2018-07-15: Sisters
- Log: Sisters
- Cast: Riesenlied, Lily Keil
- Where: Pendrago Castle Grounds
- Date: 15th July 2018
- Summary: Lily convenes with Riesenlied at the Pendrago Castle Grounds, soon after the Trial Knight's attack.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Castle Pendrago is still the site of a crisis -- many injured knights, guards and other castle staff hang in the balance, even after the attack of the Trial Knight and their priestess companion.
Riesenlied has been spending the last of the hour tending to wounds, calling for an effective triage and putting her priority on those that are most critically wounded. By the time those that have arrived from the battle returned, there's something of a makeshift infirmary where supplies are being rushed to those who need it most...
... and Riese herself, of course, is in the middle of it -- breathing hard as she focuses on applying a tourniquet onto someone who needs it.
Her side is bleeding red, possibly from an unopened wound.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The noise of the wounded, the bustle of those checking the castle's damage, ensuring there are sufficient guards during the process, and helping those injured--all of it echoes through the halls in places. ...Not all places, though; a castle is still a place for quiet, at times, just from sheer /size/.
...Those helping in the throne hall avoided Lily Keil, the strange woman in black, hot to the touch, smouldering, aglow with strange light having become some /thing/ in apparent defense. She did not stay in place for long, outright refusing assistance and moving to sit near the balcony, looking out into nothing in particular.
That time passed.
Now the young woman drags herself down the hall, towards the makeshift infirmary with her left hand holding against the wall to guide herself. ...Her right arm is cradled close, fingers entirely unmoving. The burns at least are largely faded now, but her eyepatch is ruined, and there are holes in her sleeves. Her soft boots make little sound. She stares down into nothing in particular, until--
She looks--
"...Riesenlied," she greets in a low voice, as if having found her after a long time... but her expression is a little hard, fairly emotionless. "You're injured," she points out in some disapproval.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks up towards Lily, her lips pressed a bit softly. She felt as if she could sense Lily's power from afar... but she wasn't sure. Her thoughts are swimming, her head is burning. She lowers her head as she expresses, continuing on her medical procedure, "It's-- just an old wound... it won't-- stop me."
She bites her lip. "I will not let other people hurt and die, for the sake of yet another Trial. I can't stop..." she sounds more than a little distressed about that.
She lowers her head. "Is... it done? What happened in there?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Similarly Riesenlied's presence seems to answer a question that Lily had not been aware was asked. The sorceress looks over the Hyadean before her, up and down, feeling the weight of thoughts and pain around her--the wounded, the fearful. Her jaw twitches lightly, and she shakes her head.
"You're making yourself worse for the sake of people you owe nothing," she says, her voice even, if harsh. "And who will treat you when you fall from blood loss? It needs binding."
She pauses, at that. Riesenlied's words, her distress...
"You are not the only one who can help." Lily pauses. "...But yes, it's done. The Trial Knight has left, and the fire's been put out."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... I may not. But I do not feel I need a reason to help people," Riesenlied expresses, making a point that she believes in very strongly more obvious than it'd already been. She does at least acquiesce and set herself aside, after Lily points that out; she holds onto her side with a quiet tremble. She's rather pale, and sweating at that.
"... I'm sorry. I was so helpless..." Riesenlied whispers. "I wanted to do something, anything, but I could not. I know I would just fall if I tried to face them, the way I am right now."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...No, you never do," Lily sighs, closing her eyes for a moment. She seems... Farther away, somehow, even than usual; unkind, perhaps, but not quite that. Her eyes open. "All right. Come on, this way." She tilts her head towards one of the areas curtained off that doesn't seem in use, stepping slowly, with difficulty.
She stops short however, turns back to Riesenlied. "...No," she says, and offers her arm--by the elbow, the one whose hand does not move, looks rather red, and swollen...and is aglow with red light on her circuit patterns, showing.
"No," she says again. "There is no apology necessary. ...You did the right thing, hanging back. There's no shame in that."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There shouldn't be shame in that. Knowing one's limits, and not putting yourself at extraordinary risk at the expense of others...
But that's not exactly what Riesenlied is feeling right now, is she? She steps towards the curtained area, with a tired little breath as she sits on a nearby cot, shuffling her capelet aside. She hasn't been in these clothes in Wayside. It's a bit nostalgic, but these are the clothes that are most important to her, the garment of the Fereshte.
"Mm--" she lets out a strained little noise when she feels Lily's circuits open, her red light shining and closing her wounds gently. "I feel as if I could sense you, from afar. Did you..."
