2017-10-10: Nothing Personal, And Yet...
- Log: Nothing Personal, And Yet...
- Cast: Riesenlied, Leon Albus, Josephine Lovelace, Noeline
- Where: Wayside Village
- Date: October 10th 2017
- Summary: In the aftermath of the skirmish and the chaos that erupted at the Jolly Roger shipyard, two sides of the conflict sit down and have a chat about what just happened.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
In the wake of the disaster at Warehouse 23 at Jolly Roger, the Ebony Wings have beat a rather hasty retreat into the cover of dark following the tidal wave that's swept the warehouse to contain the fire that's consumed the dockside. It brings pressing questions to the fold: Who set them up? Who had the knowledge of their prior involvement and interest, as well? And where had the Fossils gone?
Those questions would have to wait; convalescence was happening now -- at the inn, Riesenlied's seated on the couch with a quiet grimace, her stomach bandaged rather extensively from where Leon managed to get a rather clean hit in through her side-sword -- now set on a nearby counter where it's more or less a third of a blade.
... Josie has someone worrying about her too -- Muni-Muni's kind of bobbling beside her with a greatly animated face of worry, going "Muniii...", exactly like a child that accidentally pushed someone over without really meaning to. A-adorable...??
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon arrives late. He made a detour to November City, to drop Ida off. An unconscious Ida, because he wasn't much in the mood to talk to her, and that was for the best. He could deal with that -- and trying to talk her through what happened -- later. For now, he wants to focus on this. Another, newer problem.
He walks into the inn, and his grey coat has been left behind in November. He still has his white shirt, dirtied and a little bloodied, on. His vest, too, in a similar state. Argent Divider is on his hip, the shotgun slid into the oversized holster there.
His eyes turn towards Josie, first, and then towards Riesenlied. "Hope I didn't keep all of you waiting," he says. He runs a hand through his blonde hair, then lets out a ragged sigh. He is tired. "What a damn mess, eh?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie has had better nights, as evidenced by the visible bruises and a few bloodstains on her shirt-sleeves, here and there. She's discarded the longcoat for a change, probably all the better to bandage wounds earlier.
But on the other hand, she's had worse nights. And at least payment was up front, so all in all, it's sort of a draw.
...Well, alright, if she's being honest. Minus the part where someone -- and she's got her suspicions on the matter, considering the part where they were paid in full up front -- had definitely set them up and tried to blow them all sky-high.
But other than that, things could be worse.
Even if there's currently a rather onion-shaped dragon pressing up against her as if it were a dog she'd scolded extra-harshly. Sidelong, she glances at Muni-Muni.
And sighs, reaching over to pat it absently on the head. ...She thinks that counts as the head.
"Well, we're still all in one piece, aren't we?" is her response to Leon's comment on the night. She glances at him, then over at Riesenlied, then shrugs. "Or at least close enough to it."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"... that was a remarkable amount of preparation. Not to mention someone extremely invested in taking us out of the picture, no matter the cost to the city - or at the very least, discrediting us by attributing the damage to the Ebony Wings," Noeline sums up as she steps inside the inn. She didn't sustain serious wounds given her fight with Fei, especially not given her ability to heal as a 'full' Metal Demon - but her clothes are charred down the entirety of one side and she's covered with soot and dirt here and there.
She's just been helping lead the logistics involved in having the Ebony Wings return to Wayside - weapons packed away, dragons back in their pens (at least, all that aren't a whiny Muni-Muni), the troops patched up where necessary. To be honest, she's barely needed, what with the amount of veterans around - but she's eager to make sure she's a part of the proceedings.
"To be honest, I'd assume the attempt to discredit us was first and foremost the goal. They clearly knew enough about us that I can't believe they'd simply forget the fact we could just up and fly away," she adds as she steps quickly over to Riesenlied, studying the other woman for a long moment before sitting down next to her to offer a shoulder.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods politely at Leon as he arrives, leaning back onto the couch with a quiet and uncomfortable wince as she tries her best to not aggravate her wounds. "Not at all. I actually managed to catch Captain Bart," A pause, as she realises she's just acquiesced to the way he wants to be called, "... to work out a smoother deal between us."
