The Blessing of a Murder

    There are many things that Elly has to deal with throughout her day. Some of it makes good sense. Some of it is kind of ridiculous. Some of it is surprising. Sometimes, she just slips away from it, stealing a bit of a break. This is why some say that there are 'Messy wakes when Wake breaks'. But it is affectionate. Mostly.

    Today, Elly has managed to slip away and is resting near the village. She has selected a tree stump to serve as her throne while she enjoys watching the wind in the trees. Well, that and the aerial displays of a pair of large crows, clearly arguing over just who owns a particularly lovely tree.

The familiar clattering of hooves on the majestic Road of Eas, one of the wonders of this world announces the approaching of a Gwenty, pulling the traveller's wagon that Uta is on.

She's looking around, enjoying the scenery, when, all of a sudden, she blinks.

"Lady... Bom-" Pause. "Elly?", she wonders, with a blink.

The reins are pulled, to gently guide the Grunty off-road, the Spriggan ready to jumps down and tie her mount off to a tree as soon as the opportunity arises.

    Elly is rather surprised by Uta's sudden appearance. She doesn't jump or anything, but she does glide to her feet quickly. As soon as Uta gets down she's going to have an Elly hug waiting.

    "Uta! I didn't expect you to visit again so soon! I'm so happy to see you!" Her voice is positively jubilant at the quick return to, well, her neck of the woods.

    "And I see Gwenty is here, as well. She's looking as fetching as ever!" It would not do to ignore the very fashionable grunty, after all.

    "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Is there anything you need?" It's not super obvious, but yes, Elly does slip in an inspect. It's her way to care.

Uta is as fine as they come! No status effects. Rested. Clean. Ship-shape!

"Oh, she does, she does." Uta turns to look at her mount, sporting a purple wig, diaphanous faux-Sylph-wings with a wireframe structure, and what looks like a fasionable witch's outfit. "Gwenty spends more time grooming herself than almost anyone I know," the Spriggan adds, as she scratches her head in confusion.r
"Well, uhm," she then begins, a bit hesitant. She returns to face Elly, but avoids eye contact, yet; "I've been considering, a place like Eas must require a lot of staff to be kept running, right? Maids to keep it clean, stable personnel for the mounts, gardeners for the gardens, and, I suppose, cooks to, well, cook for everyone, right?" She inches closer, and casts a brief glance at Wake. "If there's some left over real-tasting food, maybe I could help with disposing of it later." Menu food and Hifumi's gourmet instant ramen can sustain someone without the Cooking skill only for so long.

    Uta's unique way to ask for food inspires Elly to play along. She can keep a straight face, but it's more fun to smile as she speaks. "Well, you know Tae has been causing some issues with her cooking as of late. I'm afraid the dining room has been rather overrun. If you could help deal with some curry, udon, or tenpura, that would be incredibly helpful! I suspect there will be many, many plates and bowls that must be dealt with. I understand it is a big favor to ask, so if you agree, we would be happy to offer you free room, board, and stabling for Gwenty. I think I may even have a dress she might like."

    Of course, this being Eas, Elly's voice tends to draw attention. Especially when other people are looking for her. They have sorted out a rather important fact. If you follow Uta, you will inevitably find the baroness. Especially around here. And so an old man does just that.

    "Baroness Wake! How lucky to find you here." Waiting not even a second for a response, he plunges right into his topic. "There's all these birds and they are causing me trouble! You have to do something. They keep stealing things and when you go near their nests, they fly at your head! I want permission to get rid of them!"

    Elly is just about ready to speak, when he just keeps going. "I was thinking we could chop down the trees they roost in. There's hundreds of them out that-a-way!" He waves his hands vaguely towards the north and west. "Over the other side of the lake, you know. Always making a fuss and now that they know we're over here, they come to take our seeds! I even saw one trying to put an evil eye on a cluck-cluck!"

    Elly raises a hand, finally able to call a full halt in the umm.. ranting. She needs a moment, distracted by the point, "Wait, you saw it do what to a... that is not important, actually. You want to kill the crows of Eas as they are eating seeds that you have left out in the open? Surely your seed casks and bags are tough enough to resist their beaks."

