2017-10-30: If Fate Were Kinder
- Log: If Fate Were Kinder
- Cast: Lunata Croze, Shalune Amira, Jacqueline Barber, Lily Keil
- Where: Great Aveh Desert
- Date: October 30th, 2017
- Summary: Lunata, Shalune, Jacqueline, and Lily reunite...but it is not Lunata who speaks to them. The spirit has words for them.
===========================<* Great Aveh Desert *>============================ The heart of the Republic of Aveh is its great desert. The rolling dones and blistering heat here are infamous, and all but the most foolhardy would ever dare to cross it on foot. Most do so via the great rail lines running north to south, east to west, leading as far as Krosse and Adlehyde. The ones who do cross it on foot will find the heat isn't the only danger. Mirages can lead men astray, oases are few, and great and terrible beasts sink beneath the sands until they find their prey.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The Rephaim is currently stationed on a deserty outcropping just within a stones' throw from the Yggdrasil, which hangs in the back; on advice from 'Lunata', she's declined to let the machine re-enter the sandcruiser at present on account of... potential dangers. As such, the all-white (save for the now-shredded accordion-tube arm) Gear reclines against a cliff, next to some transports and perhaps even the CaraKin...
...and the cockpit slides open, with a little hiss from inside of it as residual energies escape its vents. It doesn't look damaged, but it certainly had emanated a powerful kind of energy that was ... disconcerting, to say the least.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's roughly managed to climb down from her panic by now; she's spent the flight from the capital perched on the back of Big Shal, who in turn has hitched a lift on the Rephaim's foot. She knows the voice she heard over the radio as they began their retreat, and has had to hold herself back from just battering the commlink with questions and worries, biting at her lip all the way.
The golem has seen better days - it is intact, as much as the word ever applies to Big Shal, though with a lot of Aveh Gear armor incorporated into its structure as a matter of necessity. The composition doesn't seem to faze it, but certainly the patchwork bits of colour look a bit suspect, and Big Shal appears to dislike it, picking 'bits' out of herself to be rebuilt later.
As the Rephaim's hatch opens, Shalune hops off the golem with an uncertain noise of concern.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline's immediate concern after dropping off the Princess and the rest of her passengers was the Rephaim - and specifically, its pilot. Lunata and Shalune had been in her thoughts the whole time as she was driving away from Bledavik, and now that she finally sees the Gear itself she breaks into a bit of a run.
Jacqueline definitely looks like someone who's been through a fight. Her hair is all mussed up and her coat, though thick and durable, was scorched with a small section of the side completely burnt away, and she's a bit unstable as she walks. Considering that she's had both a cyborg weighing 550 pounds and a mace weighing...however much Berserk's mace weighed slam into her in the same day, it's perfectly understandable.
When she gets closer, she can spot Big Shal, as well, which provides her some manner of relief. She...has to question her current state, but the fact that she can see Shalune climbing down puts one concern out of her mind. But the other...
"Lunata! Shalune!" Jacqueline shouts as she starts to approach, then looks up with some amount of trepidation as the cockpit of the Rephaim starts to slide open...
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The cockpit hinge swivels for a moment as the energy builds to a release. There's a pause... and Lunata -- or rather, what passes for Lunata -- emerges slowly from the cockpit, though her posture and poise appears decidedly unlike Lunata, and how she might react to such a thing. There's a deliberation and elegance to her step as she places her arms across each other, with a quiet sigh.
"... she'll be all right," she first reassures in a deeper voice.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
At least Shalune can offer a grin towards Jay - it's a bit weary, and she certainly looks a little shaky, but she's on two feet and seemingly uninjured - probably thanks to the half-destroyed 'cockpit' that covers the gantry on Big Shal's back, reinforced in an impromptu manner mid-battle.
It also helps that she can immediately pull herself up at the sight of the alchemist, her eyebrows rocketing up as she scurries over. "--wah, you're super beat up! We told you to be careful!" she grumps, but in a good-natured fashion as she fusses over Jacqueline. "Uuu, you're s'posed to have potions for days..."
And then Lunata climbs down from her cockpit, and that makes her attention swivel right back around to-- someone who is not Lunata. Were she not terribly worried, there would be something comical in the way that Shalune seems almost to snap to attention, as if faced with a teacher. Or an Impure Princess, of course. "Ah--... are you sure?" she burbles, but at least her shoulders do sag with relief.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline returns Shalune's smile a bit sheepishly.
