2018-02-12: Enjoy the Moment
- Log: Enjoy the Moment
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
- Where: Near Krosse
- Date: 12th February 2018
- Summary: Riesenlied finds herself fatigued after their escape from Krosse; Noeline has a solution.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
A while after Riesenlied and Noeline have left Krosse's borders, they've spent some time disseminating information and the means by which the travelers they've rescued can then pick their journeys back up; by the time that's all over, the day has pretty much all but set, leaving them to their own devices by themselves...
There's an exhausted look on the blonde Hyadean's face as she paces down a particularly small town square, her hood up as she tries to avoid attention drawn by her large bounty. Maybe she needs to be spoiled a little...?
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Keeping pace at Riesenlied's side, even her partner has chosen to wear a large cloak to somewhat mask her identity. It doesn't entirely work given her usual style of dress and the fact that - Noeline being Noeline - it's still in black, kept carefully clean of the dust and sand of Filgaia. But she's trying, at least, and for her the slow walk through the town square is a little piece of nostalgia.
She hesitates at the look on her companion's face, though, her brow furrowing slightly; a pause, and she's glanced around her at the same time as she plucks at the blonde's arm. "Riese. This way," she notes with a sudden urgency, turning abruptly towards a side street.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied blinks a few times, for a moment looking like she's missed something as if trouble were coming their way. (Lowercase-t trouble -- uppercase-T Trouble would just send her into a flush tizzy at how adorable its new cucco ruffles are.) She lets out a little pip and follows after her, ducking into the shadows and letting a more haggard breath. "Did you see someone...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Not so much," Noeline chuckles - it looks almost like she's immediately going to tug Riese further down the street, but the way the woman pauses makes her hesitate in kind, and the light grin on her face fades away to something softer. Before she says anything else, she's drifted in to place a kiss at the corner of Riesenlied's lips.
"... I remember a comfortable place to eat, just down this road. I was hoping to surprise you, but-- that is not the best idea right now. You are safe. I promise," she adds, even if that last part might easily be a white lie.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks like she's struggling just a bit, unsure at Noeline's particular tells. She looks nervous for a moment, before reassuring her rather unconvincingly, "I can still go on... but if you'd like to stop and eat, that would be fine too." She looks anything but fine, really... the news of Malevolence at Krosse looks to have sapped away as she knows that she must confront the Trial Knight again.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Gently, Noeline lets out a breath. "Riese. ... just because you /can/ still go on doesn't mean that you /should/," she points out with a gently amused patience, her hand coming up to slip under Riesenlied's hood and through her hair. She might be free of her own wounds from the Primach's attack, but the quiet worry in her eyes remains. "Let us find a fire and a place to sit and rest for a while, hm?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's horns sag for a moment in that way that they do; her red eyes softly find Noeline's, so full of quiet fear and anxiety as she reaches with her good hand to lace around her fingers. "... okay. I just... I just thought we shouldn't dally, with everything going on back at home... but, you're right." She leans a little closer and clings towards her partner.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Carefully, Noeline lets out a sigh as she squeezes Riesenlied's hand in hers. "... I cannot really disagree with you," she admits with a huff of air, shaking her head for a moment. "But by the same token, I cannot simply stand by when you desperately need to pause and take stock. ... trust in Wayside, and those stationed there," she reminds the blonde with a wry smile. "They will last a few hours without us, at least."
Slowly - as if to give Riese a moment to mentally catch up - she offers another light kiss, then turns back to the street. Sure enough, a little down the way is a comfortably small-looking inn, and Noeline guides them both towards it.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied hesitates just a little, as if she's afraid she'll take too much -- but Noeline guides her through what is by now a very familiar practiced motion for the both of them, their kiss lingering just a little bit as Noeline proceeds forward to the inn. "... tell me a story," she asks out of the blue. "Just... a little something to take my mind off things. Tell me... tell me what you've experienced that I haven't."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's ability to bluster comes in handy at times like this - it's with an ironclad confidence that she strides into the little inn, Riesenlied at her arm, and before the innkeeper can really offer more than a confused greeting the Crimson Noble has requested food and water and a spot by the fire - not to mention enough Gella to pay for all three and a little extra. The latter is the one she prioritizes, guiding Riese down into a long seat nearby.
"Hmm... perhaps I should tell you of Aquvy? You haven't been that far west, as I recall. ... when I first arrived there, it wasn't to the mainland itself, but a little steamer that took me over to the Thames. Effectively, a giant offshore rig." She pauses, and there's a far-off and very genuine smile. "You'd like it, I dare say. It is very-- Wayside."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I haven't...." Riesenlied speaks, though she does recall Noeline speaking about the Thames several times. "You... told me, though. Of how Beastmen live there on the rig, and the captain was someone you quite liked..." She tilts her head as she gets nursed over towards the seat and just about nearly reclines upon it. The fatigue is a little more than she'd like to admit, and it's in privacy that she takes her hood off and brushes her capelet aside.
"It sounds... nice..." she remarks, just a bit sleepy. "A place I'd love to visit one day."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"The captain was a crotchety ass a lot of the time, quite honestly," Noeline snickers to herself. She's sat on the opposite side of Riese to the fire, wanting to let the blonde have its warmth - instead, she loops an arm around her partner's waist, directing her towards one of her shoulders. "But he had confidence and charisma, and clearly loved everyone there. Whether he's still alive, I could not say, but-- he certainly carried the spirit of the place."
