2017-08-09: Let My Mirror See

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  • Log: Let My Mirror See
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Lily Keil
  • Where: Silver Coast
  • Date: 9th August 2017
  • Summary: Riesenlied checks in with her networks after the assault on Mount Eldrin -- Lily comes to see her.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

In the wake of their pursuit of Gryndille, Riesenlied has spent some time recovering after their rather unfortunate stint with the Wolves and their discovery of the supposed recharge station for the automaton; it's been perhaps a couple of days, and in the aftermath of it all the Demon has provided a way for Lily and the others to contact her -- she's stationed at a particular encampment not too far from Lacour, meant to be a pitstop for caravans and merchants alike.

The winged woman is dressed in her tribal Ellurian cloak, with her hood up as she speaks gently to a particular merchant and passes several sheets of paper. Business, perhaps?

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Probably, the two of them should talk to Riesenlied together, after what happened, Leon and Lily, but Lily is restless after her days dulling herself with all the alcohol the Yggdrasil can offer. She has plans to make as well, and truthfully, she's worked through hangovers already to recompile her notes, consider what's left, what remains...

But now, a woman in black steps through the counryside with an armored vest and a dark cloak, hood down and black hair down. There's a beautiful ARM rifle slung over her shoulder as she looks to the camp and...

There.

"..." Lily Keil stops short of interrupting Riese and the merchant with words, instead staring at the merchant with bloodshot golden eyes.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks towards the merchant, then bids him to go as he proceeds with the cart that he's loaded -- Lily can see that it's shipments of food, water, medicine, blankets. It's headed west. She looks towards Lily gently as she tilts her head, expressing, "Miss Lily..."

If Riesenlied was injured -- and she was -- during the assault on Mount Eldrin, she isn't showing it. And really, compared to some of her other days, she looks fine enough. "How are you doing?" [OOC] Lily Keil says, "do you have a time of day you would like?"

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Yet another person moving away from this area. Lily sees it, and her attention follows him just long enough to examine the cart and his bearing. She looks at Riesenlied again by the time the other woman speaks to her.

"Riesenlied," she replies, looking her over too in case of any obvious injuries. "Fine," Lily lies openly, though she doesn't look at all injured. Somewhat sensitive to light, to look at her, but that's all.

"I apologize for not reaching out to you sooner. How are you?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied tucks her head down as she remarks, "... fine enough. I was perhaps a bit concerned that some of your other fellows had other ideas for me..." she can't help but admit, "But it seemed to go well enough."

She bobs her head to one side. "... I express my sympathy for your plight. It is not an easy thing to discover..." she must refer to the revelation of how the Wolves were 'in' on it, how they controlled Gryndille and knew.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"I won't allow them to harm you," Lily answers, shaking her head, which she lowers slightly to get her eyes a bit more out of the midday sun. "Not outside of another battle if necessary." Well enough. That's fine. Lily sighs.

Sympathy...

"About my father?" Lily asks. "Or that I'm capable of what I did? ...No, I knew that. I can kill anyone with enough power." Pause. "...Anyone but Leon. No, I don't know." She sets a hand to her temple, "I'm sorry. I should be better by now."

"None of it was easy, but coping with crises is what I'm trained to do. Is there somewhere we can get a little more privacy? There are too many people here. I can't keep track of them all."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied laces her hands together with a quiet smile, lowering her head. "... about your father. ..." A pause, before she nods and looks towards the nearby hill, gesturing as she bids farewell to some of the other merchants -- despite her status and bounty, she seems to have quite the rapport with her. Just another indication to how well acquainted she is with people, and how she holds a reputation that isn't easily damaged.

She's headed to the hill where there's a small camp and... a certain ahriman-shaped dragon that Lily's seen before -- Muni-Muni. It's... currently distracted with a big medicine ball that it's kind of bouncing up and down as it lies flat on its back, going "Munii--", before it shrieks and stares towards Lily with a manner that kind of more suggests...

Uh... nervousness? It's certainly not aggression.

"It's okay, Muni," Riese whispers as she moves by its side and pets it on the head. "Muniii..." it whines. How dog-like!

"... such revelations are difficult, even if you are trained." A pause. "Your aura... has not faded in strength, Miss Lily. I am concerned."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Of course. Lily doesn't smile back, but she nods again in acknowledgement of Riesenlied's response, glancing to the merhants as Riesenlied interacts with them, too. "They're fond of you," she murmurs, expression slightly tight as she glances around at those she can't so easily see and interact with. Just another indication...

