[Faldrass] Study Buddies

[Faith Augustin]

24th Cylus, 717
At Faldrass Resort

He'd insisted on carrying the things that wouldn't fit in the magic bag, by virtue of them being too big to get in there although Faith had argued that they could share the load. The very moment that they'd set foot on the property of the resort, however, they were approached by people coming to help with the luggage. Faith had kept a very carefully neutral expression as she watched Padraig really not wanting to let go of their trunk. They looked to be packed for a ten-trial, not the short break they were taking, but they both had a lot of things to do.

However, the impossibly handsome and well groomed muscular men more or less pounced on them the moment they got there, almost wrestling the trunk out of Padraig's hands. Faith, not knowing whether to be concerned or amused and deciding on a little of the first with a majority of the second simply took the opportunity and stepped into place next to him, her arm slipping around his waist. "Much better," she'd murmured and resisted the urge to tease him.

She was pleased to get into the cabin he'd arranged for them and she looked around with delight. As she placed the magic bag on to the table which was about to start groaning with the weight of the books when she unpacked them, Faith looked at Padraig with a somewhat incredulous expression. "I don't think I've ever seen quite so many beautiful people in one room before." That was just the reception area of the resort, after all. Impossibly beautiful women, incredibly handsome men and serene tinkling of a wind chime next to the water feature. The receptionist had been enormously helpful to the point of gushing and Faith looked at him quite seriously when she said, "I think I hate it. Lets not go back there. I like here, though."

Looking at the information they'd been given, Faith discarded most of it as irrelevant to them. There was a long list of what they could do; hot stone massages, beauty treatments, make overs, mud massages, waxing and all sorts of things which she had no idea what they were. There were things for sale ~ as far as she could tell everything which might make you either more comfortable or more beautiful was. From cosmetics to personal tailors, consultations with hair stylists and, "They've got something here that they call the 'ultimate beauty package'." She gave him a wicked grin. "I think that receptionist had it twice already today."

Putting aside all of that fluff, she looked at the information on what was available outside the resort. "There's a restaurant, a market. Oh, there's a place called 'Serenity's Garden'. They have a plant here which promotes mental well being and heals psychological trauma. I read about it on the mainland, too, it's called a Jubiplant, I think. Oh and the sand here is a deep burnt orange and it's always warm. We can go lay on the beach and look at the stars and you can feel warm." It was still early in the trial, though, and there was a lot that they could do. Exploring the island, sitting and reading, whatever he wanted to do.

[Padraig]

His trunk was full of not just important papers, but valuable lab equipment that was both expensive and in some cases fragile, and he was not giving it up. Or so Padraig had insisted more than once when one of those eerily beautiful people tried to wrestle it from his grip. They might be pretty, he maintained in a whisper to Faith when the attendants were out of earshot. But it didn't stop them being clumsy oafs.

Eventually he let go, though not willingly and with a warning to take care with the chest. But he still frowned as he watched them abscond with it, and whispered back to Faith. "It's unnatural, so many of them in one place. Where do they find them all?" He wondered, maybe uncharitably since he'd lost the first round over his trunk, if all these confounding individuals in one place was actually the result of a science experiment.

No matter. Padraig's mood was much improved once they'd arrived in their private cabin, and he'd looked through his chest before offering their attendants a tip after finding the contents of his chest in good order. Still, "It's not natural," he muttered, much more inclined to smiling, now they were alone together. And yet, he was only human and hadn't been capable of not at least looking. But he'd somehow found the women lacking anyway. Not nearly as beautiful as his Faith.

The ultimate package? He scoffed as he helped her put their things away. "You're already the ultimate package. They might need it. You, do not." So, what to do then. "I'd like to visit the market, maybe find some unusual alchemical ingredients. Maybe in that garden too. And I definitely want some of that colored sand." So since the trial stretched out in front of them, he suggested, "Why don't we take a stroll through the market and garden? Then later in the trial, we could visit the beach and watch the sunset?"