She hesitates. She doesn't really like to ask about it, but...
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
No, not precisely. Lily looks at these clothes, nods when Riesenlied sits. ...Even after Lily's magic fades, still the circuits hum lightly with light travelling their pathways, lingering. "Let's see the wound. I've only one hand to work with, but we can get it bound up and prevent you bleeding all over yourself more, if it opens up again."
She pauses. "...Did I what?" she asks, though she knows, she thinks, what Riesenlied is asking about.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Your... power. The wings... at the Summer Palace..." Riesenlied doesn't exactly have a name for the phenomenon, but -- the reference of the Kaiser's palace makes it a little bit clear, at least.
She reaches for the side of the dress to start to peel it aside. Fortunately, with how misshapen her body is, it's a bit easier to remove the fabric compared to a normal dress. There's bandages and gauze there from where Jacqueline's treated her, but all of the strain has reopened them, it seems.
"... I will return to Meribia after this, I think," she expresses. "I need to return to the Fereshte... what about you?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...I did," Lily answers eventually, glancing to the side rather than looking at Riesenlied for the moment. "The Trial Knight wnated to see strength, to test us. I obliged." She pauses, looks down. "..." It's been a while since she has; that much is true. "You felt it, then?"
When Riesenlied removes the fabric, Lily leans down, close, to inspect the wound site--and begins to undo the former bandages. The markings on her arms--is thre a hint of the color at her collar, too?--shift violet as her fingertips cut through old bandage to remove it. She works only with her left hand, rather than her dominant right; that one stays close to her body, obviously favored.
"..." Lily shakes her head. "I don't know," she admits. "I promised that I would get some rest, but..." She trails off.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Yes. ... it seems that I'm starting to feel presences from further and further away, and more acutely, but... I cannot tune them out," Riesenlied admits. "It is... a bit troubling."
Which is all the more disconcerting if it means that it will become easier and easier for Riesenlied to fall into trances, but...
She glances towards the collar for a moment, closing her eyes for a moment as she breathes through the healing. "... let's both promise to get some rest," she tries to turn the topic a bit lighter.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"..." Lily looks thoughtfully at Riesenlied's face for a moment. "...Yes, that is troubling. ...of course, you know that I can't really tune out the things I pick up from those around me, either. ...I doubt my method of trying would work for you. Maybe..." She considers, looks down to the wound and starts to pull gauze from her bag, still one-handed.
"Maybe we can find a way to assert your self," she allows.
The topic... it could be lighter. "Rest... I'm not very good at relaxing," Lily admits. "It's hard to sit down while things are happening. Though I suppose there's no need not to, now."
A pause, and Lily doesn't look up. "Does my power trouble you that much?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes widen for a moment, then she shakes her head vigorously. "No, no. That isn't it. I merely... worry. It consumes a lot out of you, does it not?" she winces for a moment, and then lets Lily work through her wounds and re-wrap that gauze around her injury. It doesn't look like it'll be too bad... if one rests.
"Asserting myself... yes, that's-- been a trouble for me, has it not?" Riesenlied lets out a soft chuckle. "I'll try to do better. It won't do to lose myself in a sea of spirits and thoughts and be unable to return."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...Not exactly," Lily answers. "It does, but... It's hard to describe how it feels. It's... as if it's more 'me' than otherwise, somehow. Purer." She shakes her head, keeps wrapping. Even one-handed, Lily is deft, good at this. Her broken arm she keeps largely out of the way, though she hsn't really re-bound it.
She can be a bit of a hypocrite.
"Yes," Lily answers, "In more ways than one. I hope you /do/." It's not quite reproach, but there is concern. "You're more vital to us than a hundred of those other spirits. Remember that."
She pauses. "...You know the Trial Knight, don't you?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... closer than most. I have spoken with them... many times," Riesenlied admits expressively. She tilts her head as she looks towards Lily's arm, finally, and then expresses, "Let me set that for you, after you're done with me. It's the least I can do for you, is it not?"
She's vital to them. It... feels good to hear again, even though she knows that. "Thank you."
She closes her eyes again and expresses, returning to the topic of the Trial Knight. "I first met them when I was still staging the invasion of Adlehyde for Lord Siegfried. Our relationship has been one of... ...of trust, of-- kindling, of discovery. It was they who set me on the path of discovering my senses, my ability to see the spirits... of Resonance..."
She furrows her brow. "... even though they are set on their path, themselves. They do not make any illusions that we could come to blows. But it is... difficult to accept that reality, even if it is foolish."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Where Riesenlied is expressive, Lily is cool, pensive. At the look to her arm--"...All right," Lily answers. "...It was splinted, but I landed on it when I fell." A basic explanation; it must clearly hurt. She doesn't show much of it.
