2019-02-19: Two Needles in an Ocean of Sand

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  • Log: Two Needles in an Ocean of Sand
  • Cast: Gwen Whitlock, Seraph Ragnell
  • Where: Great Aveh Desert
  • Date: February 19, 2019
  • Summary: Following Janus's death, Gwen has understandably been absent. Ragnell goes to find out what Gwen has been up to, and the two talk about what happened, what it means for the future, and, perhaps, what the immediate future might have in store for them.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    The courier known as Gwen Whitlock seemed to disappear for a few days, following the disaster at the Black Medium Temple. Or whatever the temple's name is. Might as well be called 'Temple of Goddamnit Janus', as far as Gwen is concerned.

    There was the natural tendency to mope around and feel sorry for yourself (after checking in on various people), and Gwen... certainly seemed to be doing it, just on her lonesome.

    At least, it may seem so to anyone who's spotted her lurking around the ruins like a persistent shadow.

    There's a grunt as she begins climbing one of the rarest formations that one could find in Aveh Desert: an exposure of rock projecting high into the high, protected from the sandy dunes of the surrounding Aveh desert by an accompanying oasis. It's hardly like the buttes and plateaus located in different sections of the Badlands, but it's tall enough for Gwen's purposes.

    Reaching the highest point as the sun begins to dip into the earth's embrace at the horizon, Gwen untangles a pair of binoculars from their pouch, adjusting the leather cord around her neck in order to get a proper view of the landscape beyond.

    And she looks. And she looks. And looks.

    "Like findin' two needles in a dusty hot haystack," she grumbles, to Gulliver below. Gulliver, for the most part, snorts and lovingly munches on the feedbag around his muzzle, allowing the greenery around the oasis to live yet another day free from his hungry maw.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    Most things surrounding Janus could be called the Temple of Goddammit Janus, really. As far as Ragnell's concerned, this result is not really all that surprising? There are lots of humans who flip out after losing what's most important to them and decide that since *their* life sucks, that means there's no meaning in anything ever and the only solution is mass destruction. This is but one of many reasons why Ragnell doesn't like humans. They're so damned arrogant.
    
    On the plus side, Janus is dead. And if it turns out he's not, well, he'll be a fine trial for the humans who *aren't* fucking stupid and arrogant and self-absorbed to overcome.
    
    Case in point.
    
    Gwen is a person of interest to Ragnell, being one of the few she believes might actually have the strength to overcome the tragedies of the world. But this might be a bad one for her; after all, she seemed to care a lot about Janus. So when Gwen climbs up the rock in the middle of the Aveh Desert, Ragnell stalks along after her, climbing up without signaling her presence. And so:
    
    "What is?" comes Ragnell's voice directly behind Gwen as she scours the desert through her binoculars. Where did Ragnell come from? Some questions are better off not asked.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "GAUGH!"

    It's probably a testament to how focused Gwen is that Ragnell has such a wonderful setup for choosing the *best* moment to announce her presence to Gwen. And that's... not when she finds Gwen, or when Gwen scales the rock, or even when Gwen gets to the very top.

    Nope, when Gwen is right there, at the very top of the outcropping of stone, that's when Ragnell announces herself, causing Gwen to jerk away out of instinct, as one is inclined to do.

    And of course, Gwen flails, narrowly keeping herself from taking a tumble back down that outcropping of rock.

    Resting a hand over her chest, Gwen scoots her body over in an angle to better see the seraph. "D-don't scare me like that, Ragnell! You almost had me fall right off!"

    Of, right. Ragnell asked a question, didn't she? Gwen doesn't hesitate. "Lookin' for Dario and Romero. Janus's two henchmen. It's a long shot, but... it's not like they got teleported off to Lunar or somethin'. Been lookin' all over." She laughs, sheepishly, her left hand rubbing the back of her neck. "I know it seems real silly, lookin' for two people in a desert, but even if it's somethin' that indicates that neither of them made it, I could at least give 'em a proper burial."

    Like she didn't, for Janus. But that was a different matter. "... You doin' okay, Ragnell?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    It's okay, Gwen. Even if you *had* started to go over, Ragnell would have grabbed you. You can know this because Ragnell *does* grab you, if by the collar of your shirt, and drags you back to solid ground. Just in case.
    
    "Wouldn't be me if I didn't scare you humans shitless every so often," she replies, grinning. "You remember how we met, right?" Although technically taht wasn't so much 'scaring' as just 'mean-spirited pranking.' SAme difference.
    