Walking with the Demon, the black-haired sorceress pauses as the dragon shrieks, tense with one hand clawed down at her side in an obvious expression of wariness to anyone who knows her. Lily stares back... Until Riese reassures it, and Lily relaxes slightly.

"I'm not here to harm you or her," she says to the dragon in what might not be the most reassuring voice, wary as it is. But Riesenlied is speaking again, and Lily moves to where she can face as many people as possible, back to the hill.

"Difficult... Yes, that's fair. I already suspected he might have something to do with what happened, but..." A shake of her head.

"...So you've been keeping track," she says instead. "It hasn't. It might have strengthened again. I have an apothecary working on something for it, and a friend who says she can give me some medicine that may help. Mostly all I can do is try to keep it under control. I've been practicing that."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied looks towards Lily, placing her hand on the silver brooch at her neck. She's had it for a long while now. It's a precious object, the way she often places her hand there when she needs some measure of guidance or support. "... have you thought about telling Mister Leon?"

She lowers her head. "I have only been able to sense Malevolence lately, but..." A pause. "I know enough that it isn't something that you can cope with just medicine. Support from your closest one... it is worth considering, isn't it?"

There's a sympathetic little smile. "I think he's the kind who would rather know than not be told."

Muni-Muni keeps rocking as it returns to its little... medicine ball routine. How curious. /This/ is a Metal Dragon?

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily looks at the brooch, and back up to Riesenlied's face. Her question prompts Lily to hesitate immediately, though perhaps to her credit she doesn't look away.

Muni-Muni is strange for Lily, but the simple movements are almost...

Riese's sympathy gets a sigh from Lily, apprehension writ clearly on her pale features. "...The apothecary has samples of my blood, to see if they might help. This... friend... is an expert on Malevolence. She's been able to keep hers at bay, even use it to protect herself."

She shakes her head. "I... I've thought about telling him more than I have," she admits, crossing her arms about herself, "But he has so much to burden him already. He's protected me since we were children. How can I add to that? I want to help /him/ in this, and all I'm doing is drinking." Her shoulders sink. "No, I'm asking too much of him already."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"The apothecary..." A pause. "Might you mean Miss Jacqueline?"

She bobs her head the other way, as she quietly leans against the dragon and strokes at its leathery fur. She considers just for a moment, before smiling to say, "Sometimes, sharing in your burden can be helping. Don't you think he might feel horrible if he found out you've been concealing this from him and suffering yourself all this time?"

She lowers her head. "Of course, I cannot presume to say for either of you. But... there is strength to be had in sharing. Just remember that."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily answers, "Yes. Jay's been helping me for some time already. The medicine I gave you for sleep... She gave it to me in the first place. Did I mention her at the time? I don't recall." A pause, "...Truthfully I still have a bit of a hangover."

Lily closes her eyes as they continue this subject, and she thinks she can hear the smile in Riesenlied's voice. Again she hesitates at that, opening her eyes again. "I..."

She trails off, "...Ordinarily I tell him everything. Since we were young. The only thing I couldn't tell him is that I was in love with him, and even then he got the message eventually. I'm sure he would feel awful." Her shoulders sag a little further.

"I don't know. I don't know what's best, anymore. Nothing makes sense. But I don't..." She stops. Quietly, "I don't want him to know."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied puts a hand to her head, and admits, "I made a guess, the last time. I did go to her for sleeping medicine as well, when I was gripped by anxiety attacks back during Old Petra's wake." A pause, as she lowers her head in turn.

"... I understand that. ... you're used to telling him everything, that when you acquired something that is difficult to talk about... you don't quite know what to do anymore," she expresses. "I have been in that situation before."

She looks towards the skies again, then remarks, "At least, let me support you in that. Malevolence draws upon your innermost thoughts, finds out what wounds you must... it preys on you, internally. ... it's very difficult to deal with alone."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Ah." A guess. Lily nods, recalling Riese's difficulty after what happened, if only some of it; after all, for days after Old Petra she wasn't there to talk with her at all. "I understand."

But so does Riesenlied, apparently. Lily turns her head to look at her again, watching her as she looks towards the sky. At first she remains silent.

"...Let my mirror see what bothers me," she says, sighing. "Should I? I don't talk about my problems with others, as a rule. Back when I was in the Army, I was the one others came to, if you'll believe it. I listened to their problems, tried to care for their mental and emotional health as well as their physical health. Keep them able to fight, able to keep moving."

