2019-04-11: A Million Memories
- Log: A Million Memories
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Marivel Armitage
- Where: Besaid
- Date: 11th April 2019
- Summary: Riesenlied and Noeline have returned to Besaid to recover after the attack. But they have a night-time visitor!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The Fereshte is back in Besaid. This is because of a couple of reasons:
1) Noeline probably rationed out that Besaid is much more quiet and peaceful and after what they've just been exposed to, it would be useful to have some time to rest away from the bustle of a big city, complete with all the Drifters and Warrior Monks and Crusaders and everything else.
2) Besaid has a lower concentration of pyreflies, as a smaller place -- and something that would be less bothersome and noisy while Riesenlied was still getting used to them.
3) And thirdly, they've been acting as something of a supply ship between Besaid, Kilika and Luca anyway, so they may as well help with the transfer of goods and materials given Kilika was freshly hit by Sin and that's what the Outreach does.
The sun has set as the Fereshte moors over the docks in Besaid, and Riesenlied looks terribly sleepy as she droops her head very gently, seated on her wheelchair. The night sky is clear -- clearer than any vista they could probably imagine in Filgaia, lit in a soft blue hue as is the Blue Star's wont.
It's pretty romantic...
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
True enough, Noeline was... rather eager to get out of Luca for the time being. Not that she doesn't like the city - quite the opposite, in fact, given her love of bustling spaces and people watching and the chance to try every local speciality she can get her hands on. But it was busy and crowded and dangerous, and with Riesenlied debilitated by pyreflies, going somewhere less populous to digest everything they'd been told by Lulu seemed a lot more sensible.
Besides, she's fond of joking this trip to Spira is their 'tropical getaway', and she'll be damned if she's not going to try to give herself a chance to enjoy the beauty of the local area, given how wildly and markedly different it is from Filgaia. It's an experience - and even now, even as a member of the Wayside Outreach, Noeline adores experiences.
For Riesenlied's sake, she's dragged a chair up from one of the cabins below out onto the deck of the Fereshte. It lets her sit next to the wheelchair in peaceful silence, tucked in close enough to have an arm and a hand linked with Riesenlied as they watch the night sky. Every so often, she glances over and brushes some errant strands of hair from her partner's face, recognizing that it might not be too long before the other Hyadean is dozing on her arm. (New BB Message (1/19) posted to 'Public' by Tragedienne: Code Updates 4-11)
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
If it's night, Marivel doesn't need to wear any protection. She arrives in full cape getup, though Hob and Nob remain hidden. For the moment. And because it's Marivel, she appears standing on the edge of the ship, one foot swinging forward in a way that should make her tumble over but she maintains her balance as she says, "Hello friends! I had to work yesterday so I did not get to talk very much with thee!" She hops down to ground level and performs an overly dramatic and pointless bow (the only kind of bow she performs) and she makes her way towards the other two before saying, "From the whispers on the wind I see you have been quite the help to Kilika. Tis good to know they can rely on others that are not the Guard."
IT WAS GOING TO BE ROMANTIC MARIVEL. WHY ARE YOU BUSTING IN ON HERE ANYWAY?
"Ah--yes--my 'day' truly starts about now, I hope you're not too sleepy." She smiles fangedly. "I am going positively mad with boredom in this land. Work, work, work and blitzball. Tis all there is! Scarcely any books! One song!" She tilts her head thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you happen to, mm, sing from time to time Noeline?" Her smile grows broader. "I don't know much of Hyadean culture. Or 'Tainted' culture for that matter. Do you have any songs of your own?"
She then looks around and adds, "Gosh, what a peaceful night."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied was pretty enamored with the city too. Perhaps not quite as adventurous or vigorous a towngoer as Noeline, given her health issues and general debilitation with going away for long amounts of time... so she has promised they'll come back soon and give it another fair shake.
But right now, it's terribly nice to just hold onto Noeline's hand and hear the flow of the waves and the rustle of the nearby trees amidst the beach and--
Hello friends!!
Riesenlied jolts herself awake with a very soft yelp, mumbling out a dainty, "I wasn't asleep, promise," as she dabs her mouth with a napkin as she terrifiedly imagines herself having drooled. Oh, the humanity!
She looks to Marivel as she speaks of Kilika and she nods, before she vocalises her boredom and looks back to Noeline. "I sing quite a bit..." she expresses gently. "To our children, to our brethren... our people didn't have many songs, but..."
