2017-07-03: Rumination

From Dream Chasers
Jump to navigation Jump to search
  • Log: Rumination
  • Cast: Ida Everstead-Rey, Cetiri (NPC), Sibyn (NPC) (played by Riesenlied)
  • Where: Fields near Old Petra
  • Date: 3rd June 2017
  • Summary: Ida awakens after the climactic battle against Id in Old Petra and speaks to some unusual aid...


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The battle at Old Petra was unexpectedly harsh.

It opened as what might have been a relatively normal skirmish -- 'normal' all relative when warfare and battle is involved, of course... but the appearance of the Crimson Gear and the red-haired man had put everything into a state of chaos. Ida had escaped on one of the dragons with the Ebony Wings, and finds herself...

...well, resting on a rolled-out mattress on a forest clearing, with a town not too far in the distance. There appear to be others laid out nearby -- Ida can tell some of them are some of the Drifters that've come along, and Adlehyde guardsmen, as well as other Metal Demons. There's no difference in how people are being treated here.

Looming over her is... Sibyn, who's looking at her with a mixture of -- what looks like fear and concern, and...

...a metallic black dog-shaped demon, with eyes that look more like electric signals, a long, slender tail swishing to and fro beside her. "See," she rasps in an electronic voice that can only rightfully described as a dulcet tone combined with a cement mixer. "She awakens. You worry too much."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

In retrospect, it's noteworthy that Ida managed to cling to consciousness for as long as she did. A large, purple-black mark of some sort mars the skin on her forehead, the only real wound she sustained aside from Yarobeleedt grazing her. /That/ only required bandages. A blow to the head, on the other hand, has the potential for worse effects, especially where fragile humans are concerned.

Ida stirs. She reaches up to rub her eyes, and is immediately greeted with a headache--it feels like someone pounded nails into her skull, and left them there. The sound of a harsh, unfamiliar voice jars her to wakefulness. Ida sits bolt upright, her eyes snapping open. She pulls one arm towards her chest in a sort of defensive posture, and the other one stops about halfway to a revolver. She stares at Cetiri for a moment, breathing deeply. "Who are you?" she asks.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's a salve of some sort applied underneath, and bandages. For all the Ebony Wings deal with people, they've also got concoctions for both Veruni and humans due to who they consort with. They're a versatile sort. "My name is Cetiri," rasps the dog. "A member of the Ebony Wings." A pause. "A scientist, if you will. And this is Sibyn, who has been doting by your side--"

"I--I have not!" Sibyn balks.

"She is shy," Cetiri points out matter-of-factly. "How is your head?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

It takes a good minute or so for Ida to calm down. She still remembers Adlehyde, and waking up in a bathtub full of shadowy... stuff, with Agatha sitting nonchalantly beside her. It left an impression. Eventually, though, her breathing slows, and the look on her face grows calmer. "Still a little bothersome," Ida says. Her voice sounds normal, at least, and not slurred. "Where am I? Where is Riesenlied?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's a grim kind of silence, as the two glance to each other. "She is ... extracted," Cetiri finally admits. "And comatose, at present."

The weave of the light that Riesenlied created might now be fresh in her mind -- how the red-haired man was engulfed in it, with his Gear... how it bought them precious /seconds/ to evacuate. It was the best that Riesenlied could do at that point, and Cetiri seemed to acknowledge it -- if not happily.

"... our village's gone," Sibyn finally murmurs, downcast and downhearted.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida looks down at the mattress. "I'm certain she will recover, in time," she says, even though she's not sure. If Riesenlied /doesn't/ recover, the game changes. Ida looks up, meeting Sibyn's eyes. Again, she's struck by how human-like she looks, especially when compared to the Metal Demon-beast-something next to her. "I know," Ida says. She reaches up to touch the bandages around her head, considering. "Why did you bring me here?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"It is the closest place we could find to triage and sort the wounded in privacy, and it is not far from a town with a railway station," Cetiri explains. A pause. "Unless you mean why we saved you?"

Sibyn frowns just for a moment and glances away. "You-- helped me. That counts for something." She frowns just a bit deeper. "E-even if you're... human."

Cetiri gives her a look, as if to remind her. "I--I know, I know! Don't lecture me again," the young girl balks. "It's hard, okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

A small smile spreads across Ida's face, despite the pain. She glances over at Cetiri, and as ridiculous as it feels to try and communicate "go easy on her" to a metal dog-entity nonverbally, that's what she does. "I don't believe we were properly introduced," Ida says. She draws herself up a little, managing a reasonable facsimile of proper bearing despite the pain. "Ida Everstead-Rey, of Guild Galad. A pleasure to meet both of you, though I wish circumstances were better..."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Sibyn goes to help prop Ida up, though she kind of is acting like she's not sure how much she should be helping like Ida could just pop like a bag full of fluids... which is part of the description of humans she's received. "Officially, I am but a mere Tainted," Cetiri comments. "But my previous skills and knowledge as a Research and Development scientist has served useful in our operations. A pleasure."

Sibyn kind of bobs her head to say, "S-Sibyn... um, Security Detail," she tries to recall what her rank's supposed to be. She doesn't really know, she's just a boot on the ground. "Where's... Guild Galad...?"

"I believe it is further west," Cetiri comments. "A mechanical city constructed from the bones of our draconic ancestors, I have been told."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida gives Sibyn a grateful smile. "Thank you," she says. Her mouth feels dry, so she reaches down to her belt, undoes the strap holding her canteen in place, and takes a drink while Cetiri explains matters. Sibyn gets to watch a human ingest /something/--Is it water? Humans drink water, right?--before coughing, and then wiping her mouth off on her sleeve in a most unladylike fashion.

