Anarion

Sunshards

Do you know how hard it is sitting and watching a really good duel? It's sooo hard! You've got to have laser focus and you need to manage to stay in your seat even though you're so into it that you're swinging and swaying and gesturing for a move and trying for a parry and thinking about what openings there might be! And if your little butt leaps out of the seat and maybe you swing your arms in a cutting gesture that very nearly takes the wide-brimmed straw sun hat right off the head of the poor traveler sitting next to you as you let out a "woooo!" well, hopefully you can be forgiven because they understand just how hard it is to sit there.

Chen's watching this duel like a hawk. Eyes darting back and forth to the combatants. They're not evenly matched, but they are evenly paired, if that makes sense? Like, if Chen sat down to explain it to you, it's like, this is a duel where it's obvious who's got the sword winning happening, but the conversation of the fight is extremely close, edge of your seat tension. And not just like the words part of the conversation (that too though, Chen tenses when Yue brings up her parents, but of course she does need to think about them). But like, the flow of the fight. It's a conversation about how Yue's coming along, and how Rose wants to present herself, and how Yue pulls Rose into letting herself go, and how Rose shows off those thick, sweaty, gleaming muscles (Chen swoons a little, who wouldn't, come on).

For a minute it's really going Rose's way. You can see her playing with Yue, stringing her along, matching the pace, speeding up the pace, really giving the crowd her show as the powerful and controlled handmaiden. But then, Yue lands the killing blow...emotionally! And Rose is stammering and thinking and you can see how she lets herself go. Chen's watching the moves, watching Rose forget herself and be more free and a part of her brain is thinking about what to call Yue's secret technique as Rose starts stammering and moves with her snake instincts, grace and flow and beauty unleashed for everyone to devour with their eyes (and for Chen to devour later with other body parts). It's so good, it's incredible. Yue's caught and pinned and reduced to meeps and squirms of the best sort and she looks like she's having the best time. And on top of that, the whole time, Chen is thinking to herself what name she might give Yue's secret technique. It needs to be cool, but also Yue style (Yue style, Chen has decided, is two parts sunshine, one part floof, one part frizz, and five parts goofy earnest joy).

So, when Rose makes her big presentation, the first thing out of Chen's mouth is "Secret Technique: Irresistible Emotional Support Giggle Questions!" and then she blushes and giggles herself because that part of her brain was running so far ahead of everything else happening that there was no catching it. Again, being a good spectator is really hard!

She looks down, smooths out her dress, and meets Rose's eyes again. "That's, uh, Yue's technique name, I think. What it should be. As for my offering, well." And here she grins, Yue. The most wicked princess grin you've ever seen out of Chen, who reaches out and up up up on her tipptytoes (despite Rose bowing) to give Rose a good girl pat on the head. "Well, my sweet handmaiden, I think Yue is already spoken for, so I command you to make a present of her to Hyra. I'm confident..." here she only slips slightly as she thinks of her parents, though it's not because of you Rose, don't think that for a second, "I'm confident that word of this duel and the rumors of our plans will be a better gift for my mothers than any present we could offer up to them. But as for this little gift, well she needs to be a proper present, she's not nearly well-prepared enough for presentation to her lady. I'm going to need you to prepare her as...hmm yeah I like your dancing girl suggestion, Petal. Good girl!" and she gives Rose another pat. "Yes, prepare our prize as a proper dancing girl, with wolf accessories given who you're giving her to and then present her as a gift from the Princess Chen and her loyal handmaiden to Hyra of the Wolves to do with as she pleases." And Chen is trying to look just a little imperious, but she's grinning soooo wide. She's just gonna have to own that, the only way she can manage is to lean into her fun.

Good luck you two, she can't wait to see how you end up.

Sunshards

It’s an odd experience for Chen coming into all this. She’s spent a lot of her life moving in the top Princess circles, shown off by her parents when she was younger, the hope of the Princess Alliance against Qiu, a point of dispute when Hestia and Ysel split up, and now having been completely missing for a season (though she assumed the sky castle must have sent some word to broadcast their victory and it was possible that Jessic, Keon, and Qiu had even worked together on letting her stay there with no grief considering how everything had gone down).