She looks a bit shyer. "I am named after one such song, actually. The Song of the Giants... the song that brought the giants back to our brethren's home."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline isn't the sort to really doze off easily herself - but even so, she also jolts at the sudden greeting from Marivel, straightening up in her chair as she blinks at the Crimson Noble with rather wide eyes, her hand closing protectively around Riesenlied's. "Well," she blurts in the tone of voice of someone who is filling space while they wait for their brain to spin up to speed, "We do still own a large ship with a lot of cargo space. Whether it's here or Filgaia, we still know how to run relief work."
('Thee?' she adds under her breath in a bit of a sulk.)
She huffs quietly to herself, letting a grin slowly spread on her face. "Well, such is a pious life, I suppose. Filgaia has many things, but a single organized religion is definitely not one of them. Still, I'll take Spira over Meribia any day. Imagine, deciding that song and dance is heretical," she grumbles, still a little sore about that particular bit of scripture.
Her eyebrows go slowly up at Marivel's request, snorting softly under her breath. "Unfortunately, I'm still learning a lot about Hyadean culture myself. In some ways, we all are - if you imagine the distinction between 'Hyadean' and 'Metal Demon', most of the surviving records fall on the latter side. We piece things together, bit by bit... but Riesenlied is certainly the expert out of the two of us, not to mention the better voice," she encourages.
Then she's smirking. "That said, if you need an Arctican bar chant about freezing your limbs off, I might be able to provide. Or November City's imaginatively-titled ditty, 'Beer Beer Beer'. It was a big hit in the Thames."
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"The giants? You'll have to tell me more about these giants." Marivel tells Riesenlied. "Meribia? Is that a place? What it's like? Is it horrid? I haven't ever been in Althena's domain and I hear so much about it, about her, and it's all wonderful guesswork. Tis kind of exciting not knowing even though tis incredibly frustrating."
She makes her way towards Noeline and Riesenlied, getting right in their personal space though not so much as to be TOO uncomfortable. She smiles at Riesenlied and says, "Well, I mean no insult but I sort of expected you to be the singer of the two--if one were to be a singer betwixt the two of you. In fact, I suspected this so much, that tis why I asked."
She looks to Noeline. "I was not a good singer when I started either, so I have some sympathy for your plight. Plight? Hmm." She considers if it's the proper wording but sets aside that thought. "The truth is, I did not enjoy singing at all when I was first dragged and forced, cruelly, to sing lest I suffer social condemnation. Mm--It was a place not unlike the pubs of Filgaia, though the focus was more on the singing than the eating and drinking. Though there was food and drink!"
She sighs faintly though. "And tis cruel to have your pride as a people destroyed. Your culture. Your identity. Tis truly shameful. I wonder if there is something that can be done about that. New culture is important, but old culture is important too."
She clasps her hands together, "How about we try singing the Song of Giants, Noeline? It will be new to me as well."
("Pardon," She says regarding 'thee'. "It means 'you'. That does sound horrible, but tis a new rule from Althena perhaps her mind may yet be changed. With evidence!")
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a terribly red-cheeked expression on Riesenlied, one that's got a fond smile as Noeline talks about crass bar croons and ditties about Beer, Beer, Beer. For all Noeline is the better dresser of the two, she knows that Noeline's also the one that likes to really hit street corners that'd probably gobble her up and spit her back out if she weren't careful -- and she probably isn't careful enough!
"... it's a vulnerable, scary, but wonderful period right now. A lot of our young are going out on their own to learn about the world, and in several years, decades, centuries... we'll be rebuilding a culture of our own, freed from iron doctrine and ambitions of conquest."
Even if it hurts... even if some of their selfsame young still hurt, and do things like blame her -- blame anyone -- for Mother's loss. But they have to go and heal on their own volition. All she can do is lend a hand.
"Your voice is lovely too," Riesenlied does insist bashfully. She does like being whispered into, perhaps...
She leaves the topic of Meribia to Noeline, as she smiles just a bit bashfully as she says, "I did grow up singing, with the Fereshte's traditions, and my own interest... as well as the companions I had."
She looks juuust a bit curious about 'being dragged and forced to sing lest she suffers social condemnation'... unfortunately, she doesn't know what the mystery of kara oke is.
So instead she rolls her wheelchair forward, perhaps thinking that Noeline may want to chat to the Crimson Noble on her own time while she provides background music. Or they can join!
She concentrates... and a string instrument that looks zither-like, made of a plank of gnarled wood, appears in a soft empathic flash at her lap. It's seven-stringed; Marivel in her age may recognise it as a guqin, specifically.
