2018-11-25: What's The Plan
- Log: What's The Plan?
- Cast: Riesenlied (as Janey and Mikaia), Noeline, Lily Keil, Josephine Lovelace, Fei Fong Wong, Elhaym van Houten
- Where: New Arctica - Hidden Harbor
- Date: November 25th 2018
- Summary: The Black Wolves discuss what they know, what they have, and the rough way forward for them. Janey and Mikaia do their best.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
New Arctica has been a flurry of activity since the Demons' foiled attack.
Some people are recuperating from the assault and tidying up the mess that a bevy of Metal Beasts, tripwires and other such calamities befalling the cove have caused; others are taking care of a multitude of Gears and Golems in preparation for what feels like the final assault.
In the midst of this... the Black Wolves are having a moment, perhaps nearby the Fereshte or in one of its rooms given it was established to be present -- and if not, definitely present for post-recuperative efforts. Janey and Mikaia, Riesenlied and Noeline's two adoptive children, have been in the midst of this chaos and helping as much as they can while trying to not break down and look after their remaining mother and being with Lydia who's acting as a sister-mom to them and aaa--
And that's why Janey's pouring drinks right now, in a role reminiscent of her time in Lunar as Argus' bartender understudy; she's the more emotional of the two and kind of wearing it thin and sickly, but in a way it might not be as worrying as Mikaia, who's...
... well, imagine her with darkened eyes and her soul escaping out from the corner of her mouth as she performs basic alchemy on a worryingly growing stack of mirrors like the one Lily possesses. "Do you need... any more of this, Miss Lily..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Riesenlied has been taken - again. At the very last second, Noeline managed to reach her, however faintly and however briefly. While that touch gives her more hope than she'd ever admit out loud, it carries with it the fear that Alhazred might not allow a slip of that magnitude a second time. What might be in store for her partner, the Hyadean doesn't know.
But she knows well enough that there's nothing she can do, not yet. The Photosphere's barrier is still up, and even with Asgard newly on their side they're going to need a dedicated push to make any headway, no matter how much the command structure of the Quarter Knights appears to be slowly unravelling. Right now, she has to look at what she can do.
That starts with a touch at Mikaia's hair; Noeline is sat next to her, torn between hurriedly writing and sketching on a pile of papers in front of her and watching over her daughter at her side. "Mikaia..." she starts, but can't really find the words to say, not yet. She settles for a heartfelt: "Thank you." The smile is genuine, at least, and warm - and offered to Janey as well. "I'm doing a little better now, I think, thanks to you both."
For a moment she wonders if she should stop Mikaia's work - but decides to just maintain her quiet touch for the time being, letting out a breath as she sits up a little straighter. The Crimson Noble hasn't had much in the way of wounds from the Photosphere assault in New Arctica, so what recuperation she has been doing has been more fatigue and mentals rather than the physical.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily Keil is in a dour mood; her mood is so dim, in fact, that she's barely even drinking. But being on the Fereshte is plausible; truth be told, Lily would rather not be too close to the bulk of the refugees here right now. Again she's without a coat, without even sleeves; there are bandages about some of the healing wounds on her arms, and though she's pale, she is in serviceable enough shape. ...She has one drink, because she didn't say no to Janey. And...
Well, Lily has darkened eyes herself, and not only because of her typical makeup style; exhaustion is a factor, too. Her dark lips are faintly chapped if one looks closely. But Mikaia...
Lily turns to the mirrors thoughtfully, looks them over. She considers telling Mikaia to stop... and decides it would just make her feel unuseful. Instead--
"I think there's nearly enough. With this many, there's a lot we can do. ...Would you hand me one of the extras?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's in the end a damn mess, no matter how you slice it. Back from her expedition south to Fereshte, and back more importantly (more recently) from the area she's claimed as her workshop in New Arctica.
She's at least wiped off the grease, though the stained hairwrap (not that it's needed as much, where she received an impromptu haircut from Lady Harken) remains in place.
She's currently leaned back in a chair, feet propped up on the table, while she pensively smokes a rollup cigarette.
At some length, she does glance over at the two kids, her expression unreadable.
A series of untouched drinks litter the table near her feet. Apparently she couldn't say no to Janey.
"So. Where's Fei?"
"He's got something I think you all should see."
Josie does not straighten or remove her feet from the table.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Lydia would normally be present here but thanks to an infestation of giant eel-like monsters, she is having to go off and help fend them off since, clearly, Leon and Talia weren't able to take care of all of them. How tragic.
Nevertheless, Fei arrives a little late (he had a birthday party to go to and is wearing one of those colored cone hats). It's a little weird to go to a birthday party in the current circumstances but what was he going to do? Tell Sephilia to wait a month? Honestly, he's not sure she should really be here but, well, Mikaia and Janey are here. A lot of people he doesn't really want here are here but even he has to concede they may be the best folks for the job of dragging Riesenlied back to her senses.
