2017-12-21: Why We're Still Here
- Log: Why We're Still Here
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Janey, Mikaia (NPCs)
- Where: Wayside
- Date: 21st December 2017
- Summary: Riesenlied and Noeline take the time to speak to their children of the issues Wayside is facing.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has gathered the children, seating Mikaia down at her lap after dinner as she takes a seat at her usual rocking chair. She's not getting more and more and more grandma-like, we swear. "Mikaia, Janey, Noeline and I have something important to say to you..."
Janey's seated on the floor, patting her tummy as she continues tinkering with what looks like one of Ambrosius' rudimentary devices -- she's been doing this a lot ever since she started visiting the mechanic for tutelage. "Huh?"
"It'll be okay, but we just want you to know something," Riesenlied reassures, as Mikaia furrows her brow and looks a bit worried.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a soft huff and a stolen glance at Riesenlied, Noeline folds her arms; she's on a seat nearby, a little closer to Janey - if only because that's how these things have sort of shaken out, with her more able to keep up with the energetic one of the pair.
"... we... it isn't that we've kept anything from you, but we also haven't made it particularly clear, either," she decides to go with after a moment, fidgeting at her hair. This is kind of a new experience, and she would never have expected being hesitant over something like this.
"Recent events-- have made it clear that it would only be correct to explain it to you in full, and give you the chance to react to it. You're both smart enough to understand - I wouldn't be surprised if you've worked out most of it anyway," she grumbles, particularly towards Janey.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lowers her head and pats Mikaia on the head. "We already put you into danger, with that vision that dragged us all in..."
Mikaia furrows her brow, curling just a little closer to her mother. "... it was scary, but..."
Janey grins as she twists the nut that she's tightening up to go, "Is this about the bad guys that're after mom? I mean, Val talks about a lot of things when she's babysitting us, y'know?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline sags towards Janey, letting out a breath. "... haaah... ... honestly, if it were that simple, it would be much easier," she decides after a moment, with a helpless sort of smile. "... but, yes, it's about them, and about Wayside. And what we found under it."
A pause, as she realizes that last statement's like giving a moth a flame as far as Janey is concerned, and she makes a mental note for later. Something along the lines of 'no, seriously, I will chain you up if you try to go under the waterway' right now'.
She flounders for a moment, and looks towards Riesenlied. "I-- how far back should we even go?" she wonders, looking kind of adorably lost for once.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Mikaia twitches just for a moment to admit, "There've been... bad tingles from underneath..." and Riesenlied takes a moment to hug her a little closer. "I know, Mikaia... we're doing our best to try to make things go better."
There's a big smile from Janey as she goes, "Gah, it's fine, it's fine! It's not like I'm gonna get too nosey 'bout it!" as she cackles and bobs her head. "Uh, well-- you 'n mom are all part of some people who're being treated badly, and that's why you moved out here, right?"
"... it's like Janey and me... we had a bad home... so we ran away, and found mama," Mikaia clings a little more needily to Riesenlied.
There's a patient smile from Riesenlied as she says, "That's right. But we might need to keep running still, so that we can make you and everyone else safe. We're working to find ways to do that."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Here, at least, Noeline shakes her head. "... there's more to consider than that," she counters Janey's statement, letting out a sigh as she picks at the hair at her forehead. "There are people who will suggest that - because you don't know the whole story - we are tricking you. So it's not a matter of being nosy," she adds with a half-smile towards Janey and Mikaia, and a light huff. "If you've got questions, then ask them."
She lets out a breath for a moment, frowning. "... our people... are all very angry with the Guardians, and the Guardians are very angry with them. Riese and I decided to try to find out why. So we spoke with the Guardians - and we said to them, 'look, we'll prove we can do more than just be angry'."
She frowns, somewhat unsatisfied with her own explanation, but she lets it go. "The people we left aren't necessarily bad guys - though some of them absolutely are - but they don't understand why we won't just be angry and satisfied with that." From afar, Fei Fong Wong (Fei) hugvolution
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey scratches her cheeks and furrows her brow, saying, "... I mean, people trick people into doin' things all the time. You trick me into eatin' carrots by shavin' them in our burger patties, right, mom?"
Riesenlied looks a little red in the face as she stammers to go, "Ah? Um-- I did not know you knew..." as Mikaia giggles and says, "We peeked... but, it's a really good idea!"
"I don't know what a Guardian is," Janey points out. "But um, I mean, yeah, it's not like we don't know that people shoot each other and get very mad about things... like money and land and stuff?"
Mikaia furrows her brow and says, "... I don't think mommy is tricking us. And this is a better home than we ever could've asked for... so..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's eyebrows edge upwards for a moment, but-- then she remembers the two kids were brought up under Granas. Very, very, very under Granas. Enough that she really doesn't want to bring it up, so instead she just nods. "They're-- nature Gods, I suppose. They cause tidal waves and tornados," she adds, her face falling flat as she looks towards Janey. "So you'd probably get on well."
