2019-04-11: Ties Deeper Than Blood and Time
- Log: Ties Deeper Than Blood and Time
- Cast: Rosaline Calice, Sephilia Lampbright, Seraph Lanval, Xantia, Lorelei Calice, Layna Manydays
- Where: The Moonflow
- Date: April 11, 2019
- Summary: Rosaline encounters an unexpected visitor: Her adoptive older sister, Lorelei.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
RIDE ZE SHOOPUF? Y/N
Everybody loves to ride ze shoopuf, and in fact that was part of the plan for today, using one to cross the Moonflow for a Drifter errand that is now temporarily irrelevant. Now Rosaline and her friends are temporarily sidetracked.
The reason? Shoopuf is sick!
The party is milling on the shore while this inconvenience is being handled. Kobayashi, Rosaline's pink Katz companion, is fending off boredom by chasing pyreflies around with a bug net. It isn't working.
"I'll admit, I'm no expert in shoopuf health," Rosaline sheepishly tells its Hypello (a lanky, blue amphibian-type beastman, true believers!) conductor. "But I'll see what I can do."
She walks up the dock to the elephantine beast, clasps her hands in prayer and closes her eyes, mumbling a prayer. After a moment, her body begins to emit a soft, steadily intensifying glow. The shoopuf turns its head to look at her, and unfurls its long, spiral-coils trunk in... gratitude? Maybe?
"Praishe be to Yevon!" the Hypello says, doing a little celebratory dance.
"Praise be to Althenya!" Kobayashi says, also doing a little dance.
"Ha ha... Y-Yes, well, praise be," Rosaline says. She seems happy, but does not dance.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Shoopuf are really pretty interesting! But, I don't know anything much about them either." Sephilia Lampbright shrugs. Yes, she actually does think of herself as Sephilia Lampbright, or sometimes even as Sephilia Alexis Lampbright, in her internal mental narrative.
In some cases even as Famous Explorer, Sephilia Alexis Lampbright.
Our Heroine, Famous Explorer Sephilia Alexis Lampbright, daughter of similarly Famous Explorer George Lampbright, has a page in her journal about the Shoopuf! It contains, along with Sephy's sketch, the following information:
-Big
-Grey
-Cute
Friendly
That is the sum of the young woman's knowledge on shoopuf so far.
"I could try some of my healing magic on it, but I don't even know if it would help," she adds.
Chauncey, hanging from her satchel, regards the shoopuf with unreadable button eyes. Sephy thought that thing was cute? Bah! Chauncey is way cuter than that.
That might be what Chauncey's thinking. It might not.
His eyes reveal nothing.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's been mostly behaving since it's been revealed that the overall high Resonance of the region is forcing him to be honest and not go back to a life of pie-on-windowsill chasing, and also because of various spiritualfaith-related reasons that are to wit well-documented, but the constant is that he's always enjoying - and being a part of - the company of Fox Company as they work out their next steps as regards Spira and that whole issue with SinObsession bearing down on a place that historically it never has prior.
He shares a little bit of the joy in the air as the shoopuf is healed by Rosaline's unique gifts as granted by Granas! Even with the residual air of dread that comes with being in the same place of spiritual pressure that heralded Sin's arrival to Azado... Lanval takes what joy there is and just runs with it, because it feels good to feel good about something worthy about feeling good, as he sits down nearby and has a laugh and - pointedly - doesn't let himself run the risk of falling into the river.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia seems to have adjusted to Spira quite well. To the point where back in Luca, she's built up a bit of a reputation as a particularly friendly and helpful Crusader, a role that she kind of fell into by accident when people made assumptions based on her armor. She is fine with this, feeling pretty confident in being able to live up to it by simply continuing to do what she believes a hero would do in any given situation. Not that she has any actual affiliation with the Crusaders at all, but since she was told it would help her blend in better and nobody's told her stop, here we are.
Though a little hesitant when her assistance was requested for a errand way across the Moonflow, fearing another episode of Getting Lost on Lunar, she's now pretty happy to have agreed to it, having run into some familiar faces on the way. She wasn't exactly expecting to see any of them here, but she wasn't particularly surprised either. A passing 'oh you're here too?' later, she'd already adjusted to this as well, that's easy enough when the familiar faces are friendly and the surprise is a pleasant one.
