2018-01-09: The Cat that got the Cucco
- Log: The Cat that got the Cucco
- Cast: Riesenlied, Rosaline Calice
- Where: Wayside
- Date: 9th January 2018
- Summary: Rosaline catches up with Riesenlied to speak of a horrible tale of an orphanage in Little Twister.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Wehaca Village had been a difficult battle for all involved, but at the end of the day... the day was indeed saved. And the Ebony Wings were cautious to not overextend their stay -- they were wanted villains, after all, no matter where their alignment stood now. Thus, it's back at Wayside that the Wings have returned to...
... where Riesenlied is recuperating with one of her most favourite rituals -- feeding grain to her cuccos as she hums gently, while Mikaia helps out on the side as she brushes one of their birds. "Who's a good Cucco?~ You are...~"
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline still had business speaking to Riese after Wehaca, and so dropped by Wayside to rest up and recover from her injuries. She's still worried sick about Elena, but it isn't as if her condition would get better if Rosaline were present, she figures*.
She asks a villager or two where Riesenlied presently is, which directs her to a the cucco pen. A safe assumption under most circumstances, really.
She walks up silently, possibly agitating the fowl a bit before she announces her presence. She has, after all, a certain predisposition towards destroying poultry. (Or at least TRYING to.)
She looks on at the scene with a listless air, still emotionally drained from all those recent events. She still has a bit of post-cucco traumatic disorder to work through, but at least the scene is cute enough.
Finally, she speaks up. "Hello, Riesenlied. You wanted to speak to me?"
- Rosaline does not know yet that Elena is totally fine**.
- 'Totally' 'Fine'
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied blinks a few times, and smiles warmly. "Oh, Rosaline! Hello. Just a moment, please..." She spreads a few more seeds around her in a circle, her dress twirling just a bit in her movement. She steps closer towards the cat-nun, her child bobbling behind her and waving 'hi', gently.
"I'd not seen you in a while... but I'd glimpsed you in Wehaca, when everything was going down. Are you all right?" Riesenlied gently asks.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline manages a smile, waving to Riesenlied and Mikaia as they approach.
"Thank you for asking..." She shakes her head slowly. "I'm all right, just... very tired. So many things have been happening lately, and it feels like we're all so barely holding things together..." She certainly looks and sounds tired. Gloved hands fidget with one another.
"But at least we've... mostly been successful in sealing the statues. That's one thing going well enough. But what about you?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied tilts her head to one side, cradling the basket in her arms for a moment. "Wayside is on borrowed time, as it were. When the statue was shattered here, we have had to make our position against our brethren known. We do have means to escape, but there is still a darkness underneath that we must confront directly..."
There's ever bit of a little sigh. "... and I, myself, am seeking to contact the Baskar Colony... to reach out and make peace with them. I can only hope they do not turn me away."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"I see... I'm sorry to hear," Rosaline says, lowering her gaze, her ears following. She's missed most of the events leading to the present, unfortunate situation, but she's certainly heard Ida go on at length about the subject. Rosaline doesn't share her friend's opinion. Riesenlied probably has a decent idea already.
"I hope so too. They were... kind enough to me when I visited, despite the difficulties our religions have experienced with one another in the past."
She averts her gaze again, having trouble getting the awe-inspiring, angelic figure of of Solais Emsu out of her head. An Etone summoning a Guardian was unorthodox, to say the least. Some of her sisters, brothers and superiors would see it as pragmatic, some as harmless, while others would see it as heresy. Rosaline has been very worried about the latter.
"I-I hope it goes well," she reiterates, after a moment's thought. "I wish I could help you, but I'm not certain I would. I think your efforts in Wehaca alone should speak for themselves, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lowers her head with a soft twiddle of her fingers, as she sets the basket aside. Mikaia starts to furrow her brow, perhaps sensitive to these kinds of things... and before long, she scoops her child up into her arms to hug her. "Don't be sad, Riesemama!"