She's reached down to ruffle the girl's hair at that, letting out a breath. "In any case, the point is that up until now, we were hiding - staying quiet about running away. Now, we've yelled it out in the open. I don't think we're going to be in danger for a while yet, but we might be, and it's only fair you know that."
She pauses for a second, as her eyes flash. "But we will not see a hair on your head harmed." It's a fierce sort of protective instinct - but it's gone as soon as it came, and Noeline sits back with a glum sort of frown. "--speaking of tricking people, don't think I don't know about you double-dipping on us for pocket money," she points out, folding her arms.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey gawks for a moment to go, "Aww, that's what I'm talking about! Bible studies are all about, The Battle of Good and Evil, pshew pshew pshew! So it's cool to see some other gods like that!"
Mikaia furrows her brow to say, "I don't think there's any 'pshew pshew' in that at all, Janey!" Oh, how Grandia 2 will prove her /so wrong/ she'll shake her head and look so blithe.
Janey rubs at her nose for a moment longer, wincing as Noeline pats her on the head. The seamlines are still somewhat visible. "Hey, careful!" A pause. "Ah-- hahaaa, well, it's going to a good cause though?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a snort, Noeline shakes her head. "... I'm sure," she huffs in return to Janey, but doesn't exactly take it any further; she's become well aware that she might be something of a soft touch, which is another of those things she never really expected.
"There's certainly more that we could tell you, but that's more or less the gist of it. The bad guys might decide that Wayside needs to go - if they do, we are going to protect you and we are also going to run, because standing and fighting in a situation like that is sometimes rather overrated."
A pause, and Noeline looks glum again, but with a mischievous light. "... also, Riesemama is probably going to try to convince them to stand down, because that's how Riesemama works."
There's another pause, and Noeline leans slightly towards Janey. "'The Battle of Good and Evil' sounds more like a comic book to me," she grumbles.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"But it's what they call 'em! Don't you know anything about it, mom? Granas and Valmar had a big ol' tussle..." Janey grins wide as she waves her hands and goes, "And then, pewww, sword of light! Oh no, the darkness was banished!" Janey certainly has a very comic book interpretation of her Granasian studies...
Mikaia looks unimpressed for a moment, but then looks up towards Riesenlied. "... if we didn't want to be here, we'd run away again... Janey and I are-- are really good about that. So... so we want to be here because-- because we want to be with mama."
Riesenlied can't help but smile softer and wider in turn, saying, "Mikaia... yes, as Noeline says, we will do everything in our power to protect you. We just wanted you to know that there is danger involved..."
Janey 'pshhs' and says, "Nowhere's safe in Filgaia. Even if we ran to some village and hid there we'd still possibly get eaten by monsters!"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"I've read it," Noeline confirms in return, because she actually has - it was one of the first books she turned to long ago, when she first went out into the world to try to make sense of it. "A couple of different versions, even. ... I'm not a terribly religious person, myself," she admits as she scratches lightly at her cheek.
Mikaia's comment does at least make her sigh out a light breath, a smile playing at her lips. "Thank you. --you know, you wouldn't have to run away. If you ever chose to leave, we'd do something to support that choice. Not that I'm saying you should, but-- well, it is worth making clear," she stumbles a little. Is that her version of bashfulness?
"At the very least, it means we aren't hiding anymore. Some people are angry - quite a few have left - but we're still going, and have plenty of friends to help us."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied tilts her head to say, "... and I cannot say what has become of my faith, yet... I am faithful in all of us, and the continuance of our future." Mikaia furrows her brow as Riesenlied falls into bad habits of using big words again-- and she corrects, "So we can all live happy."
Mikaia smiles a little wider as she says, "... w-well, we would, but--"
Janey grins as she says, "That's not how Calamitous Janey rolls! She'd be, whoosh, gone in the dead of night!" As she makes clear when she wanders out of the village on her own without a plan...
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"--if you did, I would track you down just to grump at you for it," Noeline responds smoothly. "Don't think the Lord of Calamity can get away from a Crimson Noble quite so easily as that." She looks across at Riesenlied, as if feeling like there's more to say - but not really sure what, or how to say it.
Instead, she shakes her head. "... I suppose I should be stepping up a little more on that offer to teach you a few things. Not that I want you to try to fight should anything happen, but just for safety's sake. Besides, you've both faced down rougher situations, I'm sure."
Janey's talk of slipping out of the village reminds her of her earlier thought, however, and her face turns more solemn. "That reminds me - no going beneath the waterway at present, please. It's-- strictly speaking, it was never particularly 'safe', I suppose, but--..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey grins wider to say, "Mister Ambro's been beating you to it! He's taught me all kinds of weird and kooky things with little robots, I'll be a robot master for sure, soon!!"
Mikaia grumps to say, "I'm not sure about your plan to build eight robots that can beat each other up, though..."
Riesenlied smiles warmer to say, "And I should be teaching you to sense the things you do better, Mikaia... it's kept you out of danger before, so it will be really useful."
Janey puts her hands behind her back. "I know, I know, Val's warned us about it too. She'll stuff us in her fridge if we try!"