2017-08-24: Rescue in the Desert
- Log: Rescue in the Desert
- Cast: Riesenlied, Matilda Whitehead, Kaguya
- Where: Great Aveh Desert
- Date: 24th August 2017
- Summary: Kaguya wanders through the desert in search of safety...
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
It's hot.
It is so, so hot. The sun beats down on Kaguya's back as she rides her chestnut mare through the desert, shoulders drooping until she's practically oozed against the horse on her way through, dressed loosely in flowing layers of cloth. ...Mostly, a big cloak that she has the hood up on. She looks very mysterious. She just also looks...
Well, /tiny/ on a horse.
"It's fine," she says, her voice carrying a little in the way a high, nervous voice can carry. "You know, totally fine. It's not like we're lost or something. I've been checking the stupid, unfamiliar map all the time. It's not like this place ALL LOOKS THE SAME or something!"
Kaguya pauses, and pets the horse's neck. "Sorry, sorry, not your fault. You're not one of those smelly humans. It's fine. We still have supplies."
Sigh. Kaguya sighs.
"It was nice when we ran into the bandits wasn't it? Yeah, totally."
...Kaguya keeps riding. Her pace is not exactly fast. Her ARM glints in the sun as she starts to pull the map again. "We should be..." She pauses. "Uuugh." The map goes away.
"This sucks," she whines.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is... actually probably carrying Matilda this time, unless Matilda's opted to get the Honeybee. Her choice, but her small-profile Dragons being able to fly does give them somewhat of an edge when it comes to canvassing the desert, and she's been taking pains to ensure that she's updating her sand quadrant (oh noooo, we'll be finding Triumph Fork pieces here soon).
She pauses, however, as she spots the rider, pulling down gently -- Kaguya can tell that it's Muni-Muni, with a familiar head of ashen-blonde hair and that Ellurian cloak!
"Excuse me, are you a traveller? I--" A pause, as she draws closer... her eyes widen.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
... truthfully, Matilda Whitehead is /not/ out here to find Kaguya. When it happens, that will be a nice bonus. ... as shameful as it is to admit, Matilda's personal reason for leaving Wayside is to find new sources of plant life that can actually cope with this hellscape of a desert.
It's not that there /aren't/ options for that, mind -- she even has some of them! She can even source plants on this side of the front from Krosse, if she really wants. ... but it's better to work with an abundance of caution, in times like this, than not.
Given the options of 'be carried' or 'drive the Honeybee,' Matilda has chosen the latter; there was a fair bit of nervousness surrounding that particular choice, given the circumstances, but... at the very least, she feels nice and safe in the cockpit. She spots the rider, but doesn't /quite/ have a good look, given the resolution of the display in her cockpit.
... which, for the moment, she does not yet pop open. "... Yes -- please, identify yourself," she says, voice gentle, over the loudspeaker. She really can't see who it is just yet, besides 'someone in a cloak.'
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya doesn't even /notice/ the Gear in her complaining. She's busy with her horse. She doesn't at first notice the Dragon, either. No she's pretty much just looking out ahead, because the cloak blocks her peripheral vision.
She has seen a lot of cacti, though. A lot of them. She has some samples.
So when the shadow of a Gear passes over her she doesn't notice it. When the greeting hits her she doesn't look over at first. "If you're a bandit," Kaguya sighs, "You're really wasting your time. You..." As she turns, she looks over to see Riesenlied, and blinks. "You..." She hears Matilda's voice, from a loudspeaker, and blinks, her hoo falling off as she cranes up her neck to look. "...Buh?"
"Wow," she says, "My hallucinations are getting really detailed. It's nice to see you." She smiles, almost gently, happily, and... Really doesn't look like she believes either one is here. Beat, "Oh, I'm Kaguya," she says belatedly. "Recent escapee of prison."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied blinks just a moment longer, before she gasps aloud, "Kaguya...!" as she has Muni-Muni approaches closer, looking overjoyed as she bobs back and forth with a really bobbling glee. She pauses, before she immediately reaches to her pack to offer a jar of water towards her. "You're-- you're all right... oh, thank goodness... we're here, we are real."
She looks towards Matilda and beckons for her to come closer, before saying, "The village is not too far from here. You'll be safe."
