I Love the Rainy Nights (open)

[Ginal]

Thick, dark clouds blanketed the skies over Gridania, leaving it uncertain whether it was morning, evening, or possibly even night.  A cool rain fell steadily across the city, as hunters, traders, woodworkers and adventurers alike scrambled through the shower seeking cover, many deciding to wait out the rain alongside a tall mug within the Carline Canopy.

 

The tavern was half-full with patrons, but overflowing with laughter, conversation and song.  Mugs were clanged together in toasts, silverware scraped on plates, and a particularly inebriated elezen woman stumbled over nothing, hitting the floor with a resounding thud.

 

Her companions helped her back to her feet, after a well-earned laugh at her expense.

 

A light-skinned miqo'te woman sat near the wide, ever open door, watching the downpour with a smile as she sipped at her mead.  Her dark red hair spilled past her shoulders in wild curls, framing a round face, and feral eyes of such a pure emerald-green that they seemed to softly glow.  She wore a simple, hunter-green camise that formed tightly over her frame, with a skirt that stretched to her ankles of a matching color, and earrings crafted of true emerald swayed proudly from her ears.

 

She threw back the last of her drink, and set the mug down with a satisfied sigh.  She then turned around to look about the room as her ears twitched, but, not seeming to find what she was looking for, she slumped back against her table with a disappointed frown.

[111]

Evangeline turns away from the bar, squat glass of spirits in hand, and scans the room. She rarely comes to Gridania, the overabundance of moss, dirt, and insects keeping her at bay. However, still at times business carries her to the Shroud, business like the cloth wrapped package poking out of her messenger bag.

 

The airship ride back to Ul'dah was not a short one however, and the next flight was several hours away besides. There were worse ways to idle away the time than a stiff drink and a warm tavern. She drifts through the tavern, flowing robes swishing over high boots as she looks for an open seat. Finally the Elezen stops before a likely candidate, a table with only a single woman sitting at it. Evangeline adjusts her glasses and brushes a stray lock of light brown hair from her face,

 

"Excuse me Miss... is this seat taken?"

[Ginal]

The miqo'e slowly eyes over the woman before her, and offers a playful grin.

 

"Not at all." she replies with a purr.

 

She gestures to the seat nearest her as her eyes follow the brunette.

 

"Enjoying the rain?"

[111]

Evangeline nods graciously, and then sits, leaning her satchel against a table leg. "Rainy nights?"

 

She smiles and cradles her glass, swirling the spirits around, "Can't say that I do, personal preference." She pulls at a lock of hair and winks, "Makes my hair frizzy."

 

She holds out a hand, "I'm Evangeline, forgive me for intruding upon your musings."

[Selah]

It was raining in Gridania.

 

Selah hesitated on the porch of the Rosewood Stalls, bracing herself for a plunge into the downpour. She knew she would be soaked by the time she reached the Carline Canopy, and sitting around in damp clothes was not her favorite tavern activity. On the other hand, Ginal was probably already there, waiting over a drink. On the third hand, Selah was a bit short of gil, and she had promised to treat her spouse to dinner. What to do...?

 

And then it struck her -- it was raining in Gridania! With a satisfied grin, Selah hurried to the opposite end of the marketplace, and out into the rain. As she strode confidently toward the pier, she was fitting together the sections of her fishing rod. Because, if it was raining in Gridania, the Raincallers were biting! And, last time she'd checked, they were selling for over a thousand gil each. Half an hour's work, and she should have more than enough to buy Ginal a dinner to remember!

 

(Over to you, Ginal. What's going on in the bar?)

[Ginal]

She took the other woman's hand, her head tilted as she smiled with a mischievous glint in her eye.

 

"And such lovely hair it is!  And such a lovely lady."

 

She softly laughed and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

 

"Call me Emerald."

[Viola]

((Since this is open, I assume I can join? If not, I'll leave as swiftly as I came in. ('-' ) ))

 

The dimunitive little Lalafell had walked into the canopy; completely soaked from the heavy rain outside as she tried to wring out her blue cloth. "Damnable rain." She muttered, shaking her head to get some of the wetness out of her hair.

