Beautiful Day In The Beginnings

    The sun was shining on this partly cloudy day. While war was happening beyond these town's halls, people were still carrying out their business here in Carmina Gadelica. One such individual was actually doing just that. Shopping for some items for a little project she was working on.

That individual was Lady Magus Katherine Tanzer of the Outcast-- well-- at least until the outcast became a nation; She still isn't so sure about all that or what to make of it. Either way, the female imp with her horns, wings, tail, and hoofed feet is walking happily down the cobblestone path, humming a song to herself, and a bag hanging off her arm. She seems in very good spirits.

     Carmina Gadelica! A place that... oddly enough, Pela doesn't normally frequent. But she'd ended up in the area in spite of that fact for one reason or another. Possibly shopping of her own! Regardless, the clopping of hooved feet does draw her attention, as she didn't know too many people who clopped when they walked. And so among the stalls there was now a Pela hidden away, peeking from behind cover at who was there. Watching quietly. Hmmm! ... That name. She recognizes it.
     And so Pela slips out from behind the stall she was hiding at and over towards Katherine, making to walk behind her quietly for a bit, just observing what Katherine is doing without saying anything. While also debating how to greet her. Hmm! Eventually, though, she does speak up. "...Hello, Katherine." Luckily her voice is soft, because unless Katherine's noticed her, that might be a little bit sudden behind her and could have spooked the poor lady.

    Katherine continues to walk unaware of her follower behind her. The other woman might notice that the imp walks with a sashay to her step, even with those hoofed feet. It is only when Pela softly goes 'Hello Katherine', does the imp come to a stop. A brow is raised above her glowing violet eyes, before she peers around to look at the Cait Sith.

"Why! Good morning to you, lady Pela!" Katherine says with a mild bit of surprise. "Was not expecting to run into you out here on this day. How are you fairing, my dear?" She says with a warm smile on her lips and her free hand coming to rest on her hip.

     Likely a striking vision, a lady walking with a maid following her. A few of the people in the street likely assuming that Katherine is some sort of noble or something! ...Which isn't far off, really. Pela dips into a soft curtsy when Katherine turns to face her, a small smile on her face in response to the friendly greeting. "...I was not expecting to run into you either. ...I heard your hoofsteps and was curious. So decided to approach." After following her for a good short while.
     "...It is nice to meet you in person. ...I think I have only heard your voice before." Pela straightens up from the curtsy, looking up towards Katherine's face. She lifts a finger to her lips as she thinks on it. "...Less intimidating than I expected for some reason." Pela muses. "...Shopping for supplies?" She asks, finally.

    Katherine giggles softly and continues to smile, her eyes glowing with a glint of amusement. "Oh, did you believe I would be some horrendous hag, by chance? All, boil boil, toads and trouble sort?" She says with a wink, before using that free hand from her hip, to her hair to give it a flip. "Hardly! I only leave my ferocious side for those deserving of it." This is followed by another gentle laugh.

Then she looks at her bag as Pela asks her question. "Oh yes, I am indeed doing a little shopping. A bit of an alchemic project you see. Nothing too grand or glorious. Just this little idea I had and I wanted to see if I could pull it off." Then she blinks before placing her index finger softly to her lips. "And don't ask, because I am not telling." Her imp tail flicks side to side a little.

"What about yourself, my dear? What brings you here?"

     "...Hm? ...No. ...Just a few conversations you had had on the chimlinks had led me to believe you to be less friendly? ...Those conversations were heated though, so it was probably foolish of me." Pela says with a small nod, watching that wink and hair-flip. Hm! "...I try to do the same. ...Though my ferocious side tends to be seen more like an angry kitten, considering my size." Look being under 4' tall tends to result in some assumptions.
     Alchemy project! Ooh! Pela listens to that intently, her ears perked up and looking up towards Katherine expectantly. And then the comment of not asking gets her ears drooping ever so slightly. "...Oh. ...If you require assistance with finding herbs, feel free to ask me. ...Uhm. ...My next project is probably going to be working on increasing my cooking skill, myself. ...Once I have the skill points available to increase it, that is." Pela adds thoughtfully. 'Why was Pela here'. "...Oh! Uhm. ...Some shopping, too. ...All sorts of interesting things available in these stalls. ...Mostly I was just getting some baking ingredients." Like flour. And some fruits. And some enchanting materials. Yes that's part of her baking.

    Pela speaks and Katherine listens, she tilts her head a little, but remains quiet. Her lips purse a tad, but she still keeps her thoughts to herself until Pela is done. Then comes that gentle smile again, "Come, let us walk and talk, Miss Pela." Then there she goes with that walking sashay of hers. That imp tail follows right in line as well with the movements.

"Sadly, my aggression is the simple frustration I have toward those who treat the people of this world simply lower than ourselves. We are gifted after all, where many are not so fortunate. I also disdain when those attempt to alter the world in an image that is not befitting the goddess' will." She looks over to Pela. "Simply, making it look otherworldly, such as the place of our nightmares than what is laid out before us."

    Katherine then goes over to a stall that is selling some apples. "Would you like one?" She asks Pela, but buys two anyones and even before Pela could give an answer, gives Pela one. Oh well! "Now, there is nothing wrong with progress, but the progress should match what we are given to work with." She pauses and turns to face Pela, "Does that make any sense?"

"So, that is the means for my, hm, aggression." She then takes an easy bite of the apple with those sharp canine teeth of hers. She chews a little in thought, before swallowing and looking at Pela once more. "And you said you are working on cooking, yes? I would love to try some of your goods once you are done experimenting! I do love delicious food, but who doesn't hmm? Also, I shall keep you in mind if I decide I need some assistance on any alchemic projects, though my field tends to be more enchanting and magical."