But now she’s reappearing with a new handmaiden and a highly unusual entourage. She had thought that perhaps people wouldn’t recognize her. After all, aside from her frillier maid outfits (which to be crystal clear, she is not wearing right now) she isn’t particularly strong or memorable in her choice of dress. She’s a short little princess who dresses in cute and sometimes bold colors and styles that change depending on where she’s staying. She hasn’t even worn her distinctive long scarf in months! That isn’t to say she was against looking pretty (and she certainly enjoyed special clothes quite a lot) but just that her personal style wasn’t especially unique and she’d always aimed to stand out for her skills and her movements more than her looks.

But, people do recognize her! Maybe it’s because word spread of their group exploits at the Sky Castle and the duel with Keron and Jessic? Or their confrontation with Qiu even if it wasn’t a winning one? Or maybe they just know her better than she had realized. Or maybe…

“Um…i-is it true that your new handmaiden picks you up and carries your around on her shoulders all the time?” Asked a brave girl who had stepped forward despite the timidity in her voice and who seemed to have a glow of iron about her? And Chen had to nod and blush in front of several onlookers gathered around an old-fashioned covered wooden wagon because of course that was something Rose had done in every town they’d entered since coming down from the Sky Castle. In fact, she’d made quite the point of parading her Princess about for all to see. A gentleman wearing an old-fashioned style suit with the most silly accent chimed in that he’d heard it too, and suddenly there was a small crowd surrounding Chen as she sat on the end of the wagon all coming up and asking her all about her new handmaid and what they did together, and what different ways Chen liked being carried around! She really couldn’t do anything but squirm in place on her perch, blushing and nodding, as the crowd was having the best of times speculating how she’d found the new handmaiden with a relationship like this.

It was about when the crowd was on their third round of ideas, this one being that Rose had been assigned by Keron as Chen’s minder to kidnap her again if she ever spoke ill of the Sky Castle, that a few different voices started coming up. One tall woman with blue skin and long white hair falling over a spear strapped to her back walked up near Chen and put a gentle hand on her leg as she asked quietly: “I heard you actually fought Qiu once and you’re going to try again.” Another woman with a mystical air about her, dressed in a scarlet evening gown like she was ready for a ball came up among the crowd too and stood in front of Chen as she added, “I heard you fought Princess Qiu because she tried to recruit you and you refused.” Another, a young man wearing a suit and a snow leopard print hoodie and tail, stepped in front of them like a barker and added “I heard Princess Chen was supposed to have the winning dance in Qiu’s contest last season, but she revoked it after they fought and she wouldn’t dance with anyone!” He grins a feral grin and turns to give Chen a kiss on the back of her hand as the rumors start spreading through the audience that somehow Chen is taking a stand against Qiu, that there’s going to be a big showdown or a grudge map, or maybe some kind of group fight, or even a boss gauntlet for Qiu to take on to wear her down, with Chen and her new entourage near the end of it.

Chen finds herself the center of attention of the crowd, blushing scarlet in equal parts taking in praise and wishing she could sink into the ground and disappear forever as rumors swirl. At least until Yue, the most beautiful and perfect salvation in girl form to have ever existed, taps Rose’s blade with her own and Rose responds with her own blade leaping out to become a Ysian scimitar (which would also have made Chen blush if she weren’t in it so bad already!) to signal that a duel will be happening.

Which, well, everybody knows that a duel is the most important thing for everybody’s attention to be on compared to anything else. So Chen has the honor and privilege of being allowed to catch her breath and have a little space as the crowd (and Chen!) all turn their attention to Rose and Yue. In fact, helping the rumors not even the slightest, Chen gives a squeak and a little clap of joy when she sees Rose rise to the challenge. This is going to be so good, she’s already got a huge grin on her face and she’s forgetting her embarrassment, mostly. She can’t wait to watch!

[I rolled a 13 on Don’t you Know Who I Am? I’m applying it to several individuals within the group speaking with her, which I hope is okay. I am also, after all this time, invoking the Chosen’s Destiny with Arch-nemesis as Chen’s return and rumors about her are painting her in that role and bringing her destiny closer, probably soon reaching her parents and/or Qiu.]

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Giriel loves stories of all kinds! As an aspiring sorcerer, you learn a lot of stories. They’re good teaching lessons. Some of them are horror stories about witches who didn’t follow the right precautions and got dragged down to the hells (yes well, that had seemed a lot less likely until the last few days), sometimes they were fascinating stories about obscure spirits and deities and how they moved in the world, and other times they were thrilling, seat-riveting stories about the wonder and miracles that happened around people every day.

