(open.) goldenseal

[medicative]

Who ⬤ Emily and open!
What ⬤ Monthly catchall - substories, life, etc.
When ⬤ Over March
Where ⬤ Across the city.
Content Warnings ⬤ TBA if needed


sprout. - post mingle

[it's not her scene at all. already on edge, Emily had kept it together long enough to get her pay advance, thanked people kindly, and then bolted. overwhelming, bad for her senses, and so she had gone to the roof, stretched her wings, and flown away. immediately, she had started feeling better, the relief that comes from exercise and movement and being out of an environment that puts her ill at ease.

where she lands, it's away from the nightclub, but she carefully wanders, trying to get her bearings. it's much harder than it appears, in the dimmer light, even with things illuminated by electricity and the life that still thrums through the place. and unfortunately for a person that looks lost, it's all too easy to get spotted by those who might be drunk, might not be, but see virtue in calling out on the street to try to get one more person to join them for fun.]

No thank you, I'm not-

[they don't seem to be willing to accept the first no for an answer. alternatively, you've arrived later, and someone has Emily slung over their shoulder. despite the awkward state of affairs, she is very clearly trying to squirm out of their grasp, more annoyed than anything else about being swept away, and the youkai holding her seems ignorant to how she's trying to get out. or maybe just used to it. ugh. she's not giving up yet though.]

growth. - night parade

[decorating is an important part of being ready for the parade, Emily knows, and for this, she can put her full energy behind it. after failing so miserably at socializing earlier, she's doing her best to remain dutiful here. that means fetching what she's been told to, assisting those who might have shakier footing, or giving gentle but honest advice about what looks best. and of course, for those harder to reach spots, it does help when you can fly up and hover some to affix it in the best spot. this might be why she keeps getting assigned to the trickier bits.

of course, no one can keep being full of steam all the time, and so it is that on break, she's found a good spot to sit down - right on a wooden box, slumped over and clutching onto a water bottle as if it will save her. but hearing any footsteps, she sits up, the flush of exertion in her face still evident.]

Has it been twenty minutes already? Goodness.

[self defense training or not, it's like running a marathon...]

bloom. - work

[she bows her head and accepts the sneers thrown her ways from the other girls - they don't understand why an uptight member of the Sutoku would seek a steadier job with the club that falls under more of the Tamamo purview, but the manager accepts it with a grunt and lets Emily have her work. employment is employment, and she needs funds if she's going to get anywhere, so she'll sell what's most useful right now - her voice. Hotaru is the stage name she chooses for herself, and she does her best to ingratiate herself with the others, learning what the band would prefer to play and what songs they can collaborate on. really, she closes her ears to anything else, keeps to herself - even the most sharp eyed can't find fault with her attitude off stage, and so she'll gain her money carefully.

so, perhaps you've come in to enjoy a leisurely night at a slower pace, and she's in the midst of her set, singing and making the right kind of eye contact with customers. maybe it's earlier, and you work there, early enough to hear the sounds of a minor scuffle in the back that ends with a door slammed and Emily stumbling out of that direction, a bundle in her arms. or maybe it's later, and you're at the bar, and a soft voice comes from your side.]

I wouldn't, if I were you.

[it's the careful grind, after all. there's the idea of quitting and finding a different place, and she has the number of a different club in another district, but...she wants her first paycheck at least.]

wildcard.

[for custom prompts and new ideas and the like. ooc intro if you'd like to plot something specific, or hit me up via PM!]

Comments

[everblooms]

Emily! Okay, I'm Aerith. [ Sutoku, huh? She looks her up and down, and notes that in her mind. She'd love to know what their deal is; as far as she can tell, control of the utilities is it's own sort of beast. ]

Yeah, so what? They don't get to treat you like that, still.

[ Surely, she's gotten a few comments here and there in her delivery service, but none of it ever stood for long. People learn quick. ]

[medicative]

Part of it is because they suspect I'm some kind of spy, trying to edge on their territory. And part of it is as I said, I'm new, and they want to guard the positions they have. It's not something I'm unfamiliar with, though since I'm not inclined to be as...open, as they are, there's no risk I'll take their place.

[she shrugs, since she's considered it all.]

They won't have to worry about that for much longer, anyway.

[everblooms]

[ All of this seems as if man-made blockages, inherently designed to keep people like Emily from climbing the ladder. What is there to be upset about? She's good at her job. ]

Much longer...?

[ Aerith comes to a screeching halt, and concern ripples through her expression like paint clouding water. ]

Emily, what do you mean?

[medicative]

[immediately, she looks apologetic. that wasn't what she meant - not to worry Aerith like that.]

It's not a bad thing, I promise. But someone's raised an offer, and I've been considering it. Once I collect a paycheck, and have been here a little longer to prove I'm not flighty, I'll quietly take up employment elsewhere, at an establishment owned by my...

