2019-03-31: I Wish I Were A Bird
- Log: I Wish I Were A Bird
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Fei Fong Wong, Elhaym Van Houten
- Where: Besaid Island
- Date: 31st March 2019
- Summary: Riesenlied and Noeline take a scene chocobo ride and meet Fei and Elly.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
A couple of days ago, the Fereshte crash-landed in the ocean. It landed in dark waters somewhere between Besaid and Kilika, but found the assistance of the Carnot, a group of friendly Al Bhed chocobo breeders who then helped them get back on their feet; it's something of a great turn of luck given that they weren't in the greatest of shapes after the battle at the Fallen Sanctuary and the ensuing struggle with Odessa--
Which Riesenlied wasn't a part of, on account of collapsing and disappearing within the Sanctuary at the apex of the battle with K.K. and Ragnell.
A lot of things have happened, and now...
The Carnot's crew has pointed Besaid Island out to the Outreach to rest, recuperate and gather their surroundings. Riesenlied has professed a desire to Noeline to go out and see by the time she's awoken, weakened from the greatest channeling of the Ley she has done yet since the time of the Photosphere...
But the beautiful sights of the oceanic island are second to none, and it would help. Physically, spiritually and emotionally...
...
And they have a new friend too, since wheelchairs look a little suspicious in Spira.
"Kweeeh," croons a fluffy white chocobo of slightly smaller size as she does a very gentle trot for her two riders. She seems to have taken quite well to the cucco queen, and Riesenlied in turn.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
For Noeline, the whole mess of Odessa's unveiling and the battle at the Fallen Sanctuary is something of a frustration and a wound on her pride, even before you start to get into the territory of managing to sort out her thoughts around the new group's proclamation - something the Crimson Noble hasn't really found time to do given everything that happened.
Instead, when Riesenlied vanished, instinct sent Noeline after her, diving down into the ruins of the Sanctuary and trusting in her ring to guide her to its twin. Most of what happened afterwards is a blur: a wave of empathic power, followed by lurching movement and a spike of overwhelming relief - and then a great deal of water and noise and a little bit of muddled deja vu as the Fereshte touched down yet again.
In the days since, she's been looking after Riesenlied and recuperating herself as the ship - minus the air part - limps its way to the coastline. Quite a lot of that time has been spent trying to learn about where they've ended up; she's aware enough that they're in Lunar, but the how and the why still rather elude her given her rather tumultuous arrival and the way her laser focus has tended to swing right back to Riesenlied rather quickly.
Still, she's managed to set her worries aside for the time being, mostly because she's getting a crash course on how on earth to handle the reins of a chocobo, squinting almost comically to herself as she nudges it around a corner of the beachside path. Having left her armor aside thanks to the heat, she's dressed herself in a light robe styled after the Fereshte nomads, a darker shade that contrasts with Riese.
The other reason she can leave her thoughts behind is evident whenever she looks up around them, wonder playing across her face. Noeline might be very well travelled, but as of late she's been learning there's still plenty of things that can surprise her, and from the look on her face this might be thing number one. "... I didn't think places this green still existed," she admits with a puff of air, and a fond look to her partner.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
It's been a couple days. Fei has been struggling with his identity as usual, but also...what he saw. What he felt, a terrifying moment of fury, pain, sorrow, and anger that just took him over for an instant--more strangely visceral than much he'd felt since Lacan. But it was brief. And it's over. And even that quails in comparision to his present concern--Elly's well-being. Something had happened to her that day that seemed to have cause a serious injury. Citan seemed to have some kind of plan to help, though, and that's honestly a load off his mind even if he's vague on the details. Doc knows what he's doing and he doesn't know many people he'd trust more with Elly's care than him, anyone really.
Fei figured a peaceful location would be best to take Elly to for that recovery since honestly sticking around Luca is just too busy and the other place is full of like sick, dead, and homeless people so like--this is the place he's chosen. He figures it'd be good exercise, a possibility to do some practice, and maybe just try to calm their minds.
The ferry arrives and Fei looks towards the Fereshte with a non-plussed expression on his face.
