2018-10-26: Voicing Concerns
- Log: Voicing Concerns
- Cast: Xantia, Leon Albus
- Where: Old Petra
- Date: October 26, 2018
- Summary: Out of concern for Lily, Xantia decides to alert Leon about some of the things that have been going on without his knowledge.
===============================<* Old Petra *>================================ Old Petra -- as it is now known to Adelyn locals -- was once a bustling colliery village back in the heyday of the iron rush. But as the veins dried up, rumors of unsavory business and thuggery began to drive people away from the village. Bandits and monsters became a more and more common sight around this desolate village, and eventually, there was no one left to care for it. It simply became one of the many ghost towns that dot the wild frontier. Most recently, Old Petra has been outed as a Metal Demon base and a climactic battle took place there. Now, the village lies as mostly a smouldering wreck, a reminder of how horrible war truly can be -- on both sides. However, a nearby mine appears to hang in the distance, rumoured to be a base for the Metal Demons... BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRzlHGmr_EE
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The sun is still out in full swing in the region New Petra is located in. Perhaps once upon a time, this wasn't quite as common around this time of year, but Filgaia's climate... well, it is what it is. At the very least it can't be denied that it's a nice day to be out and about. And people like Xantia are very likely to be off somewhere doing just that. She commonly doesn't give prior notice about when she's going to be where, exactly - at least in part because she doesn't tend to plan very far ahead - but those who know her would probably be more concerned if she stayed in one place for a very long stretch of time.
Today, she may thus be a lot closer than Leon is aware. Having specifically asked around for the leader of the Black Wolves, she came to learn that he was in New Petra. And having asked around there, she learned of his presence on the Fereshte, specifically. She's been meaning to voice some of her concerns for a while now, but, even now, she feels hesitant, unsure if it would be okay to speak of things regarding certain people when those people are not present. Especially since, if those people did turn out to be present... she probably wouldn't discuss these matters at all.
But, once she's set her mind to something, it's inevitable that she's going to do it one day. She's not one to worry about such things too much, she'll just go see Leon and then... see how things go! The only problem is the size of the ship, and not really knowing where on the ship to look, specifically. Inevitably, that ends with her just wandering about, above decks and below, while periodically yelling, "Leooooooon!" And various variations on "Where are youuuuu?" She won't be discouraged if it takes a while. Patience may not be her strong suit, but as long as you think of it of a game of hide and seek, it's not so bad.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon has grown used to Xantia's comings, goings, and the relative lack of notice of them. However, being aware that he should not expect her to be predictable doesn't mean he can be predicted. The Black Wolves' captain looks up, eyes blinking a few times, as he hears a voice carry.
His location is a room converted into a small office; it's so cramped that it might have been a closet, at one point. There is a desk inside, which Leon is sitting at. He has trousers, a white button-up shirt, and boots on. He looks down at maps of Ignas -- there are ports circled in a red pencil, big and fat, and that makes them stand-up. He is visibly working on the same problem many Drifters are.
He calls out, after a moment; when he hears Xantia's voice close enough that he thinks she might hear. Still, he doesn't yell -- he just raises his voice enough to be heard. "Right through here, Xantia," he says. "In my office."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Upon receiving a response, in no time flat, Xantia's head comes peeking in from the hallway. "Ohhh, you have a whole office here. I didn't know that!" She's not about to judge an office for its size or anything, an office is an office.
Stepping fully inside, Xantia wears-- well, except on extremely rare occasions, she only ever wears the one outfit. It's fine, she has like a dozen identical ones. Merchandise from the Lacour tournament, that was a whole Thing for a few weeks. But that's neither here nor there.
Though she hasn't really been working on the ship issue herself, and probably isn't the right person for thinking about that anyway, she is aware enough of the situation that she realizes what the map means at a glance. "Still looking, huh? Wouldn't it be easier to go in... well, this?" She looks and gestures about the room, though she obviously means the Fereshte as a whole. "That'd be fine, wouldn't it? You already have an office in it and everything!"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Well... such as it is," Leon says, with a motion of his hand to the breadth of the small office. There is a chair at the desk across from Leon, though it is a bit of a tight fit. He looks her over for a moment, and then he glances down. He hesitates, before he nods. "It is an option, yes. However, the fewer boats we have, the more disastrous any being sunk are. I'd like to have redundancy and find ourselves another one."
