ph_logs | August 1st | Seifer Almasy

August 1st | Seifer Almasy

At the docks
[It was strange. He had just been beaten and gunned down in cold blood, now he was in a place called Pumpkin Hollow that seemed straight out of a Halloween movie. The atmosphere was good, it always felt mystic and now he was looking for work. He had hoped to find good work in the next few days. The stipulation that was handed out wasn't enough. He needed more.

He had managed to buy a fishing pole and sat down at the docks to catch a bite or two. It was troubling that he still wasn't very good at fishing but he was learning from the book he had acquired from the library. He had trouble using bait, but it was logical to get some on his hook.

He put a wiggling worm on his hook, it oozed secretions. He mused as he cast his hook and let his bare feet hang over the dock. He had off his leather jacket, it lay in a pile around his waist. Too hot to deal with it, but too cold to leave it at his new home.]

The Library

[He was returning the fishing book, when he decided to look up historical records and read books pertaining to the history of the island. He knew he would get better leverage in his surroundings if he figured out what kind of place he now lived in and rather or not he could leave.

It was general knowledge that leaving the island wasn't possible. At least every person he had come across had said the same thing: you don't leave the island, even in death. He almost missed Gaia but at the same time, he was happy to be away from the hell his life had become back there.

He took several books from the p section and sat down at one of the tables in the back. He opened a tome and started reading from the beginning. He knew it would be a lot of nitty gritty details to pour over but he was something of a history buff and liked learning these things.] Let's find out about... law enforcement history.

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Need any recommendations?

[ The voice, playful in tone, belonged to a slender blonde woman who was sprawled out over one of the library sofas as if she owned the place. Her lace-up leather ankle boots were abandoned to the floor and her feet were tucked up underneath her skirt as she leaned on the arm of the brocade couch. A rather sizeable stack of books towered beside her on an end table, and she had one open on her lap as well. ]

I think I actually have a good one about the local constabulary in my stack here.

Why not? but I think I got it figured out from here.

[He turned a page in the book he was reading, then continued reading about local legends. He turned his eyes on the woman, he blinked and thought her pretty but probably ignorant of a hell of a lot. Not because she was blonde, no, he was blonde too. Then again, she was reading...and therefore one would deduce that she was intelligent. Huh, he'd much rather brush her off.]

Sure. Let me see it. Right now I'm blacksmithing but I think being part of the law might be more up my alley.

Sure.

[ She handed over the book from her stack. ]

It's not long, being that the town was only founded around 50 years ago, but our legal practices are more or less the same as any other island in the Emerald Isles. The king's policies on law and order don't leave much wiggle room, though we can get away with some changes due to being remote. Not like the Royal Guard can send someone here to straighten us out anyway. [ She chuckled at this. ] If this sort of thing interests you, you might consider checking out the Historical Society. We're a research group.

Thanks.

[he took the book from her and opened it to the first page, he started reading slowly but surely. He listened to what she had to say and then looked a little impressed. She was a nerd then? Made sense.]

It interests me. I like history, learning about places and finding out as much as I can on a subject. [He had been top of his class back in Balamb, even if he couldn't pass the SeeD exam.] I'm actually...I've never heard of the Emerald Isles, being that I'm not from this reality.

Oh, right. Silly me. [ She chuckled lightly. ] Let me explain, then.

The Emerald Isles is an archipelago, consisting of one large island called the Grand Fairisle and surrounded by a bunch of smaller islands. We're on one of the little ones, Marrow Isle. Originally the area was split up into three smaller countries: Braxtony to the north, Glassighe in the center, and Anwyll to the south. After a long feudal era, the Braxtons "unified" the islands by way of conquering them, but even as a single country the islands still maintain the three cultural groups. So when I say "the King," I mean the Braxton monarch, King Ferdinand Emerick Marchbanks IV. That's the basic shape of things, anyway. I don't want to talk your ear off.

Alright.

[He mused, he crossed his arms and leaned back, looking at her as he waited for her to speak and man, did she speak.]

I see. It all sounds...a little complicated but I understood it. There's a king now? Monarchies died back in my world. We didn't really see too much anymore.

[His hands went against the table, and he ran a hand through his hair.] Nah. I'm curious. It's fine if you talk. I don't like not knowing about where I am. [It made him feel...uncomfortable.]

Mo'rtajha has learned how to fish. What a strange concept for a desert-bound catte, but she's learned it none the less! Between earning the funny looking gil with her dancing job and trying to stay out of trouble she has occasion to slip down to the docks now and then, with makeshift pole and a bucket. Usually her haul is meager at best, but it seems there may be a finer catch today by way of company!