"There were some...complications, I'm afraid. It looks worse than it is, really...I just need a little rest, is all..." She replies, feeling a tad bit embarrassed. Of course, that was partially due to the healing talents of one Rena Lanford, without who she would probably still be sitting in the CaraKin because her legs felt like jelly and her body felt like she had a building fall on top of her...
Or an equivalent in the form of Berserk's mace.
'Lunata's' emergence from the cockpit gets Jacqueline's full attention, however, and she watches the pilot carefully.
That posture, that poise...that sheer elegance. She recognized that from somewhere else.
"...I'm glad to hear that. I was somewhere else, so I wasn't able to see what she was doing. I was worried." Jacqueline comments. Her tone is a bit more...polite and formal, than if she were speaking with Lunata herself.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Elegant or otherwise, there's certainly still a bit of an uncertain frown from her -- and the way she raises her hand, as if used to holding... something -- something long and thin, like a baton or a pipe, perhaps? Is telling.
"You did well, it would seem," she compliments Jacqueline. "I could sense the presence of other Guardians, but only a mere din."
A faint sigh.
"... she was given to temptation. I ought to not be so partial, but..." she peers towards the two. "You know of how the seduction of power ruins those who seek it."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune does track her gaze over Jacqueline a second time, biting lightly at her lip. The mechanic trusts Jay when she says her wounds are mostly fine - when it comes to being a medic, the alchemist's got a whole lot more practice than her - but Shalune's sense of worry is a strong, unfocused thing with all the grace and subtlety of an eight-foot puppy tripping over its own feet. 'Lunata's comment makes her hop slightly from foot to foot in realization: "T-then... we really did it? We got her out?"
She pauses, though, and swallows when the warning comes. "... when those... 'Gebler' Gears appeared, I think it rattled Lunie. She'd been really frustrated, and wanting to make a difference - but, um, I think she got rattled as well." Shalune isn't even really talking to either of them so much as thinking aloud into the air. "... I... something happened, and she summoned-- that was Ge Ramtos, right?" she asks of the woman inhabiting the waitress.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
A compliment was the last thing she expected. Jacqueline's a bit taken aback.
"Thank you. It wasn't easy...one of the Quarter Knights appeared, and we had to deal with a human opponent, too...but in the end, we were able to successfully seal the statue." Jacqueline says, then glances toward Shalune with a small smile.
"That's right. The princess was successfully extracted from the palace, along with her entourage." She replies. One of them had been injured greatly in the process, but...he'd probably survive. She hoped.
She listens as both 'Lunata' and Shalune give their explanations, and frowns slightly...
"'Lunata'..." Jacqueline murmurs, a bit concerned. Shalune mentions the same conclusions she'd reached.
"...Yes. I had a good view of that with the 'human opponent' I mentioned. But the seduction of power...it's easy for anyone to fall to." She comments.
And then Shalune mentions something.
"She summoned...?" Jacqueline murmurs. ...Was that what she had felt? That brief, sudden concern...?
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"The... 'Quarter Knights'," speaks 'Lunata', as if it was vaguely familiar, yet at the same time foreign to her. She nods in return as she murmurs, "It is good that you were able to do so. I could sense great power coming from the direction of the palace, and the consequence of not doing so would have been dire."
She twitches as she twirls her fingers in the air, like she's used to twisting something.
"She cried out to me for help."
A pause, as she glances. "I should... not have done so. Yet... it was not something I could leave alone. Strange."
She looks conflicted, bobbing her head one way. "... Ge Ramtos... yes, that was a Material summon, in effect, if the term has not changed in the years preceeding mine. ... yet, different in many ways..."
She narrows her eyes. "It is not a cost that anyone can endure for long."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune blinks in surprise, her eyebrows raised. "A-ah-- sealed a statue? So there was one of those Guardian thingos there?" she wonders aloud, and then furrows her brow slightly. "I-- I guess that explains why the Princess dove over there... but, jeez, she coulda told people about what she was doin'!" Shalune grumps, conveniently forgetting that they also left Adlehyde and are, in the end, random townsfolk.
The mechanic swallows uncertainly in the immediate aftermath, cowed into silence - not in a bad way, more a sort of natural respect - by Ge Ramda's speech.
