new orleans ♔ you ain't been to heaven til you been down there

[postergirl]

♬ New Orleans - Louisiana Gator Boys

WHO || Mark, Dumage, Kat, Gar, Buffy, Spike, Myri, Martha, Arthur, Finnick, Des [closed]
WHAT || All work and no play make Knights stir crazy. Various downtime shenanigans.
WHERE || The hotel / all around New Orleans / at the bar / in an alleyway / ETC
WHEN || Various dates during the course of May
HOW || w/e you want, bb

[ This log covers any non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in New Orleans. Because we haven't finished out the other two logs yet, assume some time has passed since then, in case anyone was injured, so that they've had sufficient time to get better.

As for work stuff, you can assume they've been busy with establishing Finnick's fake rock star cred, and investigating some of the intel they'll uncover in those other logs that we haven't quite gotten to yet. JUST DON'T TALK ABOUT WORK and all will be well.


Make your own threads, don't fuss about tag order, feel free to threadjack multiple people into one thread for hang-outs, ask me if you want a certain scene with an NPC, etc. forever whatever.]

Comments

[witchwoman]

[Myri is lost in her thoughts, so she doesn't hear the door to the balcony open and close. It's only when Finnick speaks that she jumps slightly and turns to look at him.]

What? Oh. Well... yes, you could call him that.

[He's larger than a typical house cat and has fur that looks violet if the light hits it just right. But it might be the bird-like talons that gives away the fact that he's more than a cat.]

Amaranth is a flywacket. And my familiar.

[She's learned that she can trust these people. All the others found out about him earlier in the mission, so she's not about to hide it from Finnick.]

I take it you couldn't sleep either?

[65]

[close enough. upon further inspection, he sees that this is not any ordinary cat. his mind screams mutt, which means bad bad bad, but amaranth seems docile enough and myri is okay with him, so finnick will give him a chance.

still not going to get too cuddly with him, though.]

I don't sleep much. [he says it with a casual air, meaning to imply that it's for normal reasons -- messed up circadian rhythm, maybe -- rather than the actual reason.]

[witchwoman]

[It's okay. Amaranth doesn't look like he's in a mood to jump in your lap this morning. But he may later. It happens. He just curls at Myri's feet and promptly dozes as the morning sun comes in.

Myri also stretches as the warmth of the sun reaches her skin. Her face turns p towards the light, a smile sliding over her features. In the sun, her skin is so light that it's nearly translucent, showing purple veins beneath the skin. After a moment of content stretching, she relaxes back into her chair and looks Finnick with an alert gaze.]

Lucky me to have such good company. Care to sit? [She gestures to the chair beside her.]

[65]

The luckiest, I dare say.

[he drops into the chair next to hers, making a stark contrast with his bronze hair and skin tanned from a lifetime of beachside living. the only thing that sticks out are his ~incredible sea green eyes~ as he looks at her appraisingly. ]

Are you always up so early?

[witchwoman]

Most days. I'm a very light sleeper.

[It comes from needing to be up and out at a moment's notice- something Finnick can probably relate to.]

I don't mind it so much here, though. The mornings are peaceful. It isn't until everyone is awake that the chaos begins. [A smile tugs at her lips. She actually enjoys the group dynamic quite a lot.]

[65]

[now that it's on his mind, he remembers the moments like this from home. keeping lookout while katniss and peeta slept. it was the only time he got to be alone with this thoughts. and man did he appreciate it after mags died.]

[so he nods.] After that, it's nearly impossible to get a moment to yourself. I use time like this to clear my head.

[witchwoman]

It's so strange.

Before I came here, I only had Amaranth for company. No village would let me stay for more than a few days at a time. Now, I find myself with the same people, always surrounded, rarely alone.

It's a wonderful feeling, but there are times when I miss the quiet.

[65]

Really? [he's constantly surrounded by people -- even when he's not being swarmed over at the capitol, people in his home district still consider him the cat's pajamas and won't get out of his face. meaning it's difficult to imagine being alone that long.] Why wouldn't they let you stay?

[witchwoman]

Because I am a witchwoman.

[It was always explanation enough before she came here, but she knows that further detail is needed here.]

I can heal those that are hurt or sick. At first, a village is thrilled to have a person with such talents, but... if ever I was unable to perform to the degree that they believed I should? I was the first to blame for any ill outcome.

If I stayed too long after that, I was found to blame for any misfortune. Crops were not growing due to my presence. Children were born sickly because I was stealing their life from the womb. My familiar sought innocent souls to harvest under the full moon.

You'd be astounded the sort of crimes they found me guilty of.

[65]

[he's been trying to cast aside his suspicion/wonderment about all the supernatural stuff he's encountered since coming here, but it's been hard. in this moment, myri makes it a little easier. he doesn't want to be like the people she's talking about. how could he? there's nothing wrong with her.]

It barely sounds different than being some kind of doctor. [he frowns.] That's not right of them. ... I'm sorry.

[witchwoman]

To a great many in my world, I am something other than fully human. To that end, I am held to a standard beyond that of a human healer. And to fail surely means that I deemed it so, not that the wounds were beyond my capabilities.

