2017-06-14: Between Worlds
- Log: Between Worlds
- Cast: Riesenlied, Gwen Whitlock
- Where: Adelyn Ranchlands
- Date: 14th June 2017
- 'Summary: Olivia' sneaks supplies into Adlehyde with Gwen's help, but the winged commander feels the need to catch up with the courier in turn...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Gwen, Super Courier, is never exactly out of avenues of work, is she? In the wake of the battle of Adlehyde, she's received a priority request through the memory cube from someone called 'Olivia', a request for her to deliver a rather large assortment of supplies towards the ailing city of Adlehyde: Medical supplies, food, water, bedrolls, the works. The customer will be waiting at a ranch not too far away, with all expenses paid... it's a bit curious, given that it's not actually that long a trip -- why not just deliver the goods the rest of the way?
When Gwen arrives, the cart is already packaged with a single horse harnessed onto it -- and the customer is standing just beside, gently stroking at the horse's mane. A thickly draped cloak, of Ellurian origin, with faintly tribal markings and a tasseled hem... and a long hood, though horn-like protrusions can be seen just vaguely out from it.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
While the drop off in requests have dropped drastically when compared to what they were before the invasion, there's still been some requests here and there to keep some money flowing in, if mostly for Gulliver's upkeep and feed. As the linchpin of her business, as well as a being that she could call something akin to a best buddy in the special way only another non-humanoid animal can be, Gwen wants to make sure Gulliver's needs are tended to, even sometimes at the expense of her own.
Which is why Gwen walks in, there's not much to identify how she really fared during the past few weeks, as her skin is mostly covered, save for her face, which, aside from some unfortunate but thankfully small case of sunburn, seems alright. "Hey!" She walks to 'Olivia', a friendly smile on her face. "I take it this is the package that needs to be delivered? I appreciate the horse and the vehicle. Lemme know where I need to return them once I'm finished."
The courier takes note of the cloak, with its patterns and tasseled hem, as well as the horn-like protrusions, but she doesn't allow herself to think much of them.
Even after what happened with the siege, there are still Beastmen with horns, and there are helmets and crowns with them as well. To suspect anything different would be to invite unneeded bias.
She's already seen what that's beginning to do.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"You will need to make..." 'Olivia' begins, hesitating for a moment. "A round trip back here--" she beckons, where the glove accidentally starts to slip past the cloak. "--towards this ranch. The proprietor owns both horse and carriage, and has agreed gracefully to lend them for this supply drop."
She pauses for a moment, lowering her head. A fleck of blonde hair peeks out from it. She doesn't exactly make herself too hidden, and her voice is... unmistakable, too. You paged Heal Berry with 'I am reminded! I would like to schedule a tussle with the Guard sometime' Heal Berry (HB) pages: Can do Heal Berry (HB) pages: Though at this point it would probably basically be Leo and Cowrynt, but Heal Berry (HB) pages: ACTIVITY YAY You paged Heal Berry with 'I'm currently trying to sort through the kinds of content, since I'm finding that with Riese's type of attacks it isn't always going to attract hero-types to oppose her' You paged Heal Berry with 'But having a scene that people can participate on either side would be great' Heal Berry (HB) pages: Yup
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Thanks." Moving to the cart and horse provided, Gwen hesitates and turns towards 'Olivia', regarding her quietly with that blue-grey gaze.
She smiles softly. "How have you been doin'?" Wetting her lips, she makes a calculated risk, and says, "I appreciate you doing this for them. Though, won't this get you into trouble?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a very hesitant pause from the hooded woman, and then she decides that -- given that Gwen's asked that question, there was very little point in hiding it anymore. She slips her hood back, and it is, indeed, Riesenlied underneath. Not that she was trying particularly hard to hide herself.
"... even if it will, it is the least I can do," Riesenlied murmurs, placing a hand to the side of the carriage. "I cannot deliver it to them in person... and it comes as a cold comfort, for it will not return that which has already been taken..."
