February Catch All

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Valdis and you!
Date: The Month of February
Location: Noted in the starters
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: None yet

A) Before the 5th, Keeliai's Markets: After acquiring the angelic sword, Revelations, Valdis has found herself in need of some supplies in order to make a sheath worthy of the blade. She has enough coin to obtain what she needs and it helps that the Kedan are currently trying to put on a good face for the Ambassadors. She is quickly evaluating the attitude of the store owners and either purchasing or moving on, aware that this window of niceties might be quite narrow.

B) Midnight Hotel: When she isn't out in the city or exploring the surrounding areas, Valdis can be found in the common area, reading up on the history of Keeliai or going over her extensive, hand-written notes on the current issues the foreigners are facing in the city. If one is lucky, they may catch her in the lobby of the hotel, or if someone is ambitious and unafraid, they may find her in her room, though if she is sleeping, wake her at your own risk

C) Before the 5th, Turtle's Head: The cold didn't bother her much and she sat near the turtles head, looking out over the water at Khatronma, marveling at the dome from a distance. Revelations is at her hip, glowing softly in the early morning light. The last time she had been here it had been to possess the turtle in an attempt to help Wan oust Malicant from the ancient entity. It had also been where she had used the Void to kill four of the cultists attacking her and her friends. So many memories and none of the peace that had once been attached to this place.

D) Start your Own: Please give a location and a setup.

Comments

A?

[inkulcation]

Other Foreigners do tend to stand out, and China picks out the other woman in the marketplace fairly easily, not least because she seems to be rapidly methodical about her approach rather than idly browsing. She can't place her, but has likely seen Valdis at the Hotel, though China's been making more of an effort lately to be, well, not in the Hotel.

And to get the measure of the other Foreigners with whom she is, apparently, entirely trapped. To that end, China puts herself in Valdis' path, examines something at the next stall over. "You certainly seem to be on a mission," she comments idly, when Valdis is near enough to be in earshot.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis handed a few coins over to the shopkeeper, who in turn handed her a small satchel, before she turned to the woman with a smile. She had been aware of the woman's gaze and the scent was pleasantly familiar, not to mention the strange woman's beauty almost rivaled her own. She felt momentarily honored that the woman had deemed her worthy of her attention, but that feeling died and if she had been in hound form, her hackles would have risen. She said nothing, but continued to maintain the smile while she battled down whatever magic seemed to be in the air and when she finally spoke, the sound was light and even.

"I suppose you could say that."

'almost rivaled'? them's fightin' words :P

[inkulcation]

"And I believe I just did," China said, amused. The other woman wasn't visibly either bothered or in love, but something about the way she reacted... hm. China tipped her head just a little as she turned to face Valdis properly, smiling a greeting as if she was completely unaware of any of the other dynamics involved. "Not even the time to spare for window shopping? Whatever you're about must be dreadfully important." Similarly light words, intended only to fill space, perhaps draw out what she could of the other woman.

C. :)

[oceanblue]

She's alone when she appears at the turtle's head, her mind wandering as she revisits the places she knew. This time, she wants to see the ocean, to find peace in the best way that she can.

Unfortunately, she's not surprised to find that the Turtle's Head is no longer a place of peace. Memories lash out at her, like the waves she can hear so far below the beast, and she shudders, both at the chill creeping through her anorak and atmosphere of the place. Maybe she shouldn't have come here after all.

She's about to turn back when she notices Valdis, and she pauses, lingering where she is for just a moment before she carefully makes her way over to the woman. "Hello," she greets, softly so as not to startle her as she makes her approach. "Can I join you?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis had sensed the girl approach, not because of her scent, but because of the influx of emotion that settled over her own conflicted feelings. She took a deep breath and slowly released it before answering.

"Katara," She said, not objecting to the girl's request nor directly answering her question, "We have been through a lot together, you do not need to ask."

In truth, it was a relief that the girl didn't seem to fear her, after all, Katara had seen the part of her darkness that she usually tried to hide from view. The Void had indeed appeared quite ugly when Solomon had used his magic to reveal it when they had been trying to save Bakura and Valdis had feared that Katara might have been avoiding her.

[oceanblue]

At the woman's response, she offered a small smile and stepped closer, taking a seat next to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked, settling her hands in her lap and tilting her head.

While seeing the void had been terrifying, Katara knew Valdis well enough to know she needn't fear her now. She was an ally, and her only regret was that she had yet to take the time to know her better. Maybe now, that could change. Yue knew she needed a girl friend. Boys were...confusing.

B

[walkthedarkpath]

Nelo Angelo had kept true to what he said, after the metal was sold he had gone to explore and with the money he got he bought a couple cheap books and some clothes. He was not yet broke but he felt much better, his hair slicked back with a bit of water and he was in a fine mood.

He had been heading down to head back out when he saw her in the common area reading. He stopped in the door way his red eyes watching her closely. "Anything interesting?" He inquired as a conversation starter He was still curious of that tale and he had made it a point to go explore a bit much.

