2017-07-13: On Mediums

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  • Log: On Mediums
  • Cast: Lunata Croze, Avril Vent Fleur
  • Where: Lacour - Market District
  • Date: July 13th 2017
  • Summary: As promised, Avril explains to Lunata what she knows about Original Artificial Mediums.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata is waiting outside of the arena, nearby one of the inns where she's arranged to meet with mysterious Miss Avril following their meeting at the seats during one of the matches during the Tournament of Arms. She's still looking a bit curious -- her cube seems to have gotten rather mum all of a sudden, for some reason that she can't quite decipher. "It's okay... right? I'm just going to learn a bit more about you..."

The cube bobbles up and down, as if apprehensive.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

It wasn't quite expected, coming across an Original Artificial Medium while spectating at an arena match.

...Avril is reasonably sure about the 'unexpected' part, at least. In her condition, how would she know?

Passersby are a bit thinner by this point, which is just as well -- exiting the arena, Avril's gaze seeks and soon finds Lunata and her cube. With one glance towards the mingling crowd, she steps lightly the waitress' way.

"Thank you for waiting," she says, ducking her head in a short but polite bow. "I had to locate my friends, first."

...Apparently that Professor had shown up again. Dean, and thus Rebecca, had been waylaid and missed the entire match.

(It was probably Dean's fault, honestly).

A curious eye lands on the cube next. "..."

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata perks up with a wave as she puts her hands behind her back. "No worries! I was just going to meet with Lunie and Jay later..." she pauses, before tilting her head as the cube manages to make a scene of itself again and hides a little closer behind the waitress' head.

"I'm not really sure why it's behaving this way, though..."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Avril had considered bringing her friends along, but...

The cube was already shy enough.

Would more people overwhelm it entirely?

As it is, it's hiding behind Lunata, leading Avril to lean to one side in an attempt to sight it. "...It seems almost as if it's afraid of something," she comments, crinkling her brow. "Does it normally behave this way around other people?"

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata shakes her head with a silent frown, placing her hands to her chest. "No... it seems to -- be just fine around crowds." She glances around, before focusing just a little bit further -- then pausing as she lets out a little breath. "... it'll be okay," she reassures it.

She looks towards Avril to say, "I still understand barely anything about it... but normally, I'd say it's -- eager, rather than anything else..."

She thinks. "It still might be better to move somewhere more quiet, though... if you are okay with that, Miss Avril?" She tilts her head with a wan smile. "If anything, it'd be easier to speak..."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Silence ensues for a moment on Avril's part, her gaze sliding out towards the crowd and back towards the rather nervous cube. In all honesty, she can't tell for sure. But the sample may just be contaminated since it's being apprehensive now.

"I see. This behavior is unusual for it, then." Her lips press thin, her expression pensive as she regards the shy (?) cube as it draws behind Lunata.

"Somewhere quieter... yes, I agree, that would be a better place to speak about this," Avril says, nodding once. "Do you have any place in mind? I am still unfamiliar with Lacour."

Which isn't... technically true, since she's been plagued by the same sense of deja vu since she got here as in Gounon, Mirapulse, and everywhere else, but......

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata thinks just for a moment, before saying, "Lunie and I have a room at the inn, with everyone else, if you don't mind?" She points towards the nearby hotel where pretty much every named character is staying at present, which must be simultaneously fantastic for business and yet frightening when your guest list ranges from 'White Knight Leo' and 'Lucia the Destroyer' and 'Riesenlied the Deceiver' and that's not even taking into account superpowered evil alter-egos who totally checked in without signing the guest book.

"Ge Ramda... is-- that a familiar name?" Lunata asks, as well. "That is the name of the spirit within..."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

"The place you are staying, then. I think that may be best." Bit by bit, she's learning -- or recalling -- a thing or two about the art of tact.

"Ge Ramda," Avril murmurs, echoing the name Lunata spoke to her. "It..."

As if in supreme concentration, or perhaps frustration, Avril furrows her brow as they head towards the hotel. Her lips tilt downwards in a frown.

