I'm unable to breathe amongst the crowds of frozen people

[bearshermark]

WHO: Eleven & OPEN
WHEN: possibly the whole arc?
WHERE: Taravast, various
WHAT: A catch-all!
WARNINGS: Will be added!


1. Of The People

Eleven took swiftly to formal meditation. It was a bit like prayer, he reasoned, just with more inward focus and for considerably longer. The only problem being an inability to easily drown out any variety of distracting noise.

But during one of his many walks through the city, he came across a small, modest garden almost hidden behind a block of crammed buildings. It was little more than an arrangement of green shrubs, scant patches of grass, and a swath of overgrown vines creeping over the far wall toward a thin strip of canal on the other side. Squashed between two lines of buildings as it was, the garden found itself shaded over for most of the day, but for a few short hours.

And for those precious hours of sun, it was perfect. The hidden oasis feel of it let him shed his mask and local wear, stuffing the garments into the charmed bag Lily had given him and free to sit in the grass comfortably in his own clothes. Bare face tipped toward the sun and the grass warm beneath him, he breathed and peace reigned so exquisitely that falling into that quiet focus was nearly effortless. It only took visualizing the sun's gentle warmth and the breath of life in the grass soaking into him to banish those lingering, wayward thoughts.

After an untold amount of time that was surely more than the requisite hour, Eleven found himself relaxed enough to lounge back in the grass, very nearly dozing. Probably, he shouldn't nap here. He was due at court soon enough, but.. surely, it wouldn't hurt to close his eyes for a short spell..


2. Court

The masks, Eleven decided, were off-putting. It was difficult enough to recognize the people he knew through them, and made conversation twice as difficult. People's expressions hidden, the tone or inflection of their voice distorted by full masks.. as though he weren't already out of his depth.

Although his spiritual healing classes meant a little less time spent around court than most, it was still exhausting. Surrounded by people he didn't know and roped into hollow conversations while attempting to feign interest in a political cause he could care less about.. All for the sake of maintaining an image that he was beginning to suspect wasn't unique to just their group. Everyone was hiding; everyone wanted something.

Half-heard conversations washed over him, strung together with words that either meant absolutely nothing or were inlaid with a meaning that could only be divined with enough context. For the first time, Eleven found himself grateful for his conversations with Lan Wangji- at least he could discern that much. And, having adopted a basic level of formal functioning as the Luminary, he only hoped it would be enough to endure.

Presently, Eleven found himself harried by a handful of men peppering him with questions about horses, then having heated debates about his answers. It took some time to understand they only cared because of some bets they'd placed on a race. He'd attempted to dissuade further questions by insisting he wasn't an expert in all things horse-related, but it only served to conjure up debates about whether or not he was right, or how sure he was about things.

"Forgive me," he interjected with some emphasis once he'd finally drummed up the courage to recite the rehearsed line. "There's someone I need to speak to before we convene for the day."

Which, as far as excuses go, he hoped it wasn't terribly obvious that it was a complete lie. Wary of eyes following him, Eleven attempted to look like he knew exactly where he was going, increasingly desperate to find someone in his line of sight that looked even vaguely like they might be expecting him.


3. Library

On gloomy days, Eleven took his studies to the palace library, attempting to commit the information on the papers in front of him to memory. But surrounded by bookshelves holding what promised to be far less dry material, he inevitably found himself perusing the shelves and indulging his newfound ability to read anything and everything over his actual work.

Titles of various books pulled from the shelves often had some apparent link to religion, mystical flora, or life and death. And sometimes, they were simply memoirs of someone that sounded vaguely interesting. It felt like being at the Sniflheim Royal Library, but without the threat of monsters.

Pleased with his current selection, Eleven wandered back over to a desk, then paused to find someone else sitting there.

"Ah... mind if I join you?"


4. Courtyard

On pleasant days, the palace courtyard served well enough. Unwilling to bring any books outside, Eleven made considerably more progress in reading through his lesson material. He compromised with a half-mask to appease any locals drifting through as he sat quietly on a bench, half-lounging and only intermittently distracted by his surroundings.

That was of course, until an unexpected wind took the few sheets set beside him and scattered them a short distance away.

With a gasp, Eleven pursued them, snatching the sheets before they could drift too far away- or Goddess-forbid, fall into the fountain- then watched as one landed at a person's feet. He followed their figure up to a mask, feeling sheepish and not quite bold enough to reach for it despite his outstretched hand.

"..Sorry to bother you, but ah, that's my paper on poultices.."


