2017-09-12: Cucco Blocked
- Log: Cucco Blocked
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Seraph Lailah, Seraph Ragnell
- Where: November City
- Date: 12th September 2017
- Summary: Seraph Lailah and Ragnell wander through November City's markets before they run into Riesenlied and a few, new dear pets. Noeline still can't get her date game on.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has been present in November City for a while now, under the guise of being a rookie Drifter called 'Nazgul al-Rashid', a name with significance for her... but, other than that, she's not terribly hard to pick out, and still rather stands out in a crowd. Along with Noeline, the two have had quite the experience in the well-developed city -- certainly the largest city Riesenlied's ever been in, and with a lot of modern amenities that she's terribly not used to.
That all seems to pale, right now, in comparison to what she's just found.
The dark-haired dragon-girl, with her twisted horns and scales covering the sides of her cheeks and hands, is running up from where she's just visited a stall merchant and exclaiming with bright and vibrant cheer: "Noeline, Noeline, look what I bought!"
In her hands is... a pile of three cuccos, immensely, adorably round and fluffy. Yaaay...
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
For her part-- well. Noeline wouldn't be Noeline if she weren't easy to spot. The 'Crimson Noble' thrives on attention, after all, even when she's exchanged one disguise for another.
Gone are the black and crimson gothic dresses, a little too bulky to bother with in the heat of the wastes, and instead she's wearing a sleeveless vest and a short ruffled skirt whose colours gradient down from white at her neck to red at the hem of her skirt. Tres desert chic.
More than anything, what marks her out is her hair - still in twintails, the only real change is that they've gone from black to a vivid sort of red that stands out vividly against the scenery.
She seems to be in good spirits, enjoying the chance to poke around a large population centre - and perhaps relieved that their disguises, such as they are, have at least held up against scrutiny. She's been sampling what she can - and has just placed a skewer of some kind of spiced meat in her mouth when Riesenlied runs up to her, causing her eyebrows to shoot up.
At least she snorts, in good-natured fashion, and does her best to try to pet the top-most cucco in Riesenlied's arms. "They're quite adorable, but-- you are aware that I'm not entirely sure we have anywhere to actually /keep/ them--" she starts to say, because the other demon's hurried words catch up to her. 'Bought'. Past tense. With a long-suffering and terribly amused sigh, she amends: "But I suppose we can find a way. Honestly..."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Having only been in November for awhile, Lailah hadn't ventured far from the city. The furthest she had gone was the Plant and that didn't go well. Even today she is still hurting from her and Ragnell's attempts at finding more about the plant. Unfortunately, the most they found out was that something there was likely radioactive with seeing mutant mind-bending goats and rats among other things.
Today, Lailah managed to make it out into the busy market place. Her shoulder is still sore and visibly wrapped in some kind of cloth but otherwise she seems okay. She made a stop with Rose before heading near other market stalls. It is not clear what she is looking for or if she is even looking for something in particular... maybe she is just browsing. Very few people seem to be able to see her which makes it hard to talk to the merchants.
As she nears the end of the path, she is nearly run over by someone. A dragon?! Her eyes look over the girl briefly before determining that no, she is not an actual dragon. However, something small catches her attention. It's tiny, round and fluffy! Lailah's eyes get big and she puts her hands together in a prayer motion under her chin. The look of delight would be unmistakable to those who can see the tall fire-seraph.
"Oh! They're so cute! Look at how fluffy and round it is!" She is practically jumping in happiness. How long it had been since she had been able to go hunting for the great Arma Dylan. While this was not it, they were still delightful and adorable!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
The great Arma Dylan... Now that's a name Ragnell hasn't heard in a while. She'd helped Lailah patch up, having been the one to wheel a certain barrel out of the November City Plant over to the Sparrowfeathers camp (she'd even done due diligence in making sure they were never spotted or tailed and thus not bringing any trouble to Rose's doorstep; what a thoughtful Seraph she is!) and leave it for Rose to deal with, along with a little note. (It reads, FOR ROSE. ==== <3, RAGNELL & LAILAH. One can't say that Ragnell is overly verbose when it comes to these matters, but a little more explanation probably would've been nice.)
She's lagging a bit behind Lailah, due to checking out the various wares of the NC marketplace and considering what if anything she wants, before she hears Lailah gasp with delight. She looks up and jogs on over, to see...
"Aren't those those death chickens?" Ragnell comments dubiously. Then she looks up at the person who's /holding/ them, and squints. "....."
