2017-10-16: Get Married Already
- Log: Get Married Already
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
- Where: Wayside
- Date: 16th October 2017
- Summary: Janey asks Riesenlied a very forward question! How does the Demon deal with it?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It's a pleasant day in Wayside! Riesenlied's been busy with the Wings and the children since morning, between sending them off for scouting tasks and checking after the Dragons as she's wont to do, leading to a play-session with the children. But at the midst of the day, Noeline can overhear a particular conversation...
"Rieseee, is Miss Noeline your wife??"
There's an adorably stumbling yelp from the Tainted demon, as she stammers, "W-what...?"
"Someone told me, when you're taking care of kids and have someone important in your life, they're like a husband or wife, right??"
"E-eeh...." Riesenlied is underequipped for this question!!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
On quieter days, Noeline's routine around Wayside is fairly-- well, routine. She takes some time every so often to pick up a few books and newspapers from nearby villages or cities; days like this are a good opportunity to kick back and indulge her lazier side, selecting a quiet spot in the shade as she gets caught up on her reading before donating the books to a set of shelves at the back of the bar. Of course, she's developing kind of a tendency to relax nearer the orphanage, rather than further away...
She's leafing slowly through one of her books - a rather insipid romance novel that isn't exactly holding her attention - when she catches wind of the incoming conversation and blinks up in a sudden burst of surprise, her eyebrows shooting upwards as she lets out an involuntary snort of laughter.
Before she really knows what she's doing she's up on her feet, sneaking closer to listen in to the next step of the conversation; she's already grinning, though, and ignoring the way in which her cheeks have lightly heated at the implication, tilting her head as she takes a glance around the corner of the building to watch Riesenlied's reaction.
A moment of that, though, and she's swept out to drape on one of the other woman's arms. "Hmm, did you think so?" she wonders, and above them both Trouble and Strife do a little circling dance.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has found a very picturesque lounging chair atop a circular mat, around which the children are playing with their blocks and toys. Mikaia is seated on her lap as she often is, and she has a book that she's reading them.
"U-um, Noeline and I..." she lets out an even brighter pip as she gazes towards Noeline when she swans in.
"Uwaah! Noeline, Noeline, is Riesemama your wife, then??" asks ever-curious Janey, who's got a big grin on her face and isn't about to take 'no' for an answer.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline wastes no time at all in draping over her partner's shoulders, kind of making a show of the way in which she leans on the back of Riesenlied's chair and hugs her rather possessively; she grins happily at the children, her light blush thankfully hidden in the midst of her flame-red hair and the way in which her eyes glint with mischief.
"Well, I'm certainly not her /husband/, I should hope," she grumbles theatrically, tilting her head back and forth before she breaks back into a grin. "And last I heard you didn't need children to be wife and wife. Still, what do you all think?" she prompts, having completely failed to deny any part of it. "Or, rather, what else do wives do together? Maybe we can double-check."
Her voice is entirely playful - but she does remain glued to Riesenlied's shoulders, not letting her escape as she chuckles to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is certainly no less burning, her cheeks red as she clings a little closer to Mikaia and sticks her lip a little to Janey. "W-we're..." she swallows. "W-where did you all even hear about that??"
Janey grins and says, "Well, Noeline keeps leaving all of these books around, so we're curious! Oh, oh, do you become wife and wife when you get bitten?"
Riesenlied protests, "You're-- you're giving them a bad impression, Noeline!"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Realization dawns - and Noeline just ends up grinning even brighter, her crimson eyes positively lit up. "Oh, I /see/-- no, no, don't worry. The 'biting' part is only for Crimson Nobles and their beloved, you see," she proclaims richly, acting the part as she flicks out a twintail of hair and sinks closer around Riesenlied's shoulders. "Most of the time, you simply need to find someone you feel very strongly about. Bonus points if you feel terribly comfortable around them, hm?"
If her voice is wistful for a moment, she doesn't let it linger; her eyebrows go up as she laughs, unable to avoid grinning further. "Well, I suppose you can bite a little. If you like. But that's probably not something you should be thinking about just yet, hm? For that matter, did you even ask Val if you could borrow those books?" she teases.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey looks ever-so excited as she says, "But you're a Crimson Noble, right, Noeline? So you bit Riese because she's your beloved! Turning your eternal partner and everything!" Someone's incredibly excited at the prospect, and is probably going to consume a lot of junk fiction as she grows up. Mikaia, on the other hand, just looks really confused.
"And of course not! That's why we snuck them out!" Janey grins.
