2017-07-18: Kids Run Around the Corner
- Log: Kids Run Around the Corner
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Cyre H. Lorentz, Catenna
- Where: Lacour
- Date: 18th July 2017
- Summary: On a sunny day in Lacour, children run and play while Metal Demons and Guardian Shamans talk. Er...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It's a bright and sunshiney day in Lacour, the birds are chirping, the clouds are soft and fluffy, and the children are playing.
"Ahaha! Wait for me, Milka!" exclaims one girl as she throws her little cloth ball to toss at her friend, who reaches up and -- fails to catch it as the ball goes clear above her head and lands with a little 'sploosh' at the fountain at the centre of the Lacour square. "Oh no..."
There's a blink from a hooded lady seated at the bench next to them, draped in the stylings of an ancient Ellurian tribe with ears. "Ah...?" She picks herself up and slowly reaches in to the fountain pool, taking the ball out with a smile.
"Wow, thanks, lady!" she exclaims. "Do you want to play ball with us?"
"Um-- eh?" the hooded woman dithers just for a bit. "I suppose I could..." she warmly smiles as she gently tosses the ball back, to the laughter of the two children.
A terribly idyllic little comfortable scene, were it not for the fact that said Ellurian woman is a Metal Demon and perhaps recognisably so to some people.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Lacour is a cosmopolitan enough city that Catenna doesn't feel too self-conscious wearing the sort of skirt-and-top style she'd normally wear - that is, something recognizably foreign.
At a market stand not too far from the fountain, the dark-haired woman smiles politely across to the merchant and exchanges a few coins for some sort of pale, twisted-looking root. It's placed in the basket hanging from her left forearm, joining a few sides of meat, some more herbs, and a few spices. Nodding her thanks, she covers her stash with the neatly-patterned cloth draped inside the basket, keeping things out of plain sight or easy access to pests or dust.
She turns away from the stand and begins to move along, pausing as the ball arcs across her path and lands in the nearby fountain. "Goodness," she murmurs as she touches a hand to her cheek, her eyes tracking towards the child and the figure on the bench.
A figure who, in tossing the ball back to the children, reveals herself just enough for Catenna to see.
The priestess stops in her tracks and raises her eyebrows. Clearing her throat, she clasps her hands at her waist, then inclines her head, a hint of colour rising to her cheeks. The Metal Demon was not the person she expected to see here in the middle of the city.
"You seem to be... enjoying yourself," she murmurs.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Cyre is... On the mend? That's a good way to describe it. He's been off gallivanting around the area, undertaking adventures and expeditions into places that some might consider inadvisable. For instance! Part of his torso and most of one arm are presently wrapped tight in a set of fresh bandages, a souvenir from that one time A CEILING DROPPED ON HIM. There's some mummy-wrap around an ankle, too, from when he accidentally wind-surfed right into a broken down medicine and carpet emporium.
He's a little beat up!
This hasn't stopped him from following Catenna out into Lacour to do a bit of shopping.
"Haaah, the things they put out for sale in these big cities never cease to amaze," Cyre admires as he peers over at the bazaar. Tapestries and clothes of all stripes; exotic spices and fresh catch. Trinkets advertised as 'Baskar Curios' that he can tell were probably just whipped up in some basement sweatshop somewhere.
(That merchant may or may not shortly notice that his coinpurse has abruptly vanished)
(How mysterious~)
"Hey, Catenna, which way ne--" She stops. Cyre stops too. He peers over in the direction that she peers towards, noticing... A woman in somewhat concealing clothing? Hmm. "A friend of yours?" Cyre cants his fluffily-haired head. "Hey there~ Cute kids, huh? And who might you be?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a clipped little breath -- enough to distract her and prompt a dainty yelp as the ball's thrown her way again. Cool and charismatic commander of the Ebony Wings, this one. She palms the ball again, before smiling just a little awkwardly as she tosses the ball back towards Milka as she calls out to her.
"Miss Catenna..." she expresses, bowing her head -- locks of ashen-blonde hair bobbing down past the hem of the hood. "I was just waiting here for someone, yet..." She looks towards the children as they begin to run around the fountain. "... it was pleasing, to see such joy."
