vivala | A Belated New Year's gift-giving to all! [Open]

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A Belated New Year's gift-giving to all! [Open]

Who: Nephenee and YOU
What: Nephenee's handing out gifts for all the Corsairs! Yes, we said all! And even some non-Corsairs!
Where: All around the place (seriously)
When: Shortly after the fireworks
Warnings: None known, will edit if needed

It'd been not that long ago that a certain Sentinel and Corsair learned of gift giving for the solstice and for New Year's, and being the type of girl who likes to take care of everyone, she jumped at the chance to do so. So she's been working like mad to prepare things for everyone.

Unfortunately, little things like missions got in the way. But that's over now, and the oven's been blazing like mad for a good long while. The kitchen smells like sweet, buttery heaven, and once the last bunch is done, she grabs the more personalized gifts, and heads off to hand out everything!

So when she finds you, you get a hopeful, and a bit shy, "H-Howdy!" The tall woman's in her normal blue armour, but there's a little blue scarf around her neck over her orange neckerchief, too. It's the only warm-looking thing on her. Other than her cheeks, that is; those are bright red. "Ah, uh, gotta present for New Year's for ya."

[OOC: EVERYONE gets gifts! If you're close CR, you get personalized gifts! And if you're injured? YOU'RE GETTING HEALS AND GIFTS.

No, it doesn't matter if she knows you or not. If you're here, you get a thing.]

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It has been five days since Bluvink, and Natalia waits in bed, the book she had received from a nurse this morning already through with.

If one were inclined to wordplay, they might call her an impatient. Natalia, however, famously has no sense of humor; just ask her.

She's just about to see about moving, wounds, threats, and instructions be damned, just to see if she can reach a library, when someone walks in.

... who...? Natalia pats around her bed for a weapon. "Identify yourself," she croaks, as intimidating as an injured, cornered, abandoned puppy.

Nephenee would laugh at that if someone told it, but she probably wouldn't be any better of a patient...

Natalia's visitor gets the familiar sensation of someone being on guard. Call it intuition, instinct, whatever, but she's been a soldier for long enough something keys her in. It has her scooting to where she can easily be seen by the poor bedbound woman, hands where Nat can see them.

"...My name's Nephenee. Ah'm one o'the Corsairs outta Flotsam." She's also calmed more than enough people and critters that her voice immediately and unconsciously takes on a soothing tone that says "Easy, not gonna hurt ya..." even if that isn't verbalized. What, she's big on defusing situations, she can't help it!

She pauses, narrows her eyes. This could be a trick.

But... Who would single her out for this, in particular? They might start with killing the most active patient in the ward, but...

... No, no, this is all wrong for that scenario. Letting her put her weight anywhere near those hands before they strangled her, that was a losing move.

"... Natalia. Elysium Network. If you are a healer..." She looks over Nephenee, and shakes her head slightly, echoing obvious doubts. "If you are a healer, others here need the aid more than I-- Unless they have already died of thirst."

Or infections. Or giving up. Or internal blood loss. So many ways to die, in an operation like this one.

It's true; despite having a soft countenance and being very caring, Nephenee does not look like a healer, unless healers Natalia's way wear a mixture of plate and leather armour. At least her polearm is out of sight; she's pretty sure that wouldn't make the woman any calmer, but there's the principle of 'having a weapon nearby at all times' for her...

Nephenee's long green hair sways as she shakes her head, the faint smile on her lips not hidden by the shadow of her helm. "Not officially. Ah do have some healin' stuff, though. Tryin' to see who Ah can help, an' passin' out some care packages besides. Ah'm jus' gonna grab my basket..."

Slowly, carefully, she bends down to pick it up. No sudden movements, here! "Nice to meet ya, Miss Natalia. Ah ain't seen ya before, Ah reckon...ya been with the Corsairs long?"

Not... Official? Natalia isn't quite sure what that means but she's sure an explanation is waiting in the basket.

"Since September," Natalia says. "But I wasn't fully let in until mid-December, when the Mad Archer ended its patrol. After Solstice I was swept up in the preparation and action."

"The *Mad Archer*..." The ship's name is repeated with a contemplative frown and head tilt as she comes over.

"Ah...think Ah recognize that name. She was fightin' the Empire slave trade, right?" It's a vague recollection, at best. There's so many ships, and Nephenee's much more used to land. But the ships having such unique names certainly helps.

