Fate - First Reply Ghost Orchids

[Vittorio Vespa]

Vel Anir Bazaar - Dawn.

Vittorio didn't have much opportunity to wander outside of where his Dreadlord duties carried him. Granted that didn't stop him when he could. He would still become 'lost' on missions or use his aloof demeanor to provide excuses for his absences. He was often not in good standing with his higher ups, as they would constantly find him daydreaming or being lazy in one manner or another. Today was excellent for him for he was not only able to avert the gaze of Himmary, who would give him command, but he found himself with a bit more coin than usual.

He was going to buy a plant.

He was more than happy to no longer be living at the academy and rather with Himmary, his mentor. She was the only one who seemed to be able to stand his eccentric nature. She was a very collected second year and about ten years older than he. She also knew about his complete contempt for human life, which she accepted without hardly an argument. While they did not share that feeling entirely, she was still able to empathize and as such gives him boundless space unless a mission is involved.

Vittorio was finding that his shared home with Himmary was lacking a more natural feel. So he was going to go to various florists in town, seeing what he could find to bring some life into their space.

He approached a stall at a brisk pace, and accidentally ran his shoulder into the shoulder of another.

"My apologies." He said genuinely, looking intently at the one who he'd inadvertently rammed.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

Vel Anir, she had never been here before and it was much bigger than she expected. Previously she had only met students from the academy here and, to her chagrin, drew some rather cruel conclusions about the people that live in this country.

The Bazaar was the busiest location at this time of day so she took the innkeepers suggestion and decided to go out and see what goods could be found of interest.
She wore her regular travel clothes which consisted of a tunic and robe but left her travel bag with most of her belongings locked in her room back at the inn so she could browse more freely.
She kept her twisted wooden staff with her at all times and a book attached to her hip by a chain but otherwise she was simply out to enjoy the morning.

She was just walking past a stall when she was bumped by someone from the crowd heading to that stall, it wasn't a hard shove but she was just a bit off balance at that particular moment, so she rather quickly found herself stumbling to the ground with a few of her pouches spilling some of their contents of herbs and components.
The man apologized and when she looked up her blue eyes were met by his striking golden gaze.

"Oh no! It was my fault, I wasn't paying attention."
She quickly averted her gaze hoping he didn't catch her staring at him and tuned her attention to the spilled potion ingredients and spell components.

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

Oh, lords. She tumbled to the ground. He had been walking rather fast and while their impact wasn't hard she seemed a tad frail in comparison to him. Despite his lanky and bony appearance Vittorio was quite sturdy so he felt definitely at fault for what had happened.

"May the blame lie on both of us then." He said monotone to her, a smile coming and going quickly to and from his face. He mentally sighed as he had no interest in helping her gather her things but felt a tugging obligation to do so as he was completely aware she held no responsibility despite what she said about it. He sat on his knees beside her and aided her silently. It wasn't really out of the way either, as he was where he was aiming to be anyways.

On that note, it was probable that she was here for the same reason. Especially since she had spilled herbs from her pouch. Magical reasons, he guessed, due to her appearance. At least he may be able to have conversation for once. Out of his garb he would hopefully not be recognized as a Dreadlord either. Even his colleagues rarely saw him in his normal outfit.

When they finished gathering everything he stood back up;

"Are you here to buy flowers as well?" He asked with a closed eyed smile and a tilted head.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

He was helpful and polite, so she thanked him when he bent down to aid her in collecting her ingredients back into the pouch which she then tied more securely to her belt.
When he asked her if she were there for the flowers as well she shrugged.

"I hadn't planned on it, I was only browsing around, but I suppose I could look at them and see if there are any rare blooms found in these parts. I'm a bit of a student of these sorts of things."
She gave a smile and a nervous laugh, still slightly embarrassed about the tumble.
Since she was new in town she didn't know anybody, so she thought it would be nice to make a new friend.
She offered her hand, "I'm Selina. Sorry for any trouble I might have caused you. I've only arrived last night so I'm still getting familiar with the city."

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

"Ah, I see." Maybe he had her incorrectly pegged. He did have quite the habit of assuming he knew who someone was based on how they looked. At least with humans. So many the same, equally as irritating. She hadn't proven herself to be quite like that yet. But they all did eventually, it was inevitable.

She did state she was a student which meant she may know a bit about what he was looking for.

"Vespa." He responded, grasping her hand gently in his. He had a weak handshake. One that either spoke distrust or disinterest. He did not speak his first name to many when he was outside of his Dreadlord get up as it may be recognized. His association with the title of Dreadlord was circumstantial at best. He hated being their dog. He also knew to revolt would mean death. And Himmary has been good to him, the best any other human has treated him.

"You have hardly caused me any trouble, miss Selina." He replied, still lacking tone. "I myself was looking for a particular flower, if I may interrupt our conversation to do so." He didn't wait for a response, he had made his mind up. It didn't seem rude in his eyes as they were right beside the shop anyways.

"Pardon me, sir, but do you happen to carry any ghost orchids?"

"Ehhh, sorry bub, ain't never heard of em'."

"Hmph." Of course not. No pigheaded lout selling his wife's flowers would even know the name of his desired flora. He turned back to Selina.