She drapes her arms a little closer around herself, tasseled sleeves pulled in a bit close. "My name is... Riesenlied," she expresses to the cat-eared shaman. Fortunately, Riesenlied is immune to cat ears, because she's charmed by fluffy feathers and Crimson Nobles instead.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Cyre's sorry state hasn't escaped Catenna's notice. She's got a few other things in her basket - mostly some spices and a couple bottles of some kind of liquid. They're the elements of Zortroan home remedies for treating catmen. "Yes... this city is quite a crossroads, Cyre," she murmurs, though her voice is a little lower now, edged with a quiet sadness.
She recognizes whomever's under that hood, that's for sure. Then the moment is broken as someone tosses the ball at Riese again. Catenna starts slightly and clears her throat. "Dear me," she murmurs, touching a hand to her cheek.
The surprise passes. Her hands remain lightly folded as she inclines her head to Riesenlied simply, though the sadness in her eyes lingers, subtle but there for those who know to look for it. "I am glad that you are still well, Riesenlied," she says as she takes a single step forward, seemingly more inclined to talk to the Metal Demon in the neutral city than to start a fight.
"I should hope that there has been some joy in your life," she offers. "And that your companions have treated you well."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"My, look who it is," hums a suspiciously familiar voice from right behind Cyre's ear; stepping forward to suddenly lean around the pair of shamans is a flamboyant girl in a black and crimson dress and a terrifically amused grin, her presence tinged ever so slightly with the sensation of a Guardian's power on her - if a rather dark one. The Crimson Noble stands out from the crowds at an instant, her contrast to the Drifters and townsfolk milling through the city obviously a purposeful choice. "It's a small world, to see so many familiar faces all here at once, hm? Lacour is a rather interesting place right at this moment."
... she's obviously kind of drinking in the stare of the kids playing ball, looking rather prideful as she slips past to sit down next to Riesenlied with a pleased hum. (... and yet, her expression gets dented a little when one boy nudges another with an elbow to ask "Isn't she gonna be hot? Eugh.")
"Miss... Catenna, was it not?" she hums to herself; even if they haven't officially met, Noeline's seen enough of the shaman to be aware of that much, and her eyebrows raise as she looks towards Cyre. "Ah, and Mister Cyre as well. You know, I'd been meaning to catch your ears at some point, if you'll pardon the phrase."
Still, there's something ever so wary in her pose, at least until she takes stock of Riesenlied's expression; the vampire seems to take the lack of tension there as enough of a sign, and relaxes her shoulders in turn.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
There are Zortroan home remedies specifically for catmen?
Wow, they really are... 'beast tamers.'
Now, Cyre is a pretty sharp guy. He'd have to be; you don't get by in the world without having some kind of street smarts, and Cyre's got more than most. So when, for instance, he runs into a WANTED ABOMINATION AGAINST FILGAIA/METAL DEMON out in the middle of the street, he will tend to recognize her! Especially when said ABOMINATION AGAINST FILGAIA/METAL DEMON outright tells him her name.
That's like, rule number one in the list of 'things you just don't tell people out loud.' Especially if they've seen (vague caricatures of) your face before.
"You're--" Cyre's eyes suddenly narrow. His hand shoots underneath his cloak to grasp at something that might be a knife, or might be something else entirely. But then Catenna... Doesn't... React like he would expect...?
...
"Catenna, uh," Cyre glances at the woman. He glances back to the WANTED ABOMINATION AGAINST FILGAIA/METAL DEMON, then again to Catenna. "...What are you-- daugh!"
Cyre jumps! Not actually. He just kind of jolts and then throws his back against a nearby and conveniently placed wall. But this one... He actually recognizes.
"...Noeline." Cyre breathes. "Fancy seeing you here, too."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied drapes her hands a little closer into herself, with a faint and genteel sigh. "... of those that remain, yes." She lowers her head, with a softer smile still. "It has been a trying few weeks with what has happened... and I have yet to return to pay my respects to those that have passed away in the wake of the attack."
