Closed Insanity loves Company

[Adair Askara]

"Don’t worry", Adair said to Adrienna. "I’ll stay here as long as the company is halfway interesting and the weather remains pleasant. I don’t have anything else to do today apart from keeping lovely ladies such as you company and pretending to be a parasol." He grinned at them. Upon hearing Estrellir’s comment, he touched the feather’s in his hair. "Do you like them? I’ve been told they are from some kind of rare exotic bird that lives deep in the jungles of Falyndar."

Since was supposed to serve as a parasol for the ladies, he positioned himself next to them so that his shadow covered them a little. Estrellir could see how he eyed her pipe. "So what are you smoking?" he asked and bent down a little. He hoped it was something good.

Adelaide, he decided, did indeed talk a lot, but he didn’t mind. He talked a lot as well.

"It would be awkward if everybody just sat here quietly, staring at each other", he informed Adrienna. "I very much prefer the current situation. I’m not very good at writing poetry – apart from the kind that makes people frown or shake their heads – but I’ve done a little acting every once in a while. And I believe that there is nothing wrong with occasionally hiding the truth to someone. Sometimes a little lie is better than the alternative. Sometimes showing somebody the truth about the world only leads to heartbreak. And sometimes pretending is just plain fun."

"I’m Adair", he introduced himself to them. "And we might have met before." He turned to Estrellir. "Maybe you were at my funeral a little while ago. I died, but fortunately it wasn’t permanent. Or maybe we met at a ball or a soirée, although I do of course not attend a soirée dressed like this."

[Adrienna Lynint]

The universal retort was not ill received, and Adrienna smiled for it. She reasoned with herself, with their opinions to weigh the opinion in their favour, that interesting company was not mute company. Siku only knew how bored she could sometimes be when the animals had been fed and there was only Lucian to talk to. Her head inclined to Adelaide: it was the only sort of apology she could give without bending her pride too far. Frankly, there'd been so few Dynasty women in her life, she could tolerate verbose companionship for an afternoon, at least. The philosophy was not as minded as it could be. "Maybe I do not talk enough at all, you're right."

"I am Adrienna," she finally said by way of introduction. "Pardon me for so rudely jumping in, as I have." She looked from them again, a moment of respite from a situation she tended to avoid when left to her own devices. However, she did pay attention. Adrienna leant them her ear, if not her expressions. The sea was as fascinating as them and whatever fate it was that had brought them here, in this moment.

Adrienna did not consider herself a philosopher or poet; if she had any interest in art or science, it involved pens, paper, and charcoal as well as the carcasses of animals. Therefore, as these people talked and spun their words into music, she was at a loss. She listened, and chose not to spoke. Adrienna would prefer to sink into the background and become a silent observer, and let their conversation travel its paths until she found something she could understand, and then she would grasp it and join in. For now, she was content; Adelaide did not have a foul voice, and nor did the Konti and the Askara.

[Estrellir Konrath]

OOCSorry for the ridiculous delay and short reply. RL kept me busy, so it's hard to get back into Est now.

Estrellir giggled into her pipe listening to Adelaide's eloquent answers to the Lynint's remarks. Whether she truly was a poet or not, she certainly knew how to wield her words. The Konti liked to think she possessed some rhetoric proficiency, but the Sitai girl had a silken tongue. "I see, although that makes me wonder why we haven't heard any of your pieces performed yet. I'm sure such a career would profit your family in one way or another." If done right, she thought. Stories, no matter how fictional, were always interpreted in different ways by different people. The revelation solved one riddle at least: the origin of her dramatic, sometimes overly theatrical way of speech.

As Adelaide offered her little story, Estrellir took another drag of fragrant smoke. When she finished, the Konti offered the mouthpiece to her again. So much talking called for more smoking! As an answer formed in the back of her throat, she had to close her eyes against the intense light of reflections on the waves. Vague pain was already knocking at her temples. "That sounds beautiful, but I'd trade the truth for a pretty metaphor anytime. I guess we all want what we cannot have." She gave a quiet sigh, eyes still narrowed against the blinding light, only dimmed a little by her hat and the human parasol. In a place like Kenash, beauty jumped at her from every corner whereas truth was buried deeply in wet soil and dirty puddles.