"... how... much did it cost her? ... I dunno what that Gear used, but something it did made everything power down all of a sudden. If it hadn't-- what would've happened?" she blurts, and then shakes her head as a spike of suspicion runs through her. "No, um-- more than that, what did happen? You're-- you're not normally, um, 'out' this long."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Yes, that was the case. I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to her, but...maybe there's a reason she couldn't." Jacqueline says with a nod toward Shalune, then glances toward 'Lunata'.
Dire, indeed...
Jacqueline glances down at 'Lunata's' gesture, but doesn't draw attention to it. Instead, she just frowns slightly.
"You said she'd be alright, but..." Jacqueline murmurs, her concern rising. What did it cost her...? She remains quiet, just as curious as Shalune is.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"... the wants and needs of the royalty do not tend to mesh with those of the common," speaks 'Lunata', perhaps careful to maintain tone and not let any blitheness enter it. "Still, it was respectful for you to come to her aid."
She raises her eyebrows and stretches her fingers out. "... I'd rather not say," she comments. "Ultimately, one is not meant to know the hour of their reckoning. It makes death an artifice, rather than a natural outcome."
She stares towards Shalune. "That white machine. The one with the horn. Ataraxes..."
She glances up towards the air. "It has the capability to stymie magic in its presence." She hesitates just for a moment, then replies: "And magic is what sustains your friend now. I... intervened, so that she would not be lost."
There's a genuinely confused look on her face as she sideglances to herself. "... I'm not certain why..."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"... I know it's not really appropriate of me to say, what with the whole situation, but that's kinda cold comfort," Shalune grumbles of talk around the Princess. Whether she means the general situation, or the fact the lich usually operates in cold comforts as a matter of course, she doesn't seem terribly willing to elaborate. "'sides, if it was a statue thing, we got entrusted with that too. --well, us and everyone else from here to Guild Galad, I guess," she puffs up her cheeks, feeling somewhat deflated.
It gives her time to slowly draw in a breath, at least, and to try her hardest to push the thought of Lunata's death - of Lunata's current state - out of her mind. She doesn't know what it means that the waitress is powered by magic, now, nor what it might mean in the future, so long as she's okay. "... those machines were weird," she mutters quietly instead, because that she can focus on safely. "I've never seen anything like 'em."
A pause - and then she grins ever so faintly at the lich's confusion. "Um. Well, you were scary at first, sure, but aren't you just sorta one of us now? Don't tell me you're not enjoying being a cook," she adds with a puff of air to distract herself. "You're way too good at it."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"...That's...fair, I suppose." Jacqueline replies with a frown, as 'Lunata' elects not to mention what exactly the cost was.
"Ataraxes?" Jacqueline repeats. She wasn't there for the fight with the machine, so she hadn't seen it herself...but it sounded like a formidable opponent. She has other concerning news, as well.
"Magic sustains her...? I...I didn't know that... Does she?" Jacqueline asks, concerned. And then Shalune asks point blank question to 'Lunata', and Jacqueline can't help but chuckle.
"Yes, in a way, you're yet another valuable member of the Caravan Kinship." She comments with a slight smile.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...It's not just the Gear," Lily's voice carries to the gatering, as she walks up. She is wearing black, a long dress with boots with a high neckline, sleeves, nd gloves--he left wrist braced, her left eye covered. She is wearing a shawl against the chill of the same color, and her steps are slow. Her pallor is clear, her single visible golden eye bloodshot. She has not had a good week.
"...They possess that capability generally. I experienced it for myself."
Lily's voice is quiet, though yes it does carry; there's something a little distant about her, haunted... and ill. "There was a Guardian. That's why we were there to begin with."
Slowly, she makes her way to the group, to find a rock to sit on, heedless of much except tht for the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata -- or rather, the spirit possessing her -- peers towards the two with something approaching a... quizzical look. "Cooking..." She glances sidelong once more, as if she's not quite certain. "I seem to remember. She works me quite hard. But the resultant dish was a feast that many enjoyed. The culinary pinnacle she called a taco."
Said with so much seriousness.
"Still, I am not meant to..." she abruptly cuts herself off as she glances to Lily as she approaches. "... I see. A formidable foe, indeed... this -- 'Gebler'." She sounds uncertain with the term.