"Of course." With a pause, she considers what Riesenlied says. "...Maybe it is," Lily admits. "But it makes sense, for it to be difficult. Someone you trusted, someone who taught you... It's hard to acknowledge that such a person might be your enemy. Has always been your enemy." ...She may not just be talking about K.K. at all.
"They seemed... to understand, the old language. Zeboim. They asked if I was a monster, like they are."
Lily pulls the bandage tight, starts to adhere it. "I am, of course. But it made me wonder about them. ...The things they said made a lot of sense to me."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I..." Riesenlied pauses, as she lowers her head.
"What hurts most is that I've seen their thoughts, their emotions. We shared a bond, once, a long time ago." She swallows very faintly and expresses, "And... contrary to what you may expect, from someone who says that they are a 'monster', who does such atrocities..."
She shakes her head further. "There was love in their hearts. A burgeoning, indefatigable sensation of love for all..." she holds her arms to her side, wincing as the bandage goes on tight. "So why..."
She tilts her head. "Why is it that someone who holds such love in their heart does such horrible things..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"You--" A bond, is it? Lily looks up in surprise as she finishes the binding, though she doesn't need to /look/ to understand that feeling of Riesenlied's. "Love, is it...?"
"Maybe I'm not so much like them after all," the ex-soldier murmurs, far away. "...I couldn't say. I could guess, but that's all. I don't know how someone could hold on to that sort of feeling, year after year."
"Maybe you only saw part of their thoughts. Or maybe they know something we don't. ...Regardless, your wound should be fine with some rest."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"'How far are you willing to go, if you truly love the world'..." Riesenlied whispers. She shakes her head. "They are privy to knowledge and a perspective I am not. But it scares me, perhaps--"
She lowers her head. "It scares me that such great love is capable of... such great hate."
That is a possibility too. Just a portion of their thoughts... Riesenlied nods as she takes the pack of supplies that she's been working with, gesturing to Lily as some of those soothing gold-white motes start to surround her arm. It's like a magical sedative.
"Let me patch you up in kind, too..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...How far," Lily murmurs. "I don't..." She trails off.
"...Love and hate don't live that far apart," Lily answers Riesenlied, looking into her eyes with her one that's healed well. The other remains bruised, reddened. "And they can easily become one another."
She may have felt it, herself, but she sounds somehow uncertain.
Regardless, Lily seems to relax very slightly as Riesenlied starts to soothe her arm, reaching over to remove what remains of a tattered sleeve. The arm is red, though the circuits are unbroken, clearly visible for now, unaffected by the slight wrongness of the line.
"All right," she says, closes her eyes again. "The arm is the only thing that really needs attention. ...I was able to heal much of the rest just with the energy I siphoned off of their flames."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied knows about that truth. But perhaps it's not a truth she'd like to face all that much... given that she knows--
She knows how deep the hate can run if those that she loves were ever threatened. Like the face of a Metal Demon, just seeking to gaze back into her...
She looks towards the bruise and begins by cleaning the site of the wound, using the available disinfectants to them -- while concentrating her power to take the pain away as she works. "You said you splinted it, so I think it just needs proper dressing... and positioning so that there isn't pressure on it."
Riese knows Lily knows this and more, but maybe it's nice to just confirm it, if Lily will correct her with her medical knowledge.
"... it makes me fear, sometimes," she voices it. "What I would do if all that I held dear were harmed. ... my conviction, my faith are all guiding principles, but... seeing the Trial Knight, I wonder if... circumstance and emotion does indeed change them."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
It is closer to the surface in Lily, of course. ....But here--
Lily does seem still more relaxed, as a pain she was endeavoring not to show fades. "The split broke and tore, as you can see--it's gone. I think I worsened the fracture. ...But I believe you're right. If I just stop using it..." She shakes her head.
"I had to channel a lot of magic through it. There's a hollow ache in the whole limb." Well, there was.
But Riesenlied voices her fear, and Lily looks to her, considers. "...But they have been," Lily answers. "It was all taken, more than once. Your people forced to flee, hounded by those who would harm them. Maybe, one day, you'll give in, and lash out. Maybe. But you've passed that test, again and again."