She sighs. "I told him that we largely had the same interests and that we probably could work a better deal than to try to struggle over Fossils."
It pains her conscience, but she really did not want to fight Leon, Fei or Josie -- paid or not, when their goals aligned so well together.
"... there's more to it than that. Hartwell's transporting of Kislev's hardware isn't a publicly announced movement," Riesenlied murmurs. "You'd need to have a fair amount of logistical clout to know the what, when and where. And the ambition to steal so brazenly from Kislev, to boot."
She puts one arm to her elbow. "Occam's razor would point to someone inside Hartwell Gunsmoke."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Muni-Muni, on the other hand, gets a little bit o/~ when Josie pats her on the head. There's a light '... yaaay' expression at what she thinks is them papering over what happened.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"That we are," Leon agrees with Josie. He steps in closer to her by default -- of the three others, here, he is probably closest to her -- and then looks over his shoulder at Noeline. He considers for a moment, before he nods to Riesenlied. "Glad to hear it. That should make our lives easier," he says. His nose wrinkles for a moment, before he nods.
He leans against the wall, his arms folding. "I'm curious why they're doing this. If it's Kislev-supported, as we might fear. Or if they are, in fact, stealing from Kislev and blaming it on you. As much as I hate to admit it..."
He frowns. Touchy subject, perhaps.
"...It makes sense," he says. "Blaming their actions on you--you're easy to use as scapegoats. It's wrong to do so, but I don't -- as a rule -- trust the morals of arms merchants."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
One pale eyebrow lifts. "That easy, huh? Well, as long as we're clearing the air here, I've got no grudges," --well, much, she considers, glancing over at the cheered dragon-- "here, a job's just a job. So we'll call it even. By the way, next time you should consider using real bullets..."
But she'll leave that one aside for now.
"Discreting you guys? Seems likely, but it might be more than that, given a few factors -- like that. And given the person who did the hiring, yeah," is Josie's answer to the question of likely guilty parties, voicing her thought from before. "It's not too common to get paid in full up front, you know... Usually it's at most half and half, unless it's a tough one. Heh, I should have realized," she admits with a slight shrug, smiling sheepishly. "I should have seen if they'd pay quadruple, at least. Bet they wouldn't have seen that one coming."
She sighs out a breath. "Anyway, I suppose I'm in on this. They did try to kill me, and I can't just let this slide anyway..."
She glances over at Leon. "Hmm. Making the sale and keeping the goods, after a fashion? Unfortunately, not everyone out this part of Ignas is all that trustworthy, particularly not those dealing in weapons, and particularly not those dealing in ARMs. So, it stands to reason, don't you think?" Briefly, she closes her eyes. "There are a few names I can think of around these parts who might have a hand in this, or know someone who does. ...But, and this is the big question, that depends on if they're still in business, if you know what I mean."
She pauses for a moment, as if to let the obvious questions time to air.
Gesturing as if to evoke a silent 'what', she grins in spite of herself. "Scholarship's tough sometimes when you don't have much of a budget, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline has been-- rather pointedly ignoring the question of Miss Everstead-Rey. There's a definite sense about her that she's chosen exactly how to portion out her patience in the wake of their return to Wayside, and the thought of Ida's outburst was not alloted any of it.
"He is-- certainly a remarkably forthright Captain. I suppose that somehow I expected him to be a little more brash and over-the-top?" suggests a Metal Demon who has evidently never seen the Yggdrasil leader in full swing. "At the very least, we did manage to clear the air sufficiently to be able to work out something of a deal. Whether it will hold up over time has yet to be seen, but-- thus far, our track record is remarkably good on such matters," she chuckles quietly.
