2018-09-03: By Your Side
- Log: By Your Side
- Cast: Seraph Amaranth, Talia
- Where: Plains of the Goddess
- Date: 9/3/2018
- Summary: After rescuing her from Kaguya, Amaranth takes Talia to something resembling safety in the Sin-wracked ruins of Azado.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
*skiddd*
The two Drifters -- or rather, one sellsword and one seeming seamstress whose cover is getting dodgier and dodgier by the minute -- are skidding down throughout the watery tunnels that was once Azado's sewers... and eventually, Ammy finds a little outcropping that isn't waterlogged for them to descend down upon.
She lets out a deep and shaky sigh, shaking her head. "Goodness, but that creature made a right mess of this town..."
She reaches for her pack and opens it right away -- there's an abundance of life-bottles, panacea-bottles and gels, and she picks at one to munch at it straight away.
"Here, we should get you treated, Talia... that girl is rather a problem, isn't she?" she speaks with concern.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia, as much as she is grateful for the save, is quite happy to have her feet on solid stone again. Her boots catch on it. She takes the gel, biting into it and then leaning against the seamstress with another job entirely. She sighs, with relief; she has to stay leaned against a wall to not topple over entirely. Her side is mending, thanks to the gel.
The knife that was in it -- her own dagger -- fell out somewhere in the commotion. She can chalk that one up as a loss. She still has Mirage, freshly sheathed at her side.
"She... she certainly is," Talia says. "Ah, but... I think I may have lost my temper at her.?"
She quiets down for a moment. Her eyes fall on all of the medicines in the pack, while she keeps her hand over the worst wound on her stomach -- which isn't fully sealed, and that says nothing of the burning pain of broken ribs. Then, she looks up.
"I think this would be the second time in less than a week that you've come to my rescue, no?" she asks, with a smile.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine slumps to one side and sits as she chews on the fruity-flavoured recovery item. She's rather pleased to have Talia leaning against her on one side, drawing with an arm to-- tentatively put it around her shoulder, careful to not aggravate any of her wounds... or her own.
"... I imagine it was for a good reason. Was that young lady not the one who tried to target Cardinal Forton? Ah-- well, yet that all came to a rather grisly end..."
She sighs very softly and-- blinks with a smile. "Well. Perhaps I find you to absolutely be worth the risk." A pause, as she stammers, "T-though perhaps others would get the wrong impression..."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia blinks her eyes a couple of times, when the arm is around her shoulders. It isn't the bad sort of blink. She hesitates a moment, though, before she smiles -- and then rests her head on Katherine's shoulder. She sighs once, sounding content. And a little pained; she has, despite now having eaten two apple gels to see to her wounds.
But that makes it easy to lean against Katherine without bleeding all over her. It would, Talia reasons, ruin the moment.
"It was," she says. "We worked together on that. She... ah. She comes from the Blue Star. A person called a Veruni. She was stronger than anyone that I've ever fought."
Then, she glances sideways -- and her lips quirk up into that playful smile. Unlike before, though, the warmth behind it is more real. "Rest assured," she says, "I will tell everyone who asks that you're a seamstress!"
She winks. Then: "...But I'm very glad -- and even more grateful -- that you think so."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
In truth, Katherine kind of imagined that the first time she'd truly recline with someone resting their head on the shoulder to take the moment in would... be on a comfortable lounge recliner of hers, with ambient mood music and lighting, and the food would be... she doesn't know, grapes and feta cheese instead of Apple Gels just so they don't keep bleeding out.
...
On the other hand, it's more wonderful than she ever thought it would be, even with all the caveats. "A Veru...ni. I see..." She furrows her brow. "That is a rather bad omen, is it not? A foreign conqueror, who has commanded the hearts of so many of Rolance's men..."
A pause, as Katherine decides she doesn't really want to talk about Kaguya too much. Not while they're psuedo-cuddling. ... are they cuddling? "Ah--" she looks down to Talia's playful smile, and says, "If they can even see me. ... that cat is out of the bag now, is it not? But I thank you for your prudence nonetheless."
She raises her eyebrows and-- chuckles, saying, "I promised that much of you. I do not ever mean to break promises."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's hand unwraps a third gel, and she doesn't even consider that she might make herself sick. But, really, feeling cozy and leaned up against Katherine like this -- she certainly doesn't think much of those worries. She compartmentalizes the fear about her twin brother being, supposedly, in Azado. She hadn't found him, yet. He wasn't here.
