Closed [Rearing Stallion] Lunchtime!!!

[Coud Von Voltaire]

Coud Van Voltaire 75th of Spring, 513AV. 13th bell. Cou was sitting at the Rearing Stallion, waiting for a meal he had ordered. It was lunch time for him, so he decided to have his lunch here. Cou was wearing his normal attire, black jacket, white shirt, black pants and shoes. He sat in the back corner of the building with one of his servant dolls. Cou kept himself entertained by staring at the doll as it setup his table. The doll lined up his utensils and folded a cloth, lining it up with the utensils. Soon after she moved Cou’s cup closer to him and poured some water. Cou just smiled at the servant doll, who responded by giggling. “Table is set, Master. Is there anything else I can help you with?” asked the doll, waiting for her new orders. “Thank you. You may become idle for a while. I’ll issue you your command when I need you” Cou said, smiling at the doll. “Thank you. I will idle now, Master” the doll said as she curtsied. The Doll climbed down from the table and stood next to Cou. Cou stared at the people who were interacting with one another. Cou felt slightly envious of them. Cou is social, but the only people or beings he really talks to are his dolls and on occasions his wood crafts supplier. He doesn’t feel lonely, but a doll’s interaction can only go so far. Cou scanned the room, wondering if he should to talk to one of them and strike up a conversation, or maybe he should just stay where he is and just eat his meal.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Hm hm hm~♪" Kouri happily floated through the streets of Syliras City. Earlier this day, she went to the Sultros Blades to order more daggers from Madame Hadyn, the blacksmith. She had just came back from storing her money pouch in her favorite tree hole in the Bronze Woods. Now, I wonder what should I do today~? Kouri planned her activities for the rest of the day as she kept floating forward. "Eh?" Her eyes caught the familiar sight of the Stallion. "Hmm~ Ehe... ehehehe~" Kouri rubbed her hands together, her mischievous mind concocting a devious plan. She then made her way to the Stallion's side walls, wanting to enter the tavern in an unorthodox way; phasing through the walls. Kouri then floated through the hard stone walls as if it didn't exist and entered the Stallion. Hmmm~ Her crimson eyes darted left and right, searching for prime pranking victims in the busy tavern. Then... W-what? What's that? She came upon a very interesting and unusual sight. A young man with shoulder-length pale blonde hair was sitting in the back corner of the tavern, but what caught Kouri's attention the most was the miniature humanoid figures near him... Are that dolls? She squinted her eyes. Deciding to get a better look, she dove down to the ground; her form up to just below her eyes were concealed by the tavern floor. Engaging her stealth mode She kept slithering under the ground until she was quite close to the young man. She could saw his piercing blue eyes that contrasted greatly with Kouri's crimson red. D-dolls?! They are really dolls? B-but... they are moving! Oh... Is he an animator like Sir Klaus?. Kouri had an animator mage friend named Klaus, he and Kouri underwent a ritual to create a living manikin more than a week ago. But his doll looks cuter! Awwww~ So cuuuuuuuuute~♥ Kouri couldn't help but notice the major difference between this man's dolls and Klaus' faceless manikin. Uuuu~! I want to cuddle them! I want to play! Ehehehe! She couldn't contain her excitement and rose up from the ground, appearing right across the table from the man's location. She then giggled and an ethereal black tendril jutted out from her back and grabbed one of the dolls. "Awwwwwwww~♥" She examined the doll in glee. Kouri materialized herself to allow herself to touch corporeal objects and hugged the doll tight, also snuggling it against her right cheek. "It's so cuuuuute~ Ehehehe~" She forgot to introduce herself to the owner though...

