2017-02-19: Finding the Fire Seraph
- Log: Finding the Fire Seraph
- Cast: Alisha Diphda, Seraph Lailah
- Where: Linga
- Date: February 19, 2017
- Summary: Alisha is worried about Lailah. She goes looking for her -- but Lailah finds her, because only one of them can see the other.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
First, they arrived in a strange new place. A new world, Alisha has come to wonder, though she is frightened to say it aloud. It may make it true. But, they had other problems too. Sorey and her found a place to stay, with two rooms, and the gald that she had with her translated into local currency without trouble. But, they also needed to make sure the Seraphim.
Which is why Alisha is stumbling around this new town. The princess knight has wide eyes, as she looks about the overall tiny village -- and the towering form of the Academy, which dwarfs the village. Her mouth hangs open a moment, as she looks.
Except looking doesn't do much good.
She still cannot see the Seraphim, after all. She can see when they cast a spell; she can hear them; sometimes, she has that sense at the back of her head that they're here, but not always. She cannot, though, lay eyes on them yet.
So her green eyes scan uselessly over the rustic village, and Alisha makes quite the face. "I hope they're well..."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah was used to a life of being alone. And with being the eldest of the Seraphim, she's outlived more friends and companions than she would ever admit. This is why Lailah was so happy to have found new travelling companions once for. A new Shepherd had come and saved Lailah from her solitude and he was blessed by having wonderful friends and companions! And while Alisha could not see her or the other Seraphim yet, progress was made for her to at least be able to -hear- them. And yet despite all this wonderful progress, everything changed when they came to this world and were scattered to the four winds.
Lailah was alone again.
Not being able to be seen or heard, Lailah was beginning to thought of as a ghost. Peculiarly the rumors and tales of levitating books were primarily in the cooking and even smaller pun section of Linga's library within the academy. But it was not long before Lailah considered leaving here in search of the others. She never gave up hope that she would one-day be reunited with them.
And thankfully that day came sooner than Lailah expected. Jade green eyes soon spot a pair of more leafy green ones which causes Lailah to jump for joy. The Seraph soon runs directly over towards her with a warm smile gracing her features and she begins to wave. "Alisha!" Her response soon becomes muted when Lailah remembers that Alisha can't see her and could only hear her. She instead comes to halt and folds her hands in front of her. "Alisha, this is Lailah and I am standing right in front of you. So please, forgive me for this." The Fire Seraph warns before reaching forward and greeting Alisha with a friendly hug.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha jumps when she hears her name called. She would know that voice anywhere -- even if it's only recently that she has learned to hear her. She turns, but it only goes halfway, and she waves her arm in the air. "Oh, Lady Lailah!" she calls out. She isn't quite facing her -- and quite processing the way a few of Linga's residents stop to stare at her.
After all, it looks like she is talking to absolutely no one. Rumors are doubtlessly swirling already about the two strange humans here.
But then, Lailah helpfully tells her a little more, and that makes Alisha stay still -- knowing Lailah is in front of her. She can't see her, but she can feel the hug. She returns it, though it is awkward and stiff at first. It helps to be able to see someone she wants to hug.
"You're here!" Alisha exclaims. "And safe! Oh, thank the goddess. I was so worried, Lady Lailah. I thought we might have been separated!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
The sight of Alisha conversing with nothing but thin air would be quite the strange sight that drew the passing attention of the townsfolk. But Lailah is entirely focused on the unexpected reunion with Alisha. Trying to find Alisha and the others in a world where very few could hear or see you would have taken years. Years that Lailah was ready to spend, but this was a far better solution!
Lailah's hug is a warm one indeed for she is a Fire Seraph after all, but Lailah soon resumes a polite distance away so that they could speak without having to draw too much more attention their way. The Seraph soon smiles brightly despite such gesture being invisible to Alisha. "I am here," she begins with a slight bow of her head before slyly looking back up at Alisha. "And yes, it seems that the goddess has blessed up with a little bit of -blind luck-."
