2018-06-09: A Heated Argument
- Log: A Heated Argument
- Cast: Rosaline Calice, Xantia
- Where: Biroclef Ridge
- Date: June 9th, 2018
- Summary: While following up on rumors of a monstrous creature of flame, Xantia unexpectedly runs into a friend she's not seen in a very long time, unaware that Rosaline has undergone a few changes...
=============================<* Biroclef Ridge *>============================= Biroclef Ridge is a network of canyons and high ridges that stretch across the southern mountains between the Gododdin region and Pearloats Pasture. The ridges here are narrow and difficult to walk, which makes trade between them difficult. This also aren't blessed by the temperate weather to the north; the land is drier here, except when great storms come rolling in from the southern seas. The network of ridges, canyons, and caverns also forms a maze that many an unfortunate traveler has gotten lost in. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGxq2eoLSDY
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline has a place to go back home to now, which is nice, and really an improvement over the past year. And yet, she's camping in the middle of nowhere right now. Why? Because sometimes, often, really, she feels the need to get away and isolate herself. That, and because home is on the WRONG FRICKIN' CONTINENT, which sometimes means she needs to wait a day or two before her boat comes to pick her up. (She's got a friend, so at least that's convenient.)
Despite her best efforts to go unnoticed by the populace, she sometimes misbehaves. She has to find ways to express her constant, low-key frustration, and hunting big game won't always cut it. This is why freak fires and cattle manglings have been occurring often enough that people could find a pattern-- and eventually, these incidents were blamed on "The Nekomata", a catlike flame creature who is believed to hide in the Biroclef Ridge!
...but surely that creature is not related to Rosaline, who is currently sitting outside her now well-worn tent, grilling herself some Mystery Meat on a stick. She stares at it with a completely listless expression.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Nobody's probably going to think there's anything strange about Rosaline wanting to go and isolate herself for a bit. Saying a cat is aloof and independant is just about a tautology. Setting things on fire in frustration doesn't seem very out of character either. Cats break stuff when they're bored all the time. Everything is perfectly fine and normal here.
From a certain perspective, anyway. A perspective not shared by the victims of these incidents, all too keen to offer a reward for putting a stop to this. Perhaps not a big enough reward to attract big time bounty hunters, but to someone who thinks it's only natural to help anybody in any way possible...
And thus, Xantia is on the case! It's a lot less like her to be on her own like this, far preferring the company of others if she can help it. But with the Black Wolves working on things that are too complicated for her to understand much of, she figures she can make herself more useful this way, solving problems that'll probably only require a certain amount of punching.
She failed to take into account that this might first require a good amount of tracking. She's not the absolute worst at it, but her impatience causes her to miss some obvious clues. But just when the effort starts to feel like aimless wandering and she starts to consider giving up, she detects something unmistakable. She smells food! As usual, she didn't bring nearly enough of her own to keep from getting hungry before long. Hopefully whoever's roasting meat nearby is in a mood to share!
Naturally, Xantia foregoes trying to hide her presence, assuming she's just going to meet up with some fellow travellers and seeing no reason to risk startling somebody. One could hear her coming a mile away, and prepare accordingly.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Just as she's about to take the meat away from the flame, Rosaline's ears twitch. Her nostrils flare. And intruder. One with a familiar scent, but she must make sure.
In a single sidestep, she has dimmed her flames and become a part of the shadows, stalking from one to another in the direction of the new arrival. Is she going to have to kill them? She would really rather not.
And... Rosaline's narrowed eyes widen slightly. It's Xantia. Who knows what strange idea she's gotten into her head this time, to bring her to this place. But at least it's unlikely she's here to pick a fight with her.
Rosaline is... actually curious about what she has to say. For once, it might not even be pleading for her to seek the Shepherd's help! Or even awkwardly pretending that her problem isn't there. Xantia's frankness might be refreshing, she figures.
And so, she steps out, momentarily forgetting that she was stalking just a second ago. This may startle Xantia somewhat.
Her hair of flame roars back to life then, but of course Xantia can't see it. All she sees is Rosaline, dressed in a strange new (and somewhat risqué) garb and looking even more tired than usual.
"Hello Xantia," is all she says.