Riesenlied breathes deep, and starts by testing the strings and tuning them gently. Then, an opening passage and... she sings, in Hyadean.
( BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCKEXPXtrEU )
Kuwata... tsunowo vralai...
Tsuriji pufuralekai...
(yeah it's that song because I'm shameless!!)
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"I /would/ have called Meribia a brighter, more peaceful, greener Filgaia. Rolling plains and fields, trees all over the place. It was very pleasant, at least at first," Noeline huffs to herself. "A little backwards compared to Filgaia, certainly - no concept of arms, even gunsmokes - but still pleasant enough to wander around the markets and towns. At least, at first."
"Then you hear that Althena has outlawed song, and dance, and being merry, and being impulsive, and being anything except what the Guard say you should be," she adds, increasingly sour as she lists things off. "Malevolence suffuses the land, so I suppose it was in response to that that they decided no-one should get caught up in feelings, lest they end up as a Hellion. Pff," she adds rather dismissively.
After all, priding herself on her individuality is something Noeline's done for a very long time.
She narrows her eyes at Marivel in a sort of good-natured humour, figuring out her game - 'Get The Other One To Sing' - long before the vampire is done posturing over the reasoning behind it. "It is not that I /cannot/ sing," she grumbles as she allows herself a lightly bashful moment before preening. "I just recognize that Riese is that much better. If I had to say I was anything, it would be the dramatic narrator or the actor more than anything else."
It's a little bit of a leap from 'spy' to 'actor', but it is true that her stories towards the children tend to be rather animated and active, in comparison to Riesenlied's soothing nature.
Still... Riese's talk of their attempts to rebuild their culture do leave Noeline with a thoughtful smile, mirrored in Marivel's wishes. "It will be difficult, certainly. And it is difficult to say whether the Tainted and the rest of the Hyadeans will reconcile, for that matter. But I would like to believe they will, in time."
She hesitates - and then closes her eyes as she recalls the words. Her singing is rougher than Riesenlied's, and lower, and she sometimes trips up on some of the words - but she harmonizes well, after a few moments.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Sacrifice and victory are as close as you and your beloved with one another for so with growth comes loss, change and leaving something precious behind. Tis only natural to regret, yes, but well-earned pride is no sin either." That might explain a lot about Marivel, honestly.
Noeline figures out Marivel's game. Marivel can be quite subtle but generally only when she wants to be and if she has learned anything is that the best way of being subtle is to keep silent. There is that she does not wish to talk about, or is hesitant to talk about, but rarely does Marivel speak on that which she does not wish to talk about. The world is in plenty danger enough as it is without her driving everyone into a fright about threats they cannot yet do anything about and baseless supposition.
"You seem curious so I will tell you about ancient mystical culture." Marivel tells Riesenlied. "Now this--this is a human invention, or maybe the Elw did? Honestly I did not appreciate it enough at the time. But you essentially play music invented from other people in an inclosed space and you have your friends go up one and a time and do their very best to sing along. Tis not important whether you are good or bad, what is important is the spirit behind your voice. Tis a test of bravery more than a test of skill. I, of course, cottoned onto it quickly."
BACK IN THE DAY
Come on, Marivel! I sang! Now it's your turn! It's not so bad! Nooooooooooooooo!
NOW
"Fereshte... Now that I think on it, tis a Baskar village is it not? They accepted you into their home?"
As Riesenlied starts singing, Marivel taps her foot along, closing her eyes. It's the easiest way, beyond books, for her to forget herself for a moment, to relax, to worry not about the secrets in her brain but the life of today.
"She used to love singing." Marivel says. "But they say she sacrificed her great joy to help the people of this world."
"...And there are those that would make such a sacrifice." Marivel adds, being drawn out of the experience by the dire facts. "Mayhaps with hesitation, but unerringly. Still, it is very strange. I wonder if it is even helping."
But then Noeline jumps in and that gets Marivel back on what's important. At this point Marivel joins in on the singing with unfortunate levels of confidence...
...despite the fact she knows none of the words and sometimes has to belt out 'something something!' instead with the confidence of a true troubador. But despite her lack of memorization, Marivel's singing voice is rather good. Just from practice, practice, and practice.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is focused when she sings. In many ways, as much an actress as Noeline makes herself out to be, even just in the role of an orator, someone who projects her aural strength through a room or in this instance, the deck of the ship.
But the song clearly means a lot to her.
It's a song that she has sung since her earliest days.
