira just lets out a heavy sigh as the man grabs her. "You really shouldn't do that," she says, then ignites, her whole body bursting suddenly into flame.

Assuming the man reacts as most people would to being suddenly lit on fire and lets her go, he then gets stepped on by Faruja. Weeee!

Zia has posed:
Squashed and set on fire, one might almost feel bad for the thug, if he hadn't just been trying to kidnap Maira for nefarious purposes. As soon as he's released, he goes rolling, making a sound that is distinctly ungentlemanly, followed by a string of curses as he scrambles to his feet. Some parts of him are still smoldering as he looks between the three of them. "Uh. I'm fine." He backpeddles, toppling into his co-hort as he's getting up. In a scramble of limbs and frightened shouting, the two men go fleeing off down a dark back alley.

"Ye'll have te excuse the locals. Unfortunately, there are few places tha suit a gargoyle's needs, 'n this one just so happened te be in the worsest of neighborhoods. Ah get a bit tired of barbequing hooligans." Even so, Zia seems pleased enough to see the two of them. Though she's had few encounters with the flame-wielding VALKYRI, she's easy enough to recognise. "Come on in. Best te be off the streets b'fore someone else decides te try their luck. B'sides, Ah've got a pot of tea on tha yer welcome te share."

Faruja is clearly playing 'white-knight', and the white gargoyle might have her guesses as to just why Maira might be here. For now, though, she'll play the part of the cordial host, motioning them inside. The ladder has been lowered, which allows easy access to the upper floors of the watchtower. The smell of baked goods wafts from above. Zia doesn't need to use the ladder, and instead just vaults herself up, latching on with her talons to pull herself the rest of the way.

Faruja Senra has posed:
And off go the badguys! "Lord bless, may He lead thee both to PROPER OCCUPATIONS!!!" Yells out Faruja after the duo as they make a quick exit. It seems there's brains in those two after all!

Ahem! Brushing himself off, the Templar regards the pair of women with a warm smile, his good deed done for the day. "Ahhh, reminds me of patrolling the western side of Burmecia. Hardly a day went by without /some/ form of altercation. Though I /really/ should see about getting Father Barnabus to set up some form of small chapel, or mission, or a bloody soup kitchen. Desperate situations breed desperate men."

His eye tracks to Maira, glancing her over. "Unharmed, Maira? Shall we?" Arms are offered as Zia rolls out the red carpet. Or in this case, the brown ladder.

Of course, Faruja is beaming at Zia! "My dear, truer words never spoken! I /am/ curious about thy new abode. Is Ser Percival within as well?" Up she goes! If he has Maira in his arms? So too does the rat leap, vaulting upwards like a proper Dragoon. Clearly today is anti-ladder day.

Maira has posed:
Hopefully Faruja has the sense to let Maira reign in her fire before he lifts her up or else the street will smell like burnt rat fur!

The flames don't poof into smoke, but rather seem to be absorbed back into Maira. Her skin is quite warm to the touch, but no longer burning. Maira laughs as Faruja pick her up, prepared to leap. This is clearly better than climbing a ladder! Besides, she's wearing a dress, it would be indescent to anyone climbing up after her!

Maira turns to Zia once they are up in the tower, smiling warmly and dropping a small curtsy. "Thank you, Zia! I would love tea--and oooh what are you making? It smells delicious! Is Perci here or do you cook too?" she asks.

Maira giggles to Faruja as he also asks if Perci is around. "A soup kitchen? Yes, that sounds like a great idea Faru! They had something like that in Midgar sometimes. You could bring your own meat if you had some and they'd cook it for you. I caught a pigeon once..." she trails off.

"Anyway! It looks so nice! You've done a lot since I was here last!"

Zia has posed:
"The young squire is out at the moment, dinnae know where he's off te." Zia shrugs her shoulders. Though the other gargoyle is somewhat like her brother, she doesn't act like his keeper. He comes and goes as he pleases. Who knows, he might even show up later. Who can say?

It takes barely a moment for Zia to pull the ladder back up. Though it's mostly unneeded today, there's times enough when it is, and the last thing she wants is uninvited guests. Then, she's leading the way upstairs towards the kitchen. "Aye, the place is a right bit nicer lookin' than it was when we found it. Then again, havin friends te call on for manual labor helps." A smirk toys on the gargoyle's features, followed by a chuckle as her talons click on the stone steps.

The question about the delicious smell has her looking a bit more sheepish though. "Cupcakes. Ah cannae make anythin' tha doesnae come from a box or a can. Ah leave most of the cookin' te the wolf or the squire. That way Ah dinnae burn the place down."

The kitchen is a bit cluttered, with the dining table half-covered by what looks to be the remains of a toaster. There's pots and pans and an array of messy dishes from the white gargoyle's sad attempts at cooking. Even so, there is one actually good tray of cupcakes that she's managed to make. Just as they come in, the pot whistles, and she's up on her toes scrambling for cups and tea. "Make yerselves at home. Ah'll just... be a sec." She bobbles a tea-cup, then pretends like that totally didn't happen. Ehem.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Thankfully, there's no rat-cooking today on Maira's part. Soon enough, they're in with Zia, Faruja looking around appraisingly at her new home. Smile! The Templar flicks his tail. "In that case, my dear, I shall see that 'tis done. One must never forget those less fortunate! Mmm. How did it taste? Like chocobo?" Everything tastes like chocobo.

