2017-05-13: Draw me like a French Girl
- Log: Draw me like a French Girl
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
- Where: Schrodinger household, Adlehyde
- Date: 13th May 2017
- Summary: Riesenlied and Noeline share a quiet, intimate moment... but an admission quickly strikes fear into Riese's heart.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is, for as long as Noeline has known her, a hard worker. Too hard a worker. And her body isn't exactly conducive to such arduous, repeated work -- wounds reopen easily and refuse to clot, she falls sick at the worst and most errant of times, the list goes on. But despite that, she's never given up... even when she's fallen over. In some ways, stubborn, in other ways, perhaps... admirable?
The winged woman is rested in a bed in the Schrodinger household, stirring very gently as she recovers from her exhaustion. "Mm..." Morning comes, and the rays of sunlight cascade gently down upon them. "Where...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"... you are safe, first and foremost," comes a familiar voice, from somewhere much too close; Noeline's voice usually carries a slightly abrasive edge, but it's lost as it becomes evident she's whispering slightly, intent on keeping her voice low and soft. "You are at Maya's townhouse - where, I should add, you collapsed last night, running yourself out of energy. I did what I could to refresh your bandages," huffs the Crimson Noble.
From right next to Riese.
The girl in red has discarded some of her finery; her hair is down in a single sheet of black, and she's given up some of her skirts to apparently be better able to recline, propped up by one arm in a very paint-me-like-your-French-girls kind of pose. The quiet of the scene is a little belied by Noeline's eyes, which are bright and glittering with some odd and surprisingly raw amount of emotion - irritation, anger, not a little fear, not a little affection.
"If you even attempt to get up, I am going to pin you down," she declares bluntly. "... frankly, I'm tempted to either way. I'm not sure you can even stop yourself, at this point."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It would be telling, then, that the first thing Riesenlied tries to do is get up -- only to wince and let out a little gasp as her shoulder continues to harrangue her. She collapses right back down, before her eyes widen very softly to stammer, glancing down at Noeline and then at herself to ensure that nothing is /untoward/, saying, "Why-- I--" Oh goodness, that flabbergastedness. "... you are right."
She sighs softly, lowering her head. "... I should know better, and yet I do not." She sucks in a faint breath and places her hand to her forehead. "But why... er-- I--" she pauses, glancing away as her cheeks score almost immediately. "This is... a bit... improper..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"I /told/ you," accuses the other metal demon, unnaturally quiet. "You /collapsed/. You were physically unable to move, purely because I lightly poked you in the side. And then rather than realize what was wrong with you, you had the temerity to suggest I'd done something untoward," Noeline sums up, her expression turned down into a frown. "Do you think I am immune to the concept of worrying over you? Do you think I am going to be worried about 'proper' at a time like this?"
"--as such-- well, you did move, after all. This is your fault," she mutters to herself adamantly as she avoids looking at Riese, suddenly drawing in - to lay haphazardly the other woman, careful not to touch her many wounds but insistent on hugging Riese around her neck while also keeping her in place. "... you ridiculous idiot. Why on Filgaia would you ever do such a thing as ripping out your feathers?" she mutters.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is likely left in her regular outfit, sans her armourplates; the leggings are as they were, and so are her armwarmers, along with her sleeveless long-necked shirt and skirt. She plants a hand softly towards the bandaged shoulder, wincing softly. She closes her eyes once more. There is, at least, a contrite look that's creased across her face.
"I am sorry, Noeline," she speaks after a moment of silence. "I was..." A moment of hesitation follows, before she admits, "I was trying to protect myself... I suppose... I cannot say it is for anyone's sake, or to further some goal of ours..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's only response, at first, is another soft huff - not to mention the tightening of her arms as she burrows in a little closer. If Riesenlied didn't know better, it could almost be a 'pet-me-pet-me' sort of motion, but Noeline would /never/ do something like that. Really. Never.
"... you are rushing," she finally and quietly points out, having let a long moment of silence pass. "Pushing yourself is nothing new, but this-- something of it reeks of throwing yourself headlong into an inevitability. Or something you consider an inevitability, at least," she adds, hiding the obvious face she's making against Riese's neck. "How am I supposed to stay with you when you are forging off alone?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is a clueless individual when it comes to the art of romance, but much like how each of our protagonists have secret inklings of powers untold, she can sometimes channel the mystical power of the ikemen and gently stroke at Noeline's undone hair, whispering almost /too/ suavely for her, "... I don't see you with your hair down often. I like it."