Shoopufs are new to her, and with the way Xantia has been staring at this one, you know she's been thinking about how they might taste. But no need to worry, the days where she'd actively seek to find out whenever she has this thought are long past. Besides, they kind of need the transportation! So it's a good thing Rosaline's here to work her healing magic, because she sure had no idea what to do about this situation.
"Praise be to Yevon," she parrots as soon as she hears the Hypello speak those words, performing the appropriate prayer gesture perfectly. It started as just doing what the locals do, thinking it was just the way people say hello around here, but it's just a reflex at this point. It certainly helps with the whole Crusader act.
Afterwards, she directs a bright smile towards Rosaline, immediately moving on: "So we can ride it now, right?" Not even a little patience, nothing new there.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.
It's a quiet gathering of friends, but the Moonflow attracts others now and then, too. I mean, who wouldn't want to ride ze shoopuf? A couple of figures move along the river - one tall, the other lost in her shadow. The pair of them pause a little distance away.
A pair of slightly rounded feline ears perk up. They are pink with little dark stripes. Someone's watching the little group on the docks from a distance.
"...Rosaline?"
It's a woman's voice - throaty, and very rich - and there's a catch in it. Surprise.
The speaker's moving towards Rosaline at a brisk walk. She's fairly tall as it is; her big pink hair and her tall shoes make her look even taller. Her dress and overrobe have a blue pattern to them, with a symbol of the Church of Granas clasped to one shoulder. Those pink ears peek out from her curls almost as if trying their very best not to get lost.
These might be details. The woman's blue eyes are focused on Rosaline - and they widen as if she's beginning to understand something.
A huge, beaming smile suddenly shines across her face, like a breaking sunrise. "Rosaline!" she calls out, picking up her pace into a jog towards the other beastwoman. "Rosaline, it is you, isn't it--"
It's been more than a few years. Her voice is a little deeper than it used to be - but she was old enough the last time that familiar features are still familiar, even if she's clearly grown up.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
There was a Drifter errand to be attended to, and Layna was bored. So, she'd decided tag along on this errand, and maybe see a little bit of Spira on the way.
...But, unfortunately, their intentions are cruelly dashed by a sick shoopuf.
Layna doesn't know what a shoopuf is, but apparently it's a thing? Rosaline seems to heal it just fine, though.
"Well, I'll be." Layna remarks with an arched eyebrow...which is soon directed at someone else, as a woman addresses Rosaline. Layna looks at Lorelei for a moment. And then she looks at Rosaline.
"Friend of yours?" She asks, curious.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Maybe if this doesn't work, you can give it a try," Rosaline tells Sephilia, regarding healing magic. But luckily, it seems Rosaline has it covered!
Yes, the shoopuf seems to be getting better. She has a smile for Lanval upon hearing his celebratory laughter, then turns to Xantia.
"Um, we may want to let it rest a little still... Maybe we can come back tomorrow and see if it's doing better." The nice thing with sidequests is that very few of them are actually time-sensitive, even when they really, really should be.
But before she can add anything, her ears perk at the sound of a voice she couldn't possibly be hearing here and now. A voice she hasn't heard in about, what, twenty years? Time flies.
She turns around to see the approaching figure, then her mouth goes agape and everything she was intending to do or say then makes way for stunned silence. She doesn't answer Layna's question when it's asked, at least not directly.
What? She would run into her here, of all places? On Lunar? In Spira?
"Lorelei," she says, in a tiny voice.
Then, the stunned Rosaline blurs into sudden motion, her body curling into what can only be called a pounce, though her arms are open, with the intent not to attack, but to hug.
"Big Sister!!" she lets out, a wail in her voice. There are tears of joy in her eyes. "I missed you so much... How did you... Here... Why...?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It's a feel-good moment all around! Even circumstances being as they are, you don't shunt out joy where it finds its place! It's one of those kinds of wealth where when you share it, there's suddenly even more of it, more often than not.
An unfamiliar voice speaks Rosaline's name. Lanval's celebratory laughter slows not out of distaste or wariness, but because he has probably been given several Talking Tos over time that 'um we have ears we need them to hear others speaking to us,' and Rosaline's name being said means she's being spoken to... so the laughter quiets down to the usual ambient chortling and chuckling as one eye opens half-lidded over to the source. He's sitting to the side of Lorelei that lets him see the symbol of the Church of Granas - and the rest of her features, which are kind of familiar from a place that's not quite as fond to reminisce over...