5. Gondola by Night

Dressed down in a familiar coat only his former companions would recognize with a purple half-mask to match, Eleven rowed sedately through dark waters reflecting the night sky.

The gondolas were larger and the water deeper than what he remembered from Gondolia, but he took to his perceived role as a ferryman with far more comfort than he had the cloak of nobility. He'd even become reasonably good at it, and while he had coin enough, the tips came as a nice bonus.

Eleven glanced up as a passenger dismounted and caught sight of someone standing near the edge of the canal.

"Can I take you across the water?"


6. City Offerings

It wouldn't be a proper visit to a new city without trying out the various restaurants and bars on offer. And once he had two masks and accidentally acquisitioned something like a second identity, it was less stressful to talk to people without as much concern for reputation. The place he'd chosen tonight was busy, and tables were swiftly filling to the point of even pairing strangers together. Just as well; the bar was full and eating on his own was far less enjoyable.

Certainly, it would have been nice if he could easily enjoy the company of those he'd befriended despite political affiliation, but Eleven buried such concerns beneath a drink or two and focused on enjoying a delightful meal and buoyant atmosphere.

He raised his mug in a friendly salute to the person forced to join him.

"Hope you're having a pleasant night so far."


7. Wildcard??

[ooc: feel free to hit me up with anything adjacent to these prompts, or if you'd like to work out something specific, Eleven's plotting post is here!

Happy to adapt to action tags or prose!]

Comments

Library!

[sergeant_slick]

So, he was supposed to be a war hero. Sure, he could make that work. Talk like a propaganda vid, hastily memorize some local placenames and conflicts, and be all stoic and approving of the local royal they were trying to push into power.

So, that meant he had a bit of studying to do. And it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn about the planet, actually. Get a look at some more maps, find out what you could eat and what would kick your ass just for considering it...

...And more about how in the hell this magic stuff worked. That subject in particular kept pulling him off-course on whatever he was doing. But how could it not? This was the Force, a mystical power that'd been used as justification for putting Jedi in charge of his whole life, and now he was learning the basics from Fox. Of course he wanted to learn more, and from as many sources as possible. He was not gonna make the mistake of believing one side's propaganda again.

Only one problem--the local books weren't written anything like the study programs he'd been fed through back on Kamino. All sorts of flowery language, full of technical terms and references to stuff he didn't recognize. Just figuring out what these books were talking about was a challenge. This was his second attempt now, and he'd come prepared with a notebook and stylus he'd picked up at the market. It wasn't the easiest to write with, but he was slowly figuring it out, filling up pages with handwritten aurebesh notes.

He'd been so wrapped up in it that he hadn't noticed someone approaching. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure." They were playing on the same side of this political stuff right now, so it was safe enough to cooperate in public. Although honestly, he wasn't reading anything relevant to that whole charade.

At least he was pretty sure he wasn't. Come to think of it, he could use a break, this book was making his eyes cross. "You studying up on this place too?"

[[ooc: this comment was delayed by a couple hours to go noodle around with star wars handwriting and quills. Please excuse my iffy penmanship. :P]]

[bearshermark]

Eleven ducked his head, sheepish. He probably should be.

"In a manner of speaking," he said, settling down in a chair with his books. It took him some time to recall the man's name. "I'm interested in the more spiritual aspects of this world- its religions, beliefs, and such. I'm also studying healing a bit further."

But not so much politics or current state of affairs.

The strange markings in Slick's journal began to twist and resolve into something more runic and readable, but he glanced off to rifle through his small pile for the most promising-sounding title.

"What are you researching?"

[sergeant_slick]

"Well, in a manner of speaking, this stuff is making my brain melt out my ears." He set down the stylus, sitting up straight and stretching in his seat with a quiet groan.

"Geography, history, tech levels, hazards, that sort of thing." And magic. Lots of magic.

"I'm never going to complain about skimpy briefing documents again." He sighed, gesturing to the notebook. "Well, at least not for a while. Pulling this stuff together's a nightmare." In his defense, he wasn't trained for this sort of thing. He wasn't sure any clone was, frankly.

Come to think of it, not being in the army anymore meant he'd never have to sit through a briefing again. Definitely a bonus.

"And you're a damn good medic already, so I imagine that'll be easy for you."

[bearshermark]

Eleven grinned through a pleased flush, spirits bolstered by the blunt compliment.

"I'm good at treating injuries," he acknowledged warmly, "But less so with illness or mind-altering magic."

Speaking of which.. there was a whole paper on poultices he should be attempting to memorize. He fished the paper out and smoothed it over his books. If he memorized this, then he could read for the entire rest of the afternoon.