    The old man, undeterred, goes on without answering any questions. "And now that's not the worst. I saw one making a nest on your castle! Ugly thing, that nest. Not at all lovely or well built. It's a pain in my eyes to see it! There are some that bathe in front of the statue, too! Of all the nerve!"

"Challenge accepted," Uta declares, as Wake illustrates the woeful state in which the dining room of of Eas finds itself of late. Perhaps she will suggest adding a second dining room to contain the leftovers of the first one.

And that is when the irascible old man barges in and regurgitates all this information about the runaway corvid situation in the countryside.

At first Uta frowns at him, as if she didn't quite understnad what was going on, but by the time the discussion seems to leave an opening, she looks at Wake, a far more experienced member of the Sleeping Knights, and asks, "...Is this a quest?"

At which point she rubs her chin, and reluctantly offers, "If the corvids's pecking is a problem...perhaps...maybe... we could feed them the leftover food in Wake's dining room? We would kill two birds with one scone." Granted, this means no real-tasting food for Uta, but one has to put the common good first!

    Elly actually giggles at Uta's comment. It's so hard to keep a straight face and she just doesn't want to try. She wants to be relaxed. But that is a sound that few have ever heard her make.

    "You know, Uta, you are on to something! We can't use Tae's food, though. Despite my best efforts, our feathered friends have simply proven incapable of using chopsticks, spoons, or forks. I suspect it's the lack of fingers. And hands. And opposable thumbs. The point is it was tried and further efforts, like exploring the possibilities of sporks, have been locked up in committee debates ever since."

    She can say all that without cracking a smile though. This is srs biznus. "Which means... we need to give them a food that is more appropriate for the limits off their culinary etiquette."

    The whole time, the old man is still rambling on about crows nests he's seen. It's not a quest, exactly, but it seems like it is kinda trying to be. Weirdly, and abruptly, the old man suddenly leaves after thanking Uta and Elly for agreeing to look into it.

    Elly immediately points out, uselessly, "But we didn't..."

"We didn't?" Uta asks Wake, confused. "By the way he went away, I kinda assumed we did." She rubs her chin and looks in the distance, all serious. "Let's not lose our cool," she says despite nobody in the vicinity showing any sign of losing their cool. "Ok, fair, in order to not lose one's cool, one must be endowed with a cool in the first place. Sadly I can afford none of this. My warehouse is crammed full of nerd and there's not an inch free for anything else." A sigh, as she rubs her head, thumb and rest of her fingers pinching and pulling away in a scratching motion, while she narrows her eyes. "This is a conundrum. Before I can refrain from losing my cool, we need to get me some cool first. And apart from the annoyance of a side-quest, I kinda like my nerd. Not sure I want to part with any of it."

A blink, and she turns to Wake. "I mean... uh... what were we talking about? Oh, right! Avian investigations!" That is a cue to begin walking around Wake, gesturing in the air as she explains, "Etiquette. Of course it had to be done with proper Etiquette. Point is, what has this experience taught us?" Spin, point at wake. "We don't tell the committees about this investigation. It's going to be off the books. Unofficial. Hush hush. Nudge nudge, wink wink." Clench fist. "We need -results- here."

    "I love you, Uta."

    Elly looks thoughtful. She's just going with this. So going with it. Leaning into it hard.

    "Yes, we can't let the committee know. If they found out, they'd have to be silenced. And then I'd have to ship them off to a gulag. And I don't have a gulag. I imagine making it requires some kind of construction or woodworking. It would get out of hand quickly, is what I'm saying."

    It makes sense if you don't think about it.

    "And yes. Results. We need results. I see two problems. One, crows. They are people, too. They need food, homes, jobs, and infrastructure. Since they can fly, the latter is just air. This is good. Eas has so much air. We're basically swimming in it. Now jobs... well, I'm sure that with the right encouragement they will come up with appropriate trades and start their own businesses, bringing their special gifts to a grateful word. I realize that I don't have a single piece off corvid art in my arcade. Since the crows are in Eas, they are my responsibility. I must address this serious error. So... that leaves... food."

