2017-05-29: The World We Desire

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  • Log: 2017-05-29 The World We Desire
  • Cast: Alisha Diphda, Rose
  • Where: Adlehyde - Fairgrounds
  • Date: 2017-05-29
  • Summary: An assassin and a princess have a heart to heart.

===========================<* Adlehyde - Fairgrounds *>===========================

Located in the northeast quadrant of Adlehyde, the Fairgrounds are situated on a large open space traditionally used to train soldiers in march and maneuver. As a result of the Ancient Culture Exhibition, however, a large number of tents and other temporary buildings have been set up to showcase the latest in ARM discovery and advancement. Paths between the tents and buildings have been set up more or less at random in the area, making it a bit difficult to navigate, particularly with hawkers and visitors clogging the arteries.

The central focus of the Fairgrounds is a large plaza set up for demonstrations, as far away from anything flammable as practicable. A raised platform occupies the centre of the demonstration area, with a (probably not scale) model of Adlehyde's Golems - Diablo, Lolithia, and Barbados - occupying three corners. 

The fourth corner is taken up by a similarly-scaled model of a gender-neutral individual with an expression of dull surprise, holding a model torch in an upraised hand. A plaque at the bottom of the statue helpfully explains that this is meant to symbolize the concept of INNOVATION; it is accompanied by a smaller plaque that explains innovation means coming up with new things or ideas. Onlookers generally remark that it's nice that the sculptor tries hard, anyway.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQRL7xws7w
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

The Wind Seraph, Dezel, told Alisha to get Rose somewhere safe -- and where other Drifters couldn't see her. The princess did just that. She took a building at the edge of the now blasted out fairgrounds, which had been abandoned. She liked to tell herself the family that owned this business might be back, but a smear of red told her otherwise. She didn't think it was paint.

She set Rose up on the floor, using her white coat as a blanket. Alisha has taken it and the armor off, stacked them in a corner, and left them to dry. She had washed the pieces down earlier. Her spear is against the wall, too. That leaves her wearing her black shirt and shorts, with her knees up.

She hugs her knees with her arms and watches Rose, idly.

Her eyes have a little red rimming them. Once everything that happened today caught up with Alisha, it was overwhelming. She looks calmer, now, but drained as she watches the assassin sleep.

She has questions, after she awakens.

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

It's probably for the best that Rose had some rest time forced on her, or she might not have taken any. Like Sorey, you couldn't trust her to take things easy or listen to her body's needs very much, not when the other option was to do some good - in her own way.

Awakening to the sight of a roof under her head, Rose concludes that either Adlehyde was retaken, in whatever state it's in, the Metal Demons eventually got bored and left, or she's been out for long enough to have been dragged to another town wholesale. She really hopes it's not the latter.

There's a sight across the room, too, the princess curled up, the spear up on the wall, the armor too. That implied safety, or Alisha would have kept both weapon and armor on. Lack of bed made it more likely this was Adlehyde, but then again there must be so many refugees that finding a bed might be hard in close cities for a while.

"Well, that's a sorry sight... morning princess, what did I miss? I remember a dragon chasing us and then not much." She tries to get up, only to find her side still hurts a bit. She shifts to sitting against the wall instead. "Ow ow ow, I'm guessing from this that didn't end so well."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"Rose!" Alisha says, looking up as soon as she realizes the other woman is awake. The princess sits up straighter against her wall and peers at her, watching her try to sit up. She moves over closer, then, to sit across from her. She shakes her head.

"That... dragon almost got us," she says, quietly. "You blacked out. I--" She wonders, for a moment, whether to tell Rose about Dezel. Not yet, she decides. She should talk to Sorey about that -- and maybe Lailah or Edna, besides. She doesn't know enough, except to suspect that Rose might not take it very well at all.