"Oh hey." Fei says, the colorful hat looking completely out of place. In his arm is a small portfolio folder. "Sorry I'm late, i promised Seph I'd be there, uh, a while before uh .... the battle for the fate of the world was ... scheduled? Right."
His gaze looks towards those unbroken mirrors a single shade of....uhh maybe 'light' isn't the right word here.
"Um... Mikaia..." Fei says. "Maybe you should uh...put that...back?" He is looking at Mikaia's soul right now.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Mikaia does have a deeply contrite look to Noeline like she's the one who feels like she needs to have energy where she can't right now; she lowers her head with looks kinda goofy because she's an emoji right now, what with having her soul dangling out right now in that way that despondent people are. Even Fei's pointing it out to her.
"It needs to air right now....." Mikaia drones in a hex maniac-like tone. "Oh... sure..." She hands one of the extras to Lily. Well, if Mikaia's Mirror ever breaks, Lily has a lot of backups, at least...
And heck yeah Janey's serving beer. She's been underage-serving a lot of people extremely hard liquor for months now! She's basically licensed to serve.
Just, y'know, not licensed to drink it herself.
And hey, when you're Lord of Calamity (self-claimed), a little liquor and cigarettes shouldn't bother you. "Yo... Mister Fei," she greets. Ain't no birthday party here right now.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Well, okay. Rather than 'just recuperating', between her own overuse of her sorcery and the fact she took Riesenlied's panicked attack head-on Noeline has been exhausted enough to be bed-ridden for a day, and she still looks sorely in need of rest and a chance to pause and gather her thoughts. Still, that's not going to be enough to stop her, not when there's a new-found resolution in her eyes as she looks back to the pile of papers she's been working through.
She doesn't look up from her work as Josie begins to speak - but does when Fei bustles in with a surprising amount of motion when set against the rest of the muted scene inside the room. She raises a quiet eyebrow at Fei's hat, but comments no further on it. Everyone deals with-- things in different ways, and she's well aware that Fei's had enough of traumatic events to last him a lifetime. (She doesn't know he's had enough to last him several thousand lifetimes.)
"We are told you should have something we should see," she comments as her greeting; her voice is still slightly hoarse from her yelling, rasping slightly, but the chuckle is unmistakably her. Still, it dies away when she catches Mikaia's look, concern spiking in her chest - and rather than simply pat her head, the metal demon lets out a breath as she lets her arm slip properly around the younger girl. "... really, now... I should be cheering you up," she counters the unspoken comment, tugging her into a hold. "Come here."
The fact she does this out in the open, without a touch of her usual grumped embarrassment, probably says a great deal about her state at the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Not long after this the door opens. Elly may have no festive party hat - hopefully Fei got her a spare - but she has something way better:
Filthy moose leather!
More accurately it is a bag made out of heat-treated moose skin that was, to all appearances, buried. It hangs floppily partway over Elly's head - it has been largely emptied - but there is still enough inside of it that Elly is carrying it in a loose bear hug. When she hears Noeline speak, and practically senses the despair of the children, she bites her lip and steers towards an empty flat surface. The bar, if she has to.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Junior! There you are," Josie comments, before her gaze fixes on that birthday hat and she arches an eyebrow.
And tries quite hard not to laugh.
Under the circumstances, even she feels it may be perhaps a bridge too far.
She glances over at Noeline. "We found a little something in Fereshte -- Red, come on in and join the party -- that might be of interest," Josie explains, before finally
finally
getting her boots off the table. She stubs out her cigarette and reaches for one of the glasses of alcohol.
Hopefully she's not intending to drink all of those. It would be a stunt even for Josie.
"I also had a little conversation with Lady Harken during the invasion," she adds, taking a sip from the glass.
...Janey's certainly gotten good at mixing drinks.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Fei has something? Lily glances to Josie once, before she reaches out and takes the additional mirror. ...She sure notes the tone though. "Sometimes it does," Lily agrees with her, and nods Fei's way. "It's not a problem." Lily reaches out and takes some of her drink, setting it down and reaching for a small metal case as she does. She sets that on the table beside her, and looks down to the mirror. ...Noeline hugging Mikaia is... good. Lily however does not reach out to touch anybody. In fact she doesn't actually say anything immediately because she sees Elly stepping in with... something. There is most of Lily's table beside her open, of course. But...
"Harken seems much more willing to talk these days," Lily answers Josie. A pause.
"All right, I'm willing to hear what it is."
As she waits, though, Lily looks down into the mirror, and seems to be concentrating very hard. ...Magically sensitive types might notice a bit of Ether pulsing around her, held back carefully.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Was Janey always that good at tending bar..?" Fei asks nervously.
Fei quirks his head quizzically at Josephine. Does he not realize he has the hat on still? Maybe he got one for Elly but put it away and then mistook that for his hat and he's now still wearing it? He can be pretty forgetful. Maybe he just hasn't had the chance to take it off.
