2018-12-28: Giri

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============================<* Northern Steppes *>============================

The northern regions of the Elru continent are composed of broken, barren hills, their soil frozen and crusted over with rime. Little grows there, and even less lives. The monsters and wildlife of the region are notoriously fierce; a monster seeing a traveller will chase that person down for weeks if necessary, as that may be the only protein it sees in that time.

The Steppes have been the dominion of the military Kingdom of Arctica since before the Day of Collapse, but in recent years their castle has been silent and unresponsive. The walls sit shattered and broken, the gate open and scored with long-dead flame.


<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

It roars from a snowy hillock raised on its hind legs, a Metal Beast, ursine in appearance. It has been wounded, though the wounds are healing. It makes eye contact with Jacqueline and Ethius, whimpers, then turns to snuffle at something at its feet. A humanoid figure, collapsed and partially buried in the snow.

Too tall to be human and too metallic for a Veruni.

A Metal Demon, then.

Female. Gold skin, white hair, wearing a royal purple surcoat emblazoned with the sigil of the Metal Demons. Rather unnecessarily.

The garment is stained and splashed with blood and gore.

                Some red.

                                Some silver.

                                        Some of it her own, judging from the slowly-regenerating injuries on her throat and left shoulder.

Unaccountably, she is barefoot, some of her toes already blackish with frostbite. Her fingers are in the same condition. She is still unconscious and running a raging fever -- her body's attempt to ward off the Arctican cold. It must be draining her reserves drastically. It's clear she will die without help. But she's a survivor of the Metal Demon War, an enemy of humanity -- does she deserve it? Her escape pod is visible in the distance and may offer scavengable technnology. It would be so easy, so very easy, to leave her there, just another casualty. So many have died...what's one more? 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        One of Ethius' more fervent activities post-Photosphere has been the clean-up of any roaming Metal Beast hordes that might yet still cause problems on the Elru countryside. He acts and carries himself as though some greater threat persists even with the fall of Mother, even after the Photosphere has gone and fell into the ocean.
        Jay will notice almost immediately that his first instinct when encountering the ursine Metal Beast that he's already prepping another Symbological spell, halting at basically the last moment (...within three syllables of a complete spellcast) when it doesn't engage in aggression but instead to call to attention something else.
        This is in itself extraordinarily unusual. He keeps a hand raised as he rounds the snow banks for a better visual of the colors that stand out against the blanket of white. Upon confirmation that there is a person there - a Hyadean - the quarterstaff comes out in which to safely prod the body for responsiveness and/or prospective threat. He can't gauge if they're still alive. If he recognizes who it is, there isn't a strong reaction on his part.
        "There's one here," he informs, all while he has to keep an eye on the whimpering Metal Beast before him. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Wandering the frozen wastes of Elru was not something one did idly. A single misstep could lead to one's death - either immediately or painfully slowly. But Jacqueline is not idle, and she's come prepared, wrapped up tightly in a warm coat and having freshly embibed a warming draught.

There were still things she needed out here - she might as well gather them while they were still on Elru. She would not find the ingredients this day, however. What she would find was something she did not expect.

It was a person.

Jacqueline spotsthe Metal Beast, first. She tenses up - with the Photosphere fallen and leadership up in the air, many of the Metal Beasts that had somehow survived had turned feral, attacking indiscriminately. But this one...it makes eye contact with them and, rather than attacking, whimpers, and snuffles at...something.

Jacqueline takes a couple of steps forward to get a closer look, then looks toward Ethius when he makes his comment.

'There's one here.'

Jacqueline looks back...and emits a gasping cry when she realizes exactly what it is.

It's a person. A Hyadean, specifically.

It's worthy of hesitation, certainly - but Jacqueline does not hesitate. She immediately moves over to Malfi's side.

"Help me dig her out!" Jacqueline shouts. It's unclear whether she's asking Ethius or the Metal Beast, but either way she draws out one of her tools - a small spade - and begins to try and dig her out of the snow so that they can transport her somewhere safer.