"... the host that you call 'Lunata' is sustained by magic, that is true enough, and I would suspect that she knows. When the time came when she was exposed to a field that suppressed our magics..."
She twitches again, fingers flexing in a frustrated manner.
"She would have become a lifeless corpse, if left to her own devices."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"... I bet she does know," Shalune mumbles, of Lunata's current state. "I mean-- she came to terms with it all a lot faster than we could, an' she's really in tune with it all. Maybe it's 'cause she's probably from Rujm?" she wonders softly, before shaking her head with a grump. She tries to look huffy as she folds her arms, but this is Shalune, so it doesn't really work. "Either way, she's way too good at just bottlin' stuff up."
Perhaps she's upset because of the news, still not really sure what it exactly means that Lunata's now sustained by magic. "Is that-- is that cause of the contract? Does she need-- does anything help?" she wonders, though her voice is kind of drifting, knowing that the only answer is probably going to be 'the march of time'.
At least she's polite enough to latch onto the statement that matters: "... thank you. For-- getting her out," she mumbles, as she picks at her hair.
--and promptly jumps a foot in the air when Lily speaks, her hair tufting out in surprise as if to defend itself. "W-wah! Miss Lily?!" she blurts as she wheels, her eyebrows rocketing upwards - she's back to puppy-like concern in an instant, bobbing from foot to foot. "You look like bad had a bad day all of its own! Where's Mr. Leon?! He should be-- I dunno, waitin' hand and foot or something!" It's not even teasing; she's dead genuine about it.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
In any situation, Jacqueline would've chuckled at that, but instead she just smiles fondly.
As 'Lunata' explains what would've happened, Jacqueline pales slightly.
"That...that's awful...but, yes, thank you. You have my gratitude for saving her. If anything happened to Lunata, I..." Jacqueline trails off, her voice going quiet. She doesn't get to finish the thought, as someone else soon arrives that takes her mind off of it.
"Lily!" Jacqueline says, surprised. She hadn't expected to see her up and moving around so soon, especially not after the state she had seen her in last. She wasn't sure if Lily would have even recognized her then.
"Are...are you alright...?" She asks, concerned. It was kind of an obvious question, though, consdering the state she was currently in.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Formidable," Lily agrees, looking seriously, thoughtfully, into Lunata's eyes into someone who is not Lunata. She could say more--but, as is her way, she doesn't. She simply leaves it at formidable, listens to find her place in the conversation as it's happening. She looks up at the Rephaim as she does.
The greetings come quickly, and the fact is... Lily barely recognizes Jacqueline in the moment. "Yes, it's me," she answers, watching Shalune at her concern. "Do I? ...Leon's been taking good care of me, don't worry. I just decided that I could use some air, that's all. And I wanted to check on Lunata." She pauses, glancing at the others.
"...I'll recover," she settles on for her answer to the implied questions. "Capture isn't good for your health, is all."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"... I would normally have no two thoughts about it," 'Lunata' answers with a slowness that seems to betray her hesitation, "But..." She pauses, seemingly running short on words to express her conflict.
Perhaps it's best to not dwell on it.
"It is because of her contract." A pause... as she looks towards Shalune. "If she receives help, it will be... what you already provide to her. Temptation is the very stuff that will hasten the burning of her wick. ... so it has been, so it shall be."
She looks the very picture of someone who's seen this happen time and time again.
She looks to Jacqueline, lowering her head. "... I understand your concern. If fate were kinder, perhaps my vigil would only be one exposed to those who deserve it... but it has not turned out that way."
Where Lily casts her gaze on that which is not Lunata, she can see deeper into the glow possessed by her eye. There's a faint emanation that seems to resonate from her pendant, should she have it.
"Lunata will be... fine, in a moment. I am letting her recover to make sure there are no..." She frowns distastefully. "Undue effects."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune glances to Jacqueline, but only for a moment; she firms her expression up as she looks back to 'Lunata', nodding her head slowly. "... okay. We'll-- make sure we take more care of her, this time around," she promises, her eyes alight with innocent determination. "We won't let her go off and worry on her own this time, but-- I mean-- y'know, you've been there for her too. So-- thanks, again. I mean, we're relyin' on you as well," she adds insistently, if a little awkwardly. How do you thank a Princess Lich? "Contract or no contract, y'know?"