Given that Riesenlied and Noeline are currently in 'disguise', Ragnell decides she'd better... keep her mouth shut on that. "They *are* fluffy an' round though, I'll give ya that," she adds to Lailah.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied beams very brightly as she says, "I'll make a cucco pen for them! I've wanted to have my own for a while now~ and they were cheap!"
Riesenlied's definition of 'cheap', when it comes to cuccos, given her surprisingly spare coin purse... ... hmmm .... it might be worth to follow up on that later, because the chances of someone getting fleeced are definitely high.
She blinks just a moment as she smiles, apparently -- actually just flat-out able to see and speak to Seraphs in no small part due to her empathic powers, as Ragnell can attest, "Oh, aren't they??" She perks up at a fellow adorer of round things! She has a good feeling about this woman!
Also, Riesenlied is /amazing/ at remembering she's in disguise, especially when buoyed up into Cloud Nine as she is right now. As such, she just gasps to go, "Oh, Miss Ragnell!" A pause, as she pouts, "They aren't death chickens, they're wonderful and fluffy."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline and Riese are evidently fairly used to being around Seraphs - in fact, the redhead's gaze glances towards Lailah the moment she approaches, perhaps picking out the Seraph by some means other than just the usual resonant senses. (She's got a Medium to piggyback off of, after all, making up for her Metal Demon nature using the power of a Guardian rather than Riesenlied's ability for extreme empathy.)
Her gaze is more amused than anything, if a little ruffled in the way that the Seraph gravitates in to take a look at the little creatures in Riesenlied's arms; the huff of air she makes seems to be fond enough, as well, as she steps to one side slightly to give Lailah space to coo.
All that said, Ragnell does get a rather 'god help us' sort of look, the 'vampire' fully aware that their disguises are not exactly the most subtle things around. 'It isn't as if I could stop her', the expression screams, and she flicks out some hair at the same time as a second huff marks her quietly making a mental note to check up on one of the stall owners later. "Well-- I suppose we can set something up, certainly. It might be a useful chance to enlist some of the others to help learn how to look after them properly. At worst, we can use them for defence," she adds with a slightly uncharitable grumble.
Noeline, you're not even trying to disguise yourself at this point...
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah looks back at Ragnell as she makes a remark about the cuccos. "What? Death chickens?" This idea seems to concern her but she shakes it off, adding, "Well, I don't care what they are called. It's so cute!" She reaches out to pet one. "I mean, it's not Arma Dylan but I wonder how round they can get?" She seems to ponder this fact for a minute.
Looking back to the other two people here, Lailah offers a greeting. "Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. I am Lailah." Looking back to Ragnell, "I guess you know Ragnell already though." She smiles at the younger seraph.
"So, you are going to keep them?" She asks of Riesenlied. "I bet that would be fun." She seems completely oblivious to whatever inner dialogue is going on around her. "You know..." Lailah glances back to the cucco. "...I don't think these compare to the great Arma Dylan though. He was the king of curling!" The fire-seraph gets very animated as she says this. "Have you ever heard of him?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Oh, so they're not so much in disguise that Ragnell ought to pretend she doesn't recognize them? That works too, then. The last time she spoke with these two, Noeline only showed her her rad new red hair. With the change in clothes, it's actually not too overbearing. It *is* very bright and visible, but one expects that's the point. The point of a disguise, where one is trying to look like someone different, or at least not attract notice. Oh Noeline. Ragnell casts Noeline an amused half-smile, particularly at that 'god help us' look.
"Right," she says to Riesenlied. "So they're wonderful, fluffy death chickens. Gotcha." She looks over at Lailah and adds, "This breed o' chicken caused a ruckus some months back. Missed the worst of it myself, but it was a thing." All considered, she's not even a little surprised that Riesenlied adores the winged murder machines. She grins at Noeline. "I bet you've had your share o' trouble from 'em, huh?"
Lailah introduces herself. Ragnell nods to her, smiling back. "Yup, we've crossed paths a few times." She'll let Riese and Noeline introduce themselves, though, /just in case/ they're going by other names right now.
Then Lailah brings up Arma Dylan. Ragnell snorts with laughter, which she quickly masks as a cough behind one gloved hand. She flicks her gaze over at Noeline, who can no doubt see the corner of her smile regardless.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"T-the King of Curling...? No, tell me more about this Arma Dylan!" Riesenlied sounds incredibly interested and fascinated at the same time, shaking her head, but Lailah can see a kindred soul who believes deep in the art of curling into round things when she can see one! "But-- yes, of course I'll keep them! I've always wanted a cucco farm... so all the better, I'd say! Wayside will be much better with some pets to take care of." And there goes the other part of the disguise.