"You were hurt, but... I used my healing spells, as best as I could," she says. She looks to the side, at the door leading into the room. There isn't a window to look out of. "The last of the Metal Demons left a few hours ago. I... didn't want anyone to find you, wearing that." She motions to Rose's leathers, with a hand, and then looks back at her. "...It didn't seem safe."

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"Oh? Thanks! I'm guessing I'll have to thank Sorey too for the healing, huh?" It seems like a safe bet. In fact she assumes he must be in another room, or has already left to go help more people. They'll probably find him asleep in a stack of hay next to a bunch of healed up orphans or something. "Breakfast in bed would have been nice," she teases, smiling.

But the princess' own serious attitude doesn't go unnoticed. And really, there's an elephant in the room. It's not Dezel either.

"Yeah, probably not. If people find out who we are we can say goodbye to being merchants, and that's if we don't end up captured. I don't know how they'd spare the manpower to get us right now but I don't want to test them either." A pause. She doesn't seem concerned about the rest of her crew, faith that likely goes both ways. They know everyone can handle themselves. The Sparrowfeathers are probably out there distributing food and care right now, figuring she'll be back whenever.

"Soooooooo..."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha nods, with a small smile. "He did--he, ah, he went to help more people." Even if the Demons had left the city, there were still a lot of injured people. Alisha would have been out there, too, if she wasn't watching over Rose. She would have tried to use her healing litanies to save the people she could, just like she did at Port Timney.

But she didn't today -- and she doesn't regret the chance to help Rose. Even if there is an elephant in the room. She nods to the assessment, before she glances to the side.

"...so," she finishes.

Alisha doesn't look back at Rose. She looks down, instead, and stays quiet. Her arms tighten around herself a little more. "The Scattered Bones," she says. "An assassins guild. I heard of them, before. You... you were the one I fought, before. Someone wanted you to kill me."

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"Mhm. Would you believe me if I said it came from the council? It wasn't signed, so I don't know which of them. At a guess, I'd say the one who told the guards not to interfere when we fought at the festival," Rose explains, stating the facts without an ounce of shame. "They said you were a traitor, that your actions would cost hundreds of people their lives. That if given a chance you'd make the military drop their weapons in the face of the enemy under guide of pacifism, leading them into a slaughter. They were pretty convincing to get us to move like that. Produced all sorts of official paperwork."

Which is... back on Lunar. In their hideout.

... which no one is guarding. Oh no.

Maybe Mayvin's handling it.

"Last time we clashed and I atually had time to question you it became obvious they were full of it. If we were still in Glenwood you can guess where our knives would have turned to next. We don't like being made into fools."

Rose seems a bit... her demeanor is different. Maybe it's because she can be fully honest? It's just a bit more serious than usual, but it shows. She takes a moment to stretch her arms, ensuring her knives are somewhere in reach.

"We don't just kill anyone, before you ask. Maybe you've heard it before but we target the corrupt, the truly evil people. The kind of people that if you got them jailed they'd bribe their way out or would never get arrested in the first place. The kind of people who are really hard to touch and who're completely hopeless. Like the guy or guys who sold you out."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Even learning that Rose is a member -- the leader -- of the Scattered Bones, Alisha trusts her more than anyone on the council. Her eyes widen at the realization, though, and she looks up sharply. "That--that they would go so far is... truly disquieting!" Alisha says, softly, before she shakes her head. "I knew they disapproved of me. I knew they felt I was a danger to their ambitions. But, that they would try to have me killed..."

She closes her eyes, squeezing them shut, and shakes her head.

She has a lot of questions, still -- and Rose answers some of them with what she explains. She does open her eyes, though, and she sees the more serious demeanor. It's hard to miss the subtle difference. "I heard that, but... I couldn't know, without meeting you. I'm glad that you asked. And that you decided to not kill me."

There is a 'but' to be said, and she pauses. Then, she looks down again. "...I understand why you feel you must do that. But... is killing really the way to make a difference?"

