2017-05-14: Gravity of the Fall

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  • Log: Gravity of the Fall
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Catenna
  • Where: Adelyn Ranches
  • Date: 14th May 2017
  • Summary: Riesenlied bids farewell to Catenna, but finds it difficult to do so...

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied has been rather fervently going around bidding her farewells... in a manner of speaking ... to the people that she's grown to know over the last couple of months. Catenna is no exception. The winged woman -- currently dressed in her Elru-style cloak covering her shoulders -- knocks softly as she peeks into Catenna's tent if she can find it. "Catenna? It is Riesenlied."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

There's even a little wooden board hanging near the fold of Catenna's tent that one can knock on if one wishes.

The recent shopping trip has helped Catenna to get past her shorts-and-vest phase, but she's also done a little tailoring. When she parts the fold of the tent entrance, she's put on an outfit that looks a lot like the one she tended to wear before the Grotto. She liked it enough to make two.

"Riesenlied?" She blinks twice, then smiles quietly, holding the tent flap open with one arm. "Please, come in. To what do I owe the, ah, the privilege of your visit?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied has a small bundle under her arm, and Catenna can perhaps tell that she's a little unbalanced, the way she's trying to not put strain on her left shoulder. "It had been a while, and I wished to check up on you again... I... wanted to bid my farewells before I undertake the journey that I am about to." She glances appreciatively to the clothing and sits down. "New clothes, I take it? They suit you."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Curious eyes darting to Riesenlied's shoulder, Catenna opens her mouth a little as if to say something, but closes it quickly as the winged woman continues to speak.

'farewells'

The priestess's eyes widen and she opens her mouth again, a small breath catching in her throat. "Yes... yes, I had to replace my old ones," she murmurs, eyes lowering to her lap and lingering.

When she looks up again, there's a touch of genuine sadness in her expression. "You are leaving?" she asks. "Where is it that your journey will take you?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied brushes her hand against the cloak that she's wearing, which has more of that familiar pattern and weaving suited of Ellurian tailors to weather the ice storms that frequently plague the northern parts of the continent. "I seek to further my plans to stymie the war that is affecting Ignas..." she lowers her head. "I depart for Lacour to speak to the King this morning, and I believe my pursuit of Garlyle may take me elsewhere." She swallows, glancing down. "Perhaps it is not so much a faraway journey as it is a... symbolic journey, as it were. I must take up my original purpose once more."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

The only person in her neck of the woods, and she's leaving. A tiny part of Catenna's heart wants to break.

"I see," the woman says, outwardly stoic as she sinks to a seat. Within the tent, seating mostly consists of heaps of cushions and pillows strewn across a floor covered by a soft array of patterned carpeting. Gesturing to the cushions near her, she invites Riese to sit as well. "I would not ask you to put it off. It is... important to pursue one's heart. Though, I would ask one thing of you."

The woman quiets, eyes dipping once more. Then she lifts them, finding Riese's.

"Will you take me with you?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riese sits gently and courteously on one of those cushions, setting her legs to one side. There's a quiet wince from the woman as she adjusts herself, before finally undoing the clasp of the cloak to slack it off. There's a visible injury on her left shoulder, which has been re-wrapped and covered in gauze and bandage, though it is still stained with the red discoloration of her blood.

"Sorry, I just needed to put weight off the shoulder..." Riese admits. She pauses as she glances away softly. "I do not think I can... and even if I could, I... am unsure that I would request you to. I cannot ask that of anyone..."

She has a heavy sigh. "I... brought you this gift." She unwraps the bundle, where it's rather clear that there's several fine rolls of fabric -- if Catenna inspects them, it's clear that it is a fabric that's familiar to her; an Ellurian-weight weave, laced with some of the stronger threads that are typically used by tailors in that region. The pattern is familiar as well, not originating from Elesius, but from the tribes that wander the Ellurian snowfields. Perhaps, it is nostalgic? "Though, it seems I am a bit late for clothiery," she chuckles faintly.

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Searching eyes lift to that wounded shoulder. Pressing her lips tightly together, Catenna clasps her hands tightly in her lap, resisting the urge to reach out and heal her friend with what herbs she has on hand. Surely she's seen a more dedicated physician; it would be unseemly to unwrap that and cause her more pain. "I hope it is healing well," she says.

The winged woman rejects her. The quiet calm of her expression doesn't break - not entirely. Behind her eyes, though, there's a growing heaviness, an unspoken sadness that stirs behind that breathtakingly clear grey gaze of hers.

