2017-07-02: Rejected Ones

• Log: Rejected Ones
• Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Avril Vent Fleur
• Where: Gounon
• Date: July 2nd 2017
• Summary: After the escape from the Temple of Rejection, Avril pays Riesenlied -- who had collapsed -- and Noeline a visit. A discussion on the Metal Demons' nature and Artificial Mediums ensues.

---

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Following the... remarkable adventure that they'd all been drawn into at the Temple of Rejection, the team have returned to Gounon for rest and recovery.

Riesenlied has been brought back to an inn room following her collapse at the overload of sensation the Temple has pushed onto her -- she seems to be in a weakened state in general, and such a venture towards a dangerous Labyrinth was probably the last thing she needed at present. Nonetheless, Noeline appears to have chartered them a rather comfortable space at one of Gounon's more well-known inns; it has a balcony for fresh air and light, a good place for someone to recuperate.

By the time Avril returns from her business to check on them, she appears to have roused back to wakefulness, though she appears to still be bedbound -- no doubt at Noeline's behest.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

True enough, Noeline has reserved then both one of the better rooms at the inn, the 'Crimson Noble' apparently a rather affluent sort. It isn't exactly big - but it is cozy, and that seems to be what matters to her most at the moment. There's even a picturesque little balcony, and some of the local wine set aside for later, or perhaps as thanks. The picture as a whole is a comforting one, allowing Riesenlied a chance to recuperate in a more human location.

Despite the fact that neither of them are.

When the flamboyantly-dressed vampire answers the door of the room, it's with a soft huff of recognition, and then a light nod of her head; she allows Avril inside, then waves towards any of the chairs around. "Please, have a seat," she adds, making it clear she's not going to take any of them herself when she instead sits down next to Riesenlied, her hand finding the other woman's. "Are you recovered?"

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Poor Riesenlied had fared the worse for everything, or so Avril had thought -- a thought that had made the young woman feel somewhat guilty, since whether or not the apparent beastwoman had come to rescue her on her friends behest or not, she had the feeling that it had been her presence that had initially tripped the security systems in that place.

With no obvious wounds, though, the best choice had been for nature to do its best once they returned to Gounon, and allow Riesenlied to get some much-needed rest.

Avril had, in the meantime, reunited with her friends. It's some time later that she returns to the inn, the door slowly creaking open as she creeps on in. A glance tells her that Riesenlied is awake.

With almost exacting precision, and without a word, she sets down a single red apple on the bedside table, then takes a step away to take a seat per Noeline's offer. It's the one closest to the bedside.

"...One of the people in town said... that you should bring apples to the bedside of someone who is sick," she offers as explanation, peering at Riesenlied intently. "How are you feeling?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied lets out a sharp little gasp, apparently having had something of a little feverish dream inbetween returning and waking up -- and quietly leans her hand onto Noeline's, perhaps to coax the other woman to bring her to a seated position. Unless she's coaxed back down to rest, that is.

"Apples...?" Riesenlied murmurs softly, but then bows her head. "... I feel weak ... but I think I will be all right. Thank you... Miss Avril."

She tilts her head and says, "How are you faring yourself ...? Your friends were ... really concerned for you, when we spoke to them before going to the temple."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

The girl in red and black, despite how composed and suavely self-important she tries to look as she recognizes the gift with a huff and a nod of appreciation, is clearly prone to some very soft moments - Riesenlied's noise practically makes her jolt upwards from where she's sat down, turning to immediately put an arm around the other woman and furrow her brow at her state.

"... thank you," she adds her thanks to Riese's, flicking out some of her hair after a moment as she does her best to regain her momentum. "Things seem to have calmed down, at least, though word and rumour are starting to fly a little more as far as those ruins are concerned."

Privately, she feels a little annoyed about that - more rumours mean more Drifters, more Drifters mean more watching their back. Still, they probably have a few more days, at least, and the more she can take the more secure she'll be in Riesenlied's health afterwards.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

They seem to be close. It's so good to have friends, Avril reflects privately.

"If you rest, your body should recover. It was... an exertion, wasn't it? I felt as if I could hardly bear it myself." Her gaze flickers downwards, towards her lap. Perhaps if she hadn't had her Medium with her, or if she hadn't have used it before that moment... it's possibly that she would have born much of the force of the temple's rejection herself.