And, hopefully, warmer. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

The Metal Bear-Dog -- Bogey -- understands that they're trying to help Malfi, but he's not quite intelligent enough to pitch in with the digging. He whuffs encouragement, stubtail wagging. It would be a terrible, terrible thing if Malfi forgot to take him off combat mode when she wakes up. For now, looking after his rider is his top priority. That was atypical for a Beast, but then again he's had some custom programming. For her part Malfi remains unresponsive. Rebooting takes a couple hours... 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        It takes a moment for Ethius to comply, because Bogey there could turn and pounce them at any moment! His eyes almost never leave the worried creature when he kneels down to comply. The wagging tail and barking, more idle signs of endearment rather than threat, occasionally bring the man to pause and raise a hand. When they were fighting, the Metal Beasts were not one for idle, purposeless bodily gestures. (That sure sounds like someone else around these parts, doesn't it...)
        When he is reasonably confident that the snow-covered Hyadean isn't about to spring to life in ambush and strike, he goes about scooping away some of the snow by hand and occasionally try to lift a limb up and out of the cold, icy prison. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline finds herself thankful that Ethius decides to help - even if he seems wary of the Metal Beast accompanying Malfi. For her part, Jacqueline...well, the body language she's getting from the Metal Beast reminds her very much of some of the Caravan Kinship's own animal companions, which goes a great deal toward letting her relax.

"She seems to be alive, thankfully, but her condition isn't great...she's been out here for a while. She'll need medicine...probably some food, too..." Jacqueline murmurs as she works.

Once Malfi is fully excavated, there will be the matter of transporting her. Jacqueline will trust Bogey or Ethius to that - her job will be come once they've made it to a place where they can set up a camp.

Using Sorcery to clear out snow and get a fire going, the next will be getting the necessary treatments ready. The medicine is the easy part - her potions worked on Hyadeans just as well as they did humans, but as for food...

...She was pretty sure she had some recipes from Wayside that might help. It was closer to alchemy than traditional cooking, which meant they were right up her alley. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Bogey crouches so Malfi's helpers can arrange her on his back. Once draped across, she looks more helpless than ever. She would hate appearing that way! The Metal Beast willingly follows the two humans to a suitable place to camp and stands patiently while they remove her (more like dump her...Bogey is tall at the shoulder!). She falls in an unceremonious, newly-bruised pile, still out like a light. She definitely needs warmth, first. Then medicine and food! Jacqueline had made the right call. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        "It is unusual." Ethius remarks, with that detached tone of voice as he nearly strains out a shoulder trying to help lift Malfi. Bogey helps lower the amount of work necessary. It remains an effort.
        He spies the escape pod a ways off. That will need addressing before long, he internalizes.
        "She appears completely by her lonesome. I would have expected her to already be in the company of other survivors en route to escaping the Photosphere." It comes to him a little more clearly - she was present within the chamber that housed the World Eater. There was much confusion and emotion present, and the... turbulence that came after he's not completely clear on the nature of...
        Speculation is all he has, as he seems to go through the motions. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

As Jacqueline draws a few bottles out and judges dosage, she sends a glance over toward Ethius. She takes a moment to consider this.

"...She mentioned a 'Bogey' when we met her before. Maybe she wanted to find him first. It looks like she succeeded in that, at least." She replies, looking toward the Metal Beast and offering him a gentle smile. "It was...a very chaotic time. There must've not been much time for organization."

Jacqueline herself could barely remember everything that happened in their escape. Perhaps once she had a little more time to think back it would become clearer, but right now it was still a haze.

After taking a moment to lay Malfi out a bit more comfortably by the fire, Jacqueline gets to work with the medicine. She's using some recipes given to her by Riesenlied way back - recipes specifically intended to deal with troubles arising from the cold.

She had certainly gotten quite a bit of mileage out of them. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Pain. Pain in her fingers and toes, a tingling sharpness. Aches in her wounds. An odd smell, like medicine. Malfi stirs and blinkblinks awake, systems fully reset. Cold air, blue sky, a fire. Wait, where had that come from? She sits up and spies the two humans nearby, watching over her. Bogey is by her side, faithful as always. She snaps out a command in Hyadean, the word to take Bogey out of combat mode. Without it he'd attack the humans as soon as she was back on her feet. Which might, she admitted to herself, take awhile, the way she was feeling. They had helped her, and she shouldn't let Bogey decimate their ranks. One human was watching her with a neutral expression. She recognizes Ethius. No, she hasn't forgotten his trying to trick her into stabbing herself...! The other is also familiar.

