S25 Strix + Parents RP

Characters: Strix Nebulosa Imblen Greyfeather Foucher Greyfeather
Location: Strix's parent's in Peywood

So, figure Strix knocks on the door

The town of Peywood is quiet, not many people milling around on the streets, but those that do greet her warmly. Its pretty clear the dragon didn't make it this far, there's some fallen tree branches and a few damaged buildings, but more or less how you remember it.

The door pushes open as Strix knocks. Imblen's back is to the door and is working over a pot on the hearth, but stands up when she hears the sound. Foucher is at the kitchen table nursing a cup of light-brown something, he notices Strix first, surprise and a little worry crossing his face as he partially stands, looks down at the glass sheepishly, and rushes forward to you.

F: "Strix! Honey, come see, she's alright!"

Strix falls into a hug with her dad, and with a shaky voice says

S: "Hello father, I'm... I'm home"

She stays there in his arms for a moment before pulling away to see her mother.

Mom joins the hug

I: "Oh, dear! Its been since spring. We heard about Kaledorei, thank Erastil you weren't there for that. We were worried you'd..."

S: "I'm ok mother, but I was worried sick about you and father. I'm... sorry I didn't come sooner. What of Cedany and Brom, and little Aldous? Are they alright?"

F: "Brom was just over here the other day, asking if we'd heard from you. Lots of people have, it was no secret you've been all on your own in that old farmhouse with only that owl to keep you company. Everyone wanted to know if you made it out alright."

I: "Here, come sit down, we're about to have dinner. We want to hear how you've been. I can fetch some clean clothes for you, wash off all that ash and mud."

Strix's voice is still shaky, but she's trying to compose herself. She's really debating internally on how much she should tell her parents about what has happened

S: "Thank the gods they're ok, I... I don't know what I'd do with myself if any of you were hurt. And thank you mother, some fresh clothes and a hot meal would be lovely. The farmhouse is still standing, though its a little worse for wear. My owl and I are both alright, we were........... we were in Cenorias when the dragon came."

Imblen hurries off to a bedroom to find some clothes, Foucher takes a seat where he was and tries to surreptitiously hide his cup while he talks

F: "Cenorias, huh? Off rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful, huh?"

His tone starts off a little joking, and gets a little more confused near the end, but his eyes and smile show genuine pride, even if he's not sure the reason.

F: "But thats good to hear, it'd be a shame if you lost that place. I could uh.. come one one of these days to help fix it up.. if you want?"

Mom comes back with some of Strix's old clothes, batting dust off of them before handing them to you. They're a little small, but they should fit.

Strix pulls Foucher into an awkward hug again, despite the fact that he's sitting

S: "Thank you father, that would mean a lot to me."

She turns and smiles at her mother before giving her a long hug and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

S: "Thank you mother, if you don't mind I'll go change, and we can talk more over dinner."

I: "Hurry back! There's even meat in the stew tonight!"

After Strix has been gone for a few seconds, she can hear her mother's voice:

I: "Foucher, honey, did you see her clothes? All ripped and torn, covered in ash, and smelled a little like blood! Do you think something happened?"

F: "We shouldn't ask, she's had a rough few days. I'm sure she'll tell us if she wants us to know."

Strix nearly breaks down into tears, thinking about how many terrible things she has seen in just the past few months, and how mortified her parents will be if she tells them, but she composes herself before stepping back into the main room

S: "Mmm the stew smells lovely mother."

Then after a few moments

S: "So.... I saw the Silver Spire. I don't know if any of the tales do it justice without seeing it yourself, and even still I find it hard to believe just how tall and shiny it is."

Imblen brings over a few wooden bowls and cups with soup and water

I: "Really? I've heard you can't even see the top! Its a wonder that thing doesn't fall over somehow, though I s'pose the whole thing is probably magic somehow.

F: "Heh. With all the air in their heads, its really a wonder the thing doesn't just float away."

Strix tenses up a bit, remembering the huge numbers of people in Cenorias fighting tooth and nail to scrape out a living

S: "Its... also not all that its cracked up to be. There's a lot of poorer folks in that city, just like us here. A whole lot of them. Its a very unjust society there..."

She brightens up a bit, thinking of Jade

S: "But there are genuine, kindhearted people in the government who want to change that! I just have to imagine its very difficult..."

F: "It would be a whole lot less difficult if some of those people stopped protecting their pocketbooks.."

He catches a bit of a look from Imblen and quiets down a step.

F: "But erm.. Its good that they're not all bad there.

He takes a sip of water, and your mom leans forward.

I: "So, do you have a friend in the capital? A seed trader or some such?"

S: "I umm... I actually met someone in Kaledorei who works in Cenorias and...."

She lets out a short sigh and says pretty quietly

S: "they've been helping me look into the people who killed Artyom"

After that she just stares sheepishly at her stew

Your parents freeze, and there's a long stretch of silence. After an agonizing few moments, they share a pained look, its pretty obvious they don't really know how to have this conversation, and have been dreading it more than a little.

I: "Honey..."

F: "Those people are dangerous, dear. Are you sure that's something you want to do?"

Strix struggles for a moment to find words, her mouth hanging half open, before she takes a deep breath and finds her conviction again

S: "Yes, I am sure its something I want to do, and believe me I've gotten well acquainted with the dangers. I'm not just doing it for Artyom, I'm doing it because I want to help fix the things that are corrupt and wrong in our society. I want to stand up for poor folk like us who suffer misjustices and abuse daily because some baron thinks we aren't worth a damn. You said yourself father that changing our society would be a whole lot easier if some of the high and mighty stopped protecting their pocketbooks, well I want to be one of the ones to stand up to them, to right the wrongs for those who don't have the power to right it themselves. I...."