"Guess they got sent here too. WAnt to check in?"
He guides Elly that-a-ways.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly is in what looks more or less like normal attire but is pretty obviously her old undershirt from Filgaia. She has not been able to change into anything fancier than that beyond some capri-cut pants which (secretly) she is finding kind of pretty awesome if only by contrast to the nylons she has spent the last six years in, 900+ of the time.
"... Fei... are they riding... a... is that really..."
Elly forgets herself. She forgets the quivering clumsiness in her body.
Is this the power of...
cucco?
Holding Fei's hand, though, she walks down closer. "... Alright, I think it's some different sort of bird. That gave me a little bit of a fright..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied spent a great deal of time in tears.
She's lost another parent in K.K., as far as she knows. She's lost a close friend she could well call sister in Ragnell, the way they've both taught and instructed her through her formative days in Ignas to find her own path.
But Noeline is there.
Even as she fell into the Ley, in the last moments before they were teleported away, their hands held as she trusts their Rings to both find them to each other.
"Not even Aquvy was described like this..." Riesenlied murmurs, sounding a bit -- sleepy, as she has been the last few days, is perhaps the best way to put it.
Maybe it's the distance from the Ley. Maybe it's the muted connection to the Guardians, like the last time they were in Lunar. Or maybe it's all the fatigue and sorrow from her loss...
But right now?
Riding at a comfortable pace on a very lovely and friendly chocobo on shorelines greener than she can even imagine, her hands lovingly placed on Noeline's shoulder as she lets her take the reins...
Well, it's incredibly romantic, and she looks very happy and rose-cheeked about it.
"Oh, isn't that...?" Riesenlied speaks up very softly. "Moccy, take us there, if you would please...?"
The aptly called Moccy, no relation to Loccy (??) at all, lets out a cute little 'kweh' and looks up to Noeline, before letting the Crimson Noble guide her in the direction of Fei and Elly.
"Fei, Elly..." she calls out when they're close. "I'm so glad to find you two here... we've just really started to get our bearings together."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline might be trying a little too hard to impress and distract Riesenlied from her worries in her attempts to lead the chocobo around - because honestly, the bird seems to know what it's doing much more than Noeline does, and it dutifully follows Riesenlied's orders without fuss or complaint.
It gives the Crimson Noble a chance to lean backwards a little, letting herself nudge a little against Riesenlied's touch in a way that is both a quiet indulgence and a marked relief. "Aquvy doesn't begin to compare," she readily admits with a shake of her head. "The colours are a little muted, whether due to Filgaia's natural state or so much in the way of towns and cities around them. Out here, it is like the world is unfiltered. It's remarkable," she huffs quietly.
She spares Riesenlied a tiny, careful look - always the more concerned of the two when it comes to her partner's state - but shakes it away to focus on the pair ahead of them. Fei-- it's hard to tell how the man is doing, really. As far as Noeline is concerned, he can bounce back from the most extraordinary things. Elly looks a little more haggard, and some instinct makes Noeline pause before she nods, deciding that the redhead is at least in the best possible place at Fei's side.
"... you look like crap," she grins toothily at Fei as they get closer, knowing that you could just as easily apply that term to the two of them as well. The sigh is somewhat theatrical, but it's relieved as well. "Welcome to-- here."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"hm... It looks familiar though. I think I've seen a bigger version of it somewhere before? Though a different color..." Fei murmurs.
Fei isn't really shedding any tears about K.K or even Ragnell, but it wasn't exactly a great feel. He's just had other more direct concerns. It's tempting to try and find a way to just 'end the thing' but, well, you know how that goes.
"Riesenlied." Fei says, "Noeline." He smiles faintly. "I'm glad to see you both. No really, it is a relief... even as I imagine it's inconvenient" He laughs a bit. "Sorry, just....we showed up here with no warning. I mean, aside from that long speech. And uh... I mean, I'm not sure why they sent us here but..."
He trails off as he looks towardS Noeline. "Well, fair." He adds to her.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly smiles a little wanly at what Noeline says, but she doesn't dispute it. She raises a hand to wave, but it shakes enough that she lowers it, hooking her thumb in the decorative belt loop on the pants and saying as she stays near Fei, "I'm glad that you areboth safe... and, you have a new friend, too."