Meanwhile: Oops! The mystery meat is starting to burn!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
For someone not meaning to startle anybody, Xantia certainly doesn't make the most obvious entrance. Most people would have come out in the open beforehand, following whatever paths there might be, man-made or natural. Xantia is straightforward to the point that she just went in a mostly straight line towards where she smelled food, causing her to come clawing straight through some dense foliage instead. It actually would've made for a decent ambush despite her not meaning to, if it wasn't for all the noise she made in the process.
But how strange. The meat is here, and even she can recognize the clear signs that someone was here until not long ago, but the campsite looks to be abandoned. This visibly puzzles her, as she looks around, and then scratches her head. It doesn't look like she noticed Rosaline.
Welp, no point in letting abandoned food go to waste. With a shrug, she's about to head on over and help herself, when a voice calls her name completely out of nowhere, making her think better of it and take the intended step forwards in the reverse direction instead. "Wah! I-I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was still here!"
Wait a minute. Why do they know her name? Wasn't that voice really familiar? Only now does Xantia actually take a good look at who just spoke to her. Instantly, all worry vanishes from her expression, to be replaced with a bright smile.
"Rosa! You're here! I'm so glad!"
You probably don't need cat-like senses to detect the incoming hug. Even while Xantia makes her way over, she continues, "...maybe that isn't really a good thing, I mean you'd probably rather be back on Filgaia, but I'm still glad, I missed you!"
No indication that she's noticed anything out of the ordinary. Whether the hug attempt is successful or not, the first thing she takes notice of is, "--oh, the food!" Which causes the hug to be a short one if it happens at all, for she has to save the meat from the flames! She blows on it a few times, then cheerfully concludes, "Nothing to worry about, it's still good!"
Same old Xantia, in other words.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Xantia smiles, and Rosaline looks like a deer in headlights as she sees an incoming hug. She takes a step back just as Xantia goes in for the kill but ends up only meeting air. At least the food crisis provides her a good excuse to avoid having to justify her awkward hug-dodging.
She continues staring as Xantia dashes to perform a food rescue. Rosaline stares at her from the foliage, unblinkingly, remaining still for a moment while Xantia saves the day. The beastwoman lowers her gaze, looking at her enormous claw with a bitter expression. To Xantia, it simply seems like she's looking at a crooked, clawed, but still regular-sized hand, doesn't it? That's another noteworthy detail from her point of view, at least: Rosaline seems to have ditched her gloves.
"I missed you too," she says, weary, stepping back into the open. "But not Filgaia so much. This is a much better place, or at least would be without this idiotic war."
Now, she's always had a bit of a gloomy aura, but it was rarely anything that could pierce through Xantia's cheer. Now, however, it's a very literal, palpable thing. Xantia may not be able to see Malevolence, but this camp has enough of it concentrated that there would be an uneasy feeling surrounding it that she likely can't trace.
Rosaline considers the half-burnt meat. Should she share it? A part of her wants to be selfish, to eat the meal she made for herself and tell Xantia to eat rations or hunt her own. But she knows her well enough by now to know it would break her heart. And she may be a terrible monster, but she isn't an ABSOLUTE monster.
"Are you hungry?" she asks, already knowing the answer. "Let's split it." She holds up a long, inches-long claw, which from Xantia's point of view might be puzzling, since it's unclear what she would do with her held-up finger. "What brings you here?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Food has to take precedence over all other matters, which is why Xantia doesn't even begin to question Rosaline not seeming to want a hug. You know that if she even thought about it at all, she'd just conclude that this is all explained by everybody sharing her opinion that the food crisis needed to be taken care of first. It only makes sense.
Speaking of things that make sense, Xantia notices the lack of gloves, but assumes it must be because Rosaline was expecting trouble. Prompting her to add, "Sorry if I startled you." She really tried not to, from her perspective. Never mind that she was obviously startled herself just now.
She doesn't really stop looking cheerful until Rosaline speaks her mind on Filgaia, finding it hard to understand that viewpoint. "So you also don't mind it here..." Now she just feels awkward. "I, I mean, it's prettier and everything, but..." She can't even manage to put her feelings into words, it's started to feel like few can understand the way she feels about this. She'd just be a bother if she tried to explain it. It's best if she just leaves it at that.
It's not really like her to allow negativity to slip in so easily. Perhaps this is the subtle influence of Malevolence at work, though she can't tell anything is different.
Regardless, her mood improves again readily enough at the moment of food. "I'm always hungry!" The predictable response. Still, she holds out the meat to Rosaline, since it isn't hers to divide. As for the question of what brought her here...