Certainly, one should probably be a lot more careful with their bounty and status, but...
... I mean...
This is Riesenlied. Lying is not one of her specialties -- in fact, lying is probably one of her least competent skills, and honesty is in turn probably her brightest virtue.
There's a tender smile as her expression mirthfully rises and her eyes shine a little. "Noeline, I was waiting..." as she places a hand to the Crimson Noble's, even as she yelps when the girls come around a second time to pass her again.
"Pass the ball, pass the ball, miss!"
"Okay, okay...!" Riesenlied calls out, giving the ball a light underhand toss once more.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
With a hiss of breath, Catenna jumps a couple of inches, startled by the whispered words just behind herself and Cyre. She brings her expression back under control quickly, shifting a little to follow Noeline with a pensive look - and a hint of a frown. She can feel that hint of something familiar floating around the so-called Crimson Noble. "It was, yes," she greets politely, weaving her fingers together as she nods to the woman. "Hello, Noeline."
Actually, Catenna did meet Noeline once. They went to a clothing store with Lunata once, when Catenna was in the miserable phase known as 'The Shorts Phase.'
As Cyre goes for a weapon, Catenna reaches out to lay a hand on his shoulder. She gives her head a shake. "Not here," she says quietly, her eyes holding his for just a moment.
When she looks back to the horrible, abominable Metal Demon that is Riesenlied, she opens her mouth to say something - but cuts off. She keeps the hand on Cyre's shoulder as though to make sure he sees Riesenlied playing ball with children and smiling like the nice person Catenna's sure she is. Her eyes dart towards him again.
Things are complicated, Cyre, the gaze seems to say.
To Riese, she nots gravely. "I had heard something about a village, yes. It is unfortunate things happened that way. Though it is... perhaps understandable, that so many are angry. After all, many fell in the attack on Adlehyde, as well - many of whom were innocent."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
If nothing else, Noeline seems to approve of and enjoy Cyre's first reaction; her grin is wide and fanged as her eyes follow the shaman's hand reaching into his cloak. "My, to think you'd be so wary. And here I thought you were the laid-back sort," she smirks. "And, well. Lacour is the place to be, right at this moment, after all."
Still, the abrasiveness of the Crimson Noble does seem to fall away, and she huffs fondly as she watches Riesenlied get roped into another round of passing the ball, a hand on the winged woman's shoulder. "My apologies. I was a little held up with preparations," she admits, bowing her head ever so slightly. "But you seem to have made a couple of friends, at least, in the interim."
"You're looking well," Noeline adds as she tilts her head towards Catenna, carefully easing her way past the talk of Old Petra at least for the moment. "I've heard a fair bit of your exploits in the time since."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"Being laid-back's got nothing to do with..." His eyes dart back towards Riesen, where she SINISTERLY PLAYS CATCH WITH CHILDREN. Has she laced the ball with some kind of Baby Poison? Is it, perhaps, an Evil Ball!? Probably not. "...What's going on here." He sighs, hand slowly retreating from whatever it was he was going for in there. "I don't know how you can be so relaxed, considering present company."
He is, after all, a Baskar.
If there's anyone who needs to be concerned about someone suddenly knifing him in the front-- or anywhere else-- it's a Metal Demon. You know, the very same people who are (apparently, according to a depressed martial artist) putting HIS people in their sights.
"Of course people are angry about Adlehyde. What did they even do to deserve that? Those people will spend years, maybe decades rebuilding-- if they even decide to stick around, rather than moving someplace that ISN'T a smoldering bombed out ruin."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks towards the children again. Many have fled here from Adlehyde, or for other reasons. Others yet have fled elsewhere, bereft of home, bereft of family and friends. Her heart reaches out to them, yet she can't do more than give an anonymous helping hand as she has been, through Gwen's service, through other means in turn.
And while it is understandable, justifiable is perhaps another question -- but it isn't a question Riesenlied seems intent to dwell on.
Were the Tainted of Old Petra at fault? It would loathe Riesenlied to see hatred spread to a matter of race, a matter of species... and the wounds are yet too fresh for people to be able to sift out their emotions.
