A Little Light Conversation

    The evening comes early in the mountains, especially this time of year. As is the norm these days, there are a lot of troops manning the defenses. Not the people of Eas, but 'guests' of the Dukedom meant to keep things protected while the adventurers focus on the offensive side of the war. Such as it is.

    Wake has little to do with them. She's by the dedication, over in the Arcade of Eas. She sits on a bench near the statue of The Beautiful One and waits expectantly for something special to occur. But it's not time. Not yet.

    Being rather distracted, she's humming something as she waits. Her humming also triggers another habit and she summons a sparkling thread of pure light to whip and swirl around her, it's motions responding to her music.

Shiruba has made her way to Eas to find certain people to talk about certain things. Surely with the keen tracking skills she's developed she can find the person she's looking for.

Not that it's necessary to use those skills. The thing line of light dancing in the evening duskness immeadiately catchs her eye, and as the wolfgirl approaches she sees it is exactly the person that she was hoping to find. Because it would of been awkward to come all this way only for her to be out on political business or something.

Shiruba walks up, then bows politely as to not abruptly interrupt the display. "Baroness. It is good to see you here and well."

    Wake looks up to see Shiruba and she smiles. Interestingly, when she rises to curtsey, the light keeps dancing around her. She's rather accustomed to maintaining the magic now.

    "Hello Shiruba! Welcome to Eas."

    Her tone is warm, and her smile reaches her eyes. She rises, and then hugs her guest, if allowed. It's a new greeting, but she's also changed. A lot.

    "You've come a long way. You must be tired and hungry! I can call for refreshments, if you would like."

The hug is a bit of a surprise, but Shiruba doesn't object. Nor does she to the offer of food. "That would be quite pleasant, yes." Well it's at least not a strange mood she's about on, as she's acting fairly normal this time.

After the hug she raises a finger to point at the thread of light dancing around Wake still. "But that -- That is exactly what I came to Eas, hoping I would be able to find you here." Pause. "Though first."

She turns briefly, and bows to the statue as well. She's found her own connects to the Beautiful One, and makes sure to pay proper respect to the goddess as well, before turning back to Wake.

    Wake smiles and sends a request along chimlink. There are clearly adventurers about. Though her adding, "I love you, too," at the end makes it obvious just who is getting the food ready.

    "Well, Eas is a wonderful place to learn about light. And the illumination of The Beautiful One shines bright here." A pause. "In fact.."

    In that moment, the last bar of light from the setting sun cuts through two mountain peaks to shine directly on the statue. With a playful grin, Wake gestures skyward with both hands, and then sweeps them downward. As she does, wisps of light flash out and cover the statue in a webbing of stars, shining pink, red, blue, green.

    "I'm actualy just finishing some study of my own on that topic. And.. I love this time of day."

    The patterns grow more intricate, and the light doesn't just play along the sculpted garment of the goddess, it becomes it's own dress of shifting colors, woven togethre like thread. It takes considerable effort and focus, and Wake's mp fades under the strain.

    "Can you feel the light around you, Shiruba?"

    The sunlight itself then splits from a single beam into hundreds, thousands of little strands of light, swirling about the statue, within easy reach.

A short whistle (only a wolf whistle in the fact that she's a wolf, whistling) escapes Shiruba at the display. Clearly Wake's own training has done quite well for her. "Quite impressive!... a bit beyond what I'm hoping to start with, but still, quite the display."

Then she leans her head back a bit to look up. "The sun is going down. Soon the stars will be out. But so very far away." As a cartography she's got plenty of experience with stars and navigation but that's not the same thing as what she's here for now. "Gwen is teaching me, but if there is one thing I have learned as an explorer, is that one shouldn't rely on one perspective. Especially when it comes to something with many forms and many uses, some that we never see at all."

She pauses a moment to turn, reaching into her inventory. "But I at least have some inspiration..." She pulls out the Pure Dragon Orb she got from the dragon temple in the Palace Lands, before they were chased out. It glows a little as she holds it up. "It's full of some of the purest Light I have ever witness... and posessing it is helping me get, for lack of better words, a 'feel' for Light's presence." Then her gaz turns back to Wake. "But it is only a temporary venue. A teaching aid, if you like. I need to learn to sense, to conduct it, for myself."

    "It can be a hard thing," says Wake, "To feel light. It has a way of being cloaked by fire, which is a common source, or coming from every direction, as when the sun shines, or.. being simply too remote and soft, like the stars themselves."

    She draws all the light together, then, into jewel of light. It glides up and changes shape, becoming a single rose offered to the statue, which them flickers, and finally fades away.

    "I am getting better, but there's so much still to learn. And I'm delighted that you are studying light!" She admires the orb, inspecting it carefully.