After a pause, she's turned her attention back to Lily, grumbling as she fusses over the woman. "Mmmnnn... so long as it was just that! We're gonna get you some food as soon as possible, okay? I'm not much of a cook compared to Lunie, but I get things done. Besides, Lunie's gonna want to make sure you're alright too."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Things rarely turn out as we would like..." Jacqueline comments with a slight frown. And indeed, fate was rarely kind. This was, perhaps, an unavoidable truth.
"Yes. We'll support her as best we can. We'll become stronger for her, so she doesn't need to feel that temptation again." Jacqueline replies with a resolute nod, agreeing with Shalune. She glances toward Lily, then. Lunata would be fine, but...right now, Lily had her concern.
"Yes, I imagine not..." She murmurs. "Well, if you need any medicine or anything, let me know, alright? I'll do what I can."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"If fate were kinder," Lily suggests, "We would live in a very different world from the one we face now." She reaches a hand to rest over the place where her pendant rests under the fabric of her dress, feeling the emanation there. "...I see."
She is not certain that she does; she studies 'Lunata' in those next few moments with her own good eye, without malice or mercy either. There is nothing there but analysis. Cold, rational...
"All right." They are thanking her, but Lily doesn't. She looks thoughtful, almost softer, after just a moment. "...<Temptation burns us all,>" Lily murmurs in a language Ge Ramda likely knows. "<And other things.>"
She shakes her head, looks to Jay and Shalune again with a nod. "...I could use a stronger version of your sleeping draught," Lily admits, when she's already taking a very strong relaxant. "And..." She hesitates, "I'd prefer something small, if you insist. I'm having trouble keeping much down."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a very faint, almost... quiet chuckle, something that feels a little self-demeaning as she watches Shalune and Jacqueline fret over Lily for a moment longer. "... she is stubborn, and you know that. She will continue to worry and dote over you... in turn. But you knew that well."
She breathes a bit, and-- stares towards Lily for a moment, raising a very curious, upturned eyebrow.
"<You speak my native language. How is it that you know it? Ours is but a footnote in history, best left forgotten...>"
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"... you should at least get somethin'," Shalune insists towards Lily, pumping her fists. "Getting some food's important, y'know? Your body can't rest unless it's got some energy to burn to help you heal up. More than just drugs," she adds, and it would be an uncharitably grumpy statement were she not talking to Lily. At least she pauses afterwards, and lets out a sigh. "Besides, it's-- it's gonna give Lunie something to occupy herself with once she's-- awake." 'Alive again' is too much even for Shalune to just blurt out.
"... it kinda feels like we're all stubborn, in our own ways," Shalune grins faintly towards 'Lunata', trying to keep up her faint grin as much as she can. She's already gravitating a little towards the white-haired girl, as if waiting to pounce on the moment that the waitress comes back to herself, but she gives Jacqueline an oddly solemn nod at the same time. "... how can we-- find out more about the Wheel, I wonder? I mean-- I already thought of offering myself, to help get Lunie out of it, but-- I know she'd never forgive me," she finishes with a mumble.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline glances toward Lily as she starts speaking in a language she didn't know. Strangely enough, 'Lunata' seems to know it, as well.
"Stronger...? Hm...I think I can manage that." Jacqueline says with a nod. She was a little concerned about going too strong, but it sounded like Lily had been through a lot. She would have to make it special, as the variety she typically gave her was the strongest she normally made it...
"But yes, she certainly is..." She says, then chuckles as Shalune agrees that they all are.
Shalune raises a valid question, and Jacqueline frowns.
"...I don't know. But we'll think of something." She says, then gives her a more pointed frown.
"One person trapped within it is more than enough, anyway. We...can help her more effectively if we're not bound to it, I think. ...Besides, I don't think either of us would let you." She says. Even if she had to physically restrain Shalune...which she would do, if necessary.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...Mm," Lily agrees about Lunata's stubbornness, turning her attention to Shalune quietly for a moment. It is a bit grumpy... But Lily doesn't especially mind grumpy as a rule. Uncharacteristically however, she glances down at the way Shalune tries to convince her, and nods. "All right," she allows simply, and stares haggardly into nothing in particular.
