2017-05-17: Look to the Stars
- Log: Look to the Stars
- Cast: Riesenlied, Gwen Whitlock
- Where: Adelyn Ranches
- Date: 9th May 2017 (actual date: 17th May 2017)
- Summary: Gwen and Riesenlied reconvene after their trip into the Otherworldly Hollow...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It was a few hours after the group's excursion into the Otherworldly Hollow -- the Fiends had set up camp, and Riesenlied had taken the chance to assist them and set up a perimeter, as well as gather logs for the flame and ensure everything as well.
Odjn was a sleepy doze by the side of the fire, bundled up into a cozy blanket after her dreadful encounter with Malevolence and pork carnitas, perhaps not in that order.
Riesenlied took a moment to sit by the flame and gaze deep into it. She'd shed her feathers before at the funeral pyre, and the distinctly draconic fashion of the wings underneath was still in rather clear sight despite the cloak she partially draped around her. An injury on her shoulder was also clear -- had that always been there? Did she go through the entire Hollow in an injured state already?
She looks amiably, if sorrowfully, towards Gwen. The Super Courier had it rough too. "... how are you holding up...?" she asks her gently.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen's emotional state had improved drastically since coming from the Otherworldly Hollow. For all her sobbing and crying, she seemed the sort to cry first and then hit the ground running, getting her emotions out like a child ripping off a sticky band-aid off a patch of skin, rather than peeling it back, piece by piece. She was the one who offered to get the fire going, if no one else stepped in, and she's now the one approaching it, carrying a patch of gathered wood to feed into the fire. Even as she feeds pieces into the fire, reviving it from its temporary lull, her eyes can't help but trace the edges of Riesenlied's bare wings. Or rather, it's not that they were bare, but that they were always this shape? She's not certain she's ever seen a demi-human of any sort with wings.
Then again, her experience with demi-humans is lackluster to begin with, helped along only by the genial nature of the people she's shared company with.
Naturally, her eyes follow the arc of the wings to Riesenlied's shoulders, then to the wound. She immediately springs into action. "Hey, lemme take a look at your shoulder there." Her words are soft, still suffering from the gravity of the situation they faced, as well as the trials they had gone through. "Didn't realize you got hurt down there. We better get it bandaged, or it'll get infected." Regardless of whether Riesenlied gives her permission or not, Gwen's already got the medical kit out of her vest, though she pauses just before laying hands, now bare, on it.
"That is, if you don't mind." She smiles, apologetically. "That was... a pretty spectacular offerin' you did, regardless of whether it really was to anythin'. Also... thank you. Not many people'd have patience for someone bawlin' like that."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's wings certainly seem like they'd always taken this shape. They're... misshapen, in ways -- and the leathery membrane between the 'fingers' of the wings were tattered and shredded, rather clearly the equivalent of scars and damage borne over time. Whatever she wore above it was perhaps, like an armour that shielded her wings from harm... and also, a deception to make people think otherwise.
Gwen notices that the wound is a bit old -- Riese nods as she offers her shoulder anyway, saying, "Thank you. This was... back from when we rescued the King of Lacour, actually. Do you recall that remote ARM? It did a bit more than I anticipated..."
There's a pause as she shakes her head, saying, "I could not just leave you alone. I only feel bad that I..." A pause. "I can't empathise with what you're feeling. For I felt... nothing in that cavern."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
It was... that long ago. Gwen's eyes widen. "Wait, that flying ARM thing? You've been carryin' a wound this long? Gosh, you could've come down with a real bad infection, Miss Riesenlied! Especially with your wings and all." Taking out a small glass bottle, Gwen sprinkles some liquid on a clean cloth. "This'll hurt a bit, but I wanna make sure it's sterile." She dabs the cloth carefully on Riesenlied's shoulder, judging the woman's reactions before she applies the cloth on the rest, trying to get out any visible grit or dead tissue. Then, with a flick of her wrist, the dirty cloth is tossed into the fire. "Lessee here..." With one hand, she guides a roll of bandages around the shoulder, rolling it underneath Riesenlied's armpit and back over the shoulder again, around and around until she's satisfied with the amount of clean bandage that's been applied.
Later, the redhead will ponder the logic of such a timeframe. An open wound could heal on its own, given a clean environment. But the Malevolence-infested Hollow was far from clean, and that was merely what happened today.
The manner of the courier is one who seems used to the wear and tear of skin and muscle, the concept of cleanliness and germs (somewhat), and how to evenly apply bandages. Certainly not the ways of a doctor or nurse, but one grown accustomed to it from the other side of the healer/patient dynamic. Her metal hand is openly on display here, using the freedom of touch her gloves couldn't afford her to judge how smooth her dressing is. "Now, you'll need to replace these bandages. If you got some clean rags, and I mean clean, tear em' into strips. It ain't the best, but it's better than nothin'. Don't let a dressing stay on too long, or you'll get bunches of bad things. Keep the wound clean. I know some places say that washing'll make things worse, but those people are full of bunk." ... So says Gwen, super courier, not a doctor.
As Gwen bandages Riesenlied, her eyes stray to the tattered wings for as long as her attention will allow her, not wanting to rudely stare. Still, they're... wings. Feathered or no, the temptation to look at them, as close as she is now, is too much, especially once she finishes, even as Riesenlied talks. As she's silent a moment, Gwen goes to her canteen, splashing water on her hands and rubbing a small bar of soap over them. "You probably haven't developed a sight for it, yet. You just saw half the picture. Or felt, really. It's a feelin', too. Like a dead thing, squirming. Crawling. Gettin' bigger. Some people seem to see and feel it, and some people don't. I guess," she says, a wry smile on her face, "I'm just one of the lucky idiots who can feel it."
"Besides." With her hands clean, Gwen begins packing up the pieces of her kit. "Lookin' at your wings, you probably saw a lot of stuff that'd make me cry like a baby. Maybe, you're just able to deal with it better. I wouldn't, well... I guess, if it was me, I'd try to tell myself that it didn't mean I was a terrible person, y'know? I, er, hope I ain't completely handwavin' your feelings away, though. This stuff..." She sighs. "It's tough. Tougher than I'd ever imagine anythin' bein'. You really sure you wanna feel that?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I've been trying my best to clean and bandage it, but..." Riesenlied sounds just a little bit contrite as she says, "Sometimes, wounds just don't heal very easily for me." It was that Tainted physiology again -- sometimes, her wounds just don't heal up properly; her blood fails to clot, or it reopens, or the flesh doesn't quite want to replenish and regenerate. There's-- a wince from Riesenlied as she gasps at Gwen's treatment, but then she nods, watching the courier work.
"No, I'm quite familiar with the process... you are right. A sterile, dry, breathable environment to let the wound heal..." Riesenlied nods in agreement with Gwen. Then the topic went to the nature of Malevolence and witnessing them.
"... I do," Riesenlied admits after a longer moment of thought. "It might sound foolish, and that I should count my blessings, but... I have never grown as a person looking away from something. Even if it is painful... I can't begin to understand the nature of something if I can't even perceive it."
She has a sad smile for Gwen as she says, "I guess I just want to help, and I'm finding it tough to see you and Hiro struggle so much. The least I can do was protect and ensure you weren't overwhelmed."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"O-oh..." Gwen smiles sheepishly, rubbing the band of her head with one hand. "I guess you really didn't need that lecture. I guess that explains why I didn't see anything major. You've been taking care of it. Maybe my expert care'll speed it along?" There were books about things like this, forever ago among the many books that were lost to the second fire in Gwen's life. Strange theories about slow-healing wounds, of diseases that happened due to reasons Gwen couldn't quite understand through her layman's understanding of the medical texts. They wouldn't have a reason to mention the Tainted, of course, or Metal Demons, for that matter.
Those were just fairy tales, after all. A bad dream from the past.
Someone, wanting to feel another person's pain. How many people has Gwen ever heard admit to wanting that? Gwen seats herself alongside Riesenlied, quietly gazing into the fire, one hand reaching out to throw another piece of wood onto the center. "It makes me feel better, knowing that. I honestly felt like a crybaby. But just... all I could think about was the things I missed. I'd been to that town before, y'know? I just never, well, actually experienced the town. Due to my ARM, I kept myself a certain distance away from things to play it safe. It probably was the wise thing to do, but..." She lets out a soft sigh. "I guess it goes back to what you say. Can't grow as a person, runnin' away from things. I've grown more these past few months than I have in a year. Maybe, you grew a bit too, bein' with us down there."