Lifting her hands, she accepts the gift, drawing in a breath as she sees what it is. "Goodness," she murmurs, tracing her fingers over the fabrics with a growing blush. "This... this is a princely gift, Riesenlied. I am not sure how to thank you."

She looks up again with a small smile, that hint of sadness creeping into it. "I did not think you would," she murmurs. "But I had hoped. It is... funny. When we first met, you lied to me... I thought I could not trust you. But I chose to.

"You have... become dear to me. Not just as an Ellurian."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riese brushes her hand lightly against that shoulder and says, "It is more persistent than I would like, but... it is healing slowly, yes." She lowers her head and glances towards Catenna, then -- away. She perhaps can't bear to see that heaviness wash over her. "I am sorry to have lied to you... I hope you have seen me enough to know that I am not someone who enjoys lying."

A pause, as she tilts her head. "And perhaps I have not yet earned being someone who could be trusted... but... at the same time..." she hitches a little. "I appreciate our time together, and I am glad to hear that..."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

"I know you are not," Catenna says, doing her best to remain stoic. "You have shown me that you have a good heart, and a generous spirit. I believe that you are a good person, and one who I am... glad to have met."

The other woman looks away. There is a long silence as Catenna rests her hands on her knees, letting her eyes fall back to them.

"I have... no place to go home to," she says, voice smaller. "And this place is alien. The people here... do not accept me. But... you did."

The woman reaches out. Gently, she clasps one of Riese's hands between her own. As her eyes search for Riese's, that reserve seems to slide off of her, almost as if she'd disrobed in some obscurely emotional way. "Perhaps there was more to earn," she whispers, her heart in her throat. "I wish I could share it with you."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"I'm sorry," Riese whispers, at Catenna's mention of home. She closes her eyes. "I've seen it many a time... nomadic tribes, settler communities, destroyed by weather, by snowstorms, or raiders..." She peeks an eye out, as she murmurs, "And on more than one occasion... those that you call 'Strangers'." A pause. "My people know them as... the 'Veruni'."

There is a quiet, lingering pause as she places her hand to her chest. "I still have a home. It is ailing. My people are suffering. They are disenfranchised, looked down as inferior on a daily basis." She trembles just a little bit further, wincing as she places her hand to her shoulder. She holds onto Catenna's hand with her other.

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

"We were not destroyed," Catenna admits, her expression darkening. "Many of us began to take the money of Hrathnir, the King of Elesius... those who destroyed us and drive us out. I would not serve him as others would. I am... not welcome for that reason. The Kinship has chosen a path that I cannot walk."

The mention of the Veruni leaves her lowering her head and biting down to her bottom lip. Riesenlied doesn't need to know about Ambrosius, she decides. It would be wrong to burden her with that as she leaves.

Lifting her head again, she slides her fingers into the spaces between Riesenlied's, clasping her hand closely. The sight of the woman trembling leaves her reaching out, touching the woman's back with her opposite hand.

"I am sorry," she murmurs. "I could never keep you from helping your people. If it means anything, I have... never seen you as inferior."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riese lets out a furrowed brow and says, "I know how that is... I cannot begin to tell you the disagreements that my people have with those who look down upon us. It is a difficult path that I walk, to hold strong my convictions without having them be corrupted."

Riese has that soft, genteel smile, perhaps the most genuine part of her, if nothing else, even if it is laced in sorrow. That tension starts to bleed out of her as she expresses, "No one here has looked down upon me as inferior. It is a warm, endearing feeling, to have been able to work with all of you. It has been a learning experience for me... sometimes confusing, sometimes embarrassing..." A pause. "But never regretful. I have appreciated every single experience I've had here."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

With her guard down, Catenna's expressions seem to come more naturally. Her smile is sad but more perceptible, her eyes dipping downwards, to Riese's leg, then to the cushions, where her gaze lingers without seeing. "Then we understand each other. Most in Elesius look upon us as savage people... in times past they took our land from us. That is why I would not work for them. I cannot... become a servant for our destroyer."

The priestess breathes out a slow sigh before looking up once more. Those strikingly pale eyes of hers seek out Riese's, and she gives that hand a soft, fond squeeze.

"I am also glad I came here," she murmurs. "Perhaps that is why I feel the way I do towards you... we are similar. Both of us, learning in ways that are confusing, but rewarding."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

In many ways, Riese walks a different path. She still aligns those with those who oppress them. There is no other choice. If the Tainted were to strike out on their own, they would die. They don't have the resources, the equipment, the technology, the ability to sustain themselves. And they would be hunted.