"Close," Ida says to Cetiri, "but it will do. Suffice it to say things are very different there." She pauses a beat, and then another realization hits her.

"Siegfried is not here, is he?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"No."

That seems to be all that Cetiri feels is needed of that question. The neutrality of the statement and the abject abruptness is telling, perhaps. Riesenlied may respect Siegfried and view him as something close to a friend, someone she wants to support, but for a lot of the other Ebony Wings... the Quarter Knights often amount to oppressors, as so much of the elder leadership often do.

Sibyn just kinda stares as Ida drinks, then looks away shen she realises she's being rude. "Do you-- need any other human things? I don't really know how-- or when--" She holds up a carrot, and a head of lettuce. Very helpful.

"Don't crowd her too much, Sibyn," Cetiri muses.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

That is all the answer Ida needs, apparently. The last she saw of Siegfried involved the man in red taking sudden interest in him, and she has no idea who would emerge the victor from that situation. She blinks, and stares at the food for a moment. "Ah, no thank you," Ida says, "I'm not hungry." She brushes her fingers against the bandage, again. "Did you do this?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"O-oh, yeah! It's kind of the same procedure as bandaging a brethren or a Veruni," Sibyn kinda natters embarrassedly. "Miss Cetiri guided me, but she--" A pause. "Has no hands," Cetiri decides to conclude with something approaching an amused, rueful little electronic chuckle. "Though you'd be surprised at how much you don't miss them. Being a dog has its advantages."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida has to stop herself from staring at Cetiri, because doing so would be extremely rude. "Thank you," she says, to Sibyn, instead. "You did well. I... honestly wasn't certain if you folk had medics among you, though in retrospect..." There's a long pause. "But regardless. I imagine it's not every day you encounter humans like this, and yet both of you seem at ease."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"I am used to it, when you have been dealing with Riesenlied and her... proclivities," Cetiri decides after a pause of trying to explain it. "And indeed, medical specialties are common amongst us. No matter what the legends profess to say, many of us are not suited to simply recovering our wounds through self-regeneration."

Sibyn lowers her head. "I--I'm... at ease, yeah," despite the fact that her tone's kind of still shaking. "Um. Can you walk? We can... escort you to town, or... well, I guess I look human-like enough...?" She scowls at that. "... I don't know what's going on anymore."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Can she walk? That's a good question. "Pardon me," Ida says, turning to Sibyn. She braces a hand on the Metal Demon's shoulder, gripping her with what might be surprising strength. Slowly, Ida eases herself up to a kneeling position, and once she's taken a moment to let her head adjust, she rises the rest of the way on her own. Ida steps off the mattress, and takes another moment--she still feels woozy, but well enough to at least start walking. "I believe so," Ida says.

She looks down at Sibyn with a rueful little smile. "...I'm afraid I don't, either. I suppose we'll have to puzzle it through, won't we?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Sibyn tries to keep the face that's like 'oogh you're kinda fleshy' down, but instincts take over as she supports herself up... but then lets Ida take over with a nod. "... don't even know what happened to brother," she mumbles. "I didn't see him... evacuate... I don't know if he went underground with the others..."

"We will find out, soon," Cetiri reassures, and her tone suggests that this isn't the first time she's had to reassure her. "We've sent one of our humanlike scouts to the town to charter a carriage. It should have enough space for you and the other humans gathered here, once we're satisfied they're stable."

A pause, as she glances a little downwards. "Riesenlied has spoken of you before. How she trusted you with a Dragon Tooth from one of our ancestors. Are you a researcher?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida sobers up a little as Sibyn speaks, though she still appears a little surprised. Brother? She thought Demons didn't have those. Perhaps something similar? "I'm afraid I cannot make any promises," she says, "but I will do what I can. What is his name?"

Cetiri asks a very good question. Ida looks down at the former researcher, and nods. "...Yes."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"... Ulfr," Sibyn answers after a moment of reluctance. "He's--" She frowns. "Wait, we-- we participated in Adlehyde, you know. That's how he got hurt in the first place. Why're you-- why're you helping us? I don't get it..."

Cetiri lets out just a little chuckle, but she doesn't interfere. It's best to let some of them work through their own feelings, get this experience first-hand. That much, she knows Riesenlied would prefer. "Are you interested in Dragon Fossils?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida meets Sibyn's eyes. Despite her injuries--despite everything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours--she somehow manages to summon up that steel, that drive that's kept her going. "It has to stop somewhere," she says, matter-of-factly. "And clearly, you understand, now." She lets that sink in, and turns to Cetiri. "...Yes?" she says, a little hesitantly. "Why?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"... has to stop... somewhere," Sibyn mumbles, sagging her shoulders. She holds onto her hands together and glances aside as she chews on her lip, and while that's simmering in her mind, Cetiri comments, "I was myself... specialised in Dragon research and development. Once upon a time. Riesenlied is proof enough," A pause. "Of course, now is not a good time to ruminate on such matters, but if Riesenlied has extended her trust to you..."

A pause. "I could share an insight or two."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

Ida raises an eyebrow. "Madam," she says, with the same wry tone she took a few minutes ago, "you've piqued my curiosity. If you're willing to share, I'm more than willing to listen."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"It is agreed, then. Another time, perhaps in a study more conductive to learning than this... clearing," Cetiri nods. The sound of a clattering carriage can be heard from the distance, as she looks up. "And that would be the wagon from town."

Sibyn looks at Ida. "... u-um, I'm not really sure what it means yet, but... thank you for-- thank you for helping, and looking for my brother if you see him..." A pause, as she sulks. "This feels really weird... we just-- wanted to be heroes." She scratches her head.