2018-02-19: The Genuine

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  • Log: The Genuine
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
  • Where: Wayside
  • Date: 19th February 2018
  • Summary: Following the battle with Gryndille, Noeline returns Riesenlied home to Wayside to their children.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied is returned to Wayside, at long last -- it's been a bit too many engagements in one go, even for their admittedly storied backgrounds. A Golem, an ancient killer machine, the Fossils... it's enough to make one's head spin, and in Riesenlied's case, she's certainly not going to see action anytime soon. She's in a better state than she was in the camp with the Black Wolves, though...

Though there is a sullenness that has clung to her demeanor. Something that unsettles her about the exchange in the Summer Palace... something about herself.

"Noeline..." she asks as they step up to their orphanage. "Who..."

She hesitates.

"Who am I?" she asks a really strange question. She places a hand to her cheek slowly, her shoulders shrinking a little.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline's the sort to take stock of herself every so often; she's aware just how far she's come from that flighty individual of years past, and while part of her wonders if that's alright, it's not as if she could simply step away from Riese when it feels like she's the only thing propping the other woman up right at the moment.

She's led the other demon through the village at a purposefully slow pace, letting the pair of them soak in the sights and sounds of it - and in return letting the pair of them show that they've returned from a dire situation and are still standing. Bowed, but still standing.

She pauses at the door, her brow furrowing, but the answer's already been rolling around her head for some time. "... you are Riesenlied," she stresses as she turns around. "You are someone who dislikes violence - who would rather use words and empathy in place of cold steel. ... you are someone who desperately tries to help others, even at great physical or emotional cost to yourself. You are our leader, and my beloved, and the person we look up to," she adds with a lopsided smile.

"... but you are also someone who is allowed to trip up and make mistakes. You are someone who may feel pushed to their limits, or lost for what to do. ... none of us expect you to be infallible, Riese," she adds with a quiet sympathy.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

It is that side of Noeline that perhaps first drew Riesenlied to her -- in the Photosphere, in Arctica, there was no one that seemed to have a better sense of herself. Even if it was a disguise, the Crimson Noble was more than a cover for Noeline -- it was an identity. And in this time, especially... identity seemed to be in short supply for her.

"... it isn't about tripping and making mistakes... of course, I know that much..." Riesenlied murmurs hesitantly, glancing aside. "I'm more scared..."

She clutches her arms to her side as she turns away from the orphanage doorway. "What if that kind pacifist, too, was just a mask I was wearing all this time...?"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline's eyebrows quietly raise - and then she snorts, letting out a huff of breath. "If that were true, the man who pointed a gun at you in that abandoned store would not be breathing now. If that were true, we would not have the allies that we do, nor the Guardian's grudging respect. If that were true, I do not believe that Wayside would even exist, let alone in its current state."

Her voice turns stern - not angry, just firm. "A single instance where you drew your sword - against an opponent of metal who would not hear your words, no less - does not undo all the work you've done. Pacifism is not a thing immediately lost the moment an angry word is spoken - especially not when the reason you drew your sword was in hopes of protecting those you held dear. It is an ideal to reach for, even if one slips briefly in a moment of sheer stress."

"No-one thinks any worse of you for your intentions that day," she adds, though her own mask slips to allow an exasperated smile. "... even if I was scared out of my head for a while at what you were doing to yourself."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied is quiet for a moment longer, as she places her hands a little closer to clutch at her cheeks, her shoulders shaking. She sucks in a deeper breath. She recalls Fei's words as well. Many people don't know who they are... she's come much farther... Elly's warm feelings. Josie's cheerful encouragement for her. Lily's insistence that she never do it again.

"It was-- too easy, all too easy to slip," Riesenlied murmurs quietly. "To think that what would be useful for them was... a machine, a killing tool. And it was all too easy to succumb into that mask."

She clings a little harder to herself. "I should be someone you can rest easy with... not someone to stress and fear for."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Carefully and slowly, as if it might spook Riesenlied, the twintailed demon turns on the step to face her properly; it takes her a moment, but then she's closed the distance to reach up, rest her hands on the other woman's shoulders, and draw Riese towards her to rest her chin on the blonde's shoulder.

"... I do not believe you," she offers gently, and with a quiet sort of sympathy. "Because I have watched you. You have faced hatred and oppression. You have faced Malevolence and Primarchs and Guardians. You have faced your own people and others spitting in your eye. If it were so 'easy' to slip, you would have done so far, far earlier. Whether it was something to do with Hellerune's influence, or just reaching the end of your patience in a moment of desperation - and believe me, I can understand," she snorts abruptly, "It still does not overturn everything you've done."

A pause, and there's a quiet mirth in her voice. "I joined you on this path, knowing full well that it would be difficult. I am not about to quail from it now."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"... I suppose so ..." Riesenlied tries to sound convinced, as Noeline draws a little bit closer and rests her chin against her. It would be easy to use Hellerune or something else as an excuse, but as she recalls that moment in time... "I just don't know why I feel so shaken about it. I should-- feel more confident in myself, as I have been up until now."

There's a soft rustle and a grumble, as Janey finally pokes her head from the doorway. "--aaah I can't stand it anymore! Mama's mama, and this' coming from someone who's used to hanging around fakers!"

Riesenlied lets out a little, surprised jolt to go, "J-Janey?"