The parasol, Estrellir decided, was doing a poor job, but she didn't really know whether it was due to his personal shortcomings or the weather, a thing none of them could control. "I wonder how it traveled away from Falyndar and landed here..." She didn't expect an answer, instead she allowed Adair to taste the stuff simmering in the pipe's belly. "It's called the Fizz. I heard of it during an investigation and was eager to try out the effects. Help yourself, but don't underestimate it." Her grin and swaying index finger in front of his nose took a lot of edge away from those words. Estrellir had seen how addictive the drug got, but it was up to her companions if they took care or plunged into abandon. They weren't slaves, things to take care of, but people who could decide for themselves.

And what a delicious irony considering her earlier words! She had to giggle again, covering her mouth with her hands as if to hide her amusement. They'd think it came from the smoke and Estrellir wouldn't enlighten them. When silence threatened to kill the mood, she turned to Adrienna and smiled pleasantly. "Perhaps you'd like another drag? You're the owner of that reptile shop, right? I wonder what happened if those animals were fed what we're smoking here."

Boxcode by Verena

[Adair Askara]

„I’d like to hear more“, Adair remarked to Adelaide even though he was a parasol and theoretically not able to speak. „Imagine that: a beach, wonderful people, something to smoke and art. How much better can it get? I’ll even volunteer if you need additional people for your performance if Miss Estrellir here doesn’t mind giving up her human parasol.“ He looked at the Konti who had apparently decided to offer him her pipe after all. As she warned him not to underestimate it, he smiled, took it and inhaled deeply.

„The ways of the world – and some birds - are mysterious“, he remarked as she wondered about his feathers. „I’d like to visit Falyndar myself sometimes so that I can say I’ve been there even though the barbarians that live there would without a doubt try to eat me.“ He grinned, as if he didn’t mind the prospect of being eaten by bloody savages at all. Maybe he could seduce them or persuade them to keep him around because he was so funny?

As Estrellir mentioned that Adrienna was the owner of a reptile shop, he looked at her (Adrienna, that is). He also wondered what would happen if her animals tried the pipe and whether a lizard would make a good pet. Were there poisonous lizards? He’d like to keep such an animal around as a deterrent. If people didn’t like him, he’d just let the lizard loose on them!

„So …“ he asked after a while and turned back to Estrellir. „Am I good parasol or do I need to change my job?“

[Adelaide Sitai]

Adelaide smiled slightly ambiguously and didn't say anything as Estrellir mentioned having never seen any of her plays. Well, truly, how could she have? Only one had ever been performed in Kenash and only one had ever been performed in Zeltiva. It almost made Adelaide wonder if she could call herself a playwright at all, if her plays were never performed and if she earned her living from looking after her family's estate. Possibly, in her entire life, she had never gained more than 30 or 40 mizas from her writing, and even then she wondered if those times when her writings had sold had been out of pity (in Zeltiva) or fear (in Kenash)
That said, she currently felt - not too wishfully - that she was on to something and that it might not be too much longer until she'd be able to invite Estrellir to a performance. Not that she was wholly sure that Estrellir's other comment would prove accurate, that such a career would be a benefit to her family considering that some of her plays verged on vaguely critical of certain people in Kenash. The one that she was currently working on, however, she was sure would prove a relative success.

"Maybe a pretty metaphor would make for a happier life, but maybe a metaphor can function within the boundaries of reality, so to speak. Maybe not a literal, physical reality but possibly a more intrinsic one that is more truthful because it is based on human desires rather than constrictions. A more spiritual truth, so to speak."

The young woman took another drag from the pipe. She had only tried 'the Fizz' six or seven times in the past, preferring other drugs, but she was enjoying it... at least, for now, since she knew the after effects well enough - not that the small amount she was smoking would usually last that long, but Adelaide sensed that it was a slightly cheaper version of the drug and that made it slightly stronger. As she looked towards the sun, she was overcome by a feeling that the world was turning a shade of red.