[Coud Von Voltaire]

OOCI hope the post isn't confusing with the switch of perspectives

Coud Van Voltaire After staring at other people doing their thing, Cou rested his left elbow on the table and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. He took in a breath and heaved a sigh as he grabbed his spoon with his fingertips, staring at his warped reflection. I guess today was just one of those days when you wish something new or interesting would happen in your live…, Cou thought, still staring at it his reflection. As Cou played with his reflection by tilting the spoon, the doll was standing quietly humming a cheery tone. However, when she looked up she noticed an odd phantom phasing through the wall. The doll wasn’t sure how to asset the situation, she turned to her master to notify him. However, she disbursed the thought because she was ordered to just stand beside him. Her blue crystal eyes followed the phantom as she sunk into the ground and reappeared under a table across from her Master. The doll just stood there, still humming her tune until her was pulled away from her position. “AH!!” The doll squeaked as she was pulled towards the phantom. Cou’s attention on the spoon shifted to the sound of his doll. “Wha- what’s going on?” Cou said in a confused tone. “Master, Master, I am unable to continue my order AH! due to unforeseen events! Ah!” The Dolls reported, flailing about as she was being snuggled by the phantom. “Uh…?” Cou stood up from his chair to see where his doll was. When he rose from his seat he saw a little girl rubbing her cheek against his doll. His doll was trying to escape the girl grasp, but the girl was obviously too love-struck to allow the doll to leave. Cou looked at the girl for a moment, staring the clothing she was wearing. It was a very interesting design, ribbons, white dress and a pretty headband. Cou walked over to the girl and crouched down to her, she was still snuggling his doll with her cheek. He waited patiently for the young girl to finish her business and look into Cou’s eyes. “Hello young madam, I see it that you’ve taken a liking to my doll?” Cou said, bearing a faint smile. “Master, Master! I am unable to move in my current condition!” the doll panicked, still flailing about. “heheh, okay, okay. Why not to the same thing back to her and maybe she will leave you alone for a moment” “New order received, Master. Ahhh” The Doll reported, wrapping her hands around the girl’s head. “Hahaha. Well now, isn’t that a sight to see. Anyways, greetings my name is Coud Von Voltaire, but please, just call me Cou. What about you, young madam? What is your name?” Cou asked.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri OOCIt's not confusing at all, Coud. I find it clear and precise. "Ehehehe~ Your voice is so cute too! What's your name? Can I play with you?" Due to her excitement, Kouri didn't wait for the doll to answer her question before snuggling it again. The doll's flailing only made it looked cuter. Ehehehe~ I want to take her home! Her lovestruck state didn't let her realize she was basically planning to steal someone's belonging. "Eheheh~ Ehehehehehahaha~ Ehehe~" She giggled some... okay, a lot more before realizing the presence of the pale-haired young man in front of her. "Uuuuhm..." She tilted her head upwards to look at him, her crimson eyes locking to his azure blue. "Ehe... ehehe... i-is this your doll? Uhm... I'm sorry... b-but! She's so cute!" Kouri stuttered and tried to explain her actions. Then again... I could steal it, can I? Kouri became rather attached to the cute maid doll and started to abandon her ethics. "Uhm... y-yes! I like it" She beamed a smile at the young man, then he commanded the doll to return Kouri's gesture. "Awww~ Cuddle cuddle~♥" She smiled in content as the doll wrapped itself around her head, she must make sure she didn't unmaterialize herself lest the doll would phase through her and fall. With the doll still clinging to her head, Kouri lifted the hem of her dress and bowed slightly; curtsying to young man. "My name is Fubuki Kouri, you can call me Kouri" She slowly lifted her head and beamed him a happy grin "It's an honor to meet you, Sir Cou". She floated to the chair across Cou's chair and sat there, the doll still clinging to her head. "Ehehehe~♥" She rubbed the doll's head with her right hand.

[Leda]