"Josie took us on another expedition to Fereshte village. We found some herbs that'll be helpful for New Arctica, but what we were really looking for was something that could be used to help jog Riesenlied's memories.
Fei takes a stack of charcoal children's drawing from his folder and offers it to Noeline.
"I think Riesenlied made these. Very adorbs." Fei says. "I uh--am probably gonna try avoiding going back though because that whole mirror place...brrr."
He looks towards Elly, then Janey, then up. "Ah---"
He removes his hat.
"R..right." He gives Mikaia an even more concerned look at her response.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Mikaia doesn't really answer Noeline in turn, maybe feeling like she is actually at the end of her rope. She sets down her enchanting tools as the Hyadean tugs her into an embrace, but doesn't quite break out into a full-grown sob because she's around company. Which speaks a lot about what she probably was like before meeting Noeline, Riesenlied, Lydia and everyone else, really.
"Thanks, mom..." she perks up a little when Josephine says Fei has something.
Her soul is still dangling. Noeline maybe tuck your daughter's soul back in before someone smashes it in their fist for +100 souls.
Janey first goes 'yikes!' at Elly as she reveals her moose-skin bag to go, "Y'didn't go skin that yourself, did'cha, Miss Elly? Cause I'd--" a pause. "I'd be impressed actually but that's not the point."
She pouts at Fei to go, "Hey, I trained with the best, all right? Between Argus, and Lily 'n Leon, and Josie? You bet!" Are the Black Wolves bad influences here? Well, Janey looks so happy about it, so it's probably all right.
Fei even gets a cold one poured for him, if he wants. It might even not be alcoholic, depending on what he likes.
Mikaia and Janey do pause and look towards Noeline, then towards the drawings, however. She peers for a moment and Guardians help her soul the first thing she says is--
"Mom sucks at drawing," Mikaia grumps, a tear forming in her eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
This is the point where Josie reflexively starts to laugh and nearly chokes to death on her drink. Good job, Mikaia!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Oh - no; it's the herb cache," Elly explains to Janey. "It was pretty nearby so I thought we might as well go fetch it. Most of the medical plants were already taken out, so this is just the um, the culinary? ones. Do you think you could bring me some hot water? And a glass of beer, if you could." Elly seems kind of sweaty.
She had to carry that! It was kind of heavy even if it was full of plants!! Elly fishes things out of the top - seems to be a bundle of slightly scrubby age, some dried mint, some kind of long spearhead-shaped leaf...
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline visibly sits up a little further as more people come in, bolstering herself and pulling her usual pride around her as if it were a security blanket for her identity. Which, in the end, it sort of is. Still, it's hard to look particularly prideful when you have a beastgirl in your lap, muttering something quiet and soothing to her. "... what kind of mother would I be if I didn't look out for you? ... especially after you did the same for me," she mutters, heartfelt.
Elly appears to be in-- not so much a hurry, as a determination, so Noeline doesn't worry about greeting her beyond a brief nod of her head she may or may not catch. By comparison, she tilts her head slowly towards Josie to motion her to continue, her brow furrowed slightly at the claim. "... Lady Harken isn't exactly what I would call a particularly fervent servant of the Metal Demons, I suppose. It does feel as if she's gotten steadily more lucid, yes, but-- well. Alhazred has a new toy, after all," she mutters, her voice twisting bitterly for a moment.
She reaches for the drawings - and the instant she spots the actual subject matter, her touch becomes much more careful and reverent. With a great deal of care, she slowly spreads them out on the table, avoiding the area where Josie's boots had resided up until now. "... Nasrin," she quietly identifies one of them. "And Riese herself, in her time as Nazgul." She offers her other arm to Janey, and a place next to her; the children have both been told about what happened in the Lost Village of Fereshte, no doubt, but haven't been able to see it themselves yet.
She snorts, lighter than she'd expect of herself, at Mikaia's grump. "We knew that much. Remember she led that drawing class, at one point, and tried to capture both of you?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
In the end the archaeologist has to thump her chest a few times, her glass for now resting atop the table with the... others.
"Right," she says, after she's able to breath without obstruction again. "I can't say I've met her before so I'm not the person to evaluate her condition, so to speak. Still, while I wouldn't exactly count on her for... assistance, she appears to want us to destroy Mother." She pauses. "And Alhazred, though I suspect at this point we'd have to take a number, eh?" She leans back in her seat. "Did us a little favor in fact, left behind some device that had been recording the battle. It's possible my little ace-in-the-hole is still a secret." Another pause, before she reaches over lazily to grab for her forsaken glass. "...Performance was adequate. I'm trying to hurry up with my adjustments. Don't suppose you've got any materials you could spare for shells? I'd love to reinforce 'em."
