Voice/Audio; Anonymous (mild language warning)

[angel_of_death]

It feels like I can barely walk five steps in Celliwig before someone tosses confetti over my head.

[There is a soft sound in the foreground just behind Walter's androgynous voice, fingers gingerly picking through strands to remove the offending substance from his hair.]

His Majesty was gravely wounded, yet they still insist on giving us some kind of hero's treatment. I went to the ceremony and all for the sake of Camelot staying on good terms with Celliwig, but this charade they insist on putting on... it's a goddamned nuisance.

[And every time they do it -- every cheer or offer for a free meal, it's like rubbing salt in an already aggravated wound.]

If something happens in Celliwig that requires my attention, just... put the word out on the network here, and I'll get to it.

Comments

audio;

[cantgetanyworse]

[They only spoke the once, but he might recognise her voice and familiar accent in the same way she did his.]

Would an offer of a spot of tea be worthy of your attention?

[He sounds terribly agitated and she did have second thoughts about offering, but... there are more ways to help heal a person than magic.]

Somewhere out of the way, perhaps?

[angel_of_death]

[He does recognize her voice. The woman he'd harvested those seeds with in the Brocéliande. It has been a few months since then, but he remembers her.]

...Tea would be nice.

[The statement is spoken in a sigh; not of wistfulness, but a tired sort of frustration.]

[cantgetanyworse]

Wouldn't it?

[Her voice does brighten a little at what doesn't sound like a rejection of the offer, at least...]

I did find a place, while I've been here, though it took some searching.

[They have weird ideas about tea here.]

[angel_of_death]

A place that's met the approval of a genuine Englishwoman is worth a try to me.

[While willing to drink the horrid stuff in a pinch, if he's going to pay good money for it, it helps to have it vetted by someone with taste.]

Where might it be?

[Is it one of those cafes? Or is there a place around here actually dedicated to the full service around here? He hasn't taken the time to go looking, being occupied with other things and having no prior incentive to seek out such an establishment, capable as he is of preparing the whole service himself.]

[cantgetanyworse]

[She chuckles warmly at that. If nothing else, Jane has been very good at finding places to go to get an acceptable cup of tea in this world.]

There's a strange-looking fountain near the centre of the town, have you seen it? We can meet there, it isn't far away.

[Given prior experience, she really should be more cautious about spending time with strange men, but... Well, there are some occasions where she doesn't really learn.]

audio ; un: lockhart

[starshower]

[Tifa hasn't returned to Celliwig since she left the Hall of Mirrors, so she hasn't been around to see the celebrations or this so-called hero's treatment first-hand, so perhaps she doesn't quite understand how bad it is, but...]

Nothing wrong with a little celebration. Can't be that bad, can it?

[angel_of_death]

Considering King Arthur's current state and that we aren't sure how Elphame has taken this incident? Something like this could easily come across as an orchestrated attack. An assassination attempt.

At best, it looks like woeful incompetence.

[A huff of a sigh escapes him. Sometimes, his mind can't help but wander to negative places. He's so used to things going wrong.]

I'll celebrate when there is cause to celebrate.

[Somewhere in between figuring out what will happen if the Land of Rot's wards fail again, or figuring out the motives of the creatures lingering at the edge of the Dusklight Woods, or any host of other issues major and minor that really he should be coordinating more with others on instead of trying to come up with all the answers himself.]

[starshower]

[While Tifa is hardly one to celebrate when the situation doesn't call for it, she doesn't think there's much sense in letting oneself fall into a pit of negative thoughts regardless of the situation. She tries her best not to, and while she nets herself mediocre results at best, doesn't mean she's not going to try.]

Well, no sense in being down about it. If I were the enemy, I'd think I'd have won if that was what I was seeing.

[...]

I haven't been around here for long, so could be I'm missing something...?

[angel_of_death]

[...]

If you were my enemy, that would be a grave mistake on your part.

[He's the sort of person that becomes more determined when he's wounded or bitter about a setback. In a fight, he becomes absolutely ruthless.

...Granted, he's only ever sent out to kill back in his own world, so he's used to the enemy dying either way.]

But to answer your question, as I understand it, there were prior hostilities between the humans of Camelot and the people of Celliwig and Elphame. We've only just recently made headway in repairing the relationships between them. Not long ago, there were even a notable number of people calling for war against Celliwig.

[starshower]

Right...

[Tifa knows a little bit about war. Some people in Midgar were so determined to classify Avalanche as eco-terrorists, and while that much is true, Tifa never did enjoy the terror part of what they were doing. Too many innocent people would get caught in the crossfires between them and Shinra, and that was where she held her doubts. So, she thinks it's safe to say that she can see both sides.]