[she pauses, not really wanting to say clan or anything like it. they're not her family. she'll have to find some easy epithet for the Sutoku group.]

My sponsors. It'll work out better for everyone involved.

[everblooms]

[ "Sponsors"? ]

Aww, really? You'll come back to visit, at least, right? [ The way she speaks, with such a imploring tone, it's easy to mistake her and Emily for good friends. Truthfully, Aerith just enjoys seeing a friendly face around, even if she's never really met them. ]

Guess they really don't want us fraternizing...

[medicative]

[oh...when she says it like that...Emily's resistance is a weak thing, when someone's done her a good turn, and really, there's no reason not to...]

Visits surely can't raise their ire. I think it's just something to do with finances, but if it's no business and just pleasure, then there's nothing objectionable about it.

[so that's a solid yes.]

[everblooms]

[ She has no reason to hide her joy. Aerith beams, brighter than the sun itself. Then, she pushes her back against the dolly, and heave-hos hard, as if renewed with energy. ]

Really? That's great! I've been running around dropping stuff off from Tamamo to businesses, [ as Emily can likely tell, ] but people still get a little touchy. I know it's pretty hard. But that's great! C'mon, I'll show you one of my routes. It's a shortcut for when you need to get out of Tamamo a little faster.

[medicative]

Lead the way - I trust your judgement, Miss Aerith.

[the dolly will easily go down the streets with the two of them, after all, and Emily's decent at taking direction - it means she can pay attention to the route. maybe it'll get her home faster after her shift, after all.]

Have you been doing this since your arrival?

[everblooms]

[ They disappear into an alleyway with a ramp that dips, corroded rails flanking them on either say. The stone is broken beneath their feet. It's not a well-traveled route. ]

Yeah, pretty much. [ She gives her a light, breezy answer. ] Hup! [ With a push, Aerith gets the barrel over a busted stone. The ground beneath is grass— green like a hummingbird's feather. ]

You can't really do deliveries for small businesses forever. Soooo, I'll have to find something else to do soon, too. Maybe I'll take a look around Sutoku? [ A giggle leaves her, easy as rain drops from the sky. ]

[medicative]

What would you like to do, though, if you had a choice? There seems to be enough room here for people to make decisions based on their wishes rather than strictly what's open. Clan or not.

[if she had her way, would she be singing? hardly. but money is money, and this is better than some other jobs to handle.]

[everblooms]

Well... [ Her voice trails off, the thought taking over as she ruminates. What does she want to do? She thinks she knows, but sometimes, the seer wealth of opportunity at her feet is too overwhelming. She's been a bird a cage for a long, long time. The door may have been open, but there was no reason to leave.

Eventually, she speaks. They pass by a vintage looking bakery, and laughter echoes against the buildings. ]

Back home, I grew and sold flowers. So maybe that! I used to deliver them to people who made orders, haha. [ A nostalgic sense washes over her tone; those days are long gone, now. ] Guess I took the simplicity of it for granted.

[medicative]

I think that'd be a fine thing to do, if you decided on it. We may be in hell, but it doesn't mean people don't appreciate flowers and the joy they bring. Who knows, they might even be treasured more given our urban environment.

[something living that was more than concrete and electricity. she'd been lucky, she supposes, to get to visit the forest so often, now with that far out of reach.]

It's far from a simple thing, to care for something living. Don't sell yourself short, Miss Aerith.

[everblooms]

[ She finds herself in a dilemma. How do you explain to someone that you're the last of an ancient race with magical powers? Aerith hums, thoughtful but distant. It's a nice sentiment, and from experience, she knows this is true. Every word Emily has spoken rings true in her mind— flashes of her life in the slums bubble over, like a pot forgotten on the stove. ]

Yeah...

[ Emily is sweet. Sweeter than sweet, in fact. Downright motherly. ]

It's probably a long way off. [ She speaks, eventually. ] For now, delivery will have to do. After that, maybe a flower garden in Tamamo? One of the government ones, of course. Me, I'll always figure it out. What about you, Emily? You don't perform for a living by choice.

[ She can tell. Something about it twists in her gut when she watches. A shard of truth, perhaps, betraying them both. ]

[medicative]

[she can tell there's something else there, something she's not getting - or something Aerith doesn't want to share. which is her prerogative, sure, but Emily can't help but get that twinge that there's something she can help with. her flaw and source of endless amusement for the bird that almost took over halfway through her set for the hell of it.]

Is it truly so obvious?

[someone else had said how seriously she took things came through in her voice. but she's the first to admit she's not made for this in any way.]

You're correct, in any case. All of my background is in being a physician, not a singer.

[utterly out of her depth, but she manages.]

