2017-05-10: Rest Now
- Log: Rest Now
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Maya Schrodinger
- Where: Adlehyde, Schrodinger Household
- Date: 10th May 2017
- Summary: Riesenlied meets Maya Schrodinger to provide her with advice and... gets punched by Noeline and ordered to rest.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There were more tasks to be done. Loose ends to tie off. Riesenlied wasn't expecting to have to make so many trips to and fro the city, but such was the nature of her business. The winged woman, shrouded in her cloak, is moving at a rather brisk clip towards an address that she'd been tipped off to from the Adventurer's Guild. The Schrodinger household... the young heiress had good money, that was for certain -- this wasn't an area of town you could be in without having strings to pull.
She knocks at the door slowly, feeling quite weary after their journey out -- she was more than a little worse for the wear, even after bandaging herself up.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Sure does pay to have a moneyed-up family upon which to build a legacy, doesn't it? Surely it isn't a sore point or anything... anyway, Riesenlied finds herself at a townhouse that, while not expansive by 20'th century Earth standards, is a damn fine home for anyone on Filgaia. The knocking on the door is rewarded soon enough: the door opens after only a few seconds, and a bewilderingly tall man with spectacles, pinstripe suit and foot-high afro is at the door.
"Good afternoon, madam...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"--and what on earth are you doing?" huffs a voice behind Riesenlied as she finally stops at one of the doors. Noeline's much, much faster at cleaning herself up than Riesenlied is - practice makes perfect, after all - and as such she's not bothering to hide herself as she strides up the street to meet at the other metal demon's side, heedless of anything the butler has to say. Of course, there's the fact that she basically shadowed Riese this far without revealing herself to think of, but she seems prepared to wilfully ignore that.
"... you /should/ be resting up. Hello~!" she mutters-and-then-greets, turning bright all of a sudden with a sweeping curtsey as she kind of overruns whatever Riese was about to say. "We thought we'd have some business with the Lady Schrodinger, I do hope she's in? We assisted with some of her business ventures earlier this week. If you mention the names Noeline and Riesenlied, I'm sure she'll recognize them."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied /should/ be resting up, but Riese wouldn't be Riese without being... a perennial worry and a pain in the ass, pushing herself beyond her bounds. She bows her head and says, "Ah, yes, as my companion mentions... I am Riesenlied, and I would like to speak with Miss Schrodinger." She limps just a little as she sags to one side, her eye wavering just a little bit.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
The butler in the doorway pushes the spectacles further up his nose, and his cologne is a match for the almighty Bart Fatima's, but let's not get into a scent war. "But of course, the young Lady resides in her study. Do come in, I shall prepare tea." his manner is impeccable, even if he is a gigantic goofball to look upon.
Through the living room, rather full of bric-a-brac and notes and books of all kinds, and into a bedroom repurposed as a study, which is even /more/ full of crap. At least it's in a good order of some kind, and there's plenty of natural light to go with all the books and earthen-hued recliners and things. More to the point, the blonde heir of the family line is sitting at the desk and scribbling slowly. "Hmm, come on in." she calls to Riese and Noeline, turning around on a swivel-chair. Yes, she has one, somehow. Maya looks much less unbearably anime: plain white blouse and half-moon spectacles, hair neatly tied, and no headband or head-sized pauldrons. "Well, what can I do for you two this evening?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"I'm afraid I don't actually know~!" chimes Noeline as she sweeps into the room, practically carrying Riesenlied along by sheer presence and also a hand on each arm. "Or rather, I should clarify; there we were, just returned from a dig in which Riesenlied insisted on working too hard, and the moment we get back - rather than rest like a sensible person - dear Riese shoots right back out and comes to find you. As such, I thought it simply /must/ be important enough to have me along, and also make sure she doesn't collapse nor anything so ridiculous."
The delivery is light, but there's definitely kind of an annoyed pout to her words. She does pause, at least, and offer another light curtsey, simpler this time. "Thank you for letting us in. It's quite the pleasant place, I have to say."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Virginia might still be out or being inspected at a local clinic, or worse, a local church, courtesy of one sham priest de Wolfwood. Maybe Maxwells are just fated to be rather dubious priests related to death in some way. Either way, she's not here, which is probably all the more convenient as Riese bows her head and takes a tired-looking seat, wincing again as she slacks the cloak to one side and starts adjusting some of her bandages, which have come... just a bit loose through all the motion.
