[open] april catchall + quests!

[neronian]

WHO: Nero Claudius (Saber, the red one that's not Mordred) and various people. Come one, come all.
WHERE: All over the town, and the woods.
WHEN: All throughout April!
WHAT: Exactly what it says on the tin/title.
WARNINGS: Nothing for now, but will revise if stuff comes up!

(open) i; it's like the great fire of rome all over again

[ Nero needs wood. A lot of wood. Some for repairs, because gods know that far too many structures in the town could use some, but most importantly, she's running out of materials for her artwork! Her masterpieces! Her artistic muse! And what certainly did not help was the fact that a certain king of knights destroyed a good number of her masterpieces! Also, in a certain fit of generosity, she also gave quite a few of her remaining pieces away. Such is the life of an emperor as magnanimous as she.

Nero scuttles around the woods, hacking trees (there are certainly more than enough trees to go around) and scrounging lumber, in an effort to procure precious, precious lumber. More than once, she spots unsuspecting prey free hands and, with some logs in her own two hands, proclaims: ]

You there! Your hands seem idle.

[ And well. For all her Servanthood, she only has 2 of them, so she could use a few extra. Hint hint, nudge nudge. ]

(open) ii; nameless forest

[ Or find her uncharacteristically tuckered out, lying on the ground near the woods, face down in an obvious indicator that she isn't simply taking a nap.

Someone kick her awake. Or make sure she's not dead. (She's not dead. She'd have disappeared into golden sparkles if she was.) ]

wildcard;

[ Wildcard? Wildcard! If you want a thread, quest plotting, shenanigans, personalized prompt, or anything else, you can hit me up at chlorophylls! ]

Comments

quest 53 + minato

[neronian]

[ Nero loudly makes her presence known after she knocks firmly, three times, on the door to Minato's residence. In her other hand is a wooden sculpture, a bit on the cruder side, of a certain dragoness idol, microphone and all. ]

Minato! It is I, Saber!

[ ...Well, Red Saber now. But she doesn't know that Minato knows about their Red-Blue Saber arrangement yet, so she'll explain if necessary. ]

quest 53 + maya

[neronian]

[ Knock, knock, knock, Maya Amano. There is one (1) emperor confidently visiting her home today, this time with a wooden sculpture, approximately a foot tall, in one arm. Call it a new piece of interior decor. One of the remaining few, even, thanks to a certain king of knights. ]

Open up, for it is I!

[ Giving people her ~masterpieces~ isn't an everyday occurrence, you know!! ]

quest 53 + sierra

[neronian]

[ Okay, truth be told...Nero didn't actually know where Sierra lived.

But, well. She seemed like such a wonderful connoisseur of Nero's own art and sense of aesthetics, Nero herself thought it a pity to pass her over if she really was going to give away her precious artwork for the sake of that quest.

What she carries in her arms as she wanders around the town, peering into houses and stores for the subject she seeks, is not exactly a statue, but a wooden carving nonetheless (albeit one that is smaller than the image depicted, due to the lack of abundant resources), of a lion's open maw. ]

Hm...if I were a maiden like her, where would I be...?

[ Hmhmhmhm... ]

quest 53 + tristan

[neronian]

[ The quest said to "give someone else something precious to you". Her artwork is, indeed, precious, the fruits of her blood, sweat, and tears as she labored to give her muse the form it desired, as she instilled her works with memories and feelings of things and places and people she cared for. So precious works deserve precious recipients.

And, well, Tristan has been precious to her, here. He has been a constant, one who may have found himself a little lost, emotionally, thanks to the appearance of his king. She is not sure if her own gift, a framed painting of her in what she deems tasteful artistic nigh-nudity, will either throw him into more turmoil or actually convey her sentiments, but it's worth a try. She knocks on the door to the knight's newly repaired home, squinting a little at some spots of their abode that she thinks may have been previously destroyed by the dragons (unfortunately), and then proclaims her presence. ]

Archer! It is but I who approaches your home.

[ Her voice is more than enough for him to be able to tell it's not Artoria or Mordred visiting, if he wants to sigh about the possibility of other Sabers visiting. ]

i

[artorian]

[ Drawn by the sound of trees falling en masse, Saber wanders over. Admittedly, her hands are idle as she stops to watch Nero going about her work, so Nero calling her out on it is... fair. ]

Good day, Red Saber. Is all this for the reconstruction effort?