Stubborn. Well, they are. But Lily speaks up her own stubbornness as she looks back to 'Lunata' and replies, "<I do. I find it soothing, somehow... Though I couldn't begin to tell you how I know it.>"
To Jay, "Thank you. I... appreciate it. I haven't slept for long in some time." She wouldn't prefer to say it in front of more people than she has to... but she's too tired to care. Instead, "...Mm." She's not sure what she can say about helping Lunata. She can think, but... "Some things..." She shakes her head.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"<...soothing. Perhaps it can be said to be so. ... our language is a curious one, with a storied tale. I would love to know your connection to our heritage...>"
She looks at Shalune. "Continue to do as you are. Dig for the past, lest you ignore the warnings that we have tried to leave behind."
She frowns. "There are places, hidden out of view, associated with Ge Ramtos. Understand his history, understand the history of the Guardians with your ancestors... and you may yet find your answer."
There's a very faint sigh from 'Lunata'... and then there's a pause as she squints, smiling faintly and sadly towards Shalune as she moves closer. "... she is stirring. I can release myself now, unless there's something else you'd like to comment on?"
She furrows her brow.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune frowns, tilting her head to one side; she wavers for a moment, then looks towards Jacqueline as if to check her answer with the alchemist first. "I-- I know. I said I wasn't gonna do it! I'm smarter than that," she whines childishly for a moment before she puffs, and looks back to 'Lunata' with a remarkably solemn look... that immediately fades into a soft and lost smile. "Just, um-- thank you, again. And-- don't be a stranger, y'know? I mean, sure, you're probably supposed to be impartial, and normally you're all 'gaoooo', but that doesn't mean we can't be friendly. I mean, you saved Lunata's life. Sorta."
It all comes out in a rush, but she seems thankful to have got it out there, and hops from foot to foot as she prepared to launch onto Lunata's shoulders - if only because she can't do the same for Lily, knowing the woman wouldn't be comfortable with it. That much is obvious from the way she briefly hesitates, glancing over uncertainly in that direction.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Of course. I'll get a batch made up and have it delivered to your room." Jacqueline says, offering Lily a small smile. That should keep her stocked for quite some time.
She looks toward Shalune then, and nods.
"I know. I just...can't bear the thought of anyone else forced to live with this..." She replies, before looking back at 'Lunata'.
"...No, but...thank you, again. For looking after her." Jacqueline says, with a polite bow of her head.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"<I'll learn what I can. ...But I don't know that connection, either. I'm not sure I ever will.>"
Dig for the past. Deliveries... Lily inclines her head to Jay. "Thank you, again. The cabin on the Yggdrasil will be fine for now. I intend to disembark soon, but..." She's not quite ready for a long journey tonight. Not quite.
Shalune's solemn look makes her think. "...Impartiality and friendliness don't work well together," Lily points out. "That answer..." COmments. Hmm...
"We can't spare people all we'd like to," Lily says. She turns to look at 'Lunata.' "...I have a lot I'd comment on another day. But this is her time. I'm prepared to welcome her back. It's not often..." She sighs. "I wish I could..." A shake of her head. "No. It's foolishness." A glance to Shalune, as she spos that hesitation, that glance, and slowly shakes her head. "Thank you. Take care."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"... none should be forced to. After seeing so many consumed..." 'Lunata' agrees with Jacqueline, the rueful and sort of enigmatic expression clear on her face. There is a glance at Lily, as she smiles weakly and sadly. "There is yet more time to do so. Sometimes, a journey of discovery is not one that should be rushed."
She pauses, and quietly grumps at Shalune, "I do not go 'gao', or whatever odd noise you make my wail out to be!"
She closes her eyes, and... there's a rush of spiritual energy, as something visibly escapes Lunata with a telltale noise of 'gaooooo...' -- and the waitress starts to kip over.
[ Ge Ramda has unlocked the Title: 'Ancient Tsundere'! ]
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's not about to be dented, not at a time like this; she does - to her credit - listen seriously to Lily's comment, but then pumps her fists slightly as she frowns. "... that doesn't mean we can't try anyways. I mean, I don't wanna treat Ge Ramda as just some impartial onlooker. Not when she's helped us," she maintains softly, with a lot of fervent belief backing up her voice.