It is simple as that, she tells herself. He left before they came here.
It isn't as simple and certain as that, but it lets her enjoy the moment. She glances sideways, once, at Katherine. Then, she bobs her head slightly. "Mm-hm."
Her expression is almost dour.
But they might, in fact, be cuddling. "You have a point," she says. "So... those times I saw your shop and you, it meant... o-oh." She has high resonance. "Well, I--"
Her cheeks redden, slightly. "...I'm glad. I thought, ah--I did not want things to end there. After you said... you would stay at my side, and that you would try to save--well, I..." She puts a hand to her lips, then feigns a cough. Her voice drops in volume, little by little. "...It would have been sad, if I hadn't gotten to see you again, no?"
Some things, it seem, can fluster the sellsword. Those red eyes are carefully studying a lump of nothing in the corner.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"I--I couldn't find Ivan," Katherine admits, like she's done a great disservice. "When we were split up -- when that firestorm brewed... I coursed through the entire city to try to find his likeness, but I could not find anyone..." She chews on her lip. "At least I found you."
She sucks in a breath and looks towards her. It might not have been the most pleasant thing to say, but it's -- worth telling. She did try, just... Sin is an immaculate circumstance to run straight up against.
"Hehe..." Katherine chuckles. "That's right. You had the gift of Resonance all this time, to be able to see my store. That is why I always place it out there, to see who might just step in one day...."
She swallows, as Talia flusteredly remarks on how she didn't want it to just end there. Her own cheeks are a little red. "Yes... yes, it would have been very sad. Even here, now in this -- I do not even know where these caverns lead -- I will..."
She dares, reaching to move a lock of Talia's dark hair aside. "I will be by your side."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I... nor could I. He--he might have moved on. The job started in Azado, but... if the quarr--" No, Talia thinks. She shouldn't use euphemisms about murdering people. If her secret is out to them, then Ivan's is, too. She would have to shoulder that blame, if placed it, when they were reunited. (When, she tells herself. Not if.)
"...if the person he was tasked to murder left, or a clue led elsewhere, he might have left the city already," she says. "It... happened, sometimes."
She swallows, and her tension is visible for a moment.
But, it relents when she hears that chuckle. They have all the time in the world to look -- once they get out of these sewers and sneak away from the monster above. "That explains it, then. Only some people could see it, and if they did, then... they can buy from you. I really am lucky, no?"
She smiles a little more. Then, her eyes turn back -- and her cheeks turn even redder -- when those fingers brush her hair to the side. "K-Katherine..." She hesitates, visibly with the hand that had just unwrapped a gel. Then, she reaches out to rest hers over the Seraph's other hand.
"Should I call you that? I never asked," she says, smiling. "I'd like to know, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine has a wan nod for a moment, as if happy to leave that be. There's no point in draining their emotional reserves thinking of worse situations when there's every chance that Ivan simply just left. They're both confident in their ability to track.
"... it's why I don't charge a fortune, either," Katherine luxuriously chuckles. "The pleasure of being seen and spoken to... to have new souls enter my life-- it is all the reward I could possibly want."
There's a moment of quiet, after she wicks away that hair of Talia's. She calls her name.
She's put her 'mask' on again, if you can call it that; no longer are her eyes gray and filmy, evidently blind. It's full of life now, blue and bright and reverberating with joy. Katherine's eyes.
"Katherine is... a psuedonym, yes," Katherine bashfully says. "Katherine is a much better person than I am in truth... an ideal, if you would. A happy seamstress who brings joy and happiness to those she tailors for. A role... and a comfortable illusion to slip into, much like a pair of slippers!"
She winks.
"But if you'd like to know..." A longer pause, as she remarks, "Then I am called Amaranth." She places a finger to her lip. "That... same Amaranth."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Ah... that explains a lot! I did worry I was getting those cloaks at a steal, but..." She winks. "You seemed so happy, and you had such a wonderful shop--well, I couldn't insult you by questioning your prices!"
But, it quiets, then.
The bright smile on Talia's face fades, though she hardly looks unhappy. She looks serious, instead. Her eyes meet those blue ones, and she tilts her head slightly. She knows about pseudonyms, but hers is different than the ones Talia used. Those were short-term ones; those were ones meant to get close to someone, before...
