( OPEN ) God made the country and man made the town.

[bulletic]

Who: Noel Vermillion & OPEN
When: April (see prompts for more accurate dates)
Where: Hall of Glory (Library), Capablanca, Palamede
What: Noel makes an effort to make herself useful in this world. Studying hard! Working hard! Rebuilding hard!
Rating: None really.



I. ONCE A LIBRARIAN, FOREVER A LIBRARIAN ;; Hall of Glory, April 1st - April 6th

[It's somewhat nostalgic─ it feels just like being back at the Military Academy. Living in a dormitory, studying magic (which is close enough to Ars Magus, as she's soon discovered), meeting so many different people... Noel remembers those days fondly and can only hope the memories of her stay in this world (however long it might be) will be just as positive. She realizes, of course, that with a war going on that may be an overly optimistic wish, but at the same time, it fuels her motivation to work even harder to bring an end to this conflict─ not only to help people in need and find a way home, but also so that she can leave this place without any regrets.

So with that thought in mind, Noel spends quite a bit of time in the library, reading any available information on this world's magic and browsing various spellbooks. She's... not exactly good at theory knowledge and a lot of terms and descriptions simply escape her understanding, but somehow, she'd better at it in practice. In fact, that's how she's managed to get several books to levitate. It turns out to be pretty fun, actually!

Come join her in studying! Alternatively, surprise her and watch all the books fall to the ground. That works, too.]

II. CHERRY-PICKING THE INGREDIENTS ;; Capablanca, April 10th - April 15th

[DID SOMEBODY SAY COOKING, NOEL IS RIGHT HERE─ and, frankly, she's a bit disappointed she's only supposed to gather the ingredients, not cook herself (thank God). Armed with a basket but sadly no red cloak, the girl sets out to the local fields in search of the best they have to offer. It doesn't take long until her basket becomes filled with various herbs and mushrooms─ and just in time, as the weather seems to be getting worse.]

This should be enough for today... Time to head back!

[If you look closely you might notice the ingredients she's gathered are not... exactly what one might want to see in their dinner. In fact, most of them are poisonous. Hemlock, nightshade berries, and... are those death cap? Yep, they sure are.

Someone should probably stop her before she brings these to the chef. Or worse yet, she tries to cook something with those and accidentally kills people.]

III. (a) SPRINGTIME CLEANING ;; Palamede, April 20th - April 30th

[Returning to this place was no easy task, but for one reason or another, Noel feels it's something she has to do. If there's any way she can assist in rebuilding the city, she's determined to do it. Unfortunately, she has no carpentry knowledge, nor can she lift heavy objects; as such, the most she can do is help with cleaning, but you won't see her complaining. She's currently fighting a particularly stubborn blood strain on the floor, which, along with the memories of what happened here shortly after her arrival, brings tears to her eyes. The girl quickly wipes them away, and takes a break to look around the town. It's a bit of a bittersweet image, because despite all the damage the city has suffered, everyone is making an effort to restore it to its former glory.]

... It looks better an better with each day, doesn't it?

[Noel says it mostly to herself, but perhaps to you as well, in case you happen to be around. She smiles a bit and then tightens her grip on her mop. Time to get back to work!]

III. (b) OBLIGATORY SUFFERING OPTION ;; Palamede, April 20th - April 30th

[They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

No one in their right mind could ever accuse Noel Vermillion of the lack of goodwill. But anger and grief don't have to be rational, and finding herself at the receiving end of those proves to be even more difficult than revisiting the site of recent tragedy. Some of Palamede's citizens have reacted to the events by lashing out on Heroes, despite their best attempt to help. Noel can't really blame them, but that doesn't make the accusations of some poor woman whose son got seriously injured in the fight any less painful to listen to.]

I'm sorry...

[It's all she can say, given the circumstances; there's no point in making excuses, after all.]

IV. CONTINUUM WILDCARD

[If there's something else you'd like to play out, hit me up via PM or at psychelocks! Also, the dates given above are rough estimates, so no need to stick strictly to them if pushing it a day or two one way or another works better for you.]

