Searching for A Rare Plant

Searching for A Rare Plant
Date of Scene:	22 November 2013
Location:	Chinese Countryside
Synopsis:	Reize made a return to the public to defend the Great Wall from the Undead. However, Reize's main reason for returning was to get an herb that was supposed to bring a friend of his back to good health. He has a talk with the VALKYRI members, who he had not seen in months.
Cast of Characters:	Reize Seatlan, Avira, Maira

---

Reize Seatlan has posed:
It's been about a day since the battleat the Great Wall. With the invading undead driven back, the lingering presence of the demon lord still reigns. It seems that the undead presence has existed for a while within the Land of the Dragon.

It approaches the evening. Within the Chinese Countryside, many of the shops are continuing like always. People are selling goods such as chicken, duck, and whatnot. The fireworks are always for sale. The greenery is still present despite of the opposition of darkness.

One particular person has been going from shop to shop. It's the Boy with the Long Yellow Scarf. His attire, while the overall look has not changed, there are certain asthetics that has bled over from the entrance of this land. Wrapped around his waist beneath his belt is a green sash and his shirt has Chinese embroidery. Instead of his normal boots, it is more of a chinese soldier set of boots. But overall, his look has not changed.

"Do you all happen to sell a green herb from a different land?"

An elderly lady, looking to be in her seventies, rummages from behind the counter. She procures various green herbs.

A frown, "...None of them seem like what I am looking for, thanks!" He feigns a smile. A look of exhaustion spills over.

Maira has posed:
Maira is still in pretty bad shape. Really, they all were after what had happened. She was sure the hoard had retreated just in time. She couldn't have even held out for another few minutes, she was sure. She'd been pretty darn close to calling Angan to see if he could come pull them out of there through a corridor of darkness. Not exactly her favorite way to travel, but sometimes it came in very handy.

Maira has taken a seat in the marketplace while Reize and others browse around. She's eating a delicious meat bun with none of her usual ferver, completely spacing out as she chews. She's tired, that's all. Blood loss, it takes some time to get your energy back. Lots of good meat was called for. Thus, the meat bun. Om nom nom.

The clothes she wore to the battle needed to be cleaned and repaired, so she'd borrowed some from the wife of one of the Chinese soldiers. It was a little snug. They'd had to sort of cut open the top a bit and improvise by adding more fabric--else Reize's exhaustion wouldn't be the only thing spilling over 'round here.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Although Reize's search for a specific herb became fruitless, he settled for a meatbuns that was sold at another shop. He takes the time to open his mouth and chomp down. ON NOM! The antenna hair mimics Reize's actions, the strand opening out like a pair of jaws as the boy bites down.

As he continues to walk along the town, he turns to see a familiar face in the midst of the crowd.

"Ah!" The boy brightens considerably, making his way towards Maira, "Oooi! Maira!" The boy keeps a cheerful look while making his approach. "Well, yesterday was not one of the better ways of running into each other again, but..." He considers, "...From the murmurs, it sounds like this town has been under a lot of strife lately."

Maira has posed:
Maira blinks, then looks up. Despite exhaustion, she smiles. "Reize! Yeah...that was...bad," she answers, sighing heavily. "Honestly, things have been bad almost everywhere. The Shadow has been active," she adds, shuddering. The image she'd gotten in her mind near the end of the battle flashed through her mind once more, just the latest addition to horrifying memories and images she'd acquired.

"So where have you been? We've hardly heard from the Shard Seekers at all. I think Faruja is the only one I've seen in ages. Is Ivo alright? I hope he didn't get into trouble..." maybe Raiya killed him. This seems likely.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
A frown grows on his face as he hears about the update regarding the shadows. So, it looks like things have gotten worse since his absence. He grimaces, then he turns over to see the people tending to their daily activities. It is a bit saddening to see what they have to go through.

"I've... been lost at sea with Violet, actually." Reize turns to face Maira, then he rubs the back of his head, "I don't know what happened to Ivo or the other Shard Seekers." He closes his eyes, "While we were on our sea exploration, we came across a massive Heartless whale!" The eyes widen, recollecting the memories, "It was as large as the sky and it expanded to cast a shadow over the Romancing Saga III!" He takes a step back and makes the motions with his hands, a wavelike pattern.

"We fought as hard as we could to stay on! But... Violet and I fell overboard and we were on a fragment of the ship, which was like a raft."

He frowns, "I've lost contact with the Shard Seekers. My linkshell and other ways of communicating with them had sunk in sea."

Avira has posed:
Beware! Incoming Maira-seeking missile! How does Avira do it? By being an /expert tracker/ mostly. The wolfish 'dog' at her side also has something to do with the expediency as Avira had no shortage of Maira-scented items around her since the pair are more or less 'roommates'.

This 'dog' is with her as she strides through the market in search of her best friend. At her side, it is well-behaved so it is difficult to believe that it is a wild animal under Avira's sway for the meanwhile. Good thing too or the poor wolf might be attacked by on-edge townsfolk.

"Reize lost, eh?" Avira smirks, "What else is new?" A hand rests on her hip as she stops to regard both of them, her eyes softening when she sees the condition that Maira is in.

"Hey. Sorry I couldn't make it in time to back you up."

Maira has posed:
Maira listens to the story, her features becoming more animated as she watches Reize gesticulate dramatically as he regails her with his tale. "A heartless whale!? Oh wow! ...What's Romancing Saga III? Nevermind, I'm glad you're okay! I hope everyone else is too...you've got to regroup, you need to protect Fluorgis!" she begins. She has to tell him about Maleficent and the crystals!

BUT FIRST! Avira! Maira brightens, grabbing Avira by the hand and yanking her down for a hug. "It's okay! We really thought we had it handled...it was real bad Avira. We're all lucky to be alive--er, and lucky to be not undead I guess. Ugh, that would just be /terrible/ wouldn't it? Yuck..."

Maira then reaches out to ruffle the wolf's fur. "Hey you! Oh who's the sweetest puppy? Yes you are, its you...want a piece of meat bun? Here you go," she coo's.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
There is a faint grimace at the mention of Fluorgis. As much a Reize likes Fluorgis, going back to there is almost akin to going back 'home'. It is not much of an adventure sticking to one place. However, it seems like there is an important reason to go back there.

"Huh?"

 !!

The antenna hair flips up and it sways around before it pinpoints the location of the source. Reize twists his head to see the source of the comment, "Oooi! I did not get lost! This time!" Pause. "...I think." He furrows his eyebrows, "We were intercepted, okay?!" His cheeks puff with annoyance while his antenna hair points with a hiss!

Reize did not get lost! Totally!

After a moment, he grins, "It's been a long time, Avira!" His eyes drift towards the wolf, then he forms a grin, "Oh wow! Did you get a new wolf?" He kneels down to look over the wolf. "He looks like a friendly guy!"

Avira has posed:
"It's not okay! I should have been there helping you. Maybe it wouldn't have been cut so close if I had." Avira shivers a little at the thought of Maira and her friends becoming undead. She had fought that necromancer before and was well aware that he'd do it-make zombies out of heroes that is.

That hug is returned fiercely. Avira's quick to let Maira go so she can pet the wolf. Her attention shifts to Reize and that smirk returns.

"Hasn't it? I can't say I'm too terribly concerned when you go vanishing like that. Figured it was another adventure...or you getting lost. Probably both. Oh this one? Well, sort of, I encounterd him on the way here."

The wolf looks questioningly at Maira and licks its lips, perhaps anticipating the feeding to come. His jaws snap out and catch the meat bun in the air. Then Reize kneels in front of him.

The wolf freezes and stares at the boy in the scarf, perhaps expectantly. Drool starts to drip down his chin, around the meat bun held in his jaws.