She grumps just for a moment to say, "They're only death chickens if you perceive them so. Be kind and gentle to them, and they'll be gentle to you in return," with a kind of... really adorable petulance and insistence that rarely comes from the usually soft-spoken and gentle Riesenlied.
She opens her mouth next to say, "My name is Na--" A pause.
Pause pause.
"O-oh... um--" she clears her throat, then decides that, whoops, she's probably overshot it by a mile at this point. "My name is Riesenlied. It's nice to meet you, Miss Lailah..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
To be fair to Noeline, the metal demon /has/ always believed in 'hiding in plain sight', preferring to hide her nature with bright colours and flamboyance and a specific role that would put her very much at odds with the rest of the Photosphere. Of course, she ended up at odds with the Photosphere /anyway/, so that's a bit of a moot point - but she seems to be enjoying the change in style regardless.
"My name is--..." is about as far as she gets before Riesenlied gives up her real name, not to mention the name of Wayside. The latter isn't really much of a problem as far as Noeline's concerned, honestly - the village is still a relative unknown to the world, and isn't really 'metal demon' territory anyways - and even Riesenlied's name just brings another of those fond breaths. In some ways, Noeline would rather Riese remain true to herself at times like this, after all.
So, she just places a hand on one of the Tainted commander's arms, joining at her side as she nods her support. "My name is-- Noeline. Though, please keep that under your hat for the moment, hm? We are a bit incognito," she improbably adds, with a wink and a playful grin for good measure. "And, I can't say I have heard of it - but then, we are Filgaian through and through, if that matters any."
"Honestly... I dare say we'll be fine, but you really do get carried away at things like this," she teases towards Riese with that same playful grin, before sharing another of those fakely-put-upon looks with Ragnell. "I can't say I caught the original trouble, but I'm beginning to get the sense that I missed something rather big, yes."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
There is a look of surprise and disappointment as Riesenlied seems to have not heard of Arma Dylan before but this also gives her a reason to talk about it which makes her happy too. "Well, there were two great seraphim who were the kings of curling, even winning awards for how well they could curl into a ball." She pauses. "However, the greatest of them all is the legendary Arma Dylan. I have been unable to locate him and now that I am here..." Lailah sighs, a wistful look in her face. "... I am not sure that I will ever get to meet him."
Reaching out to pet one of the cucco's, Lailah smiles warmly to Riesenlieds introduction. "It's a pleasure." She nods and even at Noeline introduces herself, Lailah doesn't seem concerned but she does take the request to heart. "Oh sure, it's fine." There may be a look of intrigue passed to Ragnell though. "Well, I can't see these adorable things causing trouble." She looks towards Ries. "Can I hold one?" Her hands did look full after all trying to hold all of them at once. This maybe would give her a better chance for inspection too although by this point, the seraph was sure that they couldn't compare to her idol.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
There is a look of surprise and disappointment as Riesenlied seems to have not heard of Arma Dylan before but this also gives her a reason to talk about it which makes her happy too. "Well, there were two great seraphim who were the kings of curling, even winning awards for how well they could curl into a ball." She pauses. "However, the greatest of them all is the legendary Arma Dylan. I have been unable to locate him and now that I am here..." Lailah sighs, a wistful look in her face. "... I am not sure that I will ever get to meet him."
Reaching out to pet one of the cucco's, Lailah smiles warmly to Riesenlieds introduction. "It's a pleasure." She nods and even at Noeline introduces herself, Lailah doesn't seem concerned but she does take the request to heart. "Oh sure, it's fine." There may be a look of intrigue passed to Ragnell though.
"Well, I can't see these adorable things causing trouble." She looks towards Ries. "Can I hold one?" Her hands did look full after all trying to hold all of them at once. This maybe would give her a better chance for inspection too although by this point, the seraph was sure that they couldn't compare to her idol.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell smiles ruefully and shrugs broadly. "What's the point of going around in disguise if you're going to introduce yourselves by your real names?" she comments. "Well, that fundamental honesty of Riesenlied's is part o' what makes her charming." She grins at the Crimson Noble. "Right, Noeline~?" A chuckle follows as she remarks on having missed that trouble. "I'm sure followin' Riese around is plenty o' trouble all on its own."