    "That's a very powerful light source, indeed! What a great way to learn how to sense the element."

"Or brilliant but abrupt, like the flash of lightning," Shiruba chimes in on the chain of comparisons. "Light... is difficult for one to comprehend on its own, which is why we see it mostly in other combinations. Even the pure light of this orb. It is within a vessel to make it easier to see, and understand. I.. I need to learn to feel beyond that limitation. But still, having an example to refer to it, it helps immensely."

The orb is carefully tucked back into her inventory. It's charge, while great, is till limited, and she doesn't want to drain it out faster than her studies can process. "I want to be able to deal with this demonic gnoll problem I've uncovered. And the Undead Army should they ever arrise again. But to counteract the dark and grim they cast upon the lives of so many, I behest myself to find the light in the world to dispel their harmful intents." Shiruba lifted her gaze back to the sky, watching as more stars flickered into view in the evening. "They are indeed distant, the stars. Yet they are always there, helping to guide us."

    "And there is more to light still, then that which our eyes can experience. Light is a connection to the divine, as well. Light is miraculous for healing wounds. It is good that you would use it to drive back the dark. You can also use it to drive away suffering and fear."

    Wake looks intently at Shiruba as she asks her next question.

    "You genuflected to my patron Goddess. Are you a believer?"

"The Museum I started in Shibuya was dedicated to her," Shiruba replies as she lowers her attentive gaze back to Wake. "In hopes it would help others see the beauty and wisdom in the culture this world has to offer. And it seems that dedication and it's purpose is what attuned me to the Loremaster path. I would be a fool to not respect when those blessings have come from."

A pause, then a grumbling of "Even if the dumb invaders keep me away from the location right now," under her breath.

Then shrugs it off. They were getting close to the time they can deal with that matter. "I do not need the location to use what I was granted though.. and mayhaps in her favor learning more of the true nature of Light will guide that bond farther as well."

    "It is no chance that you find me here, then, in another place devoted to her," whispers the Baroness. "And I shall do all I can to help you retake Shibuya. It is an affront to the Goddess, what the invaders have done. Giving away the beauty they were granted for the ugliness of this path. Slavery and murder. And yet the light is stronger still. The light can reclaim from the dark what belongs to it by right."

    She shakes the thought of the dark away. Wake is beaming then. The reason is obvious a moment later as Tae brings a basket of food and a carafe of drink. It appears to be some kind of sweet juice. It smells of sweet berries.

    "I see I came just in time to rescue our guest," Tae teases playfully. "Forgive her, but my Elly does carry on and on at times."

"Slavery and murder," Shiruba echos softly. Some, while still alive, beaten down to the point they were dead inside. Almost literally, with what they've learned on how the mind and memories can affect, and be affected, but it. "Many of them are trapped.. and between you and me? I still suspect there is some other force pulling the strings of even the leaders. Something has put them on this path, and while it doesn't forgive some of the heinous things they've done, i--"

Cue the timely Tea interruption before the conversation gets too dour. "It is quite alright, as to talk to her is the reason I came." Though tae's baking is definitely a bonus on the side. "You could even say our conversation has been rather"

Beat pause.

"Enlightening."

    Tae has no qualms about inviting herself to the party. She is the reason there are tables out here, after all. Though the bench does seem to make things a bit awkward for three people. She has a solution, but that won't be revealed just yet.

    "Well, my beloved is ever the font of bright ideas," Tae replies.

    Wake... Elly, that is, waits patiently for Tae to finish setting the table before giving her a proper greeting. Which is a kiss that closes off the rest of the world for a time. She's shameless and unapologetic about it, and at the end, Tae is leaning against her, rather breathless.

    "So.. we can all take it easy and talk over some food."

    Elly does not pun. She is horrible at puns.

Shiruba waits for Tae to finish setting up to claim a spot for herself, politely not watching the two smooch in public. Then afterwards she looks at Tae.

"If we do that, does it make this a light meal?"

    Elly doesn't know what to do with all these puns. But with Tae and Shiruba both flinging them, elects to just sit down and focus on business. Which is enjoying warm bread, a kind of honey and berry jam, and some very delicate slices of sashimi.

    Tae, seeing her opportunity, plops herself right in Elly's lap. She wears a grin that is postively impish. But if her fiance is at all troubled, she hardly shows it, gliding arms around her waist.

    "An evening meal with a friend.. brilliant!" Tae interjects. "It's a shiny example of the kind of hospitality our home will one day be known for."

    She can keep this up for days.

"It's not hard to see how you are Wake's ray of sunshine."

There will probably be more puns while they're discussing Light and it's various aspects, but first Shiruba is going to help herself to the delicious bread snacks and juice Tae has brought for them.