 

After a few long minutes of trying to dry herself off, to no avail, she sighed, looking around the rather large crowd in the place. Obviously she wasn't the only one trying to seek shelter from the weather.

[111]

Evangeline nods, "Emerald, a lovely name."

 

She squares her shoulders then leans forward, looking from side to side to ensure no one else is close.

 

"So Emerald, you look to be a woman of exquisite taste and beauty." She pulls her satchel onto the table, "And thus, I think you're perfect for what I have to offer for sale."

 

The satchel makes a rattling metallic clunk as it hits the table, "Quality Hand Grenades at bargain prices!"

[Ginal]

She leans back and folds her arms over her chest.  Her tail flicks sharply as she studies the satchel.

 

"Not where I expected this to go.  Still...what is a hand grenade?"

 

The miqo'te looks around the tavern again, her eyes hopeful as they scanned the scenery.  She noticed a lovely lalafellen girl who was clearly not on good terms with the rain, and offered her a smile.

[111]

Evangeline holds up her hand, "I know you're skeptical, I mean, lets be honest, I would be too." She nods, "Quality, and low prices? That's almost too good to believe."

 

She clears her throat, her voice turning slightly bitter "However I am in the unfortunate position of having lost my airship ticket, and without enough funds to purchase a new one."

 

"But my loss is your gain!" She yanks out a small metal cylinder roughly the size of a soup can. "What is a hand grenade, you ask? Well what is it not?"

 

"A decorative fashion statement, a fetching paperweight, a fun children's toy, and so much more!" She puts it down on the table with a *thump*. There is a small metal ring sticking out the top of the cylinder, secured with a metal clip.

 

"Rid yourself of tiresome bug problems, noisy neighbors. Do a day's worth of landscaping in seconds!" She leans forward, "So, how many do you want to buy?"

[Viola]

she looked towards a pair of Miqo'te at a table, one of which slapping a strange object onto the table, piquing her interest as she started to walk over. Despite her head barely reaching over the table, she stood on the tips of her toes, looking curiously at it as the one discussing it continued on with her conversation.

[Ginal]

(Oh my god you have broken my brain! :lol: I'm I'm gonna need a minute)

[Selah]

The Raincallers enthusiastically attacked the mythril spoon lure, and soon Selah had a dozen of the large blue trout on the dock beside her, strung together like holiday ornaments. She dismantled the fishing pole, slung the catch over her shoulder, and headed back through the downpour toward the Canopy. Since she was now as soaked as it was physically possible to be without actually jumping into the lake, she took her time, enjoying the sounds of the storm-tossed forest. A few minutes later, she strolled into the Canopy trailing water and fish, with her long auburn hair slicked across her face and a small lake forming on the floor around her.

 

"Hullo, Selah," Mother Miounne remarked from her post behind the counter. "I see you've been out in the weather. Are those Raincallers?"

 

"Indeed." Selah plopped the string of fish on the counter. "Do you need some? I'll trade the whole catch for a good dinner for two. With a couple of them grilled for the entree, of course."

 

"Deal," said Miounne. "Our special tonight will be Raincallers-and-chips. If you're looking for Ginal, she's over by the door, checking out some trade goods."

 

"Hmmm?" Selah scanned the room, and spotted her wife curiously examining a metal cylinder as a second Miqo'te pulled more of the strange objects from her pack, and a rather damp Lalafell climbed onto a stool to get a better look. "Maybe dinner for four? What the heck are they looking at?"

 

Miounne shrugged. "As long as it doesn't make stinks or bangs, it's fine with me." She poured a mug of ale and set it on the counter. "Fish-payment, first installment. Go see what they're looking at, and I'll be over shortly with a basket of fresh-baked bread."

[Ginal]

(I believe the other woman is an elezen, not a miqo'te)

 

She was completely taken aback at the brunette's sales-pitch.  She still had no idea what this device was the woman was trying to sell, and it was plain on her face.

 

"I...uhh..."

 

The miqo'te looked over at the lalafell joining them and smiled.

 

"Hello little lady.  I. erm, see you're curious about these things, too?  I have no idea what I'm looking at."

 

With a laugh, she shook her head and looked back to the elezen.

 

"No ma'am, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'd know what to do with these...things."