That humour vanishes as Riesenlied continues, and as Leon makes an estimation in turn. "... that is certainly the operating assumption. I would like to have a concrete reason as to why they'd choose to draw our ire, but-- well, I suppose we are an ongoing threat to ARMs merchants, hm?" she wonders, before lapsing into thought. "Still... the amount of collateral damage they were risking was significant, and not exactly conducive to further business. Perhaps they're hoping to cut and run from the situation while they're ahead?"
"Personally, if I were intending to blow up my guards, paying upfront would seem to be rather fiscally irresponsible..." she sighs, but then she is still technically an Antagonist, so perhaps she's got to Dr. Evil it up sometimes to keep up appearances. "In any case, we have no qualms with people as a whole, Miss Lovelace. We just wished to stop the supply of fossils to Kislev - certainly, we were not about to start killing those who were simply hired for a job."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Mm," Riesenlied has to ponder that for a moment. "I wonder if it's in Kislev's best interest to do that. Guild Galad is by far their best provider of Fossils," what with it being a metropolis founded on Dragon Fossils... "And they need reliable suppliers to connect the ocean for them."
She taps the side of her chin. "It's possible, but I just don't find it as likely Kislev would sabotage the relationship they have with arms merchants..." Crazier things have happened, though. Kislev being behind this would make things significantly messier.
She listens to Josephine's own assessment. "I don't quite have as much of a bead on the Badlands as you do, so any leads you have would be greatly appreciated, Miss Josephine." She pauses. "And... I'll try to contact Hartwell as well -- and, Noeline, if you could try to suss out the word amongst the company, that would be good too. I doubt everyone working there would've expected this to happen, so I assume some chaos would be stirring in their offices."
The comment of bullets comes up, and then she expresses, "... in any circumstance where we can harm bystanders and innocents, I prefer to use only non-lethal methods, and allow for evacuation where possible. I don't plan to change this policy of ours."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"It does," Leon says, with a nod to Josie. He crosses his arms, and he looks down at the ground. His eyebrows knit as he considers. Are they still in business? He suspects so. He doubts they were defeated by this. The explosion felt too neat. It was meant to cover the whole thing up -- Drifters and Ebony Wings alike. His lips curl, down, into a frown.
He looks at Josephine again. "They shouldn't have tried to kill us. That was a mistake. At the very least, they should have made sure they finished the job."
He looks to Noeline, and he cracks a slight smile. "Bart? Yes. He is an unprofessional and brazen young man who seems to resent the respectability that's expected of him. But, he gets results, and he makes the people under him care. I can respect that."
He looks back at Riesenlied, then he considers, and his brow furrows. He nods, though. "Good point," he says. Then, he quiets, and glances to the side. "I can't fault your feeling, there. But... I don't think your enemy will afford you the same choice -- and may not be stopped by a simple show of force."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Could be, could be. In this particular circumstance, our unintended survival aside, hmmm, maybe not quite so smart. But in most situations they can just retrieve the fee again if it's really a setup. Maybe they'd just write it off as a loss, or..." She waves a hand through the air and shakes her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter! Point is, they should have made absolutely sure about it if they didn't want to get bitten."
She's half in the mood to draw blood, herself.
Speaking of--
Dark eyes flicker over towards Leon. She lifts one pale eyebrow, as if he's just been raised in her private estimation a few notches.
He and Lily really are like two peas in a pod.
"And it's Josie, please. I'm not that much of a learned scholar to be a Miss anything."
"But, I'd say you're right. Considering your aims, versus the aims of most ARMs merchants... well, some people will do anything to protect their bottom line, and I do mean anything," Josie sighs, again absently reaching over to pat the oddly-shaped dragon, though it might be more of a light swat than anything. "Of course, it might not be the only issue at play here. Heh, guess we'll have to do a little asking around, huh?" A beat. "Or at least, I am. I'll ask a few guys and see."
Her lips twist as if she's attempting not to smile and doing a bad job of it when the subject of Bart comes up.
