2017-04-30: Eye of the Tiger
- Cutscene: Eye of the Tiger
- Cast: Rosaline Calice, Mother Oba
- Where: Silver Coast
- Date: 30 May 2017
- Summary: Rosaline takes the first step into her new life and meets a mentor. ICly takes place in early April.
"So, you want to be an Etone."
Rosaline had been kneeling in prayer in the empty church's front row when she heard the voice behind her. She got up and turned around to face it, and was puzzled for a moment, seeing no one. Her eyes slid downwards, to see a woman half as tall and probably three times as old as she was. The wrinkled, portly woman had her arms crossed severely, but her expression was kind. She wore a nun's habit similar to Rosaline's, albeit with some low-key customizations. Gold trim, lace in her coif, higher-quality fabric. Compared to how flamboyantly Rosaline knew some Etones would dress, this one was positively blending in with the other nuns.
Rosaline tried to stammer out an answer and failed. She managed a nod, instead. The tiny woman smiled.
"Atta girl. Rosaline, was it? Nice to meet you. I'm Mother Oba, but you can just call me Oba. Or Mom."
Rosaline blushed, unsure what to make of the older woman's familiarity. Was she joking? She finally managed to let out a few words.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you, Mother Oba... I mean, Mom-- I MEAN, Oba-- Er, oh no..."
Oba let out a booming laugh and patted Rosaline on the elbow reassuringly, then trotted towards the exit, inviting the catwoman to follow. They walked towards the nearby stables.
"Titles don't mean much to me. At the end of the day, we're all just people trying to make it. So! Rosie-- Do you mind if I call you Rosie? But first, I wanted to know, why did you choose to do this?"
Rosaline took a moment to formulate her answer.
"It's... mostly to help with my mission, I suppose. I need to find who destroyed the orphanage, and make sure they never do something like that again. Etones have access to more resources... and besides, I want to help people."
"I know about that, silly," Oba said with a shake of her head. "What I'm really asking is, once you've finished that investigation of yours, will the Etone lifestyle still be your thing?"
"Oh, yes," the beastwoman managed a sad smile. "This is the only way I can make my survival mean something."
There was a moment's silence.
"That," Oba said, slowly, "is a very honest answer."
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peTnXmZxuZQ
The sun rose behind Rosaline as she walked along a Silver Coast beach, a rope tied around her waist. Behind her trailed a large wooden cross, which she dragged through the sand. Mother Oba stood atop it, her arms crossed, perfectly balanced.
"Walk faster, Rosaline Calice!" the tiny woman barked in a booming voice, "We all have our crosses to bear!"
The beastwoman panted, summoning her strength for another painful step. Instead, she collapsed, kicking up an enormous plume of sand. Mother Oba coughed and wiped sand out of her face, looking severe.
The sun bore down harshly upon the two women's habits as they stood by a water pump amidst the wasteland. In front of them, a line of several dozen people awaiting their water. Oba handed each person a bucket, while Rosaline operated the pump.
Her arms were already tired, and sweat was pouring down her face. Wringing out every drop required a monumental effort, and so she needed to pace herself. Having a sip of water of her own was very tempting right now, but she couldn't be greedy, and besides, other people needed it more.
She looked back at the line in front of her, and let out a high-pitched, wordless sound as she saw it had almost doubled in length since when she last checked. She took a deep breath, and pressed down on the handle twice as hard--
There was a cracking sound, and then the handle remained in Rosaline's hands. She looked at the assembled people in horror. Mother Oba shook her head.
"Now, Rosaline Calice, PERFORM THOSE BAPTISMS before the sun sets!"
The multicolored light illuminating the church was dwindling. Rosaline, carefully holding a newborn baby in her hands, was once again looking at a very long line. This scenario was more than a little strange, but she wasn't one to question Etone training methods. Mother Oba stood behind her, judging her every action but not stepping in. Remembering the instructions, Rosaline said the words and reached for the cup of water--
It slipped out of her gloved fingers, clattering to the ground and spilling it contents.
There was a murmur of disapproval.
"So disgraceful, that we let beasts handle this."
"I could have done it myself."
"Mom, does that mean my little brother needs to worship Valmar, now?"
Tears beaded at the corners of the young nun's eyes.
Only the moon and a simple campfire illuminated the night sky. It had been enough to draw the cockatrice out, at least, which was what the two nuns had been counting on.
"Remember, don't ever meet its gaze!" Oba reminded, blasting the beast with her shotgun and sending feathers flying everywhere. She leapt onto the beast's back and grabbed ahold of the spiky down of its neck. While it was distracted, Rosaline rushed in, screaming as she sprayed her SMGs' bullets wildly and somehow only managed to graze the oversized bird.