"Yes, that's correct. Technically, you're not supposed to be trading even Servants, but... Well. Some were testing the Emperor's patience regardless. The ship we took was a good prize-- I had no issue with taking it nor releasing the people." She paused. "Was a good day. Less good was sailing them to Flotsam. ... Hand to Mouth is a good ship. Using it for what they used it for was a travesty."

And that gets her tilting her head the other way as she sits next to the bed. "...Sorry, Ah don't know that one. But it sounds like ya ain't been enlisted with us long. Did ya get injured in the recent mission? What happened?"

"... In terms of strict briefing, an ad hoc unit of four faced off against a green-haired woman bearing a crown and using powerful magics," Natalia said, slowly. "Forces were Harlock, Deedee Yeowoo, Donatello, and myself. Initial contact came twenty minutes after broadcast start. I was in a sniper's position, on standby for listening devices or aerial Feder units we knew to be on-station, when I received Donatello's distress call.

"I immediately shifted position and drew a bead on the person of interest, but strategy was to take her alive and remove the slave crown. ... Looking back, it is my opinion that I became too emotionally invested in the outcome of the fight, and as such, sacrificed my superior position to deal with matters personally. I was also partially blinded by the arc flash off one of her spells, and was likely disoriented from the thunder.

"I... Charged her position. When she cast an explosion magic, cast-name 'Flare', I was moving too fast towards her to dodge effectively, and instead attempted to deflect. This led to my wounding."

"... From an emotional perspective..." She clutched the sheets, and her voice came out cold, but furious. "If I ever find the people that did this to her, I will kill them myself."

Ilphyl has a small houseboat, albeit one that is more taken up by their projects (like breeding lizards for Link) than actual space to have guests. But it does make them easy to find, especially as they tend to put their rest period in the middle of the day. (If work needed to be done at night, best to have a person entirely comfortable in darkness on hand, rather than someone who just wants to be in bed.)

So, on Flotsam, they are pretty easy to find. "Hi Nephenee!"

Ilphyl, your houseboat is starting to look like a bigger version of Nephenee and Yuki's cabin. Goodness, that's a lot of projects.

Thankfully for Il, it's after some of that rest period that she finds them, and thankfully for her the drow is much closer to "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" than poor Donnie, who she accidentally woke up. Phew.

"Hey! Um, is now a good time to talk? Ah know it's a lil' late, but Ah, uh...wanted to give ya a New Year's gift..."

Cut her some slack; it's been busy around here!

It could be because Ilphyl is used to sleeping under the stars, so protected space is more likely to become 'a wrokroom' than 'a bedroom'... but no, they were like this even growing up. Especially for anything that they don't want other people messing with.

Look, when you only need 4 hours of rest, it's a lot easier to actually get it. Elves, man.

"Sure. And gifts are never late." Because they aren't always used to celebrating gift-giving holidays. If someone wants to give Ilphyl a present, it is exactly on time when it is given.

It took several moments for the door to open, as Harlock hastily threw on a shirt and his eyepatch back on so he's at least somewhat decent. Surprise cross his face at seeing Nephenee.]

Ah, thank you - I wasn't expecting anything.

[Thank you for putting a shirt on, Harlock. She would've turned into a beet red, sputtering Sentinel from that sight.

She rubs the back of her neck, a little abashed.]

Well, it's a bit late, but we've been so busy...

[Right! Presents! She hurriedly digs into her basket, totally to get to the gifts in a timely fashion and not at all to distract herself from feeling embarrassed. After a moment, she pulls out a cloth-wrapped square tin.]

Ah'm not sure if ya like baked goods, but they ain't too sweet, at least?

[Because inside is a bunch of rectangular shortbread cookies, alongside a small tin inside with some sort of deep brown powder. If he's caught wind of a strangely buttery and sweet scent from the kitchen over the past couple of days, that's mostly what these smell like...but there's an oaky, vanilla-y note there, too.]

Um...Ah know ya like alcohol, so...added some bourbon to 'em...

[Neph, shut up and let the man check them out!]

[He leans against the door frame as she digs through the basket]

I do like them, just generally I do not have them too often.