"I'm not. I know there are those that will harbour grudges for what I have done, and there is nothing I can do about that save continuing to do good deeds where we can," Riesenlied responds. "And if they do not wish to speak to us... then we will just have to continue as we have been, doing what we can."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
The sight of Riesenlied and Mikaia hugging should be heartwarming. But to Rosaline, it is painfully bittersweet. She turns her head, focusing on cuccos instead.
"I will pray for your success, this is the least I can do," she says, softly. "I also have some holy texts on atonement I could recommend you, although I know you don't practice the faith..." It turns out Ethos literature has a lot to say on that particular subject, though a lot of it involves accepting Granas as your lord and savior.
"A-Anyway," she manages to look back, her unease defeated by anxiety about being impolite, "was there a particular reason you wished to speak to me? I know it's been some time and I apologize... It feels as if I've been pulled every which way with little time to rest..." A nervous laugh. "Though I know I'm in no position to complain compared to some..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied pauses for a moment... then nods as she kisses Mikaia on the cheek, then lets her go. The little girl, though young, seems precocious to understand times when she needs to step away to let mom talk about things that may be too difficult for her -- so she returns to the cuccos instead!
"I'd wanted to talk to you about Granas, actually. Mikaia and Janey came from a different orphanage before I found them, out in the wilderness..."
She furrows her brow, looking pained. "We had not known the story until that accident with my powers a while back, but it allowed us to glimpse what they endured there..."
There is a hesitant sigh. "It is an orphanage run by a very devout old woman of Granas, but I fear her faith and her mental state may have mixed into a very... dangerous opinion..." she glances back to Mikaia again.
"She thinks that Beastchildren ears, tails... that they are the 'spawn' of Valmar, and feels that it is her duty to 'remove' these... 'extremities'." She looks particularly pained at that. "... children have already suffered under her. But they are either too afraid, or not believed, even when they report this. I'd wanted to inform you this, since I feel it is probably something the Church of Granas and the Ethos ought to know about and resolve."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline's eyes light up slightly at Riesenlied speaks of Granas. Is she--
No, she isn't considering converting. Alas. Instead, she speaks of an orphanage, immediately having Rosaline's attention.
She tenses up slowly as the Hyadean continues, preparing to reveal something uncomfortable.
And it's not only uncomfortable, it's horrific. Rosaline's eyes widen without a word. She takes a few steps away, her balance thrown off by her tail's frantic swaying. She has to lean on a nearby fence. She takes a few deep breaths, fighting back tears, fighting back the urge to shout at the top of her lungs.
She turns back to Riesenlied, still shaking. "I-It's not so uncommon a belief... When my parents abandoned me, they left a note indicating they thought the Ethos could 'cleanse' me." She speaks with difficulty.
"But they NEVER--" Her voice drops, almost a whisper, "they never went so far... Granas followers are people, so some weren't all kind, but they... they never went so far."
She stops, continuing to hold back tears.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied cups at her mouth, herself at the verge of tears. Recounting the story is not so easy... and she finds it in her to draw the nun towards her and embrace her. "... it's why-- most of the children here at Wayside are Beastchildren. Human children, we were able to more easily find orphanages to relocate them. But I was... personally uncomfortable with the way some orphanage matrons looked and inspected Beastchildren..."
She sighs gently, and says, "I'm sorry it had to happen to you. ... but I'm at the same time glad you've grown into a fine young woman, strong of faith." She gives a smile out to Rosaline in the end. She looks aside for a moment. "Mikaia was spared the horror. She still has her wings... Janey, though... we were too late for her... but--- but even then, she's stood so strong ever since."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline accepts and returns the embrace.
"Oh, I see..." Her voice is still trembling. "To tell the truth, I had assumed they were, um... of your species." There are several blind spots in her understanding of how Metal Demons even work.
She looks at Mikaia, pain seizing her heart.
Riesenlied smiles and compliments her. Rosaline smiles back, though the comment on strength of faith is bittersweet as well.
"I see... I'm so sorry... I wish..." She sighs. "Thank you for telling me. I'll definitely bring this up to my superiors. Hopefully they will take action..."