 

Her ears suddenly twitched, and she looked about the room almost frantically.  She spotted the rain-soaked hyur handing a small shipment of fish over to Mother Miounne, and turned back to the women at the table with her.

 

"Excuse me, ladies."

 

She strode quickly up the drenched woman, who's eyes were of the most pure sapphire-blue that they seemed to almost glow, and folded her arms with a frown.

 

"You're late.  I've been waiting for hours!"

[Selah]

(I was going by the "meow meow I'm a cat." Apologies if I got it wrong. It's so hard to tell who's who on these dark rainy nights.)

 

"Perhaps an hour," Selah countered. "Apologies, beloved. I was busy catching us some dinner."

 

Ginal planted her fists on her hips. "We're not camping out in the woods, darling. Gridania is a civilized place, where you can buy dinner with gil. Unless..." Her eyes narrowed.

 

Selah sighed. "It seemed like a safe bet, and the odds were good. But Dinornis stepped in a ground squirrel hole and twisted his leg, so the other bird won. Normally not a problem -- I could whomp up some silver doo-dads and have several thousand gil by morning. But we had a dinner date, and you were waiting, so I went with the fish. You do like Grilled Raincaller, right?"

 

"You're impossible!" said Ginal. Her tone was severe, but she looked away to hide a laugh.

 

"Who are your friends?" Selah's glance indicated the two women at the table. "And what are those thingummies you're looking at?"

[Viola]

Memenu looked up towards the unfamiliar Miqo'te as she's greeted, trying to keep her eyes on the strange object, still curious in exactly what it and the others like it did. "I hate rain." she said flatly, her clothes not exactly dripping anymore though still quite soaked.

 

Her rather long ears twitched, hearing of something called 'grilled raincalled'. "What is that?" she turned her head toward the new Hyur who had just approached them, her heterochromic eyes almost staring at her.

[Selah]

"Hi, I'm Selah," said Selah. "Pleased to meet you."

[111]

Evangeline looks back and forth at all the things that have happened, then sweeps the object back into the bag.

 

"W-well... this is quite the crowd." She shoulders the bag and walks off grumbling, "Last thing I need is the Adders after me too."

[Viola]

She searched for a nearby chair and quickly clambered onto and sat on it before stretching. "My name is Memenu." she replied, resting her hands on the table as soon as she was done stretching.

[Ginal]

Ginal hooks her arm around Selah's and leans on her with a happy purr.

 

"I was trying to flirt with that elezen lass to punish you for being late, but...she strikes me as not quite all here."

 

She looks to the lalafell and chuckles.

 

"Memenu is a lovely name, little lady.  I'm Ginal, this is my wife Selah.  And grilled raincatcher is a wonderful seafood dish, especially the way Selah will cook it when she needs to apologize to me."

 

Her tail flicks against the hyur as she grins.

[Viola]

Memenu rocked from left to right on the chair, nodding. Despite her brief existence on Eorzea, she had seen more and more oddities and peculiarities every day. While most of it still completely baffled her, she was mostly indifferent to it all. "Nice to meet you." she replied, sounding almost deep in thought. "There's different ways to cook fish?"

[Oilbasedoleander]

There was something special about the rain here. It smelled different. It felt different than Ul'dah. Luke warm and cleansing. The fair-haired Miqo'te had her nose turned up to the sky, her eyes closed and he hands open. Palms up to embrace the drops falling on and all around her. It was the only time she was peaceful and stood relatively still, the opposite of her bubbly and excitable nature.

 

The thin blouse was soaked through by now. Hair covered in few beads drippings from the ends. Feeling the rain soften and then pelt her, to and fro the pressure would go. But she didn't mind. The on lookers however stared and shook their heads, ducking to the tavern to escape. Small teases and giggles about the strange girl in bare feet rocking up onto her toes to get closer to the sky, ears pinned back and eventually stick out her tongue to taste. Yes! It even tasted different.

[Ginal]

(My apologies to everyone who posted on this thread for the severe delays in replying.  Selah and I have found ourselves recently unavailable for much, so I'll be ending this thread until we're able to come back and try again.  

 

Looking forward to engaging you all later on!)