It's the song that woke the Dragons back in Signe, within the depths of Elru's mountains. The song that saved her, took her back home to the Photosphere after the Fereshte exiled her...
And the song that brought her father to notice her.
She does nod and look curious, more curious than needs to be said as Marivel explains the mysterious karaoke. She's clearly thinking it'd be wonderful to try with the children...
But as a stanza ends, she coughs-- coughs somewhat deeply, before reaching for a nearby cup of water stationed on her chair.
"My father named this song, and named me in turn. A song that brought our giants -- the Dragons -- back to us... because they heard my song and saved me, and took me back home."
And on the topic of the Fereshte:
"It is... it was, a Baskar village. They accepted me, perhaps even knowing who I was. I met someone who was very important to me."
Riesenlied pauses, brushing her hand to her neck -- and there's a glimpse of the Original Artificial Life Medium, still grotesquely embedded into her with a gnarl of wiring and warped flesh and scales. Marivel can tell this was no process a Guardian desired.
An abberation of life.
But it shines, very softly, as she coughs dryly--
"And this Medium was... theirs. On that painful time back to Elru, I summoned all the bravery I had to revisit the remains of the village..."
A pause, as she bristles.
"Even twisted into what I am now... I have a chance to serve the world. By channeling the Ley. By cleansing it, of Malevolence... even if it..."
She realises she's getting a bit sorrowful again... so she instead takes another drink of water and launches to the second stanza.
If she minds Marivel's singing, she certainly doesn't show it -- she seems to be earnestly happy to have people singing in with her, glancing closer to Noeline as she brushes fingertips with her.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"'Ancient Mystical Culture' - singing together in a room to see who can sing the best amongst you," Noeline sums up Marivel's words, her eyebrows going out as she lets out a laugh. "To be honest, that sounds a lot like bar songs to me. Or at least, I would certainly assume that as the evening goes on, the drinks get longer and the laughter gets louder," she grins brightly, but despite her teasing she's obviously interested in this relic from the past.
"Still... from the way you describe it, I still think I'd prefer it to be done outside around a campfire or something, or at least anywhere other than an enclosed room. It sounds like something you'd prefer to share, rather than anything else." As thoughts go, it's quite a upbeat and innocent one by Noeline's standards - but her eyes glitter at the rather sentimental thought mixed into her impishness, far from immune to moments like this. "I bet you could get Cetiri on board, for that matter."
By the end of the song, Noeline is humming the last bars of it; in a way, she recognizes the music more than the words, appreciating the lilt and sound of Riesenlied's voice more than the lyrics themselves. Whether she noticed Marivel's musing to herself in the middle of it, she doesn't say - at the very least, she doesn't push the point. It's certainly not the time to ask probing questions, and she's not the sort to interrupt a bit of nostalgia.
Besides - she is not immune to worry either, and Riesenlied's words nearly cleave close to some fears she's kept tucked tightly away inside of herself, capturing her attention for a few instants. When she first brushes fingertips against Riesenlied, her expression is almost drawn at first, but she draws in and out a breath as they connect and lace their fingers together, letting out a much lighter sigh as she sings along.
... or... tries to, at least. She's humming more and more - someone only ever learnt the first stanza...
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
As the second stanza nears its end...
"Mm, I wouldn't say the goal is to see who sings best..." Marivel says. "There was no judging of that sort, at least from my own personal experience? I could not say if t'were the norm. When you visit you will perform Scare-a-oke with me. I salvaged a machine after the war, you will enjoy it." She says 'the war' but does not clarify it. She knows which one she's talking about even if you don't. "I don't know who this Cetiri is...But I can't help but imagine... She wears the shape... Of a /cat/."
So close Marivel.
Riesenlied shows off her Original Medium, albeit unintentionally. Marivel's cheer vanishes in a moment.
"If I were to rip out the heart of the one who did that to you." Marivel whispers, "And torment their spirit in a soul cage for a millenia, t'would not be enough to match that crime done to you."
It's important to remember sometimes that Marivel, while a friendly monster, is still...a monster and is quite adept at coming up with 'Funishments'! Fun for her, anyway.
"But I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Twisted? You are not twisted. In all of Filgaia, you may be the least twisted person I know."
She has to hum along a bit periodically having long lost track of the words and it's not as if she knows the language. It's honestly probably a bit disorienting if you are an outsider looking in but she's enjoying herself.
"Ah, it is gone now, you're correct." She says as if she had simply plum forgot.