"Well... mercy's not such a bad sentiment, I'll give you that," Josie starts, only to lapse into silence as Leon speaks up. She nods once he finishes. "...That's the only problem with it. I'm not about to tell you how to live your life," she says, purposefully ignorant of the fact that this is precisely what she's doing, "But just remember: any shot where you don't drop them first leaves open the chance they'll drop you, instead."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"In that case, Mr. Albus--" Noeline does seem to like using titles wherever appropriate, though it might be more sincere were it not usually delivered along with an easy and rather fanged grin. "--we will simply repeat the show of force as often as necessary - regularly, if need be. At present, Miss Everstead-Rey seems determined to test the limits of our patience, I admit, but I'd much rather keep tripping her up than do anything more drastic," she adds with a huff of air. "Admittedly, I did almost rethink that when she seemed to relish Id's presence, but--..."
She trails off with a rather lost shake of her head, not having any answers on the subject. Instead, better to focus on other things - and Riesenlied's suggestion makes her nod her head. "I'll see what I can glean, yes. I believe I have a couple of old contacts near the company who might be able to assist me in getting closer - perhaps I'll just become an employee for a little bit and keep my ears open," she adds with a cocksure grin, flicking out some of her hair.
Josephine's complaint makes her chuckle brightly to herself, but she doesn't immediately answer, having taken the pause as a chance to fuss gently at Riesenlied's bandages and ensure they're sufficient. "We-- have our reasons, I suppose you would say. We've promised a certain someone that we'll show them we are not just machines for war. A little extra mercy doesn't go amiss in today's Filgaia, for that matter. In some ways, that is the core of the reason behind Wayside."
There's a pause.
"--does he have a tendency to get himself injured?" Noeline asks Leon out of the blue, her expression breaking into a bright and mischievous smile. "You see, that seems to be some sort of a habit when it comes to natural leaders--"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Too neat. ... yes, it was all too prepared. "... there were-- bottles, lined up all around the perimeter of the warehouse. That Symbological crest was designed to trigger when it was exposed, I think."
It's no use to ruminate over that too much more, but the lengths in which the trap was prepared was particularly thorough. She looks to Noeline, then to Leon. "He's quite passionate about his struggle against Shakhan. We have no love lost with him -- he and Gebler have stirred and invigorated the war economy and culture in Ignas anew in the last few decades; we're happy to lend a hand to stop his ambitions."
She looks just a bit bhasful as she says, "I--I'll try, M-- Josie. ... it really is a force of habit, for me." So polite!
"And, no, you're perfectly right. Our enemies won't show us the same mercy, but..." Riesenlied looks towards the broken sword on the counter. "Those of us that have fought this long to be out here... it's more than just a battle for survival -- it's a battle to sustain and uphold our culture as well, like Noeline says."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Some investigation is warranted. I would like to know what they intend," Leon says. He frowns, then folds his arms, and glances down. He nods once, before he looks sideways to Noeline. "Tch. I suppose she has her reasons for her rage, but it's unseemly. She should blame those at fault. Of course... leave it to a soldier to know there is a gulf between one's nation and its soldiery."
If, he thinks, calling the Metal Demons a nation is remotely accurate. It might be reductive. A trap that he shouldn't fall into. He can't very well ignore what the vast body of the Demons have -- and would, again -- do.
But the two in front of him are friends, even if they are also enemies.
He looks sideways at Noeline, then shakes his head. "Mm, not that I've seen. He is cautious. He--" He realizes, perhaps, who Noeline means. Leon's eyes shift, slowly, to Riesenlied. He fights a smile, for a moment. "I see. It's true enough. I don't wish you ill. Don't get me wrong, I'll fight you to the end, if it comes to that. But..."
He looks down. "...It isn't personal. At least, not in the same way that it is for... other factors."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
On the subject of Ida, Josie simply shakes her head. She had only caught part of that particular altercation, but it had been enough. "What got into that girl? I'd thought her more level-headed than that."