"You shouldn't just spirit books away without asking..." Riesenlied lectures very gently.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's hum is terribly rich. "Of course. I'm a very jealous sort, after all. I'd get terribly upset if anyone were to try to steal my Riesenlied away," she comments as she shows her fangs for a moment-- but then relents, because she's not about to actually act out in front of the children. Instead, she places a light kiss on Riesenlied's cheek, just for a tiny moment, not even for the purposes of showing off - though above her, Trouble and Strife certainly make a show of swooning downwards towards the children, wafting sowly through the air.
Of course, then Janey just perks up, and even Noeline has to snort in clear amusement. "... honestly... I suppose I'm the last person to lecture you on that front, but some of those are going to be pretty hard for you all to understand just yet, hm? You should let me know if there's something you want in specific. I'll see if I can find it."
She lets that go without comment, though, and looks to a no-doubt crimson Riesenlied as a grin tugs at her lips. "But you know-- I'm not much of a Riesemama, mind you. The things she can do and the things I can do are kind of different, don't you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a little whimper, but she can't help but relent as she leans against Noeline as she kisses her, much as Mikaia goes 'wah!' and covers her eyes gently -- then peeks just a little as Janey tries to clamber onto Strife as she's often doing to try to sneak a little flight out of it.
"Well, of course not! You're a Noemama instead!" Janey responds in turn. "You're the one who's gonna teach us about Driftery things, right?"
"E-eh?" Riesenlied sounds a bit confused. "I wouldn't think we'd need to..."
"But I wanna break into ancient Ruins and steal things and get riiiiiich!" Janey grumps.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Trouble and Strife are, of course, a big hit with the kids - and Strife is easy to bully into giving Janey a lift, not least because the ARM seems like it's happy with the positive attention. After all, the way Noeline treats some of them around ruins, it's probably a pleasant change for them both. At least it knows to stay low when it's carrying one of the kids, though Trouble settles into the lap of one of the other orphans, apparently a lazier sort.
"Oh, am I?" chimes Noeline innocently, as if the idea were news to her - but she's already been tugged into enough of Janey's play sessions and offered enough stories of strange underground ruins that the groundwork's been laid.
"... well, why not?" she wonders after a moment more, tilting her head to rest her cheek against Riese's in their embrace. "Not that I'm about to send them into any ruins soon, but it never hurts to be better prepared. ... could you really stop Janey if her mind was set on something?" she adds with a quieter, more amused air. Totally not fond.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey is, adorably, tiny enough to just be slightly larger than Strife, so it's more like she's throwing herself on like a piggyback as she goes 'vroom vroom!' and pumps a hand up and goes, "All aboard, into the Ruins we gooo~!" Mikaia whines and says, "I don't want to play Digger again, Janey, can't we play House instead...?"
"Aww, but House's boring...!" Janey complains.
"Now now... you should take turns playing what you want," Riesenlied advises gently. "You said you wanted to look out for Mikaia too, right?"
"Well, sure..." Janey grumps.
Riesenlied looks to Noeline with a small, warm smile to say, "They've got a lot to learn first..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
For a moment, Noeline waves a hand; Strife responds, zigging and zagging gently from side to side as it starts to 'vroom' around - in this case, the local ruins appear to be... the orphanage, as Strife gently putters in the back door with its cargo. There's a noise that's something like a 'bonk', and then a bit of a clatter, and then Strife has swung up a little to bring Janey out a nearby window, and straight into a couple of sheets that have been hung up to dry.
Good job, Janey, you found a Landmark.
"That's certainly true," Noeline comments thoughtfully to herself as she watches, letting out a quiet sigh. "But, at the same time - well, with Filgaia the way it is, it certainly doesn't hurt to make sure they know the signs of danger, and how to avoid them safely. That much should be alright, I dare say. I'm not about to teach them to pick a lock or something just yet, at least," she chuckles.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"We found the bedsheets! These ancient strips of cloth were used to cover the beddings of good kids who totally deserve candy and cookies!" Janey puts on a silly faux-archaeologist British lilt to her voice, acting like she's cradling a pipe and adjusting a monocle.
"You already stole some cookies, Janey," Mikaia sells her out.
"Mikaia, you wound me...!" Janey pouts, as Riesenlied huffs to say, "Don't make me have to lock the cookie jar, Janey..." but she does-- peer at Noeline for a moment with a glum pout, but a relenting nod.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"/Actually/, I think you'll find those were used to wrap up bad kids, hm?" Noeline hums, showing her fangs again. "Ready for Crimson Nobles to take them away and lock them up forever." It's hard to find the lack of heart to summon up an evil Crimson Noble voice, though, and so Noeline is rather obviously kidding around, certainly not about to do anything too untoward to the kids under their watch.