    "Ah," she replies when Gwen explains what she's doing. "That Janus fellow didn't think much o' them, did he? He dragged 'em along without tellin' 'em what he was about, then discarded them at the end so he could go on his nihilism bender."
    
    A blink at the question. "Me? Why wouldn't I be okay? Wasn't *my* friend who tried eatin' an energy field bigger'n his own head, an' it wasn't my friend who unleashed an ancient evil on the world because he can't deal with loss."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Wh- uh? H-hey-!"

    And Ragnell certainly does, with Gwen appropriately fumbling about and flailing as they descend back down, which is a trip that takes less time than getting up, thankfully. Outside of this, there's little resistance, with Gwen even grasping about for a better hold as they made their way down.

    She could have easily made any stronger protests known with that ARM of hers.

    But she wouldn't. Ragnell would have seen solid evidence of her reluctance just a few days ago.

     "Eheh, yeah, it was kinda hard t'forget, n' all," Gwen finally states, as her boots touch on the sandy soil below. "Nearly overloaded my dang ARM at th'time. Auntie Frea's still tryin' to wrap her brain over the specifics, even when I gave her your theory." Probably especially so. It's hard for a secret Veruni spy/scientist to fully accept and understand the very existence of Seraphs, on some level. Gwen, for the most part, simply smiles. "Well worth it, in my opinion."

    "..." The sullen expression returns on Gwen's face on the subject of Dario and Romero, her breath coming out in a soft huff of air. "I guess, when you're drownin', you grab whatever you can to stay afloat. I think I told you before, but Janus wasn't always like this. But then again, the same went for me."

    With the sun beginning to dip below the horizon, the air began its descent in temperature, signaling the need for a fire. Gwen begins the process of unloading wood from the back of her wagon, collecting them in a tidy ring. "How does the sayin' go? Any port in a storm? I just... don't think they should have to play for it like this."

    At Ragnell's reaction, Gwen looks up from where she currently kneels over the assembled wood. "Well, yeah. All that energy streamin' through. I know it wasn't Malevolence, but that couldn't have felt great if you were a Seraph." A spark from her ARM summons a whiff of smoke from the bundle, then a small but growing flame, throwing shadows against the backdrop of the oasis.

    "... I guess I'm still tryin' to wrap my mind around it. I mean, it happened, but my mind just can't... get around it. The way he looked at me. I took his dream away from him, Ragnell. That probably felt even worse t'him than if I tried t'kill him, at that point."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    "Mm, yeah. You did mention that. But Janus wasn't lookin' to stay afloat, was he? No, he wanted to sink an' drag the world down with 'im to drown," Ragnell says knowingly. Gwen's line about stealing his dream earns her a snort. "His dream? *Please*. That was no dream. He jus' wanted power enough to make the whole world hurt like he had. That was a nightmare, an' one he wanted to shove onto everyone around him.
    
    "Now, don't get me wrong," Ragnell adds, because she just knows Gwen will at least try to defend him. "It's not like I don't get how losin' someone you love can mess you up. But--how to put this? He had no character. He thinks since he suffered, the whole world has to feel his pain. Lots o' humans are like that. Never stops gettin' insufferable. An' you? You're tryin' to make yourself responsible because goddess only knows why." She shakes her head. "He took advantage o' your kindness. That's the long an' short of it. You can be sad about it if you want, but you aren't to blame. He was a grown-ass man, an' grown-ups own their decisions, includin' the fallout for 'em. If instead he wants to blame you 'cuz you wouldn't let him summon an ancient evil into this world, that's his fuckin' problem."
    
    But that's Janus, and then there's Darius and Romero. To them, Ragnell shrugs. "*Their* great sin was followin' a man without questionin' what it is he was really out to do. If you wanna do kindly by 'em, that's your business. I ain't tellin' ya to stop lookin' for 'em."
    
    The Malice. "Ah, that. Yeah, 'm' fine. It didn't feel great, but I 'spect it didn't feel any better for you. Least this I didn't have an allergy to, so t' speak." Another shrug. "Malevolence is... special, when it comes to us Seraphim. That shit, Malice, is bad news, but it's not the same."
    
    Hm, she muses at the end of all that. Did I always ramble this much?

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Ragnell talks, and Gwen, seeming to understand the rarity of moments like these, listens, her blue-grey eyes taking in the Seraph's words for what they are.