    She looks at Uta for a moment, then turns to look at the back of the house, where there are bags of seeds. She looks back to Uta, "You know... if only that lander had given us some clue as to what these creatures like to eat.."

"Finally someone who makes sense!", Uta exclaims, spreading her arms. "Thank goodness I've met you, Wake, see, we are made to understand each other!"

There is the issue of that 'I love you'. Replying with another 'I love you'... well... that is a big word, and when building a relationship with another person, communication and honestly is paramount. Uta... honestly doesn't feel ready to say 'I love you', neither knows whether she ever will. But she also doesn't want to hurt Wake with a reply that makes it sounds like she doesn't care. She does. A lot. Wake is definitely more than just a friend.

Picking the right expression is an art, and Uta, after short deliberation, decides to go with, "I also harbor complicated yet positive and constantly developing feelings towards you, feelings likely to further develop in the near future as our relationship becomes better established through mutual interaction!"

There. That taken care of, she can veer back to the main subject. "Can't we have him repeat the quest text? No, huh?" Silence. "Well, uh, let's... find crows and see what they eat?" And after a bit, "Or we could try and find Rylen and ask him. Crows are his whole thing, you know? His last name is even Corvus..."

    Hearing Uta very specifically and accurately describe her feelings is actually wonderful. "That is very healthy, Uta. I'm glad you feel comfortable being honest and open with me. Truly, that is a seriously big deal." And this is v srs.

    "Honestly I've never even seen that old man before. I wonder if he's new. Sometimes landers move in and they get confused for a few months. Like the woman who kept asking me to go west into the desert to find her lost grunties. And she pointed at the lake as she explained this. I just had someone watch her to ensure she didn't try to walk on water or something.. hm. She's a tailor now and has two grunties. Maybe someone in the Alliance figured it out."

    A pause for thought. Or something resembling it. "Okay, so Rylen. Rylen might help. Also, hm. You know, I thought of something very important. Something that escaped my notice until this very moment."

    She gestures at the tree she was looking at before, where two crows are perched. One is perhaps the mother of the other. Elly waits for a while, allowing the full ramifications of the moment to sink in.

    Finally, she proclaims, "They are pretty cute."

"Uh... thanks?", Uta replies at Wake, as she thanks Uta for being honest. As if she couldn't see what the big deal was.

"I hear they're pretty smart, too," Uta continues on the subject of crows. "Scratch that, I -know first hand- that they are -ridiculously smart-," Uta continues.

And then her thoughts go to the lady of the lake. No, the -other- lady of the lake. "I hope she didn't use to be an Adventurer and then... you know..." Uta says, somber. And then looks at Wake. They both know what fate awaits Adventurers who die too many times.

"Have you ever died since the Apocalypse?" Uta tries to make the question sound nonchalant, casual; but Elly can likely detect the hint of worry underlyling her voice.

    "You're welcome!"

    She thinks Uta is positively spiffy. Hopefully it doesn't go to Uta's head!

    "They do seem so very clever. I have enjoyed watching these crows so much. I also liked them in Tokyo. They are remarkable creatures. Hm. You know, there are crows here. I like them. They are clever creatures. Surely the Goddesses would not present such a gift and bless us for squandering it. Rylen. Yes. Rylen. He can assist with this. I want the crows to be a symbol of Eas."

    Uta gets a lot more serious, though. Elly can shift gears for that, too. "She was not an adventurer, no. I inspected her, after all. Well, I mean, I don't think she had been, either." With that more serious question yet, Elly pauses to think. "No, I have not died. I rarely died before then, either, as I recall. I was far too sneaky, though sometimes I did push the envelope on soloing too far and paid the price for it. Have you?" That last question is suddenly so much softer, as if Elly were suddenly afraid to speak of it.

Uta simply shakes her head at the last question. She's not evading the question, she's answering with a clear 'no'. She hasn't died. But she does so without uttering a sound.