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda has to actually pop the cockpit to get a decent look at... well, what she's looking at. "... Kaguya?" she asks, despite Kaguya having, in fact, introduced herself. /She's/ a little incredulous, too. "Heavens -- we were planning a /prison break/," she says, blinking a few times. ... she's honestly not sure this is real, either.
She starts to ride her tow-rope down from the cockpit toward the mounted girl, "I -- I didn't even fully know what happened to you, after I -- did what I did. ... I'm not really sure what happened to /me/."
She slides across the sand a little, moving up toward Kaguya, arms spread to either side. ... is Matilda asking for a /hug/?
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Oh hey, Muni-Muni," Kaguya says to the dragon with a little wave. But Riesenlied approaches and Kaguya blinks at her again, looking down to the water and up to her and--It starts to sink in more as they talk. "Huh...?" Hesitantly, Kaguya takes the water.
"I knew you'd come," she says, almost guitly, before she uncorks the jar and starts... outright downing it. She looks sunburnt, and her lips are dry, her fingers red. But her saddlebags look full of /stuff/, too.
"Riesenlied?" she asks, handing the water back. "Atida...?" She hestates again. "I-Is it really? I'm..." She looks a little smaller still in those moments, her eyes big and liquid as she looks between both and sees Matilda move up her way. "I--"
"Y-You stay here," she tells her horse, and starts to dismount, only to slip and outright fall into a pile on the ground. "O-Ow..." She drags herself up quickly though, and rushes Matilda's way, hugging her quickly and a little more tightly than it looks like she can. "Atida! You /are/ okay!" She sniffles. "A-and Riesenlied and... And I've been travelling for days a-and--!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied backs away a little as she lets Kaguya down the jar of water, smiling as she lets her have her moment... then looks towards Matilda with a somewhat surprised look on her face at the gesture for a hug.
She yelps just a bit as she helps Kaguya down, stroking that chestnut horse a little and pacifying it from the sudden movement. "We've been canvassing this desert to keep an eye out, but I couldn't have imagined we'd have this kind of luck...!"
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"Ahaha... don't get /too/ excited -- I only have a few hundred good steps a day in me for the next few days," Matilda admits, with a good-natured giggle and a smile as she returns that sincere embrace. "I never expected -- ah, wait -- days?" Matilda blinks, before asking, "You -- really don't waste any time whatsoever, do you...?"
She gives a big, genuine smile, looking to Riesenlied and then back to Kaguya. "I was so worried they'd simply execute you... ahhah, you should have seen me -- staggering around camp like some bitter, vengeance-starved sergeant..."
She facepalms, admitting, "I'm a little -- embarrassed, now, ahah... what exactly happened? How did you get free?"
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"That's fine," Kaguya says with a little sigh, "I can carry you for at least like fifty more." She sounds... unusually /happy/ for her, to be here hugging Matilda for the moment. She doesn't move back for the moment, though she does glance back at Riesenlied. "Oh thanks, I'm hoping Petal isn't too upset. She's had to do a lot of travelling too. And I don't know anything about horses."
A pause, "You really have? Wow... Um..." Pause. "I'm not actually sure where I am, I have a map but..."
She leans her head on Matilda as they stand. "I should've! You were really worried about me?"
A beat, as she finally starts to pull back after a squeeze, glancing between both woman. "Oh uh... I mean, you don't have to be embarrassed," she says first, and then shakes her hand, waving her hand dismissively. "Well, you know. A human prison can't hold a Veruni." Wait, Kaguya mentioned that to Matilda? "I knew as soon as I woke up that I could get out. It was just a matter of the right time." She stops and then grins, "...It is pretty lucky, huh?" Her bravado can't entirely cover the tears in her eyes though. ...Or the exhaustion. A desert isn't much of a place for a sick girl. "I just want out of this /wind/," she admits. "Sand is everywhere, and it felt like somebody took a razorblade to my face." You paged Elhaym van Houten with 'i really liked the lamb tonight'
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied strokes at Petal's cheek for a moment, nudging her head down towards its snout. "... that's all right. She's a strong one -- a healthy horse for the desert." It's probably not surprising that Riesenlied is good with horses... animal empathy is not all that far from her usual purview, after all.