Letting that sink in, Lailah takes a moment before clapping her hands together. "Does this mean that the others are here too? We should do all that we can to find everyone before resuming our journey." She says with a more serious tone tinging her words now.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha hugging thin air may, in fact, cause others to reach the conclusion that she has lost her mind. At the moment, she scarcely cares. "Oh! You're warm!" the princess declares, before she steps backward. Then, she laughs a little awkwardly, her fingers moving up into her pale blonde hair -- which she still styles, neatly, every morning, despite being a world apart. "That shouldn't surprise me, Lady Lailah."
She tilts her head to the side, and the pun... sails completely over her head, as it always does. Her green eyes blink a few times, before she nods quickly. "They are! Well... Sorey is, and Lord Mikleo was close by. When the bridge--" The one leading from the Ladylake region to Marlind, which they stood before they were swept away. "--gave out, we all appeared near here. But we hadn't seen you or Lady Edna."
Then she looks down, and sighs, her eyes briefly heavy with a worry she can scarcely manage to keep at bay. "...We spoke with two travellers. They had never heard of Hyland or the Goddess Althena. And they mentioned places I've never heard of in my life. Where could we possibly be?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah giggles at Alisha's words and knows all too well about the importance of styling one's hair. Even if Seraph can cheat at this a little, she does pay particular attention to her appearance and takes pride in it. "I am quite happy to see you well, Alisha." It was also nice that they no longer had to use Sorey as a direct conduit between them for them to talk. Alisha has already come quite a far way despite the brevity of their travels together.
The punning Seraph does not seem all that bothered that her pun was hidden from Alisha for her bright smile never loses any of its luster. Her smiles does transform into a contemplative look when Alisha begins to explain what happened to the others. She does breath a sigh of relief in that Sorey and Mikleo were okay even if Edna was still missing. "That warms my heart to hear that the Shepherd has not been lost. Losing Sorey would have doomed our world to the Age of Chaos." A beat. "And although she is separated, I have faith that Edna will be able to take care of herself until we are all reunited." She says with a slight nod of her head. Lailah did worry about her, but Edna could indeed take care of herself as she has for quite some time.
It is the final part that causes Lailah first to blink in confusion. "I feared as much as I did not recognize anything about this town...." There's a slight pause in Lailah's words as she struggles with the latter part of what Alisha reported. "....but for no one to have ever heard of the Goddess Althena? We may have travelled farther than we ever thought. To think there was some part of the world that did not even at least know of the goddess or of Hyland?" The fire Seraph shivers.
Lailah closes her jade green eyes before reopening them after recomposing herself. "Our divine task has not changed however. The Lord of Calamity must be stopped no matter how far we have strayed from home." She says in a far more serious tone than she had been using. "Sorey is in this town then? We will all need to discuss what we should do next." Another beat passes before Lailah forces a smile onto her face. "No matter where this is, Malevolence is also here. And as long as Malevolence plagues our world, we have a task to perform."
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Those leaf-green eyes look thoughtful, before the princess nods her head. She knew that Edna had spent a long time on that mountain -- she hadn't had a chance to talk to her all that much, yet. Maybe that meant she would be fine. After all, the Seraphim -- all of them, except Mikleo -- had spent so much time alone before. She smiles, then, looking slightly reassured. "I wondered that. I thought... perhaps we've ended up in Spira? But I wouldn't even know how to confirm it."
She shakes her head, before she looks around. "And the world seems different. I went a little outside of town. It seems so... dry. I've never had a chance to see a desert before, though."
She frowns, and then she looks back up -- and her eyes look just left of Lailah, still unable to see her for a moment. "I know. The Shepherd's sacred task must continue, no matter what. And I heard... Lady Maltran wrote me a letter. I received it only a little before we ended up here. She said that a strange woman was spotted by Hyland's soldiers. Clad in red and wielding terrible magic."