"The Tainted," she speaks, "were not at Adlehyde."
She catches the ball again, looking down towards its patterns. "And it was not humans that waylaid our village. You should be aware of the crimson Gear that visited us, and its pilot, Id. It is a force beyond any means of human reckoning, and the reason I came to Ignas in the first place."
She looks towards the skies for a moment, before tossing the ball again. She watches the children run.
"I would not have wished for Adlehyde to happen, if it were at all possible for me to prevent... yet, those words must sound so fallow now." There's a faint noise of sorrow. "All I can do is teach. Teach that hatred is not the only way of life."
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I cannot fairly say that my exploits are all that great," Catenna says with a shallow dip of her head. "But thank you, Noeline. I hope you have also been well... I have been... rather out of touch with you of late, I think."
She glances towards Cyre again and gives her head a shake. "Riesenlied was... among the Drifters for some time, before the events in Adlehyde. I have seen that she is not like the others," she says quietly. "And Lacour is a neutral town... one where we must not break truces, or seek bounties. Even upon those we believe have wronged us."
As she turns back to Riesenlied, her lips curve into a small, anxious frown. "Id?" she murmurs, tilting her head to one side.
A low breath leaves her, verging on a sign. "Neither of us will convince the other, Riesenlied... and I am sure that we will not always have... pleasant conversations, when we meet." That's a laugher: Catenna's god would very much like her to get rid of all this metal anathema, thank you. It's much easier for her with someone like Vorthuzahl, though. "For now... this is no place to argue what is different between us, as profound as it is."
Her eyes search Riesenlied's face, seeming to commit the woman's features to memory - or rather, to compare them against her memories. As though to try and sense if Riese has changed in the time since she last saw her. "I would not describe my feelings towards you as... hate. Some of your companions, I believe, wish nothing more than to exterminate humans." Vorthuzahl, for one. "I know you are not one of them."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Really, now--" sighs the Crimson Noble, her eyes looking to one side to follow the line of the town; she seems somehow let down, her brow furrowing as she shakes her head. "Not all humans are the same. Not all demons are the same. Should I, as a Crimson Noble, consider you a thief just because bandits exist?" she adds as she looks back towards Cyre - and perhaps is well aware of what the shaman pulled with that merchant earlier, the way her eyes light up as she makes the point.
"As such, I sit by Riesenlied because I believe in her personal ideals - and in her hopes that there might be peace," she adds, flicking out her hair as she does so. "Not to mention that I would not be here were I not absolutely, concretely certain that she did not wish Adlehyde to have happened," the vampire continues when her hand settles, putting her voice behind Riesenlied and Catenna both as she lightly tilts her head.
She pauses, and perhaps cannot resist a light grin towards Cyre. "Besides, would you face an injured opponent seeking sanctuary? ... Old Petra has left its mark, on Riese and the other demons both. Surely you've heard how the two races were able to come together for a moment to aid each other in the face of that thing's attack?"
Throughout her comments, she's kept her hand on Riesenlied's arm, clearly affectionate - especially when she sighs and shakes her head. "Really, though-- there are nicer things to talk about, surely." She lifts her free hand to reveal a lightly steaming bag, and seems inordinately pleased about that much. "Such as playing catch, and enjoying freshly baked treats."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"The heck is a tainted?" Cyre asks; there's a look in his eye that one could describe as something close to that of a wary beast. His senses are keen, honed, focused. "And what's that got to do with what happened there? What might still happen somewhere else? Just being... sorry for what happened doesn't change that it did, in fact, happen."
It doesn't make the dead walk again.
And more importantly, wasn't this one /at/ Adlehyde?
How can they be talking about all this like she can just be... trusted, at the drop of a hat?
"Yeah, well, the difference is that most humans don't have a history of trying to wipe everything /else/ off the planet," Cyre answers Noel, his voice approximately as tight and hard-wound as just about every muscle in his body. "But, fine," he finally sighs, leaning back against that brick wall. "Anything I'd do to deal with this properly wouldn't be good for the neighbourhood anyway, and I try to make it a point to not risk hurting kids."