And now that this has been taken care of, she shift gears again. Reverse, this time; back to the main line of investigation. "I approve of not wasting resources. And Rylen can definitely help with Crows. Let's- wait." She frowns. "Isn't the Rose already the symbol of Eas? I thought..." At which point she extends her hands in front of her, to invite caution. "That sounds abrupt, you know? Give yourself a day to mull it over. See if tomorrow it till sounds like a good idea."

    "Well, you know, roses and crows can both be symbols," suggests Elly. "I mean, you like slimes, music, libraries, lots of things, right? If a person can have a lot of things associated with them, surely Eas can. That's what I think, anyway. Roses are still a major symbol, but we have so many adventurers who come here to think hard and get better. The crows symbolize that kind of creativity and genius."

    She stands at Uta's side, staring off in the direction indicated by the old man earlier. "You know, maybe we should at least see the scope of the problem. That way Rylen can be prepared! He may need to be ready, in case a murder of crows tries to carry him away."

"That's true," Uta concedes at Elly mentioning the Spriggan's manifold interests. And she does so as she glances at the sign on the side of her traveller's wagon: "Uta Furore's Mobile Clinic, Wandering Doujou, Traveling Circus, and Itinerant Concert Hall and Culture Center," with a smaller "Professional services! Reasonable prices! Totally legit! Inquire within." carved below.

"Investigation. I am all for it. Let us do this thing!", Uta agrees with the Baroness, fist clenched, and eyes cast towards the future.

"They are going to need UNIFORMS!", comes a voice from behind. "No, Gwenty, they don't!", shushes Uta, with a frustrated sigh. "Last thing we need is birds in livery."

    The future, in this case, is mostly walking around the lake to go investigate the source of the crow issue. And along the way, there are chances to engage in some serious punning.

    "So if these corvids become our friends, I think it is important that I make an effort not to crow about it too much. It would obviously be wonderful, but preening over it would not be terribly polite."

    She leads the way at an easy pace, but freqently stops to hide behind trees and rocks (all of which are far too small to hide her) and waves at Uta. She will say things like, "We are being watched!" or "The crows sense our presence."

    To make peace with the creatures, she occasionally draws out some shiny thing and sets it on a branch. Where she gets all these shiny little rocks is unclear. But honestly, with all the children who want to impress her, she ends up accepting a ton of flotsam in the form of cute gifts.

Uta blinks. She casts a sideways glance at the Baroness as they proceed. "Puns?", she asks. "...Who are you and what did you do with Elly?" She continues forward, eyes up and away, tapping her lips. "You remind me of someone... which reminds me... gotta contact Asuna. We haven't gone on adventures in a long time. Could be interesting to do some of that 'tryin some activities' with her. Like training newbies. As a member of Crescent Moon, I'm supposed to either be trained as a newbie, or train newbies. Right up to this moment, I was the one who needed training, but maybe... after two years and a half of playing this game..." She turns to Elly. "...maybe I could start training someone myself?"

And then, the great Luring of the Crows begins. Shimmering items are placed so as to catch the light, and glimmer. Crows, and likely other creatures, are bound to catch sight of them, ad become interested.

"...Where did you find all those shiny little rocks?", Uta asks, hunching over.

    "I'll have you know that I have a sense of humor. I'm not incapable of making puns or having a good time. Sometimes, I am not even serious."

    Granted, it's rare that she is allowed to be relaxed. Ayame has certainly seen this side of her though. Usually in the form of highly inappropriate flirting.

    "Does it bother you? Oh, and training sounds like a good idea. There are so many things you are good at. I bet you'd be able to help people quite a bit. Do you enjoy helping others achieve their goals?"

    Elly continues setting out little shiny things. Just how many she has in her inventory is a good question. She shows no sign of running out.

    "Oh, many orphans would bring me little gifts. They can't afford things and they are small, so they bring me shiny things they find. They will be excited when they hear that their gifts have led to so much happiness. What seems small to others is made far greater by their earnest kindness. That is why all of these are beautiful to me. And they are decorating my home."

    Indeed, in Elly's wake, the little glint of shiny things does change the aesthetic. At least until the crows start to gather it all and hide it somewhere. But that will be fun, too.