She could still see Ruby's delirious state, and Hiro's solemn face. It felt... alien. "It's tough seein' others suffer too. Especially when you're sufferin' at the same time. So. I'm glad you were there for us. And that you were willin' to take such a big risk, with your wings n' all." She turns towards them, regarding their shape in the wavering light of the fire. "I bet they feel better, bein' able to air out and all like this. Like an itch you finally scratch. Though, er, I guess, since they're on your back, you can't really do that."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
For any other physician, they could guess at any number of deficiencies about slow-healing wounds, though the exact nature of the Tainted and Riesenlied's own manifestations of those defects would not be a... widely studied thing, for obvious reasons.
"I understand, Miss Gwen," Riesenlied whispers with closed eyes. "And I do earnestly believe so. I have learnt a new kind of compassion from seeing all of you, the way you all support each other through thick and thin... the way Hiro and Jean have each other's back when the other is in trouble, for instance." She smiles wider at her. "And you as well, Miss Gwen."
She hesitates just a moment, then says, "Seeing you gives me hope too."
She draws a breath, tossing a piece of wood into the flame. "I know that a lot of people fear your ARM, and think less of you for it..." Her wings stretch out gently. "But seeing you synchronise with that ARM, seeking to find an understanding on some level with it... it gives me hope that, perhaps, the laws of nature are not so impossible to overcome, if we just work hard enough with each other's support. If... that makes sense."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"I-I am?" Blue-grey eyes widen with surprise at Riesenlied's words. "But you're the one with the cool attitude and the cool hair!" she exclaims, then momentairely winces at her choice of words. "Er, wait, lemme try that again. Okay, so, during all that stuff that happened down there, you were always keepin' your cool, even when the laws of nature itself were bein' upended. Something bad happened, and then you'd just be there, knowin' exactly what to do and makin' sure we all got through okay. You got any idea how neat that is? The amount of planning and knowledge that's gotta take, and you did it instantly. It's amazing!"
Hope. The concept of not only her being a hope, but them all showing this woman a new sort of compassion, especially to someone like Riesenlied herself, seems to settle again on Gwen's mind. "... Yeah. I, um, lost some old friends," she quietly admits, her gaze looking downwards. "Others wanted to believe I was forced into it, but I wasn't. But even then... seeing other ARM users helped me too. Seeing that people could actually see something like this-" She holds up her metal arm, letting the warm hues of the bonfire reflect off of its surface, "and see it for what it is."
As Riesenlied glances back from the fire and back to Gwen, she'll find the courier smiling openly towards her, nodding as if the horned woman spoke of the most natural law there was. "It does make sense! It's the most sensible thing out there. I think there's a reason we're still able to stand like this, even after everything we just went through. Even if these bonds can hurt, I wanna believe that pain is because we feel that connection. Like something bitter and sweet, all at the same time. Sometimes... when that malevolence is really gettin' to me, they almost feel like chains. But when I'm not feelin' that, it's like a net. Does that, er..." She rubs the back of her neck. "That sounded really sappy, didn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
She scratches her cheek, mildly embarrassed at Gwen's expression of how she took charge to see them through. "It all feels second nature at this point, but perhaps that is the gift of experience. And that is something I would love to teach, of course..." Though... would she even be able to do so? Soon, it would all change...
"No, I..." A longer pause. "Malevolence would not hurt us so much if it did not touch our very natures, would it not? The way everyone has expressed it, it has made each of you realise something about yourselves, deep within. And..." She looks up towards the skies. "When you shatter those chains, and nets, and fly or swim free, Miss Gwen, you can truly know how much stronger you've become, as a person."
She laces her hands together. "I cannot express, again, how happy I am to have met you all."
It almost sounds... lonely, like it's going to end.
She lowers her head, sinking against her laced hands for a moment. Her wings furl slowly, with a soft mechanical-sounding hiss that's far less dampened without the feathery shroud around them.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen reaction to this, of course, is to nod encouragement with all the bluster only someone innocent of what the future could hold. "You should! You'd make for a great teacher, I bet." Riesenlied couldn't be any worse than her aunt, that's for certain.
