Landing

It felt strange to wear something other than her robes. All her life Cassiti had dressed in vestments that were easily recognizable by her people, and while those robes had changed occasionally over the years as she grew from a small girl into a young woman, the overall look of the robes had always been very similar. Since leaving Avalon to begin her pilgrimage, however, it had not taken long for people to remark upon how she wore the same outfit day in and day out. No one had been rude about it, of course. Cassiti was quite open about her status as a priestess and even in this age the various cultures of the world seemed to hold similar understandings that religious figures often were required to dress a certain way.

But the truth was, she was not in Avalon right now and probably would not be for some time. Cordelia, who had quickly become a rather constant companion of hers, had been quite consistent in suggesting that Cassiti at least try some other clothes on, just to see. As in all things, Cassiti took some time to think about it before giving an answer, the dutiful woman never quick to make any sort of decision. After giving it some thought for a week or so, she had decided… why shouldn’t she? This was not Avalon, and her status as the Oracle of Aryannrhod meant very little to the people of Earthland. They were respectful of it, to be certain, and often very curious, but it was not something they could recognize by her clothing as the Avalonians did, and frankly there should be more about her than just her clothing that spoke to her connection with the goddess. Plus, her pilgrimage was all about experiencing life and culture apart from what she had known.

So ultimately, she agreed to a shopping trip. Now that she had joined Meliora Vitae -- and been made an ace of the guild almost immediately -- she had finally started making money in the local currency. That had been a bit of a relief, because most people in Ishgar seemed to only want jewel in exchange for goods and services. For a woman that had grown up in a civilization that mostly focused on bartering, it had been uncomfortable trying to make her way through unknown lands by offering foreign and exotic fruits and herbs. She wound up buying a lot more than she’d been expecting to, but she had to admit the experience had been fun, and trying on new clothes had been exciting in her own soft spoken way.

There was a new recruit coming today, and as the two aces of the guild Dagda had asked both Cassiti and Cordelia to greet the newcomer and help them get settled. Once she was dressed, Cassiti came down from her treehouse in the Arborium and met up with Cordelia by her tent before making their way to the landing platform. When the shuttle arrived, a rather tall man stepped off. He was dressed in a rather regal set of robes that honestly reminded her of her own priestess vestments, even down to sharing the colors of white, black, and gold. He carried himself and his belongings with a quiet but confident countenance. His aura was… well, captivating. She could see a hardness to him, but not one without compassion, nor was it murky with bitterness or hatred. She felt patience and determination, kindness tempered by a sense of dutifulness, and overall there was just an overwhelming feeling of… balance. And for a woman who was the oracle of a goddess of balance, it was refreshing. He was also quite handsome, though such an observation was more academic on her part than anything else.

As Cassiti and Cordelia approached, he would see a young woman that looked as though she had barely passed into the realm of adulthood with rich dark skin and thick black curls that formed a luxurious afro around her head. She had ghostly green eyes that felt as though they could pierce the soul, and her petite frame stood half a foot shorter than him. She wore a dark brown haltered crop top that had no sleeves, her arms covered only by a leather band around one of her biceps and a few simple, golden bangles around her wrists. A similarly colored sarong with white floral markings was tied around her hips like a skirt, with a large slit that went all the way up one leg. She had an adornment of cheap but pretty jewelry upon her, including a golden band around the skirt, a layered bead necklace, and a pair of earrings. On the side of her stomach just above her right hip was a marking of the twin koi symbol of the guild in a pale yellow color.

She stopped before him and crossed her arms lightly over her chest before giving him a slight, respectful bow. “Welcoom to Meliohrah Veetay,” the ace told him, her soft words carefully enunciated through a thick, rich accent. “I ahm Cassiti Calixte, Ace of de Resarche and Rehabilitation centar for de geeld.” From there, she would wait for Cordelia to make her own introduction before straightening out from her bow and letting the more social woman take over the pleasantries from there. Cordelia was a lot better at these things, if only because she understood the cultural norms of Ishgar a lot better than Cassiti did. Well that, and Cordelia was much more extroverted than Cassi was...

At this point, Cassiti and Cordelia were so used to Bowser’s presence -- and that of the many other strange creatures on board the Endeavor -- that it was often easy to forget just how strange a sight the beast actually was. Usually it wasn’t until they were greeting someone who had never met the bear before that Cassiti was even reminded that it wasn’t exactly normal to walk around with a walking giant of fur coated death.