Leda Leda did not usually eat Lunch, but today she had not had breakfast and decided to quickly pack something to eat during her break. It would all have been fine, but she had underestimated the amount of wind in the bazaar that day, the wind that blew the settling dust around and around and, suddenly, she found that the leftovers of her meal the night before were covered in a thin layer of ash... and other stuff. Seeing this, Leda could not help but let out a sigh. Although willing not to eat anything until that evening (she wasn't particularly hungry) she really did not want to lose any more weight. She had once been a little on the plump side, pleasingly so and lightly voluptuous - it had been attractive, she supposed, and she had looked well fed and healthy. Now, when she stretched, her ribs stuck out rather too much. Although it was an unnecessary expense, she rather liked the idea of leaving her stall for an hour and having lunch at the Rearing Stallion. Leda arrived at the Stallion soon after taking her decision and, observing with a stab of disappointment that both her usual spots had been taken (One in the back corner by a young man with long blonde hair and the other at the end of the bar taken by another dark-haired man) She ordered the Meal of the Day, which seemed relatively cheap, and sat down and was about to turn her mind to something else, like the Tarot Cards, when she noticed a familiar figure float by her. It was that ghost girl... Kouri. Leda smiled lightly. In her eyes, the ghost's presence always meant that something interesting was about to happen. Last time she had been in her presence, a brawl broke out, and broke out because of the ghost. In this same place. It was almost strange that she had been allowed to return to the tavern. Still, she was sweet and harmless enough. Not able to quench her curious nature, Leda slowly stood up and moved closer to observe the encounter which followed, her interest piqued further by the little doll which the ghost picked up. Then, to Leda's surprise, the doll seemed to move. Struggle. Try and escape. She blinked twice, almost foolishly. No child was that small; at least, not looking like that. Then she remembered that the doll belonged to someone. He was probably an animator (Is that what one called one who practised animation?) Leda smiled with amusement and would have gone back to her seat, but continued unabashedly observing the situation with interest. Kouri, she had seen before and she knew of. But the face of the man - he did not seem wholly a boy, probably adolescent - was new to her. He had an interesting one with bright, cold eyes. Leda supposed that, in his type, he was handsome and there was certainly something quite enigmatic and intriguing about the tall, lean figure which juxtaposed with so many of the bulky, big men who so often graced the bar. After a minute, she realised that they would think her strange (not that she really minded) if she continued staring. With a light smile, she went forward, although she realised as soon as she'd done it that that would probably look quite strange too. "I just noticed your... doll." She said with a smile to the young man, "It is quite an interesting item."

[Coud Von Voltaire]

oocEdited

Coud Van Voltaire The little girl beamed a smile in joy as Cou’s doll clung onto her head. Cou couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He tried to hide his laugher by turning his head slightly to the side, placing his side of his loose fist against his mouth. The girl’s innocence was too much for Cou to handle. After his little chuckle the girl rose up from under the table and stood before him. She placed one for before another and slightly lifted hem of her dress, dipping her head slightly and her body bobbled slowly once. She introduced herself to Cou as Fubuki Kouri, or just Kouri. Cou placed one leg behind the other and placed his arm of his stomach as he bowed back to Kouri. “and it’s a Pleasure to meet you, Lady Kouri. Introduce yourself.” Cou said as he raised his body, commanding the doll. “Hello, Fubuki Kouri, I’m Servant Doll number zero-two. It’s Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The doll said, still attached to Kouri’s head. “Lady Kouri, would you like to join me? Eh!?” Cou was surprised when Kouri floated from where she stood to the chair across from him. Well would you look at that, a ghost. She seems nice and polite. I wonder why she is here in that form…? Oh well, I better not pry. It’s her business not mine, Cou said as he walked back to his chair. Kouri looked as if she was having fun with his doll. Cou rested his left elbow on the table and rested his chin in between his thumb and first knuckle. He just stared at Kouri playing with the doll. The people in the rearing stallion turned their heads towards the odd pair, young man wearing a long black leather jacket who sat at a table with a young girl who wore lacy and frilly clothing. The people in the tavern slowly went about with their own business. As Kouri played with the doll, Cou noticed a woman wandering her way over to the table. The woman had dark wavy hair, which completely contrasted with Cou’s light straight hair. She also had a pair of brilliant blue eyes and long elegant fingernails. Her simple walking caused some of the men in the tavern to turn their head, following the woman as she arrived before Cou. Cou didn’t know how to react. He simple stared into the woman’s eyes, waiting if she had something to say, which she did. The woman expressed her fascination with Cou’s doll, in which Cou replied with a faint smile. “Are you interested in such Item, Madam?” Cou repeated, making sure what he heard is correct. “I don’t think we have met before, Madam. My name is Coud Von Voltaire, but please call me Cou. May I ask the name of the person who expressed interest in my creation?”

