Hefty Brew Kyupin was, despite everything, always eager to lend a helping hand to those in need. And with the festival coming up in Falderen soon, it seemed like they needed several helping hands. She'd spent the last several days going from farm to farm, helping carry things around. This time, however, the farm owner had seen her inspecting the crops with inquisitive eyes and somehow that had lead to her helping them harvest the crops for this year's brews. "It's urgent, y'see," he'd told her. "Every year is bad but we're behind on the harvests! If you could lend this old man a hand?" And honestly, that had been that, hadn't it? Kyupin had no reason to say no, so she'd simply nodded and sent out a message in the local region chat, asking for a few others that might help her and this farm out. Sure, she hadn't really expected an answer - so it had been a pleasant surprise when two people messaged her back saying they'd be arriving soon. It would be quite an odd sight for @Amane Hirota and @Gilgamesh Ougami to arrive to—the petite Felis hoisting a large barrel (one almost as big as her!) around the farm grounds. "Hello!" She would've waved at them in greeting if she weren't so... occupied. All around the farm, it seemed there were crops in need of harvesting and processing. There would be plenty of work for the three to do.
Gilgamesh had messaged the player named @Kyupin Felnya regarding his interest in helping out with the harvest festival preparations and had now arrived at the redetermined place of the meeting between him, her, and another woman who was supposed to be helping them out as well. When he arrived, a strange, most amusing sight greeted him, namely that of @Kyupin Felnya occupied with hefting a barrel the same size as her fairly small frame. So, he hurried over to her while calling out in his usual rumbling baritone, but hypnotically melodious masculine voice "Ahoy there, Ms. Felnya, I presume!! I am Gilgamesh Ougami, the one who contacted you about helping out at this harvest festival!" He fell silent and while waiting, he decided to give her a hand with her barrel, supporting it so she wasn't taking such a huge barrel onto her tiny body, but making sure to let her do her work so as to not seem like a chauvinist.
She could almost feel the festive season in the air, the whole of Falderen gearing itself up for what could only be Halloween...or their version of it, at any rate. Samhain, perhaps? But the people of Falderen did worship their own gods, and held different legends and beliefs; for all she knew, it could be a different kind of festival entirely. Either way, she was eager to see how the Dark Harvest faire would be like — the closest she had as a reference was the Hungry Ghost Festival...and even that was more depressing than lively. Amane had spent the day helping out wherever she could, riding on the jovial atmosphere and joining in on the preparations, if only to feel like part of the celebrations herself. Passing through a field of golden crops, the felis paused as a message chimed out in the world chat, squeezing her palm to bring up the interface. Someone called @Kyupin Felnya was requesting assistance in helping a farmer harvest all their crops in time for the festival. Well, she was currently free, and the location wasn't far, so she sent a quick reply informing the sender that she'll be there. Flicking away the UI with a free hand, she began making her way to the assigned coordinates, lightness infused in every footstep. She arrived alongside @Gilgamesh Ougami, who she assumed had similarly volunteered, and was treated to the sight of a small figure totting around a barrel about her own size, her frame completely dwarfed by its bulk. The man rushed over to give aid, and so she walked over in a more leisurely manner, shooting the two an amicable smile once she was within speaking distance. "My name's Amane," she said, waving, "it's nice to meet you. Ah, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with harvesting...what exactly would you like us to do?" The felis added with a sheepish grin.
She smiled as Gilgamesh helped her handle the barrel, taking most of the weight. It wasn't like she couldn't handle it, but she wouldn't shoot down the free help. "Hello, Amane! Hello, Gilgamesh!" She paused to consider Amane's question. Kyupin wasn't much of a farmer herself, so she'd assumed they would just have to... pick the crops. "We gather them! Like, pick them out of the ground. I think?" It was hardly reassuring to have her sound so uncertain, but after they finally managed to get the barrel put away, Kyupin could demonstrate! And so she did just that, swooping down to pluck some crops by their roots. She nodded over to two barrels at the far end of the field, close to the farm. "Mister Farmer said we could just put our stuff there, then we'd help him process it. I can do the processing part pretty easily, I think?" She squinted at the barrels. "I guess we just have to fill up those two..." Kyupin made the motion of rolling up her (non-existent) sleeves. "So," They had the whole field and day ahead of them! Might as well make some small talk. "You guys going to the festival?" @Gilgamesh Ougami and @Amane Hirota
(OOC: sorry you two, but this will be my exit post from this quest. I promise to aid you on some other quest when you pick it up) Gilgamesh was about to reply, but then he saw the alerts icon flashing in his UI, so he surreptitiously checked it while keeping half his attention on his two associates for the quest at hand. The more he read the message, the more it seemed imperative that he leave for attending to that matter, causing him to sigh and look back at @Kyupin Felnya and @Amane Hirota, saying "Uh...I would love to join you guys, but my usual misfortune streak has plagued me again...something urgent has come up that I have to go and deal with right away...I really am sorry for this abrupt notice...I do hope you can forgive me, ladies..." He fell silent and waited, hoping they would not be too angry with him for bailing on them after having promised his help.