Cordelia took over the introductions, both for herself and her animal companion, assuring the man that Bowser was more of a teddy bear than a real bear. Their recruit introduced himself as Rhace Tarrin, proving himself to be quite polite in word and manner as he shook Cordelia’s hand and exchanged pleasantries with them both. Cordelia offered to give him a tour of the vessel, requesting permission to take up housing upon the ship as such an arrangement would make things simpler for him.

Cassiti nodded. “Dere eez quite a bit of room on de ship, so et would be no trouble to stay here. Mohst of our membahrs leeve on board. Come, we weel show you ahround.” Giving Bowser a small smile and a soft pat as she turned, Cassiti would walk evenly with Cordelia and their new charge as they made their way toward the interior of the ship. The pair of aces had done this tour a number of times by now, more than enough for Cassiti to have picked up that Cordelia liked to save the tour of the Arborium for last. As such, the Avalonian had already built up the muscle memory that allowed her body to move in that direction without thought, the trio moving into the main foyer of the first floor of the ship, pursued by bear.

The first level of the ship consisted of a large lounge area where a number of members were milling about, relaxing and enjoying their free time with one another. There were lots of cushioned chairs, tables for gathering around, refreshment options, and of course a great deal of plant life. “Dees eez our lounge,” Cassiti would inform him, pausing to give him a moment to take in the sight and look around. “Dere eez a cafeteeriuh up deh stahrs. Also some rhooms where we heve meetings. De plants ahr used to fu-el de ship, which runs off de cahrboon dee-oxide dat dey release.” It was an ingenious system, really, and every time Cassiti thought about it she was in awe of Dagda’s construction of the ship.

Cassiti strode beside the pair in relative silence, almost the exact opposite of Cordelia’s own mannerisms. While Cord was somewhat boisterous and eager in her attempts to be friendly and inclusive, Cassiti was much more reserved. That wasn’t to say she was cold, of course. Cassi was very friendly in her own way, but there was no denying that she was much more socially awkward than her counterpart. It wasn’t in her nature to have a lot to say, and what words she did impart often only came after a reasonable amount of time spent toward consideration and thought.

She nodded in acknowledgement as Rhace commented his thoughts about communal showering, which didn’t really seem to put him off too much. He went on to compliment the design of the ship itself and how unique and exemplary it was. “Yes, Mahster Dagda and a former membahr of de geeld, Percy, put a lot of wark into de ship to maek et not just sustainahble but comfortahble and eeffishunt. Where I coom from, nothing like dis exists at ahl. Et was very much… how do you say… coolture shock? But vary eempresive.”

As they descended to the next level, Rhace asked about some of the information in the brochure that touched on the two divisions. He admitted that he wasn’t quite sure where he would fit in, given his disposition with fighting. “Most of our membahrs weeth fighting skeels ahr in Cordeeleah’s unit, Reelocation and Deespatch. We try naht to keel or harm people or any pahrt of nature if posseeble, but sometimes dere eez no choice. Nature eetself eez often violent, and soomtimes to haev peace dere must be fighting. Et eez ahl aboot balance. De Reelocation and Deespatch brahnch often reequires wahrriors for protection and enforcement.”

The trio stepped out onto the third floor, where Rhace would find that plant life had been seamlessly integrated into the surrounding hallways, giving the space a fresh and comforting feel despite the metal walls. There were rooms upon rooms with various sized laboratories and data analysis centers, as well as a large medical wing. This was where Cassi spent most of her time on the ship, and it showed in the way that she was a bit more social with the people moving in and out of the areas around them. Or rather, the people on this floor were much more open about greeting her with waves and familiar smiles that Cassiti returned in her own muted fashion.

“Dis eez de Reehab and Resarche floor. We do our best to heal and undahrstahnd de world around us. Many times, de membahrs of Cordeeleah’s group bring us injard animals or endanjard plants, and we presarve dem as best we can with de hope of retarning dem to dere natural habitats. Dere ahr other things we handle as well, but dat eez our main goal.” As if to emphasize her point, Cassiti stopped gently in her tracks as they passed a row of plants along one of the walls, where a species of fern was looking a bit brown and wilted. With a frown, she raised a hand to the plant with her palm outstretched toward it. A deep emerald mist began to glow around the limb before spreading to the pant itself, and before their eyes the fern would brighten and stiffen as though it had been little more than a recording being played in reverse until it was back to vibrant life. Once that was done, the green mist faded and she softly flagged over one of the other members that was working in the labs that day to give them instructions to water and tend to the fern before it could begin to wilt again.