Lifting her head, Avril nods, once at Noeline's statement. "Yes they have. Fortunately, nobody was badly hurt," Avril says, though she glances sidelong towards Riesenlied a touch guiltily, clasping her hands on her lap. Not an injury, technically, but...

"..."

Turning her gaze towards Riesenlied, Avril unfolds her hands to gesture, slightly, towards her own self. "Me? ...I am somewhat tired, but otherwise, I seem to be alright. ...No, I'm the one who should be thanking you. When I had been trapped in there on my own..." She glances away, towards the wall. "It's terrifying... being trapped by yourself in a dark place like that." Absently, her hands once again fold in her lap. "...I was very happy to see Dean and Rebecca again. They were happy, too." She pauses. "I... don't know how else to express it. So, thank you."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied's small trembling seems to continue, some unconscious fear that's still writhing about her body. But she takes her time to breathe and let Noeline help her work through it, clutching her hands tightly. "... I am sorry, it probably would not help our hiding here," she looks towards Noeline...

She looks towards Avril and draws herself a little further up. "I also... can relate, to the horrible feeling of being trapped. Alone." Very recently, in fact. It felt like it took her an eternity to claw her way from that darkness that had been shrouded around her mind.

"... it may sound rude, but ..." she looks to Noeline again, as if for confirmation. "You should not be seen with us too long ... we are wanted. People are after us." A hesitant pause. "It may bring trouble and misfortune to you and your friends, Dean and Rebecca."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline and Riesenlied are clearly very good friends, the former embracing the latter to her as she rubs slowly at the winged woman's arm. "I am here," she promises in a private whisper, her cheeks scoring slightly with colour; she glances at Avril once, and decides that the girl in green is probably less threatening than Lady Harken, and she did this in front of Lady Harken, so it's fine. Just very... good... friends.

There's probably even an achievement with that name, for reaching this scene.

"Not-- that we are about to cause you any trouble, mind you," Noeline huffs after Riesenlied says it, looking up with a rather wry smile. "It is just a very long story, and it may be best if you are aware of that much ahead of time. Our allies are rather thin on the ground at present, though we do at least count ourselves as having a few."

She glances at Riesenlied for a moment, and then softly frowns. "The 'Temple of Rejection'... really, what a fitting name it is for our own situation, hm?"

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

The really big problem with losing all your memories (and admittedly, not entirely having the full context here) is that you miss out on the little Hints. What good close friends, Avril continues to think innocently, glancing away a little self-consciously all the same as Noeline embraces Riesenlied to her.

If Rebecca were here, though, she'd probably get it.

Briefly, briefly, Avril looks thoughtful. "...You, as well... Perhaps that's why that temple had such an impact on us?" But it gives way to an uncomfortable look. "No one should have to feel so isolated. I..." She lifts a hand, touching it briefly to her chest. "Yes. I feel strongly about that, somehow..."

What a weird thing to say.

"People are 'after you'?" Avril echoes, tilting her head to the side. Her brow creases slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

She... really must have grown up sheltered somewhere?

But she lapses into silence when Riesenlied mentions that their presence might just bring misfortune to her and her friends. "...I see," she says after a moment, glancing at some point in the air between her and the floor. Noeline at least smooths the somewhat awkward moment over a touch. Avril's gaze lifts. "...If you meant to cause us trouble, I don't think you would have assisted me or my friends before," she opines, at length. "Still... I'm glad that you told me."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Noeline's reassurance seems to soothe Riesenlied, letting those jitters and that tension slowly bleed out of her, letting the winged woman relax for a little while longer yet. The embrace that they are in is undoubtedly close, of someone who depends on the other wholly, submitting their life to them if they must.

"I..." Riesenlied doesn't know how to express it, but she looks just a bit nervous. Explaining about the Metal Demons sounds like the worst imaginable thing, but... "It means that... people would try to harm or even kill us, to get them to bring us with them. For money, or for other reasons."

She swallows a bit further. "It is because I am what others call a Metal Demon, and we are not looked on kindly." She -- flinches just a moment, expecting some measure of rebuke from Noeline, but... in this moment, weakened as it is, she doesn't look like she has the capacity to lie further. Less so than she usually does. "I wonder if it is because of that, that the Temple does so as well...? It is all confusing to me..."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

When Riesenlied states the term, Noeline closes her eyes and lets out a gentle sigh. It is not disapproving, and there is no rebuke - just a quiet companionship as she nestles the other woman against her, her fervent and overriding care easing slightly as the other woman starts to come down from her panic. Perhaps it's the way that this strange girl was also feeling the rejection of Filgaia, or perhaps it's the way she just seems so open about everything herself, but Noeline doesn't look like she's going to naysay Riesenlied's tale.

