Quest 211

[primrosella]

[Accidental Video | Open Action]

[Rosella is sitting in one of the quieter, more secluded parts of the beach, perched comfortably atop a fairly large outcropping of rock and silhouetted against the rapidly setting sun. Her hair drifts lightly in the evening breeze as she settles back onto her hands and crosses her legs at the ankles, apparently contemplating the view. Across her lap lies what appears to be a flute; nearby, on the surface of the rock, sits a somewhat tattered paper notebook and pen. The video is at the wrong angle to see what might be written in that notebook, but its pages are covered in jotted notes, arrows, and some heavily-underlined question marks.]

If so needed, only in need...but what makes one need greater than another? What makes it a need at all?

[Like everyone else in her family, Rosella has a bad habit of talking to herself when she's alone, and especially so when she is trying to think; this, apparently, is no exception. She glances down at the notebook at her side, shifting her weight and raising one hand to tuck a wisp of stray hair behind her ear, and then settles back into her position again.]

Coin and cloth...and stone. Stones, new stones. Old friends, new stones, dark places...

[There is a pause, and then a sigh as she lets her head fall back in exasperation.]

Oh, drat it all, I don't know.

[She makes a face accompanied by a low murmur of frustration; though the video is at the wrong angle to capture the expression, the microphone does catch the sound. Then, shaking her head, Rosella sits up and raises her flute, apparently tired of musing for the moment, and opting to play a little instead.]


[OOC: So! Strange things are afoot in the City these days, and it's bugging Rosella something awful. So, tired of hanging out in the Warehouse and thinking up a storm, she decided to get out and go to the beach to muse a little, just for a change of pace. Feel free to action her up if you'd like, and Network for everyone else! But be advised--she'll probably deny that she's got heavy stuff on her mind. She's trying her best to stay upbeat these days.]

Comments

[whoistheother.livejournal.com]

A need is a want. A need appears when something is wanting. Or a need appears in place of the thing that is wanted. A need is an absence, or something to fill an absence.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Hm?

[Hey, where's that voice coming fro--oh. No wonder, her device switched on by accident. Sigh.]

Oh, hello. I suppose a better question would be, then, when does a need become great enough that action ought to be taken to address it?

[whoistheother.livejournal.com]

Hello.

Needs are needs, aren't they? Why should action be taken for one and not another?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Well, some needs have a way of resolving themselves, if they're given enough time. And it might be a bit like...well, like wishing for a bottle of water when you're only a bit thirsty, rather than getting up and walking a few minutes to go get a drink yourself. You might've used that wish for something else, that could've helped more people, but you spent it to alleviate an inconvenience, instead. A need was still met, it's true, but it might not have been the best of needs to spend a wish on.

...it's like you set him up

[whoistheother.livejournal.com]

Wishes?

Wishes are something else entirely.

action ][

[worksmart.livejournal.com]

[Chase seems to haunt the beach almost as much as the hospital right now, although with his workload picking back up after last month's... incidents, time at work has begun overriding anything he thinks of as leisure once again. Still, in the early morning or when a shift finishes early, this is often the best place to find him, making the best of summer while it lasts.

He hasn't been in the water but his hair is wet with spray, salt and sand flecking his skin, with his bare knees and calves having accumulated the worst of it. It's a far cry from the buttoned down (if brightly coloured) appearances he keeps up at the office, right down to the bare feet kicking up the beach as he jogs along the tideline. He doesn't notice he's in company until he hears it, looking up and around to find the source.]

action ][

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

[Rosella, for her part, ends up noticing Chase about two-thirds of the way through her impromptu performance, but Greensleeves is her favorite song and it almost seems an injustice to break it off in the middle, so she continues playing--albeit at a slightly quicker pace--and brings it to a light close before lowering her flute and raising her free hand in a wave.]

Oh, hello! Is that you, Dr. Chase?

action ][

[worksmart.livejournal.com]

[He raises a hand to her, crossing the sand to look up at her rocky perch before responding.]

This is probably a bad place for the 'just some guy who looks like me' joke, right? [He gestures towards the flute, or the hand still holding it.] Don't tell me that one's popular in your world, too.

action ][

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Well, perhaps just a bit, now that you've already admitted it!

[She slides over closer to the edge of the outcropping as he approaches, letting her legs dangle off the side and replacing her flute securely across her lap once again.]

Greensleeves is the anthem of my father's court, so it's one of my favorites. I'm told it's not nearly so popular in other places, though--something about being stuffy and old-fashioned, I think it was?

action ][

[worksmart.livejournal.com]

It's old fashioned, but it's popular. When I was a kid the ice cream trucks used to play it to call people out.

[Leaning both hands against the rock he stretches his arms out, rolling his shoulders lightly.]

I assume it's not based on the same subject matter.

audio;

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

What's--is everything okay, Rosella?

audio;

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Oh, hello, Penny! Yes, of course, I'm perfectly fine. Just...working on a puzzle of sorts.

audio;

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

Ooh. What kind of puzzle? A riddle?

audio;

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

In a sense, yes. It's just a bit difficult because the only pieces I have are whatever ones I can remember, and it's been such a long time that it's hard to recall them all again.

audio;

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

Riddles're hard enough even when you have all the pieces. Do you think you can solve it with what you remember?

[wandbreaker]

Usually survival.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

That's what most needs eventually come down to, isn't it? That's very true. And, I suppose, it's a good perspective to keep, on that sort of thing.

[wandbreaker]

I don't know if it's a good one, but generally it's true.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

I think it is. A great many decisions are made that way, whether we realize it at the time or not.

[wandbreaker]

Is August still getting you down, Rosella?

[daddyschewtoy.livejournal.com]

Your music...I like how it sounds.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Why, thank you, Kazuki, I'm very glad you like it! That one was Greensleeves, and it always reminds me of home when I hear it.

[daddyschewtoy.livejournal.com]

Why?

...That is a strange name for a song.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Well, because it's the anthem of my father's court, so it makes me think of him.

It's a reference to the lady that the song is about, I think. She's a lady in a green dress, and so they call her Greensleeves because of it.

[daddyschewtoy.livejournal.com]

A court...royalty?

Ah, I see.