She bows her head. "You have my thanks, for accepting the delivery, Miss Gwen."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Now it's 'Olivia' making the risk. Gwen looks around her, twisting her body to look one direction, then the next, before turning back to the revealed Rieselied. "Hiro told me a bit about what's going on," she says, nodding slowly. "LIke, I don't like what's happened, and I wish it didn't happen, but..." She shakes her head. "You're not the one makin' those orders. And it sounds like you guys are stuck between a rock and a hard place, in some ways..." She tilts her head slightly, smiling sadly. "Just be careful- if this is in a public context, and you're not lookin' for a peace treaty, I'll assume you're there to fight. You won't have space to hold back, so I can't make things harder on ya by holdin' back myself."
But that time isn't now. It's just that now may be the last time, or, if Gwen dares to hope, the first of many. Either way, she's resorting to something she's been doing a lot lately.
She approaches the hooded woman, and draws her into a tight hug. "... Been doin' this a lot... Just, been feelin' that I may not get another chance to do it again, y'know...? And yeah."
If it had been Kalve who greeted her here, would Gwen have felt so quick to embrace him? A lot of it is made easier just because of how Riese and Gwen didn't fight. It's easier to push the uneasy questions aside. "Hiro and I decided we'd become stronger. So we can be able to stand up to y'all. And also, if any of you decide..." She trails off. "Either way. He and I got to catch up as best as we can."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lowers her head and closes her eyes, as she digests on what Gwen has to say. "I may not have made those orders... but in participating, I myself am still a sinner amongst many, no matter my intentions. I would not have you hold back, especially not if it betrays your own principles, Miss Gwen."
She blinks a few times and-- gasps, as Gwen draws her into a hug, however. She's visibly injured, letting out a wince; her left shoulder's been left in a rather sorry state, that same one Gwen bandaged after their trip to the Hollows. The combat has just exacerbated it, and the gauze is stained visibly red.
Red, unlike the other Metal Demons, who bleed white.
"... do so," she urges to Gwen's expression to become stronger. "I am myself learning, tempering myself in ways I had not thought of since I came here to Adlehyde to see you all..." She smiles. "And I know you and Mister Hiro will both see it through to the end. For Lucia, for those that you fight for... and-- in our own ways..."
She places a hand gently towards that ARM of Gwen's. "You and I both stand as examples of those that are neither fully one or the other. It gives me hope, that perhaps one day, coexistence is truly possible..."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen's gaze flicks downwards; she nods, slowly, not disputing Riesenlied's words. "We're not exactly saints either. I've heard of people taking advantage of the flood of refugees flowing out of Adlehyde." ... Why do people like that exist?
As she hugs Riesenlied, Gwen feels the gasp from Riesenlied and quickly loosens her grip. "O-oh, sorry! I just kinda assumed you were fine, even if you weren't, really." Gwen's line of sight moves to Riesenlied's obscured left shoulder, frowning. "One thing I don't get, and, I hope it doesn't sound rude or anything... your shoulder bled red blood. I mean, I believed Hiro because he wouldn't have a reason to lie, and because-"
Because she's already heard about other surprise agents, as well as Siegfried himself brag over their betrayal. "But I guess, that's what you meant by your disease, right? It's not a disease like I was thinkin', but how your blood works. You can't heal like the others do."
And that may be why she fought. There'd be no room for her among humanity, once the Metal Demons became known. A person can't hide a secret like that forever.
"Yeah. I mean, I never really got into this thinkin' I'd be some mighty warrior, but I don't think any ARM user will really have a choice. Your bosses... aren't gonna relax just because someone's a kid or a civilian. We're all the same to them." She lets Riesenlied's hand stay there, smiling fondly, before a memory flashes in her mind.
That was Kalve. Kalve was one of them.
Her breath hitches in her throat, but she hold still, breathing slowly. "I wanna see that happen too. There's so much of the world I wanna see, now that I have time. It'd be a shame to see it all close down right when I'm able to look at it all. People like you have made me stronger, just for having known you. If that world doesn't get to exist, there's no way I'll get to meet everyone."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Indeed, why do such people exist? What drives them to have such hatred in their hearts? It is a question of the ages, and one that Riesenlied struggles with.
