thenearshore | Answering Prayers

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Answering Prayers

Who: Forrest and Psyche
What: Prayer #13 - relieving allergies
When: April 13th
Where: Near Shore, private residence
Warnings: n/a

[On the advice of Sheryl, and after settling into his new home, Forrest has decided to try listening for a prayer from one of his followers. After retreating to the inner sanctum of his temple, he picked up on one that seems right up his alley - helping someone to relieve their allergies. And so today, he's clad in a maid uniform, with Psyche in tow as he tracks down the address of the person who made the prayer. He's not entirely sure, but he's guessing that giving his follower's apartment a thorough cleaning will do the trick.]

Are you ready, Psyche? This is our first prayer.

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Yep. It's...interesting.

['Interesting' was a tentative way of putting it. She hadn't been sure of what to expect from the idea of granting prayers but helping with allergies hadn't been one of her first thoughts. It did make some sense when she thought about it but it was still a mental adjustment.

[There was also the fact her god was currently rocking a fairly cute maid outfit. And had offered a similar one to her. Psyche self-consciously tugged at the sleeves of the borrowed top, skin lightly flushed, despite the fact their 'client' wouldn't be able to see them. She still wore her jeans and boots, though, in lieu of tights and a skirt. After another tug, she decided to just focus on the task, turning to Forrest with a nod.]

Um, where do you want to start? Probably best bets include things like sheets or commonly used areas.

[Thankfully, Forrest had arranged for the two of them to be here while the apartment owner was out. That way the two of them can give everything a good and thorough cleaning without having to worry about disturbing anyone.]

The maid costume suits you. Thanks for humoring me.

[He knows she's a little embarrassed by the attire - it shows on her face, and he can feel the emotional feedback as well. But he wants to make sure she feels comfortable, so he's doing his best to be encouraging.]

Yes, let's clean all of the sheets, pillows, and towels first. Then we'll move the furniture and pick up anything that's lying around. Once we've gotten all of the dirty things out of the way, I can use Lakshmi's power to cleanse the apartment before we put it all back.

No problem. Really. I mean, you went to the effort of preparing it. And it's probably better than my other clothes for something like this.

[She wasn't completely comfortable with the outfit but it wasn't like she had much in the way of a wardrobe since coming there. She was fine with what she had (and Lakshimi's abilities were useful for keeping them in decent condition) but it was better if she wasn't going out of her way to mess them up all the time if she wanted them to last.]

Okay, then. Probably best to split it up. Biggest ones will probably be the bathroom, bedroom, and living room. I can probably start with the bathroom, if you want.

Edited 2016-08-13 04:39 (UTC)

I thought it would help us get into the spirit of the thing.

[Forrest is all about dressing for the occasion.]

That's fine. I'm more familiar with cleaning linens.

[Plumbing here is a bit more modern than he's used to.]

[The plumbing and such is actually a bit outdated to Psyche, actually. However, it's familiar enough things should be straightforward enough. At least some things seemed pretty consistent, she assumed? She fiddled with her strand of hair.]

That and dusting, especially around vents, would probably make a big difference. He might have a medicine cabinet or something that could use some reordering for allergy season. I don't know if he'd notice but as long as we don't do anything too major, it should be fine.

[At the very least, she cracked open the window, allowing a gentle breeze to waft through the room.]

We'll save the dusting for last, before we put everything back. I can make a clean sweep of the entire apartment.

[Thank goodness for utility powers. He's not that great in a fight, but he can clean with the best of them.]

The medicine cabinet is a good idea, though I'm not very familiar with herbal remedies.

[Pills, what are those.]

Sounds good. If you want to, just leave the sheets and linens in a pile when you're done removing them and I can take them down with the towels to the laundry room. That should keep them out of the way while dusting's going on.

[There'd been a door for that downstairs. If it wasn't open, there was probably a key around they could use to get in. For now though, fortunately, at least one of them has some familiarity with pills.]

Well, it should be straight-forward enough. There should be some aspirin or allergy stuff or even pain relief lying around somewhere. Maybe even just lying around, if he's been taking a bunch lately. [For now though, she took a leading step to the washroom] Give me a shout if you need a hand with anything?

All right. Good luck with everything.

[Not that they're on a hard mission here, but it seemed appropriate. Forrest heads off to the bedroom to start gathering up the sheets and blankets, folding them and stacking them into a neat pile in the hallway for Psyche to gather up. Once he's done with that, he starts picking up the dirty laundry and sorting it into a few baskets. There's a lot to be done here.]

Edited 2016-08-17 15:57 (UTC)

[Psyche, meanwhile, enters the washroom...and encounters a much bigger mess than she would've thought. Towels thrown carelessly on the floor, bits of wash and shaving cream spilled and staining the sink, and-

[No. Better not to focus on the tub and the grim (loose hair, stains, and traces pungent body wash) there. She exhaled a breath and focused. There was, fortunately, a medicine cabinet, with some aspirin and cold medicine shoved at the back, which she moved towards the front. She cleaned up the sink, scrubbing off the dust and obvious, thicker stains. And the towels, she picked up, folded, and placed them with Forrests' piles. She called]

When you get a chance, you might want to use your powers on the bathtub. It's...probably a bit more obvious to fix but it probably should be taken care of.