"Besides, I guess the lady does have a point," he tilts his head toward Catenna. "Even if I'm pretty sure 'belief's' not got much to do with this."
"So, Noeline. Miss Crimson Noble," His own eyes seem to flash, catching the light just so in the shadow of the building behind him. "What did you need to talk to me about, exactly?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
She lifts her head towards the skies again, then towards Cyre. "The Tainted," she speaks, "is a term that has spread throughout our culture over centuries. The Tainted are any that have been judged unfit for service. Physically, mentally, emotionally debilitated demons... those that have been injured beyond compense... and treated no better than failures, as trash. It was at Old Petra that we tried to make our home."
"Perhaps we are all one and the same to you. It may not matter what I chose to do in Adlehyde: to minimise casualties, and to try to convince people that the Golems are not something that should ever be seen awakened lest we repeat a calamity on the scale of the Day of Collapse. Perhaps it does not matter that those that have been waylaid had nothing to do with the actions of others. Perhaps that is your prerogative."
"You may not believe in it... and I would not fault you so..." Riesenlied speaks faintly, "But I still believe in that new world."
There is a weariness that has only been expounded upon since Adlehyde, yet within that tiredness that's entranced into her, there is a resolve that has only redoubled itself. "I seek that new world... a new world where we can all flourish together."
At that point, the children come again and her reverie is rather abruptly disrupted when one of them launches themselves onto Riese's lap. "E-eh?"
"Are you talking adult stuff?" asks the child, peering up with a quizzical face at Riese. "Adult stuff's boring and scary."
"Ah..." she pats the child on her head, before smiling a bit awkwardly. "I can excuse myself, if it would be better..."
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Tis entire conversation bothers Catenna more than a little. The last thing she wants is to let Metal Demons off the hook. And yet, there's Riesenlied - someone who lied to her again and again, but who nevertheless has a sincerity about her that makes Catenna /want/ to believe she means well.
"I had heard something of what happened, but... not overmuch. I was not part of it. I do not... customarily make myself part of a mob." Her lips curl downwards just slightly.
Shifting her basket in the crook of her left arm, Catenna moves her opposite hand to rest at her nip, nodding back to Noeline simply. "We have our reasons for being where we are. I shall follow the path of the Moon. It is the path I know, and the path I have chosen."
Even if it leads me against Riesenlied, she resolves with a sadness weighing on her soul.
Before Catenna can continue to have a sad, however, children come toddling in. For a moment, Catenna looks on as Riesenlied deals with the adorable little urchins. They're not something Catenna must confront in her daily life all that often.
She stoops, and she picks up the ball from where it has fallen - and she smiles gently. "Riesenlied," she calls gently, before casting the ball underhand towards her.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
It's an unfortunate alignment of circumstance, that Cyre is, among the Drifters, one who has what is likely to be the least number of non-adverserial encounters with the Metal Demons. In many ways, the prejudices of Filgaia are his prejudices. To have been born into the priesthood, to have heard the stories and lived the traditions-- even the most free-spirited, laid-back of individuals could find his worldview twisted by hatred, grudges and bitterness with origins centuries old.
From his perspective, wariness is justified. So whispers the wind.
But that's not a matter for children. Speaking of children, their sudden (re)appearance has Cyre draw his hood back up over his head. No need to tempt fate, after all.
"That's the same trick you showed me back at the abbey, isn't it?" Cyre asks as Noeline gathers that tiny orb of darkness. "Well, I guess there's no harm in teaching the kids a thing or two about the Guardians, is there?"
Better that than indoctrinating them in certain OTHER faiths that shall not be named.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is not a stranger to such grudge and bitterness. And in many ways, she can't expect to convince everyone overnight, let alone at all. This is just a matter of life, no matter how sad and traumatic it can be.
She's not the type to just let things go easily. She bears it into herself.
The child peeeeers at Noeline just for a moment, before saying, "Nuh uh! Momma says I shouldn't take things from strangers!" which is rich given she's just come to go 'flumph' onto a stranger's lap.
But then the magic trick occurs, and she goes, "Oooh! How did you do that, missus?"