In fact-- "... I, as well, am a Metal Demon. You-- will have to forgive my initial lie," she adds with a soft huff of air, looking up at the girl sat across from them with her mouth drawn into a thin line.

"Our kind are rejected by the Guardians - and many of our number find that sufficient reason to bring war and anger on Filgaia in turn. Riesenlied seeks peace instead, and I have promised to aid her in that task - but it is necessary sometimes to hide what exactly I am out in the world." Her voice is quiet and solemn, lacking a lot of her usual pomp, her hand finding the winged woman's once more.

"--by rights... I suspect I should have also felt the rejection of that Temple, were it not for the medium I carry within me." This time, she's directing her comments to the both of them. "... I believe you picked it out as an 'Original'... but perhaps that connection allowed me to bypass the temple's defences, if only somewhat."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

They would harm them? Here, the look on Avril's face, her questioning gaze -- these speak volumes without her having to say a word.

"Metal Demons...?"

Where another person might have recoiled in terror, or shouted in alarm -- here are the destroyers of Adlehyde, right here in this inn before her! -- Avril insteady curiously glances from one girl to the next, leaning forward a touch as if to inspect them both more closely. "There were some stories about what had happened in Adlehyde. They said, 'the monsters of old had reawakened and burned the city to the ground'." She closes her eyes briefly, as if drawing upon that memory. There had been fear about the same happening here, loathing, and hatred...

She looks at the both of them. "But... neither of you look like monsters. Nor did you act like them. You helped us, my friends and I, at considerable cost when you had no need to do so. I may not remember much, and perhaps I may err in saying so, but if you say that you wish for peace rather than war..." Avril pauses for a moment, and then nods. "I feel that your actions speak for themselves."

And besides, she would be a liar herself if she did not acknowledge that she felt a bit of kinship with Riesenlied, for the both of them being rejected by the temple. Rejected by the Guardians, rejected by the temple -- almost, she feels like she's on the cusp of realizing something.

But the moment passes with no revelation.

"...Yes. I thought I had felt something akin to an Original Medium from you. Do you--" Avril, as if realizing something, blinks, her eyes widening slightly. "'Within' you?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks more surprised -- than she should, perhaps, at Noeline's following of her admission of the truth. Some part of her, perhaps, still thinks of the Crimson Noble as cagier, more willing to protect herself from exposure... but this is an unusual circumstance -- this has been an unusual week in all rights and reason. And if they did not say, she would find out some other way. The truth was out there, and it is known.

The way Avril expresses her firm conviction about how they wish for peace... grants her a little nod, smiling weakly. "... thank you for your ... understanding. There has not been a lot of it... lately."

She also looks just a little more perplexed as she whispers, "An Original... Medium?" She in truth doesn't understand the difference. She knows so little about the Guardians, and the method in which they were summoned. She saw Catenna's, the way she used it. She saw Cecilia summon Schturdark, no doubt with one of her own. And there was that bloodstained one, from her past...

She shivers to think of it.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline seems to pick up on Riesenlied's surprise, but then she is still curling an arm around the other woman, close enough to catch the hitch of the winged woman's breath and respond to it with a lost, amused, and wry little smile. "... well, really... ... I cannot hide forever, after all, not with things like this. Not after everything," she points out quietly with a tilt of her head, voice shot through with a deep concern.

The Crimson Notble sobers as she pulls her head up to look at Avril for a moment, gauging the girl's reaction and speech before she bows ever so slightly in recognition of the answer. "I-- I am not so kind as Riesenlied is, I'm afraid. I would definitely caution you that there are monsters within our ranks, those who would stop at nothing to revel in victory. But for a great number, that is because of the way they have been brought up - surrounded by nothing but hatred, unaware of the world at large."

The thought of Old Petra now lying in ruins brings another rare spike of bitterness, and Noeline's brow furrows hard. "... but-- there is progress. However slowly, however often we are set back, there is progress."