"Hmmm, I'm still not completely sure, but from what I've heard it was probably a blue-haired girl called Lucia." Not what Rosaline meant, of course, but that's what happens when Xantia is thinking about her arrival on this planet and she has no cause to assume they were talking about anything more specific right now. At least the way she continues has more to do with that. "I hope I can find her and ask about how to get back."
She looks to Rosaline with concern, having to ask the question despite fearing the answer, "If I figure out how to get back... would you come along? I mean, it's your decision of course, but, leaving friends behind..." Because of course they're still friends. Why wouldn't they be? Without leaving any pause for an actual answer yet, Xantia emphasizes, "I'd worry, a lot. I've been worried ever since... what happened at the church."
Does she know what exactly did happen? Probably not. It's not like Xantia to mince words. She simply hasn't seen Rosaline for all that time, nor heard any news about her. That's plenty of reason to be worried.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline doesn't react to the apology. She also notices Xantia's awkward reaction to her honest assessment of Filgaia. She doesn't really attempt to console her, giving up when words fail to immediately come to her. But talk of food works out just as well, anyway.
She swipes her claw into the meat, cleanly cutting it in half along with the stick running through it. This may look odd to Xantia, or very anime, as Rosaline's claws look sharp but cutting a chunk this large seems like it should require more work. Maybe she's just become very, very good with them?
Rosaline picks up the end of the stick Xantia isn't holding, then immediately tears into the meat. It's a bit of an unusual display, as Rosaline devours it without any of her normal restraint, letting bits fly off and juice run down her face. Some even almost gets on her robe, before burning away near-instantaneously on contact.
She then sits down, slowing down her eating once the initial hunger pangs are gone. She then finally considers Xantia's words.
"I don't know if Lucia would know," Rosaline says, not knowing very much about the woman in question. "As for coming with you..." She considers, staring at the ground. She thinks Ida and Garrett would want to go back, at least, to fight the Metal Demons. As for her? What does she even WANT out of life anymore? Is there anything that even still holds meaning to her?
"...Maybe. I'm not sure." She looks back at Xantia again. She doesn't know, does she? She's been worried, even without knowing what had happened to Rosaline. Ignorance may be bliss, but this seems even crueler, in its own way. Certainly Xantia is familiar with that particular contradiction!
"Well... Xantia, do you know what a Hellion is?" Her stick-holding hand is trembling, as her oversized hand tightens around it.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Being anime is just fine. If it wasn't, Xantia would still need to worry about all the things she does that don't make any sense. Accepting that sometimes things just happen that don't make sense and that's fine makes everything easier. Rosaline's probably just using some sharpness magic, no big deal.
Besides, who's got time to think when there's food? Needless to say, Xantia immediately tears into her share pretty ravenously as well, though this time she does take notice of something being odd on Rosaline's end. She's seen Rosaline eat before, it was nothing like that. It's messier than the way she herself is eating. That must mean... Rosaline was really, REALLY hungry. And still gave some of her food away. That's so like her. Always so nice.
The answer to her question is disappointingly vague, but at least it wasn't a hard 'no'. That's plenty for Xantia to remain optimistic about the eventual answer. "I'll be sure to let you know if I find out anything, then!" An easy promise to make, when you don't even consider all the specifics involved, like how you'd find one another again. She can't afford to get stuck thinking two steps ahead. Then she'd have to think about how acclimated many of her friends appear to be, all going around wearing new clothes just like Rosa is, while she seems to be about the only one desperately wanting to go back as soon as possible. How could she keep smiling then?
Then, suddenly a question about Hellions, which comes rather out of nowhere, visibly puzzling Xantia. "Well, sure... you know too, right? Did you forget? I'm not really the best at explaining things like that, it's pretty complicated..." She couldn't think of any other reason why she might be asked that question. Of course she fails to notice any clues that this might be a painful topic. Ignorance may indeed be bliss, no matter how fiercely Xantia would argue against that.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Xantia may not worry about the logistics of contacting Rosaline, who has made it a point of being so elusive, but Rosaline certainly does. But then, what are the odds of Xantia finding something, right?
She closes her eyes. Yes, of course Xantia knows. But it's good to check, just in case. Well, how could she put this?
Bluntly works.
