( open ) liberate your sons and daughters the bush is high but in the hole there's water

[synergismus]

Who: Everyone!
What: Events around the city, any time.
Where: Everywhere in Baedal.
When: Whenever you’d like.
Notes:

• Behold, your all-purpose open game log. There are a couple pre-written starters to help you generate new and open CR, and you may also use this post to start your own group activities or planned threads. GO WILD!
  
• No one is late to this post. You may use it forever.
  
• The companion thread for this post is right here!
  
• DON'T THINK TOO HARD ABOUT IT JUST RP.
  
• Helpful links: Neighbourhoods, City Map.
  
• Lucky Pastry Advice for the Month of Velldaren: A truly rich life contains love and art in abundance.
  

Warnings: Zombie horrors in the appropriately titled ZOMBIES! thread, otherwise TBA. Please put warnings in subject lines of your comments if content warrants one.

Comments

[inkdamage]

That look drifts by Severus like opportunities to do the right thing drift by certain pirates, and he investigates the remainder of his tea while listening to her inquiry. And then looks mildly incredulous.

"It's completely fine," he says. "Supposing you had certain traditions, or were working with something uncouth, you might want to retain your privacy - but such a thing would be based on personal preference. It's commonplace, here."

Something uncouth, like, say, necromancy - which is what Severus was billing himself with when he and Penelope first met, she might recall. And he's never had any problem with it, nor has Njoki. He levels a more critical look at her, thinking about the attack she suffered.

"Have you been bothered by something?"

[meanwhileback]

"This city bothers me," she says, vaguely. "Things work too differently to what I'm used to. And yeah, that's pathetic newb whining coming from someone who's been here for way too long to still be doing pathetic newb whining, but it's only just started to piss me off."

Specifically, she means. In general, just being in Baedal pisses her off.

"I don't love the way fucking everything is a threat to me now, and maybe I'm kind of starting to like, fucking lose it. Leaving the fucking house mildly freaks me out." She stares at that moth, impassive. A practiced, jaded-yet-blank face.

[inkdamage]

"Everything was a threat to you at home, too. There are simply wear fewer masks here."

Only someone like Severus would find something like that reassuring - or something akin to reassuring, anyway; his tone isn't comforting, it just is what it is.

"Are you afraid that you'll be attacked again?"

[meanwhileback]

That gives her pause-- honestly, she hadn't thought about what specifically it was that she was afraid of, but now that he mentions it, it does make sense to her. She shrugs.

"That or something else. It's fucking bizarre, I feel far less safe now that people know who I am. I mean it's not like, impacting the business or anything," because christ knows that's the most important thing, here, fuck her feelings, nobody cares, "so I can focus on that for a while and ignore it, but it fucking creeps on me."

There's a pause while she grabs her bag, rummages inside it for her cigarettes. "I'm not used to doing this shit alone, I guess. Being small, female, and infinitely fucking breakable is no fun in this city, as it turns out. Whatever, I don't know what I'm talking about. Fuck. How're you."

[inkdamage]

Severus is quiet while she goes on, and though it's hard to tell considering his stoicism and the low light, he is actually having a fairly impressive deer in headlights moment in response to her sudden eruption of Feelings. He doesn't offer her a light, but only because he's taking a moment to consider this turn of events and - well, phrasing it like 'And imagine Penelope ten years younger and wearing a uniform' sounds terrible (so of course it's being written), but the only supportive context that Severus has beyond the horrible murderous wizard cult is in the form of being a teacher.

So.

"You are a witch," he begins, and he's not sure he can get this to sound like anything beyond Professor Snape (not that Penelope knows Professor Snape exists), but oh well, "You are far from helpless. You are a businesswoman, and an artist, and verbal warrior of the highest caliber. It doesn't seem to me like you've had a difficult time in this city, as hard as it might be on your heart."

It might be better if he sounded awkward, instead of stiffly formal. Alas. "And I'm fine." He's always fine.