Maira has posed:
"We couldn't have known it would be so difficult Avira, don't blame yourself," she says, flashing her best friend a warm smile. "We made it out. I was pretty ready to call Angan for a corridor if needed."

Meat bun now finished, Maira decides she needs another! Standing, she gives Avira a little squeeze. "I'm going to get more meat bun things. You can help catch Reize up on what he's missed. I'll be right brack. I'll bring you some too, don't worry," she says, then wanders off to the food stall. Ou! Are those noodles? And what are /those/ things!?

This might take a bit.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Oi! I was intercepted! I didn't get lost!" Steam comes out from above his head this time. He mutters before his head turns away. "Puh!" He squints a bit, then he looks over towards the wolf. The boy brightens into a smile while eyeing the creature.

A hand is lifted up to wave at the wolf, but not quite petting it. "Oi! It's nice to meet you! Let's become friends!"

His eyes lift up as he gazes at Maira as she mentions about catching him up before wandering off.

Errr..

"It sounds like a lot there has been a lot going on while Violet and I had been stranded at sea."

Avira has posed:
"Well as long as you were ready to bring in Angantyr." That left Avira feeling a little more relived. If Ang was called, he could come right away, meaning then it would be a true emergency at hand. Somehow, an undead cauldron-born invasion didn't wind up being that bad. Avira is thankful.

It's a good thing Reize doesn't try to pet the wolf. Just the hand, percieved as an attempt to steal food, receives a warning growl from the wolf. It takes a step back, then tilts his head backwards. The meat bun slides neatly down his throat.

"About how long ago were you stranded?" Avira asks with a lifted eyebrow.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize learned the hard way that petting an animal that doesn't know him well is not a good idea: See Interceptor. Granted, it seems that Interceptor does like him, as a chewtoy. Sad times. Nevertheless, Reize opted to just the wolf tilt back and devour the meatbun.

Instead, his attention turns towards Avira, slowly standing to his feet.

"..It looks like that Anna and I had been stranded from everyone for about 4-5 months." He grimaces, "We managed to make it to some small patch of island each time, but it looked like we were not making progress on getting back to any sort of real civilization."

Maira has posed:
Maira returns with way more food than she'd intended to get. That's a good sign. Typical Maira. She sets down a whole bunch of meat buns, some sweet cakes, a bowl of cold noodles, and a bag of spicy...crickets. She probably doesn't know what they are. Right?

Maira retakes her seat, throwing another meat bun to the wolf with a grin. "That must have been pretty horrible...who's Violet? Have I met her? Is she one of your girlfriends?" One of? Oh, Maira has heard THINGS.

Avira has posed:
Reize, for all his wisdom, is rewarded for his actions with an in-taact hand. His caution means that the animal enjoys his meat bun in piece. It takes the wolf a few seconds to realize that yes, the 'fire' is gone.

Regardless, she does not gape or gawk when the girl announces that there's a good 5 months of history he isn't a part of."Maira basically took my one big question." Avira says, her voice high-pitched and full of hope.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize takes the moment to uncork his waterskin and then he tilts his head back while lifting the waterskin for a swig. As he gulp down the water, Maira comes in with her interjection about Violet.

PFFFTTT---!

Reize spittakes, choking and gasping for air. His face is turning beet red about the girlfriend prt, "Errr, wait what?! I.."

"...I..." He tries to evade that question, "She's a new member of the Shard Seekers and was previously from my world before it was devoured by the Heartless!" Nope, not going to say if she is a girlfriend or not! Or many of!!!

"...I'm actually trying to find an herb for her. She took care of me when I got sick from our trip at the sea... and exhausted herself to where she is sick worse than I was." He furrows his eyebrows, "...I've been hoping to find the herb to have her treated, but... it's been fruitless so far."

Maira has posed:
Maira blinks several times.