"I became one. Back in Hope Springs. You can't see it, but I've become a monster now. I'm dangerous now. I've destroyed buildings, hurt good people. Killed people, a lot of them. I've lied and stolen-- I've stolen so much! I've reanimated corpses, brought spirits to this world against their will. Cyre almost died because of me. I've burned so many things, so many... I've--" Okay, Xantia probably doesn't need to know EVERYTHING, but Rosaline is certainly feeling torn up about it. She's managed to do good things in that interval, but it's hard to think of them right now, especially since almost all of these are tainted by sin in some way.
Wisps of purple smoke drift up from her flames, but of course, Xantia STILL can't see them.
This might sound like a joke at first, but the beastwoman is dead serious. Tears are beading at the corners of her eyes. The stick cracks in her hand, and the meat on its end falls into the dirt, no doubt illustrating the gravity of the situation.
"But you can't see it, can you? I--" A thought crosses her mind, which seems to snap her out of her negative spiral. It at least gives the more analytical part of her mind something to focus on. A possible experiment. "Actually, I might have a way of showing you." The thought is almost relieving, in a very strange way.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Well. That effectively silences Xantia. Which is no small feat, getting her to stop talking. But what can she possibly say to all of that? She's not quick to assume things she's told are a joke, a lie, or in some other way false. Why would anybody lie about something like that? That wouldn't be like Rosaline at all. But all these claims sound even less like Rosaline. There's no way to make any of this logically click in her mind.
And so, Xantia just sort of sits there, stunned and dumbfounded. If there was any doubt she was taking this seriously, she doesn't even look at the fallen meat. She only stares at Rosaline, trying and failing to come up with how she should respond to this. She wasn't exactly expecting that this would ever be something that she would be confronted with. At least there's no immediately judgement in her eyes. Only pure confusion. Is she even capable of understanding the magnitude of what's happened?
It takes Rosaline's own initiative to finally get a response from Xantia, though all she says is, "...Alright." She'll agree to this method of showing her, without knowing what it is. Since this is all so difficult to imagine, maybe it will help her figure out what to say if she can actually see some of it.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
A silent Xantia is an almost disturbing sight. Rosaline finds a way to feel guilty about it, despite being excited about her little experiment.
"All right," she repeats.
She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes... and stands there for a few seconds, moving a little jerkily, as if she were sleeping and having a nightmare. Whatever the beastwoman is doing seems laborious to Xantia, and perhaps odd since she can't see to what end Rosaline is doing this. And yet, she is shifting her form, just not in a way Xantia can perceive, as she draws the Malevolence back into herself and becomes... well, now she corresponds with what Xantia is seeing, at least.
She opens her eyes. "That was probably confusing to you. Well, I'm not actually sure if this is going to work, but... I'm... I'm sorry, this is going to be upsetting to see." She doesn't apologize much at all, nowadays.
And so, she seems to concentrate again, in the way she just did, and...
There is a crack of bone. Xantia can hear it. Rosaline's ungloved hand grows to a size that no gloves could contain, her claws lengthening enough to cut meat in a single swipe.
She effectively undergoes the transformation she just did in reverse, with the key difference that Xantia can see it. Has she suddenly become Resonant? No. You see, Rosaline has been studying strange magic lately, and by experimenting with her Malevolence has found ways to hide or change certain things about herself. Things such as her monstrous form, or even her beastwoman attributes.
But it also lets her, in a way, lift the veil so to speak. Or at least show Xantia an approximation of what she's become.
Her tail has split. Her limbs grown grotesquely out of proportion. Her skin lightened and her eyes reddened. Her long hair has gone up in flames, along with small patches of her fur, burning intermittently in a way that doesn't seem to harm her.
The Mourning Nekomata speaks. "This is what a Hellion looks like."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia didn't know what to expect, of course, but she wasn't expecting... well, nothing. She doesn't confirm whether or not it was confusing to her to see Rosaline standing there all focused and seeming like she might do some big magic and then nothing much happened, but probably fair assumption. Not much has changed about her demeanor, or her silence for that matter. Maybe she at least managed to understand that this was only some kind of preparation for the real thing.
The nasty, painful-sounding crack that follows catches Xantia by surprise, causing her to wince. As for what follows... it's hard to tell if this actually is upsetting for Xantia to see. Her expression is more one of wonderment. She's never seen anybody do anything like that before.