"... I am Tainted -- that is what they call us," Riesenlied answers Gwen's guess over her disease. "We are part of any Hyadean they consider 'unfit'... those with physical or mental disabilities, those that have been deformed or injured through combat..." She bites her lip. "There are very little who care for the disenfranchised, amongst my brethren. It is why I cannot yet abandon them... because someone needs to care for them. And yes, this blood, this wound is part of that physiology of mine."
She trembles for just a bit, before nodding as she feels like she could cry in turn. "Hatred grips our leaders. They are older than you and I... and they fight a feud with forces whose sentiments have unfortunately survived across generations, drawing us all into an anger that predates us..."
She smiles, and it is a warm, genteel smile. The smile Gwen is used to, the one Riesenlied couldn't possibly fake. "Meeting such kind people like you and Hiro have inspired me to do better, day by day... even if we can't currently walk together... one day..."
She glances to one side, pulling her hood up once more. "You'd best go soon, before anyone sees us..."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"So stuff like that happens with you guys too." Gwen chuckles, then sighs, shaking her head. "But it kinda goes with the sorts of comments I'd see other Metal De- er, Hyadeans make." Tainted. To think, Gwen thought Riesenlied suffered from a genetic ailment similar in nature to what Gwen herself had- or was it that Riesenlied did, just in a different format altogether?
"No wonder you fit among us humans so well. That wound of yours and how you had to keep up with it, n' everything. Probably made your way of thinkin' very human in some key ways. Dealin' with pain, mortality, havin' to think in terms of strategy instead of depending on pure strength or skill." She taps her head. "You know our weaknesses because you probably deal with them yourself. But you also get the strengths, along with that."
Moving over to the horse, Gwen continues on her point. "Those bosses of yours're gonna get brittle. Holding themselves as separate as they do, seein' other races as beneath them, dealin' in terms of purity, all that stuff. They may be strong, but strength like that is bound to flag sooner or later." The shudder Gwen felt at the memory of her ARM being cut off so cleanly ebbs away at the warmth of Riesenlied's smile. Gwen offers a small, but heart-felt smile in return. "I've seen you and Zed. You're forced to prove yourself, over and over again, and you never rest on your laurels. You're always reaching for the next goal. I dunno if Zed is Tainted too, but bein' in battle on his side has been some of the most fun I've had. I hope someday soon we'll again all be fightin' on the same side. I hope we never forget that."
Murmuring gently to the loaned horse and checking over its nature with a gentle hand, Gwen looks back to Riesenlied. "Yeah. I'll get this taken over to the refugees. Every bit helps. Just be careful- as time goes on, people'll be more and more suspicious, whether it's of horns, or, well." Her smile grows sad. "ARMS."
Hoisting herself onto the horse's back, Gwen quickly recovers, adjusting her hat with one hand. "But I'll be fine. You take care of yourself, okay? Your makeup ain't an excuse to not take care of yourself!"
... says the person with a sunburnt, freckled face.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes are glistening with a few of her tears as she looks up at where Gwen's mounted the horse. "Indeed, the similarities between myself and humans is not something that has eluded my notice..." She places her hands to her chest. "And above else, above strength and weakness, it is the compassion that you all have shown me that continues to inspire what I do today."
She nods very gently at Gwen again, and says, "I myself will not, Miss Gwen. Be well, and may your travels take you to ever greater heights... we are those who would gaze upon the stars, after all, are we not?" She harkens back to that conversation they had together.
She seems content, at that, bowing her head in gratitude. The pain of separation in her face is evident, but it does not come without the reward of knowing that all is not lost for her.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Compassion. Gwen rubs her right eye at a fugitive tear. "Right. Even if we humans ain't the best at it sometimes ourselves. Maybe it'll be people like you n' Zed that'll force us all to remember compassion, when we get really bad."
And maybe, it may be people forcing them. How long will it take before either event comes to pass?
"We'll gaze at the stars until we can't anymore, and when we pass on, we'll be among those stars." A heady statement to make, but one that Gwen certainly would make, in all earnestness, even as tears begin to stain her own cheeks. "Every last one of us."