"...I apologize," she says at last, exhaling a soft sigh. I can't remember a 'Ge Ramda'." Not clearly, at least not right now.

She pauses, though.

"...But I remember a Ge Ramtos."

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata heads towards the inn and waves to the keeper, before going up the stairs to head towards a comfortable little room. Sadly, it's not their own bedroom or anything, so it's decidedly lacking in oodles and oodles of Lunie-isms and is not criminally sugariffic and cute as heck. (Lunie-timeout for those that swear).

"... that's-- that's the name of the Guardian of Death," Lunata explains when they're there. "But this one... Ge Ramda..."

She concentrates further -- as she sits on her bed. There's a soft glow...

... and the cube begins to shift, violating every law of conservation of mass as it expands into what looks like a katana, black-sheathed with intricate designs and mechanical segments along the centre of the blade... but also, with a very distinct octagonal piece.

It's the Original Medium.

A large lich-like figure has also risen -- seemingly straight out of Lunata's back -- at this point, letting out a little unearthly howl. It's dressed in bridal kimono with the pattern of cherry blossoms, along with ancient regalia.

... it also floats down to hide behind Lunata at this point, after it inspects Avril for a good five seconds or so. Despite the fact that it's larger than her.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

"Yes," Avril replies, once they arrive, her gaze only briefly sweeping the room before returning to Lunata and her cube. "It is. So, this Medium is..."

She doesn't even have to say it, not as the cube unfolds, impossibly, into a weapon revealing the thing that it had hidden. In silence, she nods but once and reaches into her gown, retrieving a similar-appearing octagonal piece.

Death. She had wondered if what she had felt was right, but it practically resonates with her now. Briefly, the Sea Medium flickers to life, glowing softly at its edges.

And Avril, in silence, watches the lichly figure as it seemly emerges from Lunata. Her blue eyes only slightly widen as it emits a howl, as if its sudden presence was unexpected but not...

...shocking. Or horrifying, either, even when it leans in to investigate her more closely. Blue eyes stare up at the spirit with calm intent.

"...Is this 'Ge Ramda'?" she asks at last, peering curiously -- of all things -- at the being lingering behind Lunata.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata presses her hands to her chest and her eyes widen for a moment, looking between the octagonal piece on her sword and Avril's medium. "So it... is a Medium...?" Her eyes widen. "It looked different to the ones Miss Catenna and Mister Cyre had, so we were all not sure, but..."

There's a quiet, sucking breath as she looks to Ge Ramda.

"Yes... it--" A pause. "Imparts memories of death to me... it teaches me how to-- fight, and use its power..."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Avril nods. "It is. It appears to be different to the ones the Baskar use, but I have not had the opportunity to compare. ...So you have spoken to some of the Baskar tribesfolk who make use of Mediums?" She tilts her head to one side, as if silently imploring Lunata to continue. "What I do know is that this one... and the one you hold... are both Original Artificial Mediums. That is, someone created them, at some point... and that they can forge a link between a person and the Guardians. As the name implies, it appears these are the original ones."

She glances away, towards some point in the distance. "I am... still attempting to recover my lost memories, so there is much I do not understand, about these Artificial Mediums and many other things. However, I felt the presence of your Medium." Her brow creases, and Avril frowns thoughtfully. "Perhaps the Mediums might call out to one another? Were you able to feel anything?" Her grip shifts on the Sea Medium in her grasp, as if it could more easily forge that connection through the gap between them.

And her gaze once again turns towards Ge Ramda.

"I wonder... from the name, I would surmise a connection with the Death Guardian. I have not had a similar experience with this one, the Sea Medium, but I have only encountered a handful of Original Mediums since I awoke. Perhaps this is how they are meant to be...?" Once again, Avril frowns.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Riesenlied nods slowly, saying, "They're my companions... Miss Catenna is a Zortroan priestess from Elru, and worships Celesdue, Guardian of the Moon... and Mister Cyre is from a remote village who worships Fengalon, Guardian of the Wind." A pause... as she lowers her head. "... someone-- created them? Mmm..." She still doesn't really understand the difference -- but it does make her wonder if there is some significance to how it relates to Rujm el-Hiri and the Rephaim.