She takes another sip, this time without inhaling any. Her gaze, though hooded, flickers over towards the spread of drawings. "Bingo. At least, I can certainly recognize Sunshine, there. I figured, maybe she might be brought back to herself if she could see these. ...Probably not enough on its lonesome, but it's a step, perhaps." She gestures, lazily, with her right hand. "I suppose it's possible there are other things around. It might be a good first step, short of trying to dig around the ruins in Wayside or something. I figure, as much as we can jostle her memory the better, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"W..well it was when she was really young, maybe she got better?" Fei says. Noeline confirms it. "Okay, I guess not." He is totally okay with this conversation being mostly about how bad at art Riesenlied is because that means a whole lot of other topics can be steadfastly ignored.
Fei's sweating bullets.
"Most of those aren't bartenders," Fei tells Janey. "....But I guess....they are the best."
He is also starting to wonder if any of the Metal Demon Quarter Knights are 'for' Mother. Even Alhazred seems pretty ambivalent to her presence.
Could they really have just grown past her? And are only now realizing it? It's a nice idea but after everything, is that enough?
"Well, the plan is to destroy Mother anyway." He says. "Hope I'm able to help but..."
He trails off and doesn't finish that thought.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Ah." Herbs. ...But something--
Lily glances to the drawing, and doesn't answer about it. Even mentioning the mirrors in that place is enough to keep her silent for the moment. She is outright brooding at this point, glancing away from the mirror and letting the magic fade. She remains quiet, through the talk about Riesenlied's art abilities, through mention of herbs.
"That's good, that it's still a secret," Lily replies, and lifts her head to look at the others. "Harken as much as told me that she'd like to see Alhazred die. She just isn't quite willing to turn and do it herself. ...But yeah, we know what he's up to at the moment."
She stares into nothing, shakes her head.
"Sure. It's a good first step. I recognized... something, clouding her presence, when I was there. I'm working on practicing what I did to... push through it, before. But I'm not sure; it's learning to swim when you've only heard descriptions of water."
"...and yeah. We're going to destroy Mother. I'm... going soon, for some preparations."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Mikaia pauses for a moment longer as Noeline affirms her affection for her, and she kind of retracts her soul because this gag's long past served its purpose. She nods very mutely. "... makes me... feel so scared. Like the same thing's gonna happen like before... like I shouldn't get too used to what we had... cause it might just go and vanish..."
She pauses. "I know Lydia said similar things before. But I'm trying to take her bravery and put it into me. Fill my heart up full of it."
Maybe Mikaia and Lily have something in common, cause she's pretty broody right now. But at least she's vocalising it a little. She pauses to go, "... that's the, um, big red lady, right? Mom said she looked up to her like a sister at one point..."
Janey swallows at Mikaia's words, but remains a bit stronger as she grins and says, "I mean I'm glad she's trying more than stick figures but the impressionist art's kinda hilarious," while trying to hold a sniffle herself. She gawks for a moment at Josephine and go, "D'you finally go and get that gun you need two extra spines to shoot??" and whatever that might be originally referencing to is a mystery.
She does have the werewithal to look at Noeline, though. "Y'reached her... mom. You all did. Elly, Lily, Lydia... with the Tear, and with your words, 'n such... even if it's gonna take a wee bit more effort..."
She holds one image up as she looks up at Fei. It's the one where the horned girl is holding hands with the unicorn and the robed girl. "... y-yeah, I guess I was real big into unicorns when I was little. Cloudin' her presence.... yeah, somethin' like this... feels like it'd help, right?"
you're still a kid janey don't front
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
OH AND:
Janey pours some hot water from a kettle for Elly... and also goes from hot to cold as a perfect-pour beer comes into existence. Someone's had a few hours under their belt mastering The Art of the Pour (tm).
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline watches Josie for a long moment after she talks about Harken's desires, and you can see the cogs in her head slowly turn. "... if Harken has enough of an inkling now of what was done to her in the past... I could certainly imagine she'd have a great deal of anger for Alhazred. And perhaps not a great deal of loyalty to Mother," she mutters quietly. "She has always struck me as preferring a fight over a massacre, though whether that's part of it..."
A pause, and then Noeline slowly shakes her head. "I... have never seen Siegfried looking the way he did. Like a man who has lost everything. It reminded me of myself, when we first descended on Arctica - or Riese, when she was forced to move against Adlehyde. Someone whose beliefs and hopes have crashed face-first into reality." She hesitates, then shakes her head with a rueful and tiny sigh. "Perhaps that's just wishful thinking."
Gently, her fingers draw down one drawing, a blob of colour with two sticks that she can nonetheless parse as Riesenlied. She's silent, for a long moment, and then draws Mikaia into a fierce hug. "... I won't let that happen. No matter what, we'll get her back," she adds as she glances towards Janey and solemnly nods her head. "We just need to reach her again, and again, until we can take a hold of her properly. And every little bit - these drawings, the Tear - every little bit will help."