Bitterly, "Not that it mattered, after Gryndille."

"...Malevolence reminds me... With its aura, with the way people look at me... I can feel the emotions of others, now. Negative, but I can feel them. Their anger, their fear, their hatred. And it's just one of the many things that..."

"I've always been a freak. I know that. Leon thought it was beautiful, but I know many people wouldn't, if they knew. And Malevolence just reminds me that much more how apart from everyone I am."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied has a delicate little noise, as she steps up a little closer to Lily, up the hill where she's watching the people. "... we are kindred spirits, though. There is something to be said for having an other to come to speak to. I am myself often in the position of listening to others' problems... we have both in that position."

She places her hand to her chest, brushing at that brooch.

"... I think we should be kind to ourselves, inside. We shouldn't call ourselves 'freaks'. That too often plays into a narrative someone else wants us to believe." She looks to Lily. "Much like the elder demons who wish to dispose of my Tainted brethren. Or the Kislevi who would so callously call you traitor to fit their propaganda."

She tilts her head. "... we may be apart, but we don't need to stand alone."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"We are," Lily admits. "...Are you? It seems like you, something you'd be good at," she answers. Lily herself is a little more delicate than she usually is, softer, as she reaches to a silver necklace with lingering tarnish about her neck. "I see."

"Maybe," the Kislevi woman allows. "It's strangely simple to talk with you. Maybe it shouldn't be strange." Lily Keilindness makes Lily shake her head at first. "You say that..."

Lily looks bak at Riesenlied, and looks empty-eyed for a moment as she mentions Lily being called traitor. "Alone... I'm not so sure. Being with others only subjects them to my aura. But... I would rather be able to talk to you at least sometimes."

Lily studies Riese's face as she speaks, "...I was loyal," she say quietly. "The whole time. Even knowing I could never reveal what I was to my countrymen, I was loyal." She closes her eyes, "Maybe I shouldn't call myself that, but I feel it. Normal women don't have the abilities I do without studying them." Her eyes open, still bloodshot. "Normal women..." Lily pauses, and uncrosses her arms, taking off a glove after she's sure no one is near and showing the strange, metallic markings all down her fingers and hand to Riesenlied, "Don't have these."

"...But Leon thought my magic was beautiful. And you're telling me I can be apart with someone else. You, and your Tainted. ...I want to believe that. I have no quarrel with your part of your people."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied smiles delicately as she says, "... I'm happy to be told that I am easy to talk to. It is part of what has made my community grow over these last few centuries, after all. To be able to hold people's hand and tell them that there is still a future ahead for them..."

She draws in a quiet breath. She looks towards the marking with curiousity. "Are those... Symbological markings?" A pause. "No, they... somehow they are a bit different, I think? But I am not an expert, myself."

She drapes her arms together as she admits, "... when we head west... I have plans to build a new community, to replace what has been destroyed. Wayside. It will be a village for everyone who has been cast aside, fallen by the wayside. More than just for the Tainted. For humans and others who've been wronged and left behind as well."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"If I find you easy to talk to, it might be especially true. You know by now that I find talking difficult." A pause, "But that's a kindness that you have, and I mean that seriously."

Lily tilts her hand to let Riesenlied see them a little better. They're colorful, with red, blue, and violet stretched through. "They aren't Symbological. Symbology operates under specific rules, has patterns that these don't match. I've never seen anything that matches these. They extend up my arms, up onto the biceps." A pause, "I'm not a Symbologist." Lily begins to put back on her glove.

Lily is quiet through what Riesenlied says. Wayside, it's explained and Lily is thoughtful. "Is that so..." She trails off, looks back at Riese again with a nod. "I wish you luck with it. I hope it isn't a base, this time. Though..." Lily closes her eyes, "Heh. What do the wishes of nations have to do anymore with me? Maybe I wouldn't bother fighting you anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied places her hand to her cheek as she nods, Lily confirming what she suspected. "... were these with you since birth, or were they... grafted onto you in some way?" She pauses, as she expresses, "I do not view your magic as... 'freakish'." There's a wan smile. "If I do, then I am no less of one, now am I? A strange demon, to be so gifted with a light that others may call false... I am blessed by no Goddess, after all."

She draws a breath. "It is your magic, and none other's. Don't let Malevolence taint it so. It is a gift that you should cultivate..."