And if they don't... She doesn't even want to think about it.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's horns flicker just a bit, nodding as she says, "Ah, no... most of my brethren are constructed -- fully formed, as it were. Young in mind, of course, but there is no such thing as what you'd call... 'chlidren', I suppose. But seeing them hurt like that... out here... I could not help but want to take them in."
There's a bittersweet smile on her lips as she says, "Thank you. I can only hope so. And please tell Miss Elena as well -- and miss Gwen knows of the orphanage, so you can arrange action with her, as she would be interested."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Oh, I didn't know!" Rosaline says, having learned something. Does that... Does that explain Zed? (Probably not.)
"I... I understand that feeling..." Rosaline says, looking back towards the hellish cucco horde. Once again, she thinks back to Ida, who made a compelling case-- or at least a passionately-argued one --about Wayside being a dangerous place for these children to be. Once again, she keeps it to herself.
"To tell the truth, opening an orphanage of my own is one of my long-term goals. Though I'm afraid I haven't made much progress on it, with... everything that's been happening. Though eventually, I hope..."
Mention of Gwen causes her expression to light up a bit. There's someone whose technologically-augmented heart is in the right place. Elena too would like to know, if she's in a position to be out and about*. "Very well, I will."
- [Everything Will Be Fine].
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Dangerous, perhaps, but Riesenlied has taken it upon herself to tell these children what the risks will be... young as they are, she has no desire to treat them as people who must be treated with wool in their ears. And to know that there are those that will treat them poorly outside...
It's all the more to drive her to have a welcoming home.
"... I see... I have no doubts you'll build a warm and welcoming one," Riesenlied does smile. "And if you'd like, you could spend some time with the children here as well? We have others coming and going, spending some time. Gwen, Dean, Avril... they've all spent some time with them. I want to educate them on all kinds of people, and all kinds of walks of life."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline's spirits perk up further at the vote of confidence. She hears the offer.
"O-Oh! That could be... I might be interested. I will consider it." It might be surprising that she's not jumping at the chance. It could be a balm for her soul, but on the other hand, she fears it might bring back too many painful memories. She has suffered this loss almost a year ago now, but the scars still feel so raw and fresh.
"At the very least I could send some children's stories the Church sponsors... They all have a bit of an educational aspect to them." After about the dangers of building large towers, using any technology at all and not accepting Granas as your lord and savior.
"And they... well, those I read weren't cruel about Beastmen either. To tell the truth, these kinds of stories were often a welcome escape to me, as a child."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I understand... in truth, even if my faith is not with Lord Granas'... I want to show children to the different kinds of faiths out there, and the people's livelihoods that follow them. I feel that would be a fair way for them to grow up learning about it," Riesenlied admits, bobbing her head to one way with a smile. "We've even had Lunarians here teaching them about math."
She nods a few times at that. "... I have had similar stories calm me when I was young. Stories of escape and freedom... of lands free of oppression and opportunity."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Hm-hmm. Well, that's reasonable of you. To let them determine for themselves which faith is best." Rosaline is very biased there, of course.
"I have to wonder, is Lunarian math significantly different from our own?" she then asks. She spends a not insignificant amount of time with Lunar natives, though math never really comes up. Neither Talise nor Layna seem the type to discuss it. Though maybe Sephilia, especially as studious as she become recently, almost overnight... Hmmm...
The subject of stories seems to distract her from the many horrors of the world, so there is that. "That sounds lovely. Were they... Metal Demon stories, or some of ours? I liked... Well, especially as a teenager, I liked pirate stories, myself. They were... adventurous and bold. Captain Allegra and the First Mate, and such..." she reminisces quietly.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I honestly do not think so," Riesenlied advises. "I looked over some of the math books that miss Amelia gave them, and they were familiar. Though the examples varied, such as the kinds of objects they use to count..." She tilts her head and wobbles just for a moment.
"No... Metal Demon stories are all-- indoctrinal stories, very carefully doctored to speak a message. Such stories were considered taboo in our homeland..."