"Oh, no, I did not mean it that way! it's just... uh...", Uta stops to say this, and scratches the back of her head. "I... it's new. It's a new facet of your personality I had not really seen before," Uta says, and resumes her walking. Still keeping an eye on the gift being placed around. "No, it does not bother me," she finally says, explicitly. "It just surprised me, it's all."

At first Uta does not answer the Baroness's question. But that's normal, she's done that a lot in the past. Question goes in. It's probably floating around in her head, being processed, even as the Baroness's subsequent explanation is delivered. Uta listens to that one, and silently watches the shiny objects being set.

"Bird seeds," Uta states, abrupt. "Kinda. You plant them. Birds pop up where they are. Nuggets of potential," she rattles out, more thinking out loud rather than explainingto someone else. "Those Orphans are indirectly gifting you crows. Offering potential rather than the finished product."

She then turns to face Elly directly, and still sounding kind of distracted, she says, "I do help people achieve her goals, yes..."

A smile appears on Uta's face, one she probably doesn't even know is there.

    "Like you are doing right now."

    Elly is a master of the insightfully obvious observations. "Does it feel good? I mean to help me with this crow adventure. Or to help in all the other ways you have in the past, too. Eas may be my responsibility, but it owes its existance to you and many others."

    She is moving a little more quickly. Spritely, really. Her motions are a dance, and she's smiling and even laughing as she works. It causes her to stop suddenly.

    "I haven't used The Right Clothes yet today!"

    Which means, it is now time to. So she pulls out the case for it and sets it on the ground. Sure, it's in plain view, but honestly, with inventory clothing changes it's not a big deal to change here.

    "Let's see what the perfect outfit for the day is. According to this nifty box."

"To me?", Uta asks, taken aback. "I... I..." She honestly seems to be racing to understand what she had to do with this. "...I don't think I did -that- much, really. Sure, I may have decided to build the Library and the Conservatory here instead of some other place, but Eas doesn't really -need- them; it would have been Eas even without them. I cannot think of much else I've contributed to the place..."

That said, her smile returns, wider. "I love helping people I care about!", she exclaims, so quick and spontaneous there's no doubt it's sincere.

"The Right Clothes!", exclaims Uta. "The Relic? I love seeing Relics in action! They're such amazing items."

She hunches over, hugging her knees, and stares with all the rapture of a child being shown a new toy. Suspensful silence and all.

    At first glance, the outfit that is inside looks rather, well, normal. Boringly so! First, there is a black, silky dress. The skirts are slit on the left side for ease of motion. Elly slips into it and looks it over with a smile. There is a unique update to the usual Rose of Eas, which is repeated three times around the skirt. Instead of being a flower standing on its own, the roses are carried in the beak of three, unique crows. The dress has remarkable detail. The feathers look so real one could almost touch them. Actually, on second look, the feathers are real!

    There is also a short cape, which covers her shoulders and allows for a bit more modesty than a strapless dress would otherwise provide. It also is strung with raven-black feathers along its bottom hem. Elly is happily admiring the work for a while before getting back to the discussion.

    "Eas would not be Eas if it only had what it 'needed', dear. The Eas that is, that I love dearly and enjoy, needed your touch to be this way. It will continue to be shaped by you. That is inevitable. It is also a blessing. I hope you do try training others! You have such a unique view of the world. It heals others and teaches all of us to better appreciate what is around us."

Uta watches enraptured as The Right Clothes produce something that lives up to the Relic's name. There is the first, and the second look (the one that reveals that the feathers are real!); it's good that Elly does take some time to admire it, because Uta can take that window to do likewise, gobsmacked.

Her eyes go down to the item, with newfound reverence. "Relics. So amazing."

Uta eventually moves to stand again, and to listen to Elly's explanation. There might or might not be a bit of blushing, which is followed up by scratching her head again, looking down and away, and mumbling, "I do suppose that... I... do not really think the way others do." There is some silence, and she glances up at Elly. "...healing. That I can do."

