The day was unseasonably warm for Ishgard, which meant that the chill was brisk enough to lightly scratch at exposed limbs rather than cut straight to the bone. That and a warm sun ensured that people were waiting out at the airship platform in anticipation of their next trip rather than huddled inside their homes or nearby businesses until their flight’s appointed arrival.
Auroux Doufard had expected colder weather today, and had dressed accordingly. This meant he was forced to undress at least a little to avoid sweating to death, and had removed one of his jackets. He blamed his Gridanian upbringing, and his misunderstanding of the vagaries of the new Coerthan climate, but beyond that he saw the incident as nothing more than a minor nuisance.
His business in Ishgard had long since been completed; a botanist by trade, he had come on behalf of the Guild to negotiate the purchase of some new seeds in the hopes of crossbreeding popotoes more able to resist a sudden frost. All things considered, the results were more than adequate, and he could leave the city in the knowledge that his work had been satisfactory. He was in so fine a mood that he indulged and, with a little of his pocket money, had purchased a bundle of roses to bring to his sister. She had always been fond of the flower, and there were subtle differences in the Ishgardian variants that well-rewarded their gardeners’ efforts to keep them alive through the unending winter.
“My, but those are lovely, are they not?†Auroux turned his head to espy an older gentleman with graying hair and a fine dark beard, a noble from the look of his dress, admiring the bouquet. The deep blue-grey of his skin suggested a duskwight, and Auroux had to hold back his immediate sense of distaste. It was too lovely a day to sour by being rude to a local, especially someone in the upper crust.
“These?†He lifted the roses. “Yes. I saw them in the Crozier and I had to have them for the trip home. Couldn’t do without them.â€
“Yes, they certainly look to be of a fine quality.†Auroux was sure he mistook the sound of disdain in the man’s voice for something else. After all, who could possibly mock the concept of quality? “Do they stand the cold well?â€
Ah, now this was Auroux’s bailiwick. “Very well, sir. Fascinating properties in Ishgardian roses.â€
“They don’t just wither and die all of a sudden?â€
Auroux pursed his lips. “I beg your pardon?â€
“The roses. They’re very hardy, yes? They don’t just, I don’t know, suddenly wither and die when exposed to a sudden blast of chill.†The duskwight seemed keenly interested in an answer to this question. Hopeful, almost, by the expression on his face, the lift of his eyebrows and the widening of jade-green eyes.
“No, they’ll wither in a frost, all right. A sudden freeze without precautions and their bloom will fade. But much less so than with, say, a Gridanian rose.â€
“Yes, yes, of course, of course, but I mean, right away, they won’t wither and die? As if one moment the rose looked perfectly healthy, and then the next.†He snapped his fingers. “The next it’s nothing more than a dried-out husk?â€
“…No, sir, I don’t think Coerthan varietals do that. Or Gridanian ones, for that matter.â€
“Hm. Mmhm.†The duskwight folded his hands into the pockets of his coat - a very fine one, very well furred, and yet Auroux could swear it was lined with the fur of something less than fine.
Marmot, perhaps. “So if, say, one were to see a rose do that - “
“Roses don’t do that, sir.â€
“But if they did that,†the duskwight pressed. “If they did that, then that would not be a typical behavior of a rose, and instead the product of some other phenomena?â€
“Surely, sir. I’m no mage, but I would imagine it must have been quite a blast of ice aether. Mayhaps a frost sprite.†Unconsciously, Auroux had started to edge back from the platform.
“I see. I see.†The duskwight folded his arms and seemed to mutter to himself. Auroux briefly picked up “didn’t look like a spirte, though.†Perhaps that was the end of the conversation, he thought with some relief. The nobility here could be quite odd.
“Supposing you were about to be wed.†The hypothetical, and the vehemence with which the duskwight posed it, snuck up on Auroux and metaphorically clubbed him so hard that he nearly dropped his bouquet off the edge of the Pillars. “And your betrothed, well, her family - she didn’t talk much about her family, but then you met her family, and they were capable of such phenomena as I described?â€
“I - what - “ Auroux struggled to keep his grip on his flowers. “Excuse me?â€
“It’s a simple question!â€
“You have me at an advantage, sir, for I don’t understand the question. What about those circumstances?â€
“Well, do you think - I mean, surely there must be some reasonable explanation for suddenly dying roses. A sudden swarm of vilekin, mayhaps, or an unexpected quintuple eclipse. Surely the family of your beloved wouldn’t be responsible for such phenomena?â€
“That seems a rather dubious proposition, sir.â€
For whatever reason, the duskwight took severe umbrage at Auroux’s statement. His beard bristled up in a way that he supposed must have been natural of all cave-clan dwellers. “Dubious? No! No, this isn’t dubious at all! I wouldn’t dare sully the term with such a circumstance as this! Nefarious, surely, or mysterious! But dubious?! I take offense on behalf of the vocabulary!â€
There was silence between the two of them for the moment. Several other passengers were now staring at the exchange.
“Ah,†said Auroux. “My flight has arrived. If you will excuse me.†He turned on his heel and marched away from the airship platform, towards the Crozier. He would wait there until the man went away or was arrested.