Then there were the stories that you learned by doing the work. Banal stories about backaches and old war wounds, about warts and rashes and all sorts of ailments. Stories about harvests and rivers and trees. About local families, ancestors, gods and spirits, and about respect and disrespect. The movements of everyday life and religious life, and all the little interactions that people have and need help fixing when they make mistakes they didn’t intend.

But, if Giriel is being honest, her favorite stories are the romances. That’s right, she’s something of a sap. But the Flower kingdoms are full of them, and they come in all shapes and sizes! Some of them are so tiny and so real: people who come to her just because they want a potion to make their hair look nice and their skin healthy to meet someone special. Others are so big, weddings that fill an entire village with flowers, or tales of lost loves kidnapped. Some are the work of high fantasy like the stories of knights and damsels fighting off the hells themselves to be together, defying the strands of fate themselves, and the distant stories of gods long past who could rewrite reality and yet railed and screamed and clashed in the throes of their feelings for the loves they could not have.

Giriel loves these romances, big and small. She loves any part she gets to play in them, and she loves dreaming about them on her travels.

[The Astral dance is a 13]

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

There are a lot of snakes. Giri doesn't even have a good metaphor for a wave. She didn't visit the ocean much, it was far away from the mountains and dangerous, Dominion vessels and pirate vessels. Later she was just busy. Maybe this was an avalanche of snakes then. If it was an avalanche, you waited it out, found a safe place, let the dust settle, tried to move past it. You had to be careful, an avalanche might stop and leave everything still loose, more motion could set it off again, so it was better to find a way around it and past it.

The jungle's so hot, and sweat is beading on Giriel's forehead and around her arms. It's tense work catching the demon snakes. She could have made herself an island, but that wasn't good enough. No, it wasn't even just her and Uusha, there was a whole party, scattered now. And Han and the waitress, Piripiri was it, and that noblewoman? And that little priestess, where'd she get off to? A bead of sweat drips off Giriel's forehead and plops against a long frond of a fern as she steps forward, her vine lasso ready for the next snake. Everybody always wanted a witch's services. Knowing about things made you so valuable, you'd think they'd be more respectful.

Well, Uusha had been at least. She breathed, once twice and snared another snake. Had that been shame on the knight's face when she came back down? No way she was embarrassed at the thought of Giriel's touch, but maybe...she'd at least realized she overreacted. That was probably it. But still, but still, she was cute when she...when she glanced her eyes down like that, and her face forgot about its scowl. And those strong muscles.

It made Giri want to do something more. And she could. She could! She hadn't tested it yet but, she'd been thinking about how they'd gone through the hells and, well that wasn't the only way to travel, there was the astral and the elsewhere where the rakshasa came from as well. If she managed the trick right, she could move them through faster.

She just needed a minute here. She wanted to show Uusha and the others and getting Han to his little priestess sooner, that would be good too. Haven't you ever imagined that you'd see an avalanche and just be able to pop! right to the other side of it and look down from above it? Well, the snakes were coming from somewhere and that meant they were going the right way, so she just had to speed things up a little bit.

There was a flash in the dark, moonlight gleaming off knives. Both girls had come off Han's shoulders and, that was the waitress wasn't it? Explained a lot about how she'd gotten out of a demon castle in the first place. She didn't have Giri's training, but her store of magic was quite a bit stronger, moving like that. You could tell, she was someone who had reserves and a lot more even than she was letting on here. Well, that made for a couple of dragons in the group. All the better really. Maybe Han would like her.

Giri stepped around the snakes and she pulled her sword out and started dancing with it. She waved it in the air, undulating her hips, sweat trickling down her face now. Every few steps, she let the sword lower and drag a line along the ground. That was the key to making the travel quick, she thought. Carve out the route and make the motion first. She thought it should be a dance, it just felt right that it should be a dance and with magic that was half the game: symbolism and power. Lean into the motion, exert the effort, and cut the route through the earth and then she could move them somewhere else that would take it and speed them along. Uusha would probably think her a fool even if it worked though. Not like Peregrine with her mind going at warp speed just making things happen. No, Giri was the one who took her time. She'd never get Uusha that way though, not when the Dominion was here already, not when Uusha wanted her to commit to something Giri didn't believe. Not when she was already marked for Red Wolf for that matter. She didn't want to think too hard about that conflict at all. So she danced, her feet stepping carefully as her sword swung up and over her head and then down again to cut another line in the earth as snakes broke around her.

Just a little longer now.

[Giri is setting up for an astral dance. She is also smitten with Uusha, who gets a string on her. The what will Uusha dislike is in the body post.]

