2017-12-07: The Girl from Beyond
- Log: The Girl from Beyond
- Cast: Noeline, Riesenlied, Victoria D. Larosh
- Where: Wayside
- Date: 7th December 2017
- Summary: Victoria and Noeline return from their Dig from the Waterway, and meet Riesenlied.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
It's been some time since Noeline led the latest group of adventurers down into the caves below Wayside, in hopes of getting some fresh viewpoints and possibly some more information on the structure and problems involved with the barrier. Of course, Noeline went for other reasons as well - reports are one thing, but nothing really beats seeing it with your own eyes and getting a sense for something first-hand, at least as far as she's concerned.
At least getting out is easy - just let the current carry you back. By the time they exit the waterway back into the village of Wayside, Noeline's taken up a spot on a boat, with the strange fist-sized pod she was riding on the way up looking kind of spent; it hangs forlornly in the air, hovering along until the rather flamboyant girl plucks it out of the air. "Yes, yes, well done," she sighs, emerging out into the light with a flick of her hair as if she hasn't just been spelunking down into a Guardian cave.
Looking up, she sighs with relief - seemingly that nothing has gone wrong or blown up in her absence - and then grins faintly behind her, offering a hand up the ridge to the novice adventurer that accompanied them. "... you probably have questions, hm? Not exactly the dig you expected it to be? ... it might not seem it, but you've just witnessed a rather political problem, and one without much answer in sight right at this moment."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is perhaps one of the most common sights in the village -- which Victoria might have visited on her way into the caverns herself. It's a hidden village by... well, rookie standards -- largely out of prying eyes to the unknown, though any Drifter generally has picked its position out at this point.
The village is a ring of caravans around a great campfire, around which several buildings have been erected. In particular, the 10' o clock has a two-storey house called the Wayside Orphanage, and the 3 o' clock has the V4L-H4LLA, the local inn and watering hole.
The blonde Hyadean with the broken, leathery wings, scales and horns is dressed in white lace today, still in her capelet and gown that looks perhaps a little bit bridal by accident. She's surrounded by her cuccos and has a genteel, picturesque smile as she spreads them grains for feed.
"Oh...? Noeline, you're back... hello, who might you be?" She bows her head politely.
"I'm Riesenlied. Welcome to Wayside."
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
"I have some, sure, mostly I'm just trying to scrape by, though." The young drifter answers Noeline as she takes a look around the place. "I try to stay out of politics that I don't understand." And by the way she says that, it's clear that she's got no clue whatsoever about any of the local politics. She gets out of the boat with Noeline's help, and glances towards Riesenlied. She seems a bit uncertain about the latter's appearance. "I'm Victoria D. Larosh." Pause, "Uh... I don't mean to be rude, but uh... forgive me if this is a weird question, but you're not human, are you?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"I'm back," answers Noeline in a very call-and-response fashion as she warmly nods. Her tone's changed, just like that - rather than her rather wry nature down in the waterway, now there's a little bit of reverence back there somewhere. It's not particularly obvious, but there's a slight hint of colour at her cheeks as she crosses over to where Riesenlied is standing amidst her cuccos, a hand going to Riesenlied's arm in greeting and affection. "I wanted to see it for myself; now that I have, I kind of wish that I didn't. Still-- we are all safe, at least. Small mercies," she adds, and there's the grin back on her face.
When she turns, it's with a light bark of a laugh, shaking her head in an amused fashion. "On the whole, that's a good plan. It might be a little difficult to maintain, however, especially after finding yourself here. I'm not really quite sure I'd call it 'local', for that matter," she admits with a grin, apparently content to stay at Riesenlied's side as she continues, for her benefit: "She accompanied Fei down into the waterway. A perfectly model trip, in the end, but I fear you might have even more people asking you about the water wheel."
Victoria asks her question, though, and Noeline tugs her grin a little wider; come to that, she's got a pair of small but clearly inhuman fangs in there. "If we were, life might be a little simpler."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... no, we are not ... we are Hyadeans here -- but, please rest assured, we are peaceful, all of us. We only seek to make a home here in this valley." Riesenlied admits very gently, with a somewhat faint smile on her face that suggests some exhaustion lingering in the way she moves. She does lean against Noeline in a way that suggests open affection for their relation, stroking at her hair with a nod.
"Ah, thank you, Miss Victoria," she bows her head. "I'll see that you are compensated for your efforts, of course... I hope that it was not too harsh? Val will be more than happy to accomodate you for the night."
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
"I'm uh, not from around here. So I'm not quite sure what Hyadeans are." Victoria responds with a shrug, it seems clear that she doesn't much care about the specifics. Noeline and Riesenlied seem nice enough. "It wasn't too, too bad, miss Riesenlied, but I'm not really used to this kind of thing." She smiles faintly as she lets Noeline explain the specifics of what happened. "This town seems rather cozy, I guess everyone knows everyone here?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is a little bit indulgent as she leans up to accept the touch at her hair; already, she's moved as if to support the other woman, offering an arm lightly around her and shouldering some of her weight as if it were wholly natural. "... you're tired," she points out with a rueful sort of sigh, her tone affectionate if somewhat teasing. "Should I carry you?"