She pauses when Lailah turns wistful, then pats her on the shoulder. "Hey, now, it's not impossible," she comforts her. "Arma Dylan could always end up somewhere here on Filgaia, or we could find a way back to Lunar. It's not like we're runnin' short on time, eh?"
She chuckles, too, at Riesenlied's passionate defense of the cuccos. "Well, I don't intend on pickin' a fight with one of 'em, so..." She shrugs. "I'll let you an' Lailah bond over these fluffballs."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied blushes just a moment as she stammers, "I--I forgot because I was so excited." Even the way she admits that she forgot is cute!! She pouts just ever so lightly towards Ragnell to say, "I'm trying to not be trouble, honest." She clears her throat. "When I look like this... I am Nazgul al-Rashid, a rookie Drifter." Well, the clumsiness could fit the persona of a rookie Drifter in some way... Riesenlied is surprisingly careless at times for someone who's ostensibly a commander...
A pause, as she smiles wider to say, "Then, shall we search for the King of Curling? It is a Drifter's job to seek the past, is it not? It could be possible!" She does, however, hold one of the cuccos out, who flies off in a little bit of a panic and then lands on Lailah's hand, cucco! "Hehe... do you want to hold one too, Noeline?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
As much as the twintailed girl is clearly fond of Riesenlied, she can't admit to being entirely in-step with the conversation at large. Which is probably why she doesn't quite catch what Lailah says about their being awards and-- "I'm sorry-- you mean there were /contests/? /Are/ contests?" she blurts out as the words finally replay through her brain, the tone a little more incredulous than is strictly diplomatic; she glances towards Ragnell, as if trying to imagine that Seraph in particular curling up into a ball.
It's a bit difficult, okay.
With a well-worn sigh, Noeline sags her shoulders, and immediately brings a hand up to touch at her forehead as she tries to stifle a smile and doesn't quite make it. "Well, really-- I would prefer not to be in disguise at all, of course. As it is, this is more to prevent trouble falling on Wayside than it is trouble falling on us ourselves," she grumbles, flicking out some hair. "Besides, everyone needs a little time to themselves to relax, now and then, and the two of us moreso than ever."
She's about to say something else to Ragnell, apparently in relation to Riesenlied and her ability to cucco out - but before she knows what's going on she's been presented with one of the cuccos, who immediately starts to fluster at the new pair of arms holding it. "E-eh-- you know I am not-- what am I supposed to do?" blurts the redhead, a little boggled.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah doesn't remark on the disguises for now or the reason for it. Instead she nods towards Ragnell. "Well, I guess you could be right. Although something else coming from Lunar..." She pauses. "...nevermind." The seraph didn't want to think too much about Edna's brother or why he was here right now. Even if it's something that they would have to deal with eventually.
Lailah gives a thumbs up to Ries, "Yes! We can search together!" Even if they couldn't find him here, there were a lot of people from Lunar so maybe with enough investigating they would find someone who had at least heard of him. "I am so happy that someone else understands how important it is!" Sorey and the others just seemed to laugh at her when she talked about Arma Dylan so this was a nice change.
Lailah takes on the cuccos and holds it closely. She looks down, inspecting it. "Hrm..." Then Noeline seems flustered and Lailah smiles at her. "Just hold it. It won't bite you!" Probably. The seraph cuddles it a little but the cucco begins to protest the proximity and Lailah laughs before holding it more comfortably.
"So, you guys are trying to not be noticed huh?" She hrms, not caring too much about the reasons for now. "This seems like a good place to go incognito. I mean, this city is huge. It's easier for seraphim but..." Lailah stops herself and shrugs.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Something else coming from Lunar... Ragnell glances at Lailah. She, of course, knows about Eizen; she's the one who told Edna that he'd come to Filgaia. She hasn't brought it up with the Earth Seraph since then, though, so she doesn't know if the rest of the Shepherd's group knows. Probably, but... it's not her place to say anything. That's the whole reason she told Edna, and only Edna, in the first place.
Riese, meanwhile, says she forgot because she was excited. Ragnell chuckles and shakes her head. "That's so you, Riese." She continues smiling as Riese and Lailah continue to hit it off, talking about searching as Drifters for the legendary Arma Dylan. Ragnell might laugh too, but she is genuinely pleased to see Lailah happy. In fact, she's more inclined to laugh openly at Noeline, as she blurts out about contests. "Not all Seraphim look like humans," she explains. "There's your Normins, which are kinda tiny with bobbly heads, and your Katz, which... are also kinda tiny with bobbly heads but they got a cat-like look to 'em, and there's Seraphim that just look like normal animals like Lailah an' me look like normal humans. More or less." She shrugs. "You can imagine what kinda animal-type Seraphim might be good at curlin'."