"And we still continue to learn, each and every day... no matter whether it is painful, or sorrowful," Riese admits. "And I know you are not alone. For you have your Guardian to protect you." She looks towards Catenna uncertainly, and she can see something approaching... hesitation? From her, for a moment. Their hands are still held. "I thought that I felt something familiar, but... if I may be so bold, it is a Medium that you bear, is it not?" <Guest> Feena Guest disconnected.

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

If only Catenna truly understood the nature of Riesenlied. Something about the woman should unsettle her. Perhaps it is the woman's nature as an imperfect Metal Demon that prevents her from feeling that uncertainty - she is flawed enough that she cannot give Catenna the same sense of uncertainty that a more perfect one could.

She seems in no hurry to break that clasp of hands. The question leaves her blushing slightly. One hand dipping to her side, she brings it up again, cradling the stone tablet within, the emblem of the moon etched across it. "It is a medium, yes... I was chosen from childhood to be one who walks with Celesdue. The Medium is my inheritance."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's a hitched little draw of breath from Riesenlied, looking down to the medium with a measure of reverence... and yet, there is fear in those eyes. "Yes... you are one of the blessed children of Filgaia, after all." She closes her eyes. "The Guardians... I can only hope that they have the grace and willingness to protect everyone." From what she has seen so far... it is not the case, and it hurts her. It hurts her so much.

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

"I believe they do," Catenna murmurs, but she doesn't miss that hint of fear and pain in Riesenlied's expression.

She slides the Medium out of view again, tucking it aside, out of reach. Her other hand comes up, resting at the woman's bicep. "I have no doubt that the Guardians will watch over you on your journey, Riesenlied," she murmurs. "I am... sorry if I have not done enough, myself, to protect you. I wish that I could come with you and do that. I must accept that I cannot. But...."

Something flickers in her expression - a brief trepidation, a flicker of doubt. Then she swallows a lump in her throat.

"...but the most I can do is wish you well, isn't it?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"That you reach out and affect those that you help positively, each and every day, is enough for me," Riesenlied smiles tenderly, sadly. She swallows in turn, opening her eyes back to Catenna. "They do watch me... I know that." Perhaps not in the way that most people speak that term, however. "And you've done more than enough, Catenna."

She glances towards the doorway, hesitating for a moment, but rising nonetheless to her feet softly, leaving that hand softly held to Catenna's... then letting go.

"I will go with your blessings... always."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

The sadness in Riesenlied's eyes tugs at Catenna's heart. Her eyes mist a little. As the other woman rises, so does she. She releases that hand, her fingers touching one last second before she lets it fall away.

"Then please... be safe in your travels. Take care of yourself. And if I do not see you again... then I am glad we could meet, and that I could call you friend. Even if it was for so short a time."

A moment's hesitation takes her. She lowers her head.

And then she steps forward with a small intake of breath, eyes widening slightly. "...Do not go with that alone," she whispers - and she reaches out to cup Riese's cheek in one hand.

And then to kiss her cheek, once.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied blinks as Catenna rises and speaks, in that innocently confused way of hers. It couldn't possibly be faked. Riese is not that good a liar, as Catenna has seen. "Ah--" she feels the Zoa priestess' hand on her cheek, and then the kiss comes.

The blush on the Tainted demon's cheeks is unmistakable as she lowers her head, saying, "T-thank you." She swallows faintly, before biting her lip and placing her hand to her heart. The tears on her eyes are visible now. "We will meet again... I am sure of it. Even if it is uncertain what the future will hold for us."

She softly lets go, and turns halfway around to step towards the doorway. "Thank you, Catenna..."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Blushing deeply, Catenna steps back from Riese, her hand falling to her side. It's hard to tell if the kiss was a ritual thing or an affectionate thing - there's a fondness in her eyes, but she doesn't seem to be looking for more than that.

"The future is never certain, Riesenlied... but I will hope that our paths cross again. I will not forget you."

Tears stand unshed in her eyes, threatening to brim over as she steps back from the doorway. Clasping her hands, she bows deeply. "Be well, Riesenlied," she urges. "I hope you find what you seek."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied nods, and she spreads the cloth that covers the tent, letting the gleam of the morning sun cascade her in the horizon. "I have always known what I seek," she speaks, more confidently and with that poise in her voice now. The voice of someone who holds hope in her heart, to lead her people out of misery and suffering. "I seek the new world, that we may all have a home that we can flourish within."

But how far away is that? And how much bloodshed will need to be spilled, before that new world can be realised...?

She departs into the light, her wings outstretched -- a symbol of defiance against the light, dark as they are, and yet, with the gleam of something new, something wonderful...