Symbology, she'd thought she'd recognized something about the style. "That also means they've got at least one fair hand of a mage on their roster, you know, and I'd bet on more than one." She scowls briefly, as if a thought occured to her. "I wonder which tradition..."
Bart certainly was passionate, she'd give him that. "Hmm, seems that way. Heh, between him, a few wayward soldiers, a group of Metal Demons... If I were the Prime Minister, I might start to worry a little bit." She is, pointedly, not including herself in the count here.
So polite, indeed. Josie just... sighs, shaking her head. Good enough.
As if in a placating gesture, Josie turns her hands palms-up and shakes her head. "Fair enough, fair enough. Just so long as you know what you're getting into. You might be monsters of yore, or something like that, but I dare say there are enough souls out there foul enough to put even a dragon," and here she reaches over to deliver a slap of a pat onto Muni-Muni (revenge!) as if to demonstrate the subject, "off its feed. Of course, if you've been out the west side of Ignas this long, you've probably met a few personally, haven't you?"
She settles back in her seat, glancing between Noeline and Leon as they have a bit of an exchange -- combined with a bit of a stifled laugh as the Metal Demon makes a certain observation -- and comments simply, "Not my circus, not my monkey, as they used to say? Or something like that."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Someday, we really should take a little holiday in Kislev," Noeline comments back to Riesenlied, though the rather rueful look on her face suggests she's not exactly looking forward to the prospect. "Though-- at the same time, I'm still a little loath to leave Wayside for any period of time. We're still very much establishing this place, after all, and I daresay we're not quite out of the fire just yet. Still, I doubt that any of us are going to get the lay of the land there without seeing it for ourselves."
"As for Ida-- well, I should certainly hope she does have her reasons, yes. For someone who earned the Quarter Knight's respect by repeatedly shooting them in the face, to claim that she is suddenly powerless is the height of fantasy," Noeline mutters, sounding actively annoyed. "And to claim that we should go away because then things would be simpler is remarkably disdainful. Here I thought I'd studied humans quite enough to know most of their patterns," she sighs with a hand at her forehead.
Leon just gets an amused grin as he catches the joke, and then Noeline flicks her hair out again with a brief nod. "Of course. We all have our own convictions," she notes matter-of-factly. "If you somehow decided that Wayside needed to be removed from the map, even for the most well-intentioned reason, I would not stop at anything much either. Still, I have a hard time imagining that happening at this point," she chuckles--
--but she still enjoys stirring the shit a little. "By the way, does he call everyone 'lovely ladies'?"
Flicking out her hair again, Josephine gets a light chuckle and a rather askance stare. "We hosted the Demon of Elru a few days ago, and somehow lived to tell the tale. We've talked with Guardians and received their-- begrudging blessings. More than anything, we know how powerful Drifters can be - and if I had to point at something specific, that would be what sets us apart from the rest of the Metal Demons."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a polite, if sorrowful smile as she nurses that wound of hers again. "I have no doubt you will, Mister Leon. If that fight had gone on a bit longer, you may as well have been able to get me--" as she winces, "--I didn't think otherwise, but to see Argent Divider's capabilities and your skills firsthand is something else."
Would she be able to do the same? She isn't sure. Lily has told her as much that she should try to avoid fighting; she's weakened ever since encountering Equites, while her senses have become stronger and stronger...
She squints at Josephine's assessment to say, "It could be a clue. Not every arms merchant holds magic in high regard." Mm.
At the slap-like pat, Muni starts to kinda-- rock, with a bit of a 'bwaah??' expression from where she's started to drift off towards a blissful doze -- you can see the snooze bubble go 'pop!' to where the Dragon bobs to attention again, tongue out with a happy face. Your command, Miss Josie??! :D
Why are these monsters of yore so adorable?!