UP the stairs they go, and soon enough, there's cupcakes. Faruja pulls out a chair for Maira, longingly looking at those cupcakes. He shall be good, and only grab one after Maira has! Oh, delicious pastries~

Zia fumble is pointedly ignored. He /saw nothing/! "If we may help in unpacking, by all means, ask" Comes the rat's offer.

Maira has posed:
The young woman can't hide her disappointment that Perci isn't around. She'd hoped he'd be here, obviously. Maybe he'll show up though!

Maira can sympathize with Zia, smiling sheepishly. "I don't cook well either, burn everything--thinking this comes as a surprise to no one," she replies, moving over to take a cupcake and begin to devour it. She'd have eaten it even if it was burned. Maira wasn't terribly picky. She loves food.

Maira smiles and blushes slightly as Faruja pulls out her chair for her before she takes a seat. Such a gentleman! "Thanks Faruja," she says. "If you need any help with the soup kitchen let me know okay? I can't cook well, but I'm real good at cleaning and other things," she replies.

Maira soon stands again though, moving to the kitchen to help Zia. "Oh! Let me help," she says, taking one of the tea cups.

Zia has posed:
"We're pre'ty much unpacked. Most of it was things tha Ah'd scrounged up around Manhattan over the years, 'n a few things Deidra asked te stash here." Ruefully, Zia's tail tucks, "Percival didnae have much te begin wi'. Ah think it's b'cause he left most of it b'hind te come te New York in the first place." It's a sad thing to think that her surrogate brother has so little. Then again, looking at the amount of broken stuff Zia has lying around, one might suspect she has some hoarding tendencies.

"Oh, thank ye." Zia greatfully lets Maira handle the cups as she goes to hunt down other things. See what happens? You offer to take one, you get them /all/. She doesn't seem to know her way around the kitchen, but eventually the gargoyle manages to come over with a bottle of milk, some honey, sugar, and of course: tea.

"Afraid tha Ah'm no' a very good hostess, but Ah can at least try." Once things are arranged on the table, and the toaster is shoved off to one side, looking forlorn, Zia settles herself, sitting with a kitchen chair turned backwards. It's more comfortable for her wings and tail that way.

"Ah'd be willin te lend a hand if ye do set somethin up, just dinnae expect me te cook anythin. Or te wear a frilly outfit again. Once was plenty." Her ears tuck, but then her attention turns to Maira.

"Ah assume ye were here lookin for Percival then? Ah've heard tha ye've been havin a tough time as of late." Zia's tail flicks as she starts making herself a cup of tea, in the traditional British fashion: ample amounts of milk, and no sweetener. "Ah would say tha Ah'm glad the title of 'trouble magnet' is bein passed along dutifully, but te be honest, Ah've got jus as much troubles as b'fore." She chuckles, then asks, "Is somethin the ma'ter?"

Maira has posed:
Or, Maira could take all the cups! That works too! She's not actually too bad at this. She'd been a very good little waitress at the maid cafe, after all. Maira sets the cups down on the table and helps with whatever else needs doing before she makes herself a cup of tea with plenty of sugar (barbarian!) and a little bit of milk.

Maira settles back at the table, her gaze drifting to the side as Zia says she's a trouble magnet. Maira flushes. "Well I came cause I like this city, but yes I wanted to see if Perci was around...and I'm glad to have found you at home! Perci tells me a lot about you, but we've never really gotten the chance to talk," Maira replies, looking up and smiling warmly.

"I've...had some trouble, yes, but...It'll be alright. Just trying to keep ahead of the game, I guess? Doing my best," she replies with a small shrug, trying not to let the sadness from her loss of Uist rise up and overcome her. She's been dealing with it by staying busy.

Zia has posed:
Zia goes ahead and takes one of the cupcakes, if only because the tension in the air as the templar waits his turn could be cut with a knife. Look, the girls have pastries, it's okay, really! She offers the mouse a smile and nudges the tray towards him.

"There isnae anythin' wrong wi' bein a trouble magnet. Between ye, me, the VAKLYRI leader, the wolf, and the mouse over there, we could probably power all of Manhattan just by runnin a trouble generator." Which is probably true enough. All of them seem to have their issues with attracting problems of various sorts. "Ye know yer always welcome te seek refuge here. It isnae much, but it's as close te home as we've got."

Sipping some of her tea and taking a quick bite of cupcake, Zia chews over her own thoughts in the process. "Well, we've met once or twice, though always under dire circumstances." One ear ticks back slightly, "Ah'm sure ye remember goin down te the underworld te help out Avira. Tha's one trip Ah'd prefer te keep out of the vacation photos." She'd nearly been dragged down by the sorrows of the spirits, and only made it out with the help of Skoll and Percival.

"Well, Ah've heard a fair bit aboot ye as well. Ah'm quite fond of the young squire. He's like a brother te me. Ah..." There's no real way to put this delicately, "Ah just dinnae want te see him hurt. Ah dunno wha went on between ye, but he seemed pre'ty torn up over ye." That was a while ago, admittedly, but she hasn't had any updates on that particular situation.

Maira has posed:
Maira nods. Oh, she remembers the Underworld alright. You don't forget something like that. "That was....quite an adventure, wasn't it," she replies with a sigh, shaking her head. She can't believe they got out of that.

Maira looks away then, flushing deeply as Zia mentions Perci and what happened (happening...?) between them. "It...was really complicated, but I--I messed up and I know it. I don't want to hurt him either. I...I love him. But I loved someone else, and I knew him first and I thought..." she shakes her head. "That's over, but I don't expect that Perci will still want me, after all that. I made some really stupid decisions," she sighs in obvious regret.