Keeping trouble from Wayside more than keeping trouble from themselves. "Well, I guess as long as you don't get recognized and followed, it's all good," she says, shrugging. Then she grins. "So, what? You two out on a date, then? Pickin' out the family children'~?" She laughs again when Riesenlied hands Noeline a cucco, much to Noeline's befuddlement. "Spoken like a true new mom~!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied doesn't know why anyone else would laugh at her for insisting that Arma Dylan was not an important topic. The continual pursuit of the perfectly round was a decidedly most important topic, and she won't forgive those that make light of it!
"Just be gentle with it, and be caring," Riesenlied suggests to Noeline like it's second nature... well, being caring /is/ second nature to her. The cucco, meanwhile, seems to be glaring back at Noeline like it's going 'i'm watching you, buster'. Or... is it? It's so hard to tell with these flying death machines.
"... unfortunately, yes, our recent actions have drawn a lot of attention," Riesenlied is truthful about that, at least. Ragnell's teasing draws some flushed expression from the Metal Demon, as she stammers, "W-we are not on a date! Also, that's a bit mean, Miss Ragnell. Noeline did promise to take me on one later, though, before we ran into you and Miss Lailah..."
She pauses just for a moment as she thinks of the name again. Lailah, Lailah...
Her eyes widen.
"W-wait, Miss Ragnell, is Miss Lailah the same Miss Lailah from your story...?" She did hear of the Prime Lord and how there was currently one with such power, after all. Whoa! To think she'd be standing next to someone of such importance!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"... our situation is a little complex, you could say," Noeline huffs to herself, and she would evidently flick out a twintail if she weren't still a little petrified by the cucco she holds in both hands, sneaking a grumpy glance at it every so often. It's calmed, by now, but-- the truce is a rather uneasy one, as bird and demon repeatedly eye each other in a cold war. "Rest assured, we are no danger to anyone, having chosen our own path - but we do have a village to think of, and there are any number of opportunists around."
"Honestly, what on earth-- however can you have quite so wide a range of Seraph creatures? Does that not go a little against the labelling?" she wonders next towards Ragnell, but perhaps she's only being uncharitable due to some of the descriptions that Ragnell's offering; her brow has furrowed at the thought of the Normin, and then again at the thought of the Katz, and who knows what shape the lack of information has spawned in her mind.
"A date is /part/ of it," she adds archly with a pout, then softens with a sigh. "Really, though, what we mostly just needed is a little time to let our brains and bodies catch up."
Riesenlied's final exclamation at least causes the spy's eyebrows to raise, though, a curious look settling over her features. "... my. I suppose, what with Sorey around the place, it does make sense - I have to wonder just how many power vacuums are left on Lunar proper at this point, however."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Ragnell's comments about Normin cause a look of annoyance to pass over her face. Why they were drawn to her, Lailah will never understand. She did her best to avoid them when possible but it wasn't always an easy task. Certain ones like Attak seemed even more drawn to her. "It's true,"she adds. "There are a lot of different kinds. Even ones that curl up!" She had come across many of those over the years and had found them all to be pretty poor curlers in general.
Lailah laughs at Ragnell's teasing. "Aw, that sounds adorable. Cucco children.. probably easier to take care of than human children." Not that she personally had a problem with human (or seraphim) children. She had ensured Mikleo and Sorey's safety as babies after all.
Lailah listens to Noeline's explanation. She doesn't feel malevolence or threatened so her focus turns to other things. Like the adorable cucco in her hands. "It's sad you know... I always kind of wanted a pet." There is a sigh. "We move around too much and well it would probably be weird I guess." It doesn't occur to her for the moment that anyone passing by that can't see her would likely just see a cucco floating in mid-air, probably adding to the death chicken idea.
"It's not /that/ strange. I mean humans have all kinds of animals and creatures right?" Not much else is said about that as the cucco gets uncomfortable having been held so tightly for so long. Lailah looks down at it and adjusts. "I hope that you give these guys a big pen! They sure do move alot." Or least don't seem to like being held closely.