[Masu would complain the ship is too chaotic to do any consistent baking, but he suspects it's more she doesn't want to. As he got a whiff, the corner of his lips curled up, giving a quiet chuckle]

That is true, one call say I am an alcoholic, this does smell rather nice.

[She has to translate that term in her head, before raising an eyebrow.]

This ain't gonna cause ya problems, is it?

[There's a slight smile there, though - she's joking. Mostly.]

[He actually smirks at her raised brows.]

Oh no, not in this case. Actually being one had saved my life.

[Does Harlock elaborate? No he does not.]

It's probably the longest he's ever made use of his bed. Donnie's actually been in bed ever since returning from the mission. Well, after getting checked out by the medics, of course. Burns were treatable, but they hadn't been quite sure what to prescribe for the fatigue that clung to him, mainly due to being the target of a Drain spell, but perhaps compounded by his pushing himself afterwards to help ensure their escape from Bluvink.

He pokes his head out once he finally drags himself to the door of his room, rubbing at his eyes as he peers blearily at the momentarily blue and green blur in front of him.

"Neph..? Huh?" Presents, what? Give him a break, he just woke up.

The tall blue and green former-blur looks down at him in concern, rubbing the back of her neck with the hand not holding a basket. Gosh, poor Donnie looks too tired to whip a gnat...

"Oh, sorry...Ah didn't realize ya was asleep. Was hopin' ya was jus' restin'...Ya want me to come back later?" She'd heard he was in that big fight, but not many specifics.

"No, it's fine, you're here and..." He looks to his wrist, which would normally have his ENC on, along with a chronometer but since he'd been asleep he hadn't been wearing it, naturally. "Actually what time is it."

Was it day or night? Ugh, this is just like when he passes out from pulling several all-nighters at the Armory.

"Uhh..." She sticks her head back outside for a second, "'Bout half past 11?"

Yes, she could check her ENC...but that would require remembering it shows the time. Fancy tech is not her strong suit.

"Ya were in that big to-do with the girl in the armor, weren't ya?" She knows the answer, but she wants to hear and see his reaction to it.

He flinches, not like it could have been all that long since the mission, all his aches still relatively fresh.

"Not in Armor," Donnie corrects, running a hand over his face with a wince. His hands are bandaged around his palms and his fingers. "Not that it made much difference."

Neph finds Link up on one of Flotsam's ship's sails, peering out and surveying the armada of ships around him. Is he considering leaping off and paragliding into the distance? Possibly.

There's also a small feathery creature up here with him. Pepper the rather angry chicken has apparently decided to join him, and she clucks viciously at Nephenee's arrival.

At least Link's greeting is rather more friendly. He looks over towards her, and waves. Hi!

"Aw, shush, Pepper!" Nephenee calls up, arms crossed as she gives the avian beast a knowing look - she remembers you as a chick, bird, you don't scare her.

She shakes her head with a smile, her loose emerald hair swaying underneath her helm, saying, "Can't believe ya got her trained as an attack chicken..." before she waves back. "Anyway, hi, Link. Ya gotta moment 'fore ya go sailin' towards distant lands? Or 'least the area 'round here?"

Link blinks. Trained? He didn't train Pepper to do anything. She just...does that.

Violence was just Pepper's natural state of being, apparently.

But while Pepper flaps her wings aggressively in order to ward off the intruder - Nephenee doesn't scare her, not now and not when she was a chick! - Link nods. Yes, he has a moment.

She wasn't being entirely serious with that comment, but she could still see him doing it, regardless.

Nephenee looks back to the flapping hen and holds the chicken's gaze for a bit, before chuckling. Even after raising them for so long, she can't help but think, What strange an' useful critters...

"Sorry, Pepper. Ain't here to egg ya on 'bout somethin' so poultry." Neph, no. "Got some New Year's stuff for your master!" The Sentinel calls up, hoisting a covered basket over her head, smiling with so much bright, happy innocence, like she didn't just make horrible puns.

What horrible puns? There aren't any horrible puns here. Only fantastic puns. Pepper clucks in rage, but there's a flash of a grin from Link.

Although he is also soon distracted from the puns by the fact that Nephenee brought him things. What things? He has no idea, but he wants to know.

Blue eyes focus an intense stare upon the basket. Link doesn't say a word, but it's clear that he's dying to know what's in it.

