[Maria is many things, but ready for the heat of a Mediterranean summer, she is not. Beyond that, she is very pale, and burns easily. So it's little surprise that the heat wakes her quickly, and through the disorientation of waking in a different place than she last remembered, she makes for a nearby shop, almost immediately. Her stomach churns with the scent of the sea, but she does not retch.
The heavy leather and thick cloth does her no favors in the sun - she's dressed more for what looks like a cold, rainy autumn than anything else, and even through the short jump up and jaunt into a nearby building, she can feel herself begin to sweat. Luckily, the shop is significantly cooler on the inside than the out; the sort of immediate drop in temperature that gels sweat on the skin, and she can feel some of her clothing sticking.
That matters not, with the way she draws herself up to her full height (and it is impressive - the woman has to be at least six and a half feet, but likely more, standing head and shoulders above the majority of people), and looks around, it's clear she's on the highest of alerts.
Given that she has a sword strapped to her hip on one side and what appears to be an antique flintlock pistol that very much matches her otherwise somewhere-between-18th-and-19th-century garb on the other, it may take a brave sort to approach her. On the plus side, while she is clearly wary of everything happening, she is not immediately hostile. Instead, there's simply a cold, steady gaze awaiting anyone who comes into the shop, before she resumes investigating.
Which she does after assessing any immediate threats by picking up a cheap plastic souvenir landmark, and turning it over in her hands.]
[2: Sound and Light]
[It's not that she really cares for the shadow play, but the opportunity to explore a bit more beyond the very limited and small confines of the town center is interesting to her. She goes one time, cautiously stepping outside to investigate the amphitheater.
To that end, she's only sort of watching the play. The idea of a royal betrayal does catch a passing interest, if only for it being one of the few familiar sights. Yet, she stays until the end, trying to figure out if it is the king that keeps getting resurrected, or the one shadow is a stand-in for multiple figures.
Therefore... she turns to whomever is close to her. She's probably become rather known for being quiet and taciturn, so that she seems candid when she speaks may come as a surprise to some.] ... An interesting play. I think my relatives at home would like to watch it - but they always did have a soft spot for whimsical things. Anything to satiate their capricious moods. It would need to be more than just this to stick around for very long, though - very little could hold their attention for long. The tides changed on their interests swiftly.
[Still, for as down on her relatives as she seems to be, there is an air of nostalgia to the way she speaks.]
[3: Into the Fog]
[Fog is not unusual in Yharnam, but the smell of smoke is. As with just about anything in this town already fraying her nerves, Maria is on the highest of alerts as it rolls in, and she dons her coat again. The heat is secondary to the fact she feels the need for protection.
Her instincts prove to be right, when the dogs stagger into view, and the other things which don't quite manifest fully in the fog pass by, startling her nearly every time.
Dogs, however, are both easy and difficult to deal with. They're quick on their feet and very aggressive, which presents a problem, but Maria has fought her fair share of Huntsmen's dogs that have feasted too heavily on Beast Blood and ceased obeying their masters. They pose little threat to her.
Except the one that just passed her wasn't going to attack her, and it's not until she flays its throat open, so hard and sudden and violent that the collar on it is torn partially off (and partially through the neck) that she realizes there's another figure in the fog. One that looks distinctly more human.
She raises an eyebrow.] It seems we'll have to be wary of an ambush in this fog.
[4: Waking up to a Nightmare aka her entire unlife]
[Waking up to claws descending upon her is probably in her top three of most unpleasant experiences - and also high on her list of things she feared as a Hunter. She barely has time to contemplate the blood before she's on her feet, pushing past the pallid Beast (white fur, white skin) with its bleeding eyes (many, many eyes) and sloshing head (wobbling a bit like an overfilled water balloon). It screams, but though the sound is animalistic, the voice is unmistakably human, like a person imitating monster noises. No words, only screeches. Its maw is filled with rows of teeth, like a shark.
As she is a Hunter, she first attempts attacking it, but in the narrow rooms and hallways of the apartments, she finds space to be at a premium - and herself to be at a distinct disadvantage.