[redlightgreenlight]

Her gaze lifted at the sound of his voice and she smiled softly, "Not really." She closed the book and put it down, "Just old writings by long dead authors."

To be honest her mind had been elsewhere and she had been trying to read the same page for almost an hour.

"Can I help you with something?"

B

[sonjaofyellowcomet]

That's funny - Sonja has been around the hotel for a few weeks now and she hasn't seen that woman before. She is pretty sure she would have remembered that sword anyway. She has an eye for swords. Runs in the family.

But she's writing things down, probably shouldn't bother her. Obviously we need to find a seat and study her for awhile before we decide to make contact. If ever. Yes, this plan has never backfired before.

Sonja takes a seat at a bench a couple of tables over from Valdis (who she doesn't know is Valdis) and pretends to take some notes. She pulls out her phone to take some pictures (her phone neither makes sounds nor flashes when taking photos - STEALTH MODE). She also uses the optical zoom to try to get a read on the things the new woman is writing. Unsurprising, they in a language she can't read. But Sonja can't help but admire the calligraphy skills. Some kind of rune?

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis noticed Sonja enter the room, but she opted to complete her current train of thought. She had been writing out the details of her observations of the residents of Khatronma and their interactions but had recently switched back to her observations of the Snakes and their interactions with the other families. Or at least, she was trying to focus on her work, but it was hard when Sonja's subtle spying wasn't nearly as subtle as the girl might believe.

She put down her pen, shifted her weight and crossed her legs before picking the pen up again and writing a few more runes, then she sighed heavily. "You know that spying on people is rude." She said without looking at Sonja.

B.

[theideaguy]

Sokka is frequently in the Midnight Hotel these days what with his current employment there doing menial chores around the place. It doesn't suit him super fantastically, but hey, it's better than being unemployed and subsequently homeless, though it isn't making him tons of money in the process, something that's definitely going to change soon. But the plus side is that it does allow him to keep a rather loose tabs on most of the Foreigners in the process outside of looking at the consoles all day long like it was when he was babysitting his own friends.

So it's going to be easy for Sokka to catch Valdis while she's going over all those hand-written notes, and Sokka will appear behind her and just stare at her pages for a brief moment before he just shakes his head. "I still don't see how any of you guys can possibly read that language."

[redlightgreenlight]

"Not many people can read runes these days anyway," She replied simply, grabbing a blank sheet of paper and writing out a few of the Nordic symbols before turning and handing it to Sokka, "Here."

A!

[stubbornlittleshit]

Arno's been at the markets himself, looking for materials to make more darts than he was able to recover, now that he's proudly wearing a phantom blade once more. He feels like an assassin again, not just Arno, as he makes his way through the crowds, unconsciously blending into them, until he's stopping at a market stall that looks promising, glancing a few things over, then nodding at the woman who also seems to be browsing there, who he's all but snuck up on, totally intentionally.

"Ah, sorry, Madame." That sounds more like a generalized apology than anything specific to the situation. "At least I wasn't trying to disturb you."

B!

[solo_patria]

Enjolras has been doing the same with his collection of notes, mostly on the people themselves, and some of their strengths and skills, as well as what little they've been able to get in the way of opinions on foreigners, but additional information can always help.

It's inevitable, really, that Enjolras notes her in the lobby and goes to her today.

"A secret plan to rule the world?" He jokes. "I've gotten information too. Mostly about us and what we're good at, but it seems your work is rather more in depth. Might I see?"

[redlightgreenlight]

After her outburst the day before, Valdis was finding it hard to focus, hard to think and even hard to breathe. It seemed that very few had noticed said outburst, a blessing of the rural location she had chosen. She was truly ashamed of what she had almost done and was not particularly in a good mood. She looked at Enjolras, expressionless.

"If you can read runes, then go ahead." She replied dully, shoving her notes across the table towards him.

[backdated!, B]

[whitelotustile]

Iroh liked to socialize in the hotel, thanks to it becoming a gathering place for Foreigners. He usually offered tea when he got up to make it (which was moderately often).

Now he was sliding a cup over to Valdis. "The notes will still be there if you take a break."

[redlightgreenlight]

She had been quite consumed in her notes, but she still heard him approach, though she was slightly surprised that he would stop to chat.

"I know," She replied, taking the tea, "But there is a lot to write down."

After the events of the 5th. This entire thread will contain SP book 6 spoilers.

[skeletonenigma]

The dull throb in the back of Skulduggery's head didn't fade nearly as quickly as he would have liked, but after a day or two the sharper parts of the pain subsided. Once Skulduggery was decently sure he could handle himself in a possible rematch, he went looking for Valdis - not to initiate that rematch, but to try and stop it from occurring ever again. He hadn't known her very well before the fight with Malicant. They'd worked together once or twice, and that was it. He knew she was capable of transforming into a giant wolf, and that she was hard to kill; but he'd had no idea she had power over death itself. Watching that demonstration over the cliffs of Khatronma had been equal parts unsettling and worryingly familiar.