That expression never changes. Whatever Rosaline may have been expecting in the way of fear, concern, pity... if Xantia is experiencing these things, they don't overpower that simple, innocent surprise and fascination that's foremost on display. While the change certainly is monstrous, the fact that this is Rosaline she's looking at never leaves Xantia's mind. Perhaps some would call it unnatural, the way she appears to just sort of accept that this is still the same Rosaline, who can just look different than she did before. But that seems to be what is happening, if the first words out of her mouth are any indication.
"...How can you be on fire, but not get burned?"
You'll have to forgive Xantia - that's something she's been thinking about a lot lately, so it just sort of slipped out. As unexpected as it might be, she realizes the gravity of the situation, that this is something to be taken with all due seriousness. She corrects herself, shaking her head.
"...No, that's not what I really want to know. You had to have known I never would've realized anything was different... why did you decide to tell me all this, to show me this?"
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline can't focus all that much on Xantia's reactions. Normally, assuming her Hellion form is something she does naturally, and it often feels like her body would do it on its own if she let her attention slip too much to begin with. But this? She has to do it deliberately, and it's not something she's used to just yet.
But it's more natural once she's done it. This is her form, after all, whether she likes it or not.
She finally looks at Xantia directly again. And she... asks an innocent question. Maybe not the most relevant, but it actually prompts something resembling a smile.
"It's magic fire." At least the answer is simple.
But then she asks one that causes Rosaline's expression to darken. She takes one of her wide-sleeved elbows in her hand, looking away for a moment.
"Because I didn't want to feel like I was tricking you. People keep thinking I'm someone I'm not-- Someone I never really was. And I want to make it clear, because if you get too close to me, you'll get hurt. It's that simple. I thought I could still do a little good in this world even as a monster, and the CaraKin trusted me with it, but... Cyre almost ended up paying the ultimate price for that trust."
That's a very one-sided version of events, one that glosses over most of what actually happened, but it's the story Rosaline is telling herself now. But why would Xantia not believe it, right?
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Magic does make sense, of course. That answer doesn't really help with what Xantia really wants to know, but now is hardly the time to talk specifics about something far less pressing than the current major concern.
But does Xantia fully understand? Could she? It's fair to say that she isn't exactly the first person most people would think would have anything insightful to offer about deeply complicated situations. Her thought patterns tend to be simple, straightforward. The kind who wonders about things like how people who are on fire don't burn themselves, not the nature of good and evil, and what makes one a monster.
And yet, at times Xantia can be surprising in that regard. Perhaps this will be one of those times.
"Were you really tricking me before? Or are you tricking yourself now?"
That already seems deeper than anything she'd typically say. "You don't have to answer that," she clarifies, and hops back to her feet. Placing her hands behind her back, she looks up to the sky, pausing a moment before she continues.
"I realized something, a while ago. People sometimes do terrible things without being terrible people. You can't really know if you don't have the full picture. It's wrong to think of someone as evil just because they're, say, a Metal Demon. Lots of people still do that, though. They use it more like a title to pass judgment without trying to figure out what's really going on. Words have power, after all... I guess the word 'Hellion' is the same way."
Her gaze lowers back down, and her more characteristic smile returns, her words returning to something a bit closer to the typical for her. "The way you look doesn't matter to me. How dangerous it is to be around you doesn't matter to me. Maybe you'll do things that make me want to stop you, and we'll end up fighting. That also doesn't matter to me. When I think about everything you've done for me and for others, I can't think of you as a monster."
It's clear that this is something she's been thinking about a lot. This is eerily similar to another conversation she's had recently, in fact. To Xantia, this only reinforces her belief that she has the right idea. Even if she might sound a little different, this is still the same, innocently simple-minded Xantia, as evidenced by her cheerful conclusion.
"So, I don't see any reason why we can't still be friends!"
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline quirks an eyebrow. Tricking herself?
It's funny, that someone usually as simpleminded as Xantia can be in a position to lecture Rosaline. One of her duties as an Etone, at least in theory, is to be a spiritual guide, but she's never felt very good at that, and was taught to see life in black and white terms besides.
She listens silently, giving Xantia a side-look with narrowed eyes. There's a lot more with her than one can guess at first glance, and this is just more proof of that. Xantia then says she doesn't care how dangerous Rosaline is, and this prompts a little sigh. She can't see a reason not to still be friends?
"Well, I do."