Then, there comes Rosaline's FERAL HUG upon who she calls her 'big sister,' and there is joy again. Lanval starts to just let laughter flow again, but then he catches the tone of voice that implies a question where there will be a vocal response that ought to be heard, and so, it is once again politely restrained some.
Doesn't stop him from working up a big, stupid, cat-like smile at happy discovery, though, can't take that from him.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
No, no, the nice thing about sidequests is that you can pick up a ton of them and then do them all at once! Who'd ever want to wait with doing any of them until later? Xantia definitely hates to wait with those as much as hates waiting in general, deflating a little when told the Shoopuf might need a little more rest. "Tomorrow? Really? Aw..." What the heck is she going to do in the mean time? Hopefully this place has a few more sidequests...
Before she can go off to look for some, someone approaches. Someone... familiar, somehow? Xantia has a rare moment of being struck silent for a moment. This woman certainly shares quite a few similarities to Rosaline, that would be enough to give her pause and consider how they might be related. But the more pressing question in her mind is, 'haven't I seen this person somewhere before?' She could swear there's something more specifically familiar. Ironically for an amnesiac, she has good memory for the things she's seen that aren't lost in the fog beyond a little over two years ago.
Soon enough, once the name enters into play, she figures out where she's seen that face before. Or rather... that was a dream that Rosaline had imposed upon herself. Back then, Lorelei's figure dissolved into flames, and regarding this, an echo of Rosaline's trauma entered her mind, making her aware of the name that went with that figure, as well as the fact that this was someone who had disappeared from Rosaline's life a long time ago. The 'big sister' part, that's new, but all things considered, it makes a lot of sense.
While a more appropriate reaction to this reunion might be some variation of 'awww', Xantia instead slams her right fist into her open left palm upon putting two and two together. "Oh, I get it! That was you back there!"
Apparently not about to explain that one, or even having the decency to wait for this touching moment to pass, she moves right along to her own introduction: "Hi, I'm Xantia, nice to meet you! Praise be to Yevon!" There she goes again, doing those prayer gestures. She's just doing that now whenever she would've normally waved at somebody.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.
Left behind by the pink-haired woman in the dress and the robe, a short woman with round glasses, a crisp Etone robe and short, gelled-back blonde hair stares after her companion, visibly startled.
As for the woman currently dashing towards the group, the look in Rosaline's eyes tells her all she needs to know. Her face brightens immediately."It is, it is! Rosaline, I can't believe it!!" she gasps.
When Rosaline jumps, so does Lorelei, throwing her arms open. A couple of little tears glimmer in the air behind her as she practically collides with Rosaline, throwing her arms around her and hugging her close. There's so much momentum involved that she does what she wanted to do anyway: She spins, twirling Rosaline in her arms a couple times and laughing a little as she does so.
"Ohohohohoho~" It's a familiar sound. Throatier than it used to be; she's all grown up now.
She does set Rosaline down at the end of it, but she doesn't release the hug - nor does she stop smiling. Tears stand in her eyes, though they glitter behind them. "Look at you... you've grown up so much! To think I'd run into you here --" She sniffles a little. "--I missed you so much! I can't beli--" Stopping herself, she diverts quickly into a new sentence: "We were coming to confront Odessa when a light took us and we were here all of a sudden! I knew others had come to, but I didn't know it would be my dear little sister!"
But there are others here, too, and when Xantia comes strolling up, the pink-haired woman inhales and blushes a little. "O-oh, goodness, are these your friends, Rosaline? Well! Hello! My name is Lorelei Calice. I hope you've been taking good care of my dear little sister, ohoho~"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Rosaline's response is all the answer Layna needs. She shuts her eyes with a satisfied smile on her face as Rosaline rushes over toward the woman, pouncing on her with a great big hug.
"'Big Sister', aye...?" Layna considers. Come to think of it, she did look a little familiar...a face glimpsed in a vision, however briefly.
She doesn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt the reunion...at least, not until Lorelei addresses them herself.
"Layna Manydays. Pleasure to meet ya, lass." Layna greets with a polite nod, and then a smirk.
"More like the other way 'round, ain't it? Can't count the number o' times she's stitched the lot of us back together." She remarks with a nonchalant shrug.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Wait--Big sister? Wow! I didn't--I mean, I think I knew but--wow! And HERE!" Sephy is clapping in amazement.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline is taken into a spinning hug! Her laugh is more timid than Lorelei's, but it's a very enthusiastic one by Rosaline standards. She doesn't break out of the hug for a moment either. "I missed you too, I prayed to see you again but I didn't-- I didn't even really dare hope..." She falls silent, opting instead to just savor the moment.