Valdis used to spend a lot of time in the Hotel lobby, but chances were she'd avoid it now. She did have a room in the Hotel, however, and presumably respected Anton enough to know that boundaries of privacy remained boundaries of privacy. For that reason, Skulduggery didn't ask Anton which room it was. He simply asked around the more frequent kedan visitors until he worked out which room it was, and knocked on her door a little after lunch had been cleared away downstairs.

[redlightgreenlight]

She had holed herself up in her room, not wanting to see or interact with anyone. Shutting herself off from the world may have been childish, but she thought everyone would be safer if she simply avoided contact until the pain and shame faded. She sat on the bed, her notes spread about as she reorganized them for the second time that day. She had heard the odd beat of the footsteps coming down the hall, but the knock was unexpected.

Valdis slowly got up, hesitant to answer the door no matter who it might be, but she moved toward the door, aware of the rising warning within her power. She knew without asking who stood on the other side of the door. She could sense the death that had been so well hidden when they had worked together.

"What do you want?" She asked, unwilling to open the door for anyone, much less Skulduggery.

B

[highprofilerichkid]

With progress on the tram stalled inside the city, Tony has been meaning to ask Valdis what headway she's made with the Snakes. But she's been scarce the last couple days, so when Tony spots her in the Hotel common area, he makes a beeline for her.

"Hey, Valdis. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She had run out of paper, an unfortunate occurrence that forced her to interact with people, if only for a short time. The once sharp pain had faded to a dull ache, but an ache that would flare up upon occasion whenever she thought of Dante or what she had almost done.

She was hurrying back to her room when the boy intercepted her, cutting off the route to the stairs. She immediately calmed herself, or at least so it would appear from the outside.

"What do you need?" She asked, her voice a bit hoarse from lack of talking.

Raine's Clinic: After the fight with Vergil (Briefly Gene, Vergil and then just Raine and Valdis)

[redlightgreenlight]

(Continuation from Here)

There was too much blood and she was quickly losing consciousness, the struggle to keep her eyes open was becoming more difficult with each passing moment. Luckily, Gene seemed to be able to take people with him when he teleported and within seconds they were within Raine's clinic. But suddenly, she didn't want to be here, or anywhere near the woman whom she had threatened on the cliffs. But she couldn't stand, which gave her very few options, she could only hope that the woman wasn't cold enough to let her die for something that wasn't her fault.

the room she usually uses at the guild, then

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine didn't typically expect people appearing out of thin air, and when the people materialized she had her staff braced for defense before she recognized at least one and a half of the people. She knew the armor; she knew Valdis. The other was -- new, but also bleeding. Did he look like Dante, or was she imagining it? Didn't matter right now.

"What in the world happened to you," she said, terse, less an actual question than a demand for someone who was not bleeding to explain why she was suddenly dealing with two half-dead people. She went to the newcomers, other matters fading in the light of practicalities. Valdis... well. Raine wasn't going to let her bleed out, regardless, but her expression was coolly blank. "Valdis, I've seen you regenerate. Why is this not healing? If there's poison involved, I need to know now." That directed at all of them, in case someone was too incoherent to answer. At Vergil: "You. How quickly do you heal relative to the average human?"

The question had become lamentably common again, in the absence of the boons Malicant had given them, with Raine's mana efficiency back to where it had been. She didn't regret it, per se, but it did mean she had to be more careful with how she expended her mana again. Nevertheless, she was already casting, white light in arcane patterns spinning briefly beneath her as she concentrated. "First aid." A soothing green glow over Vergil, starting the healing process, ensuring he wouldn't bleed to death while she worked the more complex artes; the same for Valdis, some seconds after, to get the woman at least stable.

The Palace Gardens | The evening of the 9th: Closed to Wan

[redlightgreenlight]

After leaving Raine's clinic, Valdis headed towards the palace, not wanting to wait lest she change her mind about speaking to Wan. In order to avoid the Snakes, she took to the rooftops, carefully keeping to the shadows and moving swiftly. She slowed as she reached the Palace, remembering the last time she had been there the place had reeked of death and disorder, but she could sense none of that now and from her viewpoint, it seemed that the whole place had been stripped of its elegance. She moved forward, continuing along the rooftops of the palace until she reached the gardens. She was certain that they had once been lovely, but they were now overgrown. She dropped down into the garden and took a deep breath, Wan's scent was fresh, which meant he was close by.

"Wan?"

[raavashing]

Wan wouldn't ever claim that he could sense Valdis when she approached, but there was something that made him linger on the edges of the garden when he'd been getting ready to head back to where he and Zuko had set up a small camp. Mula had already gone on ahead, leaving him to face whatever had made him feel like holding back.

When he heard her voice, he grinned and hurried back to the open air, "Valdis!"