She doesn't mention Siegfried at all. "What is it about this song that allures the Dragons so?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... mmm ... hehe," Riesenlied lets out a brief and warm chuckle as Noeline and Marivel theorise over the nature of Karaoke, or perhaps Scare-a-oke. "I think Janey and Mikaia would really take to it, and... you think so, Cetiri?" A pause, as she looks to Marivel and smiles warmly. "Despite the name, she is a mother in the shape of a dog."
Her smile disappears a little with Marivel's cheer vanishing too. Marivel's anger is surprising to her, and she's a little taken aback.
"It was the Quarter Knight known as Alhazred. Someone who was truly twisted in the field of science. ... I think I... I think I... in my rage, at that time-- I killed him. Or wounded him grievously... I do not know."
She stops as she doubles over with a wracking cough. Thinking about having killed someone, Alhazred or otherwise, still rattles Riesenlied to this day. She focuses just a little more intently on the way Noeline reaches out and laces fingers together, smiling at her humming and feeling lulled to it.
"I'm glad you think so. I still fear, sometimes, with the form forced upon me..."
A pause.
"I do not know myself. Perhaps it was because I was meant to be one of them too. Perhaps it was just sheer coincidence or fate..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline stares for a moment, her eyebrows picking up again. Rather than the Scare-a-oke Machine, the best way to entice the Crimson Notble towards something is to drop little tidbits of information for her to get curious over, and talk of 'the war' is enough for her to leave several guesses just on the tip of her tongue, but with no way to be sure which might be right. Not without taking a look for herself.
Though at least she pauses, and lets out a rough chuckle that threatens to approach full-blown laughter. "She is the Mother of half of the Outreach at this point, at least those parts of it that don't already look up to Riesenlied. She is also one of our finest scientists, and dog-shaped."
"And I absolutely guarantee she would take to it with relish," she notes towards Riesenlied, unable to avoid breaking into a grin. "Especially the more children you pile on her back, singing along with her. Really, when did she become such a soft touch?" she wonders, as she casually throws stones in glass houses.
Her joking is more to distract Riesenlied, in any case - together with the touch of her hand, she's careful to try to take her partner's attention off of Alhazred's fate. She can't hide the expression she shows on her face for just a moment from Marivel, however - it is anger and disgust at the thought of the Quarter Knight, before she abruptly sucks in a breath and pushes the feelings away.
Better to focus on the song, and Marivel's question towards it. And to be honest, if Noeline's Hyadean knowledge is lacking anywhere in specific, it is certainly around the care and relationship of dragons when set against the rest of the Hyadean forces. Not that she's never helped look after them - she's certainly done her part around New Petra - but when it came to history she was usually spending her time looking outwards, rather than in.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Ahh..but it even sounds a bit like 'cat'." Marivel clucks her tongue as to protest a world unfair. "--Oh a dog-shaped mother? Perhaps one day you will also become dog-shaped. Wouldn't that be something." Wounded him grievously? Killed him? Marivel's faint smile suggests she's happy to hear of it, but she doesn't comment it. This is one who is quite willing to be ruthless in defense of Filgaia....she simply has found that ruthlessness is often counterproductive.
But none of that is directed towards Riesenlied. "Show me a soul that feels otherwise and I will show you a liar. We are always our own worst critics for though we may escape the judgement of the law, even the judgement of the guardians, we may never escape the judgement of our own self."
She will leave the offer of assistance in the manner of walking to the associated alt since that's far more adorable than anything Marivel can provide.
"If I t'were to guess, she simply realized being hard is rarely a comfort." Not that Marivel really has room to talk there.
She makes her way to one of the Fereshte's railings and looks out over Besaid. "...I too wonder sometimes if I have become twisted. I suppose that is why I felt compelled to speak in your defense. These latest drifters, they are such kind ones, fretting over a wounded hand over anything to do with my identity. Mayhaps they are just experienced, but..."
She trails off for a moment, looking up at the Blue Star.
"Sometimes I wish I could have won more battles for you. But there will always be more battles. I have yet to feel the sun call out to me. I have yet to walk into the sun. I still wish to live. Love as you two do. She is gone but tis her call I hear, not the sun's." For a vampire the phrase 'walk into the sun' may have a very different meaning. "What is taking you so long, Marivel? I shall be an old maid before you finish your quest."
"You both remind me of her," Marivel says. "Your kindness, your anger at cruelty, yes, but those are such small things. Your love of song, of books. Of a peaceful night like this. That is what I remember, not her will to inspire, or her bravery, or her great acts. I was there and all I wish is for our hands to hold the same manuscript once more, fingers touching. Ever so lightly."
