2017-06-20: In Light

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  • Log: In Light
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Seraph Ragnell
  • Where: Old Petra
  • Date: 20th June, 2017
  • Summary: Riesenlied takes the moment to speak with Ragnell about her origins, and learns more of the Seraphim in turn...


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied's had a close shave in the last couple of days -- evacuating Hymir Squad was far more dangerous than anticipated, and they nearly lost good people in that skirmish... though it'd allowed her to get up and close and speak to the leader of the Althenan Guard, Leo. She's got another broken sword and a gash on her shoulder, the premiere place for fashionable Drifter injuries, that's been bandaged up.

But now, in the wake of all of that ruckus, she's returned to Old Petra, to meditate and further enhance that sense that's just softly birthed itself from within her. The winged woman sits gently along one of the many outcroppings, her wings spread as the flow of soft, gentle photon particles swirl very lightly about her, weightless and gossamer in their appearance.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

After a while Riesenlied will have enough scars on her shoulders to pretend they're spaghetti straps for her strapless dress. You know, if she had one. She can always buy and wear one for a date with Noeline. Noeline would probably appreciate that.

Ragnell left a while back to check in on Team Sorey; she didn't see Sorey, but she *did* see Rose and Alisha, and they seem to be doing fine enough, so that's good enough for now. Next on the agenda is the Vile Fiends, but they don't exactly have a precise home location, so she figured she'd swing back by Old Petra again to check in on Riesenlied.

She arrives in time to find the commander meditating on an outcropping, wings spread, light swirling gently around her. For all that Ragnell loves her some pranks, upon seeing this, she pauses, then folds her arms and waits for Riesenlied to be done enough to notice her. ...Actually, it'll be good to see if she can notice her on her own, anyway. Bonus!

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Curiously enough, Riesenlied also met Sorey a while back when she was picking Odjn up. And she also met Hiro, who she inadvertently got into a lot of trouble due to the evacuation. She still feels sad about that. She pauses, though, as some of those emanating particles flow close to Ragnell, and she says...

"... ah... miss... Ragnell?" she whispers, sounding a little out of breath. The flow of light stops, and the motes disappear into the natural light of Filgaia, under its burning sun. "Are you there?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"You're gettin' better," Ragnell replies by way of answer. She walks over to Riesenlied, then sits down next to her, if with a healthy distance between them. For a moment, she stares out at the wilderness, a breeze rustling through her two-toned bangs. Then she looks back over at the Metal Demon.

"How *do* those light thingies work, anyway? I saw a few of 'em float near me just before you called for me, and they always show up whenever you meditate. They a part of your..." She gestures vaguely. "Metal... body... thing?" Ragnell does not know a lot about Metal Demon anatomy terminology.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Quite literally, yes," Riesenlied answers after a moment, her wings starting to fold back in. "The very small lights you see are... me. Once, during an extremely dire situation where I was about to be fatally injured, I... broke apart into light, to escape that fate."

A pause. "It was a very painful experience to, ah, re-assemble myself, afterwards."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"Huh!" Ragnell straightens at that, eyebrows going up as she half-turns to stare at Riesenlied. That's damn interesting, actually. "I think I remember you mentionin' this at some point... At least, this doesn't feel like the first time I heard about it." She frowns. Maybe she overheard some of the troops talking about it at some point? She can't quite recall. She shrugs.

"Sounds like it woulda been," she replies. "D'you mind if I ask how that went down, or...?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"It was... during our retrieval of the Golems. In the midst of the assault, a Drifter I knew got past my guard. Her blade was sure to impale me through the heart, and I knew this, very instinctively..." Riesenlied recalls the sensation, of that very moment when Lily charged at her, with that greatsword and the sheer sensation of hatred that rippled through it.

"I was overwhelmed with a strong sensation to live... and before I knew it, I had willed myself to..." A hesitation. "Separate? I am not good explaining the, ah, science behind it. Kalve analysed my body afterwards and found that my particles had become even more unstable due to a very powerful force."

"Usually," Riesenlied says after a pause, "The stability of those particles are what allow my brethren to do things like shapeshift, create their ARMs, and are responsible for their strength and speed. None of which I have..." But it would seem that she was able to find an unexpected advantage, going the other direction, out of her weakness.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

That recent? ...Then again, didn't Ragnell only meet Riesenlied proper after all that went down? Huh. She's spent so much time with her by now that it feels like it's been longer than that. Maybe she's spent too much time around humans lately; her sense of time is getting bent out of shape. ...Even if Riesenlied isn't a human.

"I think I get what you're sayin'," Ragnell says. "Us Seraphim don't have proper physical bodies either--usually we attach ourselves to a vessel an' use that to recharge in, though you can get along without if you have to. It's not quite the same as 'separating,' but we sure turn into blobs o' light. Whether it's one or several..." She shrugs. "Hey, whatever gets you to the end of the battle, right?"

Particles. She remembers hearing Riesenlied talk about those too. "Because you're Tainted," she concludes, after Riese admits to having none of those abilities. "I dunno, bein' able to split yourself into pieces and put yourself back together sounds pretty badass to me." She pats Riese on the shoulder without thinking; who knows if Riese can feel her or not. "Just 'cuz you don't have the same strengths as the rest of your kind doesn't mean you have no strength at all. Heh, not that you need me to tell you that, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied -- jolts just a moment, rather cutely; she looks about, before realising that it's Ragnell's hand that's on her shoulder. "... that's true. And I know myself enough to know I have other strengths outside of what I do not have. Friends, companions, compatriots..." The insight to do what is necessary for her brethren, when other people have looked away.

"I did not know that about Seraphim, however... so you too are -- made of light, in a way..." Riesenlied muses. There is a pause, and then she admits, "Miss Ragnell, would you care to tell me more about yourself? We have spent some time together, but I feel as if I do not know you and your struggles that well..."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Ragnell grins at Riesenlied's adorable little jolt. She really is cute--not just cute, but pretty, with strength and determination... It's easy to see why Noelie's so wild about her. Still, she removes her hand, pulling up one leg and leaning her arm on her knee. "Do Metal Demons not buy in hard to friendship and camaraderie?" she wonders. "Or are you just sayin' you're more into that than most?"

A nod. "In a way, yeah. S'hard to describe." A pause, and then Ragnell blinks when Riesenlied asks her to talk about herself. ...That doesn't happen often, that Ragnell gets asked about herself. On a personal level, anyway, rather than 'but what IS a Seraph??'. "What is it you wanna know?" she replies.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied lowers her head and says, "... less than you'd think. They understand camaraderie and companionship only on a martial level, often becoming rivals, sparring partners... too many of them often neglect the stresses and rigors that combat and war have on the body. Those that falter are simply regarded as 'unfit'... many of them end up in the Gutter." A pause. "I tend to look after those that have been abandoned."

She looks -- 'looks' -- at Ragnell, for a moment looking as if her eyes would look towards Ragnell's. But they can't focus, not in that way when someone looking at who they're talking to does. "You and K.K. appear to be... long time companions, if I am so bold to ask? I wanted to know more about... where you're from, and how it came to be this way. You are a bit more distant than a Seraph would from a Shepherd, are you not?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"Hmmm..." Ragnell stares back out at the horizon. She's not too surprised by this. Zed's an extremely friendly person, but his way of interacting with the world is basically 'can I fight it???' He has no idea what sex or romance or even CRYING is, but he knows all about rivalries. Could be a worse existence, she supposes, but she can see how that might get lonely--especially if the ones who aren't up to snuff as far as combat goes get thrown away.

She looks back at Riese, who can't quite focus in on her. "..." She stares back out at the horizon. "Out of curiosity, have you asked K.K. about this too, or did you start with me?" A beat. She chuckles and shrugs. "Not every Seraph is friendly with the Shepherd. The Shepherd, ideally, is a bridge between humans and Seraphim, but it doesn't always work that way." The horror stories of the days before she was born, when Seraphim were known as Malakhim and their wills subverted... "An', to be frank, not every Seraph has faith that the Shepherd will do the job they're supposed to do well. But I'm no one's Prime Lord or Sub-Lord, so that's got nothin' to do with me."

So... in short, she's not affiliated with any Shepherd, is what she's saying?

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Just... you," Riesenlied admits. "I definitely sense that there is a kind of sorrow from K.K., the way they have spoken of themselves... their conviction that they are the enemy of humanity... that slavery of will..." She places her hands to her chest, tightly.

She looks back towards Ragnell as she regales her with the tale of the Shepherd and the Seraphim, though. "Prime Lord... Sub-Lord?" she doesn't sound familiar with those terms, but she could probably make a guess based on the context. "I imagined that it would not be anywhere near that simple, yes. It seems that boy, Sorey, is just only now trying to find his own two feet on the world... it is a big responsibility, and I could not fault anyone for wishing to go their way."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"I see." A beat. Ragnell chuckles and shrugs. "Well, not like it's easy to ask K.K. about their past, right? They've got a forbiddin' kind of aura. Like they got an invisible wall around them at all times." She pats Riesenlied on the shoulder again, this time deliberately, to see if she feels it again. "You get used to it." Another beat. "Out o' curiosity, though, what d'you make of all that? The things they've said about themselves? After all, you like humans, don't you? You wanna understand them, make peace with 'em. Does it make you uncomfortable to work with someone who acts like they're humanity's enemy?"

Ah, right, of course Riesenlied wouldn't know the terminology. "A Prime Lord is the Seraph that a human makes a Shepherd's pact with," she explains. "They're the main people involved. You can add on more humans to piggyback onto the Shepherd's power, an' these are called Squires, and you can add more Seraphim to piggyback on the Prime Lord's power, called Sub-Lords. There used to be a lot more Shepherds back in the day, so I keep forgettin' that this isn't common knowledge." She shrugs. "Guess I'm just old," she says, voice ringing with irony.

"Sorey? Ah, yeah. But he's pledged to Lailah, an' she's reliable." A pause. "You might even call her--re-Lailah-ble!" Laughing at her own terrible joke, Ragnell slaps her knee and grins at Riesenlied. "He's got a pretty good head on his shoulders. He might fuck up, sure, but I got a good feelin' about that one. Even if he doesn't have a good feelin' about me," she adds wryly.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's a gasp as she murmurs, "L-Language, Miss Ragnell!" Really? The commander of a horde of Metal Demon troops is going to berate her on the use of the F-word??

She settles a little afterwards, as she says, "... I like humans ... but I would not say I hold them over other species in Filgaia. After all, if I did, I could have easily left my brethren and betrayed them... rather, I wish to seek that new world where everyone can flourish... and it is in that measure that I wonder what slights have troubled them such." She places a hand to her chest. "I am not naive to the brutality that humans -- whether under the auspices of higher powers, or by their own measures -- have committed..."

She listens to the explanation of the Seraphs. "I see... I have not met this Lailah, but if they have your trust, they must be considerable indeed. It is a rather rigorous setup, is it not? How far back does it go...? I had heard of how Althena created the Seraphs to become the Wardens over Lunar, but as to how far back that goes... I do not know."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Ragnell blinks. Language? "Yeah, I am usin' language," she hazards. "We both are, Riese." Did... did she just not notice that she cussed? Or does she not think of the F-word as one? Or is she messing with Riese?? Sometimes, it's impossible to tell.

"Mmm." She nods as Riesenlied explains the nuances of her position on humans. That makes sense, certainly. After all, if she liked them *that* much, she wouldn't have participated in the attack on Adlehyde. "Humans are like that. That brutality goes around in a cycle. 'Course, if you feel generous, you could say their kindness and generosity does, too." She leaves a weary, even annoyed sigh. "Humans are as diverse as us Seraphim or you Metal Demons, only with their own 'delightful' little quirks, so there's a lot of good that exists along with the bad. Blah blah blah. You know."

A nod follows. "Real rigorous, yeah," she replies. "There's lots o' little things that go into bein' Shepherd--not like I've ever been a Shepherd myself." An ironic little chuckle. "Lailah's good people. I respect her a lot. Ran into her recently, actually; don't often see her with Sorey. I guess she's usually restin' inside him; didn't really have the chance to ask." Though based on what Lailah and Edna were saying to each other, it sounded like she'd been away for a while... Ragnell keeps that ot herself, though. "Let's see, how old *is* the practice? A few ten thousand years, at least." Pause. "I think." She might be grossly over- or underestimating the timeline. It's been a while since she got lectured on that. "It started 'cuz the Goddess Althena disappeared, y'know," she adds, "and the Dragons refused to test a new Dragonmaster. We Seraphim watch over humanity in Althena's stead, so when she can't choose a Dragonmaster directly, we look for humans to become Shepherds." Though it hasn't always worked as nicely as that... "Then the Shepherd takes care o' the flock while the Goddess and the Dragonmaster are away."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"If I were to truly abandon my brethren... then that is how I fear there would be little who are in a position of change to be able to help them. But you are correct. A long time ago, I first learnt kindness from a human, after all...."

"I have heard scarcely of that, but to think the dragons of Lunar and Filgaia are so different... my flock have been a curiosity to those from Lunar, too."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"Stayin' where you are to be the change you wanna see in the world, huh?" Ragnell says. She nods once--then tilts her head in curiosity. "From a human, huh? Hehhh..." She chuckles, turning her gaze down to her now-interlaced fingers. Her smile is nostalgic, her eyes distant; then she looks back up at Riese. "How'd that go down?"

Another chuckle. "Well, there's a big difference in dragons on Lunar alone, too. You have your regular dragons--red, white, blue, and black--and then you have Fell Dragons--Seraphim who fell prey to so much Malevolence that they've become irreversibly transformed into mindless rage-beasts." Her smile fades. "A Hellion can be purified, turned back into what it once was. A Fell Dragon... can't. Or at least, no one knows a way how to date." A beat. "Say, that reminds me--did Sorey ever give you Odjn back? I saw him smuggle her outta Adlehyde just before the attack, an' he said he was keepin' her safe and out of the city, away from the fightin'. Meant to tell you before, but it slipped my mind."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied has a very soft nod at Ragnell. "It sounds contradictory, but I know this to be the best place I can be..." There is a hesitant pause at that question, however. She bites at her lip, hesitantly. "It...." There is a faintly haunted look on her face, as she stares--

--and suddenly gets a faceful of Dragon into her face. Foot tall dragon. "I hear someone gettin' frowney-faced again!! Oh, hey, it's the cool seraph lady!"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"Nah. I get what you're sayin'," Ragnell tells Riesenlied. The topic turns to the human who taught her kindness, and Riesenlied begins to hesitate. Ragnell has a feeling this is a story that doesn't have a happy ending, but before she can prompt the commander, SUDDEN ODJN.

"Oh, hey!" Ragnell laughs and reaches out to pat the little dragon. "Fancy meetin' you here, Odjn! Guess that answers my question." She grins and winks at her. "How'd ya like it with Uncle Mikleo?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied lets out a haggard gasp as she finally pulls Odjn off her face, and places her down on her lap with a slightly dazed look on her face. Odjn whistles to go, "Oh, it was awesome! We went and ate a ton of cookies and chips and we peeked down little bug holes and ran away from creepy crawlies and whoa if I don't say Uncle Mikleo and Mister Sorey're closey-close, if you get what the Odjn's sayin'!"

Riesenlied blinks just once, a bit overwhelmed by her energy. "What... exactly are you saying?"

Odjn barks out a laugh and says, "And that's why Riesey-poo's so precious to me! Am I right?!" Her laugh's barked out louder. "What're you talkin' about before? Sounded like dragons!"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Boy, that Odjn sure loves to talk. Fortunately for her, Ragnell loves to listen--and talk too, but that's neither here nor there right now. She leans in, a grin on her face, as Odjn tells tale of cookies and bug holes and creepy crawlies and "O/ho/, you don't say!" she crows. "Closey-close, eh? Just *how* closey-close are you sayin'?"