[ How responsible! And a worthy effort, so she gently clanks on over to pick up a log or two of her own. That time they fought over kitchenware is all in the past. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ "It is I" sure sounds imperious, but Maya does indeed realize who it is just by hearing that much.

So the door opens, and Nero is greeted by Maya's puzzled (but smiling) face. ]

Saber! It's been awhile since you've visited!

[ ... please say this isn't caroling round two. ]

[noholdsbard]

[ Alas, as intact as their home now seemed, its occupants’ skills in carpentry are clearly limited. It hardly seems a suitable place for a visiting emperor, but still Tristan makes haste in opening that door to admit her inside, where the place is, if nothing else, kept scrupulously tidy. ]

Saber.

[ He allows himself a soft smile. She is precious to him as well—not only because she is the sole Servant to remember their Master and Chaldea, but because, well…

Ahem. ]

This is quite an unexpected honor, but please come inside and make of our home as you see fit. I will bring you refreshments presently—

[regrede]

[ that’s a lot!

sierra doesn’t realize just how much she’s primed to receive, however. she merely notices that nero seems to be carting something around town, looking for someone, and well—when she says “maiden,” sierra can’t help but take credit for such an appellation even if plenty of people would, and have, argue with her about it. ]

Looking for someone?

[ her voice, high and melodic, calls out to nero before the wrong person gets peeped on. ]

i!

[witchual]

[ Oh, that's Saber? Wearing different clothes, and seeming much more animated than normal? Huh. Magilou leans back against the tree she's near (which is, at least for now, still standing), putting one foot in front of the other and crossing her legs. She's not going to move just yet, but that tree-hacking sound is getting closer and closer. That's a little worrying. ]

Take another look! I'm occupied being unoccupied. [ What's the deal, Saber, are you going to make her do menial work now?? ] Surely whatever task you're trying to accomplish can be done with half the amount of lumber you're gathering.

ii

[troubadamsel]

[Goddammn you kids why does this keep happening.

With a heavy sigh, she tries to drag the heavy body towards her horse.]

Someone should make an announcement...

[messianic]

[You know, funnily enough? Just by the tone of that call, Minato's pretty sure this isn't Blue Saber calling on his door.

And sure enough, when he opens it--

...]

Saber-san, hey. Good to see you. [As ever, he answers her exuberance with bland deadpan. Because he's useless.]

Come on in. [He's...looked at the sculpture, but there are a lot of questions that it causes, so. He's not going to ask just yet.]

I've got hot cocoa, if you want some.

[neronian]

[ Thankfully, Maya's ears will be spared...this time. Instead, she proudly puffs out her chest, nodding. ]

It has been too long! But worry not, I bear a gift, just like the last time.

[ Yes, she considers her caroling last time a "gift" in and of itself. ]

Behold!

[ She lifts up the wooden sculpture in her arms, which Maya has most likely seen during their tour of Nero and Wuxian's home during the new year's. ]

[neronian]

[ Hot cocoa hot cocoa hot cocoa—

Nero's immediate thoughts of explaining just what she is even visiting his home momentarily vanish in the wake of potential hot cocoa. ]

But of course. I will accept your offering.

[ She steps inside, as he so graciously allowed her to, and looks around. ]

[neronian]

[ Nero turns around at the sound of Sierra's voice. It's her! The vampire for the occasion! ]

Yes! You, in fact. Sierra, your sense of timing is impeccable!

[ Was it ~fate~ that drew her here? Or simply coincidence? Nero doesn't care. What matters is that she found the person she's looking to give something precious to. ]

[neronian]

[ Perhaps the one to make that announcement should be Maribelle herself!! As a PSA from a concerned citizen. As Nero is right now, she is in no condition to boisterously make such a public announcement, instead groaning when she is moved, a sure sign of life at the very least. Her eyes struggle to flutter open, though she does not resist the hands moving her body...yet. ]

[neronian]

[ This is Saber, yes, but not Saber as Magilou knows her, unfortunately. Nero shakes her head, not taking Magilou's implicit no for an answer. ]

Of course not! Reconstruction needs much more lumber than this [ don't talk to her about the Great Fire of Rome ], and my art will also require wood to take form.