She represses a shudder, and it doesn't work so well. "It... could have been..." After all, she knows what the Church declared.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
The idea that they landed in Spira causes Lailah to drop silent in contemplation, a finger tapping the side of her chin. Was this Spira? The Seraph turns now to regard her surroundings, her skirts and long hair swaying as she does so. The world did seem different, but what Alisha says next causes Lailah to giggle softly in preparation for something. "Worry not Alisha, I shall remedy that injustice by preparing for you the finest dessert possible. Have you ever tasted a tea flavored chiffon cake? It is simply divine!" She interjects with a bit of levity despite the previous somber turn in their conversation.
"...The Lord of Calamity." Lailah finishes for Alisha before pausing for a moment as she peers at Alisha. "While the task of the Shepherd and his companions is detailed and set out before us. There is always choice, and I will support whichever path Sorey and you take. A Lord of Calamity will be a fearsome foe and those facing one should be ready in both heart and body." Lailah brings her hands together in front of her and bows her head slightly. "With both Malevolence and a Lord of Calamity present, the same path we walked before is open to us should we choose to continue on." A beat. "But if this truly is Spira then we should still reunite with Edna and the others first."
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Oh--"
It takes Alisha a moment, but some puns are hard for her to miss completely. She giggles, hand covering her mouth to be polite, before she beams. "Oh, would you?" she asks. "I would love a nice dessert! Tea-flavored cake sounds wonderful. Ah, I never knew the Seraphim counted the culinary arts among their many gifts, too!" She taps a finger against her chin.
But the Lord of Calamity does necessitate that her expression falter, a little. She looks more serious, when Lailah says that she will support their choice. She nods. "I'll be ready to help Sorey however I can, Lady Lailah. I hope that I am wrong. But..."
She looks down, then nods her head. "We should try to find them. And... find out where we are, I suppose. I was hoping the scholars in the academy could tell us something, but it might be beyond them."
The student on his way back from his studies, whom she chased down to ask questions, seemed more confused than anything this morning.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
"I surely would, and it would be, in fact, my pleasure to do so!" Lailah chirps back quite happily before nodding her head up and down. "Seraphim have different personalities, hobbies, interests, and passions just like humans. Baking, folding origami, and writing letters like Lady Maltran are all my own hobbies." She reports with great cheer to Alisha before cocking her head to the side, her hands resting down against her lap. "What about you Alisha? A princess such of yourself is bound to have many exciting talents and interests!" It seems by the Seraph's tone that Lailah is more than happy to switch between lighter and more heavy topics as she speaks with the green-eyed princess.
Alisha's resolute words draws a continued grin from Lailah. "I am quite pleased to hear that, Alisha. You are quite an inspiring individual." She compliments before pondering the search for more information. "If we cannot find someone to help us, then we may be able to find something. And if someone was going to find the right book or tome to help us, it would be Sorey or Mikleo." The aforementioned academy causes Lailah to turn and look at it, but she soon turns back towards Alisha. "But continuing to ask would not hurt either, we merely need to find the right person while they find the right tome." A pause. "Now that we have our goal in mind I am curious, how are you holding up, Alisha?"
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Oh, do you? I-I wasn't certain," Alisha admits with a sheepish laugh. "I knew you had other interests, of course! You write letters? To other Seraphim?" She supposes that would make sense, really. Part of her wonders if humans could see her letters. But... she knows that humans can eat her cooking. She pauses, though, to consider.
"Well... I /do/ like to practice with my spear. But I don't know if that counts as a hobby? It certainly isn't that exciting," she says. She taps a finger against her chin. "Oh, but I love horseback riding! And I always thought chess is delightful. And dancing! And I'm not an awful singer, most of the time!"
She smiles, brightening at that, and she looks back at the academy -- and she preens with the compliment, too. She ends up looking right through Lailah, though. The question makes her hesitate.
"...Worried," she admits, honestly. "I... have so many responsibilities in Hyland, Lady Alisha. And if I am not there, to try to counter Chancellor Bartlow, then... then I fear he may make things worse with Rolance."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah answers first with a nod, but thankfully adds a less veiled explanation. "Writing letters to other Seraphim is how we are able to keep in touch even though I remained at Ladylake for so many years." The mystery of the floating letters would unfortunately remain unsolved across Lunar. But maybe oneday, someone will uncover the truth that was always there right before their eyes that they just couldn't see.