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"Maybe it was just one guy on the council. We didn't deal with them directly, so... maybe it's not all of them out to get you. It wouldn't surprise me, but if you have to have hope then have hope there's just one bad apple there." Rose's gut tells her it isn't so, and they're all guilty, but if it makes the blow softer for Alisha she doesn't mind a tiny white lie.

She listens to the princess' take on it, the way she eyes her and judges her too. There's the question. The same she'll have to answer to Sorey about, she reckons. Rose sighs, gathering herself together from just waking up to properly field that one.

"I think every problem has a different solution, princess. Some the Shepherd can fix with his blue flames, some you just need to beat a bit of sense in. Then there's the people you can't fix. How do you suggest dealing with this one? Going to see them, ask them nicely to please stop trying to reduce your authority? You're already branded a deserter at this point, three, four months missing, after making a lot of unhappy noises. It might be you wouldn't even be able to enter the palace peacefully anymore. But say you can, say you reach them."

Rose eyes Alisha. "Then what? What do you say to them? How do you stop them from saying you're siding with Rolance? How do you stop their private guards from capturing you and throwing you in a cell for years to come? How do you explain to the people just showing up and overthrowing the council?"

Rose closes her eyes, leaning back against the wall. "They have the social high ground. Anything you do to them they'll bounce against you harder. But if they were to just... I don't know, disappear, and you stepped into your rightful place, it wouldn't be so bad."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

It is a tiny white lie and a kindness, but Alisha sees it for what it is. She knows that it couldn't have been one council member. She remembers their cold, disapproving eyes on her. She remembers their tone of voice.

'You're very naive, your highness.'

'And I suppose you feel that plan realistic?'

'Do you care one whit for your nation's honor, princess?'

'I can see your mother in that idea. It is very... baseborn.'

Her jaw sets, something close to anger entering her, and she closes her eyes and lets out a sigh that rattles through her teeth while Rose describes the problem. It is a problem that she knows well -- one that she discussed, time and time again, with Lady Maltran. Her jaw trembles, before she opens her eyes and looks at Rose.

"I could never do that," she says. "I--I would have come into power with blood on my hands. If it started that way, where would it end? I--I... there has to be a way besides that. A way that doesn't require killing them. And I--I am not someone who should rule. My father, if he was..."

If he wasn't old enough to be her grandfather, instead of her father. If he wasn't too sick to govern. If he was a different man, and far braver and stronger. Alisha looks down after that. "...I don't have answers, though. Only beliefs that do not make it matter. Maybe the Trial Knight was right about me."

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"He was wrong. It's that kindness and care that makes you a good candidate!" Rose immediatly corrects, not willing to hear even one minute of Alisha's self-doubts. "It's BECAUSE you believe you and everyone else can do better that you're more qualified than anyone I know to rule. It's because you don't want to acquire power at the cost of blood that you're the first target the Bones pull out on," she even adds, truthfully. Granted that was also because they were set up, but that Alisha proved herself is a merit all the same.

"At the same time there's no other solution. These people can't be emprisoned, they can't be driven out, they can't be socially assassinated so the people lose faith in them. Maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, they'll turn out to be Hellions, and the Shepherd can spin this around. But if they're not, if they're still completely human, then there's only one answer."

Rose opens her eyes again, looking at the princess, resolute. "That's why the Scattered Bones exist. Because people like that exist. Every kingdom, every community, has people like that. Sometimes to save a thousand you have to kill one. We're not like you, princess. We can't change the world with our words, our status, our titles. But we can change the world by taking out the people who shouldn't get to change it, so that the people who should can."

She gives Alisha a moment to process the information before giving a simple: "I'm sorry that the world doesn't work how you think it does. That doesn't mean you can't change it to be more like that someday though. I hope to see that very much."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"I--" The princess looks wide-eyed and stares, but she looks touched. She doesn't quite smile at Rose, but the compliment cut through the wave of self-doubt that could have overtaken her easily. She looks down at the ground, then, and she nods -- though it isn't quite agreement, but rather acknowledgement. She isn't sure that she agrees, but the thought that someone thinks so is a pleasant one.