She looks up then, summoning her determination. "I'm going to be a good friend to him though, and support him as he's supported me, even if I don't deserve him. S-so...that's that," she says, looking away again as she reaches for her tea, hand shaking.

Zia has posed:
"Well, 'adventure' is sure one way te put it." Zia shakes her head, some part of her not wanting to remember all the details about the trip to the underworld. "Ah hope te avoid a return visit. In any case, Ah'm hopin tha Hades' realm doesnae stretch as far as my afterlife. Ah think Ah'd rather join Percival in the land of winged angels and fae prophets than deal wi' tha."

Where someone else might have been upset about what went in between Maira and Percival, Zia has at least some understanding. "Love is a complex thing, lass. It's somethin Ah'm still tryin te figure out for m'self, so Ah cannae blame ye for bein uncertain." Her expression is somewhat somber as she swirls around her tea, toying with it using her talon rather than actually drinking. "Though Ah'm wi' Skoll now, for wha'ever will come of tha, ye know tha he had a fondness for Avira first. Ah wasnae ready for tha sort of thing yet. So I dinnae blame him for it. She has her true love. He and Ah, we still have te see."

Blue eyes look back towards Maira then, offering her a faint smile, "It's alright te make mistakes. Jus be careful the hearts tha ye leave behind." Her tail sways slightly, and then Zia laughs at herself. "Ah'm nae great sage te give ye advice, lass, but Ah know Percival. When he talked about ye, he lit up like nothin ye can imagine. Ah dinnae think he'd turn ye away if ye told him wha ye feel." This time, she does actually drink, pondering. "Jus be careful wi' him, alright? He lost someone he cared aboot a long time ago, 'n Ah think yer just as important te him as she was."

Watching the shaking hand, Zia can't help but feel uncertain, herself. "'N dinnae be afraid te tell him he's bein a moron now and again. He's like a brother te me, 'n all brothers are idiots from time to time." Now would be a great time for an idiot to show up.

Maira has posed:
Maira nods in reply to Zia, looking at her tea. As she mentions Skoll and Avira, Maira can't help but laugh a little. "Funny...Angantyr loved Avira first, too. They all did. I never even thought he'd like me, then he goes and says he loves me--I kind of freak out--and...and then he takes it back," she says, shrugging her shoulders as if trying to force herself into not feeling rejected. "Its true I did something stupid to upset him...but I thought, if you love someone...you stick by them--and Perci has always stuck by me. I guess I was just..." she shakes her head, eyes beginning to swim with tears.

When Zia describes how she thinks Perci feels about her, she winces. She can't hope. "I don't know that its...the same anymore. I don't want to...I don't know. I know want to throw myself at him right after Angan. He knows, at least I think he does, how I feel. He's being--well, I think he's being purposefully obtuse over it so...I should just...take the hint I guess," she continues, reaching up to wipe a tear.

Zia has posed:
"She's a popular lass." Zia notes, although she doesn't seem to show any real jealousy over it. It had taken a long time for the white gargoyle to come around to even accepting the possibility of such a thing. She'd been so frightened of following in her mother's footsteps that she'd avoided it at all costs. Now, it doesn't seem quite so frightening. "Ah dinnae know much about 'im, Ah'm afraid, but Ah know one thing Ah learned from m'parents. Love is a gift. It isnae something ye can just take back as ye please."

Getting to her feet, Zia sweeps over to grab a pack of napkins. It's the closest thing she has to tissues, but they're set onto the table near Maira just incase. "Well, lass, some of us are pre'ty obtuse te begin wi'." She casts a small glance at Faruja, offering the mouse a hesitant smile. "It takes bein beaten over the head quite hard te realize how someone else feels." She still regrets having hurt Faruja, even if they'd moved on from it as good friends and found others in their lives. Of course, she'd been equally as clueless when it came to Skoll.

"When it comes te Percival, Ah'm nae sure he could be purposely obtuse. It isnae in his nature. Of course, he's probably a bit confused. Give it time, lass. Both of ye need time te heal 'n figure out how ye feel. Someone who cares aboot ye truely, will wait while ye figure yerself out." She rubs at the back of her neck, looking slightly sheepish. "Goodness knows Ah give the poor wolf the run around sometimes."

Percival has posed:
/Thunk/

Swords shouldn't /thunk/ should they? What kind of a sound effect is that? Well they do when you're repeatedly hammering a poor training dummy with one. The padding had seen better days, and was falling apart, it'd have to be replaced soon. He was covered in a sheen of sweat from his training exercises, as he took the time to recenter himself... before he made the effort of extracting the sword. Running a hand across the runes briefly, one in particular catching his eye as he tapped a talon against it. A moment later he sheathed the blade. He'd made some progress tonight but he still had very little stamina when it came to channeling magic through the blade's metal. He'd run out of steam about an hour ago and after that it'd been mostly just going through the more basic forms.

Also the Shard Seeker's might need some new shrubbery in the garden.

He was still rather terrible at precise control. He'd see to that later.. for now, he was climbing up to the rooftop of their headquarters at a languid pace, then gliding across the desert city with nary a care in the world. It wasn't long after that he found himself coming to a landing at the edge of the watchtower's rooftop.

Furling his wings, he started to walk down the steps of the tower, until he reached the floor where Zia and Maira were at... and then he did a double take. What was that about no cares in the world? A moment later, he was smiling warmly, though he had the sheepish look of someone who had just walked into something that he might not be invited for. A taloned hand coming to rub the back of his neck. His tail even paused in it's usual rhythm of swinging as he looked at them both, "Good evening Zia... Maira. Not interrupting am I?"