The Fire Spirit smiles on as Alisha talks about her interests and hobbies. It was always pleasing to see someone talk so genuinely about their passions. "Practicing martial arts and horseback riding are time-honored traditions to be proud of and it makes perfect sense for a knight such as yourself to take pleasure in such activities. And as a princess, chess is a beloved hobby among leaders and rulers." The dancing comment causes Lailah to flinch. "Dancing used to bring such life and happiness to Ladylake and especially around the time of festivals." She says neutrally with more than a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "I do believe I recall your voice within the cathedral as being one of the more pleasant ones." Lailah concludes with a giggle.
Lailah then leans forward and places the back of her hand against Alisha's forehead. Unsurprisingly, her forehead is warm to the touch, but Fire Seraph make bad temperature takers. "Alisha, are you feeling alright? I am Laila, and you are Alisha." Lailah then glances around before gasping suddenly. "Forgive me, we should be speaking underneath shade instead of out in the open like this!" She says promptly before attempting to lead Alisha by the hand to a nearby overhang which surely would not look even more strange to a passerby.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Oh--yes! So that way you could still talk to all of your friends!" Alisha says, a little excitably. It isn't something she is used to yet, after all... the Seraphim were more like spirits of great power and age than /people/ to her until recently. Until, really, she met Sorey. "I'm glad that you could. I thought... it had to be lonely, to be in Ladylake's cathedral for all that time."
She wonders, at times, about that. She must have been in the same room as Lailah hundreds of times before. She went there often, after all.
"Mm... yes," Alisha says, with a nod. "I agree with all of those things. The Goddess... ah, there must be a reason." Perhaps it was temporary. Perhaps it was only while the Church got its affairs in order. "But--oh, you remember my voice! I--well, I still practice. Sometimes." She certainly doesn't where anyone could hear her.
And then, she blinks, when she feels the back of her hand against her forehead. Alisha's mouth opens, then clamps shut, and her eyes widen and she flushes. "Oh--oh Lady Lailah, I'm sorry! I-I wasn't... oh--" She puts a hand to her face, and she follows after Lailah. Her feet stumble at first; being led by someone she can't see is harder to do than she thought. Her cheeks redden. "How... how embarrassing! I suppose it... it must be bothering me more than I thought!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
That was true. Alisha and Lailah had been in the same room countless times before, but they never really spoke. And even since they've been travelling, they've rarely had time to talk just the two of them. And this green-haired fire seraph was more than happy to finally have a conversation together even if they couldn't see either quite yet without using Sorey. Lailah only hums happily to herself as she leads Alisha to shade and completely avoids making any comment on the Goddess Althena and her ban of dancing. Nope, nothing to see here! She does her best to counter for Alisha's stumbling, but it can be just as hard to -lead- someone that can't see you. Now under shade, Lailah has to let go of Alisha's hand gently and step away so that they don't collide with each other. "Perhaps we could practice together." Lailah suddenly goes wide eyes and gestures openly. "Singing, and not dancing, of course." She elaborates as she is still loathe to carelessly break something that the goddess thought was a good idea. "But as for now, I am more concerned about your current condition. Let us retreat from this talk of 'destiny', politics, and forbidden practices and instead let us find something cool and refreshing to drink before we seek out Sorey. Shall we?"
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha slows, and mercifully doesn't bump into Lailah. When she speaks, she isn't looking at her -- she thought Lailah stepped out of the way in the other direction, but she brightens. "Oh! Could we? Practice our--our singing, of course," she says. "I didn't know you sang, Lady Lailah! That would be a delight. We... ah." She trails off for a moment, and then she nods her head, with an awkward laugh. Her cheeks still have some red in them. "That sounds wonderful. Maybe I've overdone it..."