"You lost your..." Lunata gasps just for a moment, then lowers her head. "I'm sorry to hear that, Miss Avril. It must be hard..." A pause, as she concentrates on the Sea Medium for a moment. Her spiritual sense is quite strong... such that she had been able to sense Mediums even before she was properly trained to them.

Ge Ramda is beginning to float at a neutral pose, but there is a distinct sense of distant fear from it.

"... I-- was..." A pause, and hesitation. "My mother had been fascinated and obsessed with a ruin closer to the Badlands, Rujm el-Hiri. A place with a powerful permeation of death, as I've been able to sense for a long time. A... lot of things happened," Lunata kind of -- glosses over a lot of details, "But... through chance, I found myself... fixed to this artifact. I don't know if it's chance, really, but...."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

Wait a moment...

Avril blinks, as if recalling something. She can't even blame amnesia for this, just a simple case of not entirely syncing up the names of people she met -- and only met in passing -- with appearances and experiences. "Ah... these people you speak of," she starts. "I believe I have met them. That's right, I do remember now... the woman with the Moon Medium. She provided assistance while we traversed the Sacred Grounds. And 'Mister Cyre', as well... I had not realized he was a shaman." Slowly, Avril shakes her head, as if slightly stunned.

"If... I knew more about the Baskar and their traditions, perhaps I could provide a better explanation. As it stands... all that I know is that this is based on ancient technology rather than shamanic knowledge. Perhaps it may become clearer if I speak to them..."

Lunata then expresses her condolences. Cradling the Sea Medium against her chest, Avril shakes her head. "It isn't... well, I suppose it's harder for me to feel upset about it. I really do not remember a thing beyond the words 'Johnny Appleseed', after all." It's hard to know what she's missing, in other words.

"Is..." Avril starts, stops, and stares at Ge Ramda. Is that...? "...Why are you afraid?" she speaks, to the silent spirit.

Lunata then explains where she found the Medium... and Ge Ramda. "A place sacred to death..." Avril murmurs, lips then pressing thin. "I see. It found its way to you. Perhaps it was fated. This one," and her fingers clutch a little more tightly over the Sea Medium, "similarly found its way into my hands. From what I have witnessed thus far, these Mediums appear to come to those to which they wish to belong."

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata perks up with her hands laced, saying, "Oh, you have? They're very kind people to me. I'm glad for their assistance and knowledge, because... well-- I'm... really all just learning this..." There's a hesitant pause. "Hmm... 'to that which they wish to belong'..."

She lowers her head. "Johnny Appleseed? Like--" A pause. "At the Starfall Saloon, we serve a lot of wines, and that was the name of a liquor from Gounon, I think...? But you probably mean something else, don't you...? Kind of like-- who the wine was named after. Like Alan Smithy."

She places her hand to her cheek... but Ge Ramda is silent and unmoving. It does, however, stare back towards Avril with a forlorn look. A distant look.

"... can I... admit something-- a bit-- scary to you?" Lunata requests, after a moment's silence further.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

"Then it appears we have something in common." Avril smiles if faintly. "There's much that I must learn."

Ever so slightly, Avril nods. "Yes... that's what we learned as well. We had traveled to Gounon since we had heard about the 'Johnny Appleseed' there, but..."

But it had turned out to be a wine.

Which, at least, was named after a person. But still not much to go on.

This nod is firmer. "Yes. I think that Johnny Appleseed is a person. I can only remember that I must find him. Perhaps, he knows who I am."

Her memory troubles might not bother her, but all the same, it's something that nags at her psyche, a puzzle she can't seem to solve regardless of how she works at it.

That look reminds her of something. Avril blinks, her gaze going a bit distant. Forlorn. She knows that feeling, somehow. Something painful happened?

Under her gloves, her knuckles have gone white clutching at the medium.