Rise's reaction to her though is something she wasn't expecting. "W-what?!" She blushes and looks at Ragnell. "What have you told them?" It doesn't overly concern her but the mention of Sorey makes her bow her head a little. "I guess you know Sorey huh? I guess he is pretty well known at this point but yeah we travel together and I help him out." Lailah doesn't go into details about him being the shepherd or her being prime lord or anything similar for now, unless they choose to ask, then she may.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Probably. Humans are always so *needy*," Ragnell agrees with Lailah. Though, actually, despite not much liking humans, she doesn't mind human *children*... "Cuccos seem like th' type o' creature where you could pretty much set 'em on their own with some food an' water an' they'll be pretty much okay."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Probably. Humans are always so *needy*," Ragnell agrees with Lailah. Though, actually, despite not much liking humans, she doesn't mind human *children*... "Cuccos seem like th' type o' creature where you could pretty much set 'em on their own with some food an' water an' they'll be pretty much okay." She snorts at Noeline's protestation at the different types of Seraphim, even as Lailah chimes in with Ragnell. "I seem to recall y'all have a Metal Demon who's basically half-slug," she says pointedly at Noeline. He was actually quite comfortable to walk on, even.
When Lailah laments her inability to keep a pet, though, Ragnell affects surprise. "Really, Lai? I thought you had a pet." A beat. "A pet human. Ain't that what you keep Sorey around for?" And then she grins and laughs, good-naturedly, to make it clear it's a joke.
Not on a date? Ragnell raises an eyebrow at Riesenlied. "So what separates 'bein' out, together' not-a-date now, from 'bein' out, together' totally-a-date later?" she asks. It might be her needling her, or it might be a legitimate question. Who knows? She at least gives Noeline a sympathetic smile. So the two of them interrupted their not-a-date-now-but-will-be-later, huh? Well, Riese and Lailah are having fun with those cuccos, so it's probably okay. She otherwise lets Riesenlied and Noeline explain their situation to Lailah. But then Riesenlied recognizes the name, and Noeline mentions Sorey...
"Ohhh yeah. I forgot I mentioned her to y'all," Ragnell murmurs. She glances over at Lailah, then nods back to Riesenlied. "Yup, this is that Lailah. The Prime Lord who works in tandem with the Shepherd to purify Malevolence." A grin. "An' a right beauty, am I right?"
She doesn't remark on the matter of the power vacuums. Quite a lot, actually, and she's not keen on what Lunar will look like if-slash-when they return.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied doesn't know what a Normin or a Katz is... but knowing her, she'd probably find them cute too. There really are probably no bounds to what she finds cute, though depending on the Normin, that may swiftly change... poor Riesenlied may be in for a bit of a surprise on Lunar, someday.
"H-hmm... well, eventually the cuccos will lay eggs, and we'll have more cuccos... and more..." Riesenlied's eyes have a little glimmer that's a bit too dangerous for her -- or for anyone, perhaps. The deadly repeat of the flock of April Fools' Day may be soon, if nothing is done to stop it. ... then again, Lailah and Riese may want to certainly do nothing to stop it. The roundness is life, after all. They will have a round dance revolution someday. Just a long long time!
"H-hmm...." Riesenlied is challenged by Ragnell's question, and puts poor Noeline on the spot as she does admit, "What... /does/ separate being out and being on a date...?" She has such an adorable innocence as she peers inquisitively at her, the expert on dates! She wants to know.
Fortunately, Noeline may have some breathing space as she's distracted again by Ragnell commenting on Lailah, nodding as she smiles warmly towards Lailah. "That's right! Just good things, I promise. I may be a Metal Demon, but I've worked hard to try to sense Malevolence..." Riese you kind of just let /the rest of the cuccos/ out the bag without realising!! "... it pained me, to not be able to feel what others were suffering."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline simply makes a face at the mention of Yaro, her expression down in a combination of a grimace and a deep-set sigh. It isn't hatred on her face, per se, so much as a deep and abiding pity combined with confusion. "... yes, well. I suppose it takes all types, in the end, but even so you must admit we've been working with a limited sample size when it comes to Seraphs," she replies, rather dented - but not too dented, because she's still trying to cope with the cucco in her arms and her attention keeps getting dragged back to that.
"And it is a matter of /intent/," she grumbles at Ragnell a moment later, as if expecting her of all possible people to understand the difference between 'a day on the town' and 'a day on the town where you're fishing for affection'. "I would pick something other than a day of wandering around town looking at the stalls, or at least I would be hanging off of Riese's arm for the majority of it instead," she adds imperiously, as if she weren't doing JUST THAT a while before the scene started.
"I simply decide that what Riesenlied needed more than romance at the moment was a comfortable day together, that is all," she huffs, and this time-- the cucco escapes her arms, oh no! The squawk actually comes from the metal demon, who gets buffeted by wings and feathers in a sudden burst of movement, before the bird - decides to return to Riesenlied as if drawn to her, leaving Noeline to wipe a feather from her face and squint surreptitious murder at it.