She shakes the thought away, letting out a faint sigh as she does so. "... more specifically, I have some of a medium. A rather abortive attempt to use it resulted in it exploding, and showering me with a significant amount of shrapnel. As such, when I say I have one 'within' me, it is quite literally meant," she chuckles in rather dry humour, then shakes her head. "But I am not aware of the distinction that would make it 'Original', I am afraid."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Avril shakes her head. "It's the least I can do. As I said, despite your situation, you still came to assist us. Dean and Rebecca were grateful." And thus, she is too. Besides, the more she attempts to dissect the situation, the more her previous assessment appears correct. There's no logic to such an act that she can see, so it must be kindness.

Avril's gaze drops, her lips pressing somewhat thin. "...Of course." There are monsters everywhere you go, and perhaps you can't always know them on sight. "I understand. The world cannot be so easily divided into black and white. Already, I've seen people do terrible things one instant, but be quite kind in the next."

Even she had realized it for what it was, when Greg had helped them escape the train. Even if he had caused the situation, he didn't have to assist, especially at the risk of his own life, and yet...

Noeline explains. "It... exploded?" She seems taken aback for a moment, her gaze then traveling over what parts of Noeline's body she can see. "Then... that would explain the void I felt. As if it were not entirely..." Frowning, Avril closes her eyes, as if to attempt to hone in on its presence once again.

And then Noeline asks for her own explanation of what she even means by 'Original'. Avril's blue eyes reopen and widen, and she halfway lifts a hand to her mouth. "Oh! I apologize. ...To be honest, I can't say that I completely understand everything about them, myself." She pauses, then after a moment of weighing the situation, explains: "I've lost my memories. There are many things I'm still attempting to resolve. Still, what I do know..."

She pauses, drawing out the small octagonal object from her gown. "This... is an artificial medium. Someone made this once, a long time ago, perhaps to connect with Filgaia and its Guardians. There are copies, I understand, but this one is the Original -- I know it's an original." She exhales a sigh. "I'm not sure why, but I know for certain... this is an Original. And I can feel the one in your body.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks rather amiss and sad at Avril's explanation of herself. "Amnesia...? That is difficult to deal with... I can't even imagine. I do not know what I would do if I lost all my precious memories... of everyone..." She holds onto Noeline's hand a little tighter at that point, a bit needier.

She looks at the octagonal object with her, though. "An... artificial... medium?" She doesn't even understand that much. "I'm sorry, but that seems... is it different from the small stone or metal slates that other Shamans use? It seems more... mechanical. I was not aware of the distinction myself, to be quite honest."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

With a chuckle, Noeline bows her head, accepting Riesenlied into her side as she squeezes the other woman's hand in hers. "... even so... it would not be right to let such consideration go without thanking you," she adds, sounding a little more like her old self as she flicks out a twintail of hair. "At least allow us that much."

The medium comes out, though, and her eyebrows soar sky-high at the sight of it. "Well--" she decides after a moment, her eyes not leaving it. She daren't activate Duras Drum's power with the other demon sat up against her - she does not exactly want to freak Riesenlied out right at this moment, thanks - but she feels the faint tickle of the Guardian's presence at the back of her mind, watching with interest. "--at the very least, that title is one more thing than I knew previously."

"I cannot say mine looked quite as pristine as that," she admits after a moment, with an amused chuckle. "It was a lump - a pitted piece of rock - but then it had also been lying in an abandoned, forgotten shrine open to the elements. As such, I cannot begin to say what it might have looked like originally."

Riesenlied's impulsive comment makes her pause for a long moment, inherently curious. "Mechanical... perhaps that explains why I am able to access it? It would certainly begin to explain why a creature spurned by Filgaia can yet somehow force a connection to its Guardians," she wonders aloud, not immediately certain what she thinks of the distinction, or even how reliable a feeling it might be, or whether she's even hopeful of being right - is it just a useful coincidence that has put her in this situation, rather than her thoughts towards humanity? What would happen if it had been some other demon who received it? Her thoughts jumble, until she decides to just leave them alone for the moment and think of other things

"... at the very least, I can imagine why you felt a void. As far as I have been told, mediums tend to reach whoever they should, thanks to the Guardian's providence, and as such I believe mine may be whole--" she seems a little put out at the Guardian idea of fate and serendipity, as if no human or Veruni would ever enact a massively machiavellian time travelling plan. "--but it is for a Guardian who has been sealed away."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Avril, for her part, looks far less troubled. In spite of her situation. "I suppose so. I... of course, I would like to have my memories back, but... I suppose it's hard to be pained by what I am missing, if I do not know what I am missing..." She can't help but smile a little in spite of things, here. "For now, I'm simply glad to be be traveling with my friends. I'm sure that I will remember things in time."