He looks up, then, and tilts his head as he regards her. "I am fond of this one, though." He shrugs, then he leans back in the chair. The large pencil in his hand falls out of it. "What can I do for you, Xantia? Unless you're just hoping to talk."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Upon hearing the words 'being sunk', Xantia blinks, then looks down. By all indication, this is the first time she ever even considered the possibility of boats being sunk along the way. It was going to be a hard fight, sure, but the possibility of being stopped before ever getting to the fight... first time thinking about that. This is why she isn't charge of planning.
Rather than respond to that sobering thought, she only looks up when asked a question. "Oh, yes! I, um..." Only to immediately fall silent again. Where to begin? Maybe it's best to first confirm whether she's doing the right thing.
"So... when you're the leader a group, you're supposed to know everything about everybody, right? I mean, not everything, just, if there could be a problem at some point, you should know that it's something that could happen and what to do when it happens, right? That sort of thing?"
If she looks very unsure about herself, that's because she is. This feels more than a little awkward. Especially to someone who is used to just saying everything that's on her mind with no hesitation. But this is different. This isn't about herself. It doesn't remain a mystery who this is about, as she provides more context a moment after.
"How much do you know about... Lily's magic?"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon blinks at Xantia, a couple of times. The first time is watching her response -- registering the surprise on her face, realizing she didn't think of the ships being sunk. That affirms what Leon has realized, in the months of knowing Xantia: she is impulsive to a fault.
The second blink comes at the question about Lily's magic.
There is an old, instinctive tension that he has to let go. It was the secret held between the two of them for so long that his first, kneejerk reaction is to grow concerned. It eases, though, and he looks down at the desk for a moment. Then, he looks up, with a slow, appraising glance. He catches Xantia's nervousness.
"Some," he says. "I knew it existed since we were little. She had to hide it, you realize. She never even told the original Black Wolves about it. It was... a dangerous thing. Not because Lily can be dangerous, with her magic--but because people would take her away, or kill her, if they knew the truth."
His head tilts to the side. "But how it works? That, I don't know. I know it's neither Crest Sorcery or Symbology. Nor is it the magic from Lunar."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
It might be surprising to see that Xantia may well have noticed the tension that was there for a moment. For all the times where she doesn't seem to realize the most obvious things, she can also be oddly perceptive at times. She herself is much easier to read, starting to fidget by rubbing her hands together and looking down at them when Leon grows more tense, only stopping to regard Leon again once it passes.
She listens quietly at the response to her question, which... does little to calm her nerves. In fact, it only makes her more nervous, subconsciously raising her left hand to her mouth, briefly chewing on a nail. An inspection of her hands would show that this is a habit - the ring finger of her left hand doesn't have much of a nail to speak of, unlike the other fingers.
"I... see," she finally starts to respond. This is a lot less than she thought Leon knew about. If that's the case, that makes her suspect all the more that Lily wouldn't want her to say too much. She should still say something... but, as little as possible is probably best.
Nodding to herself, she finally seems to have decided on what exactly she wants to say. "Well, in that case, you should know that... Lily needs her magic. I mean, she really needs it. If something makes it so that she can't use it, it's dangerous. Like that time when she has that big wound in her arm, and the patterns got broken. That sort of thing... that can't happen."
Her nervousness seems to be mostly gone at this point. In its place is the genuine concern that prompted her to come forward with this in the first place.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Mm..."
Leon is quiet, then. The nervousness fades way, but the concern remains. Leon sees it; his own nervous tick shows, a crease of his brow and a steady drumming of his fingers on the desk. "...I know. I saw it had an effect on her. I didn't know if it was the patterns, or too much use of magic, or... what. But, I know magic is important to her."
He shakes his head. "The patterns used to be temproary. When were younger, they only showed right as and after she cast a spell. But, she did do so sparingly. After we left Kislev..."