"Ah?" She jolts back to the here and now a bit abruptly. Her gaze finds Lunata. "My apologies. I... yes, please, go on."

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata has a weak smile with a nod, saying, "... it's a bit relieving that I'm not alone, at least." She thinks for a moment further, before saying, "If a name is named after a person, they must be popular, right? So it's not hopeless, to find such a person... could they be your father or something?"

There's a quiet hum of thought, looking towards Ge Ramda again. There is pain, in that eye-less look, within the emptiness of its eye sockets. Punishment, exemplified on the chains of its regalia.

"... I found this--" she hesitates. "In the cockpit of a Gear... when we were in great danger."

She rubs at her chin. "The voice inside of it echoed into my mind. It wanted me to... contact it. It asked me for what I desire... at the time, my mother had been mortally wounded by the Metal Demons. I begged for it to save her, from death... and in turn..."

She quietly pulls at the fold of her shirt -- revealing a bit of where a truly large scar that must have pierced clean through her chest still remains.

"... I think it took my life ... as part of its ... contract."

Which doesn't exactly explain how she's here, speaking to Avril, but... that doesn't particularly look like a survivable wound. Even if she appears perfectly fine, if pale.

"Did your... Sea Medium make you go through a trial of some kind... Miss Avril?"

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

"My father... It could be possible," Avril hazards. "I hadn't thought such a thing, but I suppose that it could be..." Blue eyes flicker off to one side. "I'm unable to remember anything of my family or where I come from. Only..." She shakes her head. "I suppose I shall find out in time. I don't mind however long it might take -- is it not said that it is the journey and not the destination that's important?"

Lunata explains. Avril, here, falls silent, punctuating the younger girl's statements with the occasional silent nod, encouraging her to explain further.

A Gear. She's heard of but not seen such a thing.

One blue-gloved hand parts from the Medium. It presses, gently, against her lips. "Your mother... were you able to..."

And Lunata then exposes part of her chest. Avril's lips part. Her eyes widen, a muted mask of shock. "Your... life?" Her gaze trails up and down Lunata, as if to verify that she is still hale and whole. Even with only part of the scar exposed, even with her memories of anything older than the last few months virtually non-existant, she knows that would be a non-survivable injury. "I don't understand..."

Perhaps it won't help Lunata that a more tight-lipped Avril shakes her head moments afterwards. "No. I did not. I simply... came into possession of it."

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

"... I don't understand either ..." Lunata quietly murmurs, lowering her head. "I just-- I mean, I just used to be a waitress before all of this happened. ... my mother's life was saved... but some part of me fears... no--"

She pauses.

"Some part of me knows I traded my life for hers. Even if I don't... understand how..." She hesitantly rubs at her cheek, then up towards Ge Ramda once more.

She sighs as she hugs herself a little tighter, afterwards, pulling her shirt back up. She smiles at Avril again, if a bit wan. "Yeah... the journey's really important. It's with Jay and Lunie and other friends that I travel... it's like that for you, isn't it, Miss Avril?"

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

"Lunata..." Avril looks no less than troubled, in spite of her more academic approach to experiences to date. But one would have to have a heart of ice not to feel something hearing this story. "...I wish there was more that I could say, but..." But she doesn't remember. But she has the same inkling, vaguely, that Lunata has.

Along with the sense that something seems... off. But as with most things in life since she awoke in a Golem's hand, she can't precisely put her finger on what's bothering her.

When everything feels familiar, nothing is.

"I am glad, though... that you were able to save your mother. To lose a parent..."

Nothing. She can't remember. Exhaling a soft sigh, Avril tucks her Medium away.

The smile that meets Lunata's is perhaps similarly a bit thin, but no less heartfelt. "Yes... I feel as if I would be happy traveling with my friends forever, if that was what was necessary. I'm glad that you also have good companions alongside you. Perhaps, with their help..." She trails off, shaking her head.

She can't speculate on what she doesn't know.

"...I hope this has been useful to you, even if I'm afraid I can't explain more than this."