It was quite different.
"A comfortable pair of slippers... well, I do--ah? The same--" She blinks; then, her eyes widen, as the memory comes to her. It was one of the jobs she did for Lubov that she didn't hate -- guard work, and it ended in a merry chase. She looks down, fondly, before she nods. "Some of what you did, to help me... I thought it seemed familiar. That would be two secrets to keep, no?"
Her red eyes lift back up. "Amaranth... It's a lovely name, I think."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"Silver is largely for those who unfortunately need it to sustain themselves..." Katherine remarks with one eye closed. "The remainder is more a formality, to make people not feel too bad about getting something for free."
She smiles just a little bit closer... one eye closed as she remarks, "That's right, we did first meet in that noble's manor. House d'Armagnac, was it not? I was after an Althenan cross... and you splendidly stopped me."
She chuckles just a little bit more richly, and she expresses, "Do you think so? It was given to me... shortly after I awoke. Named so for the hanging flowers... and the colour of my hair."
She cups a hand to her lips and chuckles again. "But I am rather pleased you think so."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Mm... that is quite true. And, well--you did seem so happy, giving it to me." Talia winks. Even if that was part of the illusion. But, the best illusions are firmly rooted in truth, she tells herself.
"House d'Armagnac!" she echoes. She smiles brightly, again. "Ah, that was fun--the chase! And the doves. And the outfit! It was a fantastic outfit," she says. "It was... one of the things I did, while I was in Lubov's employ, that I enjoyed most!"
There weren't a lot of things.
Her head tilts, though. She gets the playful smile back on her face; it lingers, still looking genuine in that way that is new. "After the flowers...? I can see it. They're the same hue," she says. Her brow furrows, for a moment. "I don't... ah... there is a lot that I don't know much about, regarding Seraphim. But..."
She miles. "I find myself with more free time, so I think I can start learning, no?" She winks again.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"There's no illusion in my emotions," Katherine blatantly lies given how much of a theatrical artiste La Fille du Temps can be. "Every gift that I create, every piece of fabric, woven in with so much thread... it is a genuine expression of my joy at our meetings."
She laughs-- a little more embarrassedly. "This thief is a little new, I admit. I had to request help, and goodness, what a turnout it was in the end. I was set on fire twice! I had... I had a lot of fun, certainly," she winks. "And the giant dove at the end was a nice touch."
There's a pause as Talia winks and says she has time to learn about Seraphim-- and she's cutely on the back foot for once. "Ah-- er..." she scratches her cheek. "I do suppose so. We are remarkably not unlike humans..."
A pause. "I was one too, a very long time ago."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Mm... I felt that way, about the cloak--that you'd made it with so much love and care. I kept it, no? It was--well, it was one of the first things I owned that wasn't bought with Lubov's silver. It felt like mine." In a way that nothing else Talia owns does. Not even Mirage, protective as she is of the sword.
She tilts her head, then she raises an eyebrow. "You certainly did draw the attention of everyone!" she says. Talia winks. "But, in the best way. I would say it all paid off. If you do it again, I am looking forward to it--but oh, don't tell me!"
She leans a little closer. "The surprise would make it more fun."
The flustering, Talia decides, is endearing. She leans back, and her head tilts again curiously. "I could tell you're... er..." She closes her mouth, before she finds a way to put her foot in it. "...You were? Do--um. Do you mind telling me about it?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
There's more redness on Katherine's cheek, to hear Talia speak such about her cloak. It was special of course, but... well, it felt good to hear that care be returned such.
She laughs very fondly and says, "I will have to consider it. The next act has to be grander and more vivacious than the first, should it not?" She winks. "I'll put on a play for you you won't forget."
A longer pause... as she remarks, "I... do not remember much of it, in truth. They are like... your infant years, perhaps? So very hazy, much of it unclear. I do not think I was anyone special in life. But..."
A pause. "... that I was returned in this form, instead of passing away... it was because of my mother's grace. She saved me. And as such... I have always ever been looking to do the same for another."
She smiles wider. "For you."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia grins. "I've every confidence in you!" she promises, and there is another wink.