After a tick, she realised that Adair was speaking and turned to him with a smile. Her brain slightly brightened and uninhibited because of the drug, she had no problem with suddenly getting up, brushing the sand off her dress, and taking the Askara by the hand.

"Come on then. If you want to be part of a performance then let's improvise." she pulled him to a stretch of sand in front of Estrellir, where they were all looking out to sea, "Now, I think you have the face for a main part, though perhaps not a romantic lead. An androgynous soldier perhaps? An indolent Lord or a bored aristocrat? A flamboyant painter? Or maybe an unlikely carpenter. Play what you will!" the young woman paused and turned towards Estrellir and Adrienna, blinking as her eyes blurred slightly before saying, with a mischievous grin, "If you're interested in our little improvised role-play, I can think of characters for you..."

Adelaide hoped that they were going to take her up on her offer instead of letting her stand there like an idiot, but realised that even if Adair apologised and went to sit back down, she was confident enough in her very mildly drug-induced state to try a monologue.

[Estrellir Konrath]

Estrellir grinned as Adair inhaled deeply, thus mocking her warning. She'd only speak of it once, no more, and so she respected his decision. In fact she was intrigued by the morbid effects the Fizz had had on that poor woman and curious to find out how it varied between consumers.

As Adelaide elaborated on metaphors and reality, the Konti narrowed her violet eyes in an attempt to focus and understand what the Sitai was trying to say. She wasn't quite sure of her success, nevertheless she nodded in agreement to the statement that metaphors could convey truth as well as beautiful lies. There would be no rhetoric, no art if they couldn't, right? "I'm not sure if I like the word spiritual, but you are right. One cannot speak the naked truth, not always. Some occasions call for a more refined kind of expression." Grinning at the irony, she noticed that she must be speaking like a true Dynast.

Eventually she laughed at Adair at the prospect of acting out a little scene. Should they play out the situation they were currently in, pretend to act out reality? Estrellir liked that idea, although she couldn't put a finger on the reasons. Surely Adelaide would be able to express it more accurately, but it was up to the playwright to choose a situation.

She clapped her hands together, both in applause and delight, and nearly dropped the mouthpiece. "You've been a very satisfying parasol, my lord, in fact more entertaining than other parasols could ever be. Someone should commission a mage or perhaps a gadgeteer to invent a talking parasol." The idea lingered for another tick or so with a thoughtful hum.

Her eyes lit up as Adelaide left her place to stand in front of Adair. Giggling a little, Estrellir didn't have to try hard to picture him in each of the roles the Sitai started rattling off. Perhaps a painter... he could splatter his naked body in rainbow colors if he was a painter. It'd certainly fit his style and add to his reputation.

When addressed, she all but jumped up. Bending down, she took another drag of fragrant smoke before carefully laying the mouthpiece on top of her boots. Then she briefly took off her hat, ran a hand through ivory locks, thus loosening more strands from the braid, and replaced the hat. "Of course, let's do it. I've always been interested in acting. Who shall I play?" A thin smile was playing around her lips, her eyes were still narrowed against the blinding light. As an investigator, Estrellir simply couldn't refuse the challenge!

Boxcode by Verena

[Matthew]

Estrellir

Experience Points:

• +1 Diplomacy
• +1 Meditation
• +2 Observation
• +2 Socialization

Lores:

• Diplomacy: Using a Drug to Bond
• Drug: The Effects of Fizz
• How the World Looks Through a Drugged Lens

Adelaide

Experience Points:

• +1 Diplomacy
• +3 Observation
• +2 Philosophy
• +3 Socialization

Lores:

• Drug: The Effects of Fizz
• How the World Looks Through a Drugged Lens
• Story: The Poor Blind Girl

Additional Notes :

I was genuinely weirded out to see Estrellir act like she did, which should speak for your ability to effectively and creatively describe her drug-induced state. Ade, you have a very unique way of writing. Or just a very unique way of writing Ade. Either way, I really enjoyed it. Good job.

If you have any questions or concerns relevant to your grade, don't be afraid to send me a private message so that we can work it all out! Please remember to mark your Grading Request as Graded.

A shout-out to Ollic Rimesage, who was kind enough to make this template for me.