She sighs, tries to rebuild her dignity, and glances at Lailah. "The both of us-- we have an interest in dealing with Malevolence, where we can. ... neither of us are the sort to simply leave people alone without helping, I suppose," she adds with a quietly amused huff.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah raises and eye to Ragnell before she laughs. "I never thought of it that way." A pause. "Although maybe it's the other way around?" He did have a range of seraphim now after all. "I think it's more of a mutual relationship though."
The idea of baby cuccos though makes Lailah squeal a little which startles the cucco in her hands. "Tiny babies! Can you imagine how adorable they would be!?" Her eyes sparkle as she considers fields of tiny, round animals running around. "If that ever happens, you'll invite me over right?" She looks hopeful.
Lailah lets Ragnell field the questions on dates. It's not exactly her area of expertise despite being thousands of years old. Although she gets uncomfortable at others who openly display affection in public.
"Metal Demon..." Lailah frowns, repeating the words softly. She mostly remembers the ones that tried to kill them before so her thoughts when she hears that term are not the best. However, as Ries isn't threatening for now, Lailah lets it go.
"Well, I wonder... since you can sense seraphim if you could sense malevolence." It's a vague possibility after all. "But it's still really dangerous to be around if you can't purify it so I would exercise caution." The fire seraph is not thrilled with the idea of others dealing with malevolence without extreme neccesity.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Riesenlied is basically born to be a doting mother of all things cute. Maybe also some things that *aren't* cute, but seem cute enough to her, too. At least she *probably* won't get Atakk leaping at her while declaring she's his girlfriend... not while Lailah's around. Sorry, Lailah.
"Out o' curiosity, what do people use cuccos for, anyway?" Ragnell wonders, looking from Riesenlied to Noeline. "Can't imagine anyone tries to slaughter 'em for their meat. Do y'all eat the eggs, or what?"
Lailah laughs at Ragnell's human pet joke. "Hmmm, I sure could see Meebo bein' Sorey's pet, if ya know what I mean," she suggests, winking. "But yeah, I can't see you treatin' him like that." And Sorey had better not treat Lailah like that either... though so far things seem well enough on that end.
She chuckles at Noeline. "True 'nough. You've only met, what--me? Lailah here?" She rubs her chin. "Odjn made nice with Mikleo, far as I know... Any of y'all met Edna? Now *there's* a delightful little lady." Her grin turns wolfish, and one might think to question Ragnell's definition of 'delightful.' She laughs again when the cucco escapes from Noeline to fly back to Riesenlied. "Right, right, o' course," she says, eyes twinkling. "Well, if you feel like clingin' to Riese's arm at any point, just let us know so we can give ya some space." Also, so Lailah doesn't have to watch a PDA. Ragnell doesn't mind those, but her...
She glances towards Lailah as she remarks on Malevolence, and also touches on Metal Demons. However, here, she actually remains silent.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied seems innocuously shimmering as the cucco returns to her, completely missing the somehow snide, conniving smirk the cucco throws at Noeline like 'yeah girl, what you gonna do?' Uh oh... the cold war is heating up!! The cucco originally in Riesenlied's arm looks much more placid and mrrp-like though, like it's blissfully just seated in the tuck of Riesenlied's arm. So comfy...
"Of course I will!" Riesenlied expresses, innocuously, as she says, "You can find us at Wayside, where--" A pause, as she at least does recognise enough to look at Noeline. But decides, at least for herself, that Lailah seems trustworthy enough to tell. "... it's a small village for the Tainted and those that have been cast aside that we're building, out in the mountain ranges."
She perks up to answer Ragnell, "Um, well, a lot of people raise them as a fresh source of eggs, yes. The cuccos don't seem to mind, and for vegetarians, it's an important source of protein. They also use them as protectors and defenders against monsters and bandits. A well-treated cucco is a loyal shield for the home!"
She... she looks so convinced that it would be hard to ruin her reality...
She bobs her head one way to say, "As far as Seraphs go? Mister Mikleo was with Sorey, and he was kind enough... I don't think I've met Miss Edna, however." A pause.