Nephenee just smiles up at him, and gestures down towards herself and the deck with her free hand. You want presents, get down here!

What? Two people can do this not talking thing! (For all of five minutes, tops.)

Well. Link doesn't not want presents. So he hops off the sail, pulling out his paraglider to softly glide down towards Nephenee.

Although when he gets a couple of meters above the deck, he just lets the paraglider go - and drops. Right next to Neph and her basket.

Senshi now makes his home in the hold of the Milk Run, and is not as surprised as some to see that Nephenee is visiting.

"Pleasure to see you. And thank you. Come on in," he says - the tavern and store aren't open, but there's a table and two chairs.

Edited 2025-01-23 04:13 (UTC)

With how often she finds herself here, Uncle Senshi's place might as well be a second home base for her. Smiling, she follows him in.

"Good to see ya, too? Any interestin' foods today?" Maybe the menu would have a surprise, or he just got in a new product to try?

What? Nephenee may not be growing like a teenage boy, but she certainly has the appetite of one still!

Aira follows her nose to the kitchen before Nephenee is finished prepping. Though, is it rude to just come barging in to bug someone she doesn't know while they're baking? It can't be helped. She loves sweets, and she hasn't had freshly-baked cookies in who knows how long.

By awkward way of greeting, Aira sllowly leans over and peeks her head in. Luckily, Nephenee looks friendly enough to humor her, so Aira smiles and flashes her a peace sign.

"Yo! Smells deliciously amazing in here. What kind are you making?"

Eh, she wouldn't be the first person today to come in. At least for both their sakes, the soldier hears the girl approaching before she's greeted. Though, instead of in her normal armour that Aira might have seen around, she's in more casual clothes: a work dress in shades of blue under an apron, her long green hair pulled back underneath a white scarf dotted with yellow flowers. It doesn't hide her face much at all, but it does keep the strands from getting in the way.

Even though she doesn't know the newcomer, Nephenee's in a far more relaxed mood than if she'd been caught unawares or outside - this may not be her personal kitchen, but baking therapy is A Thing, and she's good at it - and she smiles warmly.

"Ah...thank ya, miss." There's a light hesitance there in the country drawl, but she's getting more used to this. "Ah think the locals would call it 'shortbread'? It's a treat from back home."

Aira is also dressed for casual comfort: a baggy sweater, athletic shorts, tights, and cute loafers. But yes indeed, having seen Neph a few times in passing, the helmet and armor are what she recognizes her for. Though she's plenty striking in other aspects, which Aira immediately notes as she scoots into the kitchen with bouncy steps.

"Hehe. You're very, very welcome."

She laces her fingers behind her back and looks around.

"Not gonna lie, I'd love a taste once they're done!" she then exclaims, like that isn't the most obvious thing ever. "Uh, but I can help in the meantime. Like with cleaning up? Or are you making another batch?"

"Ms. Nephenee!" Atom's expression lights up when he turns and sees her. He can't help glancing at the blue helmet on her head, missing the gift she has for him in hand until she announces that she had a gift. "A New Years gift? Thank you! You didn't have to go to all the trouble!" His expression turns bashful, caught without a gift to give her in return. "I'll have to owe you something for the moment."

Dang it, Atom, how are you so adorable? She beams right back, chuckling. "Aw, Nephenee's fine, sweetie." Seriously, the kid's roughly the age of her brothers - no "Miss" here!

At his comment about the gift, though, she shakes her head. "Ya don't hafta, Ah'm jus' givin' folks stuff for the occasion, an' to cheer folks up."

And to heal people that need it, but that's not important right now.

Still... "But if ya really wanna, Ah won't stop ya." She wouldn't want to take that from him, if he wants to give something. Heaven knows she loves to give people things, and still did at that age.

Still smiling, she starts rooting around in her basket with her free hand. "How ya been holdin' up?"

"Oh, okay Nephenee," he says her name. Congrats on joining the small group of allies he addresses less formally. "With everything that has happened recently, I'm sure they'll appreciate a little cheering up." He's referring, of course, to the rough battle freeing the witch and escaping the mission sites with the Empire on their heels.

"I've been learning magic, and I'm finally starting to see results!" he tells her, eyes practically sparkling with wonder at the concept.

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A Belated New Year's gift-giving to all! [Open]

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Sorry for the very late reply, somehow I mised this tag!

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