Her hand finds its way to Riesenlied's hair, slowly drifting through it. "It was the sort of place where people learnt to make do. Grimy and loud and endlessly falling apart, but very full of life at the same time. I was drawn to that sort of chaos, I suppose," she admits with a lopsided and fond grin. "It truly is very much like Wayside, in the end."
A pause. "Better than the dusty old Granas Cathedral, that's for sure."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... mm," Riesenlied nods very quietly, drawing her arms around Noeline's shoulders rather loosely. It's not the most comfortable of embraces, with how ungainly her arm has become, but they've learnt a thing or two on how to manage misshapen body parts. "That does sound nice. I wonder if we'll be able to take Wayside there on our airship..."
A pause, as she exhales very softly to respond, "It sounds rather similar to the Gutter. But you never took to our old place back then... but we've come to unite together in the end." There's an extremely delicate smile as she wipes a bit of her hair aside.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline shifts a little to better accomodate Riesenlied's embrace, an arm around her waist to settle the other woman against her; it's certainly easier to deal with the occasional sharp edge when you're quite literally made of metal, after all. She's got her worries over the mutations, of course, but-- well, now is not the time for vanity, it seems.
"Perhaps that would be a good idea - to be honest, if I had to pick one place to plead the Tainted's case, it would be there," she muses, but lets the thought go when Riesenlied continues. "I-- was not disapproving of it, per se," huffs the spy who once snuck down into the Gutter to watch the Tainted speeches. "I was just-- a lot less wise, and a lot more foolish," she grumbles in a bashful moment, stealing a glance over.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied catches that glance over, with a terribly weak smile as she expresses, "We all were... but I would not hold it against you now, especially with all that you've given to us." She leans forward as she shows a needier side of her, resuming that kiss outside with a far more lingering moment between the two of them. "... it's been a while since we've laid down with just the two of us... we've gotten used to Mikaia refusing to sleep away from me, hehe..."
She's terribly bashful and red as she lets go, gently. "... the airship will be able to double as a ship if it ever came to it. I am no sailor, but... I am certain there are enough amongst us with the skills to keep us afloat."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Closing her eyes, Noeline hums softly as she returns the kiss, her fingers drifting through blonde hair. She doesn't really move away all that much when they part, letting out a soft huff as she allows a more bashful side of her to take over. "We'll get an earful when we get back, no doubt," she notes in return, her voice rather dry but a smile on her lips. "But somehow, I know you wouldn't miss it for the world."
Rather than let Riese let go, she hovers closer when Riese begins to speak, shushing her with another kiss before she can get any further. "... I was telling stories," she drawls back with another light grin - not least because it's an attempt to draw Riese away from thinking about the future, if only for a little while. For the time being, she nestles the other woman back against her. "And believe me, Granas has more than enough to tell. You know, they literally have a 'Battle of Good and Evil'? All the nuance of a boulder."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied watches that huff, rather enjoying the time they simply have to themselves. There's not that much when you're constantly on the run and putting fires out, after all; there's an admiring look on her face as she says, "No, but... surely you appreciate time alone as well." She clings just a little tighter against Noeline's elbow, just a little bit taken.
"I have... heard of it. I have continued to story Granasian culture, though... well, you know me," Riesenlied speaks very gently. "I suppose my faith must rest with the Guardians in lieu of Mother now..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"... of course I do," she admits, for once sounding the younger and lesser of the pair; she sighs in relief, though, as the pair of them begin to relax further - and sneaks in another kiss, this time in Riesenlied's hair and just a little off one of her horns. "But I also know that there will come a time when we are safe, and free."
There's a remarkable amount of confidence there, directed towards Riesenlied more than anything - and then she chuckles. "Must it? ... I very much doubt you could keep yourself to just one faith, you know," she lightly shoots back with a playful grin.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a quiet huff and a sulk from Riesenlied, even as she's kissed. "Do I seem so unfaithful to you? It took a lot of energy and pain to accept that what I believed of Mother is not true... I would not just bounce from one faith to another without." She doesn't seem too upset, though, nuzzling herself a little bit closer. At this point, she's not really going to need food or water with how cozy she's being...
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Pausing for just a moment - and absolutely not enjoying the sight of Riesenlied huffing, honest - Noeline chuckles and then smooths down the other woman's hair once more. "... I did not mean that. I just mean-- you would never stop trying to understand as many faiths as possible." She sits back, letting out another chuckle as she maneuvers Riese around just a little to cradle her partner against her. "Rest, if you need it. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"O-oh... well..." Riesenlied dithers and tilts her head to one side, looking just a little bashfully. "No, in that sense... well, yes, I would not feel content to marginalise anyone's faith." She sighs just for a moment longer, and starts to close her eyes. "... I want to be awake a little longer... I want to... enjoy the moment of being next to you longer..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a gentle laugh, Noeline continues to brush through her companion's hair, a light colour on her cheeks as she hums. "... well-- I will still be here when you wake. Don't think I'll let you sleep the /entire/ night away," she adds, some of her old confidence renewing itself as she offers a toothy smile - but continues to lull the other demon anyway, watching her drift.