"Good afterrrnoon," she purrs, rolling her r's on purpose. Not a shy one by any means, she'll sit herself down right beside the man. Her tail flicks with eager energy.

"I hope the day finds you well, ser?"

Seifer doesn't jump, but when he sees she has a tail, he just stares... for a good few seconds before nodding to himself. He's somewhere strange, and this is bound to happen. He hasn't ruled out that he might be having a bad dream either. "Afternoon," he spoke, reeling in and had nothing on his hook so he recast.

"It finds me better than most days," he answered, shrugging as he messed with his line a little. "Is your tail real?"

Luckily she's run across a few looks, and more, so that doesn't seem to bother her overly much.

In answer, the qmiqo'te flicks her tail against his side, flashing a toothy grin up at him. "Oh quite, good ser. And so are mine ears!" They flick at their mention. "Would you like to feel them~?"

He doesn't mean to stare, but it's easy to do so. She's actually pretty cute.

He blinks, doesn't jump but feels odd that her tail flicked him. "So, those are real. I thought I was imagining both your tail and your ears."

His hook starts being pulled along and without looking where he cast, he starts reeling it in. "Give me a second."

He turned his attention to the sea and pulled in a fish, it was a nice one. At least 17 inches long. A sea bass. He took it off the hook and put it in the cooler. He smiled pretty proud of himself. Damn, he caught a fish. First time.

He almost forgot the woman was there, but turned his attention back to her. "Oh, hey... I don't need to feel them. That seems intrusive."

"Oh, quite real I assure you." She kicks her feet a little bit, flicking the water with her toes.

She leans forward to watch with rapt interest, ear perking forward.

"Well, you have my permission. Are you a fisher by trade?"

He believed it. She was the most unusual person he had seen so far but he was sure there would be stranger.

He stared at her ears...he hated to admit, but they were kinda cute.

"Nah, not a fisherman but I enjoy it from time to time. What about you? I mean... you must be a cat, right? Do you fish?"

"So it is a hobby then?" She thought that was strange, but Pumpkin Hollow has been showing her many strange ways of living since she arrived. As varied as the amount of people in it.

"Miqo'te," she corrects lightly, "And originally I hailed from the desert, so no. I never even tried to fish until I arrived here! Is that...odd?"

"Yeah, that sounds right. It would be a hobby for me. Otherwise, I'm a shoddy fisherman and that means it would be a crappy job for me to have. I'd barely have income."

He recast his line again and then drag it on in quickly. "Miqo'te? What exactly is that though?," he asks, sounding genuinely curious. "What did you eat then before you came here?"

“You won’t get better at it if you don’t practice!” She says with a laugh, “I think you can manage that much. Although…I suppose you strike me as a bit of an adventurer. They don’t have time for such things.”

At least in her experience.

“Well, it’s what I am!” She says, flicking an ear. “I’ve…never really thought to explain it. But my people come from the desert! We go sand fishing, or rather…we used to. But it’s nothing like this!”

Sitting a few seats down and surrounded be a stack of tomes, a young man is furiously scribbling notes in his notebook. He doesn't bother looking up when company takes up a spot down the table from him until a few minutes later.

"Oh, uh...sorry. Couldn't help but overhear that? You looking for the history here?" He perks up at last, offering the man a grin alongside the question.

"Yeah, wondering where exactly it is that I am," he answered, finally turning his head and looking at the young man.

He went back to reading the book he had and flipped a page. "I reckon you've been here longer than me. So, got any details on this place?"

"Yeah, almost two months now." Time sure does fly. Lucas frowns slightly at the thought but picks right back up at full steam.

"Well, I've got some, I guess. We're on Marrow Isle, the water out there is called the Black Jade Sea. Apparently weird shit has always happened here but things got crazy almost six years ago when people found out they couldn't leave the isle and no one could sail to it. And most people around here are just trying to keep on like life is normal." Which is an understandable reaction, but after so many years how long can these people hold out?

"Oh! And I don't know if you got to talk to the white-haired lady before taking the ferry here but that's one of the Goddesses around here. Mortanne."

"That's a long time. Whatever you know? Bestow upon me. Because I sure could use it."

He turned a page in his book and skimmed the next page while talking. "I was told no one could leave. I haven't tried leaving myself yet, but one day I'm going to try. Nothing normal about being stuck. Not everyone's a non-traveling hermit." He would get antsy eventually. He'd want to leave. He was used to traveling about but the Isle seemed big enough that he had some time to explore before the itch got too strong yet.

"Yeah, I did talk to her. Nice woman, but cryptic. Kinda drove me up a wall by the time I got here."