    A true friend, in the end, in spite of the wealth of age and experience between them.

    "Yeah. That's the long n' short of it, really." Gwen's hand travels, out of habit, in order to feel for that pendant, coming away empty. "When he was young, what he wanted the most was to have his name be known. To be a famous hero, like Nightburn Acklund. Maybe even better than that. Just, like, the sorta things kids dream 'bout, I guess. The world seems so endless, so full of possibilities, that it was never a question of whether or not you'd be able to do it, but whether you decided to put your mind to it. I didn't really think about those things at the time, so bein' around a kid like that was just... it was like bein' next to a fire. He wasn't the only one, though, Keziah, well. Ragnell, I bet if you saw a picture of her, you'd probably understand why a lot of us felt something 'bout her. If Janus was a fire, she was the sun. The sort of lady who would've definitely made something of herself, if she hadn't died."

    And then, the sun died, and the fire cooled to bitter cinders. And she...? "I 'spose if I had lived this long on my own, I probably would've ended up one of his goons, n' just as blind to the truth. Instead, I found my own possibility. Just as he found his callin' in a lack of one." Using a stick, she adjusts the pile, sending a flare of sparks into the sky above. "I suppose that's as good a grave as any. To be at the mercy of someone who still gave a damn 'bout you in spite of everything, and finding them and their friends strong enough to put to rest every destructive impulse you had."

    And Dario and Romero, well. If they are out there, Gwen has at least tried these last few days to look for signs of them. And she'll keep trying, every time she passes this area.

    "I suppose there's the whole part 'bout of releasing whatever... that stuff was. It's real curious, y'know? Somethin' so powerful and hoppin' angry bein' sealed away right on Filgaia, but it turns out to be somethin' so old that no one seems to know 'bout it. Auntie Frea couldn't get me any details beyond 'it was somethin' she heard'." She pauses, mulling it over. "Has anythin' 'bout this rang any bells since we last talked about this, Ragnell? I mean, that Wizzro guy knew what Seraphs were, so that demonstrates a few things there. I don't know how Lunar came t'be, or how Seraphs happened, but this servant was old enough to at least know they existed. N' the timing was such that Janus had t'have met him on Lunar. But the temple n' everything is here."

    And there was the Malice. Gwen laughs. "Yeah, it wasn't a cakewalk, that's f'sure. But I think... well, I don't believe in fate, but I think, if I had that pendant, I should at least try t'make sure this all doesn't come t'pass, right? I'm the perfect one to do that, but only because of all the people I know." She gives Ragnell a direct look, a soft gratitude in her eyes. "... including you."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    Ragnell considers a joke about Keziah being super-hot. She opts to hold back, for once. She knows when things are and aren't proper to say, after all; she just generally doesn't care. She settles next to Gwen's fire with her, hunkering down with legs folded. "...I can just imagine," she says instead. "Some folks just don't ever get the chance to reach their full potential in life."
    
    She rests her chin on one hand, her elbow on her knee. It's funny, isn't it? How many possibilities there are in life. How life still only takes one path in the end. How people, human and Seraphim and beyond, just have to deal with how things turn out. If Gwen's satisfied with how things have turned out, then it looks like she'll be fine going forward.
    
    "Yeah. I heard that name, Ganon-whatever, once back on Lunar," she replies, rubbing her chin. "A story some insufferable douchebag told me. Supposedly he'd found a tome at the grave o' the Dragonmaster Alex that detailed some o' his life experiences, including this one time with the Goddess where she warned him o' a man of that very name. From the way he told it, it sounded like she was so frightened of Ganondork she couldn't bear to speak of it in any detail. If Althena's in possession of the Demon King's 'light,' whatever that's supposed to mean, then there might be somethin' to it."
    
    She shakes her head. "But that's not a lot to go on. The Goddess Althena who's currently active, I don't actually think is the real Goddess--or if she is, there's something deeply wrong with her. Either way, I don't think it'd be a good idea to go to her about this light. ...You know. Whenever we end up on Lunar again." She shrugs. Because obviously they will, sooner or later.
    
    That soft look in Gwen's eyes gets her a crooked smile. Ragnell tilts the brim of her hat down. "Aw, shucks. You'll make me blush, Gwen." A beat. "I'm glad t' hear it, though. You've gotten strong."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    It's a soft, sad sort of peace that Gwen's found herself with, evident in her general mood, and how willing she is to still listen to Ragnell. An end to an impossible dream, but not one she hadn't imagined going badly.