[If only because she was sure a gross mess would make you as sick as allergies.]

I'm almost finished out here. I'll be right-

[He stops in the doorway as he sees the mess in the bathtub, raising a hand to his mouth.]

-there.

[This place is really disgustingly messy. It's no wonder this guy is always sick.]

...I think I'm beginning to realize the source of the problem.

[Mold allergy, anyone?]

Yeah. With how old some of this stuff is, I don't think it's just a matter of letting yourself go while being sick.

[She nodded, glancing a bit apologetically at the tub - even if Forrests' ability should be able to clean it up with a snap.]

While we can clean up the immediate problem, I wouldn't be surprised if his 'allergies' came back sooner than later, unless this somehow becomes a wake up call.

Perhaps we should leave a note before we go.

[The change has to come from within, but at least Forrest can give some gentle encouragement in the guise of Lakshmi. For now, though, he sweeps his hand out and quickly cleanses the soap scum and grime from the bathtub.]

There. That's much better.

Thanks. That's much better.

[At the very least, it smells better without that body wash around. She fiddled with a strand of her hair as she thought on what Forrest said, though, before a bit of inspiration took her]

Actually, that might be a great idea. I mean, if you're supposed to gain followers, little notes or messages to them doesn't seem like a bad way of keeping their attention. They can just brush it off as a joke if they want but it also might just plant the idea, especially if we're granting their prayers.

[Body wash is not at all a scent Forrest is used to. It doesn't compare very well to the various perfumes the noble class in Nohr makes use of in his world.]

It certainly couldn't hurt to try. If this person is enough of a believer to have prayed to Lakshmi for help in the first place, I'm sure he'd be willing to entertain the idea that she had actually answered him.

Yeah. Oh, give me a sec.

[Among the other things scattered around the apartment had been a sticky note pad, including paper that had reminders marked for dates long past. She picked up one of the papers and, from her pocket, pulled out an old, beat-up antique pen. She scribbled something down and held it out to Forrest for his inspection]

To a prayer of respite, the goddess Lakshimi has heard the heart of a faithful

Dust and grim, impurity and unrest have been cleansed

She asks only for a thought of thanks and the renewal of the cleanliness she has brought

[Forrest looks at the note, nodding slowly as he reads it over.]

Yes, that's perfect. You have a beautiful way with words, Psyche.

[Smiling, he takes the note and walks out into the living room, placing it on the coffee table.]

Let me give it just one more touch.

[Teleporting quickly back to his shrine, Forrest is back moments later with a small handful of lotus petals, which he sprinkles around the base of the note.]

There.

It looks really nice. At the very least, he should stop and think about it.

[Even if it just creeped him out (or worse, made him paranoid over someone having been in there), it would stick out in the mind. She went to pick up the piles of laundry.]

Just a few more things, then. I'll run this through and get it out of the way of your dusting.

All right. I'll go through each room and give it a thorough cleansing, and then all that will be left is to wait for the laundry to finish and put the sheets and pillows back.

[Forrest is quite pleased with the way this one turned out. The two of them make a good team.]

Okay, then. Thanks.

[She nodded, with a small smile, as she helped herself out of the room. The laundry room wasn't locked, thankfully, though there was a sternly written note on the door that the room was for residents only and that the area was watched. She didn't know if cameras could pick up shinki and gods but she assumed not, though she still self-consciously glanced up -absently tugging the maid shirt sleeves again - before she went to work.]

[And in the meantime, Forrest heads into each room of the apartment, waving his hand gently over each dirty surface to magically wipe away all the dirt, dust, and grime. This comes especially in handy in the small kitchen area, where there are more than a few dirty dishes built up in the sink.]

[It took Psyche a while to fiddle with the machines. There were some things in this world that were painfully out of date and washing machines on their last legs were among them. It took a well placed shockwave to kick one into motion before she was out the door and back up to the apartment.

[With a small side track. She returned with two cold canned coffees, which she got from the machine by the laundry room, and blinked as she stepped into the apartment.

Oh wow. You wouldn't be able to recognize the place.. [Even the air felt cleaner. She continued to glance around in awe, before holding a can out to Forrest] Here. It felt like we deserved something. For first prayer, if nothing else, I guess.

[She'll do much better with it than Forrest would have. Machines in general aren't something he's terrible familiar with.]

Yes, it's looking-

[His nose wrinkles briefly.]

-and smelling much better.

[He smiles, taking the can from her and opening it.]

Yes, I think we've earned our reward. To a prayer successfully answered.

[Holding the can up, he clinks it against hers.]

Well...

[Psyche was about to say, technically they didn't know if it'd work yet. After all, you'd think they'd have to have seen if the guy found his 'allergies' better or not. However, it was a good mood right now. And they did deserve it.

[So she simply smiled back, with a small laugh, and clinked her can.]

Yeah. To us then, I guess.

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Answering Prayers

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