He hadn't caught sight of the Nezumi nom noming cupcakes in the corner yet.

Maira has posed:
Maira giggles, nodding. "Yes she is. She's by best friend, I love her dearly. I had a while where I was...kind of jealous of her, but I'm only human. I still love her, and I'd do anything for her. Like go to hell and back," she replies with a laugh. "I'm so happy her and Mercade are doing well together. I'm hoping they get married," she admits, eyes sparkling with the excitement of the prospect.

"Perci isn't as oblivious as you think he is...not to this. Confused though, yes...he's probably that," she replies sadly. She only wants to make him happy.

"Heh, anyway, I bet you and Skoll are really cute together. Skoll seems like a nice guy. He's been a good friend. I know he was involved with some sticky situations but...eh," she says with a shrug. Maira is becoming pretty well known for her judgement or lack thereof! Sometimes it works out...sometimes it does not.

Maira almost jumps out of her seat in surprise when Perci enters, slapping a hand to her chest and gasping briefly. "Ah! Perci! <Goosehonk> that is going to take getting used to..." she says. She use to have Uist watching out for her, telling her when someone approached. She feels blind without him.

Once recovered, she flashes Perci a bright but embarrassed smile, her cheeks flushed. "Hehe...not interrupting...I just came for a visit...hope you don't mind..."

Zia has posed:
"The lass is a fair bit better at aquiring friends and companions than she might think of herself. It's amazing wha yer world bein destroyed will do for someone." It had made Avira into a leader, and brought Zia out of her shell. Who knows what the future holds, though.

For now, Zia just shrugs her shoulders, uncertain as to the true state of Percival's heart. He seemed to recover from the blow of Maira's initial choice, but she'd known well enough that sometimes he carried heavier burdens on his shoulders than he let others in on. "The wolf is a load of trouble on his own, but Ah'm fond of 'im. B'sides, if it werenae for 'im, Ah'd probably havete go back te scroungin dumpsters when Percival isn't around the cook."

What is in those cupcakes anyways? The mouse definitely seems addicted to them.

While Percival's arrival might surprise Maira, Zia notes the sound of talons on stone just before he walks in. Her ear twitches and then she looks up. "Hey. We've got tea on, if yer interested. Though it might need a wee bit'a warmin up again." She'd offer him a cupcake, too, but... mouse.

Oh, and obviously, Zia had been trying to cook! How do you know? Because the kitchen is an absolute mess, including what looks like two completely runny batches of cupcakes. How can you mess up cupcakes from a /box/?! The white gargoyle doesn't draw attention to this, she just sips her tea. Yep. Totallly not cleaning that up.

"No' interruptin at all." Clearly, he'd walked in on 'girl talk'. "How's the trainin goin, any luck wi' bein able te pull off some of those pyrotechnics the Atlanteans showed ye?"

Percival has posed:
"What's going to be taking a lot of getting used to Maira? Are you alri...?" The Gargoyle's bony protrusion above his eye twitches slightly as he sees the state of the kitchen. And /immediately/ he needed to recenter himself. Taking a deep breath, he just managed a smile, looking at the state of...

/OH DEAR GOD HOW COULD ANYONE DO THAT TO A OVEN! WITH CUPCAKES!/

Recenter, recenter. It actually dawned onto him immediately that he'd walked in on girl talk, but he didn't think he should necessarily excuse himself either. "I think I'll... have that cup of tea."

He didn't even mind that it was cold, he just poured himself a cup, and drank it, properly, looking slightly haunted, before he offers another smile Zia's way, "So right, I've made.. some progress. It'll take time, training, you know.. given that I was about as magically adept as a soggy cheese sandwich when we went to Atlantis."

Maira has posed:
Maira nods some, smiling, trying to dispel whatever worry had surfaced. "It's just Uist use to um--warn me when people were coming, heh," she says. Of course, then she can't help but notice Perci's reaction to the state of the kitchen. It /is/ pretty messy.

Well then. MISSION TIME!

Maira pulls a bandana from her bag and ties her hair back with it. She's going into CLEANING MODE! Well, at least she's going into cleaning mode after she eats another cupcake and finishes her tea.

Omnom, sip sip, smile to Perci and Zia. "I don't know, I've known some pretty magical soggy cheese sandwiches," she replies cheekily. "Keep practicing and I know you'll get it. I bet you won't light nearly as many things on fire as I have, even!"

Maira stands then. CLEAN ALL THE THINGS! She starts with the scariest part, the oven. Rag and cleaner in hand, not to mention /magic/! Maira climbs on in and gets to it.

Zia has posed:
Unfortuantely, Zia hasn't a clue who Uist is, so her ear just ticks once. Perhaps some sort of companion of Maira's? Whomever it is, apparently they aren't with her now.

Just as Percival settles to have his cup of tea, Maira goes into total cleaning mode. "Ye dinnae have te..." Zoom. Okay, well Zia hesitates halfway out of her chair, and then sits back down as she watches the fire-mage try to combat the mess she'd made of the kitchen. Looking over at Percival, Zia nudges him in the arm and whispers, "Ah like this one, can we keep 'er?" She's teasing, of course.

"Ah should help." She drains the last of her tea and pushes herself up, "Was hopin te surprise ye and Skoll with cupcakes, but Ah'm no' sure there'll be many left." Sheepishly, Zia heads to start washing up some of pots and pans. How did she even need to use a wok in making cupcakes? Clueless cook is truly clueless.