[Faith Augustin]

When they were alone, after he'd checked and then checked the contents of the trunk again, tipped the staff and then looked like he might bolt the door behind them, he relaxed. The smile on his face which she saw so much more than anyone else returned and she, in turn, beamed at him. "I suspect there's a breeding programme," her deadpan delivery had vastly improved since they first met and it hadn't been bad then. "There are probably hundreds of them growing in small pods far beneath us, feeding on the nutrients from the volcano. One trial, they'll take over Idalos." She gave a sudden shudder as she realised that she was, in fact, spooking herself a little with thoughts of people growing in pods beneath their feet.

As they put their things away together and he assured her that she was already the ultimate package and did not need it, Faith stopped what she was doing and turned her gaze to him. "Why would either of us try to buy perfection when it's right here in our arms already?" There was no doubt to her mind, the people in the reception area, in the resort itself, might be the most beautiful on Idalos, but they couldn't hold a candle to him. The most amazing thing to her was how she knew that the same was true, as far as he was concerned, about her. "All of me, for you." She looked up at him and smiled as she spoke an amendment to their usual words.

A stroll through the market, though, sounded wonderful and she said so. "In fact, it all sounds wonderful. But no sunset. Even here in the land of the beautiful people, they can't chase away Cylus." Though the attention to detail was astonishing, even the floors were warm underfoot.

It was warmer here than most anywhere this far north because of the volcano but it was still absolutely freezing so they had to wrap up warm. The walk, though, was beautiful ~ the volcano dominated the skyline but the constant twilight added to a sense of mysterious and unique. The orange of the beaches could be seen as they walked and it was a deep, burnt orange colour. When they got to the marketplace though, it was a wonder in and of itself. Faith had emptied the magic bag and had brought it with them so that they could carry anything and she turned to him wide eyed with delight. "So, shall we stroll together, go shop for ourselves or shop for each other? What would you like?"

Standing on her tip toes and kissing him gently, Faith couldn't contain her excitement or her delight at this place. "This was such a good idea. Thank you so much, Padraig." For all that she had no qualms about kissing him in a marketplace, she was also almost tugging him towards the stalls.

[Padraig]

No sunset? Curse Cylus, but she was right. "Well you'd think that if they could create all these unnaturally looking people and serve all our whims with a wave of the hand, they could manage a sunset or two," Padraig argued. But no matter, a beach side evening under the stars was just as appealing. So long as it was him and her together, in fact, there wasn't anything that wouldn't please him.

"You expecting to take home a large haul?" he teased her when he noticed that Faith had brought her magic sack. But from the looks of the marketplace, just what he could see from it's edge, the place promised any number of wonders. "There's no place I'd rather be," he added when she kissed him, and he returned the gesture with heartfelt affection. And she'd know he didn't mean the marketplace. But with her. "I say we go together. And," he added, "we can shop for each other."

So hand in hand they'd go, past stalls and tents and tables holding any number of marvels. He'd stop now and then, to look at this or that and point it out to her. "Look there at that little tree," he said and gestured to what looked like a full grown tree but in miniature, housed in a decorative pot. "And those stones there. The ones with the pattern inside them." It looked like small ferns were suspended inside the mostly transparent stones, and he was delighted to discover that they remained cool to the touch, even after some time held in his hand.

"That one," he said to the individual selling the things, and gestured to one of the stones that was set into a silver brooch. He did it of course while Faith was distracted elsewhere, and after paying for the brooch, had asked for it to be wrapped up in cloth. In fact he returned then to the tent selling the small trees, had one placed in a small box and when he caught up with Faith, he slipped both into their sack with a secretive smile.

[Faith Augustin]

She pursed her lips together primly when he teased her about the bag. "Careful, you might eat those words. You know how impulsive you are in your purchases." Far, far from it he was the frugal, sensible one of the two of them and they both knew it. Although every now and then he did frivolous things like hire cabins in exotic island locations, she thought with a smile. Even that, though, was uniquely them as they brought his lab equipment and her books and medical supplies. Still, if she was going to panic about having to teach, then here was a very lovely place to do so.