Sunshards

This little group had traveled together before, but when everybody is dating it's just different, you know? So many stories spend all their time just teasing and showing missed opportunities. Chen would know, she'd just watched a bunch of anime that hadn't been willing to show a full on kiss even though the characters were perfect for each other. But, there's something special about being together when everyone knows you're together.

It's the little things. It's the way that Hyra puts her hand possessively around Yue's waist when they're standing and looking over the hill they just hiked up in the late afternoon to look at the terraced lake. It's the way that Chen plays with one of Rose's curls that falls into her face as they stare at the sunset, absent-mindedly twirling it around her finger because it's there for her. It's the way that Rose holds out her arm and lets Chen snuggle into the space by her side and rest her head with the hair draping over that arm like it's the safest place in the world.

These things are the magic of being in love, the magic of happily ever after even if it's not actually ever after yet. And it's an infectious kind of magic. See how Chen and Rose grin when they catch Yue and Hyra sneaking a kiss? It's like being in on the joke. Look at the way Hyra and Yue's eyes sparkle and their cheeks rise in laughter when Rose sweeps Chen off her feet entirely and puts her on her shoulder to get a better view of the sunset and then insists on keeping her on the shoulder all the way back down the hill.

When they get down and go for dinner at the only little inn at the nearby town, they smile and lean in close to each other. They get to enjoy a gentle fire and the manic contrast of the inn's small radio, playing some old world CDs with high energy girl group music that doesn't seem appropriate for a relaxing dinner after a hike. But it also must be the only songs the place has or that can be found for miles and so they have a special quaintness to them. They get to try each other's food and share a special custard that's the innkeeper's custom recipe that she won't give out no matter how much Chen begs to be able to take it back to the kitchens of Ys.

For a little while on a date like this, everybody gets to be free. To be more themselves than maybe they've ever had the chance to be, and to not have to worry about what anyone else thinks at all. It's even all the sweeter for knowing that there's more to do after it as they hold the whole of the world at bay to make time for each other.

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Today had been a day for gargantuan demon generals. Raising and calming the dead. Summoning deities and reading tea leaves and so much more. Ranked among all that, demon snakes were maybe an annoyance. Regular snakes were a source of excellent potion ingredients. Did you know that snake venom is a necessary ingredient to produce snake anti-venom, and that it also forms the basis for several different kinds of witch potions and two types of divinations (one in which you take the snake venom and describe your hallucinations, one in which you give the snake venom to a goat ad then make predictions based on its path of movement)?

Oh, you weren't interested in Giri's encyclopedic knowledge of snakes? It seemed like Uusha wasn't either. That had hurt. It was understandable, she really didn't know what she was thinking trying to reach out to Uusha like that, the woman was hellbent (poor choice of words) on her mission, ready to fight a forever war against the Dominion, and had such a haunted look in her eyes. Giri had just wanted to, to reach her somehow. But instead she'd startled like a wild deer and leapt away before actually leaping away.

A vine looped into a lasso by Giri's hand lifted one of the demonic snakes from its throng, its loop tightening around the snake's throat and cutting off its hissing. Snakes around it suddenly found themselves without their marching orders and, facing many large beasts, stopped and hissed or slunk away. Giri held the demonic thing, her mind still elsewhere, thinking of Uusha and her touch. Her hand had been soft. Oddly so, she had expected all calluses, but there had been the slightest give of her skin at Giri's touch, soft and supple.

Begone the witch voiced in the language of the gods, and struck the demonic snake against a tree, which could not burn with demon's fire. When its head bashed the wood, it vanished in a puff of smoke and the vine noose was empty. Giri pulled it to herself, loosened it, and stepped towards the next demonic snake.

This she could handle, and she wanted to hold Uusha's hand again. She wanted to reach her and find some other way to keep the Flower Kingdom's free. Free to hold hands, to drink tea, and practice magic, and sit in the rain and breath in that fresh scent. Not to disrespect their ancestors and burn it to the ground just to make sure nobody else could have it. Giriel sighed and scattered the next group of snakes, making her way towards scattering the whole of the wave slowly but surely.

[Giriel is scattering the snakes by banishing the demon snakes. She rolled to defy disaster with metaphysical knowledge. She was willing to sacrifice Uusha, who could fend for herself, but she has rolled double 6s for a total of 14.]

Sunshards

Oh Rose. Are you still afraid you'll hurt your little Chen? She loves you, and she wants you, and do you know for all her maid dresses and her frilly skirts and how much she loves it when you pick her up and ride her on your shoulder, she loves this part too. It might even become her favorite part.

