2018-09-06: Going Home Again
- Cutscene: Going Home Again
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber
- Where: Adlehyde
- Date: September 6th, 2018
- Summary: Jacqueline wanders through the streets of Adlehyde, and catches up with an old friend.
Jacqueline still hadn't completely recovered from the second battle for Adlehyde. One fight to save her home was bad enough - having to endure a second one, after she had been longing to come home again for some time...it hurt.
The spectre of the first battle for Adlehyde had been haunting her for some time, and to be faced with it again, in grim reality than in the realm of her dreams was enough to shake her to her core. It had only been a day or two since the battle had concluded, and she found herself wandering through the streets somewhat aimlessly. Her subconscious mind took her down familiar streets...and she found herself stopping at a particular storefront.
Jacqueline stops and looks up. 'Jay's Curios and Curatives'. ...It still bore her name, though she had left it in the hands of another. A good portion of it had been reduced to rubble, now, the sign broken with half of it lying in the street.
...She would've liked to see it when it had been rebuilt. Coming back to this... Jacqueline stumbled back a little, falling into a bench on the other side of the street. She wasn't sure how long she sat there before she heard a horse-drawn wagon approaching. She looked over to see some familiar faces, along with one unfamiliar one.
At the front of the wagon sat a mousy-looking girl with large glasses accompanied by another young woman, this one wearing a protective face-mask and carrying a sleek, rifle-based gunsmoke ARM resting against her shoulder.
The first was Heather Éclair, Jacqueline's former assistant and the second...was someone she didn't recognize. Jacqueline and Heather's eyes met for a second before Heather turned to her companion and whispered a few words. The unfamiliar young woman nodded and Heather dismounted. She walked over to Jacqueline and stopped in front of her, her hands clasped in front of her hesitantly.
"...Miss Jacqueline?" She asked, uncertainty in her voice. Jacqueline managed a slight smile for her.
"...It's good to see you again, Heather." She said. Heather nodded quickly.
"Y-yes. Oh, um...my friend over there. Her name is Claudia Silverwind. She's been helping me out on the road..." She replied with a gesture to the young woman in the wagon, then went quiet for a moment. "Th-there were, um...rumors. That you'd died. Nobody had heard from you. I had...always looked forward to hearing more news of the Caravan Kinship. Have you...visited your family yet?"
Jacqueline looked surprised for a moment, and then her gaze softened and she looked away, an apology written on her face.
"I sent them a message, but I haven't visited them yet. And...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry anyone, but...things happened. It's...difficult to explain." She turned her attention to the store quietly. For a time, there wasn't a word from either of them. "...It looks like you've been busy. I wish I could've seen this before...everything. It looks like it was nice."
Heather nodded quietly and then moved to sit next to Jacqueline, looking up at the store as well.
"...I have been, and...it was. But..." She fidgeted a little. "...It was just a store, and I'm still alive. I rebuilt it once. I can...rebuild it again. And..."
Heather stole a glance over at toward Claudia, still sitting in the wagon and currently taking this opportunity to do some maintenance on her ARM.
"It has been...nice, to not be traveling alone anymore..." She hung her head low, her hair masking her face...though Jacqueline still caught a smile and a faint blush. Jacqueline smiled herself, just slightly. She leaned back, turning her gaze up to the sky. There was still some faint, lingering smoke...but the sky was otherwise clear.
"...It sounds like you've been doing well for yourself, Heather. I'm glad. Leaving this business in your hands...I think it was the right call." Jacqueline replied with a nod. Heather returned her nod with a vigorous nod of her own.
"Yes. I've even put together a few formulas of my own that you'd be proud of." Heather beamed with a rare hint of pride. Jacqueline thought for a moment...and then stood up.
"I guess...I guess I should keep moving forward, too. There's still a lot left that needs to be done. I can't stop here..." She replied.
"I believe in you, Miss Jacqueline...and your friends, too." Heather replied with a resolute nod, standing up as well. She started to head back to her wagon, but right before she climbed in she paused and looked back.
"Oh, I...I finally settled on a name for your horse. He's...'Bastion'." She said. Jacqueline thought about this for a moment and, after a while, nodded. Something about that name...it resonated with her. It felt right.
"...'Bastion'. I like it." Jacqueline decided. Heather smiled and climbed in. Claudia looked in her direction for a moment, then glanced toward Jacqueline and offered her a nod. Jacqueline nodded back. And with that, the two of them continued on their way, leaving Jacqueline on her own. She turned her eyes back to the store and then walked up to it, resting her hand against the wall. It was not the store she had dedicated so much time to...but in this moment, it felt like it.
"...It feels like it's been forever since those days. I can't get them back, but...I can make the best of the time we have now. There are people relying on me." She murmured to herself, and then turned to walk away.