"... I understand her frustrations in a way, but..." Riesenlied lowers her head. "I rather doubt I can convince her, as I appear to be at least part of what she's deeply frustrated about." A longer pause. She knows a little more from what she's gleaned into her heart, but... she respects Ida's privacy too. "Lily said she was trying to counsel her -- and I trust Lily to be able to do a good job with that."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"I wish I knew," Leon answers Josie, with a shake of his head. "I never knew her well. She didn't seem so vengeful, but... it comes out in the most unlikely of places, I suppose." He shrugs his shoulders once. He cracks a smile at the joke, though.
He looks at Noeline, and then he tilts his head to the side. He keeps a smile on his face, then he shakes his head once. "I don't begin to understand why he does that. The follies of youth, I suppose. Maybe he thinks it's charming or will impress women."
Not that he has to be concerned about that.
He folds his arms, before he looks sideways at Riesenlied, and then he nods. "You're a skilled swordfighter. You gave me a run for my gella," he says. "And have in the past. As to Ida... I don't think she's meant for this. Some people aren't meant for war--or a life as a Drifter, which isn't that far off. When the pressure mounts, they start to crack."
He folds his arms. "Lily took her weapons for a reason. It isn't kind, but... I think Ida should go back to Guild Galad, and find a life more to her suiting."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Hmm. I can't say I knew her too well, either," Josie muses, the comment punctuated with a frown. "Or what could be going on. Maybe the travel west didn't agree with her so well... She wouldn't be the only one." Some of them seem to have rallied, one way or another, but...
Doesn't think she's strong enough, does she? An annoyed noise escapes Josie's lips; she furrows her brow.
That really only adds support to the general thesis that she's assembling in silence here.
The Demon of... what.
Josie, for a long moment, stares at Noeline. Then, almost helplessly, sighs and throws her arms up as if in mock-defeat. "See? What did I tell you? All sorts of worse monsters than you two, for sure. And you've held your own just fine, by the looks of things. ...A little wisdom goes a long way, doesn't it?"
As for the subject of ARMs and magic, Josie adds, "The same goes the other way, too. Mages don't tend to care for ARMs, or at least not the gunpowder variety, though I suppose the calculation changes a little bit if you just have to get paid. Hmmm. I guess we'll see who the lowest bidder was..."
In the meantime, she has a wee bit of a... situation? Situation might cover it. She glances sidelong at the dragon she attempted to avenge herself upon and...
...and some things are hard to really bear vengeful feelings towards, huh.
Softly she pat-pats the back of the dragon's head (??), as if to resign herself to this.
She glances sidelong at Leon. Closing her eyes, Josie nods in perhaps startling sobriety.
"Far be it for me to tell a girl what not to do with her life... but not everyone's got what it takes to be a Drifter. It's not just about being a hero, whatever the stories say about it. You've got to have your head on straight... or at least, close enough to it," the archaeologist opines, bitter smile at an all. "From the sound of it, she's cracking up, poor kid." She shakes her head. "Going home's probably the best option she has, unless she wants to lose herself."
Josie pauses, as if something has occured to her.
"Speaking of Lily, where's kiddo gotten herself off to? You two didn't have a fight, did you?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Well. Flattering, at least, though he really ought to have a little more care who he says that sort of thing to," she comments lightly - but she has been known to have a very swift kick when she wants, not to mention a jealous streak a mile wide when it comes to Riesenlied. Somehow, it's all the more believable the way she primly sits next to the other woman, and her faint grin suggests that she knows it...
... but she shrugs instead, letting out a sigh. "Can she really go home at this point, I wonder? As far as I can tell, part of her woes stem from the sheer amount of ridiculous nonsense going on in Filgaia at present - and it may not be possible for her to wilfully ignore it, given how she's acted up until now. It is a bit of a trap she's got herself in, I suppose - everyone needs a break from time to time, but hers are not being productive in even the slightest," she sighs, with a light shake of her head.