The Sea Medium remains similarly mostly silent, Avril not permitting the thing and the connection it can make to Lucadia to come alive while she holds it in her lap. It just sits there, mysteriously ancient as ever. But some things resonate on a level beyond perception.

"Perhaps so. Someone has been taking care of this one, before it came into our possession." She nods, then glances up at Noeline, a faint smile on her lips. "If this were left to the elements for a long time, perhaps it would be the same. I've heard it said that in time, everything returns to the dust from which it was made..." She shakes her head, her gloved fingers briefly tracing the edge of the Medium.

Slowly, Avril nods at Riesenlied's question. "I think... that's the difference. Someone made this, as opposed to the methods of the Baskar, whatever they might be." She's still learning what she can do with this, after all, and hasn't had the opportunity to interrogate any of the Baskar on the subject. "I'm not entirely certain, of course, but... I think -- yes."

Noeline's guess seems... right, resonating with Avril. Not a memory properly, just a feeling she has, like the sense that she's seen this town before, or that temple before, only stronger. "Perhaps anyone would be able to use this, if that's so. When I received this, I learned that only humans can use the copies, but because this is an Original..."

It would also go a long way to explaining Noeline's situation.

Once again, it's Avril's turn to be surprised. "You do?" She blinks. "Not because it was broken?"

Her lips part. Forget surprised, she looks flabbergasted. "...Sealed away?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied nods slowly towards Noeline's offer of thanks, expressing with a slow bow of her head, "I thank you... as well." She seems to subconsciously jitter a little at the discussion of Mediums and Guardians -- not visibly, but like it's reminded her of things that she fears.

But fortunately for her, the Sea Medium doesn't react, doesn't trigger. Were she more aware, with more conscience, she might dare ask her the question of whether Avril can speak to the Guardian or not. Oh, how desperately she's yearned to speak to one, to ask them why they reject them.

They have more in common than they'd think.

The artificial mediums... created by an unknown hand. And an Original, capable of being used by... those that are unloved by Filgaia? Was such a thing even possible? No, it is possible -- Noeline is evidence of it. That bridge that she desires to see... between them and the Guardians...

She seems to be waning, exhausted again as she closes her eyes slowly. She's listening, still, but she can't seem to contribute much to the conversation at present, her breath shallow.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"I see..." mumbles the darkly-dressed of the two demons, one hand coming to her chin as she considers that. It's-- a start, even if she feels somehow put out by the knowledge. The idea that the link she's managed to forge is somehow independent of her feelings around humanity is somehow a little off-putting, as if it's suddenly not... special. As thoughts go, it might be a vain one, but if she's going to inadvertently place herself right in the path of Mother's inevitable ire she'd rather it be for something big.

But that begs a question, and it takes her a moment to put it into words. "But-- hold, a moment. Do these mediums force themselves upon the Guardian, then? That does not seem entirely correct. I would expect anger, or hatred, to come across the link - especially for myself, a Metal Demon and apparently an anathema to the Guardians. Instead, what I tend to get is the vauge feeling of an almost amused presence," she grumbles, folding her arms and somehow feeling put out.

She hesitates, trying to focus on that presence - but as tired as she is, without danger to focus her mind, it slips past her like water through her fingers. "... Duras Drum is the Guardian of Illusion and Darkness. As I understand it, the other Guardians sealed him away - though the why of it is not something I am aware of just yet."

The second time she hesitates, it is to gently help Riesenlied back down to her pillow.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

The medium itself remains still -- as apparently inert as it had been before Avril had reactivated it so many months ago. The last time that Riesenlied would have felt even a passing presence of Lucadia from the object would have been in the temple.

"Force themselves...?" Avril's grip on the medium tenses, muted horror in her eyes. "No-- I do not think it's forced, or..." Ever so slightly her hold on it relaxes. "There... must have been an agreement, don't you think? Or... something like that. If it had been forced... I do not feel as if I'm imposing on Lucadia when I make use of this." She glances down at the device in her lap, going so far as to frown at it, troubled. "Still, if they reject your kind as much as you say, then... that is strange, is it not? I wonder..."