Aiming a soapy wisk in Percival's direction, Zia adds on, "Ye never know, it could be one of those grilled cheese wi' the face of Jesus on them or somethin. Dinnae question the power of Grilled Chesus!" Wisk-waggle. She laughs then, an amused smile on her features, "Seriously, give it time, lad. It wasn'ae like Ah came te call storms overnight. Ye'll figure it out. Ah'm sure it's in there somewhere."

Percival has posed:
At the same time the words come out of Zia's mouth, Percival states, "You really don't have to Maira you're our gu..." And then Zia cuts him off with that statement, and he gives her a wry look, "You just want someone to clean up after your late night MMO sessions. Always having to /raid/." He takes another sip from the tea, chuckling, "Let me show you how I make them sometime, Zia, truly...I promise you I...can at least keep our kitchen, intact."

He gives Maira a sort of sheepish look, "Truly? Then I'll have to aspire to be better than /magical food/. Though right now that's a bit of a stretch." A beat pause, "And uh, so far, nothing has lit on fire. It just sort of pulverizes everything that gets in it's way, or does nothing more than feel like a gentle breeze..."

He rubs the back of his palm against his face, "Oh I hope not, if the face of Jesus appeared on the back of toast then I'd know it was one of Oberon's children playing games with me."

He takes up a rag and looks around the room, then starts to clean himself, "Let me help you with that.."

Maira has posed:
Maira has her head in the oven. Do not be alarmed! She's sort of forgotten she's wearing a dress though, and is not exactly in the most ladylike of positions. She's also getting fairly filthy.

She backs out to blink at Perci, her cheek smeared with oven ashes. "No not truly!" she laughs. "I've never really seen you use much magic...so the sword, it's magic, yeah? What's it, uh, do?" she inquires before she looks to Zia, blinking. "Oh I could get it all! I don't mind really I don't have anything else to do," she says before sticking her had back in the oven to keep cleaning. There's a FWOOSH of hot fire as she casts a spell, then she just scoops out all the ashes.

When she's done, she looks like a chimney sweep, but she's grinning.

Zia has posed:
"Ah most certainly do no'." Zia protests, putting on her best 'big sister' pout in the process. "B'sides, Yer nae the only one who's trainin lately. The mouse has been teachin' me how te fight." She goes to motion towards Faruja, but where he was a moment ago, there is simply an anime >> << there, and an outline to show where he'd been. Maybe there was too much fiber in the cupcakes and he really had to go? Who knows. Zia doesn't know enough about what's going on with him to find this suspicious.

After a comical blink, Zia finishes rinsing off a fair share of the dishes, "Ah'll hold ye te tha' promise." If nothing else, having someone to show her how to cook might prevent future disasters like out of a bad episode of Kitchen Nightmares.

The next thing, there is the sound of fire, and Percival joining in to help, and Zia? Well... apparently she's decided to make a disappearing act, herself. Maybe this is just the point where the sister makes herself scarce so these two can talk. Either that, or there really /was/ something wrong with the cupcakes. Beware....

Percival has posed:
Percival tries to imagine a training montage between Faruja and a chibi-Zia. For some reason it just doesn't pan out right in his head. He just chortles a bit at that. "Maybe I'll have to join in on that, and you can reciprocate by giving me some little arcane tips." ....Chibi-Zia swinging a sword really did look adorable in his head.

He looks over to Maira as he finishes wiping up some of the cupcake batter on the /counter/. Why do they have a counter now?

/BECAUSE I SAID SO THAT'S WHY/.

"Well... it's not something I entirely understand yet but it's forged from some sort of metal that channels magic rather well.. and allows one to draw out ancestral spirits, which manifest as blue shockwaves of energy. They just told me that I'd have to discover most of it on my own, as it's my new trial."

Zia departs, and Maira cleans the oven in her own way, Percival going goggly eyed at her, "Uh.. well... that's, one way to do it..." His lip is twitching, and then a moment later he's laughing light-heartedly at the soot-covered Maira.

Maira has posed:
He should see how she steam cleaned the Arcade! She'd been rather...irate at the time. Maira cleans when she's angry. She's not angry now obviously, she just wants to help.

When she returns from the oven, Zia is mysteriously gone. Maira blinks, looking around. "Huh, where did Zia go?" she asks the laughing gargoyle. "What's so funny?"

Percival has posed:
"Probably off to play her barbarian warrior before the night grows too long." He continues to idly clean the counters, but there is a great deal of catface as he regards Maira, "...Well, it's because you look like a chimney sweep from one of the movies, Maira."

He takes up a new rag, wets it in the sink, then walks over, wiping off the soot from her face, before holding it up for her to see, "See?" He's still grinning, as he shows her exactly /how much/ was on her face from the blackened rag.

Maira has posed:
Maira tilts her head in confusion about playing her barbarian warrior. What did that mean? What was an MMO?

Maira blinks then as he approaches with a wet rag, blushing when he lifts it to her face. She then looks at all the soot that came off her face, gawking. "O-oh! Hah! No wonder," she says, looking down at herself then. She's pretty filthy.

....IDEA!

Maira grins, then LEAPS at Perci, attempting to give him a very messy hug.

Percival has posed:
Percival was still wipe wipe wiping away at her face, wipe wipe wiping. And then...

/HUG CRITICAL HIT/!