     'Let us walk and talk'. Pela gives a small nod and steps up to walk alongside Katherine, her own gait a bit more subdued than Katherine's, befitting of a maid. "...Okay." She pauses and gives a small nod towards her. "...Yes, I think the conversation was of the latter... talk of some sort of airship or plane or something along those lines that caused your aggression. ...Which was understandable."
     Pela opens her mouth to respond to the apple question! ... And then rather suddenly has an apple before she can even respond. Blink blink. Soon that mouth just has an apple in it, slowly nibbling on it as she thinks on what Katherine says. "...Yes. ...I do think I understand. ...Like the people trying to modernize everything instead of just make things overall better. Like... mm. I noticed that the people of the land here do not have much cheese and don't use milk in a way to make proper cheese either, so I'm going to work on that because it should improve the lives of the farmers." Pela says with a small nod. "...And other uses for whey, such as the buttermilk made that will allow for extra tasty things." She adds.
     Talk of trying her cooking gets a small smile from Pela, and she reaches into her inventory and pulls out... a Melonpan! "...Here. ...This is one of the foods I've created. ...I call it 'Mellowing Melonpan'. ...It helps sharpen the senses and calm the nerves. ...Great for scoring critical hits or working on projects in general." She says quietly, holding the melonpan up towards Katherine. "...I have had some success with using herbs as catalysts for some spells in enchantment, though mostly those are elemental plants that had the elemental energies imbued on them. ...And not necessarily any more efficient than simply using an elemental crystal." She muses out loud. "...But yes. ...I meant for alchemic projects. ...I think I am the only person who has increased their herbalism skill beyond baseline as of yet, so beyond maybe some of the people of this land, I am possibly the most likely to find a rarer herb that may be difficult to find otherwise."

    Katherine ohs at the melonpan that is offered to her. She uses her teeth to hold onto the apple, as she then takes the gift from Pela. She then places it carefully within her bag of items, before taking the apple back out of her mouth. Mm. Apple juice. "I will indeed try it once I am back home. I am sure it will be a wonderful little treat. Thank you, sweet Pela."

As the two continue to walk and enjoy the apples, Katherine glances back over to Pela. "So, these herbs you have found with your increasing skills. Anything of grand interest? Like any plants that are of great interest or have any interesting properties?"

     Pela gives a small smile and bow of her head towards Katherine. "...Yes. ...And may assist in your alchemic practice, as well." She adds, smiling softly. 'Sweet Pela', though. That has her blushing a little, her dusky cheeks flushed a little darker as she looks away for a moment. The question of herbs gets, well. Her ears perked up again!
     "Ah, uhm. There's a lot of useful ones just in the yamato world alone, there's the Itadori plant which is a slightly uncommon plant that has minor pain reducing effects when eaten, and the herbs that I use as the base of the mellowing melonpan, the Heart Melon and the Hushing Honeysuckle, which help with the calming and focusing effect. Oh and not to mention the magical or elemental ones that..." And Pela honestly just... keeps on going. She likes herbs, clearly. A lot.

    Katherine listens to it, she listens to it all, as she chews on her apple down to the core. When she tosses with ease to the grassy field to the side so that the animals can have at its remains. Nature does its thing after all!

She then goes to take a seat by the fountain, one leg crossing over the other in a very ladylike fashion and her tail coming to rest by herself. She also keeps her bag alongside her, but freeing up both hands at long last. She waits for Pela to finish, it probably takes awhile before she at last says. "You are very passionate about what you enjoy."She leans forward a little. "That is always good to see. Passion should be in all things we do, don't you agree?"

     It's a good thing Katherine is patient, because really, Pela wrote a literal book on the general herbs of Yamato in most areas of it beyond the tower itself, so she has a lot to cover, even just covering the most interesting ones! Pela does eventually come to sit next to Katherine. (Possibly having to climb up onto the edge. Being short is suffering sometimes.)
     "...Yes. ...I, uhm. ...I like the herbs and really exploring this world a lot in general." Pela murmurs quietly, giving a small nod as she pokes her fingers together. "...It's a lot of why I was still exploring solo even after the Apocalypse. ...Being able to see sights and sounds that I hadn't been able to see when this was a game." She murmurs quietly. Pause. "...Passion is important, yes. ...It helps drive you... so ... yeah. ...Though too much can get a little overwhelming sometimes." She gives a nervous laugh, possibly self-conscious of her previous rambling. "...So. ...You wanted to talk about a possible joint project at some point, right...?"

    Katherine is a little amused by Pela and how short she is. It makes the small Cait sith very adorable. Enough you want to pick up and squish in a hug. Her eyes blink a few times as she brings her mind back to what Pela is saying. "Perhaps yes. I'll have to see if I may need your assistance or not with what I am doing, but mayhaps one day I may have something that could require the need of both alchemy and enchanting to bring something to life." She wiggles her fingers a bit in the air, where one can see a bit of dark energy flickering about her long nails.

Katherine then looks up at the sky, as she moves a bang back into place. "Though I should be on my way. Time after all does not stop for any of us, hm?" She then goes to rise to her feet, before looking over to Pela. "Though it was wonderful to meet you at last, hopefully we can chat again, I do enjoy it! Mayhaps next time, I can show you my more interesting skills."

Then the imp starts to walk away, with a little handle wave. "Take care for now, sweet, lady Pela. May your adventures bring you continued joy!"