2017-05-10: Threads of Life
- Log: Threads of Life
- Cast: Riesenlied, Sephilia Lampbright
- Where: Adlehyde
- Date: 10th May 2017
- Summary: Riesenlied bids farewell to Sephilia, but it is more emotional than either of them expected.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has been taking her time to deliver her farewells to those she's gotten to know around Adlehyde, or at least mentally distance herself in her own way... and she's kind of bad at it, in all truthfulness. Her strength was borne of connections and empathy, after all, not distance and ignorance. The somewhat haggard-looking woman is spending just a bit of time in the town square in Adlehyde, fixing up a rather persistent wound that's bleeding a little through the gauze as she sits at the town square.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is out tonight, sick of being cooped up in her inn room, but staying to very public areas. Between the renewed attentions of the Pyre Witch and an incident of getting sick overeating while attempting to train for the Saucery Globe, the girl has been positively difficult to find compared to her previous gregarious ubiquity.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied rises quietly with another wince and-- blinks softly, looking towards Sephilia as she passes. She hesitates for a moment, given her form, but then calls out, "Sephy?" with a delicate smile as she tugs on the gauze again to get it to wrap firmly and not... well, melt or anything. She makes a mental note to get something a bit more fibrous and tough, then hides it underneath her cloak before the girl could see. No use in making her see her injury.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia turns, curious and then delighted. "Riese!" Impulsively, the girl rushes over and gives her a big hug. Oops.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied grimaces and tries to hide her noise of pain, but some of it gets strangled out in a little cucco-like noise. "Ah-- aren't you enthusiatic today...?" she whimpers, before regaining her smile to stroke her on the head gently. "It's been a while. I hope you've been well...?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia lets go on the strangled noise. "A-are you hurt? I've been...I've been sick, and...um, scared. A lot is happening lately." The girl seems to shrink into herself for a moment. "It's really good to see you, though, Riese! I missed you!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's smile seems just a bit heavier than usual, though she holds the girl's hands to her own as she listens. "Scared...? Why's that? The Sephy I know is very brave, and has Lord Chauncey of Foxington to guard her, hmm?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Y-you're not from Lunar so you wouldn't know...do you remember that Agatha lady? She's a legend where I came from. Kind of a campfire scary story legend. Um. And she's after me. And...." Sephy frowns, her voice getting very small. "I don't think Chauncey an' I can hurt her. But I do know she has to be stopped somehow!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied pauses, before holding onto that hand just a bit more gently, placing the other atop Sephy's. "The Pyre Witch... no, I have heard -- and met her." A pause, and then she whispers, "She is intricately tied to the Malevolence that has draped around the Adlehyde region..."
She frowns quietly. "This... leads back to when we first went into that Ruin with her, does it not?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia, somehow, does not appear even slightly surprised at Riesenlied's whispered revelation. "I know," she whispers back. "I saw...enough. That's how I know Chauncey an' me can't stop her alone."
She nods in response to the question. "She made me an offer there to send me home...she said I couldn't tell anyone, but Ida and Talise found out and I'm probably not supposed to tell you either, but...you're not going to like, talk to her, knowing that she's behind the Malevolence, so I don't think it'll be a problem."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a moment of quiet contemplation from Riese as she falls silent... before opening her eyes again. "Sephy... you are a brave girl. Don't ever forget that for a moment." She draws in a breath. "It is brave to tell. And even if you can't deal with a problem alone -- I certainly can't, myself -- then surrounding yourself with equally brave friends is how we achieve great things in life. Don't you remember the Digs we've gone on together? We couldn't do that on our lonesome."
Her eyes open just a bit wider. "It's the same thing with this Malevolence. Hold firm of that memory of it, Sephy, because knowing what it feels like is what will fuel the strength you'll need to overcome it. To have others overcome it."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy smiles. "We have been on some pretty good Digs, haven't we? You're in a bunch of my journal, you know! We should do some more, soon, all of us together. I feel like there may be a way to stop her hidden somewhere...or maybe I can just learn something about my magic...but it'd be fun to go exploring again soon." She gives another, gentler hug.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riese drapes her arms around Sephy, allowing for that hug regardless of her injuries. "I'm sorry, Sephy. I'm going away for some time... so I won't be able to join you on any digs." She swallows faintly. "There are great and awful things stirring around this town, and in countries beyond it. ... And I... want to place myself in such a position that I can stop the worst of it from happening." She hopes that that would suffice for an explanation.
"Malevolence is a challenge," she advises. "A challenge to your innermost self. Seek continual improvement... power that magic of yours, and become stronger, not only in your artes, but as a person too. That is the best defence against it."
She slips her hand underneath a pouch in her cloak and takes out a large spool of what appears to be fine-entwined silken thread. "I want you to have this, Sephy, as a memory. It is a kind of enchanted thread used by Ellurian weavers, more resistant than typical thread... the harsh winterlands there are much more demanding, and they've been known to stand up against it. Used with skill, it may even protect you in battle."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's eyes well up with tears. "Y-you're going away? But...I'll miss you! Will you be coming back? Chauncey will miss you too!" She takes the thread and clings to it almost as though it's Riese herself.
"I...I'll treasure this, Riese, I promise! But...promise me we'll meet again! I don't wanna never see you again!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I'll... try to come back," Riese whispers. "But the nature of what I seek to do... I am not yet certain. Or what the future may entail," she is just a bit lost for words there, breathing in. "Thank you, Sephy, for teaching me what you have."
She leans down to wipe some of the girl's tears with a handkerchief of hers. "Grow strong, Sephy. That's what I would like most. Become someone who will uncover her own truths, and not let anyone -- not even the Pyre Witch -- stand in her way..."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy nods, too tearful to say anything more, and one more time she hugs Riese.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riese stays in the hug for a long moment. She didn't need to say anything more. It feels all the more painful, and the Trial Knight was correct. The blow she will deal to their emotions will be more devastating than any the mightiest of her brethren ever could. But... the same went for her as well...