"The two of you, as well," she adds softly, as a promise. "If you want to be there at my side, if you've things you want to tell her, then I'll keep you safe."
She lets out the breath all at once, and carefully moves the drawings aside to nudge one of her own pieces of paper forwards. "Here. You may all need this, in time." It is a map, roughly drawn but surprisingly detailed, and the large chamber with 'MOTHER' on it leaves no doubt as to where. "Hopefully, they have not remodelled extensively, though moving a god is probably rather tricky."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly shifts in her seat as others explain matters. She says to Josie, murmuring, "They seem fractious. I guess they're tired of the war too. It's not the kind of thing you read about in adventure stories, is it? But I wonder how many wars fell apart because of reasons like this, and it was just remembered differently."
And then she rises up to step over towards Janey. Who may be taken by surprise when Elly suddenly sweeps her up into a hug from the side. 'Sweep' is a little dramatic; it's more a quick, firm, fond embrace. "That's right," she tells her: "We're going to break through what they've done to her. I've been practicing for just this kind of thing." She looks over to Fei, pausing and blinking once, at that 'but...' not judgmentally so much as '???'
And then - "Oh thank you!" She disconnects from Janey to step over and pick up her beer and drain like half of it in one go. Ladylike.
Then she picks up one of the long leaves and crushes it between her hands. The smell is vaguely pleasant. "This one's just for scent," she tells Janey. "Have you ever made mint tea, though?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
'It might just go and vanish.' Can Lily argue that, really? It did for her. Not until she was older, but it did. ...Maybe it's true that Mikaia is handling her brooding better than Lily is handling her own, considering. The sorceress glances down again. She doesn't answer quickly. "If nothing else, Harken--yes, that... woman in red--seems more lucid, less bloodthirsty. Frankly it surprised me enough that I didn't believe it at first. She's completely unlike the times I've seen her before."
She pauses, and then shakes her head. "...Maybe it's wishful thinking, maybe it isn't, about Siegfried. I couldn't tell you. But it won't matter unless he acts on that. Until we get Riesenlied back, he's an obstacle. That's all."
She pauses. "..." She considers a little further, looks up at Noeline again. THere's a map, but...
"Have you been practicing?" Lily asks Elly. "Maybe we could... work on it."
At that though she turns to Janey, and then Mikaia. "But..." She starts. Then, she shakes her head. "...I understand how you feel, Mikaia. I don't have anything that I know of that can get rid of that fear. But it's possible to keep moving, to keep acting, afraid or not. And we'll be doing what we can to avoid that happening."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"I think," Josie replies to Lily, her glass lifted to her lips, "that she might be beyond 'not willing'. At least, not if the opportunity comes her way."
Pause.
"I don't know what her past is with Alhazred is or nothin', Sugar," she says next, glancing over Noeline's way, "but I get the feeling she might be thinking along those lines, eh? " She lifts an eyebrow. "Know what I mean? As long as she's not getting in our way, I'm willing to let things slide. And if she wants to help, the more the merrier! But as long as she's beholden to her allies..." Josie trails off, takes that drink she's been delaying at last.
'They seem fractious', Elly says. "Heard about things like that. When a war goes on too long, people get tired, right?" She jostles the glass in her left hand absently, her gaze up towards the ceiling. "It's always best to finish things up right quick, I hear." Silence from her corner maintains. "...It's been, what, a thousand years? ...Heh." Hers is a bitter smile.
"Even the greatest hero'll lose his taste for it after so long. After losin' so much. And, I bet, he's just lost again. Straw that broke the camel's back if I ever heard it..."
The gun... you need two spines to shoot?
Josie sets down the glass with a soft clatter, her lips twisted in a lopsided smile as she regards Janey. "Sure did. Don't worry, I found a way to make sure I won't need a spare spine." She pauses, briefly thoughtful. "Though when it comes to lugging the thing around, sure, an extra spine might be the ticket. Let me know if you find one, Janey."
Before she chuckles and returns to her cups.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei grimaces. "In my opinion, better for wars to not be too convenient," but it's not like Josephine's wrong. "But you're right. For some of them, this war has been going on for one thousand years. But it's a little strange how neat it all is, every five hundred years, isn't it? I guess if nothing else if we win here we're set for at least five hundred more."
He doesn't have much to say to Lydia for mysterious reasons but Fei is not known for anything but accidental bravery. He smiles, though, because he understands that fear well.
"Well, you're doing a good job." Course, it's okay to be afraid too, but Fei doesn't say that.
"The real challenge may come after. I suspect Riesenlied will need your comfort more than ever once she is rescued." He says it as if it's a for-sure hting.
He looks towards the unicorn. He laughs awkwardly because a giant unicorn statue made him so happy he lost time and he's still kind of unnerved by that.