"But I know what you mean. Looking at all this is a bit much after some time."

[sergeant_slick]

"Ah, yeah. It'd be good to have somebody on-side who can do that." He'd always heard Jedi could read thoughts--he was pretty sure that was a lie by now, or they would've caught him--but he'd still worried about the mind control stuff everyone said they could do. "If you learn anything a beginner can pick up, let me know, yeah?"

This planet was hellbent on turning everything upside down and giving it a good shake, and he was gonna be there to pick up all the pieces that fell out. "Fox's been teaching me some of his stuff. It's slow, but I didn't realize you could just... learn how to do magic."

[bearshermark]

Eleven nodded, smile broadening at the mention of Fox.

"I think it must be similar to most things: there's some of it that comes naturally to people and some things that might not. I'm glad Fox has found a way for you to learn; I wouldn't know where to start teaching someone at all."

[sergeant_slick]

"I always got told it was something people just had or they didn't. Really convenient for the people who had it."

Fox, though. Fox had been an absolute game changer. "I'm glad he mentioned it, otherwise I'd still be thinking like that. He's uh--" how do you nicely say 'unfocused and prone to rambling' "--he's enthusiastic. It can be a little difficult to follow sometimes, but clones get taught to memorize stuff fast," he taps the side of his head. "So I think it's starting to stick."

He glances over at the books Eleven's brought with him. "Anyway, you're one of those people that grew up with this stuff?"

[bearshermark]

Eleven laughed shortly, stifled quickly to a lower volume. Fox certainly was enthusastic about magic.

"No. I grew up in the mountains learning to take care of plants and animals. I was taught some basic stuff by my mum and the priest in my village, but this is only my second time in a library. It's been months since I've been able to read anything other than the network though and I've had so many questions, so I'm hoping to find some answers while we're here."

He picked up his class sheet. "These lessons are more work than I remember having as a child, but at least now I understand why it's important."

[sergeant_slick]

"Oh yeah, that." He hadn't even considered that training would be the limiting factor here. Most of his life had been spent on that.

"Hadn't thought of it that way. I more meant growing up with the Force--or magic, I guess. It's not something that was ever an option for us."

5 but i tried to warn you

[lancifolium]

"Yes!" She was as cheerful and as tipsy as ever. The enchantments Fox had put on her transfigured sneakers doing their job of keeping her upright but there was still a decent wobble to the way she stood there waiting for a gondola.

"I'm trying to find some chicken," didn't people leave drinking establishments in search of food in this town? Thus far she had, had no luck finding any such a place, but maybe further down she'd have a bit more luck.

It wasn't until she had climbed aboard and practically plopped into the seat that she looked up at him squinting incredulously. "El?"

no its delightful

[bearshermark]

Eleven grinned, both surprised but happy to see her.

"Good evening," he said pleasantly, pushing off gently from the bank. "Are you all right?"

[lancifolium]

Reclining in the gondola Lily smiled up at Eleven in response. "Just wonderful. They had a wine made from honey at the party I came from."

Pushing her mask up she seemed to be on the verge of saying something else about her night when she paused and narrowed her eyes at him instead.

"Wait. Why are you sailing a gondola?" Did he own a gondola now? How cool!

[bearshermark]

Eleven glanced about, heart leaping into his throat, but no one appeared to be in earshot. At least Lily was doing well, though still he worried about her.

"I've taken a job as a ferryman in the evenings," he said, though that was something of an overly simplistic explanation of what had been a mistaken assumption. But what had been a lie then was more or less the truth now. No one had yet accused him otherwise and night by night, he grew more familiar to the locals.

"There was a town by the sea where I learned and I'd always found it enjoyable, so here we are."

[lancifolium]

"A job?" It certainly wasn't the answer she had expected, and she sat up some, looking intrigued. "Have you learned much about the city or the people here?" Lily had taken to exploring and taking long walks, infinitely curious about their new surroundings, and El had certainly put himself in a position to pick up on potentially fascinating things.

"And you're studying healing, aren't you? You've become a local."

[bearshermark]

Eleven smiled, grateful for the dark to hide a self-conscious flush.

"I'm trying," he hedged, eyes on the water and watching for nearby lamps as they glided sedately across the river. "I've just decided to do this because it's relaxing, but I'm hoping to learn a few things while we're here. Are you doing well with yours?"

[lancifolium]

She shook her head, "all my studying has been independent so far. The pendants translate books now so I've been making up for lost time, I must admit I do want to go see what the respective schools of magic have to teach me. Do you like your lessons?"