Together, though, they made their way and Faith held on to his hand with a sense of contentment which she could only appreciate to the fullest, especially in light of the past season. Arriving at the outskirts of the market gave a lot of promise for the bag being a good idea and she would have told him as much had she had the heart to sound critical but, when he told her that there was no place he'd rather be, she couldn't bring herself to tease him just to smile and lean against him briefly.

Shopping for each other and together? That worked for her and so she was quite happy to wander with him. Within very few stalls, Faith was entranced. "Oh, look, they're beautiful! That's so clever." The stall owner was quick to tell them that they grew on the side of the volcano and the surrounding cliffs. As for the stones with the pattern in them, she was intrigued. "It's like there's a little plant in there or something?" That was why, they were told, they were called Fernstones. They had what looked to be tiny ferns in there.

When her interest had waned, Faith wandered to the next stall and there found some stones which glowed with their own inner light and some sand which astonished her. She was happy to buy both of those things, but it was the third thing she spotted which caused a grin to cross her face. So, when he caught back up with her, she held the bag behind her back and shook her head as he tried to put his wrapped up purchases in it. "Since you mocked my bag, I thought you should have one of your own." Apparently, the bag which had been an amazement to her in Andaris was sold here and she handed him one, solemnly. "Just too useful not to, I'd say. Besides, I have secrets in here."

The next stall was a strange one with a mismatched and strange collection. There was a small, carefully constructed and well protected fire, though, on a sheet of metal and safely sitting on the stall itself. The log that was burning was bright yellow and completely intact. The stall owner told them about this 'yellow dragon tree wood' and what it's properties were. The other side of the same stall were a number of jars, each one containing small spheres. The stall owner, a chatty fellow, told them about the sandspecks, giving them the full blurb and even going on to the famous silver and gold sand of Scalvoris. Faith looked at Padraig and raised an eyebrow. "The log would be useful, maybe a few of them, one in each of the burners in the rooms. What do you think?"

As yet, they hadn't gotten to the foodstuff section, which he knew Faith would be particularly interested in. They weren't yet even a quarter of the way through. Faith's gaze was trying not to look like she thought the logs were absolutely fantastic, but really she was failing dismally.

[Padraig]

"That's me alright. Caution to the wind," Padraig remarked dryly when Faith referenced his impulses. He'd never been. Not much anyway. Except when it came to dreaming up ways of surprising her. Besides, this trip and this time away just the two of them, was a distraction they both needed. There'd still be time to focus on their studies however. But what better place to do it in?

The market alone was worth the boat ride over to Faldrass. All these marvels that neither of them had seen or thought of before. Some thing, Padraig thought, that might make useful and intriguing ingredients for his alchemy experiments. The little tree however? Taht was a whim that he thought Faith might enjoy. The Fernstones were attractive things, and made for an unusual look, mounted into a brooch. But he might like to experiment with one of the things one trial in order to discover what it was that kept it cool to the touch.

'Secrets? What secrets?" he asked with a grin when she stopped him putting his purchases in her sack. But when she showed him she'd purchased another, he let the question go temporarily and accepted the new bag. "I am beginning to amass more equipment and reading material that I can realistically manage. Thank you," he said, and placed his wrapped purchases into it.

And as they moved on, another stall sheltered any number of interesting things. The sand, he figured he could scoop up on an actual beach. The logs however. "You know, it would save us a great deal of wood, cutting it and hauling the stuff in from outdoors." Not that he minded really. Padraig couldn't remember a time when he hadn't needed to keep a fire in the hearth. Even when he was little. But these things. "A few of those, yes," he agreed, and dropped them into his sack.

And then they were off again. He knew Faith would want to visit the stalls that sold foodstuffs, so it was that direction they headed. But before they got there, Padraig spotted a little tent somewhat out of the way and following his curiosity where it took him, he glanced inside. There, an old woman sat beside a large basket and in it, were three puppies. But the most unusual ones that Padraig had ever seen.

The smallest of them seemed to be the most determined to get out of the basket, yipping and pulling himself up, teetering on the rim and falling back in on his siblings. Padraig watched the pup's antics for a bit or two and smiled, wondering aloud, "You think Quattro would mind the company?" he asked Faith.