Her hand presses down on your chest, firm and hard, the pressure pushing your chest up and in. Doesn't that feel so good and make you just want to moan with pleasure? But she won't let you because her other hand is up and over your chin and your mouth, pressing it closed. You know that maybe, if you tried your absolute hardest, you could resist her, but you can't, can you? You can't bring yourself to move at all because this is what you want from your princess, this is everything you want from your princess.

"Yes, and yes" she says, and her smile and her happy blushing cheeks are still there, but the turn of her lips and the gleam of her eyes is feral now. She hasn't had the chance to tell you all her fantasies about getting a sunshard and being a snow leopard herself and giving everyone in her domain some of the powers to transform their bodies that you Rose from the River inspired. But she doesn't need to either because you can hear that purr in her voice.

"I know I'm dangerous, and I know you're that easily beguiled." And here she steals another kiss, still pressing on your breasts and your cheeks as she does it. A deep kiss pressing your lips in and making your mouth feel so thick and full, and then as she pulls away she adds a peck on the nose. "And you're already mine. My girlfriend. And my handmaid, we did such a good job in the sky castle, it's already decided. hee~" and she laughs because it's cute that you thought it wasn't. (And because, you know, she's never going to be as harsh as Keron and isn't going to try. She wants you to see she's enjoying herself, that she's having fun at your expense and for you to want to be a good girl for her because you just can't bear to bring a frown and a pout to those smiling lips, can you?)

"Besides, you forgot" she says, pressing even harder, adding a bit of magical touch to pin you down much harder than that little body of hers could manage on its own. "I promised to pay you back for my introduction to Keron's service. And I'm sorry to say that's going to take days to do properly my little rosepetal." And then she giggles again because she's found a good nickname for you and she couldn't get through that delivery with a straight face. But she's still pressing down on you so hard and she's holding your face and...and now she's asking if you agree to all this and her hand on your chin is making you nod ever so slowly. She's given you all the time in the world to shake your head, but you didn't, did you, and you're too silly to nod it yourself when your whole body wants to melt and have her work her hands over you. And when she's done, she starts doing that, still firmly perched atop you, touching you everywhere, gentle hands rubbing your shoulders and your arms along the outside and then the inside, and then along your sides and over your belly and down the thighs.

As she's working on you, she leans down and whispers sweetly. "I think we're going to have to punish you for being so forgetful, aren't we? So you'll remember next time. We'll just get rid of some of those silly duties of yours so you don't have to worry about them." Then she raises her voice "Cyanis, crawl over here, would you? You did such a good job helping Hyra, rosepetal has decided to let you go with a warning this time! She just told me! Isn't that great?" Then she leans back into her petal with her whisper, "now show me what a good girl you are and let Cyanis out of her net without moving out from under me." Chen's looking at you with the biggest smile and she's still massaging along your legs and up your back now. You're not going to let her down, right petal?

[Entice: 6+4+2=12. So many strings~]

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

There is a smile on Giriel's lips and then a laugh deep in her belly. Yes, there was something to these people. Han boasting and picking up pretty girls, like it was just so much showing off. Giriel chortles. "If you get them all the way to the castle, we can add your little priestess to the top of the stack and then you can really show off!" she shouts.

Yes, this is good, the sort of laughter that cuts through tension and lets everyone ignore their paranoia on dark roads and deep jungles. This is good because it means that she can look around without setting the others on edge. She smiles a deeper smile when she sees Uusha doing the same thing, her own small chuckles hiding the way she carefully looks around.

There is something Fae in Giriel then. Perhaps the stress of the day, the myriad of troubles finally reaching the point where she forgets herself. She steps up to Uusha quietly and puts a hand on hers. She meant to say something reassuring, to offer a squeeze, but Uusha is not prepared for this, perhaps not prepared for it from anyone and her reaction to Giriel's touch is harsh, isn't it?

[Roll to entice Uusha: 1+3+2=6]

Sunshards

Helping Yue and Hyra land safely and seeing how much they were focused on each other made Chen's own heart flutter. They were each other's whole world for a little while and that was something special. And that gave her time to turn away from them and let them have their moment in the duck pond while she turns to Rose.

And then there are kisses, Rose from the River! Chen's breathless and excited, her cheeks flushed red from the cold and the wind as she comes and throws herself upon you, raining kisses first on your cheek, and then along your ear (so flowery!) and down your neck before she works her way back up and around to firmly press those lips to yours. In fact, she might bowl you over entirely when she presses herself up and into you and takes a nibble of your lower lip while she's there.