As he's literally glomped, he finds himself caught flat flooted, and a moment later he's flailing, before falling backwards. It seems ridiculous that a three hundred plus pound Gargoyle could be moved by that, but apparently she surprised him just enough. /JUST/ enough, that he's suddenly looking very silly, on the floor, with her on top of him. And then he's laughing awkwardly, "Um. You're, stronger than you look?" He offers in a sheepish manner.

Maira has posed:
She has the power of ENTHUSIASM and MISCHIEF! They are powerful forces. That, and she apparently got him just right in order to topple him, which is just as much of a surprise to her as it is to him! "Eeeep!" she says as they are suddenly falling, finding herself on top of him.

Maira blinks, eyes widening. She doesn't have anything to say for a moment, just staring down at him and looking rather stunned yet pleased by the predicament.

Did he say something? Yeah she's pretty sure he said something. REWIND!

Maira laughs nervously. "G-guess so!" she replies, then begins to scramble off of him, apologizing. "Sorry! I didn't think I'd actually knock you over! You're okay. I won't insult you by asking, hehehe, I know I don't hit very hard!"

Percival has posed:
So now he was sooty and on the floor with Maira on top of him. And he's just rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly with a hand. His expression looked pretty chagrined, as he grinned at her, "Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry...it's alright, I'm just..." He laughs light-heartedly again. He tries to wrap his mind around how that happened again, and he doesn't seem to understand what occurred... "...Just... Wow. Do I have yolk on my face? And no no, you can embarass me all you want by asking because I'm a little...yeah I kind of deserve it."

He chuckles again, he could probably lift her back up and to her feet without even trying, but he wasn't about to condescend her by doing that.. besides, it'd make it look like he wasn't taking this all in stride, with good natured cheer and that he felt he had something to prove.

Maira has posed:
Maira gets to her feet, shaking her head, laughing still. "No, no yolk. Just soot now," she replies with a smile, reaching up to place her hands on his face and SMEEEAAAR.

She turns then, laughing maniacally as she scampers away, not sure what to expect. Would he give chase? How long could she try to play off the awkwardness? Had they installed a shower?!

Maira dodges around an unconscious Faruja with a giggle.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja doesn't move, lost in his haze of cupcake. Squeak-snore! Squeak-snort! "Mmm...let us eat cupcakes on the porch, Hati...Zzz." Squeak!

Percival has posed:
She smears her hands all over his face, and he just wrinkles his nose briefly, chortling, "Yes, a lot of soot... /all/ the soot..."

She looks up at her as she scampers off, and he glances sidelong to the cupcake overdosed Mouse, giving him a wry look. "Methinks our dear friend Ser Senra is overly fond of cupcakes.."

He picks himself up, and follows after her at a languid pace, "My my... is something wrong, am I something to be afraid of? Surely you wouldn't think that /I/ would offer reprisal."

Maira has posed:
Maira hides behind the couch then, peeking her head up to look over it at him, her eyes widening in mock fear. "Well you ARE a big scary gargoyle after all!" she says, then ducks back down, wondering where she is going to go now. She's gotten herself cornered!

Ou, she could crawl out then make a run for it. She peeks up again to see where he is, then springs from her hiding spot and tries to dash past him back toward the kitchen.

Unfortunately, she trips over Faruja.

Fweeeee!

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja simply rolls over, becoming even more of an obstacle. His tail helpfully curls about Maira's leg. "Snuggliest, most comfortable woofy in the whole world, Hati." Ladies and Gentlemen, enjoy the rat's horrific pet names.

Percival has posed:
Percival crosses his arms as Maira trips over Faruja, grinning at her, "My goodness Maira, you are apparently the snuggliest most comfortably woofy in the whole world. And when were you going to tell me that your real name was Hati?"

He walks over, offering a hand to help her extricate himself from the sleeping Nezumi.

Maira has posed:
Behold! Nabbed by Faruja! Maira meep's as she's pulling down into a snuggle with Faruja. Generally, this is not a thing she would mind, but he's dreaming about Hati and that has to potential to get real awkward, real fast.

Maira laughs and reaches up to take Perci's hand, laughing. "I am no woofy. Can't speak for how comfortable I am...." she says, glancing down at poor Faruja. She can't help but giggle.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle pulls her away from Faruja's wandering tail, giving the sleeping Faruja a chagrined look, "....Sir Senra would beg to differ Maira...."

He says this in an entirely deadpan tone of voice. "As for how comfortable you are, I couldn't say off.. hand."

Maira has posed:
Maira laughs lightly as she looks to Faruja, shaking her head.

Maira looks to Percival then, pursing her lips, looking confused. He knows perfectly well how snuggly she is!

Maira looks away then, chewing her lower lip gently. "Perci...we should probably...talk...you know?" she asks, looking back to him and tilting her head slightly.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle takes some time to ruminate over Maira's statement, before glancing sidelong at her, his expression suddenly somber, "Very well."

However he doesn't say more than that.. allowing her to begin.

Maira has posed:
Well, now that he's agreed, she suddenly doesn't know what to say! Especially as he goes all somber and detached.

"U-um..." Faruja snores and mumbles in the background, that's romance right there. "W-well I'm prety sure you know how I feel but I was talking to Zia and she said I should tell you, even though I don't...you know..I don't expect it to make any difference now," she begins.

Maira takes a deep breath, then continues, willing her voice to be steady and her hands not to shake. "You were there for me in....one of the worst times in my life. Pretty sure, you saved my life. I've done a lot of thinking and...I love you," she says, then looks down, expecting this will not go well.