And yet, this serves to bring up a melancholy state in Riesenlied. For all Gwen's previous ignorance, the change in Riesenlied's tone doesn't entirely fly by Gwen's head. "Whoah, whoah. You want me to take a look at your shoulder again? You're talkin' you're gonna keel over next week." For all her words sounds like she's making light, there's real concern glinting in Gwen's eyes. "You don't... er... have some sort of disease, do you? I mean, if that's the case, I'm sure we can do somethin' about it..." She trails off, finding herself at a loss.
There's something about Riesenlied's posture that causes Gwen visible discomfort. Her natural inclination is to resolve it, if only in the way she knows. So, the courier moves over and moves her hands over Riesenlied's shoulders, careful of the one freshly wrapped. Gwen then gently presses the blonde-haired woman into a warm hug. There aren't anymore words from the normally chatty young woman; she can't think of something to say.
And it bewilders her. She doesn't know why Riesenlied is sad.
Now, Gwen finds herself being the one who wishes she knew why.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I... do have a kind of disease," Riesenlied speaks with a little hitched voice, though she tries to keep her voice firm and strong. "But it's not the kind of thing that will kill me next week, don't worry." She tries to laugh it off, but it doesn't quite stick. She shakes her head, blinking as-- Gwen drapes her arms around her... and she finds herself returning it, placing her hand to Gwen's arm. Both of them, actually, both her normal arm and her metallic one.
She feels comforted, in that embrace. She connects with Gwen, spoken as someone who is trapped between two states of being. Gwen, a human with a Metal Demon-era ARM replacement, ostracised for it. And herself, as a Tainted, stuck between the pure Metal Demons and humans both...
"You've... noticed, haven't you?" Riesenlied speaks after a moment longer. "Certain ARMs... it almost feels as if the world rejects them. Much like resonance and Malevolence... it feels as if there is a natural opposition between them. It's that rift between the technological and the spiritual..."
She pauses longer. "I... want to believe that it is possible to bridge that rift."
She's saying a lot. One could extrapolate many things from what she says. But perhaps, just after experiencing -- or more accurately, not experiencing -- Malevolence within that cave, she feels more vulnerable than ever.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Alright." The redhead nods once and smiles, her expression adding another layer to her single response. 'The door's still open.'
But Gwen doesn't know. She accepts what's in front of her, all until she gains the proper understanding of it. It's a quality that has earned her some unique friends, but just how long will it be before it hurts her?
What could someone say to the idea of Metal Demons existing, and not only that, that they had existed among people as their very allies? Such a move could unroot the newly formed bonds many Drifters have. Bonds, like this one.
Gwen keeps hugging Riesenlied like that as long as she seems to need it, comforting her in much the same way Riesenlied managed to comfort her much earlier. She listens to Riesenlied and grows oddly quiet, as if hesitating. She then nods. "... Yeah. I noticed it too. I'm not really, er, sure of what's it's all about, but. It's just one more mystery to it all. All these things like Metal Dragons, and synchronization, and how some ARMs will only sync to a specific person. How ARMS ain't just weapons. How they can be utterly terrifyin' but feel as natural to someone as a part of their body. And I don't mean my case when I say that." Then there are people like Rudy, who seem to be able to overwrite such things. How did this all fit together?
Riesenlied's words cause her to nod. "Maybe. I wanna believe it too." Gwen squeezes Riesenlied's shoulder and laughs. "And I feel good that I ain't alone in feelin' that. Though, one of these days, I'll probably pay for it. All that star-gazin' gonna lead to a neck cramp one of these days, but at least I'll 'ave looked at the stars."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
That revelation, said one Trial Knight, shall harm those bonds more than any physical or magical blow that the Metal Demons could muster. But perhaps, those bonds could still grow stronger from the experience... redoubled, renewed, stronger for what it has endured... so long as it does not shatter completely. The bleakness of that future is so, so very terrifying to Riesenlied.
"... I like the way you think, Miss Gwen," Riesenlied has a polite chuckle. "Indeed, let us look to the stars together. Even if it hurts our necks, it would be better than looking the other way, towards our navels, would it not?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Breaking away from the embrace, Gwen brightens and giggles. "Oh, if my auntie could hear that! She's always told me I was the harebrained one. But all the same..." She holds up her ARM. "She was the one to have the craziest idea of all. And it saved my life, so. I guess it's okay if it catches a little. Just a smidge."
"Besides." Looking upward towards the sky, Gwen continues, "And the stars are a lot more fun to look at when you go someone else to point them out to."