So off she goes in a bloodstained but very frilly shirt and trousers through the halls, and finds herself blocked by another Manifestation trying to make its way into an apartment. With little choice, she turns back to the Beast pursuing her, and attempts to attack it, but finds the blow landing and doing little more than causing it to knock her away, and nearly her swords out of her hands.
So, instead, she gets a little creative, ducking beyond the second Manifestation, and putting it between her and the one pursuing her, then praying that it won't turn on her, too.
It doesn't, but now there's two Manifestations in the hallway, and whoever is stuck in that apartment? Well...]
Get out, move, this way!
[Her voice is quite soft, but the commanding tone is very sharp and immediate. Maybe if the two Manifestations get caught on each other, they'll be afforded a bit of extra time to escape.]
[5: The Bonfire]
[After everything that's happened, the fire is a bit of a reprieve. The dogs don't seem to follow, which is somewhat nice; Beasts continue to fear fire, but she hasn't seen that weird Beast that attacked her in some hours, so she can't test if larger Beasts, or ones that look like hybrids of Great Ones share the same fear.
Then, humanoid figures appear, bearing another. She does not interfere, but watches, passively, until the show is over. It matters not if someone else attacks the handmaidens, she won't join in.
Tasting her own blood at the back of her mouth is not unusual for Maria, but as it wells up in her throat and causes her to spit it out or choke, she quickly looks down, patting at herself, her throat (and the scar there), to see if any wounds may have reopened, or she got attacked while mesmerized by the procession.
No, that's not it.
And, in fact, the blood seems to seep together, to crystallize on her chest. Maria is used to her blood doing strange things, and though she hasn't been able to control anything it does in this place since she arrived, she's more fascinated by what the blood is trying to do as it hardens into damp, glimmering crystal letters.
Then, she's horrified.
The Massacre
That's all it says. But to Maria, it says everything, and though she is naturally very pale, she looks even worse for ware in the dancing firelight.]
[6: Wildcard!]
[Hit me with anything, or we can hash something out!
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower | Bloodborne
[Maria is many things, but ready for the heat of a Mediterranean summer, she is not. Beyond that, she is very pale, and burns easily. So it's little surprise that the heat wakes her quickly, and through the disorientation of waking in a different place than she last remembered, she makes for a nearby shop, almost immediately. Her stomach churns with the scent of the sea, but she does not retch.
The heavy leather and thick cloth does her no favors in the sun - she's dressed more for what looks like a cold, rainy autumn than anything else, and even through the short jump up and jaunt into a nearby building, she can feel herself begin to sweat. Luckily, the shop is significantly cooler on the inside than the out; the sort of immediate drop in temperature that gels sweat on the skin, and she can feel some of her clothing sticking.
That matters not, with the way she draws herself up to her full height (and it is impressive - the woman has to be at least six and a half feet, but likely more, standing head and shoulders above the majority of people), and looks around, it's clear she's on the highest of alerts.
Given that she has a sword strapped to her hip on one side and what appears to be an antique flintlock pistol that very much matches her otherwise somewhere-between-18th-and-19th-century garb on the other, it may take a brave sort to approach her. On the plus side, while she is clearly wary of everything happening, she is not immediately hostile. Instead, there's simply a cold, steady gaze awaiting anyone who comes into the shop, before she resumes investigating.
Which she does after assessing any immediate threats by picking up a cheap plastic souvenir landmark, and turning it over in her hands.]
[2: Sound and Light]
[It's not that she really cares for the shadow play, but the opportunity to explore a bit more beyond the very limited and small confines of the town center is interesting to her. She goes one time, cautiously stepping outside to investigate the amphitheater.
To that end, she's only sort of watching the play. The idea of a royal betrayal does catch a passing interest, if only for it being one of the few familiar sights. Yet, she stays until the end, trying to figure out if it is the king that keeps getting resurrected, or the one shadow is a stand-in for multiple figures.