Faruja snores more.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle gives her a very somber look throughout all of that, trying to keep his expression neutral. But then his eyes close and his shoulders sag, with his wings still upon them, "And I love you Maira...it's not a difficult thing for me to admit. I'd be lying if I tried to say anything but that..."

He takes in a deep breath, then takes a moment to make sure he still hears Faruja snoring, "....but, to my kind.. when someone makes a choice, like what you did.. it's.. not done lightly. It's something that's meaningful. It's like selecting a mate. And amongst my kind.. that's.. a bond that's not so easily broken."

He heaves in another deep breath, "....so... I can't.. I can't speak unto what happened between the two of you, but I need you to... make every effort to work it out with him first. And then, only then.. can I discuss whether the two of us have a future.. and when you do try to work it out with him.. you can't go into the conversation feeling as you do for me, else it's doomed from the start."

Maira has posed:
Maira stands there and takes it in. It all sounds like madness to her, but its his way, and who is she to judge.

She can't help but laugh however, shaking her head. "Well that isn't going to happen Perci. I'm not working anything out with him. I don't /want/ to. I made it a choice and it was the wrong one, and I would have realized that sooner rather than later," Maira replies, crossing her arms defiantly.

"So I am not going to do any such thing and if that isn't okay with you then--then we can just sit here and be in love with each other and not do anything about it--which is really dumb! So. So. That's it."

Minerva has posed:
Minerva knew Maira was out here she had no idea a heart to heart was going on here. She had no idea at all actually about the two making eyes at each other. She had just come here to drop off supplies for those who'd been living out here some food, basic supplies and keg of her own brews for their enjoyment. How did she get up the tower you might ask? She wall jumps up while the entire load is carried on her back as she finally makes her way in she calls out.

"HAIL! I thought you could use a resupply!"

She's not spotted the lovers yet. She is totally unaware if she was aware she's just have quietly left the supplies and slid down the side of the tower to go on her merry way.

Percival has posed:
Percival gives her a look of exasperated costernation, and he looks like he's about to refute that...

And then Minerva walks in, /DISTRACTION CRITICAL HIT/!

He just runs the back of his hand against his face as if to say bad timing, before begrudgingly rumbling out from his throat, "...I suppose we can use a resupply..."

Maira has posed:
Well, Maira gives him a look of exasperated stubbornness! So there!

Then SUDDENLY MINERVA! Maira squeaks and jumps, again alarmed by the appearance of another person suddenly. "M-Minerva! Hi! I uh--yeah um...hi," she stutters, then turns away, facepalming. "I'm going to go--get cleaned up. I'll be back," she says. Maira is very obviously soot covered.

She retreats to the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

Zia has posed:
Where had Zia gone off to? Who knows really. How is it that she's suddenly back? An even better question, but that is sometimes the way of mysterious creatures. Either that, or she'd just been somewhere nearby the whole time. Either way, she'd said earlier about how sometimes Percival is an idiot and needs smoeone to set him straight. Well, in chibi-vision, Zia pops out of nowhere, smacks Percival up-side the head, and mutters in Scottish, "Quit bein stupid ye great ruddy lump of gargoyle."

Minerva has posed:
Minerva is not slow on the update she's walked in on something very serious issue, one very serious issue indeed here as she seems to have a look of dawning understanding. Zia's sudden appearance along with Maira reaction seems to cement the deal. She looks at Percy with a look of, I really came at a bad time didn't. She takes a moment to just peer at Percy for a moment.

"Don't be daft ser. If you to are... DO NOT BHE A FOOL! The Heartless has proven how short life is. We survived the darkness is a second chance to live! Don't be daft!"

Percival has posed:
/Critical Hit to the head by Chibi-Zia./

/Double critical hit to the heart./

He gives them both a look of complete bewilderment, which turns to anger, then even that fades away, as he just looks entirely.. defeated. "It's not... that simple." And then he looks away suddenly, grumbling, "....being stupid is all I know. Because all of these principles, they are /stupid/. Honor, Justice, Humility, Valor, Sacrifice, Honesty, Compassion... they're all foolish when you think about it. Just as stupid as love is." He rubs his taloned hand briefly against the part of his head that Zia struck, his expression slightly abstracted. ".....and that's why I cling to them. So yes, I'm a fool. I accept that."

Zia has posed:
At this point, Zia just rolls her eyes. "Ye know tha Ah love ye lad, but ye really are yer own worst enemy." She folds her arms over her chest, sighing to herself. "Yer the one standing here tryin te push away someone who is comin' te 'n admittin tha she made a mistake, lookin' fer yer understandin." Pointing a talon at the bathroom door, "Act wi' honor by honoring her wishes. Show some compassion. Trust her honesty. Be valorous by acceptin the love she's reachin out te ye wi' 'n protectin it."

Leaning against the wall, the white gargoyle just shakes her head. "The lass has made her choice. She doesnae wante go back te tha, and ye'd be worse than a fool te ask her to do tha." Though she had struck him, Zia's expression is compassionate and worried. "Why must ye always make things worse for yerself lad? Why can ye no' jus take a blessing when it shows itself before ye? Tha young girl in there cares aboot ye. In a world like ours, it's somethin ye should treasure."

Minerva has posed:
Minerva has become surprisingly personable with non humans given her world had long had them all die off or go into hiding from where she was born and raised. All and all she just seems to look at Percival or a moment and there has to be more going on than she is aware of but she can see he's pretty miserable too/ She gets some more backup from Zia for a moment. "Life, the good things that have survived the darkness trying to snuff everything out everything that is good. Be thankful you can love or even consider being able to presume such. For as I was raised? I was to be little more than a cow sold odd for a political alliance."