She takes a deep breath and lets it out.
"Hello," she says to Moccy as the bird comes closer. "- Oh! I recognize this smell..."
Smells like chocobos...??
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is trying her hardest, really. Not that she ever isn't, and often times she's overdoing it which is the whole joke in the first place, but... she does really want to give it her all to make Noeline have to worry about her less. "One day I'll see those lands, green or not... and I'll do it with you," Riesenlied says, quasi-sleepily.
She nods towards Fei in turn as he greets them; she nods a few times and says, "I... I think I've missed quite a lot. I heard the speech from the other members of the Outreach, but my last waking memory was..."
A pause. "Falling... into the Sanctuary, after the Ley opened in full beneath me."
She seems okay now, at least, not having actually been dragged through the full Ley Line of the world and end up on the other side with Ley Poisoning.
Elly gets her attention, though, as she flushes brighter to say, "Yes...! We were helped by some very kind folk who are-- chocobo breeders. They're like cuccos... but... not?"
Riesenlied seems to still have a cucco-centric mindset and it's taking her a bit to register this.
Moccy lets out a little 'kweh~!' of happiness and does a little wing-dance for the both of them. MP might be restored?
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline chuckles back at Fei with a nod of her head. "The situation is inconvenient, not you. And I think at this point we all have a pretty good excuse to be in some unusual places," she adds with an amused sigh as she shakes her head. "I can only assume the idea was to have us out of the way in the meantime... or at least, that's all I've got to go off of right now," she adds with an amused sigh.
She glances between the two, frowning a little as she tries to pick out just how long they've been here and the extent of Elly's injuries. If she's right... "We have space on board the Fereshte. If you need a place to sleep, we can at /least/ provide that much. Our medical supplies are-- well, as battered as they always are, but I'm sure we can find some to spare," she adds, glancing at Riesenlied as if her partner wouldn't immediately okay that.
That glance turns fond as Noeline offers Riese a warm and gentle touch in her hair, letting out an amused sigh. Their surroundings have certainly helped dent Noeline's worry a lot, and the outing especially so - the Crimson Noble is simply the sort to fuss, in the end. "Riese was found thrown clear of the Fereshte and onto their ship," she explains with an amused laugh. "Exactly how you managed to land so neatly in the middle of them, I don't think I'll ever know. They nearly tried to worship you at first," she adds, putting on a very fakely glum expression.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei laughs, "Well, I mean. It was a pretty long speech and I was kind of...not listening to it? I mean I noticed it because his face was on the soup but I just sort of imagined I was hallucinating that part so I was ignoring it."
He seems to handle this well enough and doesn't comment on it further. "Though, er, you fell into the...Sanctuary? Well, mm, I wonder if that means they..."
He trails off before shaking his hea.d "Not important right now. And um--chocobo breeders. Of course."
He frowns thoughtfully. "That makes sense."
He looks to Elly. "What do you think? I know we planned a session today but I don't think cute birds will hurt."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"I see," Elly says, as Riesenlied explains chocobos. She looks at Moccy as Moccy goes 'kweh' -
- Elly feels her soul calm...
- EP at maximum.
She reaches up, tentatively - asking as she does, "Will Moccy mind if I --?"
To Noeline, she says, "I think that that would be nice... I'm astonished the entire vessel came with you, but it's lovely to know. You should be careful with it, though, especially if you're travelilng near the sea..." Her lips purse for a moment, though, to hear that other people have ships. Maybe it's not so bad as all that, then.
"... Well, we should mix it up a little, shouldn't we?" Elly says to Fei. "If you think it's alright..."
Elly clasps her hands together, slowly. "Are chocobos easy to ride? I remember horses were rather difficult..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied doesn't look like she's really had the chance or the energy to really digest Odessa and the declaration; several parts of her probably understand the dark irony of seeking a new world through blood...
"Perhaps... or perhaps there was something someone wanted us to see here, in this new land..." Riesenlied whispers. "I..."