"Hello, Miss Schrodinger," she politely greets. "Please forgive my errant companion here... I figure that you were both due the reward for your involvement in the rescue mission, as well as an after-action report," she slips a manila folder from under her cloak and hands it to her, which also rattles with a pouch with the jingle of coin underneath.
"I have also chosen to provide additional details on the enemy we faced there... or rather, the enemy behind the criminal we faced," she adds.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maya Schrodinger (the real one, for the first time, hajimemashite) removes her own cute little librarian speccies as she sits patiently and listens, her attention acutely focused on the two girls. Even as Noeline speaks, she indicates a long and comfy-looking couch designed for lounging on near a second-hand coffee-table. "It's a home away from home, and I'm glad you two find it pleasant." she speaks with a crisp but pleasant tone, mind still working a thousand leagues an hour. "And always made more pleasant still with good company, so, make yourselves at home. I can see that Miss Riese is still recovering, after all."
The young woman also accepts the slim folder and the cashola, both of which will be filed away dutifully later. "Thank you for both, it was quite exciting to rescue a king. Should I be preparing for something more...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Bringing a finger to her lips, Noeline smiles in amusement from behind it. "Hmm~... I suppose that's more up to the Kingdom of Lacour than anything. Though I dare say you could probably present yourself, and a couple of acts of diplomacy might get you whatever you like in the short term. As far as anything else, /last/ I heard we were still waiting on the results of what's available on that Gear's databanks," she adds, glancing for a moment at Riese with a questioning pair of eyebrows. "For that matter, I have a lead on some parts to get it fixed up-- though the question of ownership is, I suspect, rather a thorny one in general."
She insistently nudges Riese in the direction of the long seat, fussing over the other woman significantly. "/These/ injuries are not so much the work of the rescue, mind you. Idle hands, or some phrase like that, I imagine."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is about to point out that some of them /are/ due to the rescue before... she realises Noeline would nag her even /more/ for heading headlong into danger after she's already been injured, so she lets that one... slip. Wisely. "I plan to head to Lacour to speak to the king on the same matters... the matters of Garlyle, which you'll find in that dossier. But please, think of it more as a guide, not a whitepaper. There is still much I do not know, after all."
She sighs quietly and speaks, "Ah, the matter of the Grotto is also quite concerning... I have no doubt you would have heard of the attack on Port Timney, and the strange happenings in Batical?"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
"An audience with the king is no small matter, even for his rescuers... but! Sounds like you've got it handled, so I wish you luck on that." Maya grouches with a small smile, clearly not /that/ put out about it. After all, the king's good graces is hardly a rare gem or hidden artefact. "I wasn't aware that criminal Gear was even still operational. Clearly, I didn't hit it hard enough... careful about your dealings involving it."
"Well. As for the matter of Timney, yes, I was in the town when it all happened." Maya admits this much, perhaps leaving out the incredibly bad things that happened to her. "And saw enough of the dreadful caves to know there's nothing I can do about them."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline smirks, at least in good spirits about this much. "You certainly did. Fortunately, I know where I can source quite a bit in the way of components and expertise, and I'm hardly about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Provided it goes to the right people, there could be a lot of value in making sure something like that runs again... provided it goes to the right people," she repeats, grinning amicably.
It fades soon enough as talk turns towards their latest expedition; for once, Noeline's enthusiasm seems to be seriously dented. "... yes, well... not to be too hypocritical when it comes to ridiculous plans, but our latest did rather take the cake."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a somewhat tired-sounding sigh as she says, "Just another in the latest list of troubles to hit Filgaia..." which may soon sound even more hypocritical, given how she's just about to add to those troubles. She lowers her head. "But I do not believe there is nothing you can do. Much as a flock needs its shepherd, Filgaia needs its Drifters." She pushes herself back a little as she acquiesces to Noeline's demand and moves to the long couch. "I've seen what you all can do... and that is a solidarity that is not easily broken, is it not?"
A pause, as she says, "Ah, I did not mean to lecture or anything. But it seemed curious that you've come to that conclusion..."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
"I'll admit, trading in Gear parts isn't part of the Schrodinger skillset... too much trickiness in trying to figure out who the 'right' people are. I can only imagine how annoyed I'd get trading some big lug of a thing away like that, only to have to go and knock it down again later!" Maya tries to scowl playfully, but in this mode, she seems to lack the animated expressions to make it work. Not that she looks upset, or anything.