"Miss Barber?!? What are you doing here? Where am I?" She starts to ask "What happened?" but it's coming back to her, the pain, the shock, the loss, the grief. The reboot. She winces as she examines her fingers. Frostbite, always a danger in Arctica. Her self-repair nanites are desperately trying to keep up with the damage and being hindered because her reserves are basically nonexistent. A human would've lost these fingers without some kind of magical healing. She was feeling an identical numbness in her toes, and her wounds from fighting Mother still weren't completely healed yet. What a state she was in! 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        When Malfi starts to stir, Ethius is fully upright and bearing down upon her with that stare. When she speaks a word with a drilled sharpness, a palm is extended right towards Bogey with his fingers starting to twist.
        Bogey comes to rest.
        He staress for a while longer before lowering his hand, bringing both his arms behind his back as he maintains a vaguely threatening, worrisome vigil. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Malfi starts to stir...and Jacqueline can feel Ethius becoming more alert. Jacqueline looks back at him, shooting him a Frown.

"Ethius..." She says warningly...but thankfully, things seem to calm down a little bit. And then Malfi speaks, which causes Jacqueline to return her attention to her.

"It's okay, you're safe. Try not to move too much, you're still recovering..." She urges. That doesn't answer the question of 'where' and 'what'. Jacqueline slides back a bit to give Malfi a little more room as she prepares the next round of medicine.

"We're in Elru's northern steppes. We were looking for ingredients - w-well, I was, Ethius was keeping watch - when we saw Bogey, who pointed us in your direction..." Jacqueline explains, then holds up the bottle. "I've been trying to treat your wounds...I hope that's alright."

And then, there's the matter of...what happened. Jacqueline's expression falls. She can see it on Malfi's face - Malfi knows what happens. Jacqueline doesn't voice it.

"...I'm sorry, Miss Malfi." She murmurs sympathetically. "I...know what it's like to lose a home. If there's anything I can do help, please let me know..."

Others might point out that the Hyadeans were responsible for that, but Jacqueline doesn't voice it. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

"Try not to move too much," Jacqueline had said. As if Malfi could. Malfi takes the proffered medicine with a murmur of thanks; it takes fast effect in speeding her healing and warding off at least some of the cold. "I don't deserve for you to be so kind to me," she says, slowly but steadily. "I had in mind to take you for a specimen, and now you've captured me." She pauses about four beats. "Am I -- Am I your prisoner?" she rasps. Prisoners of War had Protocols. Even if Lord Alhazred delighted in ignoring them. Even she had to admit, if they'd wanted her dead, all they'd've had to do was leave her there in the snow. Jay says that she's sorry, that she herself lost a home. "You were from Adlehyde?" Malfi guesses. All right, it was an educated guess.

"Here," she offers, "I think this belongs to you." She reaches into her surcoat's pocket and pulls out a Crest Graph. Earth Pillar. Jay had lost it at the Battle of Wayside. The battle that Malfi was in no small way responsible for. She waits to see Jay's reaction, testing to see if she remembers their conversation then -- a talk in the middle of a battle. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Ethius quietly regards the exchange with the usual apparent stoic air. He does little to dissuade Jay from speaking or moving to explain the goings on - to find some common ground in their situations with one another, over the loss of a home to some circumstances beyond their control.
        When Malfi asks if she's a prisoner, it may be telling that Ethius continues not to say much about it one way or another. Just... the way he bears down with that stare of his--
        Until she pulls out the Crest Graph, which he moves to snatch up and confirm what it is... before handing it over to Jay, at which point he seems to return to passive observation. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

With Malfi able to take the medicine herself, things speed up a little bit. Jacqueline stands, moving to check up on the food she was preparing.

She looks back at Malfi as she speaks, going a little quiet as the Hyadean says she doesn't deserve the kindness.

"I couldn't just abandon you. Kindness...isn't something that's 'deserved'. It's something that should be freely given." Jacqueline replies. She chuckles nervously as Malfi mentions taking her for a specimen. "I-I had hoped you would've forgotten about that..."

She shakes her head, then, though not before giving Ethius a glance.

"Prisoner...? Oh, no, no. You're free to leave as soon as you're feeling well enough to get up and around...try not to overexert yourself, though, it'll make the healing take longer." Jacqueline replies.

...Adlehyde. Jacqueline pauses for a moment when Malfi mentions it...and then nods.

"...Yes, that's right. Adlehyde is my home." She says. She turns to Malfi, then, as she seems to have something for her. She's a little confused, but as soon as she sees that Crest, Jacqueline lets out a gasp.

It's immediately recognizable for what it is. It's a little battered from everything it's been through, but...there's no mistaking it.

"You've kept it, all this time...?" Jacqueline says. There's no doubt that she remembers. "I had given it up for lost, particularly after...what happened to Wayside. I didn't know you had picked it up..."

She makes a move to grab it, but Ethius gets to it first. Jacqueline frowns slightly as he takes it and examines it, but he does eventually hand it over. She accepts it, stowing it away safely before sending Malfi a grateful smile.

"Thank you for bringing it back to me." She says. "Did you learn anything from it?" 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi fusses at Ethius when he grabs the Crest Graph. "That's Miss Barber's!" She mistrusts him and that cold stare of his, and his sudden moves aren't helping matters any. It's a miracle Bogey doesn't spring to her (seeming) defense! Just because he's not in active combat mode doesn't mean he wouldn't be protective...maybe he's simply too weary. HE didn't get the medicines, after all.

When Jacqueline asks about the Crest Graph, Malfi gives a low chuckle. "We ran it through every scanner we had and learned nothing. Evidently magic just doesn't show up. I was hoping to study you while you were using magic to see if that could teach us anything."

Jay is preparing Real Food. It smells good, but Malfi paradoxically has no appetite, even though her body is screaming for sustenance. All eating would do would keep her alive longer to endure more days like this, and there didn't seem to be any point. It remains to be seen whether her survival instincts will kick in or whether the humans can persuade her to take in a little something. At least the physical pain has mostly stopped. The emotional, though, seems like it will never end. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Trust is an issue on many fronts. Bogey only knows the well-being of their master. What used to guide Malfi's life has been revealed as a fraud. Ethius probably doesn't need further clarification as to where these issues are cropping up as regards him.
        The casual discussion about attempts to study and maybe even capture Jay as furthering study of the strange (to them) sensation of sorcery available to them seems to only get him to bear down that much more in terms of his stare.
        "What would you have done with this information?" Ethius asks aloud. That does not sound like a friendly 'hey, is there anything we can do for you to make you feel comfortable.' It is an abrupt transition from the kindness and mercy Jay is willing to extend to someone who has caused her homeland, her loved ones, and so much more great pain. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline worries for a moment when Malfi fusses, but thankfully nothing comes of it. Still, she keeps a close eye on the two of them, watching them to make sure that no fight arises.

"Nothing, huh...? I wonder why..." Jacqueline murmurs. She has a few theories, but she's sure that it might be different if, as Malfi suggested, they'd need to monitor her while she's using them.

That's something she'd be a little less inclined to agree to.

The food is finished, so Jacqueline brings some over to Malfi. To a human it doesn't look very appetizing, but that's because it was a recipe adjusted for Hyadean tastes. Wayside had given her some training.

"I'm a little rusty, but this should help keep you going." Jacqueline says, offering Malfi the plate. She looks toward Ethius as he asks his question and frowns slightly.

The question itself wasn't...a bad one to ask, but it was the way he said it that bothered her. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

"I'm sorry you lost your home," Malfi says to Jay sincerely. "Thank you for your kindness." She's tempted to confess that she didn't kill anyone at Adlehyde, that it was her first colossal failure, but decorum and shame both hold her back, twin impulses inveterate. She glances up at Ethius. "We would've learned how to defend ourselves better against magic, possibly how to use it ourselves," she answers honestly. Everything, when it came down to it, was part of the war effort -- for a war that was now lost. Prevarication simply isn't part of Malfi's nature -- and besides, she owes these two, whether she likes it or not! Being in Jay's debt wasn't so bad, but Ethius was another matter. It's just one more thing making the worst day of her life (so far) just that much worse. She takes the plate of food from Jay with thanks and picks at it. She still doesn't have much of an appetite. "They trained you well," she compliments. She never would've expected Real Food from a human! 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        What opinions Ethius holds on the matter seem to remain held guarded, at bay, as Jay and Malfi make their own individual peace with one another through a specially prepared meal suited to Hyadean tastes and needs. Whatever warmth seems to be growing between them, Ethius comes off as no more soft or friendly for it - just this vague, distant presence.
        "I am to assume, then," he's asking while she's eating and that's rude on his part like whoa, "that you have cast aside your ambitions to capture and study the people of Filgaia." 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"...Thank you." Jacqueline replies, offering Malfi a smile. A part of her wants to ask Malfi, ask what where she was during both invasions of Adlehyde.

...But she doesn't.

Malfi gives a reasonable answer to Ethius's question - and an expected one. Could they have learned how to use Sorcery? ...It's a good question. Judging from Riesenlied and Noeline, it was certainly possible...and the Hyadeans had obviously had some manner of utilizing the Leylines for their own benefit. It was a possibility.

Malfi compliments her cooking and Jacqueline smiles, offering her a nod.