[ Don't deny her her wood sculptures!! ]

[neronian]

[ Nero can be surprisingly responsible when she wants to be. She is an emperor, after all, and an emperor is nothing without the lifeblood of any empire: citizens. So she loves them, cares for them in her own way, wishing them well. ]

A good portion, but not all. I will retain some lumber [ Okay, a lot. ] for my own works.

[ She squints at Artoria, waiting to see if the bluer Saber has any comment to make about that. Will she admit her guilt upfront, or will Nero have to drag the confession out of her??? ]

[scooptimistic]

Isn't that... that's one of your pieces, right? From your house!

[ It's hard to forget... in many ways. ]

[artorian]

[ No... Saber looks guilty immediately under Nero's scrutiny. Of course the King of Knights would have an overwhelming sense of right and wrong and where she stands between them. ]

I have been meaning to speak with you about that. That is, the vandalizing of your... art.

[ Did Nero really make all of that? Saber has... a lot of questions. But first things first. ]

Has Wei Wuxian already given you his version of events that day?

ii

[rebeliune]

W-what the... father?

[ ... No, Nero actually has something of an ass is wearing red, for starters, and doesn't give off the same aura King Arthur does. Mordred is immediately torn between relief that her father isn't passed out by the woods... and annoyance that her father isn't passed out by the woods, because she could lord it over him.

But there's no mistaking that magical energy. Frowning, she kicks the other woman in the side with her (thankfully not armoured) boot. ]

Wake up. You're a Servant, aren't you? What the hell are you doing?

[troubadamsel]

[Drag drag drag. Now the really difficult part... heaving this heavy body ONTO the horse. But at least she's trying.]

Oh, why do I even bother...?

[witchual]

[ Art, she says? Now that is interesting. Magilou pulls herself off the tree, finally, inching closer like an annoying, overly-curious cat. ]

I can respect the performance arts. What kind of art are we talking? Wooden backgrounds for the theater? Sculptures the likes of which have never been seen?

[ She's kind of wondering how all the lumber is going to be fitted into art, but it's interesting, isn't it? She picks up a single piece of nearby wood from the ground. Look, she's helping. ]

[messianic]

[Sometimes, previous quests can be kind.

Minato flashes her a small smile in return--and then leads the way towards the kitchen. His home is tidy, but pretty empty; most of Minato's odds and ends are in his own room, after all.]

It's mostly been sitting gathering dust, so it's kind of nice to be able to break it out for guests.

[Otherwise, it's a bit too precious for him to drink on his own.]

Make yourself comfortable.

ii

[shizun]

[ What a nice day for a stroll.

Shen Qingqiu is pleased that spring has sprung. Winter felt like it was going to last forever! He lets out a small happy sigh as he walks around -- even though there is still a little clean-up that needs to be done, there's an odd sense of peace that settles upon him. The feeling like everything is going to be alright.

He opens his eyes, surprised he closed them in contentment, and freezes. IS THAT A FUCKING DEAD PERSON!? Shen Qingqiu nearly spits up a mouthful of blood, but is able to swallow it down. With more elegance than he should be allowed, he hurries over to the young woman.

Pausing, he pinches his chin as he looks down at her. Do I know her? He wonders as he picks her up and turns her over -- then immediately drops her back on the ground. THE HALF-NUDE WOMAN IN THE PAINTINGS AT WIFI'S HOUSE! A beat. OH SHIT I DROPPED A CORPSE IS THAT LIKE TEN YEARS BACK LUCK WHAT HOW DOES IT TRANSLATE?!

He reaches down to pick her up, again. Oh, wait, she's alive. Cool, cool. Hello. Resting his hand on her face, he feels like he shouldn't be looking directly at her so turns his head away. ]

Hey... hey... wake up... hey...

[neronian]

Yes, it is! I'm glad you recognize it.

[ She truly is. She is proud of it, that much is clear by her smile and the way she carries said sculpture. ]

I consider all my works of art precious, and this one is no exception.

[ So...well, Maya gets the implication, doesn't she? Doesn't she??? Nero stares at her expectantly. ]