It... it doesn't last long, though. Perhaps one day, true panache and moxie shall be hers. Right now... naaah. "I wanted to make my peace with what we are to do..." she whispers, lowering her head. Her voice starts to hitch. "I want to have the strength to bear it all, Noeline... this burden..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Do Metal Demons even emit heat? ... either way, Noeline's cheeks are glowing slightly as she lets out a soft breath, some kind of vague relief mixed with a lot of pent-up emotions; she nudges slightly up into the hand in her hair, mumbling something under her breath before clearing her throat to try again. "You-- you are the only one to see it. You had /best/ cherish the sight," she mutters, lifting her head just enough to peek at the other woman from point-blank.
Of course, that just means she can meet and hold Riese's gaze as their talk becomes more serious; her brow knits quickly, shaking her head in a quick spasm. "You-- you-- how exactly are you going to bear it if you relinquish one of the things most important to you?!" she finally blurts, her fangs probably turning into moe ones given her position and the way she suddenly tsuns out. "We are not immune to dreams and hope, not the only ones to draw strength from them! That-- that was practically giving up, instead!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... you are wrong, Noeline," Riesenlied whispers, clinging a little tighter and needier. Her voice starts to hitch closer. "I am no angel. The feathers that I bear, the rectrices that I splay so proudly, are but a mere illusion... and it is important, at the cusp of this moment, that I recall how I started. As a mere whelpling... a dragon, a misshapen one, a failure." She swallows faintly, and clings even tighter to her.
"Before the fuse is lit... before truth can become buried in the midst of misunderstanding and hurt feelings..." Riesenlied mumbles, "I wanted to reaffirm who I was. Why I do this..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"You are more than that," Noeline immediately huffs-- though as Riese starts to draw closer to her she reaches upwards, lifting a little. What was previously a hug becomes more like-- cradling Riesenlied in her arms, fingers buried in her hair. "... however you started out, you are far more than that now. Your ideals - your goals - they are greater than anything I could imagine. Rather than look to the past - I would rather you look forward, instead."
"... I suppose-- I can understand remembering and honouring your past," she does allow after a long moment, rather hesitant as she says it - this is, after all, ground that Noeline rather famously refuses to cover when it comes to herself. As such, she immediately grumbles, huffing to herself. "You could have chosen a rather /better/ time, though, that much I am /quite/ sure of."
But the introspective thought has lodged in her mind, evidently; she immediately turns away, staring off to one side and into the distance as she settles back down. "... honestly..." <Guest> Feena Guest disconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"We do not have time on our side," Riesenlied expresses, much the contradiction given that they are beings that do not age at all. "Plans continue to unravel and unfold before us... unexpected twists, new threats... more than anything, if I cannot face them with renewed, tempered resolve, then I am truly lost. And it is my past that has given me strength. For it was weakness that made me desire to understand..."
She trembles. "And perhaps, now, I understand too much. I must do it, Noeline. Our actions will turn the scorn of all the world upon us... and those that we have met. And when I think of how they will react..." She allows herself to shed a tear, in the quiet company of her fellow demon. The commander of the Tainted and the Ebony Wings, shedding such vulnerability. "... empathy can bring such great pain..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline almost jumps at the sight - the jolt can be felt the way they're pressed together, her eyes widening as she nearly lunges forwards in a protective motion. Only her natural wariness keeps her back, a visible hesitation... then she's let herself give in anyway, acting on pure impulse (and probably a great many three-dollar novels) as she places a kiss in a suitable position to wipe the tear away.
... and then immediately draws back again, huffing as she tries to save face and avoid turning a vibrant crimson. It doesn't really work, but... "Can you truly say that, for certain?" she wonders quietly. "Are you sure that scorn is all you - you, Riesenlied, not you, the Demon - will face? Humans are foolish and unpredictable, subject to their whims... but will they really think the feelings you have shown them thus far are all a lie?" she wonders almost to herself in the quiet of their shared room.
Slowly, she draws in a breath. "... I promised you that you would not face things alone. That I would be by your side. ... you still have a world to seek, after all," she huffs to herself, this time not meeting Riesenlied's gaze as she admits it. "That does not simply mean I will swing my blade. There are other ways to protect you."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"In just this instant... I find myself the pessimist of us two..." Riesenlied whispers, after nursing that painful, pregnant silence for a while, finding herself sobbing softly, though no more tears come out. "Do not expose yourself so, Noeline. I urge of you. That sensation within you... that awful pressure that I feel..." she narrows her eyes, as she murmurs, "I finally understand it after all this time, when you showed me that flame within that wicked cavern."
"It is a Guardian's pressure, is it not? It is faint, but it is undeniable," she cuts straight to the truth.