He damned his hearing in his final steps off of the platform, for it was better than most Wildwoods, and he was treated to one last confused rumble from the duskwight.
“Surely she must know her grandmother can do that…â€
Auroux Doufard had expected colder weather today, and had dressed accordingly. This meant he was forced to undress at least a little to avoid sweating to death, and had removed one of his jackets. He blamed his Gridanian upbringing, and his misunderstanding of the vagaries of the new Coerthan climate, but beyond that he saw the incident as nothing more than a minor nuisance.
His business in Ishgard had long since been completed; a botanist by trade, he had come on behalf of the Guild to negotiate the purchase of some new seeds in the hopes of crossbreeding popotoes more able to resist a sudden frost. All things considered, the results were more than adequate, and he could leave the city in the knowledge that his work had been satisfactory. He was in so fine a mood that he indulged and, with a little of his pocket money, had purchased a bundle of roses to bring to his sister. She had always been fond of the flower, and there were subtle differences in the Ishgardian variants that well-rewarded their gardeners’ efforts to keep them alive through the unending winter.
“My, but those are lovely, are they not?†Auroux turned his head to espy an older gentleman with graying hair and a fine dark beard, a noble from the look of his dress, admiring the bouquet. The deep blue-grey of his skin suggested a duskwight, and Auroux had to hold back his immediate sense of distaste. It was too lovely a day to sour by being rude to a local, especially someone in the upper crust.
“These?†He lifted the roses. “Yes. I saw them in the Crozier and I had to have them for the trip home. Couldn’t do without them.â€
“Yes, they certainly look to be of a fine quality.†Auroux was sure he mistook the sound of disdain in the man’s voice for something else. After all, who could possibly mock the concept of quality? “Do they stand the cold well?â€
Ah, now this was Auroux’s bailiwick. “Very well, sir. Fascinating properties in Ishgardian roses.â€
“They don’t just wither and die all of a sudden?â€
Auroux pursed his lips. “I beg your pardon?â€
“The roses. They’re very hardy, yes? They don’t just, I don’t know, suddenly wither and die when exposed to a sudden blast of chill.†The duskwight seemed keenly interested in an answer to this question. Hopeful, almost, by the expression on his face, the lift of his eyebrows and the widening of jade-green eyes.
“No, they’ll wither in a frost, all right. A sudden freeze without precautions and their bloom will fade. But much less so than with, say, a Gridanian rose.â€
“Yes, yes, of course, of course, but I mean, right away, they won’t wither and die? As if one moment the rose looked perfectly healthy, and then the next.†He snapped his fingers. “The next it’s nothing more than a dried-out husk?â€
“…No, sir, I don’t think Coerthan varietals do that. Or Gridanian ones, for that matter.â€
“Hm. Mmhm.†The duskwight folded his hands into the pockets of his coat - a very fine one, very well furred, and yet Auroux could swear it was lined with the fur of something less than fine.
Marmot, perhaps. “So if, say, one were to see a rose do that - “
“Roses don’t do that, sir.â€
“But if they did that,†the duskwight pressed. “If they did that, then that would not be a typical behavior of a rose, and instead the product of some other phenomena?â€
“Surely, sir. I’m no mage, but I would imagine it must have been quite a blast of ice aether. Mayhaps a frost sprite.†Unconsciously, Auroux had started to edge back from the platform.
“I see. I see.†The duskwight folded his arms and seemed to mutter to himself. Auroux briefly picked up “didn’t look like a spirte, though.†Perhaps that was the end of the conversation, he thought with some relief. The nobility here could be quite odd.
“Supposing you were about to be wed.†The hypothetical, and the vehemence with which the duskwight posed it, snuck up on Auroux and metaphorically clubbed him so hard that he nearly dropped his bouquet off the edge of the Pillars. “And your betrothed, well, her family - she didn’t talk much about her family, but then you met her family, and they were capable of such phenomena as I described?â€
“I - what - “ Auroux struggled to keep his grip on his flowers. “Excuse me?â€
“It’s a simple question!â€
“You have me at an advantage, sir, for I don’t understand the question. What about those circumstances?â€
“Well, do you think - I mean, surely there must be some reasonable explanation for suddenly dying roses. A sudden swarm of vilekin, mayhaps, or an unexpected quintuple eclipse. Surely the family of your beloved wouldn’t be responsible for such phenomena?â€
“That seems a rather dubious proposition, sir.â€
For whatever reason, the duskwight took severe umbrage at Auroux’s statement. His beard bristled up in a way that he supposed must have been natural of all cave-clan dwellers. “Dubious? No! No, this isn’t dubious at all! I wouldn’t dare sully the term with such a circumstance as this! Nefarious, surely, or mysterious! But dubious?! I take offense on behalf of the vocabulary!â€
There was silence between the two of them for the moment. Several other passengers were now staring at the exchange.
“Ah,†said Auroux. “My flight has arrived. If you will excuse me.†He turned on his heel and marched away from the airship platform, towards the Crozier. He would wait there until the man went away or was arrested.
He damned his hearing in his final steps off of the platform, for it was better than most Wildwoods, and he was treated to one last confused rumble from the duskwight.
“Surely she must know her grandmother can do that…â€
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Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine