2017-06-20: Mercy

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  • Log: Mercy
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Hiro, Lily Keil, Leon Albus
  • Where: Adelyn Ranchlands
  • Date: 20th June, 2017
  • Summary: Riesenlied attempts to drop Hiro off after the skirmish with Leo, but they are spotted by Leon and Lily...


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The last skirmish was uncomfortably close, even by Riesenlied's measures. Hymir Squad could've easily been decimated there, especially with the presence of White Knight Leo... the angry mob, armed with gunsmoke ARMs and other kinds of violent implements could've just mobbed them before their pick-up arrived.

But Hiro was there to help them out of that jam, and Riese has honored the ride out and a drop-off elseplace. There's only so much discreetness that they can manage, however. From afar, Leon and Lily, especially if they've been following the development of that chase, could see the ...

... rotund... yellow onion-shaped dragon...

...drop down near the side of a forest. Riese's been careful to not set Hiro down too close to where the other Fiends might be, since she didn't want them being tailed. The yellow dragon -- 'Muni-Muni', apparently -- lets out an adorable little squeak of 'munii-' as it lands, bobbling from side to side.

"We should hopefully be safe here," Riesenlied declares, hopping down first and extending her hand. "Sorry, for all the trouble..."

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

Hiro couldn't help but scritch the Muni-Muni behind the ears. "That's a good boy." Then he rethinks that, "Girl? Whatever the case you're cute." "Hiro don't pet the majestic creature like they're some stray dog!" "You don't know either do you Ruby?" The indignation of the tiny pink cat dragonet is palpable, "HIRO!"

Taking Riese's hand, he let's her let him down. "Trouble?" He sounds nonchalant about it at first, but then he looks more serious, "Not your fault your people got put in that position. If all of you were seen as an opposing army rather than demons, trying to slaughter a camp of wounded soldiers would be a war crime, right?"

He gives Riese this long look. "And Leo's a good guy and all but because of that-" The fact that they're seen as demons, not an army of people, "-there wouldn't be any real justice to be had in Adlehyde. They'd just be looking for someone to blame." Ruby mumbles something, it sounds indignant, but mostly inaudible grumbling.

He takes Riese's hand at that point, "So really. It wasn't any trouble at all." He doesn't feel he has to remind her that in other situations, they might not be on the same side. "If Leo decides to pose that I'm a collaborator- I'll bear that gladly over the alternative of just standing by and let something like that happen."


<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Sometimes, coincidences happen at inconvenient times.

Lily Keil spends most of her time these days on the Yggdrasil, but tonight is an exception; far from the battle that recently took place, she and Leon Albus were out in sight of a forest, and in fact still are. After all...

SHORTLY AGO:

It would've been hard to spot Lily on the plain past the treeline, given the sheer darkness spiraling along her arms, painful to watch and shadowing her figure. Over and over she tries to keep it under control, her black hair fluttering upward and her eyes closed before she started hurling it, small blast over small blast, to crash towards Leon. Her eyes open for that. ...Her eyes open too as she spots something in the sky, and narrow.

Darkness brushes past her cheek and starts to bruise as she snaps her fingers and her magic disappears in an instant.

"Leon," she points out, "We may have a problem."

NOW:

Dressed in mostly black, Lily approaches stealthily. A long black skirt, black boots, a lined and buttoned white blouse with a black jacket and violet scarf... Her long hair behind her, her rifle slung over her shoulder, and her satchel at her hip. Her steps are silent as she gets close enough to see details of the yellow dragon. She recognizes it, all right. She recognizes Riesenlied. She recognizes...

Hiro.

Lily frowns, and looks to Leon. Ruby, too. "..."

But what, is she going to announce them? No. She steps silently out into the open and waits for Leon to say something.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon is watching Lily while she practices, of course. He stays in the woods with her, eyes scanning the surroundings -- in the event that someone should approach, while she practices, and he can signal for her to stop. It is a tradition that dates back years, since they were young, and he does the same. He watches, though, before he looks up -- and gasps when she is struck.

When he swings his head to look at Lily, the bruise is already fading. "Agreed," he says. "Let's move."

Leon has the usual garb on, when he emerges from the woods a little bit later. A dark grey coat, heavy and hanging down to his shins, and a suit's vest and white button-up shirt. Both look cleaned and tailored -- a statement, if there ever was one -- but he isn't moving with the usual calm, controlled pace. Leon has Argent Divider drawn already and folded out.

Like, of course, a sword today.

The edge glints with silver light that comes from within. His gold eyes move to Lily first, after he sees Hiro, Ruby, and Riesenlied to get a read on her reaction. Something silent passes between them, before he steps out into the open beside Lily.

"Hiro," he says, with that usual measured calm. "...Riesenlied. I did not expect to see you here, given your recent decisions."

His hand doesn't leave Argent Divider's hilt.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied lets out a soft, delicate sigh as she says, "Unfortunately, I am not sure that we are afforded the protections from war crimes..." It'd be nice, and she'd love to be able to at least restrain them along the existing guidelines of war, but she thinks that her brethren would have something else to say about it.

Odjn perks up next to Ruby, emerging from behind the bigger Dragon, the next one to hop down. "Hey, cheer up, Rubes! We're still buddies, right??" she has a big grin on her face. "An' what's wrong with a majestic creature also having a cute side? You and I've both got cute sides, and we're mega-legendary!" A pause. "Dunno if Muni's..." A longer pause. "Nahh, I'm not lookin' down there!"

"Indeed, I could feel the fervour from the White Knight," Riese answers on the topic of Leo. "But... you are right, in that his fervour for his Goddess may prevent him from seeing things in a broader scope at present. ... I was like that, once... ..." There is a gentle nod as she looks to Hiro, however. "... I will not forget this. You've my word, that I will assist you if you are in turn a troublesome situation--"

Her expression shifts and she immediately steps in front, arm held out as she sees Lily emerge. Her eyes widen. "Miss Lily..."

Then, Leon comes out. "Mister Leon..."

She bites her lip, as she looks between them, then towards Hiro again. "If you are here to pursue me, then I understand. But please leave Hiro and Ruby out of this, and allow them to leave in peace."

She didn't want to entangle them in even more trouble. She knows how messy that can become, one thing leading to another. She had to try.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

I should add: Riesenlied's got a fresh cut where Leo got her earlier, which has been bandaged and tended to -- it seeps with red, unlike her brethren. Underneath her cloak where her sword should be... there's nothing, at present. She doesn't look armed. But of course, there's a dragon behind her.

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

"Right!" It's kind of strange, how Ruby reacts so positively to Odjn still. Maybe she doesn't see her as also being on their side? Not fully? Or maybe she's more unwilling to let go of a dragon friend. "I guess that's alright. So long as our majestic side dominates!"

But then Odjn says not looking down there and Ruby flies closer to whisper, "Odjnnnn- elegant ladies like ourselves should never-" She clears her throat, "-call attention to someone's no-no parts." Did she actually say that?

Yep.

"Leo... he can be a little singleminded in his pursuits. But when he had Lucia as his prisoner, he didn't just jump to executing her. I can't trust in that... but deep down he has to have his own doubts. Right?" He offers her a smile, "I appreciate that, though don't put yourself too far out. You've got enough problems on your plate. The tainted are kind of between a rock and a hard place aren't they?"

Hiro turns and suddenly Leon and Lily are /right there/! He looks visibly taken aback. So much so that he takes a step back, looking as surprised as a kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar. But despite Leon's hand being on the hilt of Argent Divider, his never moves to his sword. Instead his arms fall lax back at his side.

"Leon. Lily."

He takes a deep breath, it might sound like a sigh, then he's got this rueful look, "Guess this looks kind of bad huh?"

He's looking fairly beat up himself from the swollen bruise on his cheek and the other various wounds displayed by where his clothes were torn to reveal the mail beneath. Riese makes an offer so he can depart in peace, "Look, I'm sure the two of them are here to talk, rather than fight. There's no need to be making deals like that on my account." He then looks at the two, "Right? We can definitely explain ourselves, so long as you give us the chance."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Leon's talent for understatement is something Lily's fond of.

But pledges of assistance amidst dragons isn't a good look from where the black-haired woman is standing. As Lily looks over Riese's injuries, she finds herself resisting the urge to sigh at the way the Tainted steps in front of Hiro. Of course she would, even all that. As it stands, she still looks hard enough at her that her gaze might somehow bore right through. At the request, Lily says nothing.

Hiro's surprise doesn't get anything out of her, either; surprising someone is part of her commando training, after all. Lily's hands, for her part, aren't on a weapon at all... But at her sides is bad enough, given what she can do.

"Yes," Lily agrees, "It 'looks kind of bad' for sure." A pause.

Lily sets one of those hands to her forehead, gloved fingertips just beneath her hairline, and sighs. "Do either of you know me to be someone who's ever here to talk in situations like these?"


<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

To say Leon is guarded is an understatement. His eyes lock onto Riesenlied's, but he notices things. He notices the red blood -- something that surprises him, after all of the Metal Beasts that he slew -- and notices the way her sword is missing. He is familiar with that blade, too, after the fight. He looks sideways at Lily, and then he nods to once to her with an agreement.

And then he looks back at them, while they make their entreaties. "...You shouldn't make such assumptions, Hiro. It's likely to get you killed. A soldier will assess a threat and strike against it before it can kill either them or the people that they care about. And if you think we're not soldiers..."

His expression hardens into a scowl. "...Then you haven't been paying attention."

And yet, he doesn't raise Argent Divider, nor does he move forward. After all, Leon Albus knows something about being wrongly accused -- and despite what Lily says, if she was of the mind to strike and not ask questions, she wouldn't have spoken. He looks from Hiro, and then to Riesenlied.

"You say you have explanations," he says. "Explain, then."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied doesn't know Lily to be someone who would talk in a situation like this... which is why precaution to block any potential danger to Hiro, and by extension the Fiends, was imperative to her. But Leon... well, she didn't know him well enough yet to know what he'd do in a situation like this. Much has changed since their last meeting, after all.

"I am here to escort Hiro to a safe place after his assistance in evacuating our wounded," Riesenlied states, much in the tone of the commander of the Ebony Wings. It is empathetic as it is firm, unrelenting in the way she wishes to protect her charge at present. "Please treat him and Ruby as ones who wished to see a war crime be prevented, under his own auspices, not as a collaborator to the cause of my brethren."

Odjn pumps up and flails in that cute little way of hers, saying, "Yeah! Hiro's said as much that if Riese does naughty things, he'll punch her right in the gut!"

Riesenlied pauses at her companion... then waits, for the response.

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

"Sure, lots of people" Hiro answers Lily immediately. A second or two passes and then his facial expression changes, "Oh you meant that like it was rhetorical." Then Leon starts discussing how a soldier regards this situation. For a moment, he just looks weary, as he rubs a hand against his injured face and winces, then he puts up a hand, "Okay fine. I understand. You don't stop being what you are just because you're on the run." Ruby is looking straight at Lily, perhaps warily too. She likes her but- "Hiro be really careful. We really don't want to make them upset."

'Explain, then.' He takes a breath. And let's Riese talk, saying what she has to say. And he nods as if to back her up. "Alright. It's true. Some of Riese's people were cut off and seriously wounded. A mob of drifters was after them. It could have been a massacre."

He takes on a more serious mien as they keep talking, "I'm not blind to the things her people did in Adlehyde. I was there at the castle when Harken gave the King that wound that eventually killed him. Lucia is still in a coma because of the wounds she received from Siegfried. In most other situations, I wouldn't be on her side and she knows that."

He takes a deep breath glancing at Riese, "But I understand why she fights at least. I don't like it, but I get it. She's just trying to look out for her own- and that doesn't justify what happened in Adlehyde at all."

He doesn't argue that Riese tried to let the civilians go even though he knows she did, even though he considers it. It must feel like a hollow gesture to so many people given how many of her people /didn't/ and massacred civilians.

He gives the two in front of him a hard look, "But what happened in Adlehyde doesn't justify wiping them out either. Especially not their wounded who are cut off and just trying to get home."

Ruby does back up Odjn, though perhaps less enthusiastically, "He definitely did say that. Look- Lily. Leon. I mean if you came upon that by accident- what would you have done? I wanted to walk away... but... I can't say he did the wrong thing either!" And then she says more quietly, "Even if we're definitely going to get in a lotttt of trouble for it."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Leon is right, and Riesenlied is right; Lily is not the type to talk, and if she didn't want to talk in this situation it wouldn't be happening. She would have struck while she had the benefit of surprise, and indeed considered it.

She doesn't so much as look at Leon as he mentions assumptions; she looks at Risenlied, she looks at Hiro, golden eyes sharp in complete endorsement of what the man beside her has said. But they have explanations...

Lily doesn't try to intimidate; she listens to Riese, thoughtfully, carefully. "...What?" Lily asks iro at his response. She doesn't know what he means. But there is the matter of that explanation, and she nods until she finds herself focused on Ruby. They don't want to make them upset?

"Mm."

But Riese speaks up. "...I doubt it," she points out to Odjn, but looks between Hiro and Riesenlied again, Riese's statements and Hiro backing her up. She lifts an eyebrow when Hiro mentions Lucia being in a coma.

"Hiro..." Lily pauses, and looks to Ruby. "Ruby. You're definitely going to get into a lot of trouble for it if anyone at all saw you. Your question aside..."

"Riesenlied, you know I don't begrudge your reasons. Hiro should know that as well, so that he knows what I mean when I say..." Pause. "Hiro, you are the most idiot fool boy I have ever met. You risk everything for these feelings you have for the same forces as those who put your friend in a coma. Did you even think how your Lucia would feel? Did you even consider the impact your reckless actions could have on her?"

"I can't tell you what I would have done, Ruby. I wasn't there, and speculating would be pointless. Certainly, as a medic, I'd prefer not to see the wounded targetted... But that's part of why I carry a gun. Because it definitely happens."

Lily shakes her head again. "But really, Hiro... You're getting on my nerves. What you've done, if you came from Filgaia, would be treason. No matter how you dress it up. Are you prepared for that? You can't have it both ways. The world won't /let/ you."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon looks at Ruby and Odjn, considering what they say for a moment, with a frown. But, he doesn't speak up at first. He lets Hiro and Riesenlied explain, too. But he stays quiet, even after they do. Lily makes her judgment on the situation, and then he nods once after her. He doesn't address the matter of Lucia, even if his brow wrinkles with concern. He liked Lucia, even if she was a strange one.

"I remember what you said in the tavern, Riesenlied. About stopping war. It's a high ideal. You know that I agree with you, on that principle. But what Lily just said... about a world that will let you," he says. He turns his head, to look at Ruby. "...Do you really know who we are?"

He pauses for a moment, before he continues -- to explain.

"We are--we were commandos. We didn't fight like knights in shining armor, who only fought the deserving and the demanded." Leon's expression becomes carefully calm and neutral. "You Drifters... you keep looking at us and seeing heroes. You keep telling us we're kind. You keep telling us that we're good people. We haven't done kind things. We haven't done good things. We've done what we had to, so Kislev could win the war."

The Black Wolves' commander brings his sword down in front of him, then drives the point into the ground, and puts his hands on the hilt. "We've shot wounded Aveh soldiers trying to flee. We've poisoned wells used by Aveh soldiers -- and Guardians know who else. We've slit throats in the night and we've thrown bombs into sleeping camps. If you want to find justice among the Drifters, Ruby and Hiro, that there's good people on Filgaia, who would do something different..."

Leon's eyes close. "...Then look elsewhere. Our hands are too stained with blood to tell you where that justice is."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied hasn't made a habit of trying to argue for the fact that she was merciful. Leon and Lily were there, and she'd let them judge her actions without pointing them out. It didn't help with Cecilia and Jack; it isn't the right time or place to insist on what she did... especially when she's chosen to carry the burden of what her brethren have done. She isn't in the position of separating herself from them -- she wants them to become better, and division is not the way to do it.

Her brethren, especially the young ones, must learn on their own, and mature from their experiences. They must encounter humans for themselves. They must deal with the emotions, the trials, the hardships as a result of that encounter for themselves, much like how Sibyn did. She can guide them, but she cannot make the decision for them.

And that desire of hers... to guide them as they struggle... rather than just abandon them... is ultimately what makes her guilty.

"I am no stranger to the kind of actions war brings," Riesenlied speaks in turn, even as she takes in all that Leon describes them of doing. "But this is exactly why I do what I do. Because I know that you know, deep down, that no matter how bloodied our collective hands get--"

She gestures.

"--that it is always worth trying to prevent the next generation from falling victim to the same traps we did. I know you wouldn't have wanted your children, and their children, to have to pick up a gun and have to learn how to slit throats if you could at all affect that. It is the same for me. I will do what I can, where I can, to stem that tide of hatred. I do not claim to fight for justice, for justice is too vague a word to use in this messy and sad war of ours."

She sighs faintly, as Odjn bristles again. "You say that you would poison wells and bomb encampments... but now I find myself asking."

She narrows her eyes. "Would you use the Golem, Diablo? It is a point of concern I have outstanding. I have done everything in my power to dissuade our forces from utilising Lolithia. Diablo may be damaged now, but it can be repaired. And Filgaia can certainly see another catastrophe under one of the Golems that have brought such calamity in the war that sparked this hatred in my ancestors. Would you go that far, Mister Leon, as to use a weapon of mass destruction?"

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

When Lily starts chewing him out. He doesn't say anything at first. Maybe he's used to being called an idiot fool boy. But then he winces when Lily mentions how Lucia might feel. The impact of his actions on her. And he just sags. As if the guilt and shame is settling in- or perhaps coming to the surface.

He closes his eyes, and takes a shuddering breath. It hurts given his bruised ribs from Leo. "Carry a gun? I mean- she's a first-rate sorceress..." Ruby mumbles.

Then at the end he takes a few moments longer and- "Lily, I'm already guilty of treason on my world for opposing the Goddess Althena. And we have every intention of going back. I'm prepared to be considered a traitor on this world too for what I think was right."

And then he listens to Leon. Who tells them about the kind of people they were. He tries to keep his feelings in check during this time- listening to the things they've done. It's hard. He can't help but look a bit shocked. Ruby even whimpers once, staying close to Odjn protectively.

He takes a moment to consider his words- and then he starts by addressing Lily with an even tone, "Yes. Of course I thought about the effect my actions would have on her. In Adlehyde- she didn't even want to be there. She felt our mission more important than the people we were trying to save. But she still stood up for what was right, and put everything on the line when the Quarter Knights attacked the castle."

He starts to sound more emotional, "It's still my fault for not listening to her. If I had, she wouldn't have been there to begin with." He cuts a hand across at that moment, "But it still proves she gets it! Sometimes it's not so simple as the mission- the bigger picture being more important. It's not always about the cost to you and the people closest to you. Sometimes it's just the here and now and the right thing to do."

And then Leon, "Look I don't begrudge you the things you've had to do in the past. I'm not so naive as to think war is always kind and honorable. That everything you do in war has to always be kind and honorable. When you talk about things like that though, I think of a friend of mine."

When Jean says how she once served evil. How remorseful she looks over the things she's done. Hiro doesn't even think she was in a war, was she?

"She doesn't think much of herself, doesn't think she's good or kind either- I get the impression she's done things just as terrible. I'm not gonna ask until she's ready to talk. I respect her privacy." He crosses his arms in front of himself. "I don't think those things are what makes her a good or kind person. I think it's the desire for something better- to be better. For herself, for others."

He looks Leon dead in the eye, "I think you're someone like that. That's the kind of people I think you and her are. And nothing either of you have done or said has told me otherwise. From your agreement with Riese's ideals- in principle right down to your actions right now. If you were interested in staining your hands with our blood you wouldn't have given us a chance to talk it through." His eyes shift to look over to Lily, "She wouldn't have cared enough to tell me what an idiot I've been, and you wouldn't have told us what kind of people you are."

He sighs and looks sidelong at Riese as she mentions that and nods sort of weakly, "I don't claim to fight for justice either. That's Leo. I think things are too complicated for us to even think about what justice /is/. How can someone pass judgement until they understand what's really going on? All I wanna do is save the people I can. That's it."

And then he falls quiet as she mentions the Golem Diablo. He's not too familiar with the weapon, he knows they were on display, but not too much else. So he falls quiet and just looks between them at this point- waiting for an answer. Would they use a weapon as terrible as that? Would either side? Both? How complicated and terrible and mixed up would this get, before it was over?


<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Mercy is complicated.

"In the war I largely didn't use my magic," Lily explains to Ruby, without explaining why. The way they're all talking she has a moment before she responds to Riee, and she takes it to glare in that wince, to watch the way he sags. "Hiro..." That irritates her /more/, that he talks about what he feels is right. But...

Leon has stared speaking, too. Leon starts to describe the things that they've done, and Lily's expression is neutral as he does, save for a glance once at him. Just long enough to see his face, to see how he might feel. Back to the others. "I've lost count of the people I've killed just directly," Lily adds, and looks to his hands on his sword. But what can she say...?

Nothing. She can't say anything to him just now.

"That's what my knife is for," she says with a shrug.

"...She didn't want to be there. And still, you brought her, rather than leaving." Lily's tone is flat. "You're /right/ that it's your fault for not listening to her. You..." The bigger picture. Lily shakes her head. "Hiro--" Her voice comes off as more of a growl than anything else for a moment. The mention he has for costs--if anything, she looks angrier, her eyes widening with it for a moment. "Of course that cost matters!"

The war? Lily frowns. She frowns again when Hiro mentions care. "Bullshit," Lily answers simply. "You're both wounded. Talking to you is a calculated risk."

But Lily watches Riesenlied as she speaks, her eyes sharp in the way that they are so often sharp, her nostrils still flaring briefly as she puts aside her irritation wih Hiro for a moment. ...The signs are subtle, but they are there.

No matter how bloodied...

Lily looks askance at Risenlied's suggestion, at her answer. At why she does what she does. She shakes her head, loking between them, though it can't be denied that her eyes widen at the talk of her children, in surprise and recognition. There's a tide of hatred. Sure. But...

The question.

Riesenlied's eyes narrow, and Lily turns to watch her with her full attention. She considers her for a moment, looking her over for honesty, for motive...

It wasn't a question for Lily. But still--

"I would," Lily interrupts. "I would deploy it without hesitation in the face of another such invasion. I would deploy it if I felt it was the best way to secure victory. The Golem Diablo is potentially our best weapon against your armies, and should be treated as such."

Her voice is entirely cold, entirely sharp, without so much as an inch's give.

"...As for me, I've assumed that my children would be soldiers, as I am and as my parents were and as my grandparents were."

"...Justice is a high ideal. I'm more intimately familiar with vengeance."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"That's--"

Leon opens his eyes and frowns at Hiro. At the idea that he brought Lucia into this, and she was hurt. He didn't realize that until today. He looks to the side. "...I don't know what Lucia's mission is. But was it because it was the right thing to do, or because it fit into another part of her mission?"

He doesn't have a good answer to that -- and Hiro cuts to the point. Leon's eyes widen a moment, before they narrow again. "...You can think we're the same, if you want. I don't know your friend or what she has been through. But... we're not chasing this lifestyle for something better. Our comrades were killed."

He looks at Lily, and then he nods. "We're after revenge for that."

Then he looks to Riesenlied. "Would I use it?" he asks. "If I had to. I don't want war, either. But... looking at what happened to Adlehyde, I would use it to stop that from ever happening again. The same as Lily," he says. "I don't think nations should use those weapons. What happened to Slayheim is proof of that. But if it could save a city like Adlehyde, in the future..."

He shakes his head. "...Then yes. I would. I don't see that I would have a choice. I don't see that your superiors would leave us with one."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's a very faint sigh within Riesenlied, though it isn't one of dejection -- it's one of admiration. The kind of spirit that she sees in Hiro, the kind of young man who's just trying to set his foot on the ground and learn for himself what's right and wrong -- to unveil the desire to save people...

That's the kind of dedication she wants to invoke in her brethren, for those that are not too late.

She appreciates that Hiro was on the same wavelength as her about Leo -- she can sense that there is something kindred in the White Knight, but as it stands... faith can be as much of a blindfold as it is a strength.

"If that is how you truly, deeply feel, Miss Lily..." Riesenlied expresses towards Lily, when she shares her feelings on how future generations would be affected. "There are many amongst my brethren who think that nothing can change either. That war is all that we are made for, and all that we will ever amount to. That we are purpose-built for it."

"But cynicism is obedience, Miss Lily," Riesenlied is most firm as she expresses that. "It is the means by which those are in charge institutionalises and normalises such hatred, such violence. But that cycle is breakable. I know that it is."

Gryndille. They truly were dedicated to this mission of vengeance.

She had to think back to her own moment of utter helplessness... and wonder why she hadn't gone down that path herself. Why didn't she swear vengeance on the Guardians? They were all at fault here. It would be so easy to just think of them as the uncaring enemy...

...but she wouldn't forgive her for that.

"... of course," Riesenlied nods. "You have your mission, and I have mine. I fervently hope that the Golems do not awaken and bring us to another catastrophe, the likes which have only been matched by the Day of Collapse." She had hoped to be able to talk to them about the Golem, but... the way the situation's panned out has only brought them to a most uncomfortable form of deterrence -- a stalemate that only waits for someone to have the itchiest trigger finger. Will it be the pirates? Will it be Gebler? Or will it be her superiors? She doesn't know, and... she doesn't like the outcome.

She sighs faintly, then looks towards Hiro. "We shouldn't tarry much longer here, Hiro, and neither should you two," she looks towards them. "The outriders and scouts are still roaming around. If they see you with us, it will be just as inconvenient for you."

There is a pause, and then she adds, "I am also still looking into the matter of Gryndille. Though our situation has changed, my promise has not. You will hear from me, if I find anything out."

<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.

Hiro doesn't flinch when she says it's his fault. He just nods- accepting it again. But when she snaps, saying it matters, "I'm not saying it doesn't! It's just not..." He closes his eyes, tries to calm himself down and, "...it's just that life isn't always about a consideration of cost and benefit. It's not so simple. People do things for reasons that don't relate to the risks all the time." His eyes drift over to Leon, "I wasn't raised to be a soldier. To just logically think things through, calmly assess a situation like that- and decide- sure. It's the best thing to do just consider it not worth the risk. To think it's wisdom to let people die because me and mine might get hurt. I was raised to be an archaeologist- an adventurer. I guess there's not much difference from that and a drifter."

His eyes drift over to Lily, "My Grandpa raised me to try do the best I can, and do the right thing. He wouldn't have sent me off with Lucia otherwise- he would have let her die, saying 'Hiro we can't risk it! You'll be a traitor everywhere you go.' I do my best to do right by her- and her mission but I need to do right by who I was taught to be too."

But then Leon brings up a pretty good point- and for a while he looks like he's going to refute it. Say of course she did it because it's what's right- but then he cocks his head to the side in wonder and- "I don't know." He says quietly. Knowing Lucia told the King to defend the tear. Yet still she put herself on the line first- even before the King. "When she wakes up I'll have to ask her."

And he says that they're after revenge. Just as Lily says it's what they're after. "That's..." After a moment he nods, feeling he doesn't have a right to pass judgement on someone seeking retribution for what they lost. All he says to Leon is, "I'm sorry for your loss. It may sound meaningless to hear it from a guy who didn't know them. But I'm sorry all the same."

They both say they'd deploy it. And he's not certain what to think about that. He doesn't really know the power of the golems and what they can do. Instead she nods again as Riese says that cynicism is obedience. He hasn't really thought about instutional violence like that... but it sounds right in the sense of the Church of Althena, just in different ways.

"All I can hope is that both sides decide the cost to deploying them is too high." He gives this chagrined look. Knowing Siegfried, Harken, Berserk- "But I'm not naive enough to think that'll happen. Just a hope... If I saw an opportunity, I'd want them both destroyed."

He nods along with Riese and sighs, "Yeah. And besides. I really need to get back soon." "And then you get to explain all that you did to Jean." Hiro winces. "And Lemina." He almost groans, "Maya too." He just sucks in a long breath, "And finally Gw-[0m" "I get it." "The point is-" Ruby looks towards Lily, "-he's definitely going to get what's coming to him when they all let him have it."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Leon is better at rebuttals than Lily is, the shorter ex-soldier thinks. There are things he can say that she can't say so easily, things that he can bring to mind that end up lost in other matters for her. But this isn't a conversation she can lean on him entirely for.

Something better...

"Honestly, I'm not sure..." She shakes her head, "Once I might've questioned why we shouldn't use such things at all. ...But nations might not be trustworthy enough for such things. But as it stands, someone has to stand against your people if they continue as they are, Riesenlied."

She's still displeased, still bothered, but Riesenlied speaks to her, and Lily looks right back at her thoughtfully. "...You told me that before," Lily answers her. "About some of your people. It made me realize I had something in common with them, that's all."

A pause. Cynicism is obedience. Lily looks flatly at the Metal Demon before her as she says that. It is breakable, she says. ...But should it be broken? That isn't answered.

"We'll see whether it does," Lily answers. "But more than just the golems are likely to come about if these assaults continue. I don't know what secrets Kislev and Aveh must still hold in their armories." But if Welthall was one of them...

Lily finally looks at Hiro again. "Hiro." Lily listens to him, and lets out a small sigh. People don't...

"People get on my /nerves/," Lily mutters, a hand up at her face for a moment; the aura of malevolence she still carries resonates briefly, as it has through some of this onversation.

She looks bak a Hiro again. "An adventurer and a drifter are essentially the same. I get what you're saying. I still don't like it. The only thing you get when you can't assess a situation is /loss/. You can't be lucky forever, Hiro."

He says he's sorry for their loss, and Lily glances away, leaning just half an inch closer to Leon for a moment. Just a moment. "...Thank you," she murmurs, quiet in a different way from usual. "It isn't meaningless."

Lily knows only stories of the Golems, of course; she's never seen them in action. "Unfortunately, the power that the Metal Demons displayed... We need something that can counter that. Whatever the risks. Even I can't defeat one of your dragons myself, with all my magic."

A look to the others. "...It would be inconvenient," she agrees, "To be seen together. I appreciate what you're doing, Riesenlied. ...If you can manage peace, so be it. But I have little hope for it. Cynicism may be obedience... But there's nothing for me outside of war. I don't feel... whole, without it." She doesn't look at Leon. She hasn't said it to him that way. "Civilian life just doesn't agree with me." She looks over at Hiro, next.

"...I hope they kick your ass for it, Hiro. Keep an eye on him, Ruby. Make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid on the way back. But one thing..."

She looks dead at Hiro. "Next time we meet, you and I are having a boxing match. And when I win we'll talk."

Lily takes a step back, puts up her hands. "By all means go. I'm not attacking the wounded... Today."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I hope it won't be necessary. I don't want to see a disaster befall Filgaia. Not again," Leon says. "Anyone who cares for this world, even for a piece of it, should feel the same. But... I don't know that your approach will be the right one. Maybe you will prove me wrong."

He folds his arms over his chest, and leaves Argent Divider driven into the ground before him. His eyes drift from the sword to Hiro. He nods, then. "See that you do," he says. "And... I am, too. But regret won't bring them back or help them rest." Whether vengeance will goes unsaid.

But considering that it won't is a step that Leon can't take.

He looks to Riesenlied again, and the soldier's expression falls slightly -- into something more grateful. He nods, short, but satisfied. "Thank you. If you do... we will be grateful. I won't forget that promise. Even if we meet as enemies, next time." Because, he knows, it could happen.

Leon looks, briefly, at Lily. His eyebrows raise a little -- but he doesn't say more, besides a quick nod to her, before he looks between Hiro and Riesenlied both. "You should move, then. For your sake, too," he says. "Don't forget our bounties. I don't think it would do you much good to be seen with us, either."

He cracks a small smile, then. His bounty isn't nearly the same as theirs.