Then, though, she quiets down and listens. Her understanding of Althenan theology was as a layperson. Her father never saw the need for his children to attend services, much less get an education. She knew the basics. In a way, it made this easier: she didn't have the awe that some might to speak with a Seraph. Or the reservation cuddle with one, for that matter.
But, it is also a surprise -- to learn that a person could become a Seraph, and how. And then, Katherine says: '...it was because of my mother's grace.'
Something about those words reach her. Talia's eyes blink a few times, and this time it is her turn to raise her fingers to her lips. Her expression is soft and distant. She feels a pang of something.
And something more. 'For you.'
"A-Amaranth..." Her fingers fall away, slowly. Guilt hasn't been a stranger in the last few days. It hasn't been a stranger for most of Talia's life, since she was fourteen. She reaches out once more for the Seraph's hand. "I... I don't know, at times, if I deserve someone who wants to save me. The things I did..."
Her eyes drift to the side, for a moment, before she swallows. "...But you found me. And... I want to deserve it."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
So much of Amaranth's former life is a mystery to her. Everything that had happened between... the scarce memory of a blood-red moon... everything they'd taught her... about 'seeing'.
Everything about how she lost her vision then, and then awoke...
So much has happened.
But that moment of her mother at her last moments, holding her tightly as she awakened to a second life which she never thought she would be granted...
Amaranth lets those fingers slip for a moment, and she looks down appraisingly towards Talia's eyes. Then she reaches for them again, and-- she finds herself lacing hands with her.
"My mother told me that the best way to live is to live true to how I feel..." shares Amaranth. "I know that hesitation will hang hard for a while yet... but..."
She smiles a bit wider. "I'll be there with you, to work through it. Because it's infinitely more manageable with those that care about you... I know, because I had the same support too."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's smile is gone, but she doesn't look unhappy. She doesn't look hurt. Her expression has that serious intensity, which comes naturally when she finds herself lost in thought. Her red eyes drift down, to the way their fingers interlock. She shivers, when they do; then, her fingers squeeze, once, gently.
She fights down the lump in her throat. There is a little fact that she holds to herself, stored away, and she feels a rush of fear in the back of her mind. What would Amaranth say?
She can tell her later. Talia is, after all, good at compartmentalizing her emotions.
She smiles, slowly; and the smile becomes real. "...You did?" she asks. "I--ah. It doesn't feel real, sometimes," she admits. Her voice is quieter. "It was just Ivan and I, for so long--everyone else was either Lubov's hireling, or they left, when they saw how bad things were. And now, I'm..."
She has Lydia. She has the Kinship that she made; she has friends of friends, an idea that feels alien to her. She has friends who know some of what she did, and don't hate her for it. And...
She looks up at Amaranth, across that little space between them, and her fingers squeeze. She doesn't say who else she has, but she doesn't feel it has to be said.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth doesn't look like she's in a hurry; the waters around them have stabilised, and barring another rumble and roar from that horrible creature above, it's best that they recuperate before they try to get out of the jam that they're in.
As such, she doesn't mind watching Talia as she works through her thoughts, admiring the way her expression intensifies. It's an admirable look for her.
"... I know. For so long in the world you feel you're alone, and then companions come flooding in..." Amaranth can't help but laugh, reminded of Ragnell and the way she just burst into her room and showed her life.
She swallows a little as their fingers squeeze tighter. She feels her heart beating, or whatever passes for a heart that a Seraph's magical body has. "I-- um--" she absentmindedly strokes Talia's hair again, and says, "If you want to rest a while... I'll keep watch."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Mm... yes," Talia agrees. "And when they do, it doesn't quite feel real, does it?"
It still doesn't feel real, but a lot about this doesn't feel real. The fact that she came within a gasp of dying today; the fact that monster, still floating up there, destroyed a whole city. But there are, she thinks, parts that don't feel real in the best possible way.
She looks down at their linked hands, and is conscious of the fact that she can feel her heart in her chest. She is conscious, too, of differences she can't quite fathom and all the things left unsaid. Those don't feel real, either, right now.
The fingers stroking through her hair, conversely, feel quite real.
She smiles, playful as ever. "...I could use the chance to rest. It has been quite the day." she says. She shifts, and then she rests against Amaranth. Her head slips down onto her shoulder again, and she sighs. "Besides. Your shoulder is quite comfy, no?"
Her playful smile stays, even as her eyes close.