"You wouldn't happen to know of this flower, would you?"

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She turned her head to the side with her hand thoughtfully on her chin.
"Ghost orchids? yes, I'm somewhat familiar with them. They also go by Palm Polly or White Frog Orchid. They grow on tree trunks I believe. But they normally only grow in swampy areas or Islands."

She shrugged with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I got some off of a merchant once and asked him a bunch of questions, but that's all I could find out about them. Do you just like flowers, or are they for something specific?"

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

Vittorio's eyes lit up as she spoke about it. Even if her knowledge was minimal she still KNEW. It had been so long since he'd had any sort of conversation about the things he enjoyed and was prepared to talk her ear off. Something bound to happen as his Dreadlord companions couldn't care less about his interests and Himmary just tolerated it. A friendless man having his passions brought up was difficult to keep quiet.

"You do! Wondrous! Wondrous! Wondrous! Wondrous! Dendrophylax lindenii is its scientific name! I don't know much about its applications in alchemy, but it is my favorite flower! It has both a reduced stem and leaves. Its leaves, actually, are more similar to scales in nature yet still provide admission of light for photosynthesis!"

He withdrew a book from his pant lining, and flipped open a rough sketch he'd done of the flower, pointing towards the base of it.

"It is extremely delicate to tainted waters, and therefore can be difficult to cultivate in a terrarium, but my plan is to do so! I've studied much about the specimen and want to try and seed it somewhere it won't be bothered." He closed the book in excitement, his eyes wide as he looked at Selina.

"You wouldn't happen to have any I could buy off you at the moment, would you?!"

 

[Selina Della Altas]

His sudden excitement caught her off-guard, whereas before he seemed a bit standoffish. But as soon as they were talking about plants he opened up tremendously which for her was very refreshing to see, so she brightened as well, caught up in the fervor of his excitement as she examined the pictures and the flood of information that he was sending her way.
Her own eyes were wide and her face the picture of excitement as this unexpected turn of events brought back some of her own youthful thirst for knowledge.

"Wow! You know a lot about plants! I'm envious, I've only dabbled in alchemy and I know more about spell components than I do herbology, but I've always thought the subject was absolutely fascinating and was even thinking about looking for a tutor!"

At his question she responded with a slightly overreacted expression of disappointment in herself complete with a sigh, "No, I'm afraid I don't have any of the orchid with me. I used them up experimenting with an invisibility spell using the Ghost Orchid as a substitute component for the required eyelash in gum arabic, which is honestly harder to extract than one would think!"
She chuckled and tugged on her braid absently.

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

He smiled graciously, "It is one of the few things I've found to be wonderful in this life, and so I tend to bury myself in thoughts of plants and wildlife." That was about all he needed to explain about it, he thought. Not enough to give himself away, not too little to be deemed worthy of a line of questioning.

Vittorio waved off her look of disappointment with his hand and a returned chuckle.

"I knew it was a long shot, but I thought I may ask since you seem to have interest in the specimen yourself. I did not know they could be used to obtain such abilities, what a marvelous flower." He peered upward towards the rising sun, his eyes matching its hue perfectly. He was clearly thinking of something.

The Dreadlord thought of how he hadn't been able to have normal conversation in almost sixteen years, and their shared interest. How pleasant talking with a human could be when they weren't as dense as some of his peers. While it hardly made him detest humans as a whole any less, this girl reminded him of Himmary. And how tolerable the world he lived in could actually be.

"Oh!" He said, a light going off in his head. "It may be a fruitless task but it dawns on me that there may be some down the Cortosi Coast, somewhat near Fal'Addas. I know you've just arrived in town but if you would like to help me acquire the ghost orchid, I could see to it you get some seeds yourself. So you may continue with your spellcraft?"

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She grinned gleefully at the idea, "Ooooh… A mission, a quest, an adventure? An excursion to gain more knowledge and specimens for deep spellcraft and scientific exploration? How could I say no!?"
She was nearly giddy with excitement to the point she was jumping up and down like a schoolgirl in her eagerness, her braid bouncing on her shoulder.

When she came back to earth she looked about and was a bit relieved to not have drawn too much attention.
"I'll just need to grab some things from my room before we're off. I've got lots of tricks and trinkets that can help us along with our search. How long do you suppose the trip will be to reach the coast? I've got my room through the week but I can pay for more in advance... Oh! And we should probably pack food, we might need to rent a cart if the trip's going to be very long, so set aside some coin for that as well..."
She rambled a bit more, going over details about the trip out loud as she began walking in the direction of the inn she was staying at.

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

Vittorio wasn't prepared for her readiness or desire for preparation. Normally, he would just grab a snack or two and walk for days at a time. Nature provided all he would need for survival besides that. He is quick to forget how most people live their lives as he himself is the odd one in society.

"Uh, yes, of course. I'm glad you're exc-" He wasn't anticipating how much she was going to talk, either. She even began to walk away from him. This didn't particularly bother the dreadlord as he typically preferred that humans left him alone. This girl was intriguing though. Like him, her thoughts seem to overwrite anything going on around her.