Mikaia peeks out with an embarrassed giggle. "Sorry... we wanted to surprise you, but..."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"... do not let worry and self-doubt blind you," she reminds Riesenlied gently. "Look around you. This is what you've managed - and I don't think for an instant it would have been possible were it just a mask," Noeline adds, though her eyes have already flicked towards the door as if spotting the orphan's presence. "Anyone would be shaken after everything we have been through as of late. Perhaps it was a moment's loss of control, but we are all still here. No-one was hurt, and we were there to reach you."

It feels like there's more to say, or at least worries still linger around Noeline's frame - but she lets them go, at least for the moment, and smoothly steps a little to one side to let the orphans burst in. For good measure, she tugs Riesenlied up the rest of the steps towards them with a light chuckle.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied does cast her eyes around Wayside, to take it in. The sight of all the villagers, trying their hardest; even the one limping on one leg, carrying a bucket of washers and bolts. It wouldn't have been possible were it all just a mask...

She jolts just a little bit as Janey and Mikaia emerge, though, stammering, "H-how long have you two been there?"

Janey looks like she's not going to be stopped, though, putting her hands to her waist. "Many adults think I'm dumb, but I'm watchin', y'know. It's easy for me to tell when someone's just putting on a pasted-on smile when they're greasing their mitts and sniggering behind their back."

Mikaia nods a few times and says, "We'd be long gone if we didn't think this orphanage was really a good place to live...!"

Riesenlied pauses for a moment longer, before-- sniffling just a little as she nods, holding her hand to Noeline's as she steps closer towards the orphans. "I'm home, you two..."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

With a huff, Noeline bows her head towards Janey's comment in agreement. "... you are nothing if not genuine all of the time, you realize," she comments towards Riese with something of a drawl. "Whether upset or happy, your heart is rather worn firmly on your sleeve."

It doesn't seem the time to talk at length, however, not when Riesenlied tries to avoid breaking into tears; instead, Noeline steps forward to encourage Riese inside, a hand resting on her back between the last vestiges of her wings in her usual show of support. "We are back," she reports to Janey with an amused sort of smile. "I hope you were looking after the place properly this time, rather than sneaking off to be irrensponsible?"

Says the girl with a hole in her.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied cups her hands to her face for a moment, letting out a faintly louder sniff -- before pulling her head up and smiling ever so gently for her children. "... thank you," she finally manages to muster, as Mikaia runs up and expects her mother to pick her up -- and she does.

Riese's wings have certainly seen better days, and atomic rays are not what'll fix them; still, they are steadfast and stubborn, much like the rest of Wayside. Janey just grins as she says, "We didn't go on a Dig this time. Decided to make a secret base out of Uncle Ambro's old workshop though!"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline-- makes a face, and is immediately and obviously trying to take stock of just what exactly Ambrosius might have left behind when the Veruni scientist left. She's /reasonably/ certain that he wouldn't have forgotten anything actively dangerous, but still-- well, it's not like she'd be able to really stop Janey either way, given the girl's ability to get into these sorts of situations. "--you'd better be careful. If you find anything of his, don't break it," she huffs out her lecture, planting her free hand on her hip for an instant.

She watches as Riese scoops Mikaia up into her arms, and the sight does a lot to give her a chance to let some of that tension out of her; the twintailed demon heaves out a breath, and then puts a smile back on her face. "Well. At the very least, we do have one heck of a story this time around, I dare say. I am ready to sit down for a year or so."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"... for all the good it did last time," Noeline pokes ever so gently at Riesenlied's side, aware of the injuries they both carry but at least having the spirit to grumble about things. "Really, people are starting to think I'm going soft, just letting you do whatever you like all the time." It's more for theatrics than anything else, of course - she'd be the first to admit that she's changed a lot - but just the act of teasing seems to buoy her up a little more, and she stretches a little with a hiss of dull pain.

"Some rest does sound good, however," she mutters, feeling the world spin a little at the action. "I have to admit, that was beyond anything we've done recently. We may have rather made the news this time," she adds with an amused sigh, and resolves to pick some papers up in the coming days just to try to judge the fallout of everything that went down.'

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied moves the four of them towards their comfortable couch, smiling a little as she watches the other children playing at their playpit and waving towards them. She's brushed her hand against the bandages on Noeline's side, murmuring, "It may still not be the most we will have to encounter by the end of the month, by your estimation."

Janey puffs up to say, "But if they come and knock us down--"

Mikaia chimes in with the rest, "--we'll just get back up!"

There's a shy look on Riesenlied's face as she says, "Of course..."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline lets out a long sigh as she sits down, and for once she's the one who leans into Riesenlied, rather than the usual vice versa - but at least she only complains a little when Janey more or less powerbombs her for a spot on the couch.

"... that is true," she admits to Riesenlied's comment, drawing at her hair for a moment before she simply elects to tug one of her hairties away. "But-- still, I will do my best to protect you, and these two, and whomever else I can. That is what I wish to do, because I believe in that pacifism of yours," she adds smoothly, with a lopsided but terribly fond smile.

--and then sneaks a kiss, right in front of Janey and Mikaia. Goodness!

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"... it's a journey, still. And I'm realising I'm taking baby steps myself. But I'll own it, with my own two hands," Riesenlied speaks, pausing for a moment as if some part of her is resonating with her own words. She laces hands with Noeline, and returns that kiss, prompting a 'wah!' from Mikaia as she covers her hands, and Janey just cackles.