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[trulygifted]

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text; early july

[demonass]

yo nico
we got a problem

[trulygifted]

Yeah?
What kinda problem? You sassing the locals?

[demonass]

that's not the problem

[ Doesn't mean isn't doing it. ]

have you heard people talk about bonds?

[trulygifted]

Kinda hard not to
Everyone's all "my bonded this" and "my bondmate that"
Sounds pretty creepy if you ask me, I dunno if I buy it

[demonass]

yeah
it's creepy
way creepy
i figured it was a way to keep everyone in line with whatever their masterplan is
there might be more to it tho
maybe

text; early september

[electrod]

[ Because he absolutely is that kind of guy that suddenly texts you, after not giving the sign of life for over a month ]

hey specks, how's your magitech career going, found something?

text!

[trulygifted]

Well hey, if it ain't my favourite redhead

Magitech career's going good - I landed a job last month, even
Not exactly the role I expected, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a good time

What about you?
Been up to any master spying or badass espionage?

[electrod]

not as much as i'd like. still on the boring, laying down the groundwork stage. might have found few strings to pull, so it's getting somewhere

anyway! glad to hear the story of your success, i have always believed in you, have no doubt : ) but you seem to be shy on details... com'on, don't keep me guessing, what that position is?

and hey since we're talking business, i might have a commission for ya. interested?

[trulygifted]

Yeah yeah, couldn't have done it without you and your support, remind me to take you out for another drink sometime when I'm rolling around in cunes
Y'know, since you got no leads yet

You heard of Worse Dragon?
It's a sex shop in the Entertainment District
It was fine before I got hired, but I just got done with giving the place a major makeover
You should come down sometime and see ;)

And I'm always interested in business
What you got in mind?

[electrod]

i'll take the offer. very grudgingly. because you are being unnecessarily cruel in your — absolutely correct — assessment, specs

alas, so you are behind that epic makeover??? good job, thumbs up. i suppose some of the upcoming, cutting-edge product they're advertising is of your design? you might be the true genius of evil here

now i have doubts if my simple request is of any interest... it doesn't have anything to do with bodily orifices

FOR HUBERT.

[trulygifted]

( It's a few weeks before Nico is able to chase up the invitation she extended towards Hubert a few weeks prior. To be fair, no one could have predicted the upheaval that would tear its way through Aefenglom, but now that things are returning to some semblance of normal? What better way to keep spirits lifted than to follow through with her idea. She arranges to meet Hubert a couple of hours before opening one Friday night— )

Hey, you made it!

( And she's pleased to see him, even if he isn't exactly what she'd call a familiar face just yet. Nico can't help it: it takes a lot for her to forget a person, and she's one of those naturally friendly types. Befriending odd, taciturn men is becoming a specialty of hers. )

C'mon in. Welcome to Worse Dragon.

( She isn't on shift yet but she's dressed up in her work attire: a wine-red velvet bralette with gothic-looking lace around the edges, and a pair of tiny black shorts offset by ... a toolbelt? Yes, it's a toolbelt, and if Hubert's the observant type he might notice a few dark smudges of oil rubbed into her fingers. After closing the door behind him she gestures for him to have a look around: )

Don't be shy now, feel free to have a look at the merchandise. You're gonna be workin' with some of it if we come to an agreement, after all.

[bloodypath]

['Befriending' might yet be a strong word for it. It's professionalism and promise of decent pay that brought Hubert to this establishment.]

[And even then, part of his mind is having a difficult time wrapping around the fact that he was voluntarily setting foot in a place so utterly crass.]

[But his professionalism was iron clad, even if Hubert pauses after his first step inside, obviously steeling himself (and his Fódlan-raised sensibilities) under his stoicism.]

...I see. [A "sex shop," she'd called it. He'd long come to understand and to adjust to the fact that Aefenglom was much more free with such matters, but he hadn't had the faintest idea what Worst Dragon itself would look like. The products, between their variety and raw number, were a lot to take in at first.]

[After a quiet breath, Hubert folds his hands behind his back and starts a slow walk around.]

It... certainly is outlandish. [A slight shake of his head.] You'll have to elaborate on any designs that have come to your mind for this "Halloween" display. I'm afraid all I know if it is what we discussed in Dorchacht, and that your goal is to draw customers' attentions.

Ten years later!

[trulygifted]

Outlandish?