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle is running his talons against his skin so hard now that he actually breaks his skin at one point, with small growl of pain. A small spot of blood runs down in a tiny rivulet before he grunts at both Zia and Minerva, looking away, and crossing his arms, "Damn you both for being so bloody reasonable, and right. And damn /God/ for giving females the ability to be /right/ all the time."

A moment later he's closing his eyes, growling again, before moving towards the stairwell, "Tell her that I'll be up top..." And then his footsteps cause his talons to clack upon stone as he disappears to the top floor of the Watchtower.

Maira has posed:
So, finally, Maira comes out of the bathroom. She's clean and she's changed into clean clothes, a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt. She'd wished she could stay in the bathroom forever, too embarrassed to exit. She worked up the courage to do it only to find that Perci had gone up to the roof. Zia relays the message and Maira sighs. "Sorry Minerva...we'll hang out soon, k?" she says, then heads up to the roof.

She approaches slowly, her arms wrapped around herself, her hair curling around her shoulders as is begins to dry. "...hey?"

Minerva has posed:
Minerva was already planning to head out as she lets Maira go she smiles a little bit.

"Other things are of far more impotance. See you soon and all of you be well."

With that Mienrva is leainv and just drops off the side of the tower with a grin.

Percival has posed:
His expression remained abstracted, as he remained at his current position, faced away from her...

..it changes to a stricken look, at he closes his eyes and just lets out a low rumble from his throat, "You are the most frustrating individual I've ever known, Maira."

And then a moment later, he breathes out a sigh, "...but, I am also completely smitten with you. Even though you broke my heart..."

Another moment, and then he's chortling, "God I am terrible at this. I can't even get through this conversation without stumbling over the words."

Maira has posed:
Maira stands a few feet away for the time being, gazing off into the distance. She's prepared to fight for this if she has to. She's also prepared to let it go, if that is what would make him happy. There is the rub. Happiness. She won't let him sit around and make himself miserable if there is anything she can do about it.

At being called the most frustrating individual, Maira winces. "You're pretty frustrating yourself, rock-head," she grumbles before she hears the rest. Maira breathes in slowly then, filling her lungs with the cool night air, letting it out in a hot exhalation. Tears rise. Broke his heart? Her own quivers to here it.

She moves then, crossing the space between them to tentatively wrap her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his back. "I will never do it again Perci. I am so, so sorry. Never again. I want to be with you....for as long as you want me."

Percival has posed:
As her arms wrap around him from behind, he just remains in his current position for a time, exulting in her presence. The timbre of his voice was more than a little forlorn, "..Look..this is still probably a bad idea you know. I don't know if I can make you happy. I am a..rock-head, and a fool most of the time..."

He turns suddenly within her arms, and wraps his own around her, his wings are quick to follow, as they envelop her within them. "I'm so afraid that I'll do the same to you, Maira..."

He's lowering his head just slightly, "...but I'm willing to give this a try, if you are."

Maira has posed:
"If you love me, how can it be wrong? How could that not make me happy?" she asks. "You are a rock-head, but you can't help it," she says with a brief, playful smile. "You're also more than I could have ever hoped for and you--you've proved over and over that you would be there for me through anything. You're perfect for me. I need a rock-head to keep me....grounded, heh."

As he moves to hold her she practically throws herself into his arms, holding him tightly as she reaches up to grab him by the back of the neck and pull him downward as she goes up on tip-toe to meet him half way. It wasn't their first kiss, but there were many firsts still to be had.

Percival has posed:
"No, I can't help being a rock-head. It's.. who I am. I can just maybe be a slightly happier rockhead." He manages a very soft chuckle, managing a soft smile, "I...you're everything I ever wanted. Everything I need... in some ways you're everything I'm not.. and that's why, I need you."

When she throws herself upwards, he catches her part of the way, leaning down to kiss her even as she pulls him down. And for a moment, life was perfect again..

Maira has posed:
Perfect. Maira doesn't know about perfect, but she knows about /right/. This was right.

Maira only pulls back when she's breathless and flushed--but not in danger of bursting into flame at least! She has that more under control, at least for the moment. Future precautions may be necessary.

"I won't stop at only slightly happier, rock-head, and I wouldn't want to change you. Not.../who/ you are. I just want to change how you see yourself so you can see just how amazing you are to me," she says, gently stroking his russet cheeks with her hand, her skin smooth and warm as sunshine. Maira kisses him again, several times, laughing at how ridiculous she feels. So much has been absolutely madness, she just wants to throw it to the wind.

Maira tilts her head back, closing her eyes as she stretches her arms outward as if she were pretending they were wings. "Let's fly."

Percival has posed:
"My my...ambitious are we? Looking to see me /very/ happy, or is it /exceedingly/ happy. Or will she go all the way for happiest Gargoyle on the face of this world? Who can say?" He was chortling again, the bony protrusion above his brow furrowing as she stroked his cheek, then she kisses him again several times, and he's returning the favor.

A moment later he just hoists her up into his arms, and flares his wings out. "As you wish." And then all it took was a light step off the side of the Watchtower.

Life was good.

Maira has posed:
"Oh fine. I guess I'll be Buttercup this time," she replies with a laugh, latching onto him with unrestrained glee as they take to the air, Maira's spirit eager to soar.