She loses her steam and goes back to staring sheepishly at her stew

S: "I just don't want to keep it secret from you anymore, because you're my parents and I love you both."

Your father looks a little taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor, but gently puts a hand on your shoulder after a second.

F: "Alright honey, we just worry about you. Life's hard enough without having to chase after murderers and fix the world. Your place was just attacked by a giant lizard, for gods' sake."

Your mother gets up from her chair, crouching next to yours, and hugs you tightly.

I: "But if that's what you want to do, then of course we'll support you, because you're our daughter, and we love you, and we'll always be so, so proud of you Strix."

I: "But, if you're going to be gallivanting around the capital and catching criminals, it won't do you well to be all skin and bones the whole time yes?"

Strix wasn't sure how she expected her parents to react, so she is a bit taken aback herself before she returns her mother's hug

S: "Y-yes mother, thank you"

She finally begins eating her stew, tearing up a bit and sniffling as she does so

S: "I'm sorry to make you worry, I just... I think this is something that I have to do"

I: "We believe you honey, you were always the heroic sort"

F: "Just be sure you're staying as safe as you can, and not to push yourself so hard. We're all only human, after all"

I: "And you could always write! If you're going to be staying in the capital long, anyway. It would go a long way to reassure us you and your friend are doing alright"

S: "Yes I know, I'm sorry that I haven't been writing as often, its just been.... busy and chaotic"

She's back to sheepishly staring at her half eaten stew, and is silent for a good while before she quietly continues

S: "You're my parents and I love and trust you, and I've already told you that I'm looking into the people that murdered Artyom, and said that I don't want to keep it secret from you, so I might as well tell you the other important parts."

She clears her throat

S: "I'll spare you the full details unless you want to know, but you may have seen my poster up if you were in Kaledorei before it burnt down. I'm..... I'm Bronzewing. I helped fight back the orc attack, and I'm the one that killed the dragon."

There's an even longer stint of silence before your mother speaks up with a barely restrained stern voice

I: "Strix Gr-Nebulosa, that is the exact opposite of being safe. I heard that Bronzewing character is a vigilante killer, accompanied by some big brute of a man, assaulting people in the streets and stealing from people! Is that how we raised you?"

Your father is still silent and processing. He doesn't look mad so much as he's not sure how he should be feeling, but there's elements of surprise, worry, and just a hint of pride

Strix can't bring herself to look either of them in the eye

S: "Mother I....... you've heard what I have to say, this is something I need to do regardless of my own safety, I think what I'm doing is right, and I think I'm standing up for the common man. I'm no cold blooded killer, and that big brute you mentioned is good at heart and he's no common thief. He's one of the ones who helped me slay the dragon and........ and I've always admired the heroes from the storybooks casting down the villain, but the world is so much more messy and grey than it is black and white. I'm just trying my best to make things better... I'm sorry to make you worry"

Your mother is clearly a little lost for words after her outburst, and your staunch stubbornness

I: "I... I have clothes to launder"

and leaves without much time for a response Foucher steeps in the silence for another few seconds, then sighs and gets up, retrieving a small wooden box from a cabinet, then turning and looking at you for another moment before exiting outside. He holds the door open after him for a little longer than necessary

Well then I suppose Strix will sit and gather herself for a moment before following him out

Its.. not a warm night. Your father is leaning against the wall of the house, and there's a sparker in his hand intermittently putting off little flashes of light. As you get a little closer, you see that the man is trying to light up

Strix is quiet for moment as she leans next to him

S: "Mom didn't take that well..."

F: "I don't think that's what she was expecting to hear today... I don't think she expected to be cleaning her daughter's dried blood out of her clothes either"

He successfully lights up, holding the flaming roll between his fingers

S: "Yeah, I... guess I can't blame her. I'm.... sorry for dropping all of this on you."

F: "You've made a hard decision, its just... hard for us as parents to accept that you're.. going to be in situations where we can't protect you, and that you might not come back from"

He holds the one in his mouth before picking up a second and looking at Strix for confirmation

Strix shrugs and nods, then Foucher lights one up and hands it to her

She takes a puff and then goes into a small coughing fit

S: "Not as bad as dragon's fire, though not exactly pleasant. I understand how hard this must be, especially for mother, but I lost my world when I lost Artyom, and I don't want others to go through that without getting justice. I didn't get to have children, and I lost my husband, so this is all that I have now. I know its not pleasant but.... if anything happens to me, well I'm doing what I think I'm meant to do, so please don't worry."

Foucher gets a bit of a mischievous grin at Strix's coughing before taking a drag himself

F: "You've always been strong-willed, even if you've hidden it behind reservations. This is just who you are. I believe you're right, that it takes hard work to change how things are, and I believe you can do it. Just be careful. I wouldn't want you to throw your life away for no reason. Its nights like this that make me wonder what would happen if we'd never met Jovis and Metis... but thats not the world we live in."

S: "....I'm glad you met them, and I'm glad for my time with Artyom. I've got friends who will help take care of me now, and I don't intend to throw my life away for nothing, but I'm glad you understand. Thank you father."

She leans there quietly for a while, not actually smoking, just letting it smolder away between her fingers

S: "I'd like to hug mother again before I go. And I'll take you up on your offer to help with the farmhouse if I plan to be in town for any length of time.... and I'll be sure to try to write more often."

Foucher nods and exhales the smoke slowly, looking up into the sky

F: "Alright, I'm sure your mother will come around. Kick some evildoers around for me, would you?"

Strix giggles a little bit

S: "I will father, I will"