Pick them from the ground? Amane had assumed they would be using farming tools of some sort...a sickle, maybe? That was what farmers used in medieval times, was it not? Then again, it looked like neither of them had taken cultivation as a mastery, and the tools were unlikely to work without, so their hands were as good as any, she figured. "Sure...I can do that," she said, a little uncertainty creeping into her voice as the felis crouched down, mimicking Kyupin's actions and pulling out a handful of plants. It turned out to be pretty easy, and she began picking the rest, dropping the plants into a nearby barrel as she worked. Without a tool it was slow going, but surely slight progress was better than none at all. "I'll count on you to do the processing then! Plucking these is where my skills hit their limit," she said with a laugh. "Of course!" she replied when Kyupin asked if she was attending the festival. "Our relations with Falderen haven't been the best...but for this we're welcomed to go if we like, so I wouldn't miss it. Besides, it sounds like it'll be fun! Like halloween, but with actual magic, and in a medieval setting!" She lowered her voice at end in case any NPCs were listening in, but in contrast her grin just grew wider as she talked. Not that she'd ever celebrated halloween, but that was precisely why she wanted to be part of the faire. Not to mention it was a once-a-year opportunity to experience the culture of TerraSphere's world — the actual, daily lives of the people here, and not just it's combat and quests. Even if it was all simulated...it felt real enough, and that would be more than sufficient to make it enjoyable. "Will you be going too?" She asked, curious. While waiting for a reply, she wiped away the sweat beading at her forehead, turning around to see if Gilgamesh had anything to say, only to see the man glance anxiously at empty space, reading something that only he could see. "Oh! Alright," Amane said, her mood falling slightly as he explained that he had to leave. "Don't worry, it's understandable," she smiled, trying to convey that there was no hard feeling on her part. "In fact, if it's urgent you should leave quickly. Goodbye then!" she added before he left, giving a wave. Harvesting would be harder with one less pair of hands, but it wasn't like they could have held him back. Whatever it was, it looked like it was important to the male felis. When he was gone, she moved herself and the partially filled barrel closer to Kyupin. "The festival," she re-prompted, in case Gilgamesh's departure broke the flow of conversation. "Will you be there?" @Kyupin Felnya
She nodded along as they plucked, fascinated with Amane's insight. She seemed so thoughtful and… political? Much better suited for the title Astor had given her than Kyupin could ever be. It suited her. Looking at the other Felis, yes, they really did give off an almost-regal aura. Before she could reply, they were cut off by a nervous-looking Gilgamesh. "Oh," she said, fighting off a pout. She liked meeting new people, and it was a shame their meeting would be cut short. But urgent was urgent! She nodded along in agreement with Amane and waved at the man as he ran off to take care of whatever task needed taking care of. "Good luck!" she shouted to his disappearing figure. She watched him until he was completely out of her sight and quietly went about plucking. Some of them looked a bit sad, so she would pluck and tuck them on the ground. The nicer ones would go straight into the barrel that Amane brought closer. "The festival," she parroted back. "I plan to! It looks exciting, and seeing all of the villagers get so pumped… I wanna see what they're coming up with, you know?" She giggled and leaned back on her heels. "Maybe there will be games with prizes. Exciting! It's been a while since I've been to a festival." With the barrel filling up, it'd soon be too heavy to even roll it back to the farmer. With a satisfying crack of joints as she stretched, Kyupin rose to her feet. "Do you wanna watch me brew?" She offered a hand to Amane as well. "Technically it's my first time, but I think the system will help me out. I hope…" She wouldn't want to ruin the poor farmer's hard work, after all. After they were both up, Kyupin looked contemplatively at the barrel. She squatted and gripped the bottom lip with her fingers. A tentative pull showed her that, no, she would not be able to lift it alone. "Let's bring this back!" @Amane Hirota
Putting the last few stalks into the barrel, Amane sat on the ground with an exhale, the manual labour taking a toll on her energy, and — for that split second — overriding her common sense. The next moment her brain caught up with her actions, and she immediately pushed herself back into a squat, using her hands to dust of the dirt and leaves that clung to her robes with a grimace. "Okay, that might have been a bad idea," she mumbled, swiping her hands against each other futilely, the grim clinging between her fingers with vehemence. She gave up when Kyupin offered her a hand, grasping it with an expression of gratitude. "Thanks," she said, pulling herself up to her feet. "I'll love to watch you brew! Sorry I can't be of further help. Oh, but I can always taste test though," she added, a teasing edge to her grin. "Alright, let's heave this up!" she said, with what exuberance she could muster, digging her nails underneath the barrel in a secure grip. "On the count of three? One...two...three!" She heaved the barrel upwards, unbalancing at its sudden weight, and took a few stumbled steps as she tried to distribute the weight between the two of them. Or what she hoped was the two of them; between the barrel's bulk and the bone breaking weight that her fingers were subjected to, she could neither see Kyupin nor feel any subtleties in weight distribution. She thought she was though: certainly she could not carry such a burden on her own. Her masteries weren't geared in the slightest towards providing physical strength. "Lead the way," Amane wheezed, glancing around for the brewing equipment. They didn't manage to harvest a lot of the crops, but she was sure Kyu could do wonders with what they did manage to gather. @Kyupin Felnya (plus a million apologies)
After a lot of time spent slaving over the crops, the duo of ladies managed to produce a fair amount of ale. The farmer thanked them profusely for their troubles and sent them on their ways with a shiny apple each. Kyupin was glad they'd managed to get at least something done, and with the bonus of meeting a great person like Amane! She bid her farewells and ran off to take care of other duties in the nearby area, making a last-minute promise to say hi if she spotted Amane at the festival. ( super belated and hoping this is okay to close the thread. felt weird not to end it but im blanking on how to close xD )