"I..."

The situation, the world, that Rose describes is not a pleasant thought. Alisha looks down, hesitant and guilty, before she looks to the side. She doesn't want to think that the world is like that, and yet she has no answers. She doesn't know how, without killing, she could stop Bartlow from starting a war. She swallows. That war may have started in the last four months.

But, she looks up when Rose adds that final though. She doesn't smile, but she slides closer to her firned. "Rose, I--I want a world like that. I don't know that I am the one who could make it. But, I..." She looks down. "...I don't want your hands to be the ones bloodied for people to live better lives."

She quiets, but she doesn't stop speaking. "You've always been kind to me. You are kind. Why... why should we live in a world where someone kind has to do that?"

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"Well, for starters it's because we can't just find a new world to live in." Rose pauses, and then looks around herself. "Well... okay, maybe we COULD, there's no telling Filgaia is the only other world out there and maybe one of them is some fantasy wonderland where everyone is nice and nobody does anything mean to anyone else. But I think even if that were the case we'd end up having to fight invaders or something."

The whole Filgaia thing kind of changed a few perceptions.

"But, let's assume that's not the case and there's only Lunar and Filgaia to live on. We're kind of stuck here. So, you can either give up, resign yourself to the world you were born in, or strive to make it a better place."

She reaches for her knives, taking one out of its sheath. "Remember when I told you my adoptive father gave me my hair beads? Well, he gave me these knives, too. I was just a kid, my village got destroyed entirely by a wandering band of thieves. It wasn't a big place. They were going to kill me too, or maybe capture me, who knows. Brad and his Windriders showed up and saved me. He gave me the knives, said I might need it to defend myself. Asked if I wanted to come with him or stay behind. Of course I went. He fed me, trained me, gave me a new family. Eguille's kind of like my uncle, himself. Later, we reformed into the Sparrowfeathers and the Scattered Bones, but that's another story."

She goes back to what she wanted to say. "Brad used to say, there's no point having ideals you can't reach. You should reach for justice that's immediatly before you. So! That's what we do. We can't change the whole world, but if a little bit of blood spares a whole lot more, killing one man, that's something that's within our reach. So's helping the people we cross paths with."

She circles back to her point. "So don't worry about it. I want to do this. I believe in this. It doesn't bother me at all, and if my hands being bloodstained means other people's aren't, that's a good trade-off. You shouldn't kill. I think it would change you." She thinks of the same of Sorey, really.

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha keeps quiet when Rose explains. She nods, a little distantly, to the statement about only having their world to live on -- or worlds. Filgaia changed a few things about that. She lifts her head, though, and looks down at the knife that Rose unsheathes. She studies it, before she opens her mouth--about to interrupt and say how horrible that is, but she thinks better of it.

Rose isn't telling her this for an expression of sympathy. She has a point, and that point is hard to argue with. This isn't a decision that was forced on her. This isn't a way of life that Rose was forced into -- or that she does because she doesn't see value in her own life.

She hesitates a moment, before she nods.

"I... I think I understand," she says. "You do what you can. And, with your skills, and who you grew up... then that's what you can do. I don't--I wish it was different. But wishing the world was different changes nothing," she says. She still doesn't like the idea, though, that Rose would kill for her.

So she looks up. "I have no intention of killing someone," she says. "But... I also promise that I will never make you kill for me. If I ask you to kill for me and give that order, then... even if you wouldn't feel that way, I would feel that I am no different than Chancellor Bartlow."

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"I don't think you'd ever ask me that, so I'm not worried about it," Rose says, smiling at the princess. "Besides, I might have to slow down on it a bit. If Sorey's right, if at least some of the people we'd normally target can be purified like he says, then I guess... it might be wrong to kill them. We're just normal people, you know? We'd always operated on the assumption that if someone does evil things, it's because they're evil. In comes Malevolence changing everything we know. That people might not be themselves anymore."