"Watch where you're firing, Rosie!" Oba shouted, with a fresh new hole in the hem of her coif. The bird turned its head and took advantage of the distraction to peck at her with its sharp, almost metallic beak. Blood spilled, but the pain was momentary, and a healing wave immediately washed over her. Mother Oba raised her shotgun towards the beast's beady eye and--
BLAM!
The bird fell, and Mother Oba hopped off. Rosaline rushed over to her side, looking apologetic, holding up a hand for another wave of healing magic. The old woman shook her head and brushed her off. They looked at the fallen cockatrice, satisfied.
Then, there was a chirping noise. Rosaline was the first to turn her head and look at the source. It was a chick the size of a regular chicken, covered with multicolored down feathers.
"Ah, so it was a mother, wasn't it?" Oba said. She checked her ARM. "Rosaline, dear, I'm out of ammo. Could you take care of this one?"
Rosaline swallowed as she looked at the chirping creature, which was approaching its dead mother without really understanding what had just happened, trying to peck it awake. Rosaline closed her eyes and fired...
Not one bullet touched the monster. It ran off into the brush.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Oba asked, setting a hand on Rosaline's forearm.
"I... yes," the catwoman confessed.
"It's probably not going to survive in the wild alone, and if it does it might cause more trouble later." She shook her head and sighed, smiling. "Well, God only knows."
She had a small laugh, and stepped back over to the cockatrice carcass.
The nature of their quarry meant they wouldn't go hungry tonight, and probably for several days still. After the cucco incident, Rosaline had thought she was done with poultry, but after a day like she'd just had, she ignored her vows and tore into the meat ravenously. The two women ate in silence, sitting next to the fire.
Soon they were satiated, and Rosaline found herself staring into the fire silently. Mother Oba's voice broke her out of her reverie.
"Why the long face, Rosie?"
Rosaline turned and let out a sigh.
"Oh, it's just... I really messed up training today, didn't I? I don't think I did a single thing right."
Mother Oba laughed and patted her on the arm. Rosaline looked down to see Oba's wrinkled, fire-illuminated face smiling.
"Rosie, Rosie! It's fine to make mistakes once in a while. Everything I asked you today was hard. I'm fairly sure the cross bit was actually impossible. The pump handle was unfortunate, but it was a rusty old thing and a quick fix besides."
Rosaline seemed confused. "Are you saying this wasn't training?"
"It wasn't. It was a test. And you passed with flying colors."
Rosaline's eyes were wide. This had to be a mistake. Or Mother Oba must have been taking pity on her, or trying to cheer her up. Or maybe she was priming her for a harsh reprimand. Rosaline shrank in reflex, but the elder nun went on heedlessly.
"I wanted to see how devoted you were, how far you were willing to go. And you weren't kidding about survival. You're never gonna give up, are you? The only times you stopped today were when your body failed you or when you were asked to harm something innocent. Combat, physical strength, rites, discipline... You've already got a bit of a headstart on those, even compared to fancy big-city priests. The rest, I can teach you in time. But first I had to see if you had it in you to begin with."
Oba's words took a moment to register. And she went on still.
"There's just one thing..."
Rosaline's ears drooped. Ah, here came the other shoe. It was almost a relief, that way she wouldn't have to worry about it later.
"You need to open your heart," Oba explained. Rosaline's ears rose. She looked surprised again, and listened intently. "That, I can't teach you either, not alone. You've been hurt so much, and you'll be hurt again. Your wounds are still raw, I can see it. That pain in you, with your determination... Why that could combine into something scary indeed. That's why you need to reach out, to open your heart. There's a lot of good people out there. They can help you."
Rosaline wanted to ask what she meant, but the older woman's words were interrupted by a growing roar from afar. Warm, dusty wind swept over them, strong enough to nearly snuff out the campfire like a candle's flame. Rosaline shrieked. Oba got up quietly, calmly walking towards the source of it all.
"Ah, looks like my ride is here earlier than I thought!" Oba spoke up, once the noise had died down enough for her to be understandable at all. "Rosie, could you be a dear and bring my horse back to the stable?"
"Mother Oba, where are you going?!"
"Etone business! You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Two blue flames lit up the darkness behind the older woman. It took a moment for Rosaline to recognize the eyes of a Gear.
"Oh! One last thing. I'll have your new habit sent to you soon."
"When will I see you again?"
Oba smiled as she grabbed a rope dropped from above.
"I don't know, but soon enough, I'm sure. God always has a plan. Farewell, Rosaline Calice... Etone-in-Training!"
Rosaline watched as the metal giant, with her new mentor, disappeared into the night.
Rosaline has unlocked the title "Etone-in-Training"!