"I had good teachers. The people of Wayside really helped me understand the Hyadean diet." Jacqueline says, then looks toward Bogey.

"Hm...do you think he would like some too...? I'm less familiar with what Metal Beasts eat..." She considers, then looks toward Ethius as he asks another question.

Jacqueline goes a little quiet. ...She couldn't deny that she was curious about the answer, too. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

"You assume correctly," Malfi snaps curtly. Hey, if Ethius can be rude, so can she! "At least, not without their permission." The humans had won the war, and victors have certain privileges. Malfi still wanted to find out more about certain humans' special powers -- but for their own sake. They seemed to manifest strange new ones every time she'd fought them -- and often lost! She doesn't want to think about that part.

Malfi chuckles at Jay's comment about Metal Beasts. "They literally eat anything, though, like us, they prefer metals. On the battlefield they mainly feed on carrion." She hopes she won't have to explain that 'carrion' means the bodies of defeated enemies. Metal Beasts are notoriously unpicky. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        'You mean at all,' his stare might communicate - if his staring ever really communicated much of anything, as Malfi softens back to chuckling it up with Jay over matters of whether her beloved Bogey would enjoy the cooking or not.
        "It is my understanding, then, that you are a specialist as it pertains to these Metal Beasts," Ethius continues, which is STILL SO RUDE of him, but he stands in such a way that he casts a shade over Malfi, still standing with his arms crossed behind his back, "your expertise and cooperation would be appreciated as to ensure they will not be feeding on carrion unchecked."
        He may have already surmised the implications, dictating the words he does with that almost emotionless, roundabout delivery on his part. All while Malfi is still trying to rest and recover from a harrowing life-changing experience - one they've all had - and yet it still appears business as usual. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"I'm sure there's some people who might be interested..." Jacqueline says. She wouldn't be surprised, though she herself was interested in maintaining her privacy.

Thankfully, Malfi doesn't need to elaborate. Jacqueline nods once, understanding perfectly the underlying insinuation. That's one of Ethius's requests that Jacqueline is actually perfectly okay with.

She returns to the cooking pot, dishing out a little more of the prepared food onto a plate, then returning it setting it down for Bogey.

She has no attachment to the plate. She's not really expecting to get it back. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi can see the question lurking behind Jay's eyes. She owes her. "All right," she sighs. "At Adlehyde, I was -- was a failure. I was supposed to be directing my monsters to attack, but," she sighs again. "I took off their control collars to recycle them. Many escaped, and the rest turned against me. By the time I'd killed the rebellious ones and caught most of the others, the battle was over. The Second Battle was no better. I got caught up in a duel with an elf -- she said her name was Chime Isa -- who stood between me and my kin. Once I won, I didn't want to spare the time to kill her. So, you see, I was a disgrace. Sometimes I still am." She blushes, electrum flushing across her cheeks, shame in her bearing. She really, really hopes Jay doesn't ask about Arctica, or about how many times Malfi's been defeated by humans and their ilk! Nor does Malfi want to mention the chewing-out she got over Adlehyde. Needless to say, it hadn't been the easy victory she'd been expecting. "I've learned not to underestimate you humans." That, at least, was true enough: she'd been trounced by them enough times. "You're resilient...resourceful...unpredictable." Scary, that's what they were, scary!

She stares right back at Ethius. "My specialty was monsters, not Metal Beasts," she begins, "but I can teach you the command words to cancel their combat mode. You can teach the other humans. Your problem will be getting close enough to use them. You'll have to say them fast, before they can jump you! They will get hungry and want to feed, but will likely end up scavenging on scraps and garbage if they're not at war." They would eat literally anything, right down to wood and scrapmetal if it came to it.

Bogey proves this when he eats the plate right along with the meal. Malfi scolds him, but it's too late. It's already digesting, and at that point Jay probably wouldn't want it back. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        The strange man, the man who sometimes comes off as even less human than Malfi, is just shy of raising a hand again in Bogey's direction as a defensive gesture when they just go 'om nom nom' with the plate, all of it. It does track with what the beastmaster among them claims.
        "Very well, then." This could be one breakthrough they need to try and secure northern Elru from any remaining Metal Beast hordes, which is easier said than done with just how many there yet remain unaccounted for. The ecosystem of the region is already in a perilous place as it is, before the addition of alien metal wildlife parading around.
        He offers nothing reassuring to her fears and failings. Even now, in her time of need, he seems to stick largely to business matters at hand. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline listens quietly as Malfi decides to explain what happened in Adlehyde. How she was unable to participate in the battle itself, due to dealing with her escapes monsters - and in the second one, with Chime.