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri Kouri smiled at the man, proud and happy. Sir Coud was definitely a gentleman judging from his demeanor and by the way he acted. He then told her that the doll's name is "Servant Doll number zero-two" Huuuuuh? What a... weird name... Kouri was not familiar to mages, researchers, and gadgeteers' technical jargons, she tilted her head in confusion and curiosity. "That's uhm... that's..." Kouri wanted to tell Coud that she found the doll's name to be rather weird and unfitting, but she withheld herself for the sake of courtesy. Then a figurative light bulb shone on her head. "I know! Ehehe~ I shall call you... Lily~ That sounds really cute, right? Ehehe~ Can I nickname her 'Lily', Sir Coud? Pleeease~" She tilted down her head and looked upwards, appearing as cute and innocent as she could be. "Nya nya nya~♥" Kouri grabbed the doll with her tendril and brought it in front of her, she then played with the doll like a normal little girl would do. Kouri didn't notice Leda approaching their table as her attention was fixated on Servant Doll 'Lily' Number Zero Two. "Eh?" It was when Coud spoke to the fortune-teller, Kouri noticed someone else was at their table. "Hello, Madame Leda! Ehehehe~" She grinned and greeted the woman with a happy expression on her face. It's always good to be with the people you know, especially since Madame Leda was kind to her and did not saw her as the terrifying phantom most human saw her as. "Did you like Lily? She's very cute, right~?" Kouri held up the doll to Leda with both of her hands and tendril. "Ehehehe~♥" She then hugged Lily Zero Two again with her right hand. She watched Madame Leda and Sir Coud conversing when a waitress approached their table. "Uhm... w-what you would like t-to o-order, Y-young M-mistress?" The brown-haired young barmaid was visibly intimidated and unease by Kouri. Not everyday you can see a translucent little girl with crimson red eyes wearing a bloodstained dress. "U-uuuh..." Her hands was visibly shaking as she waited for Kouri's response. "........" Kouri went silent at the barmaid's question. It seemed the barmaid didn't knew Kouri could not consume anything other than Soulmist now, but would she understand even if Kouri explained? Refusing to order could be seen as impolite, what kind of customer entered a tavern without ordering something? "Uuu..." Kouri edged closer to both Coud and Leda, giving the 'What-should-I-do?" look to both of them.

[Leda]

Leda Leda smiled at the man. "I do not think I should have the money to afford such an item. If I did, I would certainly be interested." She turned to the Ghost Girl at her greeting. She really looked adorable, even with all the bloodstains which laced her ghostly figure, especially clutching the little doll to her chest. Leda smiled and looked at the doll more closely. It seemed to be wearing a uniform, like a tiny maid. Yes, she certainly might have been interested, but it was something she neither needed nor, she guessed, could afford. As the young man questioned her as to her name and introduced himself, Leda was turned away from the charming spectacle. She smiled at Cou. "As you might have heard Kouri say, my name is Leda. It really is talent to be able to create such a thing." She didn't say that she really knew nothing of magic, animation or any other form, but she was determined to not sound dim and uneducated on the subject. "Yes. Lily is... very cute and, I am sure, very useful." She turned back to Cou, "How long have you been an animator? Feel free not to answer. I know many people are uncomfortable talking about magic, especially when it is their personal magic." Before he could answer however, the barmaid came over and made the mistake of asking Kouri what she would like, trembling all over. Though usually Leda was quite empathetic and gentle to people, she had issues forgiving what she considered blatant stupidity and it seemed to her blatant stupidity to think that a ghost could consume the food of the living... and Kouri was obviously a ghost. "She is a ghost. There is no point in her ordering since she cannot consume the food." Leda was initially worried that it might sound harsh, but she shook this off quickly. It did not matter.

[Isolde Seibold]

What sort of customer entered a tavern without ordering anything...? A ghost and perhaps... a Nuit.

Isolde was what one might call 'hiding' behind her table. Her fingers were twitching against her collarbone, nearly trembling. She felt trapped by her own curiosity, and it gave the unpleasant sensation that she was being suffocated.