[everblooms]

Yeah. You're good at it, but that's different from it being something you want to do... forever.

[ The dolly bumps against another out of place stone. Aerith pushes it anyway. The basket jostles, just a bit.

"Physician" sticks to the front of her mind. A healer, just like herself. ]

I guess we have that in common! I mean, I can't do it anymore. Not here. But I used to. Heal, I mean.

[medicative]

You used to be a healer?

[now there's something that makes her eyebrows raise a little in interest. she has to keep a firm grip on the dolly, but reaches up to steady the basket.]

Forgive me for being forward, but since you say you can't now, was it more magical in nature?

[like her borrowed powers.]

[everblooms]

[ An undercurrent of apprehension is in the depths of her tone. Despite herself, she has limits and secrets; she always has. Here, Aerith is allowed a life of silence. It's strange, and the possibility of her powers being odd is... ]

Hmm. More or less. [ It's normal where she comes, she decides. Clearly, the leap in logic Emily makes is not without experience. ]

You too?

[medicative]

...Yes. Not by birth, but...a friend taught me how, to supplement my work.

[in that, she's honest. all the hard work of a doctor couldn't replace when someone needs to be on their feet and protected from something coming now. and what her syringe couldn't mend, then the forest's power had come to fill the gap. it's complicated, and so she'll spare Aerith the extended explanation.]

But here, it's as though someone took the skill, and placed it out of reach. It doesn't mean I can't help and mend and the rest, that's still intact, just that there's not that easier fix for now.

[everblooms]

Yep! [ The dolly comes to a stop as Aerith stares up at a business front; it's fancy. They shelled out for the good neon lettering, and the people inside are well-to do. Fashionable, but timelessly so. She turns to Emily, and beams. ]

Everyone has to adapt eventually. [ There's a solemn sort of note to her tone. Untold secrets, lost time, weights she'll never let go of. Behind her, life bustles on, even as she talks about being on hold. ]

Even when you're singing, you're thinking about healing. That's your natural state. But what about you, Emily? How are you?

[medicative]

[is this their stop? or does Aerith just want to take a break for a second? either way Emily pauses, hands on the dolly, considering the other woman's words, the tone of her voice. there's a way the light shines on her, in her eyes, that makes Emily want to ask if she's really all right, to touch her hand and offer a listening ear. she's always been like that, when she sees the edges of something that could be a scar of the soul.

but then Aerith asks Emily about herself, and she blinks, a little startled and thrown off.]

What do you mean?

[hadn't they gone over that? that she's better to be out of the club? that things are okay enough for now?]

[everblooms]

[ It is, indeed, their stop. Tamamo has a way of making Aerith feel out of place, but she makes her way through the world, anyway. It's been years upon years of making her own way. She can do it yet. ]

You take care of everyone else. [ You should know what she means. Are you okay, in general? Is the world ever too much, do you hide your wants and regrets in the act of caring for others so much that it's what you retreat in? Do you want or need any help? Aerith's in your corner. Her smile conveys that much. ] You have to ask?

[ Laughing a little, she moves to the door, but doesn't open it just yet. ] Maybe we need to work on that letting yourself be taken care of thing a little bit.

[ With a nod, she opens the door and gestures inside. ] After you, Emily.

[medicative]

[it's almost too bright to keep looking at, and she's glad for the excuse to turn away, to get at least the basket and make her way inside, helping escort the dolly. one of the workers is bound to come take it off their hands, bringing it to the proper place. it means she doesn't have to answer that question at all, and instead can focus on finishing the delivery.

as someone's carting it off...]

No doubt they know exactly what they're getting into, with these brews.

[it's certainly no hidden secret.]

[everblooms]

[ A job well done is always an accomplishment, in her book. She leaves the basket's contents on a bar, and it's whisked away by a bartender. ]

Why's that? Tamamo's special spice? [ There's a sort of conspiratorial tone to her voice, and Aerith would personally admit it's not for her. That said, an adult is free to do what they want on their own terms. ] Probably, that's what they want. C'mon, I'll take you home.

[ Gotta make sure she gets home safe and sound. ]

So, Emily. What's your favorite flower?

[medicative]

[go here, then go there...really, she should protest more instead of dutifully following along.]

Mine? It's the sunflower.

[she hasn't seen any in a long time, but that doesn't stop her heart from loving them. bright, strong, growing tall.]

What's yours?

[everblooms]

Sure you want to ask a florist that?

[ In some odd way, she feels like all of them are her's. Her favorites. ]

Ooh, sunflower, huh? They represent loyalty and adoration. People used to give them to each other when they started new businesses. I think the most interesting thing about them is they naturally absorb toxins. They plant them near areas with a lot of radiation to help suck it out of the soil. [ There's a knowing lilt to her voice. ] Sounds a little like someone I know!