A pause, as she chuckles in return. "... I would have need of your services sometime, if you are interested. As you know, there are many soldiers and fighters who have been wounded in our struggles. They are traumatised, stressed, incapable of coping with their new circumstances... I try my best to help them, but I am just one woman. I would welcome a helping hand."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"When I was young," Lily explains, "They only appeared when I actively used my abilities. They eventually become permanent. No one grafted them there that I know of," she says. "...It would be strange to have grafted them onto an infant, wouldn't it? My father found me at... four? five? I don't remember that far back." Lily manages something at least not unpleasant back, a neutral expression. "But that's fair. I appreciate it. To me it's only normal. If I /don't/ use it, I start to hurt after a while. But you have your light, just as I have my darkness. If God blessed me, I wish he'd have told me so."

She nods after a moment. "You're... right. I have ideas of what it might be, but... It is a gift. I would never give it up, no matter how strange it makes me. I do try to cultivate it." She hesitates, "Though Malevolence seems to be a part of it now... I don't know."

Lily's brief laugh fades as Riesenlied makes an offer, or a request, or whichever one it is. She blinks in surprise. "...You should know that some of them might have been wounded by /me/ in battle. Are you sure you would want not only a human, but one who has fought against you?"

Lily hesitates, but looks almost wistful as she continues, "I would help, if so. If it doesn't get in the way of our mission."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"They became permanent..." Riesenlied murmurs quietly, tilting her head. "I myself did not have this strange light until just recently. I am as much exploring this strange phenomena that's happening to me, as you have been... we both have a lot to learn about ourselves, not to mention each other."

She places her hands to her lap, both. "I know that it may seem strange, but... the difference in viewpoints is important to me. It is important they get to speak to as many people as possible... people who've encountered different things, who've grown up with a different take on life. I have already had neonates ask me what it's like to speak to a human... there is more curiosity there than you'd expect."

She chuckles. "Thank you, Miss Lily. I'll ask you again when everything is up and running. And..."

A pause. "If you'd like to use it as a safehouse in your pursuits of Gryndille headed west, then you are welcome. After all, we are in this together now."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily doesn't admit it, but she doesn't have to: she's still somewhat disturbed at the question of grafting. "It seems we do. I'll... keep an eye open for anything that seems related to your light, as well. I do research into unusual magic and abilities when I'm able." 'Each other', though. That's a strange thought.

Lily is hard to read as Riesenlied explains, thoughtful but showing little emotion, until the point of curiousity comes out and she looks somewhat distant.

"...I wouldn't have been so curious about those from Aveh, though I did talk to plenty, as an interrogator." A pause, "But I see. I could certainly provide them with a different perspective than they're used to."

It's not so bad being thanked. Lily dips her head, folding her heads as well, and then--Ah...

"...Really?" she asks. "I might... appreciate that. I would have to discuss it with the Captain, of course. But are you sure you want to be together in this? You saw what Gryndille could do. You know what I said about it."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

It is a strange thought, but it is one Riesenlied finds strangely comforting in a way. "My brethren... have been accustomed to being told to not think of the enemy as people. It is common. I imagine Kislev does much to its enemies as well. But until they start to view others as beings with feelings, thoughts and emotions..."

A pause, as she nods. "It will be helpful."

She tilts her head in thought again, before she remarks, "If I did not have any interest in its pursuit, I would not have informed you of its location when I saw chance upon it, nor agreed to help Mister Leon out. I mean it when I say that I wish to stop the abuses of the past... and Aveh and Kislev both are definitely escalating tensions and potentially on the course of repeating a tragic mistake I would rather not see again."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"It's... different," Lily says, "With Kislev. It's common for some of us not to think of our enemies as people, but I don't believe it's sustainable for most soldiers. I was taught that soldiers from Aveh are people, but that their humanity is ultimately irrelevant; we have irreconcilable goals. It's that simple."

A pause, "But if it's helpful, then I'm willing to do it. Not even sharing a species is a different factor than warfare among humans."

Lily considers. "That's... Fair. Thank you for telling us. I believe that you do mean it... And more than I once did, I believe that both Aveh and Kislev may be going down a dark path." Lily shakes her head. "I don't know that any military power can escape it. But neither can we allow the Metal Demons to eradicate us. What we should do..."

Lily shrugs. "The big picture isn't my problem. I'll just try to keep people alive. ...Your people, too."