[Faith Augustin]

This market was amazing and Faith grinned at Padraig in delight as he took the bag and she shook her head, determinedly "Surely such a learned man as yourself knows what the word 'secrets' means?" Stealing a quick kiss she motioned to his purchases as he put them in his own bag. "What are those?" She didn't expect any answer other than 'secrets' from him, but the fun was as much in the game as anything. "Are they reckless, impulsive purchases Padraig? Have you, in fact, thrown caution to the wind?"

The wood, he agreed, was a good idea and Faith repeated an oft-heard argument. "I should do it. I don't get cold and I'm used to doing it. I've cut and hauled a lot of wood in my time, you know." She didn't like him being out in the cold and told him so. The bit about it not being his job but hers? She kept that quiet but suspected he knew anyway. So, when they bought the bright yellow logs, she was pleased. Whilst he was looking at that stall, she looked around and spied something which caught her interest, a small decorative letter opener, shaped like a dagger. It was its elegance that attracted her to it, it wasn't fussy but it had a delicate pattern on the hilt. With a smile she bought it and slipped it into her bag just before he turned around. By which time she was, apparently, looking at a necklace which she put back with a shake of her head and a thank you to the stall owner.

They continued along their way and something off the main thoroughfair caught Padraig's eye so, over they went. Faith smiled to the old woman who smiled back at the young couple. As she looked down at the most unusual puppies she'd ever seen Faith gasped in delight. "Oh look at them!" She immediately knelt next to the basket and beamed as she watched them. The littlest one of the group was determined and Faith focused on him. He was an explorer, she thought, curious about the world around him.

When Padraig asked if she thought Quattro would mind the company, though, Faith looked up at him in surprise. "Really?" Her expression told everything about how pleased she was and she took his hand, standing to look him in the eyes. "I think Quattro would love the company." There was no need for more than that, no necessity for it, which surprised Faith a little in itself but equally, didn't. They'd said everything there was to say although only sometimes had they used words to do so. Often, they just didn't need them.

The woman sitting next to them watched the pair with an almost wistful look on her face. If they wanted to purchase one of the pups, she could keep him for a trial or two, if they were visiting. They were called NightPups, the woman explained, lifting up the smallest one and plopping him into Padraig's hands. Apparently, they glowed slightly in the dark, were marvellous family animals and so on. She could be quite the saleswoman but one look at the young woman's face when she looked at the pup and the young man's when he looked at the young woman and she knew she didn't have to be. Faith looked up from her quite serious fussing of the pup and asked that most important question. "What shall we name him? For some reason, the only name I can think of is Bruce?" Which really wasn't a very good dog name, all things considered.

[Padraig]

"None of your business, that's what they are," Padraig said dryly once he'd placed his purchases into his bag. "And it's the poor scientist who is reckless," he maintained, "and yet impulse sometimes leads to great discovery." Simply put, he would not rise to the bait, and what he'd put in his sack would remain a mystery. For now.

"And I don't mind," he added, regarding the collection of wood and the cold. "But I also don't mind having the job become obsolete." After all, while he didn't mind chopping and hauling wood and tending the fire, if the slices of wood they'd purchased would negate the need to do it, there'd be no complaints from him.

And then there were the pups. If he was honest, he enjoyed watching her fuss over the basket overflowing with wriggling, yapping fur, as much as he did the youngsters themselves. Like her, it was the littlest, most determined of them that interested him most. As for Quattro and what she might think. As a scientist he might predict a certain amount of chaos at the beginning.

Still, he grinned as the woman got up and put the pup in his hands. Maybe not too much chaos after all, he thought as the little one wriggled in his hands and licked his chin. "I think she'll adjust, at the least," he told Faith. A chubby ball of fluff, black and white mostly with a black ring round one eye, but he could see traces and points of blue as well. And they glowed in the dark? Now as a physicist and a scientist, it interested him all the more.