( Nico just laughs and leans back against the counter, her arms coming up to fold over her chest. )

That's one word for it, I guess!

( She watches him move around the shop, observing the fact that he doesn't seem entirely comfortable even though he's maintaining that distinctly professional air, and begins to wonder about the kind of life he might've lived before he was pulled into Aefenglom like the rest of them. )

But, if we're gettin' straight to business ...

( Nico claps her hands together. )

You're gonna have to tell me what kinda stuff you can do. That trick with the scarecrow was pretty neat, but have you got anythin' else up your sleeves? Illusion magic, that kinda thing? Otherwise I'm happy goin' for ... I dunno, spooky dancin' dildos or somethin'.

[bloodypath]

[Please, please let them get straight to business, for his sanity. Nico certainly seemed in her element here. Hubert glances back at the clap of her hand, before continuing this stroll.]

Any talent with illusion, much to my chagrin, eludes me. But, seeing as my areas of specialty are conjuration and alchemy, I should be able to recreate similar effects. They'll simply be degrees more real.

[Hubert pauses, murmuring under his breath and tracing a small sigil against an unadorned piece of wall. In a little flicker of magic, a sparrow made of shadow materializes and starts to flit about the store silently.]

For whatever reason, my magic tends towards shadows and mist unless I construct it otherwise; that seems to suit the theme of the festival you had in mind, does it not?

text; un: sephiroth

[supersoldier]

[Attached is a picture of a straight-sword, one that Nico will undoubtedly… not recognize, but Sephiroth can’t be sure until he tries. He doesn’t like that the burden to find this sword’s owner is on him, not when the mistake of mismatched deliveries had not been his own; but here he is, anyway, trying all those who might feasibly recognize a blade. Nico, with her talent in weaponcraft, is a logical person to ask.]

Is this yours? Or do you recognize the blade?

[If there are certain subjects that are being blatantly ignored, or otherwise subtly stepped around as though they do not exist, it’s going to be acted upon the same way right now. It’s fine, everything’s fine. The issue at hand is this mystery sword.]

[trulygifted]

( Hey, Nico can ignore certain subjects as well as anyone else, but she doesn't like knowing there's a wrinkle of unease between herself and Sephiroth. If he'd been almost anyone else she highly doubts it would bother her at all, but ...

Well. Whether he likes it or not, Nico considers Sephiroth a friend. He deserves more than to be brushed under the rug like a no-strings lay from back home. )

Not mine, I'm afraid
Way too boring to be one of my creations

Why? You find it lying around somewhere?

( ... But maybe she has to work herself up to it a bit, first. )

[supersoldier]

[Fine by him if she doesn’t want to bring up the subject that he’s pointedly ignoring, anyway. For him, it’s easy to focus on the subject of a sword displaced.]

Items from our worlds are being delivered to us, apparently. But it seems as though the system has its flaws and this sword has found itself in my hands, instead.

I don’t know who it belongs to.

[trulygifted]

I mean, I know there's a chance it might belong to someone else, but ...
Free sword, I guess?
Could be good to have a spare around, just in case

Or would that be cheating on your long one

scavenger hunt adventures.

[supersoldier]

[Sephiroth's lived in the city of Aefenglom for the stretch of a year, but a years’ worth of time is still not enough to deprive him of an array of firsts. In all its festivities and warm traditions, doled onto him through the natives, this winter holiday provides him with another: a scavenger hunt, a paired activity for the sake of entertainment, and curious prizes for the winning. He would not normally participate—for since when does Sephiroth ever seek “fun” outside of the clashing of steel?—but he’s made an exception for Nico. To deny either of them of the experience would make him a hypocrite, painting his previous confession of wanting to do more than just work, than just missions, a moot point. And it had been a sincere sentiment, too; the result of which meant that minimal arm-twisting was required to sign him up.

He finds himself wondering this is not just more work under a thin guise of entertainment, however. A hedge maze may pass a novel amusement, but pinning down a Neeklur at its heart and clasping a collar around the animal's neck feels only like research, though he supposes that Nico would not mind it terribly. They move through the hedges—tall and thick and tangled with leaves—at a brisk pace, fighting against the ailing sunlight as the afternoon slides into the shadows of dusk.]

We’ve been this way before.