Not that Lucas can really blame the guy for being antsy about the whole idea. It itches at the back of Lucas's mind as well, but he's elbow deep in every mystery the island has and that's enough to keep those thoughts at bay for now.

"Well, that just means we gotta figure out what the curse is and how to break it pretty fast right? That way we can leave." He snort-laughs at Seifer's response to the question about Mortanne.

"At least she was nice about it." As nice as a goddess could be, he guesses.

The kid sounded optimistic. Seifer didn't blame him for keeping his head above water, it was the best course of action given the situation. "There's a curse? Of course there's a curse," he mutters. "Great. I go from being the most hated man in the world, to being somewhere that's cursed as the day is long."

"She was, but still annoying," he said, snorting as he peered at the book, switching pages.

"Yeah, dude. There's a curse," Lucas shakes his head slightly. "No one can leave the island and no one stays dead. I mean, you can die but you're coming back in a day or two."

Speaking from personal experience, it sucked. A lot!

"Most hated man in the world?" He asks belatedly.

"That blows. Looks like I'm on the tail end of it now too," he said, letting out a small puffing sigh. "You mean you actually resurrect around here? That's crazy, man."

"Let's just say I was forced into helping a Sorceress and did some bad things in her name."

“I swear it’s true!” Although it does sound crazy so Lucas understands the skepticism.

“Okay, so you really aren’t a bad guy, then. You were forced, right?” He raises a brow, questioningly.

[The vampire strolls up behind with his hands casually stuck into the pockets of his, sadly, still rudimentary trousers. He's still in the process of saving up for a fitting wardrobe.]

Any bites so far?

The evening had come, as he had spent all day casting his hook and looking for a quick bite to eat. Quick was far from the word he would use, it was more like fish weren't biting and he was learning that he'd have to walk to the store and actually buy food.

"Not a one," he answered, eyes on the sea in front of him. Then he turned his eyes up at the vampire and shook his head. "Yeah, not a one. You like to fish?"

"Ah, that's a shame. Perhaps a boat is required to get to where the fish school."

He comes to a stop beside the man and his pole on the dock and looks down into the water. Hm. No, he really can't see anything moving down there.

"I do like to fish. But, I'm more familiar with fresh water. I owned a home on a lake. My servant would often catch sunfish or catfish right off the dock and cook them the very same day."

"You're probably right but right now I can't afford one."

He recast his hook further out and hoped for the best.

"I haven't fished at a lake in a long time, man." He waited to see if anything caught and something did start tugging. He tried pulling it up but it swam away automatically.

"Catfish sounds good about now. What's a Sunfish though?"

"Nor can I, but I hear they are hiring on fishing vessels. You might be able to find work on someone's boat for a while." He isn't sure if that will appeal, but it's the best suggestion he can make.

"Sunfish? Ah, that may be a colloquial term. They are a type of fish closely related to bass, I believe. It's often interchangeable with bluegill in our little Ozark region. They are on the small side, but very plentiful and, I'm told, very tasty."

"I'm not such a great fisherman. It's best I stick to learning how to make swords and other types of blades," he answered, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh! Hey, we got fish like that back home. Long as it's not a balamb special fish, I think I'd like to meet a sunfish," he said, recasting his line again.

"Is that so? Metalsmithing is an impressive craft. And, I daresay, a useful one for this town. Out there in the woods, there are plenty of dangers." A proper sword might cut those twig creatures down to size.

"I do not know what a balamb fish is. Are they poisonous?"

"I concur. It certainly is. I wasn't sure if I could handle it but I have an affinity for working with steel and metal. The salary ain't too bad either," he answered, a small smile playing at his lips. "Yeah? I heard about those dangers. I'm used to taking out monsters though. Had them back home."

"Yeah, they're poisonus. They can make you sick but they also smell really bad."

"That seems to be a common theme with others I've met here, that they have encountered monsters in their own worlds and fought them. I wonder if that could be what connects us." Left unsaid is that Erik is, himself, one of the monsters--but he's a polite one.

"If they smell so bad, how does anyone tolerate eating it long enough to become sick?"

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August 1st | Seifer Almasy

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Fishing!

Re: Fishing!

sorry in advance for her >.>;

She's adorable. Don't worry!

hehe yay! apologies for the typo, sometimes I type faster than my brain works

Re: hehe yay! apologies for the typo, sometimes I type faster than my brain works

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Fishing

Re: Fishing

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I apologize for writing vampire in my last post. He doesn't know he's a vampire yet lol

nah, it's fine. Erik is a homebrew vampire so good news he doesn't burn (or sparkle) in sunlight

Re: nah, it's fine. Erik is a homebrew vampire so good news he doesn't burn (or sparkle) in sunlight

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