"Now--as for those caves, no chance. Bullets and spells didn't do a thing to faze the evil in there... its servants were easily destroyed, but there lurked something terrible and dark in there that nearly put an end to my adventuring." Maya steeples her fingers and frowns. "That young man in Timney who burned all of that evil away... that's the kind of power I'd need."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
For a moment, Noeline glances to her partner - and then resumes in her light grin, her eyebrows going up. "Such as the Guardian's power, perhaps...? My, my. I do think there's something to be said for bullets and spells, you know - it certainly seemed to serve us well when we went and had a look down it - but at the same time I can't say that you're wrong. Something like that would certainly help down there, from what I've heard of its practitioners. It was the sort of place you'd want a priest, if only to sanctify it afterwards."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is quiet for a moment; Noeline knows this kind of quiet. It's the kind of silence where Riese's taken someone's troubles onboard herself. "But you escaped, and became the wiser for it," she speaks firmly. "It is not just a 'something'. It is a substance, influencing people and animals in its certain way, bearing the common name 'Malevolence'. Understand your adversary, lest you grant it more power over you."
She glances aside and says, "And it is not just the Shepherd that is connected in this. You recall the folk from Lunar? I have heard them pass your name along. Hiro. Jean. They, too, are familiar with Malevolence. Seek them out, and you will surely gather more leads."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maya brushes the spectacles against her lips, narrowly preventing herself from falling back into an old habit of chewing them. "Yep, some kind of greater power would do the trick. But I've my own recovering to do, and wouldn't stand a chance if I fled back there straight away. So it goes." she admits, a little sourly.
Riesenlied's rise to the occasion, to spill the beans on what she knows, is curious. Maya's gaze slowly fixates on her as she speaks, frowning a little. "Well, you seem quick on the uptake... I suppose I should be seeking out more information rather than running from it, but as someone who isn't up to much more than sitting at their desk thanks to being exposed to enough of the stuff: I'm at a slight disadvantage." she admits this much with a cynical sigh.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"--do bear in mind that everyone needs to rest from time to time. Not that I'm saying Riese is wrong, per se - rather that she's very, very good at pushing herself beyond her limits, more than anyone else might." The comment is punctuated with a light jab at Riese's side, probably drawing a pained yelp from the other metal demon; Noeline snorts, then flicks out her hair as she considers herself to have made her point. "No harm in taking some time should you need it - though, do bear it in mind, hm? There's a lot you can do when you have the resources, if only bringing people together."
"I dare say that there's something rather big in all of this, mind you. For instance - there's a distinct suggestion that the destruction of Lahan was no act of war, so much as an act of Malevolence. --well... perhaps it's better to say a bit of both. The destruction we saw there definitely /suggested/ human hands and Gebler intervention - at least, at first."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out an extremely curdled yelp that kind of strains down into a 'nyaa--'esque sound, with a whimper afterwards. Oh Mother, right in the really sore spot. "... information is... always key, yes. As I have always... said, understanding... is what will set you free."
She sags a moment later and kind of just thunks down onto Noeline's shoulder, like she just got pressure pointed into a stiff pile.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
"Bold idea..." Maya ruminates at the mention of Lahan being wiped off the map by the same force of Malevolence. She turns again to regard Noeline seriously, still at her chair. "But I'd believe it. Are you thinking the tides of--wild animals, beasts, yadda, yadda... all crashed into the village perhaps while some kind of cleansing was going on?"
These questions, and more, may possibly wait as Maya's expression turns into a chibi-puzzled one at the sight of Riesenlied completely deflating onto the other woman's side. "... you know, this is all appreciated, but perhaps she needs a lie-down and a seltzer."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is not heartless, supporting Riese against her with an arm in short order. ... ... perhaps, that was her plan all along...? "She will be alright," she suggests, before immediately heaving out a sigh. "Or at least, she will demand she is alright until blue in the face, at least until I can steer her somewhere to rest properly. After the talk, perhaps."