[He says, knowing that it must be true, despite this upcoming turn being different than the last — a left instead of a right. He wonders at the mischief inherent in this hedge maze seemingly alive, if it exists to hinder their journey to the middle, or if it’s an ill-timed inconvenience is based solely on their bad luck.

Still, he’s sure he hears chittering nearby, just like the last time they came this way. Surely they must be close to the center; now if only the maze itself would cooperate.]

[trulygifted]

( Sephiroth isn't the only one who's beginning to think that this feels a lot like work. She'd thought it would be a fun way to spend some time together — how bad could a festive scavenger hunt really be, right? — and while it's definitely scratching some kind of enjoyable science itch? It's not exactly what she'd had in mind. )

Seriously?

( Although on second thoughts, the Neeklur chatter has definitely been getting louder again. For a getaway driver (kind of) Nico's sense of direction isn't actually that great — or rather, it isn't great when she has to actually pay attention to the rules of travel. While she and the highway code somehow manage on an incredibly loose relationship, there isn't much she can do about a potentially magical maze. )

Don't you have ... I dunno, enhanced bird senses or somethin', so we can be sure?

( Nico knows nothing about birds. Can you tell? Fortunately, her avian ignorance doesn't hinder them in reaching their left turn. All of a sudden she thinks that Sephiroth might be right: this spot doesn't look familiar at all, and— )

Hey, did you see that?

( She's pretty sure she just saw a hairy, skinny little black tail flit around the corner of a turn up ahead. )

C'mon!

( And because Nico is nothing if not reckless, she immediately sets off at a run in the hops of catching up with the creature. )

Modranicht

[bloodypath]

[Evening snow was light enough to be negligible, especially with the foot traffic through the stalls. Some merchants and crafters burned low lamps by their wares to take the edge of the cold off while others relied on enchantment; the particularly frugal ones just huddled in thick clothing expecting their customers to do the same.]

[The festivity was a bit much; Hubert looked out of place in any festivity at the best of times, and particularly these last few weeks have seen his polite smiles turned sullen during the high points and sour during the lowest. Endless cheer and encouragement to spend all time and meals with family and loved ones in the wake of Edelgard's departure was only salt into the magically-worsened wound.]

[That Nico's unrelenting... everything, left little room for wallowing was as exhausting as much it was a boon.]

I hardly see why it is necessary, [Hubert complained as Nico tugged him along by the wrist to whatever stall she'd been chattering about. Cute accessories?] They're animals. They don't care about aesthetic.

[trulygifted]

( Well, at least one of them is feeling festive - although considering Hubert is still suffering in the aftermath of Lady Edelgard's departure, Nico supposes a little grumpiness is to be expected. She rolls her eyes at his resistance as they press on beneath the twinkling lights of the market: )

Not everything has to be necessary, Hubert. Sometimes it's nice to do things just 'cause you want to - especially when it comes to your pets.

( Slowing a little (but without letting go of his wrist), Nico let's her gaze rake over a nearby stall selling attractive hair clips and ornaments before glancing at Hubert with a raised eyebrow. )

Mind if we stop here real quick?

( A lop-sided little smile touches her lips as she gestures towards her hair, which is today piled up on top of her head in a messy bun with a lot of flyaways. )

I gotta do something about all this.

[bloodypath]

And my point stands, seeing as I do not want to put them in little sweaters.

[For all his grouching, Hubert still follows along, and hasn't yet made any move to free his wrist. He gives a small shake of his head; this request, at least, was reasonable. Nico would appreciate an accessory for herself much more than the rats.]

I see no reason not to.

[trulygifted]

( Nico finally lets go, if only so she can brush him off with a wave of her now free hand. )

You're just sayin' that 'cause you haven't seen them yet. Trust me, they're gonna be cute as all heck.

( But in the meanwhile: hairpins! She admires a couple of different designs before eventually settling on two individual gold star pins, which she pays for with a smile before slipping them into her hair near her temples. )

How's that? Festive-but-witchy?

Modranicht gift

[thejoyrider]

[On the day of the holiday, a plate of homemade cookies and a sample of herbal tea mysteriously appears on her doorstep. The wrapping is decorated with a fresh lily flower (actually a Fae magic product, designed to fade away from existence in a few hours) and a ribbon. The attached handwritten note reads as follows:]

Happy Modranicht! Let’s have another great year here in Aefenglom!

M⚜️