Comments

III - a

[carptricks]

[from an intense naval battle straight into repairing the shattered remains of Palamede. . . ha. there really was no rest for Blanc's heroes, was there?]

[not that Kaito minded. not in this instance. there were some things that were worth pushing past one's limits for, and this was one of them. who cares that he's still sporting a bandage across his temple from a deep gash sustained during Graupera's fight? who cares if he still feels a touch of weariness from a lack of proper rest? he has work to do, and people to smile and laugh and cheer for. rest can come later]

[he hears Noel mumble to herself as he passes by with a bucket of water and a sponge in hand. stops, because the voice is familiar, as is the face when he turns around to regard it]

Ah. . . hey!

[it's been a while, and he finds that he's glad to see she's doing well]

Heh, I guess it is, yeah? We've still got a long way to go, but we're getting there.

II

[fadetoweiss]

[ Gathering ingredients is well enough. It's an easy way to escape from the constant pestering of townsfolk here, and it's quiet; it gives him time to himself, away from other Heroes and from anyone in general. Just to gather his thoughts.

And, though he might not admit it, even to himself, it's oddly nice to not have to do anything except simple tasks. There's no looking ahead to the next step, always planning for the future; he has to focus on the present now for lack of anything else to focus on.

So strange.

He is, however, distracted by Noel's approach. He's no cook, but he can certainly recognise plants, and...well, what is that. ]

...Er, miss, I don't believe those are edible. [ He has his own basket full of things that aren't going to kill upon tasting. Part of him just wants to let her go on and see what happens, but that wouldn't be nice, would it. ]

3-b

[baka_jyanai]

Hey!

-And while Noel was certainly too polite for her own good, there were people out there with too much gumption and not nearly enough sense to know when something was none of their business. And that was Cirno in a nutshell.-

Leave her alone! She's doing her best, isn't she? And aren't you and your son?

-Cirno may have been short, but she still cut a somewhat imposing stature when she stood between the old woman and Noel.-

Bad things happen, even to people who never did nothing wrong, and that's tough. But that doesn't mean you get to go around being mean to people who are just trying to help! If I was your kid, I'd be embarrassed by an old woman like you carrying on like this! Pointing fingers and cussing out little girls!

III A

[burlyheart]

[Potemkin is working on the other side of the room, with a pile of soapy rags that look like they could be someone's entire laundry load. He himself is hardened perhaps to an uncomfortable level, but he greatly values an empathetic heart. He can't help but pity Noel.]

Indeed it is. Ultimately it's time that will return what was lost.

II aka remix heart option

[interchained]

[Gilbert happens to bump into Noel on her way back, and while he doesn't know a thing about a chef looking for help, just one glimpse at the contents of Noel's basket is enough to make someone nauseous, but Gilbert remains strong.

Well, tries to. He can't help cringing, especially when it becomes clear that death caps are among the "ingredients" she picked up.]

...what are you planning to do with these?

[Women are scary...]

i

[tarotcards]

[ Souji finds himself frequently pulling out all sorts of books in the library. He wants to learn as much as possible about this world and its magic as well, and he's always been a studious student. During those lazy afternoons when he feels like staying indoors, he enjoys browsing through the many bookshelves, occasionally pulling something out to flip through and either taking it with him or placing it back. He's currently doing that when, hey, there's that girl with the cute panda Carrier. It looks like she's practising some kind of spell, so maybe he can just say hello real quickly so he doesn't bug her too much, so he comes up behind her. ]

That's a neat trick.

i

[cutiepanther]

[ With a stack of books as tall as her, Maki looks like a honest to goodness bookworm. All she needs is a pair of glasses that she needs to keep pushing up her nose to round out the look completely. And maybe long braids to keep her hair out of eyes. But really, she wasn't thinking too strongly about her look at the moment (that's a lie Maki always makes an effort to look and dress her best at all times) she was focused on studying, learning what she could.

Of course, she happens to have all these books in her arms as she rounds the end of the shelves, and happens into a levitating book that she couldn't see. ]

E-Eh?! [ The stack starts to sway to one direction while Maki compensates too much in the other direction. The books start to topple, Maki's concerned face appearing behind them. ]