And even if it hadn't, Faith's enthusiasm would have been plenty. "We'll take him," he decided, but also agreed it might be best if the woman could keep the pup for them until they were ready to return home. But Bruce? Padraig looked aside at Faith, his brow furrowed. Somehow it seemed vaguely familiar but on the other hand? I'm not sure that Bruce quite suits him. What about..."[/i][/b] Eyeing the pup, finally he uttered the first thing that slipped through his mind. "Dioji"

That might not suit him either, so ultimately Padraig smiled and handed the pup back to the woman, telling her they'd come back for him in a couple of trials, and would pay in advance. Eventually, he thought, the pup himself would let them know the right name. "What next?" he asked Faith then, wondering if there was more shopping she wanted to do.

Off Topic

Silver Brooch with Fernstone in = 9gn+30gn= 39gn
Bonsai Tree = 5gn
Yellow Dragon Tree Logs= 10gn
NightPup=20gn

Total Purchases: 74gn

[Faith Augustin]

None of her business? Faith smiled up at him and kept quiet. He got pleasure from buying things for her, just as she did from doing the same for him. Neither of them would spoil that for the other and so she contented herself with saying nothing and just enjoying the look on his face. Equally, there was no point arguing with him that the chopping of wood should be something she was doing not him, especially in light of the purchases they were making. Add in to that, she just wasn't able to argue about anything at the moment, even if she had been so inclined. The logs would save time and that was always a good thing as far as she was concerned.

When it came to the puppy, though, Faith's usual manner of careful and controlled movement went out of the window. She had no idea before she'd been free but it turned out that she loved animals. When the woman placed the small creature in Padraig's arms and he started licking Pad's chin, Faith's expression melted. "Oh, he's adorable. Hello, little fellow." The pup was an exciteable creature and enjoyed the attention.Having beamed in delight at Padraig's assertion to the woman selling the pups, Faith raised an eyebrow at the name Dioji but she shrugged. "It's better than Bruce," she answered, and there was no arguing with it really.

Once she'd fussed the dog one more time, they made their way out of the tent. What next, he asked and Faith looked at him and shrugged. She was quite content to wander as long as they felt they wanted to and so she put her arm in his and continued exploring the market until they were ready to go off and do something else.

Off Topic

Faith's purchases:
Domain Bag: deducted from my point bank ledger in my CS here
Then she bought:
Jar of Rainbow Sand x 2 = 40gn
Lightstone x 4 (2 medium, 2 small) = 30gn
Decorative Dagger / Letter Opener: 7gn 5sn
TOTAL: 77gn 5sn

[Inali]

Name: Faith

Story: 5/5 - A delightful shopping trip filled with realistic impulse purchases.
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Knowledge:

Location: Faldrass Market
Location: Faldrass Resort
Faldrass Resort: Beautiful staff and accommodations
Faldrass Resort: Pampering and Spa Services
Location: Faldrass Resort Cabin
Dioji: Faith and Padraig’s new puppy
Dioji: Nightpup
Dioji: Playful
Detection: Examining the possessions of an approaching figure

Additional Stuff:
Loot: Jar of Rainbow Sand, Lightstone (4), Decorative Dagger / Letter Opener
Injuries: None
Fame: +2 (Give a gift)
Devotion: None
Magic: These points can’t be used for magic. (Or puppy training lessons)
Comment: Please remember to deduct 77.5gn from your ledger and add your new purchases to your items! P.S. Why can’t my studying be so fun? Name: Padraig

Story: 5/5 - A great trip between a charming couple!
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Magic: These points can’t be used for magic. (Or a cape for Dioji to not keep you awake at night)

Knowledge:
Location: Faldrass Market
Location: Faldrass Resort
Faldrass Resort: Beautiful staff and accommodations
Faldrass Resort: Pampering and Spa Services
Stealth: Using smiles to distract from sleight of hand
Location: Faldrass Resort Cabin
Dioji: Faith and Padraig’s new nightpup
Dioji: Nightpup

Additional Stuff:
Loot: Domain Bag, Silver Brooch with Fernstone, Bonsai Tree, Yellow Dragon Tree Logs, Dioji (nightpup)
Injuries: None
Fame: +2 (Give a gift)
Devotion: None
Comment: Please remember to deduct 74gn from your ledger and add your new purchases and Domain Bag to your items!