After some more silence, she resumes. "The same, of course, is true for you. I am honoured to be able to learn more from you." Elly might notice that Uta would usually rattle out some of the Baroness' many and various great achievements at this point, as a justification for being honoured to be whith her. It was a common pattern with Uta. Until today. This time, this time she doesn't segue into that.

    Elly tilts her head, looking thoughtful. She's mulling something over. As she does, a crow alights on a tree nearby, picks up a shiny bauble, and in a flash is back up into the sky again.

    "There are lots of ways to heal. Hm. And to learn."

    She turns to focus on Uta. It's that gift she has where she shuts out the entire rest of the world, leaving just the person she is interested in paying attention to.

    "I hope I can teach you something worthwhile."

    She then moves on, turning to grin back at Uta. "Like how to make friends with animals when you have no skills in doing so!" Which is a contradiction, admittedly. Except that she adds, "My way to do that is to ask Rylen for help, usually."

"I hope I can learn something worthwhile," Uta replies. "I like learning things." She's a bit like Soujiro Seta in that. Always Learning! Except, in the case of Uta, it's usually academic subjects she's primarily (but not exclusively) interested in. "I also ask Rylen," she mumbles.

There is some silence. She's thinking about something. Something personal, given the melancholic look. "Money was tight in my past life," Uta begins. "As a kid, I've been pestering my family to get me a pet." A little shrug and a bit of an embarrassed grin. "Nothing fancy mind you. A puppy? A kitten?"

She blinks as her eyes refocus. "Oh. Uhm. Er... long story short, it was only much later that I eventually managed to be the proud caretaker of Mr.Zoomies." Silence. "Pet tortoise." More silence, then she breaks into a smile. "He made an excellent paperweight, you know?"

That said, she turns to her cart. "Speaking of groundborne creatures that need to be taken care of, have I mentioned that I have a gnome in my cart now?", she beams, gesturing towards her traveller's wagon. "His name is DosBox. We're on a road trip together," she explains.

    "Learning, you know, is as much about the learner as the teacher," replies Elly. In the distance, the problem (tm) is finally in view. There are trees with black leaves. Or rather, trees that have so many crows in them that their leaves are kind of hard to make out.

    "Oh wow. Now that is a roost! There must be a few thousand of them."

    This time, she does kind of lay low a bit. Best not to find out just what happens if one startles thousands of large-billed crows in this world. It could actually be dangerous.

    "A pet tortoise! That is so cute. Zoomies sounds wonderful. And now you have pet slimes. Well, slimes to watch over, anyway. And you have Gwenty with you! And.. sorry, a gnome is with you?"

    Okay, okay, maternal instincts kick in. She's immediately wary and suspicious. "Is the gnome a friend of Haru's? Someone you know very well?"

    She does stop short of asking if he has a steady job, good credit, or a criminal record, at least. On the bright side, in this world she can't have a dossier made out. Actually... scratch that. She absolutely will. Err. could. Definitely could. Might.

Dosbox rouses from his slumber as his name is mentioned: a trait that he had learned long ago from his youth to come when he is called. It has made DosBox a very light sleeper. Still, upon awakening, he realizes that the use of his name was not a calling but a mentioning, and so, he chooses to pretend that he is still sleeping so as not to interrupt: another trait he learned from his youth to not speak unless spoken to. He waits silently in the wagon, not MEANING to spy on the conversation, but that seems to be the outcome.

"Only pet I've ever had," comments Uta. "Mr. Zoomies, I mean. Not DosBox," she hurries to specify. "He's been camping out on Haru's lawn for at least a week now. Maybe more." She gestures, "When I found him he was in bad need of a wash, a haircut, and fresh laundry. Thankfully we could solved part of that with menu-cleaning." She gestures towards the cart again. "Now we're taking him to Gwen, so he can look not like a total disaster for the job interview I'm trying to set him up for!"