She gestures to the air around her, forgetting that the faint miasma around them is invisible to Xantia. "Being around me will poison you. I don't know how much Malevolence affects you--" She's guessing not much, but with Xantia, you can never be entirely sure. "--but it can never be good. What I have inside me... It corrupts everything, sooner or later."
She's raised her voice, and she hates that she's yelling at Xantia of all people. But it's happening, as it always does, and it's as if someone had cut the brakes on her.
"You think it's so SIMPLE? That friendship will fix everything? I don't want you to be hurt, Xantia, but I can't protect you anymore! How do you think it makes me feel, that I can't protect you from myself?! I hate it. I hate everything about this!"
The pulse of Malevolence around her grows more intense. Her flames are flaring up. The air grows hotter. Even the piece of dirty meat on the ground is starting to sizzle again, burning further.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia doesn't mean to lecture, of course. She probably doesn't even know what that means. She's just being honest about what she's come to believe, that's all. It all makes sense in her head. So it's confusing when Rosaline doesn't seem to agree with that. She merely tilts her head at the initial objection. Of course she doesn't get it. Of course it's going to have to be made more clear. Rosaline should be used to that by now, to the point of pre-empting obvious questions before they happened.
But the explanations used to be patient and friendly, nothing quite like this. Even when Xantia starts to object regarding the corruption of Malevolence with "I don't think--", she gets cut off by more yelling.
And that's not all. She starts to feel the heat. See the flames. Perhaps later she'll realize that this is unusual - not something that somebody without the proper Resonance should have detected. But at the moment, she only instinctively shields herself by raising her right arm, which doesn't really make any difference.
This might have been enough to cause her to back down, once upon a time. But as it is... Xantia raises her voice right back. "It CAN be that simple! I don't know if it'll fix anything, and I can't know how you feel... but I know friends are important, especially when things are bad! So what if you're dangerous to be around, isn't it my choice if I want to be around you anyway? I can't do anything about the way you feel, but you can't do anything about the way I feel, either! You can try to push me away all you want, but I'll keep coming back! You'll see!"
Just ask Id. If the Demon of Elru couldn't get rid of her, what chance does Rosaline have?
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Xantia is right. Of course friends are important, and Rosaline isn't helping anyone by pushing everyone away like this. But reason can't always get past pain, especially one as acute as the one Rosaline bears.
She grits her shark teeth. Xantia is being stubborn, and vows to keep coming back. It's not the first time she's heard declarations like these. It should be heartening, in a sense, and she may look back on these exchanges in a different light one day, but right now?
Xantia is being a nuisance.
"Then go AWAY!!!" Rosaline shrieks, holding a claw up and closing her hand. Just then, the ground beneath Xantia rumbles, and a massive explosion burst from the earth, forceful enough to send her flying right clear of the campsite, and even off the nearest cliffside.
There are several silver linings to this, and Xantia may or may not realize that this is about the kindest Rosaline could have been, given the circumstances. For starters, the cliff isn't very high, and while the explosion almost certainly injured Xantia, Rosaline knows well that she doesn't go down that easily. It was clearly set up to send her flying as far away as possible rather than kill or seriously hurt her.
And best of all? There's a thoroughly charred, absolutely unsanitary piece of meat landing next to her. YUM.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Well, Xantia did say Rosaline could try to push her away. It's not like she didn't ask for it. The method is effective too - Xantia would have been ready for an attack from the front, not from below. She looks briefly shocked, and attempts to leap backward just before she is sent rocketing off. This prevents her from getting fully caught in the explosion, but her trajectory is altered to send her flying a bit further than was intended.
More in a reflex than anything else, Xantia eventually hits the ground rolling, though the initial impact was quite a painful one. She comes to a stop laying flat on her back, breathing deeply a few times before slowly sitting up. "Ow, ow, ow..." She looks back to the cliff edge in the distance, vision a little blurry. Even after that, she still considers trying to go back there right away. But no, even if she could pull herself together that quickly, Rosaline will undoubtedly be long gone by that time.
Just then, a second crash happens right next to her, startling Xantia. She looks over, sees some unidentifiable meat, blinks... then shrugs, and snaps off a piece. Of course she's going to eat it. All of it. She'll bring some of it back with her if she has to, there will be no wasted food on her watch.
While chewing, she looks back over to the cliffside one more time, clearing her mouth before saying out loud, "...I meant what I said, you know." She got pushed away, but she'll keep coming back. You'll see.