Lily turned in her seat to look at Eleven lifting her mask to frown at him. "Have you learned enough about the city to know where the late-night chicken is? I'm famished." And still a little tipsy, but hunger took precedent.

[bearshermark]

Eleven laughed, then stifled the bright sound to a quieter chuckle; these things carried across the water and he'd rather not draw too much attention.

"My lessons aren't anything interesting, yet," he assured with a grin. "But I think I can show you to a place that I've heard offers an impressively meaty leg as a meal in itself. I can't promise it's chicken, but it's from a bird of some sort. I'd planned to use tonight's fare to try it."

5.

[valeas]

Emilia recognizes the coat, if not precisely the wearer of it. A full day of being the catch of the season has left her in a foul and intolerant mood, though not one she plans to take out on her fellow companion. Her temper may be something to fear when unleashed, but she does prefer to unleash said wrath on those who actually deserve it, not someone offering a potential getaway.

And thus, Eleven's offer is met with a firm and resounding: "Please."

She's just managed to evade a would-be suitor, and the sooner they're off, the better.

[bearshermark]

Eleven offers a smile and a nod beneath his half mask, then once she's settled, eases them away from the bank. A shadowed figure runs up too late, calling for their return, but he's seen this sort of thing before and knows better than to heed it by now. There's a good enough space of water stretched between them that he doesn't think her pursuer will attempt a swim.

"Where to?" he asks in the more measured tone of voice he uses for this role. He starts up the river for now, imagining if she'd just wanted to reach the other side, she could have simply crossed the bridge. Besides which, that would have made her easy to follow.

"Or do you not have a preference?" Some people were like that; content just to simply sail for awhile until something in the city caught their interest.

[valeas]

Wrath warned her, once. Told her she's ruled by fire, and it can work against her if she's not careful. He wasn't wrong. Emilia prefers having a plan and being informed, but emotions can get the best of her sometimes, in which case plans go out the window.

She thinks Eleven is kind to consider her, either way.

"I'm not sure, actually." It's closest to sheepish that she's looked in a good while. "Is there a place you'd recommend?"

Emilia's fairly certain this isn't the first time she's seen him ferrying a gondola.

[bearshermark]

It bothers him a moment that she seems a touch familiar, as though he's seen her around the palace or at court, but it's difficult to tell for certain in the dark, and far too much of a risk to ask.

Eleven hums shortly as he quietly guides the gondola along the river. While he isn't a local to have a list of recommendation, at least he can rule out the necromantic district, and likely taverns with ease.

"The theatres and gambling halls are well-attended this time of night," he offers after a moment. At least his experience with the locals have given him that much familiarity. "..But if you'd prefer quieter company, I'd recommend the waterfront of the theatre district. There always seems to be some sort of small performance to listen to whenever I pass through."

[valeas]

The stillness of the night settles around them, save for the gentle swaying of the water as they go. A breath loosens in her chest at this small peace, and she looks up at his addendum, mirth threatening to tug at the corners of her mouth.

Goddess, is she that obvious?

"Quiet does sound appealing. As does the theater."

This way, he gets to enjoy the performance himself. She's always loved stories, in general. They were a comfort to a child who lived afraid, and later on a refuge to a young woman forced to hide. "Thank you, by the way. You've impeccable timing."

[bearshermark]

Eleven steadily course corrects in the direction of the theatre district. It'll be nice to possibly be able to watch most of a show. He's kept himself too busy lately.

"Glad to be of service," he returns once they're gliding smoothly down the river again. "I hope the performance tonight will be suitable to your taste. If you find it isn't, I'll be happy to bear you elsewhere."

[valeas]

Emilia murmurs her appreciation, before she settles into thoughtfulness once more. Her inquisitive nature demands it, and mild amusement threatens to settle into her voice when she makes her observation, not aware it reveals her.

"You've taken to this ferrying business quickly."

He understandably has some difficulty pinning her down, both in the dimness of the night and with her mask firmly in place. Perhaps that is why removes it briefly, if only so that the initial familiarity can set into place.

She is no threat — not to him.

[bearshermark]

The comment nearly passes by, but he catches the implications with a nervous flutter as his eyes snap to hers. The set of his shoulders gradually laxes, and his smile turns more genuine. She's still something of a stranger, but.. she's recognized him, so there's understanding there, now. He can drop the thin veneer of aloof ferryman.

"I like it," he admits freely. "It's pleasant work most of the time. The only thing people want from me is a smooth ride across the river, and I'm more or less qualified for that. And sometimes.. I meet new friends."