The man with the doll. She needed, needed to ask what it was, how he had made it. It wasn't often that someone saw something like that out in the open in Syliras-- it was magic, wasn't it? Most people in town seemed to be afraid of the practice, and in Syliras fear was dangerous. If the Knights got the wrong idea... well, there was nothing stopping them from assigning any punishment they saw fit, whether it be death, imprisonment, or simple deportation. The fear of those possibilities had really constricted Isolde's actions up to this point. She had a bit of research to do, but didn't know how to even start about doing it.

And then she'd seen the young man with the silvery-blonde hair, and his little animated doll --was it a homunculus, it didn't look like a Pycon-- and she had to ask him how he'd done that, because that was just the thing she was looking for. Or at least a start. And she had almost, almost approached him, had even stood up, turning his way despite her usual social hesitance, despite the cool look in his bright blue eyes... and then the child had appeared and Isolde had nearly fled the Stallion.

She was a ghost. The girl came floating in through the walls, and if Isolde's heart had been beating it would have stopped dead, and she would have most likely fainted. As she was, all that happened was that the energy flew from her body as if she'd been punched in the gut, her legs wobbled, and she plopped back down in her seat. Her eyes wanted to leave the girl's face, those gleaming red eyes, the crimson splattered down her front... but the Nuit couldn't do it. She was horrified. Her mind was reeling. Gruesome images clawed their way from her memory, whirling and twirling, hurtful as if fresh though they were very, very old; there was Wynry, lying still, the bruises standing out sharply against her pale, dead neck; there was the tiny grave holding the tiny body, and another right next to it where hope had been buried; there was the other girl, Isolde couldn't even remember her name, and the Nuit was carrying her small, lifeless body to be laid out in the street like little more than garbage. For a tick the room seemed to spin, but Isolde knew she was just imagining it. Nuits didn't faint. Nuits couldn't faint.

And then that terrible, sickening moment spun away, and Isolde found her fingers gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles white with strain. Her eyes were still fixed on the ghost, unblinking, but she managed to notice that sometime during her nightmare another woman had approached the ghost and the boy and the tiny doll figure. It was getting too crowded over there. If one more person showed up, Isolde would not have the nerve to approach.

She hardly had the nerve now. She couldn't take her eyes off the ghost girl. She shuddered, and decided that she couldn't do it. She couldn't approach while the child was over there. The Nuit just couldn't handle it. In fact, it was time to leave. Time to get up and walk out, and petch the consequences. So what if that young man might have information that she desperately needed for her studies. So what.

The Nuit stood jerkily. Her fingers tapped nervously on her collarbone, her knees trembled. She turned towards the door.

Her damn curiosity held her in place. She fought with herself, tried to get herself to leave. She took a step, and found to her horror that it was in the wrong direction. No, what was she doing? She was walking towards the group, away from the door. Stop, stop! But she couldn't. She needed to know what that young man knew. She needed to. It was of the utmost importance to her. Even more so than... avoiding... that girl.

Suddenly she found herself nailed to the floor in front of the others, and she tried to stop the tremors that ran up and down her spine. Was it her imagination, or was the room colder over here? She almost turned tail and fled. The Nuit imagined herself sprinting from the room into the winds and crowds, plunging into the streets and who cared if she was pushed over again? A couple new bruises might be worth it, if she could escape this place.

Then she realized that she had approached, and just stood there, hands shaking, with her eyes wide as dinner plates and her body frozen. She hadn't blinked. The only movement was of her trembling fingers. With a colossal effort, the Nuit shifted her feet, shuffling around to give herself some facsimile of natural movement, and moved her mouth as if to speak. Nothing came out, and she tried again. Finally, she managed to croak, "Uh-- uh-- uh-- H-Hello. I'm uh, I'm--" She tried to keep her eyes on the doll or the other two, not the ghost, but found that it was very difficult. Her voice quavered, "I-Isolde, a-a-and I was just-- just coming o-over to a-a-ask... uh, i-is that-- that a, uh-- a h-homunculus?" She waved one hand timidly at the doll, then brought her arms in very close to her body, as if afraid the ghost girl was going to grab her. Her stuttering and stumbling speech might have been funny to some had it not been for the expression of dread around the set of her mouth, and the panic that plagued her darting eyes. Her fear --especially to strangers-- might have come across as an episode of extreme social anxiety. And perhaps it was.