When the two finally part, still breathless in a new way, Chen's concern is evident on her face. Yes, even though she saw you step as though the air was as firm as a mountain, still she's got a cross little look on her face. "Why'd you wait until the last second, huh?" she asks you, Rose. You can see on her face that even though she'd made a tactical move in the air, even though she'd entirely correctly left you to her own devices, she'd actually been worried. What if she had been wrong? What if you'd been distracted or weakened or Cyanis had done something unexpected in the fall and she'd been wrong? So she's hiding it with an in your face accusation. But considering the height difference, doesn't she look like a petulant little toddler that you just want to snap up for hugs and tickles, hm? And doesn't it make you blush, too, knowing that someone cared for you, that your little girlfriend was really honestly worried and wanted to protect you as though you were still a dainty handmaiden who might trip all over herself?

Indeed, Chen is so up in Rose's face that the suddenness of it bowls her onto her back and results in a "don't try and dodge the question!" as Chen comes toppling down on top of her, Cyanis entirely forgotten (and surely too busy trying to wriggle her way out of her new net and scoop up the rain of gold coins all at the same time). And it would all be too much if Chen didn't start laughing upon finding herself directly on top of her girlfriend and coyly bringing her face right up to Rose's face with a smile that requires almost crossing your eyes to look at her in focus. "I'm waiting, are you going to explain yourself?" she says, only just sticking her tongue out at her girlfriend.

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Before Uusha Enters

It's funny how an age difference can change over time. When you're six and a baby's just born, the gap is so vast it's impossible to bridge. You can do a little to take care of them, but your thoughts and your life are into exploration and adventure, perhaps into learning your first real skills and you're not near old enough to get your mind around what a baby must actually be feeling.

When you're twelve and you're babysitting a six year old, their wishes and their dreams seem so simple. They can be rough and tumble and you're busy wondering about whether the Miller's girl who's almost fifteen was flirting with you or not and afraid that if you follow up on it she'll laugh at you because she's so cool and mature and she's taller and bustier than you because you haven't quite sprouted yet.

When you're eighteen and they're twelve, they're still a kid and you're not, but at least you can start to share things, you can both talk to each other and you're at different points on the journey but it's the same journey and you might start to understand each other a little bit.

And when you're twenty four and they're eighteen, well there's a gap but it's not so far of a gap at all. It's someone else who's strong and skilled and you can see the routes that you've taken and the routes that they're taking and how they've already passed you in some big important things all at once.

So...you probably don't understand all of that Han, but you might understand that Giriel's hug suddenly gets a little tighter. That when you turn and glance up at her face there's a little bit of eye watering that might just be confusing, and a smile that's definitely pride even though it can't possibly be pride because you have absolutely no reference point for what a proud smile looks like directed at you.

But then she says "you got strong, Han" and she's still smiling. She lets you out of the hug to wipe the tear from her eye, and takes a sip of her own tea and she's smiling.

And in her heart, Giri is wondering why she felt so angry just because her plans didn't work out. When here's little Han having her girlfriend stolen right out from under her and ready and raring to go. Giri's almost ashamed she was that petty. This storm was a lucky thing, really, and so was meeting her old friends.

[Comfort and support: 5+5+2=12. If Han opens up to Giri, they both get to select an option. Giri will write off Angry.]

***

After Uusha enters

Giri finishes her tea and puts the cup down gently. There's a little tension in her stance, but not so much. "I'm sorry" she says to Uusha and she means it sincerely. That spirit had caused a lot of trouble and Giriel fully acknowledges that Peregrine is a better witch than she and absurdly better when it comes to Uusha's goals. "I found quite a lot. Ven kidnapped a priestess who's at least part goddess. We're going to help my friend here gesture to Han get her back safely. And the waitress over there" Giri points to where Piripiri is sitting "overheard our conversation and apparently escaped from Kingeater Castle if you want to interview her about the defenses and all that. Also the whole tournament thing was hijacked by a Rakshasa who could be literally anyone including you, but I did stop it."

She delivers all that in a straightforward tone, then stops and refills her tea from the pot, taking another sip of the steaming cup. She's almost getting good at this. Apparently being a witch today means that everybody wants information from you. And more than just asking about how best to treat Daffodil's ailing cow. Giri's almost getting good at the delivery at this point.