Fifth Chord - No Plot Here, Just Vibes

[fair_trouble]

Busking
Becoming a God had the happy side effect of covering most of Emery’s animal needs. His throne room gives him a place to stay- somewhere he can stash his belongings, sleep, or clean himself up- and it’s not hard for him to get food one way or another.

Anything else is a little more complicated. And unfortunately, usually requires funds.

Emery’s been busy dashing around dealing with the ongoing epidemic, so his money has been especially tight lately. He has to spend a few coins here and there on nursing supplies, and he doesn’t have quite as much time to do odd jobs as he normally does.

It’s as the year is well into autumn and Emery’s wallet is at the stage of coughing up moths instead of coins that Emery finally has to squeeze in a little time to make money. Getting a full time job is out of the question- but there are various taverns in Flotsam that won’t say no to having a lyre player entertain the guests.

So every now and then you’ll find him there, seated with a hat at his feet and his lyre in his hands.

“Got any requests?”

Flower Selling
The lyre isn’t the only method at Emery’s disposal for making money. Having control over the growth of plants is a perk that Emery doesn’t just use for medicinal herbs, and every now and then you can see a stand set up in various Corsair-controlled settlements where a pretty blonde girl is selling flowers.

Pansies, daffodils, crocuses and more, there’s a wide variety of flowers on display with the only commonality being that they’re all blooms that normally only appear in spring. Of course, being out of season flowers they’re priced accordingly, only a bit cheaper than what you’d get at a normal shop. Disappointing perhaps if you’ve met Emery giving out free plants before.

Emery has no apparent embarrassment about the prices, and cheerfully calls out to potential customers as they pass by, occasionally holding up some flowers: “You look like you’d go well with these.”

Getting Hassled (cw: drunk man harassing a girl)
Emery isn’t a stranger to flirting and subsequent activities, but she generally prefers to spend her time- which has gotten a lot more limited since her godhood- with more appealing sorts than a visibly and olfactorily drunken man trying to physically drag her off into drinking more with him. Such as the man who is currently trying to interrupt her attempts to sell flowers to Elysium-goers.

“Wha’s a pretty girl like you doin’ out here? Come wi’ me, I’ll show you a good time-”

She’d tried rebuffing him politely at first but it hadn’t taken long for the guy to grab her wrist and try yanking her out from behind her stand.

Emery yelps “Let go of me!”

Emery’s tone is frustrated, rather than frightened. If this guy gets too aggressive she’s confident in her ability to get away, it’s just a pain that this one drunken asshole is keeping her from what she came here for.

Comments

[heaven_rooted]

"Quieter," Tau says by way of admission. "And the less annoying people I have to run into, the less tempted I am to punch them in the face." He says this with complete seriousness.

"Want me to take you down or can you drop down after me?" he asks. "I'll catch you."

[fair_trouble]

Emery's eyebrows arch at the casual admission. "Not much of a people person, are you," she observes.

Despite this, she moves closer to Tau. "Oh, I'd feel much safer if you held me~" she says.

[heaven_rooted]

"Not particularly. Depends on the people," Tau shrugs. He makes a face when Emery steps closer, giving her a flat look.

"Is that right."

He shakes his head, but he doesn't step away. Instead, he moves to scoop her up so he can drop down to the balcony below.

[fair_trouble]

Honestly, tildes aside, Emery wasn't really being dishonest when she said that; it's kind of nice to have something solid to hold onto during each successive drop, even if they're not individually that long.

"It was kind of you to step in," she says, between jumps, "Especially when you don't like dealing with people."

[heaven_rooted]

"Not everyone's annoying," he replies after the next leap. "But most of them around here think that just because the Empire runs things, they can throw their weight around to get what they want."

Another drop. He snorts. "Doesn't work that way with medical problems. Not everything can be healed, somethings take time, and looking for shortcuts never works well for anyone in the end. They don't understand even when it's for their benefit or whoever they want treated."

[fair_trouble]

"I'm familiar with the type," Emery drily admits. "It's like trying to argue with a toddler."

Which makes her think of, with a pang, her younger siblings still living under Imperial rule- Ansel's no doubt a toddler already and Mom might very well be pregnant again by this point.

[heaven_rooted]

"Exactly." Not that Tau has too much experience with children. "Only I think sometimes even they're more agreeable."

He drops down another balcony before they're on the street below, setting Emery on her feet.

"Ride's over."

[fair_trouble]

Emery settles on the ground, still keeping a hand on Tau's shoulder.

"Thanks for the save~"

And then Tau is rewarded for his heroism with a smooch on the cheek.

(Emery lets go immediately after that and takes a step back, in case Tau's a flailer.)

[heaven_rooted]

It's so quick and unexpected that Tau's response is almost delayed once it sinks in as to what just happened. He jerks back, startled, his face going red. To his credit he does not flail.

He snorts, looking away. "Just take care of yourself, all right?" He doesn't seem too keen on sticking around, turning almost immediately after as he tugs his hood back into place.