She chuckles, though, and drops the point as she turns back to Victoria with a slightly surprised air - but at the same time, a shrug. "It is not a name that many would really know, I suppose. It is the 'proper' name for a Metal Demon - but you could also say it is a name for those who have no interest in fighting, or at least those who still have respect for the idea of a home."
... ... she says all that, but it's a little hard when she buckles halfway through the grandiose speech because one of the local orphans has abruptly snuck up to pounce at her back with an, ahem, 'warcry'. "--do you mind?" she tries to grump over her shoulder.
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
"Metal Demon doesn't really mean anything to me either." Victoria answers with a sheepish smile, looking around the place a bit more, seeing the orphans and kneeling towards the nearby one, "Hey there. I'm Victoria, who are you?" She holds out a hand to introduce herself, glancing up to Riesenlied, "That sounds like it must have been rough."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
That definitely gives the shorter of the two Metal Demons a bit of a pause; her eyebrows raise slightly, and she glances towards Riesenlied as if to double-check what she's about to say. "... I assume you must be newly arrived from Lunar, in that case," she sighs as she picks at some of her hair.
"Rest assured that-- the rest of our race are not nearly as friendly, and are rather a danger to your average adventurer. Furthermore, what you saw in that cavern was a Guardian statue, one of the pillars of the Guardians. To the rest of our kind, they are anathema, and the enemies in a bitter war."
She pauses, stoically ignoring the way in which the orphan continues resolutely clambering up her. "... which does make it a little awkward to find one of them right underneath our village, but I imagine we will survive someh-ow!" she yelps as one twintail gets accidentally pulled, and squints again over her shoulder. Fortunately, she remembers to soften her voice a little as the young orphan - apparently a beastgirl, if the big round animal ears and the tiger-like tail are any indication - flops over Noeline's shoulder contentedly. "... this would be Chippie. Apparently, I make a good pillow," she comments, because the girl is already starting to doze off somehow. "Like us, these children have not had much of a home."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied does look just a bit surprised at that, but lowers her head as she expresses, "Yes, I... would be amiss if I did not warn you. Most of our kin come from a long tradition of martial pursuit and are currently--"
A pause. "Suffice to say, they do not hold humans in very high regard. We are trying to work hard to repair relations between our species, but... we are in very early days yet, I am afraid."
There's a kind of sad smile from her for a moment longer, chuckling very softly. "I am sorry to have to warn you like this, but, please, do feel free to look around and relax."
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
Victoria should let the assumption that she's from Lunar slide. It's more convenient than the truth, there's just one little problem, she knows less about Lunar than she does about Filgaia and she's a poor liar. "Further away than that." She mutters softly instead, before moving on. She listens to the explanations about Metal Demons and nods. "I'll try to relax, but it's hard to relax in the midst of so much uncertainty." She says softly, looking up at the sky. "I'm used to having every aspect of my life meticulously planned out, guards to protect me, I'm fairly sure ... sorry, I shouldn't burden you with my problems, it sounds like you have enough of your own."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
There's another pause - though Noeline doesn't seem to let the uncertainty over Victoria's origins particularly bother her. (It's not as if Lunar is the only option for space travellers - in practice, the Metal Demon spy has probably just diverted to 'a rather insular Veruni who doesn't read up on history'.)
"Believe me, we quite understand. Fortunately, we are nothing if not prepared. No-one in this village will attack you - and should anything happen, we've more than enough in the way of preparations to ensure the safety of visitors," she adds as she looks to Riesenlied, carefully maneuvering Chippie a little on her shoulder to ensure she can keep supporting the other demon.
(It's kind of like moving a sandbag, the girl on her shoulder drooping wherever possible.)
A pause, and then Noeline snorts softly. "Not one hundred percent, of course, but Filgaia isn't really the sort of place that deals with certainties these days," she adds - before looking to Riesenlied next to her with half-lidded eyes and a toothy sort of grin. "We excel at taking on people's problems," she teases merrily.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... in a way, I think I do understand," Riesenlied nods. "And no, I--" She pauses as she stares towards Noeline as she teases her and beats her to the punch. "We'd be more than happy to let you try to find your own two feet in uncertain times. We can certainly try to find tasks that suit your strengths for some coin, if that would help."
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
"Thanks." Victoria answers, clearly appreciating the gesture, "I'm ... not sure what I can do to help, really. But I'll do what I can." Victoria smiles, glancing towards her rapier. It's a well made, expensive looking one. "I basically don't have much in the way of useful skills other than my ability to fight, and even that was never really meant for proper combat, though I've been managing." She explains before continuing, "Can't cook, can't do laundry, am not very strong. So..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline might be sleeping on the couch tonight for that crack, but at least she looks heartened for the opportunity to tease and lighten the air around them, and she immediately does her best to mollify the other Metal Demon by taking her hand to give it a light squeeze. "... I meant it in a good way, I promise. We would not be here - I would not be here - if it weren't for that stance of yours," she promises lightly as she closes her eyes for a moment.