She trembles for a moment further, breathing out as she nods and expresses to Elly, "Yes... the Fereshte is always open to you. It have to say it's calming to know where it is, unlike the last time we arrived from the Pleasing Gardens..."
She looks to Fei, biting her lip. "It was after you left me. I tried my hardest to channel the Ley to cleanse it from Malevolence... but..."
A pause. "Um-- well, everything that happened..." she lowers her head. She jitters for a moment and sucks her breath in.
Elly provides the perfect distraction again.
Moccy lets out a charming little noise and nuzzles her head up to Elly's hand gently, seeming to be very friendly. "It's a bit different than horses, but I think if you find one with a mild, friendly temperament like Moccy..."
She might be a bit biased because animals seem to just Like her, but...
"Yes-- ehe... Noeline, I'm embarrassed," she whines as Noeline teases her about landing in the middle of chocobos. "We were rescued by some chocobo breeders on a ship called the Carnot. They explained that they're Al Bhed... we explained that we knew Prissa, and things seemed to work out from there."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's expression darkens briefly at Fei's words; her frown is almost exasperated as she shakes her head. "... the speech was... nonsense." She looks like she has more to say, especially because it's rare for her to be quite that blunt - but she only shakes her head afterwards, preferring to put the subject out of mind for the time being. It's remarkably easy, given the warmth in the air and the beauty around them, and her next breath is a little lighter for it.
Spurring the bird forwards another step, she encourages the creature down to meet Elly's hand. "Believe me," she huffs pleasantly. "I'm just as astonished as you, and rather grateful. You should know by now that trying to be careful with the Fereshte is just asking it to crash land somewhere new. It seems to like us being rough with it," the Crimson Notble adds, a smile playing on her lips. "To be honest, this one's quite tame - though I wonder if it's passenger has something to do with that."
Riesenlied gets a quiet nod, Noeline's touch still fussing gently and persistently over her as she checks her partner is secure atop the chocobo. "If it weren't for Prissa, we might have been in a rather rougher position. Some of them did not speak the same language... but they all seemed happy to help, in the end," she adds, obviously a little awed at how easily they were accepted.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I don't know," Fei says. "I wouldn't say it was nonsense, exactly. The other kingdoms and noble families didn't help, or at least didn't help much. We did do the heavy lifting... But." He shakes his head. "That doesn't mean I believe he is being honest, just 'cause he's not lying. Learned that plenty over these past few weeks." He glances to Riesenlied for a moment. "As have we all."
He tilts his head. "Al...Bhed? Huh. Guess they're a friendly sort." He isn't going to worry about that right now though, not when his dear friend Riesenlied and his other good friend, the Crimson Notable Noeline, is here.
"I--Prissa?" Fei asks, a bit lamely. "Well, huh--I didn't know...she was Al Bhed. Well, that works!"
Maybe he'll say he knows Prissa too, even though he doesn't really. He nods to Elly, "Of course." He says, smiling, sensing the calming effect of Moccy. "Going to have to pet a chocobo too myself."
He looks towards Riesenlied, frowning as she says what happeed to her. "Looks like we've all had a rough time. Gonig to appreciate the breather."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly's hand trembles as the bird touches it. Her fingers curl into the soft plumage and the softer skin beneath and she scratches gently. It's clumsy. She puts her other hand on the bird's neck, to balance herself. She breathes with some difficulty.
"Al Bhed? That's a peculiar name," Elly says, "but I suppose I have no room to speak about something like that..." Why did it strike me oddly, Elly wonders.
Back to Noeline, she says, "I wonder... What did their language sound like?"
Who knows?
She glances at Fei, blinks once, but hey, Fei knows her, and that's cool. She isn't jealous. A mysterious force makes her shift topics. "Come and pet her," Elly tells him, smoothing a hand over the soft white neck feathers. "They're certainly large."
To Riesenlied, she asks, "Do you think I could try to ride her? I'm... Well, I have to do some... mmm." She shifts her gaze to the side, and then decides to kind-of-lie to a mother, proving, perhaps, her depravity: "I have to practice a lot of physical things... Fei is helping me, but this would be different from doing the horse stance."