A pause as Riese asks the same question but in a totally different way, and Ragnell joins Odjn in laughing at how adorable she is. "You're *so* right! An' yup, I was jus' tellin' Riesey-peasy here 'bout the dragons on Lunar. Did y' hear about that already from Meebo and Sorey, or is this news to ya?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Well I mean I don't know a whole lot 'bout them but when one boy really likes another enough to wear as /clothes/ I'm just sayin' there can't be nothin' going' on down there!" Odjn beams up, apparently very proud of her conclusions. She pauses, dying down quietly, as she leans in to Riesenlied as she answers, "I'm sayin' they're like you an' Noeline precious."

Riesenlied's expression just about flares up at that, her horns wiggling up and down in panic. "Wh--!"

"Aww, hmm, just a little! They were real curious 'bout dragons 'cause... yeah, I guess Dragons are real different in Lunar, huh? Down here, you've got the metal sorts that Riese looks after, but there's no kinda fallin' or anythin'... well, there's the bein' a defect part, but that's not so much a cycle o' Malevolence like they described it is!"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Ragnell pauses at Odjn's brilliant conclusions. When she laughs again, it has a completely different cadence to it, though no less amused than before. "Oh, is *that* what you mean? Well, it sure is true it takes a lot o' trust for a Seraph to Armatize with a human in the first place, so I'm sure you're right." Maybe. Possibly. After all, if Odjn's logic held water, that would mean that Sorey's in a polyamorous relationship with not just Mikleo but Lailah *and* Edna. Lucky dog!

"Yep, that's right," Ragnell tells Odjn, half-smiling. She grins at Riese and her wiggly horns at the comparison, then looks back down at her companion. "A defect?" she echoes. "You mean Tainted, or is this somethin' else?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn would just like to say, maybe they like it /zesty/.

"... most of the Dragons from the Roost leave to become part of our forces -- Wyverns, Fafnirs," Riesenlied speaks. "The ones that I ride with are the ones that... much like how the Tainted are, are unaccepted by my superiors. In many ways, they're Tainted Dragons, yes. I couldn't just leave them be... I know very well how they would be treated, if I did nothing."

Odjn grins just a little more soberly, out of her cheer. "Aww, an' that's what makes her such a softie! Wouldn't be able to just tell, but Ragnell, d'you know Riesenlied's supposed to be one too??"

Riesenlied kind of shoots Odjn a look, but lowers her head afterwards. "It's true..."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

That's certainly possible!

Ragnell leans her chin on one hand and looks up at Riesenlied as she takes her turn to explain. "What exactly is so unacceptable about them, anyway?" she asks. And: a softie? Oh yeah, she could tell that easy enough. That's part of what makes her cute, as is the gap charm created by her conviction and determination. She glances at Riese, then says, as if she hadn't realized that Riese is a Tainted, "What, you mean a dragon?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"Who knows? They don't look cool enough? Don't shoot enough? Or maybe it's that they act like puppies and want a scritch underneath the chin awww who's such a good un'," Odjn kind of continues to coo.

Riesenlied's eyes look up again, in the general vicinity of Ragnell, as she says, "Yes... originally, I was meant to be one such dragon. But I was unable to stand up to the sheer stress of the transformation that I mentioned earlier... and that is part of the verdict, so long ago, of why I was discarded to the Gutter."

There is a slight look of hesitation, and uncomfortableness... before she returns to a slightly earlier topic. "Miss Ragnell, I..." A hesitant pause, before she shakes her head. Did the topic kind of move towards a couple of sore spots? "No, please... have a good day. I might speak to you about the Seraphim again another time, if that is all right?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

"Hmmm... So it's a decision your supervisors make, huh," Ragnell muses. She crooks a half-grin and reaches out to skritch Odjn under the chin. Awww, who's such a good 'un. But--huh, so that *is* what they meant? That surprises Ragnell. "I see," she says. "An' then you pulled yourself out? Or..."

But Riesenlied squirms in discomfort and decides to end the conversation. Sore spots? Sure, Ragnell's sure they navigated around plenty. After all, that's why she deflected away from hers.

"Sure," she says, chill and easygoing. She scoots up to her feet and walks back a couple steps. "See ya 'round, Riese. Good luck on your meditation. See ya, Odjn. Don't go gorgin' yourself on any more fried chicken, a'ight?" Then she turns and saunters away.