She opens them again, and lets out a quiet sort of chuckle. "Well, at the very least, you can rest assured that we can find you a place to stay. Everything else can be trained, or learnt - we've got a lot of experience finding people things to do, given some of the old wounds people here contend with," she comments with a light grin. "That said, you really should not put yourself down so. You made it through the waterway, at the very least, and I wouldn't exactly call that a walk in the river."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied chuckles, and tilts her head with a nod. "Yes, I've been through the waterway myself, and it is quite the dangerous place..." She gestures. "And, ah, I actually use similarly thin swords in combat, so if you ever feel you needed some instruction, perhaps you and I could teach each other a thing or two about fencing."
Her power has diminished quite greatly, but... her skill has not. It is one of the things she is grateful for. Even if her swords have a habit of breaking in combat... maybe she should get an expensive, trusty rapier, like Victoria.
"You mentioned you were used to having guards... did something happen to separate you from your retinue?"
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
"And I only freaked out twice." Victoria adds to that in a self-deprecating fashion, but she smiles when she says it. "And I never felt comfortable down there." She explains herself a bit, "Thanks, though." She glances towards Riesenlied when the latter mentions she's a fencer, too. "My fencing training was for sport, really. Competition on a stage for points rather than for real combat. But I can practice with you, sure."
"So my family owns a couple ships, and one of those needed to deliver some things, and I was on the ship so they could drop me and my retinue off at the place I was supposed to have a tournament since it was in the same direction. We got attacked, I got separated and ended up on Filgaia." She explains in brief, and truthfully, the course of events.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline has to take a moment to be rather puzzled; her brow quirks, but there's a distinct light of curiosity shining in her eyes at the same time as she tries to pair Victoria's response with the idea that she's a Veruni.
"I-- was not actually aware you all had any ships left that weren't effectively landlocked," she ventures after a long moment, kind of folding her arms across her chest as she considers that. "I suppose they can't have been terribly large, or else you'd be using them for a rather more grand purpose, or at least doing some more significant sort of scouting. I suppose it would be pleasant to see, however."
She puffs out another breath, glancing to Riesenlied before her eyebrows raise again. "Still. However you got here is no matter - and I'm certainly not about to exonerate anyone for feeling uncomfortable in a situation where the thing down there resides. It may be we have some others of your kind around the camp, for that matter, and perhaps they can help in contacting others. I'd recommend seeing Ambrosius, at the very least," she adds, quietly and unwittingly setting up a diplomatic incident.
Before that, though, she's grinning lightly at Riesenlied. "Ah... it's been a while since I've seen you move myself."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied places a hand to her cheek as she considers it for a moment longer... before glancing up towards the air with something of an understanding nod on her face. "... if I were to be honest, our ancestors came here a thousand years ago on a star-ship as well. So I understand where you're coming from."
She admits she doesn't think of 'Veruni' quite the same way Noeline does, but... she isn't sure what else is out there on the stars either.
"And yes, Mister Ambrosius is quite the technological wizard, if you've any needs with any of your devices," Riesenlied suggests with a smile. "I'm quite helpless with ARMs myself... ah?"
She raises her eyebrows at Noeline. "You mean in combat? Miss Lily told me to try to avoid it wherever possible, but... it's best that I keep my form."
<Pose Tracker> Victoria D. Larosh has posed.
Victoria looks a bit confused at Noeline making further assumptions, but decides not to contest these ones for the time being, lest she be asked to actually answer where she's from. "Mostly I have some symbological tools, I just have one 'ARM' as you call them, and it's a fairly straightforward thing." She points at the contraption around her left arm. "If I need help with it, I'll be sure to ask this mister Ambrosius, but I'd be surprised if he could contact anyone from home." Then she adds, "When you decide you want to practice, just let me know, I need to stay in form myself anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Consider it exercise instead, perhaps," Noeline agrees with Riesenlied, humming softly. "And I hardly mean actual combat. I can appreciate the movements, at the very least. ... it would be for the best, to help keep your strength up."
"As for accomodation," she adds towards Victoria, with another of those light hums that seem to accompany her more chipper statements, "Val is the owner of the Tavern, and organizing some of the caravans. You can spot her by the refridgerator for a torso," she adds, rather blithely.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a very genteel nod from Riesenlied, and says, "You must be exhausted after your dig. Please, do feel free to rest and eat, I have--"
cucco...
"--these cuccos to feed," she apologetically says as she turns towards her flock once more. "Yes, here you go... who's a good girl? Oh, you are...!" She... she looks really happy in the midst of her cucco flock, doesn't she?