She does glance aside to meet Riesenlied's rare grumbling - and gives her a surprisingly sympathetic smile. "A little self-defence, perhaps. Nothing more," she promises privately. "I have no desire to encourage her into drifting, but I get the feeling she's going to do it regardless - and I'd rather make sure she's prepared, if even a little."
She punctuates her statement by finding Riese's hand, giving it a light squeeze in hers - before she looks up, and raises her voice again. "Honestly... I'd get Val to look after it, but she might be turning into as much a soft touch for you all as Riesemama here."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Hmmm..." Janey pouts, before she says, "But a resourceful kid should be able to use it like a rope! Swing~!" as she waves her hands around, as Riesenlied responds, "Not until they're a bit older, at least... I don't want to stress them out with needing to do this too early." She doesn't necessarily disagree on the idea of self-defence, necessarily...
"Val sneaks us other treats already," Janey grins as Mikaia flails and says, "J-Janey, you're not supposed to say that...!"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline does at least relent, nodding in acceptance; perhaps she's feeling a little hasty, given everything that's happened around Wayside as of late. After all, as much as she might have tied herself to the Ebony Wings banner, Noeline's impulses are still those of a spy, and sometimes the most obvious course of action is to be overly cautious, and ready to bolt.
"... that's fair. Still-- I suppose I should try to find some more /appropriate/ books, hm?" she still manages to tease, her expression setting itself back to an easy kind of grin. "Something a little less focused than Jacqueline's alchemic texts, perhaps."
Her pause heralds a very theatrical sort of sigh that she lets out, and fixes Riesenlied with a more solemn frown. "Well-- there is nothing for it, I suppose," she decides aloud. "We'll simply have to start rolling poor Janey around when she turns into a ball."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets a little sigh in turn, as she rocks on her chair gently. Mikaia smiles and says, "Miss Jay's books are really hard, but-- the pictures are really pretty!" Mikaia's understanding of alchemy, perhaps, will begin at 'combine thing A with thing B', and then give it a little jiggle, and then... dokkan! A Shalune-style alchemist...
"I'd like to find more appropriate books myself," Riese answers. "... and-- um," she swallows. "Spend more time with you... we haven't really caught up all morning."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a hum, Noeline glances at the girl in Riesenlied's lap, snickering softly. "Well, do keep at it. I realize the words might be hard, but they might be the key to the whole thing," she points out, while bearing in mind that they might also have to find Mikaia some new equipment soon, as well. "I suppose we should have bought some samples from Miss Barber to give you a chance to experiment, hm? Next time, perhaps."
The Crimson Noble does pause, though - and chuckle more lightly, as she rests her cheek back against Riesenlied's. "Well-- there is always something more to do, I suppose," Noeline hums to herself, not without fondness. "I suppose no news is good news, in a way - But if you'd like spiriting away for a while, rest assured my wings are always ready." ... okay, /that/ was for Mikaia's sake, surely?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Mikaia nods a few times, looking not too discouraged... but she's got a long way to go! Riesenlied hugs her and says, "You're very smart, so I know you can do it..." Janey grins and says, "You can make a cookie that won't make me fat, while you're at it!"
Riesenlied looks towards Noeline and her cheeks redden softer, pausing, to say... "... then, what would you do in that case?"
Janey grins to go, "The adults are going to go smoooooch..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is about to respond-- then grumbles a little as Janey pipes up, making a circling motion with her hand; in response, Strife beeps, and then spins around in a brief moment as it threatens to unseat Janey - for all the good that would do, since she's all of a foot off the ground and bounces anyway.
"The adults are going to take a bit of a walk," she corrects rather archly. "And then I am going to see if I can get Riesemama to actually rest her mind for a while. ... there is a small rest stop, about an hour out of November City. When I stopped last, it had a pleasant little place to get some food and a small chapel with a modest stack of books. It seems a nice enough place to start, if you ask me," she adds with some gentleness.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied bobs her head with a smile, nodding as she sets Mikaia down gently and says, "Be good while we're gone, okay? Val will call you when lunch is ready." Mikaia nods a few times and says, "W-we'll be good girls!"
She rises to her feet -- a little unsteadily, holding onto the armrest of the chair gently, but then putting her hand to Noeline's. "Shall we...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline watches that wobble carefully - she's taking some pains to keep tabs on this sort of thing, and build up an idea of how much Riesenlied might be deteriorating, and how quickly - but whatever worries she has get tucked to the back of her mind for the time being as she offers a shoulder for support. "... of course," she nods instead, lacing her fingers with the other woman, no doubt to a couple of 'ooh's and 'aah's from the peanut gallery.
"Look after the place as well, hm? We should be back before dark, I expect." Noeline, you're basically the opposite of a Crimson Noble.