She looks towards the two, not wanting to interrupt their moment too much. "You'll have to regale us the tale of your escape... later," she beckons for Matilda to bring her to her Gear. "We'll get you to Wayside. Val and your wagon are both waiting, as is everyone else." There's genuine enthusiasm from her voice as well.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"I'll hold you to that," Matilda says wryly, before looking to Riesenlied. "And here I was, concerned about coming out her with you... this really does feel like some kind of miracle -- but then, I suppose the only miracles here are the ones we make for ourselves." ... she thinks about what she just said for another few seconds, and starts to get a little sad again.
She starts toward her Gear, saying, "Please -- ride with me. The cockpit's enclosed, and there's room enough for you to sit behind the cockpit, and the loudspeaker button is within reach if you want to talk to Miss Riesenlied while we move..." She adds, awkwardly, "... behind the cockpit is a refrigerator with a blueberry pie in it."
She moves toward the tow cable that'll take the pair of them up, saying, "Hang on to me. ... the horse will follow, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Oh, you can tell?" Kaguya asks Riesenlied, though she doesn't really question the Demon's skill and ability as a rule. ...Or knowledge. Or most things.
"Oh um... Sure," Kaguya says about her tale, though she blinks happily at Riesenlied. "...Are they really waiting...?" A beat, and a bite of her lip, "It would be nice to see Val. And my wagon!" Pause. "Is my other horse going to get jealous? Is that how that works?"
Kaguya looks back to Matilda and smiles, "Okay. Or I guess I'll hold you to it?" A beat, "...I'm glad you came. Don't worry about miracles or whatever. We saw each other, and that's good enough."
The request comes to her and Kaguya hesitates. "That's..." She pauses. "That sounds really nice... Though couldn't I just sit with you? I won't get in the way." Her cheeks flush, hard to spot under the sunburn. "Though I mean, pie's... good?"
She does like talking to Riesenlied. "Oh sure but um..." She pauses, and looks to Riesenlied. "Are you sure Petal will follow us? I don't want to leave her..." She frets, a little unlike herself. "I um... I had wanted to introduce Atida to you, Riesenlied... N-nothat I guess I have to... U-um, nevermind. But it's fine right? She'll follow?" The look of 'please?' is obvious on her face, about as daughterly as it gets.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied smiles just a little more sadly, as she says, "Miss Matilda and I are... acquainted from before. Though I suppose our relationship has been... strained at times, due to what I've done." She pats Petal on the head again as she says, "Don't worry, I'll make sure she follows us."
She strokes the horse at the cheek again, looking at her for a moment longer... before gesturing further towards the two. She slips up onto the horse's back, looking rather at ease upon it as Muni-Muni floats up alongside them. "Muni will lead us back." Elhaym van Houten (Elly) pages: we didn't have lamb much at our churasscurias here in eagleland
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"Ah -- yes, it's as Miss Riesenlied says," Matilda replies, softly. The pair ride up into the cockpit of Matilda's Gear; there /is/ room in Matilda's lap, though whoof, what an awkward fit. ... but if Kaguya reaaaaally wants it...
Closing the cockpit, Matilda swivels the machine's directional microphone focus toward Riesenlied so they can keep talking. "Thank you for attending to the horse," she says, over the loudspeaker. Then, to Kaguya, she says, "I -- erm... I had them move your wagon into the sun in the evenings, so the flowers could get some sun without being scorched or wind-blasted," quietly. "I hope it's all right -- I did some pruning on the specimens I recognized, too."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Matilda. Kaguya blinks and then nods. "Oh..." She glances between the two again. "Well, that sucks. I hope you can get along..." She worries about that a little. "I mean..." She considers. Things Riesenlied has done. "...All right. I won't worry." A smile at Riesenlied.
Kaguya waves to Riesenlied before hanging onto Matilda, making her way up into the cockpit and... totally sitting in Matilda's lap. This is a foregone conclusion. Kaguya just curls up there, staying close.
She's tired. r "Thank you Riesenlied!" Kaguya says, and continues to get Riese's name right with no trouble at all, for some reason. Then the mic picks up, "...Did you really...? No that's great, I really appreciate it. I haven't been able to take care of them..."