"That's the hope anyway! It was Josie's idea though! I just went along for the ride."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... I dunno about... you know, this war we're all engaged in, but... Mickey and I passed by a lot o' Kislev and Aveh troops when we were wanderin'. When we scavenged for cigs 'cause they all love 'em and would trade food for us for em," Janey rubs her nose.
"And they're, a lot of 'em are all worn 'n beaten down and wonderin' when they can go home cause there ain't even a story of winning or losing for them. It's just all war, all the time, forever war out on the frontline," she muses. "Kinda... makes me wonder if some of 'em are really seein' the wool pulled back..."
A pause, as Elly sweeps her for a hug and she rubs her eyes. "Mint tea? Ooh, um, not with fresh leaves... they're kinda rare in Ignas..."
Lily says there might be nothing that can get rid of that fear, but Mikaia sucks in a deep breath as she says, as Noeline crushes her into the tightest hug of her life: "... it's okay. It's like-- it's like we all say here on the Fereshte. It's okay to be scared... and... being scared like this..." A pause as she plays around with one of her mirrors. "... makes me think how precious what we had was that I can be scared like this. It's precious. It's more than we ever had... wah..."
She sniffles, trying to keep it together, nodding at Fei. "We'll tell her what a big dummy she is and how bad she is at drawing and hug her until she's bone dry..."
A swallow. "... we'll see, but um... we'll be good kids," Janey answers Noeline in the contrary for once, despite having charged the real Lord of Calamity to tell him what's up. "There'll be an openin' somewhere. I know it. 'cause... mom's not alone. She's got all of you..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's face darkens a little, despite the brave face she's trying to keep on for the children. "... fractious... I'm not sure. From a Metal Demon's point of view - from the rank and file - they are at a moment of triumph. Mother is awake, and for most of them that fact will surely override anything else they could ever dream up. It is something they've been waiting centuries for. One or two lost battles won't matter to them when she takes the field."
She pauses as if checking her answer mentally, and then slowly nods. "But, if the Quarter Knights are starting to have doubts at this juncture, I think it is surely because Mother is awake. And not just them. Siegfried, Harken, Alhazred, Kalve, the Veruni - I think they have all been faced with the question that Riese and I have asked them in the past. The question of what exactly Mother's anger will leave behind for them - for their people, for their allies, for they themselves."
She pauses to let that sink in, and then swallows a thick lump in her throat as she closes her eyes. "... and from the way he acted, I think Siegfried already has his answer." A shiver runs down her spine; without even realizing she's done it, she gathers Mikaia back against her for a moment, needing the hug as much as her daughter does.
She can't find the words when she looks to Josie, not after that; she furrows her brow instead, and can only nod at her words, and at Lily's regarding Siegfried. That's the real truth - if the Quarter Knight really has given up, there is little they can say, no matter how much it might be possible to rile him up in the moment.
Quietly, she grasps for happier things instead, as she looks to Fei with a quiet smile. "... well... you heard her," she notes of Mikaia's gentle speech. "If she needs comfort after all of this, we will have plenty to spare." The worry still curls into a knot in her stomach, but it's easier now, and she looks to Janey with a quiet smile. "Alright. But-- being a good kid does not mean being silent," she grumbles good-naturedly. "We will all work out together how we're going to do this. Because she has you, too."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly pours hot water over the leaves she crushed.
The air freshens immediately. It's a pretty strong and sudden effect. It doesn't smell *like* anything in particular, although the clean, pure scent tends to have a nostalgiac fragrance, or near-fragrance, for everything. The light seems to get a little brighter. It is not quite magic, but things may seem just that little bit better.
"It's a nice smell, isn't it?" Elly says.
She smiles at the assertions. In her heart she's steady. She has hope, perhaps, as well as confidence. The smell of that strange dried leaf helps. To Janey she says, as she slides over the dried wintermint, "Well, here's something... of course there's no fresh plant growing this time of year."
Then! Back to Josie. "Well," Elly says, "I had to take a class about this kind of thing once. It wasn't... very nice; but one of the things they discussed was the psychology of war. They compared it to - um - I'm not sure what you'd call it, but a kind of starch. If you mix it with water and move it slowly, or just strike it with enough force to break it, it remains liquid, but under the right conditions of pressure you can see it form cracks, like a solid."
She sips her beer. "I wouldn't have known if that would apply to the Hyadeans too, but I suppose we have a lot in common... in that way, too."
Back to Lily, she says, "Do you mean that 'weird feeling'? I hope we can do it. I'm not sure if it will be easy... It might have been, um, something physical. Though if it's like an implant or something like that, then it's easier. You can always just take some kind of control collar off, right?"
Right, Fei?
As she settles back down, Elly asks Mikaia, "Can I see one of those mirrors? They look very nice..."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"The younger set, right?" This is to Noeline. "Makes sense. Kids always run out there, thinking they can save the world -- guess it's no different for your people. They're thinking the promised glory, the light at the end of the tunnel... normally, a few years at the front beats it outta 'em, far as I know, but those kids, yeah. They're gonna see it as victory within their grasp. And not to mention any hardliners, anyone who wants out but can't get it, or those who just don't care."