Ge Ramda's reply to Jacqueline does seem to catch the mechanic for the moment, though - and part of her has to wonder just how impartial Ge Ramda actually is. Can you really travel the Wheel so many times and not have your position on it wobble just a little? Isn't that a little tiny bit of regret in her voice? She's just about to open her mouth--
--when it clamps shut again, the grump from the lich sending her back up to attention. "Y-yes, ma'am!" she blurts-- and then has to scurry forward to try to catch Lunata, not quite able to take her weight alone in the surprise of it all. "Wah!"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline nods in understanding. The cabin on the Yggdrasil it was, then. She would probably hang around here for a little while, herself. She was exhausted, and...it would probably be better if she and the Caravan Kinship lay low for a little while somewhere safe and protected, at least until some of the heat dies down.
Jacqueline's gaze lingers on Lily for a moment, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, as Lunata begins to fall over, Jacqueline moves forward alongside Shalune. Shalune might not be able to support Lunata alone in the suddenness of it...but she wasn't alone. Jacqueline's there too, to help catch Lunata.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily does not comment further on those forced, those consumed. SHe instead glances to 'Lunata' at the talk of time, at the talk of not rushing, and her single eye looks distant in turn, sad. "...Time," she murmurs instead, and looks away.
Looks to Shalune, in fact. "So it doesn't," she admits. Maybe that's a bright spot of its own. The antic of that moment, the insistence, doesn't make her laugh but is a bit of helpful levity. Lily looks, in the fact of that rush of energy, that noise...
For her part, she doesn't move over to try to catch Lunata. The others can do that. Instead she watches the process. "...Welcome back," she says simply.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata looks wan and pale as she ever is, but... there's a calmness to her face, as Jacqueline and Shalune support her and prevent her from falling. "U-uhmm..." she groggily looks towards her two closest companions, then winces as the rays of the sun seem to shine on her, like she'd spent the last 24 hours under a cave or something.
"... everything's sore," she complains first and foremost. "What happened to me?" It doesn't look like she's quite all there yet... it might come all rushing together in a bit.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune absolutely, absolutely does not trust herself to speak right at this moment; she's a little overcome with relief when the waitress wakes up and speaks, and so just buries her pink hair and her face into the crook of Lunata's neck as she lets out a long, slow 'bwaaaaaahh--' that's possibly meant to be a sigh.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline offers Lunata a slight smile as the waitress begins to awaken. That voice...it was definitely Lunata. She couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. She is quiet for a bit, though, before deciding to tell her what she heard.
"Something...happened. You were being affected by a device that neutralizes magic. Ge Ramda had to take over for you..." She replies. "But...it's okay now. Everything's fine."
At this Jacqueline wraps one arm around Lunata with her other going around Shalune, pulling them both into a tight - but not too tight - hug.
She didn't say it out loud, but her relief at finally having both of them back safely was clear.
Was everything truly fine? In the long run, probably not. But right now, this moment...that was the most important thing.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
As is her way, as is her habit, even injured Lily looks over Lunata's ace, condition, how alert she is, how she's wincing there... And of course an explanation comes quickly. Everything is sore.
"Hmm," she comments, amidst a lovely and beautiul reunion, something like a sigh that is admittedly adorable. Jay's explanation... Everything is fine.
Lily does not argue that harmless statement.
"I don't know everything that happened," she admits, "But you helped me get out. Thank you."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata shrivels for a moment, shuddering despite the desert heat... as she murmurs, "I feel like... I feel like--" she doesn't really know what it feels like, but Shalune and Jacqueline sinking into her feels--
"...Good."
It feels good, it feels right. She doesn't know if she'll be okay in the long run either, but... right now, in this moment...
She sniffles as she starts crying. "Gosh, I can't say how much I'm glad you two're here right now..."
She peers, burbling. "M-Miss Lily?? You look terrible... I'm glad you got out okay...."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Lunata's sniff makes Shalune sniff as well, and oh no, there's the telltale signs of a feedback loop on Jay's hands. Oh god there's going to be bawling. At least she can subsume Jay into her hug, clinging onto the both of them tightly - at least she can shake her head wordlessly, then lift teary eyes to admit her true feelings towards Lunata...!
"--baaw, Lunata, you dummy! I'm s'posed to be the reckless one, not you! You took like the most crazy way to blow off steam possible!" she - complains, but it's undeniably fond and also full of relief.
They're a type of 'true feeling', okay.