It was only then that Isolde noticed the barmaid standing, quivering, in front of the ghost girl, much as the Nuit herself was. The woman that Isolde had seen approaching the group --had she heard her introduce herself as Leda?-- had apparently just said something to the barmaid, and now the woman was standing and staring open-mouthed, gaping between Leda and the... ghost child, not knowing what to do, whether she should leave or stay. She turned her eyes to the Nuit, and seemed to approve of Isolde --in her multiple layers of bedraggled clothing and dark hood-- as much as she did the ghost girl. The barmaid looked like she was about to just stumble away and never mind coming back.

OOCSorry for the length! That was pretty long. ^^'

[Coud Von Voltaire]

Coud Van Voltaire “Lily?” Cou repeated as he inclined his head slightly and his gaze became unfocused, placing his index across his chin. “I suppose I you could call her Lily is you’d like, Lady Kouri.” Cou said returning his gaze towards Kouri. As Kouri continued playing and snuggling with the doll, Cou turned to the woman named Leda. She was asking Cou about his experience with animation. Like she said, magic was something most people found uncomfortable to talk about. However, Cou felt somewhat okay telling them the time taken he took to become the animator his is at the present time, but he would never feel comfortable talking about reimancy. “It’s true that most feel uncomfortable talking about magic. However, I don’t mind it that much. Here take a seat.” Cou said, gesturing Leda to take a seat. “Well I’ve been an animator since I was the age of six. However, I was only studying about animation. I didn’t actual preform animations ritual till the age of eight, mainly because I had to learn the risks and consequences of animation and magic. Father was strict that way. So I guess the answer to your question and two responses: since I was six, or since I was eight.” Cou said answering Leda’s question. Cou look at the table in front of him and noticed that his lunch hasn’t come yet. I guess service it a tad bit slow today. I guess it’s because of all of the people in the tavern. I guess I can wait a bit longer, he thought to himself as he fixes up the position of his spoon. When Cou turned his head up, he noticed that he was approached by another woman. The woman noticeable had what appeared to be smudged paint over her face, and wore hooded clothing that covered up her body. As the woman got closer to Cou, the smell of herbs and spices filled the air, Cou had to assume it came from the woman. She gave of and eerie atmosphere around her, but Cou still had to be polite and well-mannered. When the woman got close to Cou’s table, she introduced herself and asked about his doll. She looked as if she was avoiding eye contact with Kouri. Cou couldn’t help but wonder if they had some sort of relationship between them. “Greetings to you, Lady Isolade. I’m Coud Von Voltaire, you may call me Cou if you wish.” Cou said, introducing himself to Isolade. “This doll is more of automation. So it’s not a homunculus I’m afraid. However, I do wish to create one in the future.” Cou said, answering her question. Cou found himself in a situation that he had never been in before. Three people of the opposite gender surrounded him. If Cou was a skirt chaser or lecher, this would be extremely pleasant. However, Cou was a respectful young adult, but he felt slightly unease because he hasn’t met this many people at once before. A barmaid approached Cou’s table and asked what they would like to order. Kouri remained silent as stared at the barmaid, who looked as if she had seen a ghost. Do ghosts eat? Maybe I should ask her about it later, Cou thought as he looked at Kouri’s red eyes. Leda answered for Kouri and the barmaid nodded. “Ah, and could you tell me when my lunch will be ready please? I think it was vegetable soup with a bit of bread the house was cooking.” Cou asked the barmaid. “Oh, um… I’ll go check, sorry for the wait.” the barmaid apologised. The barmaid checked if anyone else wanted to order something before she walked away from the table. Cou offered Isolade a seat at the table, because he didn’t want her to be standing the whole time. Cou attempted to make conversation to get to know these people better, but wasn’t too sure how to start. “So, may I ask what you all have done before arriving to this tavern?” Cou asked the girls, trying to get a rough idea about them.