Don't think you should be pinning that on the people of either side. Sounds like it's a problem between King Arthur and Celliwig to me. Plenty of people're just living their lives, and are maybe thankful that you've made some headway.

Audio

[heavenlyskies]

Not a fan of celebrations? It was a pretty big mess, but this is their way of showing that there are no hard feelings between anyone. Things would have been a lot worse without our intervention.

[angel_of_death]

It would have. But it feels like they're just trying to smooth things over to avoid us being angry with them for not doing their jobs.

They should have checked that hall thoroughly beforehand.

[Is he grumbling? Yes, he's grumbling.]

You were there, too?

[heavenlyskies]

Sometimes the enemy slips through unnoticed until it's too late. If we weren't fighting amongst ourselves about going in we could have ended it sooner.

I was.

[angel_of_death]

...I see. Thank you for your assistance.

[And no arguments coming from him about how they could have ended it sooner. He'd not wasted time with arguments once he got there to begin with.

If anything, it's a good reason to see about acquiring a few totem recipes, if the Elphame Traders still feel like doing business with Camelot after this.]

[heavenlyskies]

You're welcome. I haven't been here long, so I didn't realize the threat until it was too late and the fight had broken out.

This incident does show that we need to keep our guard up though. Next time Aurthur might not be so lucky.

Video; un: 𓅃

[hor]

A life and a kingdom's Lord saved is still worth praise even if the job wasn't perfectly executed. Though I don't know of confetti. Is it pleasant?

[ Small bits of sparkles and paper being thrown haven't quite made their way to Egypt in his time. ]

Video

[angel_of_death]

[The older boy from the banquet. Or perhaps he would be considered a young man at that age? Either way, Walter recognizes him. As such, he does him the courtesy of switching to video.

He's still picking the black and white scraps out of his hair.]

I don't know how I would describe it. It's a lot like the glitter that got all over me during the previous tournament, but easier to brush off.

Re: Video

[hor]

Like mica?

[ Certainly not the modern glitter, but he's familiar with mica since it's been used since ancient times. ]

Is it not moved with a good oil?

[angel_of_death]

[Mica? Well, he supposes it is shiny like mica. Though, to be perfectly honest, he hadn't thought of mica for such an application...]

I haven't tried...

[He's not sure what this confetti is made of. Whether it dissolves like the stuff used at the earlier tournament or not.]

Then again, I'm not in the habit of carrying oil around with me. But perhaps a dip in the river will do just as well.

[hor]

If the river doesn't work, you may come to my inn room. I shall share some of the fragranced oils I've found.

[ Cologne is still too strong, but he's gotten really into what the modern people call "essential oils" since arriving. They're about as similar to fragrance oils used in ancient Egypt as he can get. ]

Audio; un: Shoto

[itsmypower]

Does it have a scent, too? The glitter here smells like berries.

[Citrus, sometimes. He doesn't know this isn't usual.]

[angel_of_death]

...I haven't noticed a scent.

[Somehow, that voice seems familiar. He's sure he heard it somewhere before...]

It probably has something to do with their fixation on darkness and light. It's all black and white.

[Unlike the glitter, which came in a variety of colours and seemed to have a different smell for everyone that took in its fragrance.]

[itsmypower]

[They're sharing a puzzle: two pieces, two separate voices; the boy's he's recalling having bordered on "playful", or at the least, sort of taunting.

He's wondering, too.]

I don't know what your goals are, but recognition's just part of it, if you're trying to keep the peace and all.

[To protect something.]

You'll get used to confetti. ...Or the blame.

[angel_of_death]

[Playful, taunting; it had been a bit of both back then. Fighting, training... situations like that, he's far more comfortable with. Meshing with society as a whole, not so much. On any given day he's far more relaxed among the dead than he is with more than 90% of the living.

As it is, he lets out a sharp bark of a laugh, openly scoffing at the idea of widespread recognition for his work. If only he knew.]

I only went to the ceremony because of how fragile and new the renewed ties were. If not for that, I'd have skipped the whole thing entirely.

[itsmypower]

[That burst of sound startles him—makes him tense. He's humorless, mostly.]

Isn't that like PR? [What wasn't a spectacle? Back home, there'd been headlines, interviews, all the little, staged pleasantries the Hero-spotlight demanded of them. Meets were practically required. A sort of pageantry.

Heroes were "worshipped", once.]

You only do it to reassure people, right? [For the alliance's sake?] I don't blame you for wanting out of it. All that attention. It's just another responsibility. [And, from the sounds of things,] It's not like you're asking for accolades...

[This is empathy. His kind of it. Starting to recognize him.] It just means you're making an effort.

[Was this the same boy? It'd been easier, sparring him. Fists were simpler.]

For what it's worth, I think it's pretty noble, taking it seriously.