He shakes his head. "Then, it became more common, and they started to remain. Now, they appear to be part of her. They say she has spells like the Solarians, but...I know it's not a perfect match."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia nods vigorously regarding the change in permanence of the patterns. "Not just that, there's more of them now, did you notice? I'm not sure what that means, but I have a bad feeling..."
She got a bit more animated for a moment, but with an abrupt breath she takes a second to calm herself, reminding herself not to get down to details too much. Lily will tell Leon if she wants him to know. It's probably not hard to guess she may know than she lets on all the same. Xantia isn't very subtle about her emotions, expressions and body language.
Getting back to what she meant to say, she continues, "...Anyway. If something bad does happen, and those patterns end up getting broken again, I... may be able to fix it."
She visibly feels awkward as she lets that claim hang there, turning away from Leon for a moment. That's a pretty impossible one to explain. At least she has an excuse for not going into details on that topic. "...Even if you ask me, I can't tell you how I know how to do that. But, I've managed to do it once before." If it was a mystery to Leon how Lily recovered from that wound, that's one mystery solved. Sort of.
Xantia rubs the back of her neck, concluding, "I'm telling you this because, well, if Lily gets hurt like that, I'm not around, and she can't get to me herself, somebody's going to have to know to bring her to me. I figured you'd be the best person to tell. But, I don't know if she'd be happy about me telling you..."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"I did." Leon frowns, glancing down at the ground for a moment. He bkinks his eyes, before he looks up. Surprise registers, this time. He didn't know that Xantia possessed those sorts of abilities -- amazing, unique abilities, to be sure, but not ones related to what Lily could do. Leon nods his head, once, as he looks up.
"Well," he says. "I'm in your debt, then. She mentioned she had help, but... I hadn't realized the whole of this." He rubs his hand at the back of his head, and then turns his head. He blinks a few times.
"Is she worried about worrying me?" Leon sighs. "No, I doubt she would be mad. Lily and I... well, we were the only ones who knew what she could do. I've grown accustomed to it--I'm the one without a lick of magic, ties to the ancient past, or poorly understood mysteries. It's a lot that I accept gladly, if it means I can stay by her."
He leans back in the chair. "If she didn't want you to mention, it was so she didn't concern me -- not out of fear of what I would think of her."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is a simple soul. All Leon has to do is say that Lily isn't going to be mad, and she instantly takes his word for it, breathing a sigh of relief. "That's good... I was so worried, I didn't know if I was doing the right thing! I don't want to cause any trouble for anybody." Or get people mad at her, but that's really secondary - an effect with 'being a bother' as its root cause. So many of the things she does just boil down to the simple desire of wanting to be somehow helpful. This matter is a bit more serious than most, but the motivation behind it is still the same.
With the main worry dispelled, Xantia is quick to return to a cheerful demeanor more typical for her. "So yeah, we can be each other's doctor! ...Well, sort of, what I do is kind of different, she could help a lot more with regular wounds than me, but..." That comparison worked better in her head. Time to change the subject!
"Did you know I'm trying to do fire? Lily's helping me!"
Abrupt as that remark was, it didn't actually change the subject much at all! It's almost as if Xantia doesn't know what she's doing half the time. Almost. Don't be fooled!
(It's probably more than half the time)
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Hardly. Besides... we're all in this together. We're all Black Wolves," Leon says. "We have to watch out for each other. It's best to speak up, even if it risks offending someone's sensibilities in the moment, when that person might be in danger."
He cracks a slight smile, then. Leon nods his head, once. "Just as you say. I'll trust you to look after her."
Then, he tilts his head. His eyes narrow, working through the change in subject -- then widen with realization, as he realizes it isn't much of one at all. "Fire? Ah, with your own magic," Leon says. "You should keep at it. But... practice it, too. It's dangerous, if you don't know how to control it. When you rush in, you put yourself at risk--and you can make that choice for yourself. But, with a power like that, you could place others in harm's way. You should keep working at it, Xantia."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia laughs embarrassedly, shrugging a bit as she admits, "I don't think there's much to worry about there. I've been trying for a while now, but I just can't do it. Like, I feel it's there, but... I guess it's really hard for me to make it actually happen. Lightning is a whole lot easier."