She chortles once when the mechanic stops to look askance at her, though, and breaks out into an outright laugh when Josephine throws her arms up. "Well, don't look at us," she retorts with an enormous grin. "It isn't as if we expected him to turn up, or particularly wanted him to. Would you believe he left us alone after we picked each other's brains a little?" That is a remarkable understatement compared to what actually happened, and yet at the same time it's technically true - but Noeline's not about to give that away, just enjoying the reaction.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"The events at Adlehyde and beyond have... shown her that her life up until now had not been all that she had expected," would be the most respectful way Riesenlied could put it. Everything between the brooch and her heritage, about the frustrations of everything that'd happened at the Fairground and beyond... well...
"I do agree that it would be good for her to be able to reassert herself around familiar trappings, like Wayside and the Tainted are for me, but..." It might not necessarily exist for Ida, with how pressuring her family is.
"... and, it was a frightening thing to happen," Riesenlied lends to the Demon of Elru conversation. "Originally, I had pursued him from the far east in Elru, due to what happened at Garlyle. I wished for a similar catastrophe to be avoided... and..."
A pause.
"Well, I do not profess to be able to know what he thinks, but... we've gotten somewhere," Riesenlied sighs tiredly, as she shifts and leans a little -- and winces against her own wound.
She lets out a little 'mm'. "I need some more anaesthetic for this... I can feel it wearing off." She looks politely to Leon and Josephine. "Do feel free to make use of the facilities here as you need. It's the least we can do."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Yeah. If she can't get it together..." Leon shakes his head. He looks back at them -- considering the Demon of Elru, and he frowns for a moment. He nods, but stays quiet. The same man who hurt Lily. That Wayside escaped unscathed is, he thinks, a blessing.
He smiles at Noeline, then looks to Riesenlied -- and nods. "Of course," he says. "Get some rest, please." He doesn't quite apologize for it; given the circumstances, and that he caused that wound, it would be improper. He isn't terribly sorry about it. He starts to stand, too.
"I'll have a look and see what I can find, but my resources are limited. I may be... occupied, soon." He shouldn't mention why. He looks at Josie--then frowns.
"Of course not," he says. "She's busy with a job we took. I'll be helping soon enough. But the first part involves her talents, not mine."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Dreams are pretty powerful. Dreams can take you a long distance. Most Drifters start out after one dream or another.
But having a dream and the capability to back up your dreaming, well. Not everyone can do that. In the end, Josie just shakes her head, exhaling a long breath. "Maybe not, maybe not," she replies to Noeline. "But all the same... there's a value knowing when to quit. It's that, or pull herself together at this point."
Or let herself get swallowed up, she thinks to herself, easing back in her seat.
"Just wanted to talk, huh? Fengalon's teeth, next you'll be telling me you're having Reapers around for prayer or something..." All she can really do at this point is shake her head.
"You and me both, I think," Josie states when Riesenlied voices that she's feeling tired, herself. "Having part of a building fall on me is possibly not quite the best end to the day, so I was thinking about having a drink and turning in. Your bar's not open this late, is it?"
She pauses. And the cheerily offers: "I can serve myself, too, if it is."
DON'T DO IT IT'S A TRAP
That frown of Leon's only earns him a very bright if brief grin. "Good, I'd have to have words if it were otherwise. Well, if you see her, tell her I said good luck."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline still seems quite-- affected by Ida's outburst herself. Perhaps the Metal Demon's not really quite used to this situation, or feeling a little more angry than she'd like to let on or expect of herself. Whatever the case, she sighs, shaking her head as she lets the breath out and does her best to move off the topic.
It's made easier when Riesenlied pipes up, frowning uncertainly as she looks to the other Hyadean's wounds. "... really..." she sighs as she places a hand near Riese's bandages as if to test them, then frowns as she gets to her feet. "I'll get some more. Stay still, and don't move it - it will only exacerbate things.
She does pause at least, grinning faintly at Josephine. "If you're willing, I can probably find you a place to stay. We don't have a great deal of actual roofs to hide under - the orphans and the wounded get most of those - but we've a number of free tents, and they're reasonably comfortable. As for the bar, well-- I will see if I can find her, I suppose," she adds rather cryptically.