Riesenlied looks towards Catenna as she's suddenly called, though. "--oh!" she accepts the ball, looking just a little bit bashful.
"Um..." She looks towards the other child not on her lap, then tosses it to her. "... thank you."
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Quietly, Catenna watches Noeline summon up that magic. There's something of a question in her eyes but she leaves it unasked. She's not sure what the woman actually /is,/ nor is she entirely certain why someone drawing on the Guardians' magic is openly siding with the Metal Demons.
But there's a time and a place. She lets it lie.
As Riese tosses the ball around, Catenna takes a slow step back to stand beside Cyre, casting the blonde Metal Demon a little smile. Perhaps she's urging her to keep playing?
Leaning over to Cyre, she murmurs, "Riesenlied is one of those who has a good heart in her... if more of the Metal Demons were as she was, perhaps things would be alright."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"It /is/ the same trick," Noeline confirms aloud - and true enough, perhaps one of the reasons she's displaying this here and now is to make the point that the world is somewhat more complex than simply 'Guardian vs. Demon'. Or perhaps not, because she's busily winking at the young child, drinking in the praise with a terribly prideful hum. "I did it by concentrating - and because I'm a bi~ig powerful Crimson Noble, you know," she huffs, showing her fangs in a mischievous sort of way as she answers the girl over Cyre. Wow, snubbed.
"What about if you aren't taking - what if I'm offering, instead? Besides, if I tell you my name is 'Noeline', we aren't strangers anymore, hmm?" she adds as she tilts her head with a bright smile, looking towards Riesenlied in hopes of lifting the other woman's spirits for a moment.
Evidently, her ability to manage the power has grown as of late, allowing her to roll the little ball between her hands, then shape it into a little flame on the end of one finger. ... her reserves still aren't much to speak of, though, the power drifting away into so much in the way of little wisps a moment later.
"Actually, I thought I might ask for some advice in how to get a little better at such things," she comments lightly - and evidently seeks to drop Cyre and Catenna right into hot water, because she leans into the adorable ragamuffin. "You know, Mister Cyre and Miss Catenna there are also quite talented at that sort of thing. You could get them to show you."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Uuuuugh you damn women why are you throwing him under the bus like this, children are the woooooooooooorrrrrrssssst.
Cyre glances over Catenna-wards and just sort of shrugs. "I'll take your word for it," at least for now, "And try to reserve judgment." For now. If she bites the head off a child to drink the marrow from his bones or something, THAT WILL BE A DIFFERENT STORY. Good thing Riese isn't the type to do that.
Right?
R...right.
"Ahhh, well," he scratches at the nape of his neck through his hood. "That might be, but the wind is pretty... invisible, you know? It's the wind." He gestures vaguely into the air. "But I guess I could do a little something--" His finger indicates in that little ball's direction, "Ladies, mind your skirts around the children, please. No need to give them any strange ideas so soon."
Suddenly, a gust of wind captures the ball in mid-air. Little vortices toss it playfully to and fro, dribbling it across the ground and up walls. With one last flourish that quite possibly involves bouncing it off Noeline's head (FOR SUCH A RUDE SNUB~), Cyre launches it back towards its inevitable destination. "Not bad for a parlor trick, huh? These powers and more may be yours, kids, if you study your Guardians and try your best to listen to them! Heh, you have to be pretty lucky too, though."
"Or unlucky. It depends, I guess."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied watches that spell of Noeline's be cast as well, some part of her fearful at the back of her mind still... but she isn't sure of what. For Noeline's sake, for what will happen if it is discovered back home? To her own fear of the Guardians? It is a complicated feeling.
She still has no further answers to how she can address the Guardians and their hate. No progress in how she can speak to one, to understand what it is that truly rattles them. It hurts.
"Miss, miss!" the girl exclaims to Catenna, hucking the ball her way. The other girl, though, is evidently more interested in the display of magic going on. "Is that like -- maaagic? Show me some magic, miss, mister!"
She waves her arms around. "Whooosh! Water makes wind, wind makes fire dance, they say!"
D-do they? I suppose, nu...
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna keeps out of the discussion of magic. She simply smiles and catches the ball as the girl tosses it her way.