"Riiiight....Reize, how long have you known me? Or at least vaguely known me? You're pretty aware I'm a healer right? I have all sorts of plants and potions back at camp. Why didn't you just ask me?" she asks now, smile growing. "I bet I have the plant you need!"

Violet, definitely one of the harem girls. Goodness gracious, was Alma right!?

What does he do, drug them!?

Maira shakes her head. "I'll help you with that, but then you /must/ promise to keep an eye on the fire crystal! It is....being sought. Have...have you heard of Maleficent?" she asks then, eyes growing round as tea saucers in her intensity. It's almost comical.

Avira has posed:
Avira tends to sort of assume that all of the girls in the Shard Seekers are some kind of girlfriend of Reize. Or someone who WANTS to be Reize's girlfriend. But to hear that he found another person from his own world is uplifting enough. Now he, Ivo, and Lily wouldn't be alone.

"I see. I hope she'll get better." Avira frowns, "What's the name of this herb?"

Meanwhile, the wolf makes the second meat bun disappear. Pleased, his tail wags for a few moments before he settles down on the ground on his belly, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize instinctively flinches as Maira brings up the point of her being a healer. Reize looks a bit ashamed and then he runs the hand over the back of his head, "Yeah, you're right." His eyes look downcast for a moment, "Sorry, I've... just been busy trying to find a way to bring herb back to good health, that I forgot about the options already existing."

He lifts his head at Avira, then he notes, "Someone had mentioned about the Siam Red grass." He furrows his eyebrows, "It sounded like it would grow from somewhere like here, but it seems that it doesn't seem to exist." He looks wistful, "No one in the town has heard of it, so the leds have been cold."

Maira has posed:
Maira smiles and pats Reize on the shoulder lightly. "It's alright. It could be its called something different here. A picture or at least a description would probably get you better results. Can you describe it? I can check some books (I obviously don't know all plants from all worlds...)" she says. A mission! A mission is always good. Find a plant. That couldn't be too hard!

Well...actually...hmmm, she has a bit of a history with plants. Hello Mr. Ochu. Yikes.

Avira has posed:
"Siam Red Grass?" Avira looks thoughtful. A moment of silence passes.

"...nope, never heard of it." she finally says, crushing ALL HOPE. "I could ask around though, I know a lot of people now. And Maira's good with potions. If it's in a potion that can be made, Maira might have worked with before under another name so I think she's on the right track."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reaching into his pouch, Reize is rummaging through his belongings, rattling the bag at the process. "Somewhat, I don't have a picture per se, just the description, which I used to sketch out."

He procures a journal from his pouch, then he flips he pages of the book until he finds a particular page.

It is a little image of a piece of grass with the edge shaped like an arrow.

"According to the person who told me about it, the grass looks like a normal piece of grass, except a bit longer and red. There are darker shades of red around the edges and the tip is shaped like an arrow."

Thoughtfully, Reize considers, "Someone said that I would find it around this continent, but..." He furrows his eyebrows, "This is quite a large place to begin looking!"

He glances back towards Avira, thinking over, "Oh! How has VALKYRI's adventures been? I am sure that you all have been making names for yourselves through all of this time!"

Maira has posed:
Maira beams toward Avira, obviously pleased with a confidence she has in her knowledge and abilities. "I will certainly do my best," she replies.

Maira looks back to Reize then, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "It doesn't immediately ring any bells...but I will check all my books when I get back home and get back to you, alright?"

"VALKYRI is doing very well! We've uh, certainly been busy..." Maira tilts her head. "In fact, while you were gone, it has kind of seemed like we are almost the only people around....weird, huh?"

Avira has posed:
"I'd definitely notice a plant like that." Avira observes, interested in seeing the sketch, "That little arrow on the end would really stand out to me. Did they say where it grows? Marshland? Grassland? Swamps? Beaches? That kind of thing. It'd help narrow it down."

Right on Maira's words, Avira adds, "Oh we've been busy. We have a few special and secret projects going on and..."