She dips her head just enough to look more closely at Riesenlied's eyes, before shifting over to take a seat, so that Riesenlied can work. "You aren't me," she says more gently. "You don't have it in you, to hate the way that I do."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods very softly as she retrieves a clean splint, furrowing her brow as she closes her eyes and seems to work by sensing where the pain points are greatest. She wraps the splint around with gauze afterwards, adjusting Lily's arm so that she can create a sling as she checks with the Black Wolf to make sure it's all right.
"... it's true," Riesenlied whispers. "But it is my people, I often say, that I draw strength from. To lead them is... to have a servant's heart for them," she smiles quietly. "It's their indefatigable spirit that hasn't been broken that has inspired me to keep going. And as long as they have that energy... I can trust I won't be bowed when I work in the service of their wishes."
It's a curious way to phrase it, but it is very Riesenlied to express leadership in that way, isn't it? "... perhaps... perhaps I do not." She bashfully expresses, "Even at the Summer Palace when you scolded me afterwards... it was out of a deep concern for you all..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Riesenlied's careful work prevents the pain from being as bad as it could be; she can feel where it /should/ be sensitive, and it seems that Lily trusts her enough not to try to help, or get in the way. Instead, she just inclines her head, letting her arm be moved. "That's good," Lily says. "It feels to be tight enough..."
The sling, meanwhile--well, she'll put up with it. As Riesenlied works on it, though, it becomes clearer--that /is/ a hint of the same circuitry at her collar, wended about her collarbone, farther than it once was.
"Yes," Lily agrees. "I believe that of you. You draw strength from them, and in turn, they look to you to use it. ...You're one of the few leaders worthy of their trust, I think."
She pauses, at that, and nods, with a very small smile. "Yes. That was a bad idea," she points out of course, half a scolding again, "...But I know it came from the right place." She shakes her head. "So don't worry. Let me handle those things for you, all right? ...Stay who you are."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied holds her hands back as Lily gives her estimation, nodding as she expresses, looking towards the circuitry... and as she confirms it, she asks instead: "Are... have the circuits been spreading, or have they been there all along?" It's not like Riese sees Lily's clavicle every day, g-gosh!
She nods softly as she expresses, "Thank you... I can only hope I won't misplace their trust." And trust has been the bond that they've held strong on all this time, in place of so little that they have... hasn't it?
Riese gets lightly scolded again. "And, let me handle caring and protecting you when the battles get tough. I promised I'd take care of the Wolves, for they are-- family now..."
There's a slight blush from Riese. It feels good to say.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily lets her arm rest, at that, sighing once. It's much better than it was. But--there was a question, and indeed, /Lily makes a habit of not showing skin much!!/ however the fire didn't help much with all that. "...Have they?" Lily asks, "Let me find a mirror..." She starts to reach for one among her things. "They have, but..."
She pauses, considers. "Yes. I don't think you will. I believe in you, Riesenlied. ...I don't believe in much in this world. But you, I do."
She pauses, and lets out a little breath that's almost a laugh. Not quite, but almost; it doesn't have enough mirth for that. "You did. All right. I'm... Well. I'm a poor patient," she admits.
She glances back to Riesenlied's face though, almost indulgent at that blush. "Family, is it?" she asks. "...Family..."
"Well, you matter to me. A great deal. Family is complicated for me, these days. ...But if you view me as such, I'd be honored to have you as a sister."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a soft little laugh, but shakes her head. "It isn't an issue... but of course, I will strive hard to not let you down. Your trust, your belief... it means a lot."
There's a quiet moment, as Lily says that family is complicated. "It-- might be presumptuous of me, but with the Fereshte children, with Janey and Mikaia, we have a common saying..."
She tilts her head.
"Blood makes you related. But bonds... bonds make you family," she expresses. "And the bond we have amongst us as Wolves... that counts, does it not?" She nods as Lily expresses she'd be honored to have her as a sister. "Hehe... like a big sister, looking after me."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Of course. I would expect nothing less." Lily finally gets her mirror out, a small hand mirror useful for signals in the light as much as anything else--practical. ...Though it could as easily be used for makeup. Probably has been.
"I know you will do what you can." She pauses, at that, though, thinking of the children, of Wayside... of the Feresthe.
"...It does," she answers quietly. "We do have a bond beyond any that I thought I would have again, when the others... died." Of course she makes herself say it. She looks up at Riesenlied again and quirks an eyebrow. "Big sister, is it? ...I can live with that."
She looks down, then. "...I know... That blood is not the only way to become family. That bonds..." She trails off. "I was adopted," she explains. "Found, by my father, on a mission. I have no idea to whom I have blood relations. ...I don't know, where I originally come from."
