Forge Contact!

[calamitousnaiad]

In lieu of Verity Kindle, you've reached her Forge. But if you leave a message, I'll be sure to get back to you!

Comments

Video.

[prince]

Hullo. A little bird told me you wanted to speak with me?

[ no autographs. ]

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

[... Oh good lord. But how can she courtesy over video? She almost panics for a second, eyes wide, before she settles for bowing her head respectfully. Keep calm, Verity.]

Prince Arthur Pendragon, I presume? It's an honor.

Video.

[prince]

[ It's been a while since Arthur's done formal courtesy, though if he knew what a bicycle was he'd say it was like riding one. ]

You presume correctly, my lady.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

Your manservant Merlin was extremely kind to speak to you on my behalf.

[And she smiles. She can't completely keep back her giddiness at speaking to this man - or to his servant - and it shines a little in her eyes and the brightness of her expression. Perhaps it's a little outside of proper manners, but they aren't standing at court in Camelot. This place is a little more flexible. Besides, historians have been trying for decades to find Arthur, and here she is talking to him.]

My home is rather far away from Camelot, but even so you and your kingdom have always been thought of with great reverence. I never thought I would have the chance to see either myself. For this alone I cannot be wholly desolate at being brought here.

Video.

[prince]

Er, well! My manservant Merlin is the kind sort.

[ Caught somewhere between pleased and slightly overwhelmed by the implication of how far his legend will stretch. ]

You're not the only person here who's heard of me, but you're certainly the first to use the word reverence, Verity.

I'm glad if I can make anyone's time in this wretched place a little less thoroughly miserable.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

He truly is. I am glad I was able to speak to him as well. He was very welcoming and helpful when I'd only been here for a few hours.

[She keeps smiling warmly, hoping to foster more of the pleased ad less of the overwhelmed. She can only imagine what it must be like to hear you will become a legend, much less actual voices from the future who only know of you as such.]

I assure you, my lord, I mean it wholeheartedly.

But I hope your stay here hasn't been as bad as that?

Video.

[prince]

Oh, well, it's not completely terrible all the time.

[ His smile softens a little, and he unwinds slightly. ]

You're new to the city, so I shan't scare you with tales of beasts and battles. But . . . there are things here which make all that worth it, if you know where to look.

Oh, and since you're not actually from Camelot, I would think you can leave off with that "lord" business. Nobody respects my title here so I'm more than used to just being Arthur by now.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

Arthur, then.

[She is practically beaming now.]

I'm glad to hear that. I've not been here long and my experiences have yet to be bad because there seems to be something new and amazing every day. Even so, I would trade it all for a way home.

[Her smile turns a little melancholy, and you can almost read it in her eyes that there is someone she misses above all. She shakes her head at herself and makes an attempt to brighten.]

But I'm sure I'm far from the only one to feel that way. I'm sure you've plenty of things you'd rather be doing at home?

Video.

[prince]

There are.

[ Casually, as this doesn't weigh on his mind every single day. ]

But I have duties here now, too. I'm second-in-command of the Patrol Unit, for one, and I wish to help reconcile the differences between the Scorched and Anatoleans, for another.

But yes. You are not the only one who longs for home.

Video.

[prince]

Verity.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

Arthur?

Video.

[prince]

Nothing, just checking.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

Checking that I answer my messages in a timely fashion or checking that I'm still called Verity?

Video.

[prince]

That you're not unconscious on the couch of a masked man, actually.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

... Pardon?

Video.

[prince]

Really, it's nothing. I just don't know a lot of women with your particular hair colour, so I thought I'd make sure the "missing woman" from a recent broadcast wasn't you. Obviously it's not.

Though while I've got you, a favour?

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

Oh, yes, I see. No, I am not in the custody of the plague doctor.

Of course. What can I do for you?

Video.

[king]

You run that place with all that cats, don't you? Do you suppose you could offer a girl named Freya a job? She's fond of animals of all sorts, but I don't think she could manage all the strays on her own.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

I do, but there really isn't much money in it. Though, if she needs a real job, I suppose I could put her on the payroll at Red and Blue. Perhaps she could be of help collecting unwanted animals when she isn't at the shelter? I could definitely use some help with the cats.

Video.

[king]

I don't think the money really matters. Perhaps partnership would have been a better word. But she has to stay in Dismas between sunset and dawn, so she cannot, must not work alone.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

And why is that?

Video.

[king]

Because after dark, if she's not in Dismas, she turns into a dangerous monster.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

Do you mean... like a werewolf?

[She probably shouldn't be surprised by that after all these months in Anatole. Still, it does make her blink a bit.]

Video.

[king]

Actually, she's a big... cat.

Video.

[calamitousnaiad]

A were... cat, then. But that is only when the sun goes down?