"You bear our enemy within you... if the Quarter Knights or the elders were to know..." she shakes her head and shivers faintly. "Tread very lightly. You've always a home amongst us Tainted... but there are no doubt those that would try to weaponise you."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Without looking back at Riese, the more flamboyant of the two metal demons lets out a soft and upset huff of air; she's still holding onto the other woman, but for just a moment her body stiffens and becomes filled with tension. "... I am sure there are just as many who would try to scrap me down as 'defective', make no mistake that I'm more than aware of it. Do you think I made the decision to reveal that to you lightly?" she snorts derisively, then looks back at Riese with her mouth pressed into a thin line.
"--I did so because I trust you," she adds after a moment, so quickly you could almost miss it. "Of course I trust you that much. And that is only because you are-- you."
Slowly, she rests her head back on Riese's good shoulder, or at least the best part she can find. After another moment, she indulges herself, letting her fingers brush through blonde hair slowly. "It was decades ago. Maybe even a century. I told you I'd spent time on the fields of Aquvy, yes? Amongst the more ascetic Baskar. ... I had the bright idea of researching the Guardians," she mutters almost derisively, snickering at herself. "And then the brighter still idea of attempting to make contact with one, to see what happened."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's face becomes more level. Noeline has... perhaps not seen this side of Riese before, but she's seen her face fall when the Guardians are mentioned. "Yes, you've always had such the fascination of them..." she lowers her voice softly. "Is it a medium -- or perhaps a fragment, that you've taken inside of yourself...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline snorts again - and looks askance at Riese, her fangs showing in her amused grin. That said, the turn of her brow suggests that the only person she's amused /at/ is herself. "... I found a forgotten shrine, its Medium still intact. I laid my hands on it, and-- concentrated? Honestly, the idea of faith is still bizarre to me," she huffs, then shakes her head. "Either way. That was when it exploded, and peppered me with a thousand bits of shrapnel."
It's said lightly, but it's also impossible to hide the pained wince on the spy's face. "That is not even an exaggeration, as far as I could tell at the time. I have no idea how much of it is inside of me. I have limited ability to shift my shape, after all, and knew enough to not bring it up back at the Photosphere."
She pauses before shrugging one shoulder, lifting her hand from Riese's hair to open her palm and let a tiny, ephemeral flame dance atop it. "... I only discovered years later that my failure had not been total. It is faint - barely there, except in exceptional cases - but there is contact. ... does it bother you?" she wonders all of a sudden, her voice gentle as she meets Riesenlied's solemn gaze.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied hesitates ever so slightly, before she murmurs, "... not largely, but do be careful. The Guardians are not our allies... much the opposite, they view us as our mortal enemies." Her gaze upon Noeline's feels cold, for the first time in a long time, even as she listens to her story. "And if you are to hear their voices... do disregard it. Please."
She shivers and redoubles that cling onto Noeline, looking ever weaker now. "I still feel tired... so very tired. It feels as if I could stand to lose everything... even you."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline allows herself to sink back down, her arms closing around Riesenlied's neck in another hug; she draws in a long breath, letting it go just as slowly.
"... I do not know if I can promise that," she finally says, her voice as gentle as Riese has ever heard it; it takes a moment to realize that it's because even Noeline can feel fear. Just a little. Just for once. "You-- you are the one person I will not lie to. So I cannot promise that. Just as you hunt for your new world, I hunt for the possibilities of Filgaia - and it may be that this line of communication helps both of us find our goal," she adds softly.
When she meets Riese's gaze, however, it is with a determined and almost harsh glare. "More than that-- more than anything, I value being myself. With all my faults and fears, with all my strengths. So I will carry myself with pride, and if the time comes I must reveal myself fully, then I shall."
Her expression softens as she lets her breath out again in a quick rush, purposefully letting some of the tension leave her pose as she nestles in closer. "... until then... trust in me. Trust that I will always be here, should you need me. Trust that I will help you find that world. Trust that you won't lose me."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks rattled for a moment, almost ghostly, but swallows to say, "I-- I..." she lowers her head once more. "Do not choose them over us. They are unrelenting. They do not compromise. They aren't /human/, Noeline. They act as gods would, fickle and unforgiving, alien and inexorable. Do not become entranced by that faint flame that you wield... lest it consume you whole..."
She finds herself hitching again, before letting out another tremble. She's stiff and tense, full of some kind of old fear and anxiety. Her murmuring is starting to become incoherent, though, as some likely ailment starts to rear its head upon her once more.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
The Crimson Noble hits another rarity - her expression is not bemused so much as scared, with wide eyes of surprise at Riese's reaction. After a moment, her hands are smoothing down Riese's hair in an attempt to be soothing, obviously completely out of her depth. "I-- I will not /choose/ anyone, not if I can ever help it. I will be Noeline. No more than that," she promises as she finds herself placing a gentle kiss atop the commander's forehead. "... and should that ever become too much for me - in any respect - I promise that I will lean on you."
"... rest a little more," she commands gently, and this time her lips fall on Riese's. Oh my!