Light-hearted as that turn of conversation got, at least on her part, she quiets down after that, only her smile remaining. She finally proves having noticed there's another chair, even if she still doesn't use it for anything except to lean on its back rest with her hands. "...Thank you, for letting me be in this with you. It's... nice to be a part of something. I don't know if I fit in very well, but I'm trying my best."
Xantia's never had any problems hopping from casual conversation to being heartfelt and serious in the span of seconds.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Mm. I heard that Ether is limited to certain elements, often times. I wonder if that has something to do with it," Leon says. He ultimately can't do much more than conjecture, though; the former soldier has little practical knowledge of Ether.
He looks up, then. His eyebrows knit -- and then he shakes his head. "I admit," he says, "you're not exactly what I would picture, if someone told me about a mercenary. But... I don't know that there is an ideal, typical Black Wolf. Lily and I are the only ones who were there for the original group. And now..."
Leon shrugs his shoulders, lightly. "...We're from all different walks of life and backgrounds. I think you fit in as well as the others, if you look at it that way. And you've stayed by us, too. That's all I can ask for."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"I can do it, I know I can." Xantia is very quick to dismiss the notion of being restricted from Fire in the elements she can do. She doesn't elaborate - she certainly sounds sure about it, but who knows what that confidence is based on, if anything. It can't be something she actually remembered about herself, if that were the case she'd definitely have said so.
Needless to say, she is extremely happy about the confirmation of fitting in well, that being the main thing she's going to take away from everything Leon said. Straightening up, she makes a fist, and strikes a pose, affirming, "Of course! You can count on me!"
She holds that pose just long enough for it to get awkward. You'll have to forgive her, she's studying to act more like a Hero. Poses are very important, she has that on the very good authority of an actual Superhero.
Once she finally does relax that pose, she continues, "Besides, being a mercenary isn't so hard. I just have to do things I'm already good at, and I get money for it! That's pretty great!" Of course, she's not the one actually looking for jobs - to her, being a mercenary is mostly just having Leon or possibly other Black Wolves tell her what she should do and doing it. At least she seems happy. Of course she would be. She feels useful, that's all she needs.
Well that and food. Lots and lots of food.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Well... I think you would know far better than I!" Leon admits, with a slight laugh. He sits up straighter, when she strikes -- and holds -- that pose. The captain tilts his head, his lean face raising an eyebrow thoughtfully for a moment.
Then, he nods.
"I shall continue to do so, then," he says. He opens his mouth -- and closes it. "Well. I'll make sure there's plenty that you're good at, to take of. We'll have our work cut out for us, besides. We'll be headed towards Elru. And then... everything that should await us there, I fear."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia raises a finger as she is about to make another blanket statement of confidence, but pauses a moment, thinking back to what she learned earlier. Maybe hold back that confidence a bit, on account of, "I guess I have to count on whoever's getting us there, first. I have no idea how to make a boat... do what a boat does."
However, she is never short on optimism, and thus more than prepared to assume that part is going to be okay. "But once we're there, just tell me where to go and I'll punch everything between me and it, no problem!"
She will, too. All previous evidence has shown that she's not going to fear anything that awaits her on Elru. Even the things that would be wise to fear.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Quite all right," Leon says. "Most of us aren't, nor can we produce, boats. Lily has a good idea, though, and I've followed a few leads, too. We'll get there."
The captain cracks a smile at that, then. The enthusiasm may not be one that he can match -- he's more the understated, dry humor sort -- but it doesn't particularly bother him. "We'll get you in position to punch a great number of things between us and the Demons' base."
A pause.
"Not everything, though," he adds. "I expect we'll encounter some friendly things too."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"Really?" Leave it to Xantia to seem genuinely confused by the simple notion of there being anything friendly within the massive span of point A to point B. At least she has an obvious enough reason for that this time. "I thought there was pretty much nothing but bad guys left over there. That's what I heard, anyway." Not like she's ever been there, as far as she can remember. "I hope it's not hard to tell who's friendly..."
Can we just make a general rule that everybody who's friendly will be bringing food? Just to make it easy on Xantia.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Well... other Drifters," Leon says. He pauses, considering.
"You can punch most of it, then."