Rubbing at her eyes with one long sleeve, she squints as she tries to put on a brave face. "... we-- we got the Princess. An' Miss Lily. An' I guess we're all okay, sorta. An' Guardians still kinda suck, but I'm doing better with some of them," she admits. And can't resist sulking, to the open air: "You totally gao."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
One gets the feeling that Jacqueline's pretty used to these feedback loops from Shalune and Lunata. She doesn't flinch as both of them start crying, instead just maintaining her hug...
And then Shalune says her piece and Jacqueline can't help but chuckle a bit.
"I think we were all pretty reckless, honestly..." She admits a bit sheepishly, then glances toward Lily with a nod.
"I'm glad to see you're alright too, though. I know you're capable, but I couldn't help but be a bit worried when I heard what you and the Princess were doing..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily sees that shriveling, that shudder. Her face draws in concern. "Lunata--" ...But she says it eels good, and Lily watches the show of affection from three people so close here. ...The crying gets nothing from her other than toquietly watch, making her presence a little smaller, so as not to interfere.
The complaints... Well.
"You did get me," Lily answers quietly, and looks at Lunata with a dry, quiet laugh. "I probably do look terrible, don't I? Don't worry, I feel terrible too. But I'm alive."
A pause. "...We underestimated them," Lily admits to Jay. "And we were reckless ourselves. You were right to worry." She pauses. "...But it's fine not to worry for now. Be relieved. You earned it, with Lunata here." She trails off.
"...Do you know if..." She shakes her head. "Nevermind. I'm glad to see the three of you together like this. It's one of the best things I've seen since I went undercover."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"E--ehe," Lunata can't help but burble very softly, her eyes streaming gently with her tears as she does immerse herself into the feedback loop that they rather plainly use to support each other during tough times. "I can't even berate Jay this time... let's make sure we all-- we all rest up well, and eat really tasty foods..."
She looks at Lily and smiles awkwardly. "... you'll have some of our food too, right? I'll make-- I'll make whatever you want, as a prize." She doesn't even know why she's giving out a prize, it just feels good and appropriate right now.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune pouting is a dangerous thing, mostly because it's hard not to laugh at the way she abruptly goes all chipmunk and lets out a long "... mu~u..." of wordless noise. At least she lets it go quickly, reaching up to fluff Lunata's hair in a way that will surely leave it looking horrifically messy later. "Y-you're okay, right? You're feeling better, right? ... it might've been crazy, but you did it..." she mumbles, doing her best to blink back tears and failing.
"I-- I think I saw you, Miss Lily, or at least I saw a buncha big booms and ice everywhere," she does at least manage to report, trying to keep up their spirits together any way she can. "E-ehehe. Jay was super cool too, all-- all woosh and bang."
... whatever that means...
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Alive is good. That's the important thing." Jacqueline says with a nod toward Lily, then smiles as she says they earned the relief. She was curious what it was she was about to ask...but instead smiles.
"I'm glad, too." She agrees, then looks back toward Lunata. "Honestly, that sounds really great right about now..."
She could definitely go for a bite to eat. She'd used a lot of magic, and that meant a lot of energy. And then Shalune has to go and compliment here, and Jay gets a little embarrassed.
"I wasn't...I wasn't really that cool, honestly...I couldn't have done it without everyone else..." She says, a bit sheepishly.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Burbling. Lily for her part is a strange fit in this happy reunion; it's natural to feel a little awkward watching a haggard woman dressed in black, shawl wrapped about her arms as she watches. Everyone will rest up...
"..Ah," she answers Shalune, "...You may have. I was at the center of a lot of that." She probably did. Lily was... very, very easy to spot, even amidst the chaos.
But she's just as easy to spot now. "I have no complaints about you," she points out to Jay. "But..." Finally, she has to acknowledge Lunata's awkward smile, her talk of prizes. She hesitates, unlike the surety the ex-soldier usually has, and looks... tired. "I..."
"I don't really want anything," she admits, a little hollowly, her gaze somewhere far away. "But I'll eat with you. I won't say no to that."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"I--I'll be okay," Lunata grumbles, "After I have a lot of food and a nice hot long bath and cuddle time with Lunie and Jay and Snowlune and Spirit!" Wow, she's very insistent and certain about what she wants right now. "A-and that's fine, we'll make something that even Miss Lily wants! I know I can!"
And that's how an MRE got tipped into a bowl at dinner that night.