She takes another sip from her glass, then swirls its contents absently. "Still. Like you say, when the top brass lose their heart in it, it's not a good sign. For them, or for us."
She gazes into the amber depths of her glass. "I don't think I need to explain why it's no good for them, but it means they're less likely to listen to any parlay, and more likely to make a suicide charge. Might as well go out with a bang if you're gonna go out, yeah?"
Silence treads out as Elly explains something she once learned in school.
"Sounds about right, kiddo. Listen, I'm with you and your boy -- it's probably better for this world that there's no wars. But if you got to do it, you might as well make it quick." Her gaze again focuses on the liquid within her glass.
That 'Ideal her' had done it, huh...?
"So what's the plan? Getting inside the Photosphere, that is."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Yeah." Fei says to Elly, though it's unclear as to what he means at first because he just leaves it at that which is, frankly, also a bit Xenogears despite there being a lot to unpack there if he so wishes. Fei doesn't often unpack. But he does reflect.
He smiles at the kids. "You're always good kids. Just a little reckless." Not that Fei has room to talk really, so he just leaves the rebuke there as mild as one could ever expect one to take child endangerment.
Of course, Mikaia and Janey seem to have already spent plenty of time traversing battlefields if they were trading cigs for food. He does not want to know how they got ahold of those cigs so he does not ask them.
"But even if they turn away from Mother..." Fei says. "Her defeat isn't the end. It's the begnining."
He nods once to Noeline. "Careful with the mirrror. Smash it and it's several years bad luck." He takes mirrrors so much more seriously after the 200th time they've been used to psychically traumatize him.
"Whatever happens, I will protect these moments with what I have. It's just a pair of arms, but they're yours."
The mild fragrance is nice. It smells familiar. Fei leans back in his seat, eyes half-lidded. He just wants to relax, just for a moment. That's alright, right?
"He can't get rid of their wills entirely. Perhaps he doesn't even want to. That will be our advantage because Riesenlied is one of the strongest wills I know."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"..." Janey talks about the war between Kislev and Aveh, and Lily is briefly there again, looking out over the desert to the horizon beyond. She recalls it. "...It was against regulation," she reflects, and there's a hint of reminiscing in her voice, "To trade rations for anything; they were meant to keep those and use them appropriately, to stay in shape." A beat, "But a lot of us did it anyway. Not me, of course; I was always hungry enough to keep them. But I saw it. ...Sometimes they do wonder. Sometimes they can't imagine another day, or they can, and that's the problem."
"But I never minded it going on and on like that. I thought I could make a difference."
Quietly, Lily watches Mikaia as she answers fear, mentions how precious what they had is. And...
"That's true. If you weren't afraid of losing it, how much was it worth? Or are you just unknowing?"
She turns to Noeline then. "..." ...She doesn't quite find something to say, though. Instead she answers Elly, "Right, the feeling I mentioned. I... I'm not sure, to be honest. I know it won't be easy. But I managed to push through a little bit before. That, paired with everyone reaching out to her... We have a place to start."
"...That's a good question, about the Photosphere, though. And maybe... Well. You're right; Riesenlied has a will, and... Well... Her unique... situation, actually seems like it might help her in breaking free of something like that. If she can discorporate like she does--Well, what can hold her?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Janey watches Elly freshen the air with mint tea, perking up a little as she goes, "Wow, that really is nice... is that just with water and mint leaves? No magic 'n all? I'll keep it in mind. Bartender's gotta be aware of the space, right?"
She rubs at her nose as she tunes in to Josie for a moment, then looks o the glass again. Getting into the Photosphere... that'll be tough. She's got no ideas.
"What about those Lunies and Mister Fei's Gear, and Miss Elly's? Reckon enough Gears can just hose it down with enough energy to break the shield?"
The little mouse girl grins at Fei and says, "It ain't over, but that's where us Outreach're here for. 'cause it's not just Riesenlied 'n Noeline and us, we've got a whole bunch of peeps who've been through that grinder n're willing to give the talk to those who need it."
Lily says it's totally against regulation, and Janey chimes, "Oh, they told us as much they're gonna get in super big trouble if their sergeant found out. And they didn't care anyway..."
Mikaia does offer that mirror towards Lily, speaking, "This is my best one... the magic's really even in it. Do you want to replace the one I gave you?" A pause. "Though that one's my first, so if you do... I want to keep it as a reminder. That... I helped Miss Lily out," she smiles quietly.
Janey is tuning in to everything Noeline is saying about the Metal Demons, about Mother; she really is. But she's got very few moments in which she wants to interject and something about it. Maybe she already got a face full of religious overzealousness and doesn't need to be convinced of it anymore, snipped ears and tails and all.