She smiles, looking back to the others. "Don't apologize for it. It's a sorrow I would rather die than give up and I appreciate you lighting my pain's torch once more."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's horns do deflate in the manner of a dog's ears, mysteriously. But that is neither here nor there. If Riesenlied were able to assume the form of a Ley Dog, one day... oh, what a round day that would be!
There is a sorrowful look from Riesenlied as she lets Noeline take over her, smiling and taking relish as she speaks of Cetiri and how much she herself has grown and imagines her playing Scare-a-oke with the children because that's ever the more wonderful image.
"There are a great many kind Drifters amongst us, yes. So many of them have helped set us on our path..."
There is a pause, as that sorrow grows a little more.
"I--" but Marivel tells her to not be sorry. "... I can only offer what we can do, with the lives that we do have, in order to help you achieve your quest as well. Just as you've said that you have watched over us... we will do what we can as well."
She looks to Noeline, then nods as well to the topic of small things. "I think we have both just started to really explore what life together means... enjoying the little things, that make us laugh, upset us, and even if we feel jittery and argue with each other--"
She bites her lip.
"I understand a little... just how precious that is. The little things that make Life truly worth living."
She tilts her head.
"And we'd be happy to make new memories with you. Won't we, Noeline?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline watches as Marivel briefly loses herself in memories - and again, wonders how she could have ever tried to emulate the creature in front of her. While she spent her time playing around Filgaia, the woman in front of her was compounding memory on top of memory, more than could ever be counted. The Hyadean might be able to play around at being a Crimson Noble - may have earned Marivel's approval in some slight fashion - but the difference between them has never been quite so stark, and she sucks in a breath as she finally understands a little of that gap, laid bare as it is.
And yet... the two of them have bridged gaps before. Whether the shattered remnants of Arctica, the pain of the people of Adlehyde, or the anger of the Guardians themselves, Noeline has learnt from Riesenlied just how far an outstretched hand can reach.
So the smile she offers is lopsided. They've been told not to apologize - and asking for more details would be extremely rude, even if every fibre of her wonders out of sheer curiosity. Instead, she draws out a breath, meeting Riesenlied's expression with a light smile. "If your memories of her are still that strong, after all this time... then I have no doubt that she is still thinking of you, as well," she tries - and then huffs out an amused breath. "Though I would hope she not be the sort to demand you throw yourself into the sunlight, unless you mean in a /very/ figurative sense."
She pauses to puff out a breath, then nods in agreement with her partner. "We may just be children in the grand scheme of things - we may still be feeling for our place in this world - but we would certainly not turn you away. ... who else to help keep us on the straight and narrow?" she can't help but add, teasing a little - but betrayed by the way her hand squeezes gently onto Riesenlied's.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Even Marivel started at '1' as any other but maybe there is something relieving that the powerful, clear sadness in her eyes does not seem to triumph over the joy she has shown too. Rather than succumb to ennui, the smile she has is as true as any other. One day Noeline and Riesenlied may have lived on Filgaia as long as Marivel has, maybe even after she is gone they may find that such thinking is not as unique as they might think and that just like them, Marivel too once hope for a peaceful life with her loved one, of a healthy world in which their dreams could come true. She didn't get to see her dreams come true...
...But seeing yours on display seems to give her some measure of hope even in such moments of doubt.
And it is with this thinking in mind, perhaps, that she says, "We are all children, in the grand scheme of things. Time is relative. In that sense, I am perhaps only a few years ahead. I accept your kind offer of memories... I can offer little but my friendship and my hearth. And mayhaps one memory, mayhaps one million memories."
She closes her eyes for a moment. She listens to Noeline's words when she says that she says that the woman she is thinking of is thinking of Marivel as well. There is a brief tightening of the eyelids and the hands--it seems such words had an effect on her, even if she is too proud to show it.
But her eyes are a little wet all the same when she reopens her eyes. "You are a kind woman, Noeline. I will try to remember that since that is what I would like to believe it too. And since she is thinking of me, perhaps I'll send her a small message."
She turns fully to look out over the waters, up at the Blue Star--maybe beyond.
"Ana." She says. "Can you see my new friends where you are? They like to sing, and read, and they offer friendship so freely and without reservation."
Her smile doesn't seem like it's going away any time soon.
"It is as if you walk this world still so if I seem as if my loneliness fades from time to time, do not blame me. For how can I be lonely, when you are right here with me?"