It took her a while to accept that.

And largely it was the Trial Knight's fault.

"I'm not going to dwell on it though! I don't think it changes the fact those people had to die. It's not like Sorey was around to fix those issues before a few months ago. And there might still be people out there that need to die and that Sorey can't purify."

Rose shrugs the matter off. She bounces back, it's what she does. The princess, on the other hand, worries her a bit. "I think you can do it. Kind and noble rulers like you always have a big impact on history. I think you need a boost in confidence, but once you find it, you'll be what people need you to be and what you want to be. So, like I told you before, chin up, look ahead! There's nothing interesting on the floor but footsteps you shouldn't follow."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"Ah... yes," Alisha says. "Malevolence changes things, but--not everything. Filgaia had no Malevolence until recently, but I have already seen people here who are not the kindest." It couldn't explain all of the evil in the world -- even if it was a manifestation of that evil. But, where did it come from, then?

She frowns, eyes drifting down again as she listens. She does smile, a little, when Rose says that she can do it. She nods, her eyes distracted -- and then she does look up, when Rose tells her to. The princess smiles more, then. "I... thank you, Rose. For believing in me. I--"

She laughs, softly, and tilts her head to the side. "When I found out that you were that assassin, I worried that you wouldn't want to remain my friend. That it might have complicated things for you. But, that was foolish of me to worry about, wasn't it?"

She certainly hopes it was foolish. More than she cares to admit.

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"Well, if I found out you were an assassin, I'd probably be very surprised! Then very worried about my people-reading skills getting rusty. Whether we're still friends would be a distant third," Rose answers with a slight giggle, brushing the worry off with humor. "It's alright, don't worry. I did try to kill you, I'm just glad you're not making this really awkward."

Because Althena knows it could have been much more awkward.

And for all the princess is right that Filgaia might not have had Malevolence before, it sure seems like that's changing quickly. It's also a depressing topic so Rose doesn't go back to it.

"So, what's for breakfast, what time is it, how long was I out, and should we go find Sorey before he works himself into a coma?" Those questions might not have been in the best order.

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha blinks, her head tilting -- and then she giggles, too, at the joke. Her hand covers her mouth when she does. She could be -- maybe, she should be -- angrier about the attempt to murder her. But, understanding why it happened and why Rose chose to stop it, she finds it hard to keep that anger. She isn't the sort to hold onto anger.

"Well... I did worry," she admits. "But, I think I can forgive you if you cook for me some time, like you said you would."

She smiles, but she isn't entirely kidding.

Then, she blinks, and opens her mouth -- and laughs, again. "Rose! It... I think all I have are some biscuits I kept as rations," she says. "I could get them out. You were out for the better part of a day," she says, and then she looks at the door. "We should probably look for Sorey soon, but I think the Seraphim are with him. They'll stop him if he goes overboard."

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"Right, the cake! We'll get to that, when we're all better. I'd probably mess something up if I tried it right now." She might mess something up even when she's all better so really, it's stacking the odds against her.

Biscuits, that's a shame. Better than nothing, but... "Hm, well, let's try and find the Sparrowfeathers, they'll have some food for us. At least, I hope they haven't given all of it out already. It's gonna be a pain to make up for those losses but if it's for the sake of the now homeless people I'll take the hit to my purse anytime. What's really puzzling me out is where we should go from here. I'd guess construction supplies will be in high demand so we'll be stuck filling orders for those for a while. I can leave Eguille in charge of that though."

She should really let them know she's alright at the very least. This, sadly, reminds her of what she asked Sorey in the heat of battle.

"... oh. Oh no. Oh no no no that's right I asked Sorey if he could let me see Seraphim again and now he wants me to TALK to one of them, how did I forget THAT, I am NOT ready for this!" A hand goes for her forehead. "How do I keep getting myself in these situations?"