    And yet, she's still here, the worst having come to pass.

    Ragnell was right, in a way; Gwen can't take responsibility for a man so determined to burn away his rage at the expense of the world.

    As Ragnell settles near her, something in Gwen's shoulders relaxes, her body submitting to the realization that she was lonely, in spite of Gulliver's constant companionship.

    "You did, huh? So that's where you think his 'light' is?" Gwen ponders this over, rubbing her neck. "I never thought about it, but if someone was gonna ensure this Ganon guy didn't come back, hiding at least one part of himself on another world is definitely th'way to do it. Maybe Ganon's influence was involved in how our worlds started gettin' a lot closer? Like, the back n' forth. I ain't sayin' it was the only thing, but I doubt, if Ganon's someplace and conscious of all this, that he wasn't unhappy 'bout these turn of events." It was a good thing Frea vaguely knew about this Ganon, even if no one else seemed to know.

    Then, Ragnell casually proceeds to drop a giant bombshell, causing the courier to look at her with wide, confused eyes. "Y'mean there's, uh, more than one? N' she's not a real goddess?"

    Gwen can just imagine the smug smirk on her auntie's face. "I guess I just kinda took it all on everyone's word, now that I think 'bout it. Lunar seemed so fantastic, with its magic, and plants, and *everything*, that the idea that there could be any deity just seemed like it had t'be true." Gwen's eyebrows finally settle from their raised, shocked position. "I'll have t'figure out if I should tell Hiro n' the others or not. I mean, if I don't tell 'em, it wouldn't be lyin', since it's not like I'd know either way, right? N' it's been such a drivin' force for them. It's gotta count for somethin'." She chuckles. "I bet Lucia'd know when she sees her. N' I can be on the defensive n' make sure everyone's okay!"

    ........ did gwen just go through several emotions in the span of a few minutes- "... But yeah, I'll keep that in mind. From what it sounds like, Althena may not be a whole lotta help concernin' something that's happening on either way. She's got her own problems, just like we do."

    "But we can figure that all out in time." Gwen shifts, then stands up, making a beeline for the wagon. "I'm kinda glad you came t'check in on me when you did. Probably would've been up there still, freezin' my ass off. Meanwhile, Hiro's still healin' up, and I still need t'check in on Talia, Lydia, n' a lot of others. I owe them all so much that I can't sit idle for very long. But that's for another day." A glint of glass, and Gwen produces a bottle of amber liquid, its colors set aglow.

    "The night's still pretty long, n' I'd be a bad host if I don't use this as an excu- ER, if I didn't drink to the fact that the world's still here, and alla us in it." Her grin is wide. "How 'bout we drink? For all our losses n' gains, n' for all the possibilities the future may bring us all. What'd'ya say?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

    "It's possible, in any case. Only other 'goddess' 'round these parts was Mother, an' she didn't exactly seem like the bequeathin'-unto-after-defeatin'-a-great-evil type," Ragnell points out. "But who knows? Just 'cuz we don't know anyone else doesn't mean no one else is out there." That said, Gwen raises a fine point in that if you really, really don't want a guy resurrected, hiding a piece of him on another world is the way to go. "Also possible," she says, "but we got no evidence o' that one way or another. That's just a hypothesis for now. Either way, I think our big worry is Ganondork gettin' a new body. If his old one was cut into pieces and thrown into the sea or whatever Wizz Kid was sayin'," actually it was Janus--oh never mind, "then I bet he's real keen on gettin' himself a new flesh shell, 'specially now that Janus didn't work out. An' there's no lack o' folks who'll trade everything they have an' are for a taste o' power."
    
    More than one? Ragnell shrugs. "It's not so much there's more'n one, as the one awake might be a fake. Or she could be the real deal, but under the control of a dark power. Or maybe she's gone corrupt an' mad somehow, not unlike Mother. Don't know for certain. I jus' know she's not right. Anyway, Hiro an' the others have an inklin', I think. But you know Lucia. She won't hear nothin' else. I'm thinking once we finally get her ass to Althena, she'll be able to say for certain one way or another, an' we'll go from there."
    
    Gwen cites all the other people she needs to look in on. Ragnell nods once, then smirks as she brings out the liquor. "I'll drink t' that," she says, reaching out for the bottle. "So, speakin' o' possibilities for the future, have you nosed around Krosse any lately, Miz Courier?"
    
    And so the night goes on...