A little laugh, "It's funny... I left my wagon to go look for Riesenlied, and then she finds me with you..."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Matilda. Kaguya blinks and then nods. "Oh..." She glances between the two again. "Well, that sucks. I hope you can get along..." She worries about that a little. "I mean..." She considers. Things Riesenlied has done. "...All right. I won't worry." A smile at Riesenlied.
Kaguya waves to Riesenlied before hanging onto Matilda, making her way up into the cockpit and... totally sitting in Matilda's lap. This is a foregone conclusion. Kaguya just curls up there, staying close.
She's tired.
"Thank you Riesenlied!" Kaguya says, and continues to get Riese's name right with no trouble at all, for some reason. Then the mic picks up, "...Did you really...? No that's great, I really appreciate it. I haven't been able to take care of them..."
A little laugh, "It's funny... I left my wagon to go look for Riesenlied, and then she finds me with you..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It's been a while since Riesenlied has been aboard a horse... but it feels rather nostalgic -- and she finds that she hasn't really lost any of her skills, even riding on difficult terrain like the desert. "Of course... none of us want your hard work to be spoiled," as she pauses, and then reaches towards her throat-mic and presses it instead.
"... can you catch my reception?" she asks as she tries to attune to the frequency of Matilda's onboard comms instead. "... I am sorry to worry you. I was... passed out for quite some time, in the Temple. I fell into quite the deep chasm... and I met a Guardian face to face."
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"It -- /is/ a little funny, isn't it? But, again... I'm glad it happened." She smiles, and gets the pair of them just a little more comfortable in that seat.
Riesenlied makes contact. "... Oh, good -- I was wondering if you could do that, and didn't want to assume," Matilda says, before turning off the loudspeaker and disabling the directional microphone.
The topic turns a little disastrous, though, before too long; at the mention of the Guardian, Matilda holds Kaguya just a bit tighter. "... We did, as well," Matilda says, her voice quiet -- and trembling with suppressed rage. "She -- refused to look Kaguya in the eye. Said no word to her, left none of the Temple's gifts for her."
Just loud enough for Riesenlied to hear over the comms, she murmurs, "If that's the gift of the sea, I'd rather drown."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Petal is an easygoing horse, as horses go. Despite Kaguya's worries, she doesn't seem terribly agitated after her days with the small Veruni.
Kaguya herself settles with Matilda, closing her eyes finally after the long journey of the day. So she is when she hears Riesenlied speak up after what Matilda says, and she finally adds, "it's a little funny, yeah." But...
Kaguya curls up that much tighter in Matilda's lap. "...You didn't worry me too much," Kaguya says quietly. "I came in after you, was all. I couldn't find you. I was really worried."
Still quietly, distantly, with obvious pain, "...I hate the Guardians. They hate me, so it's only fair. I... I don't want to talk about them. I hate them. I..." She sniffles again, and goes quiet, without saying anything else at all.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied pauses, before lowering her head. She'd heard it from Matilda further... then changes the topic. "We've the start of a wonderful little community, much like how Old Petra was. But it won't end the same way... I'll see that it does not end that way. No matter what."
She paces forward following Muni at a comfortable rate, as she expresses, "We've much to do... but for right now -- especially right now... I feel definitively hopeful."
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
... yes. Best to go for a topic change. Matilda elects not to think terribly much about that further, for now. Wayside is a better thought, anyway. "It's a very lovely village," Matilda says. "I'm really eager to get back -- there's a lot to talk about once we get there..."
Riesenlied mentions that hope, and Matilda nods. "It's -- a good way to feel at a moment like this, especially when so much is changing around us... I must admit, though, the thought of being this close to home is a little..." She trails off.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"I really liked Old Petra," Kaguya admits. Riesenlied sounds so sure, though, and Kaguya would rather think of that as she adds, "I really hope you're right. I want to help..."
Matilda says it's lovely, and Kaguya... can imagine there's a lot to talk about. "I want to see it," she says, softly. But...
"Hope, huh?" Kaguya would like to be. But it's hard for her. "I'm sure it's nice..." She strikes Matlda's arm gently at the talk of home though. "A lot to talk about, huh? If you... I mean..." She trails off.
"I want to talk a lot more too. I just... This is comfy..."
She trails off again, and, exhausted, dozes off in Matilda's lap in short order.