She cups a cheek and thinks for a moment. "Pirate stories... mm, I suppose the story of the legendary cucco was the one that really struck my heart, such that I even named Laevateinn after it..."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Ah, miss Amelia. Rosaline thinks she knows who Riesenlied is referring to, and by process of elimination it can't be Amelia Theodore.
"Oh, I see... That must be terrible..." Rosaline says of Metal Demon stories, fidgeting further and completely missing the irony.
"T-The legendary cucco," she repeats, cupping her own cheeks at the idea. "What did this cucco do?" Perhaps cuccos are capable of good when not angered, she realizes. It really makes you think.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a glimmer of enthusiasm in Riesenlied's eyes. Uh oh.
"Oh! The legendary Cucco Vidopnir is a myth told time upon time again. It is said to be the legendary guardian cucco of a mythical tree that spans the entire sky-realm, its roots reaching deep to touch that of the base of the world. Supposedly, a rainbow bridge would appear to those who were mighty enough to slay it, that would take them to Cucco Heaven." Cuccgard, perhaps...?
She waves a hand. "Only, warriors enticed from lands far and near came to attempt to attack the beast, only to be felled. It was truly invincible, and could not be harmed in any means. There was only one weapon that could harm Vidopnir -- the legendary sword Laevateinn."
She pauses, just a bit out of breath as she excitedly retells the story... then continues, "So these warriors scoured the lands for this magic sword. They looked high and low, committed terrible crimes... many of them were lain low and had their fortunes and lives ruined in their greed."
She laces her hands, as if going for the finale. "But none but Vidopnir knew... Laevateinn was a miracle, but it was no sword. It was a miracle, in that it was a damaged twig that grew upon harsh and lifeless wastelands, daring to reach high into the sky despite its surroundings..."
Mikaia is kind of peeeeeking with a look on her face that goes 'uh oh, mom's on a tear again'. "The lecture of the story is... of course, to not be entranced by greed or the promises of riches. The most miraculous events happen beneath your very feet, even if you may not notice."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline takes a step back as she unknowingly unleashes a terrible power. Such enthusiasm!
But she listens nonetheless, to the impassioned summary of a strange but gripping story. The twig reaching so high into the sky is the only part that gives her pause. In the stories she's known, reaching for the heavens was invariably met with well-deserved punishment for such hubris.
But nonetheless... "That sounds like a wonderful story," she concludes after processing it. "Though forgive me, at first I thought the cucco was the hero of the story."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... w-well, in a way, I suppose the cucco is a guardian... neither hero nor villain..." Riesenlied stammers for a moment. "And I suppose it is not the typical story of a hero overcoming evil, or any kind of story like that. We have so many of those, that I really appreciated the message of appreciating that which you take for granted..."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Oh, this is true..." Rosaline says with a soft smile. "Sometimes salvation can be found in the most unexpected of places." This seems to be her main takeaway.
"But in any case..." she looks at Mikaia with a smile, "I should probably get going soon. I'm hoping to get to November City before sundown. A friend... Sister Elena, actually..." She considers how to word this. "...she fell a bit ill last week, and I was hoping to give her my well-wishes in person, if she hasn't recovered yet."
Rosaline briefly hopes Elena won't be some sort of giant cronenberg when she returns. VALMAR IS TERRIBLE.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes widen gently. "Oh dear... I'm sorry to hear that. Please, send our well wishes to Miss Elena. She's been most kind whenever I ran into her, so I'm sorry to hear that." She bows her head and waves gently, Mikaia waving as well. "Travel safe, Miss Rosa!"
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"I will, thank you," Rosaline offers Riesenlied and Mikaia a warm smile. "And thank you for your hospitality as well. May Granas' light illuminate the rest of your day."
She turns around with a small wave and makes for the stables. As she walks away, her smile fades gradually. Worry tugs at the edges of her mind from every which way, and this horrifying bit of news is only adding to her stress.
Keep it together, she tells herself.