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"Mm-hm! I think we should have a kitchen, too." Which, given Adlehyde's state of repair, could be a problem. Alisha nods, listening to the talk about construction supplies -- which is interesting, in the way she hasn't had to worry about those sorts of problems before. Typically, she gets someone else to -- such as hiring merchants.

She hesitates, though, and then blinks at Rose when she starts saying 'oh no' like that. She smiles, though, and reaches a hand out to pat her on the shoulder.

"It will be fine, Rose," she says, with a smile. "Seraphim aren't that different than you and I. I can see them, now, and they look human. And they have a sense of humor. And... you want to help Sorey, right? It--it may be important. To learn to hear them. And to see them."

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"You SAY that but to me they're still floaty invisible people who make cake disappear!" That sounded way better in her head. Possibly spookier. It's spooky to HER, does that count?

"Then there's the fact you've probably believed in them your whole life! I was raised to avoid monsters and ghosts are scary, alright?" Moreso than skeletons, and we all know skeletons are the epitome of spoopy.

Deep breath. Always take deep breaths, Rose. She calms down, gathering her half-awake courage. "You're right, of course you're right. I want to help Sorey, I want to do my best. And being able to see what I need to help him fight really, really wouldn't hurt. It's just a lot to take in all at once. Even factoring your religious beliefs I have no idea how you handled it so quickly and so well." This is at least one thing in which Alisha can say she excels Rose. She's a lot harder to scare and a lot more open to the existence of other, invisible beings.

"I hope they're nicer than last time..."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

"W-Well..."

Seraphim are, in fact, floaty invisible people. Though, now that she thinks about it, she doesn't see them floating. They seem to walk like everyone else. This doesn't feel like the sort of correction that she should make to Rose, however.

"I-I did believe in them my entire life," she says. "It was... my mother believed in the Seraphim and the Goddess Althena. Even before the Goddess returned, she--she said she knew she was looking upon us." Alisha smiles, head bowing a little, and then she nods once. "I knew they were there. Even when I was alone, after she passed, I was sure... there were Seraphim keeping an eye on me."

It may be a fancy. She has thought of asking if Lailah watched her pray in the cathedral -- but, Alisha isn't sure she wants to really know.

Then, she looks up and tilts her head at Rose. "W-Well--some of them can be mean. But... some are very nice!"

<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.

"That's not very reassuring," Rose states, flatly, as if saying that maybe Alisha shouldn't be the spokesperson of Seraphim if that position ever opened. In a joking manner, of course, because she follows up with: "But I'll take your word for it and try to keep my calm. It wouldn't do for a princess to be braver than an assassin, anyway." It just, truly, wouldn't do. Alisha can find some joy in knowing it is currently the case.

Finally, she manages to rise, stretching the rest of her body out. She feels a lot better than a day earlier, that's for sure. "Alright then, let's go find ourselves something to snack on, and then find our Shepherd." Luckily Rose wore some simpler clothes under the Scatters Bones uniform, so she wasn't going to have to walk around in that tattered mess. "Also I need new clothes. Yooooou look like you could use a change too, since we've been through just about the same meat grinder."

<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.

Alisha makes a face, then she sighs. "Perhaps not," she says, before she gives Rose a look. She tries to make it a flat look of her own -- but the way her lips quirk up ruins that look. "...I am a knight, if that helps."

She stands up, too, and then she looks down at her armor. She nods, before she starts to gather her white coat. She begins clipping it back on -- it takes some time -- but pauses when Rose makes that observation. The coat has a long tear in the side, and it looks filthy besides. "...Yes, I think so. I will need to see a tailor, to have this coat patched."

She sighs. "We can try to find Sorey, first," she suggests. "Then... maybe we can see about clothing." Will Adlehyde even have a tailor, after all of this?