In a way, Jacqueline finds herself a little relieved. She was still prepared to help, whatever happened, but knowing that Malfi had not done much in either battle...it helped.

"I don't...think that makes you a failure or a disgrace, though I understand our views are...different, to say the least." Jacqueline replies, then offers her a slight smile. "...But, thank you, Malfi. For telling me this. If it helps...you've proven yourself to me, at least."

She chuckles slightly as Malfi comments on the unpredictability of humans.

"We adapt. We're not the strongest...but we've learned to make the best of what we have, even if it isn't much." She replies.

Malfi mentions a Metal Beast 'command word', that supposedly cancels their combat mode. Jacqueline looks on in interest.

"That would be better than having to hurt them..." She says. She looks down as Bogey swallows up the plate right along with the food. Jacqueline sighs, but it's in more of an amused fashion. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi didn't, and doesn't, expect any kind of comfort from Ethius. Every time she's encountered him he's come across as oddly cold, unempathetic, maybe even sociopathic. At best he's unemotional and logical to a fault. He is, in short, the most inhuman human she's ever met. She wonders briefly why he's hanging around with Jacqueline Barber, what Jay could possibly see in him to permit it. They're opposites in many ways: she warm, he frigid: she kind, he vicious: she giving and nurturing, he calculating and distant.

Yes, she decided. It wouldn't be treason to give the humans the command word. The Metal Beasts would definitely cause problems otherwise. "Best if I give you all the command words," she says. "Especially the one to make them sleep for a time. They'll wake from hunger eventually, though," she warns. "It's not a magic solution." Did she actually say 'magic'?

She manages a smile for Jay. "Thank you for saying so," the murmurs, but one can tell the shame is still with her. Shame and pain and loss and grief and survivor-guilt. Why should she still be alive when so many died?

A warm fire and a full belly...these are comforts enough, for now. Bogey's curled up next to the fire to sleep, and Malfi may be falling asleep soon, too. She dreads her dreams. At least rebooting was dark and dreamless... 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        The two humans do seem to be opposites in almost every way imaginable. It does seem odd, in some ways, that they can be in this same space, with this same person, and conduct themselves with their differing beliefs without it exploding into a pointed disagreement.
        "Such information would be appreciated," he comments. The idea that they could find ways to disable them on command - potentially - stands to make the work with securing the region exponentially easier, if still unlikely to do in a small span of time.
        Aru Solatu's been feeling far less pressure with Mother's fall. The Guardian of Ice probably feels the need to flex and stretch their very essence with a new snowstorm up here in the frozen wastes.
        He doesn't bother Malfi further, whether out of concern for their well-being or the admission that perhaps this is as much as he'll get out of her today is up for debate, as he wordlessly turns to Jay. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Malfi wasn't the first person to ask that question, and doubtlessly she wouldn't be the last. Jacqueline herself wondered it from time to time, as well...but still other times she knew exactly why.

"That would probably be best..." Jacqueline agrees with a nod, agreeing with Ethius.

Malfi thanks her for her words, but Jacqueline can get an idea of what she's thinking. With a nod, Jacqueline takes a step away. She would give Malfi her space for now - she probably needed it.

She looks toward Ethius as he looks toward her. It was difficult, sometimes, to tell what he was thinking. Whatever it was, however, she appreciated that he had worked with her on this, as much as he had. 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi watches Bogey sleep, firelight flickering on his steel hide. She envies him, this Metal Beast, his lack of understanding. He doesn't know their home is destroyed, that Mother is dead, that few of his masters remain alive on Filgaia, that the war was lost and Siegfried slain. He is able to sleep peacefully, just as though he were back on the Photosphere.

Not so for Malfi. She comprehends too well. She will never go home again. The best she'll be able to do is somehow make a new home on a planet that rejects her, among people who (mostly) hate her for the war. She could disguise herself as a human, but how would she explain Bogey?

                She won't abandon him. She has lost too much, suffered too much.

Some, maybe most, people would say she merited it, for Arctica, for the war, that the universe was just.

She knows better. The universe was random, and there was no justice in it, and certainly no mercy. Kindness could only be found...in people. People who defied the gods or Fate or Nature or the universe itself. It was a decision. A decision saved her life tonight.

Malfi is relieved as Ethius turns away and Jay decides to give her some space.

She's been through a lot today. She needs to rest...

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