"... you know mom'll try to reach him, tho'," she does add. "You know she won't ever give up on 'im... that's what those drawings we put up on the furnace in Wayside told me."
Crayon drawings are a recurring theme, huh?
She does grin back towards Noeline, and Mikaia does look up at her again. "... we'll figure it out, mom. We always do."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"'Young' in as much as they're only decades old rather than centuries," Noeline comments back, carefully deadpan as she sighs. "I suspect that was Siegfried's intention, going into this battle. A suicide charge - you heard him say that nothing mattered, after all." But if that's the case, why did he retreat? ... she can only hope that's an important point, but she can't say for sure. Or rather, she doesn't have the luxury to say for sure, not yet. All she can do is prepare for anything.
Instead, she snorts at the question of how they will enter; Janey gets a nod at her suggestion, before Noeline looks to the rest gathered there. "The Princess has brought Asgard, after all. That was one of the three golems that Mother feared enough to attack Arctica over. I dare say it will lead the charge, and who knows how many Drifters with it."
She does pause, and temper her glance at Janey with something more apologetic. "... I know she will. And--..." she pauses, and lets out a quiet and ever so slightly bemused chuckle as she realizes: "... and so will I, I think. Riese looked up to him as a father; he was the Quarter Knight I chose to trust. Both of those feelings, and more, need to be conveyed properly if we're going to get anywhere," she predicts quietly.
Saying that - admitting that - seems to take her the most by surprise, and yet it is also a relief. Closing her eyes, she lets out a quiet little breath, and then opens them to meet the gaze of both of her children. "We always do," she repeats back with enough quiet confidence for the three of them, then
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"She's not the only one." Fei says, regarding giving up on Siegfried. Considering how much Siegfried seems to specifically want Fei dead maybe it's better for everybody's odds if he stops, but nonetheless...he seems committed.
"You really are the sweetest kids," Fei adds. And then, all of a sudden--
--he sees someone else in Janey's place. He sees a small boy with a large forehead and he takes in a sharp deep breath, closes his eyes, and opens them again. Janey is Janey again.
"I should probably get some rest." Fei says. "I started the day tired and now I'm just plain tuckered. So I'm counting on you. Save my friend, alright?"
He looks to Josie for a moment and then adds, "Luckily, I think we've got something to help us get in, but if I gotta use Weltall--I will, don't you worry about that. I just need to be careful with how I work with him."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Do you want me to bring you some supper later?" Elly asks Fei, before her attention turns to the girls.
To Janey she says, "Well, this one - you shouldn't drink it - but yes, it's just a dried leaf. The person at the herb station told me that it was some kind of... It was like a weed that I suppose the Baskar used in cases of 'the dark breath' or something like that."
At the topic of getting into the Photosphere, Elly says soberly, "The output of our Gears... we might need them. I don't know if it would be enough on its own. But - Weltall is very powerful, and my Vierge is a late model unit, so I think they'd definitely make an impact."
She smiles at Josie a little sadly. "... The trick," she says, "is that it's awfully hard to actually finish things... don't you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It is at first as Josie thought -- that there's no clear plan besides throw everything at it and, well, pray. Maybe Gears would be enough. Maybe with enough ancient ARMs, sorceries, or what-have-you.
Or maybe they'd just have to wait for that moment when Mother emerged and give it all they had.
Her lips part, as if she's about to say something.
'Asgard'.
Josie's lips part in a grin.
"Putting faith in the Elw, are we? Heh. If anything's gonna make up the difference, that's gotta be it. Guess we'll just have to see."
She tosses back the rest of her glass and, shockingly, doesn't grab for another. Instead the archaeologist rises from her seat. "Guess I should go and get back to doing my part, huh? Maybe it'll help tip the balance."
A little funny, she thinks but doesn't vocalize.
'Gryndille' might help save the world.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Nah," Fei says. "Putting my faith in Asgard. He's cool."
Fei grins at Elly's offer. "Well I don't want to put you out but I can't say no to that. I'll owe you one." The grin doesn't quite reach the eyes, but it's more a sign of his exhaustion as anything else. He did not sleep well while escorting Asgard and he's still recovering.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Rest is a good idea," Lily says. But she considers, quietly. "...I have some ideas, myself, about how we're getting in. But I'm still working on them. I don't have anything to say, yet."
Lily reaches out them and takes the mirror, nodding seriously to Mikaia. "...Thank you. I wasn't planning to change out my old one--it's still serving me very well. What I needed was... One I could use, to try to practice what I'm hoping to do to help your mother. It might not survive the process, so I didn't want to do it on the one you'd given me."
...They will try to reach Siegfried, won't they?
"I'll leave reaching out to the experts. As for me... I should get going on my part, too." She looks to Josie, nods. "...Asgard..."
"Asgard is a good sign. I'll say that much." She starts to stand, then.