She balances it on one finger and gives it a little spin, then tosses it back to the girl with a warm smile. "Can you balance it on your finger like that?" she asks the child.
She doesn't seem to be engaging with the magical discussion... but she's watching the exchange between the Metal Demon, the Crimson Noble and the catman in her peripheral vision, and listening keenly. MAIL: Mailbox purged.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline watches the little ball and its shared ownership, her expression - not exactly peaceful just yet, but certainly content to let the topic be as she watches it bob around in the air between them; she catches it as it comes back towards her, turns her hands towards the girl displaying an interest - and then opens her palms, grinning as she reveals that it's simply disappeared.
"Not bad, hm?" she chimes pleasantly, snickering softly to herself - but sneaking her hand into Riesenlied's as she does so, to give it a quiet squeeze of reassurance. Her expression flicks over in the blonde's direction, then nudges the little bag towards her. "... it will be alright," she adds quietly, privately - and whether she's talking about the war as a whole, or her power compared to that of Mother's, at least at the moment she's full of conviction in that affirmation.
"Sadly, I'm not all that good at anything big. I'm just a beginner, you know?" she winks to the girl, then looks up towards Catenna, all smiles as she addresses the open air. "Ah, but thinking of that, I understand that the Arena is doing something rather grand-scale. How on earth did they manage to pull something like that off, I wonder? It certainly makes the matches look like quite a sight."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
There might very well be a way. Cyre might in fact know it. The trouble is the risk involved. If a Metal Demon tried speaking with a Guardian, what are the chances that the Guardian would just reach over and flay the Demon where it stands? Probably not terrible. And if Cyre knows Fengalon well, the big fluffy pussycat proooobably wouldn't have much patience to spare for that kind of thing.
Besides, that sort of magic is only really to be used as a last resort, not for... Frivolous things like conversation.
"I've already shown you kids as much as I can do without making a mess of the marketplace, you know," Cyre huffs, crossing his arms under his cloak. "But I think big sister Catenna here might be able to do more. Maybe she might even be able to make you kiddos fly for a little while. That'd be fun, wouldn't it?"
BALL'S IN YOUR COURT, CATENNA.
"The Arena's something else," he says with a shrug, then. "But I couldn't tell you what the deal with it is. It's a little beyond me, you know? I'd ask a symbologist. Or someone back at the Abbey."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied -- reaches to Noeline's hand, not even really trying to make it subtle. They're romantically involved, and open about it; she scoots just a bit closer, smiling a bit tenderly towards the Crimson Noble for support.
"Surely, standard training would have effect...?" Riesenlied has to offer, looking towards that flame as Noeline manipulates it. "I could instruct you on some of the meditative techniques I have been practicing..."
The girl, however, just kind of pumps and says, "Yeah, I wanna fly! And make a mess of the market, mister, it'd be /cool/!"
Ah, to be five years old again and without worry.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"My understanding is that the stage trick is, ah... a use of symbology. They have several casters standing by to make the changes," Catenna explains. She sends a mellow smile Noeline's way, canting her head. "Most of those tricks tend to be based on symbols... the power of the Guardians would not generally be drawn upon by common casters."
Cyre makes a suggestion. Catenna blinks a couple of times and admits, "I... actually do not know how to make people fly."
Catenna: Queen of the Buzzkills.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"Just make her float a little bit," Cyre says, wiggling his fingers over at Catenna, "I mean, gravity, right? If you can manage that, I'll take care of the rest. WITHOUT wrecking the rest of the market."
"Even if it would be kind of cool."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks between the two of them, perhaps quietly sighing faintly and trying to not voice her own concerns... but then the child pouts to go, "Ohh, I guess..." Her friend calls out to her, and she goes, "Thanks for playing with me, everyone!" and then they run off, again without another worry in the world.
"... thank you for stilling your hand, at least... I can say that much," she expresses to Cyre, then bows her head. "Please be well."
She looks again to Noeline, before she slips away towards the street towards where their hotel would be. There's still quietly wounded expression on her face, though it's not one borne from this conversation...