[She shakes her head.] They can't all be blamed. A grieving mother will shout at the first person she sees after learning her son will never come down for the morning meal. A husband lashes out at whomever must tell him that his wife will never bear his children. The anger is always laced with sadness, and unfortunately these are gashes that are not so easily sewn shut.

[She finally brings her gaze to him.]

That's why this place is so wonderful. No one expects anything of me, but accepts it with gracious courtesy. I am not a useful tool, but a partner in this mission we all share.

[65]

[he takes in this information quietly, expression unreadable. she's right, he knows she's right, but it doesn't make it any easier to hear.]

That's one of the reasons I like it here, too. The lack of expectations. [his gaze meet hers. he smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. he won't say it, but he disagrees with her on one thing. they're still tools. that's what he was doing on this mission right now, wasn't it? serving as a tool. a means to an end. and he was sure that she was just as likely to be used if it meant moving the mission from point a to point b. any of their partners were. that was just ~how life worked~.]

[witchwoman]

[Myri hasn't felt used enough yet to be so jaded about her time with the Knights, but since she doesn't pick up on his underlying issues, Myri just nods along and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.]

I've heard that you remember more about your world than most? I suppose we share that. Most of the others only recall their names, but I can recall years of my life. I would dare say that I remember it all, but I suppose I cannot be certain of that.

[Unfortunately, Myri doesn't realize that what she's missing are a very crucial few years from her memory- years when she met her husband, adopted children, and learned the truth of her birth. Oh well.]

[65]

[finnick nods along, making a small mmhm noise.]

I recall most of it, I think. I remember things that happened to me. Things I liked as a kid, where I used to live, what I was doing before I got here. But if I try to dig any deeper than that, everything falls apart. I can't remember my family.

[witchwoman]

[Myri nods.] Moving forward is for the best, anyway. Looking back to what was won't do any of us any good.

[65]

You're right. New memories can replace the old. Then maybe the gaps won't feel quite so ... gaping.

[witchwoman]

Precisely. [Her smile is more genuine at that.] She turns back to the skyline, where the rising sun is filling in the space between buildings, casting a warm glow on the horizon. She lets out a content sigh at the sight of it. How many mornings had she wished she could take a moment to enjoy something like this? It felt nice to not have to run all the time.]

Would you like some breakfast? I think I hear some of the others say something about a place nearby.

[65]

[while she's busy watching the sunrise, he's busy ... watching her. ~every little thing she does is magic~, okay. or at least incredibly endearing. listen to that contented sigh.]

I would love breakfast.

[witchwoman]

[There is an odd grace about her, like flight on solid ground. Once he answers, she turns her eyes back to him with a bright smile.]

Wonderful! [Amaranth chirps his approval.] Now, now... you can't come this time. [He squawks] Because I said so, that's why. Go on. Buffy or Kat will be plenty entertaining while we're gone.

[The familiar looks to be grumbling but obeys Myri's command and saunters back into the hotel room.]

It's a bit like having a child some days.

[65]

[he'd still be making with the googly eyes if he wasn't distracted by amaranth. finnick waits until the cat-like-thing is back inside before he speaks up.]

Was that -- did it squawk?

[witchwoman]

[Myri casts a mysterious look in his direction, not giving away anything, but there's laughter in her eyes.]

As I said- he's no ordinary cat.

Flywackets descend from dragons.

[And as if that's a totally normal thing, she just walks inside so that they can head out for food.]

[65]

I didn't think dragons could be real before I came here.

[he remembers stories, hokey stories like the ones about mermaids district 4 kids grow up hearing. (and isn't it nice that he can remember that and not things like his family?) he even made a crack about fighting dragons on his initiation night, but he didn't expect to see one. or some dragon-cat hybrid.

so she has a pet muttation after all. weird and a little creepy, but he can deal with it. there are worse things in the world.]

[witchwoman]

Of course dragons exist. But do be careful. Not all are pure of heart. The great evil dragon, Simurgh found the taste of blood to be far more enticing than the leaves of the Tambootie tree. [She makes a strange motion with her hands, crossing and flapping them - an ancient ward against evil. But her next motion is much more familiar. She touches her forehead, chest, then each shoulder.]

But you have nothing to fear of Amaranth- unless you should try to harm me, of course. [She pauses] Would you like to see him as he truly is? [Buffy's already seen. And she trusts Finnick. These people mean something to her.]

[65]

[all he's getting out of this right now is her speaking gibberish and making weird hand motions. but he recognizes her question for what it is -- a show of trust. and how can he not be curious?]

I'd love to.

[witchwoman]

[She smiles in a small, private way, then nods. Her gaze drops to Amaranth.]

Go on. It's alright.

[The flywacket's spine arches, much like a cat would when it was about to hiss, but instead, the fur ripples, causing the careful eye to see that the skin is not completely attached. In fact, there are two long slits along the familiar's back. And from those slits comes the more wonderful surprise.

Wings. Large and dark and purple, all covered in fine fur. He sits back on his haunches and stretches them out, flapping twice before settling contently.

Myri is quiet, watching Finnick more than Amaranth, wondering what his reaction will be.]