He followed her silently to the inn she was staying at, waiting for her patiently. He looked at his book and tried to pin point where the best spot to find this flower would even be.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

When they arrived at the Inn she disappeared inside to settle things with the keeper. She estimated about two more weeks for him to save the room for her which would cost a pretty penny. In the end she just decided to take all of her stuff with her since she traveled light in the first place and all of her worldly possessions could fit on her person.
She packed her bag and wrapped her cloak and raven feather mantel around her shoulders and traded her hat for a hood, bid the innkeeper goodbye and then met Vespa outside with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

"I think I'm ready, sorry for the wait! I've got some scrying devices we could use to help locate the Ghost Orchid once we start nearing the coast."
She bounced in front of him, excitement evident on her face.
"Are we ready to go? do you need to grab anything?"

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

Vittorio had never met someone as enthusiastic as he was about simply picking flowers. It filled him with a rapturous amount of joy. It was an unfamiliar feeling and even left him a bit uneasy having been overwhelmed by a usually absent emotion. He couldn't bar the smile from his face any longer and even let out a breathy chuckle as she bounced before him.

"I am more than ready myself. It may take us a little while but I've eaten recently and come the issue in which we grow hungry I know the forest well enough to know what is edible and what isn't." He turned to walk away, waving gently for her to follow.

They exited the gates leading towards the Falwood and the sun had finally hit the top of the sky. The weather was getting warmer and it would be a beautiful today for flower picking. It was as if the stars themselves were aligning for his joys and it still dangled confusion in his brain. It almost made him forget he had a traveling partner.

The dreadlord felt rude for this. Rude? He never felt remorse for the way he treated others. Strange. Vittorio felt compelled to keep conversation going as the traveled.

"What is it that brought you to Vel Anir?" He asked, his eyes still forward on the road ahead.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She followed him closely, walking side by side with him as they left the city. She used her staff like a walking stick and would occasionally knock a rock off the road until he asked her a question.

"Oh, I came to do a bit of self searching. A couple years back when I was with the college of Elbion the college and the Dreadlord academy collaborated in a tournament, I was one of the participants and I met some Dreadlords.
They were... How do I put it... They all acted like nobles, ya know? Slightly stuck up with a superiority complex and they didn't take their losses very well... I came away thinking badly about them and I don't like that, so I came here to get some closure and see that they aren't all bad... Hopefully. I just like to think the best of people and it left a bad taste in my mouth that I couldn't do it with the Dreadlords I met..."

She shrugged and chuckled, "Sorry for rambling. I'm a people person so I like to talk, it's been a while since I've had the opportunity. What do you do in Vel Anir?"
Before he could answer the flap to her bag popped open and little head popped out. It was the spotted head of a little Margay cat that blinked in the light and yawned at him before looking at him with large brown eyes.
Selina chuckled, "Oh, I forgot to introduce our travel partner! Meet my Familiar, Dale. Dale, this is Vespa and we're going to pick some Ghost Orchids together!"
The little cat climbed out of the bag to sit on her shoulder as it licked itself in response.

 

[Vittorio Vespa]

"They are all bad, Selina."

Vittorio interrupted bluntly and without hesitation. He felt his heart drop a little bit. While he never had the intention of trying to flee from the Dreadlords as it was his life now he knew. He knew far too much of the goings on in their circles, what they were capable of and what they did to people. How so many reveled in torture. Even he. The florist knew that even he was a bad man.

"I hate to dismiss your desire to see the good in people, but I must reiterate: they are ALL bad. They are killers. They are the worst pieces of humanity gathered together in an academy and taught to do horrific things. Their minds shattered from the training. Had there been no tournament rule in place, Selina," He looked over at her with a terrifying look in his eyes.

"They would not have hesitated to take your head."

His eyes looked back to the road, letting out an angry sigh. It wasn't her she was mad at, but she wasn't the first person to try and empathize with him and his colleagues. Unless you had lunatic tendencies as they did, there was no empathizing with sociopaths.

Vittorio tried to calm himself and enjoy the familiar she had summoned the best he could. Luckily it was easy, as seeing a new animal did bring some joy back to him.

"I've never seen a Margay before, let alone in familiar form. They are very lovely." He said with a wide smile, trying to steer the conversation back to normal.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

(Sorry, things got busy.)
Selina was a little taken off guard by his passionate words. Could a person be so truly gone that there is nothing good about them as he told her? She didn't know what to think and fell silent.
But thankfully he changed the subject and so she brightened again.
"Yes! I summoned Dale while I was a Wit- ... With some hedge wizards in the Allirian Reach. He's fascinating and very helpful, he really knows a lot about magic even if he's a bit limited in his ability to cast spells."

The Margay looked up from his cleaning ritual for a moment, "Don't let her fool you, she's taught me more about magic and I'm from a magical realm. If anything I'm just a boost to her spellcasting ability and moral."
The cat then returned to cleaning himself.
Selina shrugged. "He's being modest. He's still teaching me about extraplanar magic and dimensions. Did you know that there is a plane of existence that's an exact parallel to ours? It's where ghosts and unrestful spirits exist, and demons and other spiritual creatures travel through it when they don't want to be seen."