A WHILE BACK
Elly lays on the soft ground, arm smeared, again, with grass. It's the sixth time. She doesn't try to get up this time. She turns her face away and she curls up and she tries to stay quiet, already half thinking of the excuse she can make.
Fei crouches down near her. He rubs her shoulder.
"Hey," he says. "We can take a break, if you need it."
Elly ends up crying again, but before she really realizes it, she's been drawn up and held close.
"Don't worry about it," Fei says: "Just gotta keep trying, right?"
NOW
"I'm a little tired," Elly says, eyes on the ground, "of the horse stance, but it's supposed to be good for engaging your core muscles..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
First things first: Riesenlied nods as Elly asks if she could ride her, and she looks towards Noeline, then Moccy as the bird agreeably stoops down to sit on the ground and let Riesenlied and Noeline off (unless Noeline would rather guide Elly)...
But first she spreads what looks like a nice checkered picnic mat on the ground, so she can kind of--
--elbow-scooch herself to a comfortable seated position, since Walking is still a sometimes food for Riesenlied these days, and even then, only with copious amounts of Jacqueline's drugs.
"Maybe... we can be physical therapy friends?" Riesenlied offers to Elly, with some concern. "I've been working a lot on posture and balance ever since the Photosphere..." She smiles to Noeline. "A lot with Noeline's help."
She kind of finally addresses the elephant in the room, biting her lip.
"I often... fear and keep the kind of words I use, even back when we were the Ebony Wings in check. To hear Vinsfeld's speech feels... frighteningly like stepping over that line to me."
She bites her lip.
"Because the whole truth is more complicated than that. Because there are corrupt nobles, and complacent kingdoms. But there are also those that dedicate all their resources to running the day-to-day needs of others..."
She lulls her head, looking tired.
"And to use those convenient half-truths to inspire the masses..." she hesitates as she sucks in a quiet, shallow breath.
Then perks up as she stammers, "I've-- I've been learning a bit of Al Bhed," as she nervously changes the topic herself. "Do you want to hear...? It's--"
<Ruf yna oui ajanouha...!> she expresses. <E fecr e fyc y pent!>
A pause. "I don't know what that last one means but Janey's been wanting me to say it..."
Though, as she speaks, Moccy does avail herself for Elly to climb on. Horses definitely don't duck to an easier height to mount, so this one's really a good girl...!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline lets out a bit of a breath, drawing a hand back through her hair. She doesn't look upset at Fei's comments on the speech - she is clearly paying attention to them, even - but she seems to prefer to leave her thoughts to herself, at least until Riesenlied pipes up. "You have never come close to the sort of lines Vinsfeld did in a single speech," she grumbles defensively, folding her arms as she does so. "It is tremendously short-sighted. More war is not going to fix anything long-term."
She lets out an aggreived breath, then shakes her head again as she slips off of Moccy's back, immediately turning to help Riesenlied down from her perch atop the bird to let Fei and Elly take their place. "Just like that," she chuckles towards Elly as Riesenlied speaks Al Bhed - though the quiet laugh perhaps suggests that she's well aware of Janey's joke.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Wow," Fei says to Riesenlied, smiling. "You must be good at it because I have no idea what you're saying." It's such a tired hapless smile on his face. He's kind of understanding that he might just have to go with the flow sometimes...even if that flow includes some random bouts of mega violence. He just can't keep fretting about himself. Elly needs him right now.
He rubs her arm with her hand. "It's okay. The toughest part of a workout is balance, especially when it's recovery. Literal balance, but a methodological balance too. Slow and steady, right? Not a sprint." He smiles. "Last thing we want is to injure ourselves more by trying to rush it."
He smiles. "Hey that's a good point, Riese. Do you want to come in too for this? I think it'll even help your physiology to some extent...Since humans and hyadeans arne't so different biologically speaking anyway apparently."
Enough for Ida to become Hyadean (half) anyway.
He nods once to Riesenlied. "Seems like you've got a good handle on it. Nice to just agree without any qualifiers, heh."