She taps her lips. "I don't think he's spoken to Haru -properly- yet. I mean, when I met him, he pretty much was trying to muster his courage to finally tell Haru how he felt about him," Dosbox, of course, felt that Haru was a great crafter and that he'd like to become his apprentice. What else? "Have their roads join. Their fates, interlinked." She turns the other way, to look at the cart, "He seemed interested in me when we first spoke," A nervous, shy laugh follows, "But I'm pretty sure the main reason was that I'm Haru's sister. So I could be useful for furthering his goals." See, that should reassure Wake! He's not a creep, he's just asking Uta to get him a professional lead with Atelier Nox! Uta is so glad she's helping paint DosBox's reputation in a positive light.

"Still, I... you know..."

For a moment, Uta's head wanders. It must be great to be admired for one's skills. To have people come up, and ask to be your apprentice. Be a role model. Sure, there was Setsuna, but Setsuna seemed to be interested in just -any- easy Monster Handling job, not specifically -admiring- Uta. But maybe, she dreams. Maybe one day this will happen to Uta as well? Someone will... -admire- her as a Healer?

No, no, silly Spriggan. Be realistic.

"...You know, I still secretly like to dream that maybe, one day, -I- will be the subject of such attentions..."

    "So this man was lurking around your brother's shop for a week or more, badly groomed, and too timid to speak for himself. Now you are taking him to see Gwen." Hm. Perhaps Morri can help her arrange an accident. She imagines a shadow ops version of The Board. That Uta's navigation has rather creatively plotted a course from Shibuya to Gwen's is of no concern. It is what brough them here.

    "If he wants to meet Haru and lurk about in your wagon, I think he should meet me."

    Her words sound so... relaxed. Her expression is calm. Her etiquette skills are legendary. The danger, as they say, is very real.

    But Uta also needs Elly to pay attention to something else she says. "Subject of such attentions, Uta? I would rather like you to teach me someday, as well. Perhaps after I learn how to manage the books for The Links and Eas, you might help me learn the basics of medicine. You don't have to, of course. I know you are busy and have many places to go and things to see."

Dosbox has a feeling of menace wash over him from hearing the Baroness's words, though he rightly cannot understand why... However, this seems like a good point to interject. They are talking about him now, and there has even been a point made that he should be seen.

DosBox makes a medium-sized yawn, not overly exaggerated, but loud enough to be heard outside the cart. He straighens his hat, fluffs his beard, and slowly opens the door to the wagon before hopping down. "Ah! Good morning! It's a wonderful day today, isn't it?" Smooth, Tanaka. No one will suspect that you have been awake for a while now. NO ONE.

Hooray! Wake wants to speak with DosBox! Clearly, Uta's glowing introduction of her new friend has left a positive impression with the Baroness. Elly will certainly teach him to be more assertive, encourage him to take better care of his higyene, and overall give him great Etiquette tips for his job interview!

Uta is so proud of herself right now.

But nothing prepares her for what is coming next.

Uta effectively bluescreens. Her wish, becoming reality, so suddenly, so quickly.

Blink.

Blink blink.

Pinch, this must be a dream.

Nope, it isn't!

"...I would -love- to teach you the basics of medicine!" Uta blurts out, more wheezing than outright saying, in disbelief. "And the intermediates! And the advanced! Really, I would be honoured and humbled to- to- to-"

She's too busy imitating a skipping record to notice DosBox exiting her cart.

    Dosbox will get Elly's attention. But not immediately. She is focused first on Uta. And it seems that she is rather inspired and energized. "It will be fun. And I'll be better able to take care of those I love. I think starting with the basics is best. My experience in the world before seems to apply only when supported by learning in this place."

    Seeing Uta is having a moment, she will reach out and pat her softly on shoulder. "I will be delighted to have such a gifted teacher, as well."

    Her attention then shifts back to the wagon. To the gnome. It is so subtle that it is hard to put into words for those who are not gifted in etiquette. A stiffening in the spine and drawing back of the shoulders is the start. Her chin rises slightly, as well. Her eyes, so wide when focused on Uta, narrow slightly. The smile does not vanish, but diminishes into a more calm expression. She is a tall woman, easily over six feet tall in her boots.

    "It is a lovely day, indeed. You must be Dosbox. I am Baroness Wake."