Staring at the Sea Medium in silence for a handful of moments as if it could suddenly present her with an answer, Avril at last shakes her head, a few locks of silver hair sliding over her shoulder. "I do know that I have some connection to these Mediums. Perhaps, if I regain my memories someday..." She sighs, expression distant. "I am afraid it will have to remain a mystery for the present."

The reason is, as Noeline explains. Duras Drum is sealed. "I... see. I was not aware..." She pauses, though, something occuring to her. Turning the thought over in her mind, and frowning faintly as she puts the idea of it through the intial paces, Avril then voices the hypothesis aloud: "Perhaps... that would create additional kinship between the two of you, though? Perhaps his connection to you was meant to be."

Almost belatedly does she notice the look of supreme exhaustion as it crosses Riesenlied's face. "...You're still tired, are you not?" She bows her head. "My apologies, this must be a lot for you to consider in your current state."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied doesn't answer immediately, her consciousness seemingly lapsing in and out. That vague image is starting to try to invade into her thoughts again, and it is taxing to stave it off. "U-uhm..." she weakly muses out. "N-no, I'll be..."

She pauses to take another breath of air. "... it is true what Miss Avril says, though. If Duras Drum was sealed... does it not stand to reason he may have a reason to assist us in turn? I would like to think it is because he had different opinions..." She doesn't voice that it's also possibly because he wanted vengeance on the other Guardians. It seems so sad, that hatred must exist so commonly amongst all beings, divine or otherwise.

The cross swings again, flashing itself onto some corner of her mind. She gasps, eyes widening. She sees that horned horse in the distance, a shadowy menace looming over her. "Odo...ryuk..." she mumbles, seemingly brought to the fore by the talk of Guardians.

Her eyes are closed again. She seems distant, at this point, unable to contribute further.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"You may be right, I suppose," allows Noeline to both of the other women present, a frown flickering across her face. She's certainly considered it to some degree, but voicing it-- seems dangerous, almost, as if it might rub in the fact of Riesenlied's hopes. "... I have already resolved to do what I can to find out more about it. My role is that of an intelligence agent, but I suppose I would be better called a historian. I'm a little too fond of humans to be much of a spy, after all," she adds with a soft chuckle.

The name that drags from Riesenlied's lips is a curious one, and Noeline files it away for later - but she's got bigger things to think about, watching with a deep-seated concern tinged with sadness as the winged woman starts to lapse again. "... we apologize," she admits to Avril, her voice a little tight. "It has truly been a long week, and if there is anything that Riese is good at, it is considering much too much at once."

A pause, and then she huffs softly. "If you would like, I shall at least keep my eyes and ears open for any news that might point to your identity. I cannot promise a great deal, but at least let me make the offer."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Would Duras Drum help them? "Perhaps, but..."

But there are too many uncertainities. Such as why he was sealed, the nature of the original mediums, even the situation with the Metal Demons as a whole. Some of them were monsters, Noeline had as much said. And while Avril is certain -- intensely assured to her core, as if she already knows them and their natures from that one incident -- that these two mean no harm...

Dean must be rubbing off on her.

Avril shakes her head again, glancing over to meet Noeline's gaze. "It is alright. She must be exhausted. I know for certain that I am tired after that ordeal." She doesn't look it, but she may just be the type good at projecting a certain appearance to the outside, no matter what is going on within. A regal mask, perhaps.

A name passes Riesenlied's lips as she sinks deeper into what might be a shallow slumber.

It's a name that, again, is woefully 'familiar' without precisely tripping any wires that might actually be of use to Avril.

With little she can do except frustrate herself further, the young woman lets it pass.

"Thank you, I would appreciate that. I'm afraid I cannot give you any information that might help, however..." She smiles a touch ruefully. If she knew anything that would help, she might already be looking into it herself. "I could only remember one thing when they found me, a single name." She pauses. "'Johnny Appleseed'."

It's the name of a wine, too, but that little fact really hasn't helped much.

Slipping the medium away, Avril slowly stands. Turning to face the bed -- and Noeline -- she bows. "I hope that she recovers swiftly. Do not worry -- I think, my friends and I will be on our way soon as well."

Even if she has no lead, no idea of where to turn next. But even that is fine.

"Thank you both once again." With that, Avril will turn and quietly make her way to the door, taking care to close it carefully.