Therefore... she turns to whomever is close to her. She's probably become rather known for being quiet and taciturn, so that she seems candid when she speaks may come as a surprise to some.] ... An interesting play. I think my relatives at home would like to watch it - but they always did have a soft spot for whimsical things. Anything to satiate their capricious moods. It would need to be more than just this to stick around for very long, though - very little could hold their attention for long. The tides changed on their interests swiftly.
[Still, for as down on her relatives as she seems to be, there is an air of nostalgia to the way she speaks.]
[3: Into the Fog]
[Fog is not unusual in Yharnam, but the smell of smoke is. As with just about anything in this town already fraying her nerves, Maria is on the highest of alerts as it rolls in, and she dons her coat again. The heat is secondary to the fact she feels the need for protection.
Her instincts prove to be right, when the dogs stagger into view, and the other things which don't quite manifest fully in the fog pass by, startling her nearly every time.
Dogs, however, are both easy and difficult to deal with. They're quick on their feet and very aggressive, which presents a problem, but Maria has fought her fair share of Huntsmen's dogs that have feasted too heavily on Beast Blood and ceased obeying their masters. They pose little threat to her.
Except the one that just passed her wasn't going to attack her, and it's not until she flays its throat open, so hard and sudden and violent that the collar on it is torn partially off (and partially through the neck) that she realizes there's another figure in the fog. One that looks distinctly more human.
She raises an eyebrow.] It seems we'll have to be wary of an ambush in this fog.
[4: Waking up to a Nightmare aka her entire unlife]
[Waking up to claws descending upon her is probably in her top three of most unpleasant experiences - and also high on her list of things she feared as a Hunter. She barely has time to contemplate the blood before she's on her feet, pushing past the pallid Beast (white fur, white skin) with its bleeding eyes (many, many eyes) and sloshing head (wobbling a bit like an overfilled water balloon). It screams, but though the sound is animalistic, the voice is unmistakably human, like a person imitating monster noises. No words, only screeches. Its maw is filled with rows of teeth, like a shark.
As she is a Hunter, she first attempts attacking it, but in the narrow rooms and hallways of the apartments, she finds space to be at a premium - and herself to be at a distinct disadvantage.
So off she goes in a bloodstained but very frilly shirt and trousers through the halls, and finds herself blocked by another Manifestation trying to make its way into an apartment. With little choice, she turns back to the Beast pursuing her, and attempts to attack it, but finds the blow landing and doing little more than causing it to knock her away, and nearly her swords out of her hands.
So, instead, she gets a little creative, ducking beyond the second Manifestation, and putting it between her and the one pursuing her, then praying that it won't turn on her, too.
It doesn't, but now there's two Manifestations in the hallway, and whoever is stuck in that apartment? Well...]
Get out, move, this way!
[Her voice is quite soft, but the commanding tone is very sharp and immediate. Maybe if the two Manifestations get caught on each other, they'll be afforded a bit of extra time to escape.]
[5: The Bonfire]
[After everything that's happened, the fire is a bit of a reprieve. The dogs don't seem to follow, which is somewhat nice; Beasts continue to fear fire, but she hasn't seen that weird Beast that attacked her in some hours, so she can't test if larger Beasts, or ones that look like hybrids of Great Ones share the same fear.
Then, humanoid figures appear, bearing another. She does not interfere, but watches, passively, until the show is over. It matters not if someone else attacks the handmaidens, she won't join in.
Tasting her own blood at the back of her mouth is not unusual for Maria, but as it wells up in her throat and causes her to spit it out or choke, she quickly looks down, patting at herself, her throat (and the scar there), to see if any wounds may have reopened, or she got attacked while mesmerized by the procession.
No, that's not it.
And, in fact, the blood seems to seep together, to crystallize on her chest. Maria is used to her blood doing strange things, and though she hasn't been able to control anything it does in this place since she arrived, she's more fascinated by what the blood is trying to do as it hardens into damp, glimmering crystal letters.
Then, she's horrified.
The Massacre
That's all it says. But to Maria, it says everything, and though she is naturally very pale, she looks even worse for ware in the dancing firelight.]
[6: Wildcard!]
[Hit me with anything, or we can hash something out!