"And I believed that, about family. But with what my father has done...? I don't know."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks to the mirror for a moment, then nods towards Lily. She should ask her about makeup sometime... not that makeup can-- um, pave over dragon scales that have become growths on her face, but maybe a little can go a long way if she ever wants to impress Noeline.
"... it was like that for me and Lord Siegfried too," Riesenlied expresses, placing a gentle hand on Lily's lap if she'll have it.
"I was originally cast away by my creators, and ostracised by my peers..." Riesenlied says, as Cetiri somewhere grumbles that she's trying now!! "And he showed me true compassion. It wasn't fabricated. It wasn't in the service of some goal, full of deceit..."
She lowers her head. "And that's what makes resisting him... so difficult now... so I-- do know, in a way, how you feel about Colonel Dietrich..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
It sure can conceal Lily's bruises well--and she tends to get them in her line of work... and in her line of hobbies. She could certainly show Riesenlied. She sighs, once, as she looks in the mirror--and then quiets, as Riesenlied expresses herself to her again. She is still for a moment as Riesenlied's hand gets close, but she lets out a breath and accepts it, after a moment.
"...Yes, you would, wouldn't you?" Lily asks distantly. "I... I was ostracized by some, when I was young. I was a strange girl, didn't interact well with others. I'd get into fights. I felt isolated because of my power. It improved, eventually. Mostly after I met Leon. But..."
"Did Father really care? Was he training me just for his plan, all along? I don't know. I can't /ask/ him. ...I can't ask Mother, either. Everything I thought I knew..."
"I'd forgotten," she explains, "When I was older. I was just a child when I was adopted, and my parents told me again. And it made me question so much, and I thought... I thought I understood. I worked so hard to live up to Father's expectations."
"...Sorry. I shouldn't bleed at you about this. Now that I see..." She sets down the mirror, "It seems that they're spreading further. They have been, for some time, but... Now there's more. They used to be smaller--they /used/ to only appear while I was casting. But little by little..." <Entertainment> Kaguya says, "it's true"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods very slowly... and expresses, "You don't feel that way anymore, do you? I know that no matter what... no one around here-- amongst us-- is going to isolate you because of your power. I won't."
She listens to Lily's words about her father. "I don't know either... that man has-- many layers upon layers, all so meticulously crafted... but I do not know him like I know Lord Siegfried. And in my case--"
She hesitates. "Mother. His unwavering dedication to Mother... has created an uncrossable rift between us..." she softly sighs. "I thought I understood too. For a long time, I thought that if I appeased him, gained his approval, that that would be enough, but..."
Well, a lot has happened since then.
She-- can't help but bashfully chuckle to say, "And you're not the only one with a spreading growth..." as she looks to how far the scales have come over the months. "So let little sister share in your pain, if only a little."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I do," Lily admits. "...But I know that you and the others don't feel that way, wouldn't hold it against me. But how can I not feel strange? I'm not like those around me. I never have been."
She nods, slowly. "...Yes..." Lily flexes the fingers on her good hand. "I don't understand, what made Father believe as he does now--what he really believes. The layers... That was always like him. I learned a great deal, as a result. Most of what I am, I am because of him. ...But..." She closes her eyes, and for once a purer sorrow is clear in her feelings, in her voice. Quietly, "They were my friends. ...My friends, and they died, so that I could grow stronger somehow. ...It took so long... So long to relax around them, to get to know them."
She inclines her head. "So you think... It wouldn't be enough for me, either. You may be right. I could not accept what he'd done."
She lifts her head, and actually does manage a half-smile. "That's true," she admits. "I'll become some sort of cyborg, and you'll become more of a dragon. But at least we'll be a strange pair together, hm?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods slowly to express, "... and, that's okay that you feel that way. I do too, but... I know that I have support if I need it. Someone to talk to... like we're doing right now."
She laces her fingers together, pressing her thumb against some of the scales growing on her opposite hand. "People change, but... sometimes, the worst of it is when you realise that nothing actually changed... it makes you second guess everything."
A shift, then she chuckles again. "That we will be."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I must be tired," Lily admits, a little self-deprecating, not entirely unhappy. "That I'm letting myself talk about these things at all. I don't want to worry you, or the others. ...Elly was beside herself about my arm." She pauses, though, "But I do, too. Even if it's difficult to take advantage of it."
Lily considers those scales; she still has no answers. But--"As you say," the ex-soldier answers. "Did I change? ...Did he? Did I simply become too sentimental after all? Was it ungrateful of me, to leave?"
A beat, and then she nods. "Yes. There is that. ...Thank you. ...It's good, to talk with you."