She smiles slyly, "Some of us have been really, really bad. Like stealing crystals bad. Hehehe. So some of us have had to lay kind of low, y'know?"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"The person who told me couldn't remember where it grew. When he was going to tell me, he blanked out and said that he forgot." He exhales a sigh, then he shakes his head. Maira is awarded a smile, "Thanks Maira! I appreciate it!"

But, then the talk of his absense and stealing crystals brings him back to a topic at hand.

"... Wait."

Reize look back at Avira and then Maira, "Weren't you both about to explain about this Maleficent person?" He looks a bit worried, "...Aside from whatever was attacking this place, you mentioned that the Darkness has been extremely active here through he continents."

Maira has posed:
Maira glances to Avira, then looks shifty eyed. "YYyyeeaaah...." she says. "Some of us have been very bad," she continues, giving Avira a little poke before looking back to Reize.

Maira looks around for a moment, brow furrowed. "I've been working on something new, lets see here..." she says, then begins to move her hand in a small circular motion, stirring the air around them slightly in such a way that it should keep their voices from carrying out of the perimeter she has set for the spell.

"There. Well, that's the thing. Maleficent. She is a Shadlow Lord...uh, Shadow Lady? Anyway, she is not only that--I think she may very well be the most powerful of them. She's something like a leader. Bad news. Really, really bad news...and she's after the crystals for some reason. That's why Avira stole the water crystal. To keep it safe."

Avira has posed:
In spite of the self-admitted badness, Avira looks pretty proud of herself. Why that is, though, is elucidated a few moments later when the topic switches back to Maleficent. Her grin fades at that.

"I'm pretty sure she's their leader. She tried to swipe me out of Manhattan at one point. I think she's in search of Princess of Heart."

Maira gets a quick worried glance at that.

"I don't know what she wants the crystals for. Maybe to increase her magic power even more? Not that I think she really need it, her magic's already pretty awesome on its own."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
The boy's expression becomes thoughtful. He cannot help but think back to his talk with Will long ago. Perhaps this is what he was talking about. Reize lifts his head up at Maira, "So she is the leader of their organization." A frown grows.

"If she is after the crystals..."

He sucks in a breath, "...I will need to head back to Fluorgis soon." He frowns, "...Can't quite go back without making sure that Anna--" And then he realizes his slipping of her name, visible with a wince--"Err.. Violet--is alright." Erghk.

Maira has posed:
Maira blinks. There's an Anna now too!? Anna and Violet!? THE HAREM GROWS!

"Yes, you should get back there immediately, so if I can help with your friend...er...lead the way, alright? The fire crystal has to be protected."

Avira has posed:
Avira frowns for a moment. Anna or Violet? Could they be the same person?

...nah, this is Reize, it's probably another girl. Politely, Avira does not comment.

"Do you need help getting her somewhere safe?" she implores, "We'd clearly be glad to. Anything to prevent Maleficent from getting her claws on the crystals."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Whew, at least they did not question about her identity. However, Reize may have dug his reputation along the hole even worse. Granted, Reize is unaware of the murmurs of that reputation!

Nevertheless, Reize looks at Maira and Avira with a faint smile, "...Sure." He brightens his smile, "We can hopefully move her somewhere safer--- follow me." The boy is walking off along the city, "She is staying at a residence a bit far from here."

Maira has posed:
Maira lets go of the little spell she wove to stop eavesdroppers and gets to her feet, maybe with a bit of help. She sort of broke a leg. That's going to take some time. She'll put an arm around Avira and limp. Avira is perfect height to be a crutch! (Short joke!)

"Alright then! Lead the way. Um, slowly."

Avira has posed:
Questioning the idenity of Reize's mystery girl would do her no good. She didn't recognize the name violet nor any Anna-name besides that weird girl that once showed up at the Gummi Camp. She seemed to have a different male protagonist type following her around.

Gladly, she helps Maira up and gives her a shoulder to lean on as they walk/limp along after Reize.