"... I understand," she nods towards Lailah. "I know how dangerous it is first hand, when we first descended to that Hollow. ... yet, I find myself drawn to understand their suffering..." She bobs her head one way, as the gem on Riesenlied's brooch starts to shimmer with a soft colour approaching blue. "... I've promised as much that if there's any way I can help them cope with it, even if I cannot purify it, it would be worth undertaking."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline looks back at Riese for a moment - but she is at least smiling quietly, tilting her head in assent as she nods. "The two of us-- you could say at this point that our own hopes differ from that of most Metal Demons. We are attempting to provide a refuge for those who have been cast aside - to offer them a chance to learn about living on Filgaia. ... it is probably extremely risky for us to even admit that much out in the open, but such is the hand we've been dealt. Rest assured, you will have no trouble from us."
She sighs, rather roughly-- but thankfully, anything else solemn she was going to say is swallowed up by Ragnell's teasing, leaving her a chance to puff out a breath of indignance. "--honestly. Do you think I'm that in need that I can't offer a moment of courtesy to a friend?" she complains instead, her newly freed hands flicking out one tail of hair - though, if only to try to dislodge a feather more than anything else as she pointedly ignores the Sassy Cucco. (Also the name of a bar on the Thames.)
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah grins at Ragnell's remarks although it's probably not clear if she understands the actual innuendo there. She shakes her head, "Nah. It's not like that with us. I can't see Sorey being mean to anyone or being purposefully disrespectful." He was too good-natured for that which is part of what made him a good shepherd to begin with.
"Wayside..." Lailah makes a note of the name of the village. "...it sounds interesting." Perhaps she would have to visit sometime.
For a moment, Lailah looks sad at the idea of the potential baby cuccos being used for food. However, the expression is fleeting and Lailah nods at Riesenlied. "I can't imagine the cuccos fighting. It seems..." She searches for the right word. "...kind of mean?" Perhaps there is more to them than she knows.
"Edna is fun! You should definitely meet her!" Lailah smiles. Of course, her matter-of-fact personality can be a little off putting but they would have to decide that for themselves once they met her.
Riesenlied's comments about the Hollow and her feelings about malevolvence receive a sympathetic look from Lailah. "I can appreciate that Riesenlied. There is a lot of suffering..." Her eyes lower briefly as she considers it. It's pretty terrible to have to see it first-hand and definitely only for the strong.
"Noeline, that seems admirable." Lailah smiles softly. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." As far as the other remarks, she lets the others field that for now, reaching back to pet the cucco again.
After a brief silence from the seraph, Lailah cringes a little. "Ah, I think this shoulder is still pretty sore. I should probably head back and rest soon." She reaches out to hand the cucco back to Riesenlied. "Do you want to come back to the hotel for dinner?" Despite her injury, Lailah was always hospitable. "I could fix something nice for everyone." Her comment is directed more towards Ragnell than the others but she wouldn't mind if they took up the invitation as well.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Yeah, he does seem like a good kid," Ragnell says of Sorey, half-smiling at Lailah. Her smile turns slight but also softens when Riesenlied and Noeline explain about Wayside. "They're serious 'bout it, far as I can tell," she remarks to Lailah. "I've been by, an' it's a nice place. Right peaceful." She pauses at Riesenlied's explanation of the uses for cuccos, from eggs to home defense. Ragnell, knowing little about cuccos beyond that they're death chickens, and seeing already how these cuccos seem quite fond of their new flesh-mom, finds the idea that cuccos might be effective guardians actually rather believable. "Huh! Well, how about that," she thus declares.
Noeline's huffing and puffing, meanwhile, gets her a grin. Ragnell, stop teasing? /Never/. "I'm jus' sayin', I find it notable that Riesenlied's cuddlin' a bunch o' chickens an' not you right now," she jabs.
Then Lailah hands back the cucco to Riesenlied and offers to make everyone dinner. Ragnell turns thoughtful at that, then nods. "Sure. I'll help y'out with that, Lai, let you rest more often 'n' not."
She won't complain if Riese and Noeline join them--but if they part ways here, Ragnell will over them a wave good-bye and a knowing smirk. "Nice seein' you two~"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods very warmly towards the two, as she expresses gently, "Well, they would rather not fight, but they will fiercely defend their territory." She nods and keeps Edna in mind, though she might not know of the dangers coming her way... at all. She's also quite grateful at Lailah's promise that their secret is safe with them -- and she lets the cucco flutter back to her. "Dinner sounds very nice... I'll leave these cuccos with someone, since I think the hotel doesn't let pets come in. We'll see you there!"
Noeline's date might be rumbling as the words come out of Riesenlied's mouth... ... is this the fabled manuever they call...
... cucco blocked?!