She trails off, and this time her grin has no humour to it whatsoever. "And not so much - rather, I'm thinking something swept the creatures /up/ instead. In the midst of that nightmarish cave, we found the corpses of wildlife from Lahan - villagers, as well - each of which twisted and corrupted by that nonsense Malevolence. It had the look of someone attempting to perfect something, and discarding their failed cast-offs. Perhaps it's a little fanciful-- but we are rather outside the realms of normal at this point, don't you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... more likely... the altercation between... the Gebler soldiers and the unknown Gear... that caused that huge explosion could have been incited by Malevolence... enough Malevolence to have affected the wildlife and other passerby in and around the village," Riesenlied provides her own theory. Riese's face is kind of turned off at this point, only slightly more than a Riesepillar-style 'bii-- bii--'.
Her expression turns normal almost a frame afterwards, though, in the way, say, Vash goes from comic butt relief to having a super serious expression. "... and if nothing else... do not discount those feelings. That unpleasantness... whatever you may feel from the Malevolence..." she lowers her head. "It may seem awful, but there is a strength in knowing. If you cannot even begin to empathise with what is happening... then there is no way you can begin to grasp a situation..."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
The Schrodinger girl folds her arms and indulges her bad habit, chewing on her glasses. This is a lot more information than she bargained for, and much like everything in the world as of late, all of it is freaking weird. "The other way around, then..." she muses darkly in response to Noeline. "I'd wondered if the foul creature we ran into was responsible, but I doubt something so chained to a place would be wandering as far as that shattered village..."
The glases finally go back on. "I know acutely how it makes me feel, and it interferes badly with my skills. How I will counter it, well... now, I've got work to do there."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a smirk, Noeline sits up, flicking out her hair. "Well! At the very least, I look forward to seeing how you manage it~" she sing-songs, looking inordinately proud at goddamn nothing. "If there's one thing I've learned from humans, they do rather have the ability to surprise me when it comes to thinking up inventive solutions to things. Or, alternatively, simply going far over the top," she suggests casually. "There are worse ideas than just torching the entire place, if you ask me."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... you do not know your limits, until you've been pressed against them," Riese whispers softly, starting to sound... really tired. "But even when you've been faced against the bars of a cage... the reward of your freedom will be all the more worthwhile in the end."
Riese tries to pull herself up and... gets together just about halfway through, before collapsing back onto Noeline. "... I can't move," she admits. "Just what did you do?"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maya leans onto her arm and glances sidelong at Noeline with no shortage of suspicion. "Well, it's what we do best..." she admits somewhat loosely, in that what-are-you-getting-at kind of tone. But that's not a lethal amount of suspicion. Again, luckily, Riesenlied's suffering and tiredness does a lot to take attention off of her Crimson Noble-ness.
"You know, she has all of these really zen sounding tidbits... which I'm growing used to, but I've never seen Miss Riese falling over so much like this." Maya observes dutifully, careful about not trying to sound too amused. "We have guest rooms, if you need a short rest before you continue on your way home. You are in /quite/ a state."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With something of a huff, Noeline looks over at Riese with a bemused frown. "... all I did was poke you, nothing more," she grumbles as she flicks out her hair again, and then lets out a heave of a sigh. "If that is enough to shut you down entirely, that only proves my point about you overdoing it. ... as such, I fear we might have to impose on you after all," the noble admits as she looks across at Maya, her head bowed with an amused little smile. "Whether overnight, or just for enough time for Riese to regain her strength."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lowers her head and says, "I can only hope what I have learnt will be useful. Though experience is the greatest teacher of them... them... fueh..." U-uh oh, there comes the next stage, as her horns start to wiggle and -- seriously, they deflate and threaten to flop... be strong, be strong, horns!! You have to live up to your expectation as rigid structures! Flop. At least they just kind of fold downwards.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
... Maya pinches the bridge of her nose and stands up, definitely smaller without her enormous bulletproof dress or magical armaments. "No, that's hardly imposing. We've already taken to hosting one friend of mine to make the place feel a little less empty, what's two more for the evening?" she seems to be in good cheer despite that.
The manila folder is plucked up, too. "If nothing else, it's a good opportunity for me to keep current with all of this, if I have any questions."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline practically sags, and then reaches over - never mind how slight and dainty the Crimson Noble girl appears, never mind that Riese has about a head of height on her even before you get to the horns - to simply pick the other woman up in something that's suspiciously close to a bridal carry, the weight apparently not bothering her in the slightest. "Well, my thanks either way. If you'd like, do send someone out to pick up some food from the Starfall Saloon as something of a treat - I have a running account there that should be in good enough standing to cover a few things.