    With this pronouncement, she glides into a curtsey. The act is more than a simple polite gesture. It is almost gravity defying, the way she lingers in it. She seems to float there, and then she rises.

Dosbox goes rigid almost instantly at the presence of the regal woman roughly twice his height. While the Rock Gnome has little to no et-i-cat to speak of, he instantly recognizes when he is beneath someone (And that's usually everyone) and to what degree. DosBox visibly starts sweating as he drops to a knee and bows his head, removing his hat to reveal his mostly bald head decorated with two patches of hair on each side. "I apologize, Baroness. I was not aware that I was in the presence of nobility. Do beg my pardon on my... uh... lack of manners."

"to- to- to- to- to- You know," Uta suddenly switches her tone, going from lock-up to looking up and away, tapping her cheek. "I've just realized. The Right Clothes are pretty much a Gwen-in-a-Box. Pretty convenient, if you're into that sort of thing." She blinks and looks around. "Wait, what were we discussing again?" She spins in place, slowly, while looking for the Baroness and Dosbox -- which happen, after her spinning, to be behind her back. "We were talking about... about... What? Oh, yes!" Uta remembers how the Right Clothes gave Elly an outfit with the Rose and the Crows. She guesses that such an act counts as whatever powers are behind the Relic as giving-

"-The Blessing of a-", , she begins, beginning to vocalize her previously silent train of thought.

"-Murder!", then exclaims Uta, switching subjects completely; she suddenly saw the crows she and the Baroness had noticed a while ago. And jus t said what she saw. Much like people just say 'Horse,' upon seeing a horse while driving.

Hopefully the out-of-context rambling wasn't taken as a commentary on DosBox's situation...

    For a time, the Baroness looks at the gnome. In such a short time she weighs his words, posture, and emotions. It is not mind reading. It is better. People so rarely know what they are feeling. They so rarely can control what they communicate. It is all there, though.

    Her expression softens. She considers her words with her usual care. There is no rush in anything she does. All in its proper time.

    "Please rise, Master Dosbox. Be at ease, as well. While I am a Baroness of the Fourland Dukedom, that title does not make me better than anyone. It is our actions and intentions that elevate us above the crude monsters that stalk outside our walls."

    She diverts her attention to Uta, then. "Quite a murder it is. I have never seen so many crows together!" She considers the size of the gnome, and the size of the crows. Large-billed crows are often 20 inches long.

    "Perhaps we should give them a bit more space. I'dd rather not put any of us in danger. Knowing they're here is a great start, though. I can show Rylen whenever he has time to join me. In the meantime, I'll do my best to placate them. If they like seeds, perhaps we had best let them have them. And place them nearer to this place, so that they don't come nearby until we're prepared to receive them."

Dosbox stands up quickly, putting his hat back on perhaps a bit too snuggly. His posture conveys that he is trying to make himself as small as possible, and with his height, that is VERY small. He'd never been a big fan of birds; they always seemed to be mocking him with the juxtaposition between their freedom and his lack of it. Even more so, a grouping of birds called a MURDER is even less inviting... Most importantly, on the forefront of DosBox's mind is his hopes that Uta will do the talking and DosBox can avoid talking at all, saving him from speaking out of turn.

"Agreed. Perhaps it is wise not to engage in Violence, right," Uta comments.

And now, after Uta's own wish of recognition has been fulfilled, it is time for the Randomness Fairy to grant Dosbox.

"Let's leave this place and flee to safety, yes," Uta urges. A wise idea, she agrees. "And maybe Dosbox can help you with the dining room overrun?" She looks at the Gnome. "I think that, between the two of us, we might manage to dispose of the surplus..."

    Uta speaks good sense. Which isn't surprising to Elly in the least. She will lead the group away and back to her castle. A feast does await, because Elly knows how to use a chim and sends a message to her wife. Guests!

    Tae loves to overdo it, and so there's a lot of food. And a lot of sweets to enjoy, as well. Probably music, as well. It's hard to spend time in Eas and not hear Elly and Tae singing.

    Suffice it to say, that despite the initial chilliness, things are warming up. There's a secret everyone seems to know about Elly: she's a total softy at heart.