She sniffles too, a few times, but doesn't say anything as her apparent big sister explains. "O-Oh, I see... You were caught up in it too? You're part of the Ethos, right? I become one too! My training ended just recently, even..."
But they aren't alone here, and so she pulls away for introductions. Though first she has to take a moment to wipe away tears with her kimono sleeve. Lorelei is braver than she is, Rosa thinks, for openly wearing the vestments of Granas here of all places.
"You should probably not say that if you don't worship Yevon," Rosaline asides to Xantia, quietly. A part of her is worried that Xantia really has converted, but this is probably just Xantia being Xantia. Then, a bit louder: "Xantia is one of the strongest people I know. She's looking for her memories and training to become a hero along the way," she explains.
"Layna is a pirate captain!" Rosaline adds, with something in her voice indicating that she still can't believe, on some level, that she's friends with one. "She and her crew are friendly, and helped us travel with their ship several times." She has a nervous laugh. "And yes... I heal them, a lot. I'm a crest sorceress... or... Well, it's a little complicated. Gosh, where to even start. So many things have happened."
She sniffs, and the tears coming on might not all be tears of joy. And so, she moves on to more introductions!
"This is Seraph Lanval," Rosaline says, holding a hand in his direction. Now, hopefully Lorelei is resonant enough to see him, or else it might look like Rosaline is gesturing to thin air. "He braved the flames of Hell to bring me and my friends hope and joy in our darkest of times." It may be hard to believe at a glance, but it's true.
"This is Sephilia Lampbright," she says, moving on, "who I'm sure will one day be the most famous explorer Lunar has ever known. And let's not forget her loyal companion Chauncey!"
Is she forgetting someone? "I'm Kobayashi! Mice to meet mew," Kobayashi says, tottering up to Rosaline's side. See? They both have sidekicks! "Could it be... the next Lord of Catlamewty?" They hold their pretty pink pawsies up, shocked! ...then offer the smaller Etone figure a nod of NPC understanding.
"And who's your friend...?" Rosaline asks, also looking to the glasses-wearing Etone.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Oh, Chauncey's this guy," Sephilia says, holding out her plush little buddy for Lorelei to see. "He's enchanted, I can make him big and he helps protect me. And I'm also gonna be famous on Filgaia too, Rosa! Don't leave that out. Hopefully famous all across Lunar, even here on Spira! Best explorer on two worlds!" Sephilia stands proudly and tosses her head in a way that shakes her red-gold curls dramatically.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's just sitting there, on the ground, largely out of the way as he basks in the glow of the joy of the reunion of siblings separated by time and circumstance... and then there's a round of introductions. Oh, right, he thinks, Lorelei might be able to see him, as her sister moves to introduce him. The hefty bearded form of the Seraph's projection rises up unsteadily, holding his drinking gourd at waist-level.
"Lorelei Calice... nice ta meet ya!" He doesn't carry the appearance of being the most wholesome company. Even if the ratty robes he's been known to bear are now much cleaner and his beard hairs straighter, his continued penchant for not wearing shoes, ever, undermines any increasing appearance of status he may now bear.
"Mmm... with an introduction like that... ha ha ha! I'm honored ta have ever met her, lemme tell ya..." He's still a drunk, but at least this one is more by atmosphere. Proportionally. He also carries an air of celebration, and the refreshing mist of a crashing waterfall, a gentle rain, almost any sort of artsy water metaphor one might want to use. His smile is stupid, as it always is, his eyes shut. "'m alsho a shervant ta Schturdark, Guardian of Water." He doesn't have a free hand to stroke his chin, but he catches himself on a potential faux pas (for once). "Ahhh, don't worry, there'sh been plenty of interfaith dialogue between ush! I'm a friend ta Granash too!"
Even if he hasn't found him yet, he'd say Granas is a friend, he'd think Granas would think the same.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
There was a time when the notion of what it might be like to be a sister was completely alien to Xantia. But now she understands completely the emotions that must be at play between the two beastwomen. It's heartwarming, even if it doesn't stop her from rudely interrupting the moment.
She is cautioned by Rosaline to probably not say the words she keeps saying, but it's clear from the tilt of her head that she didn't get it. Why is that? "Is Yevon like a Guardian?" Because she has no idea what she's even saying. Try not to be too surprised.
With the following introduction, she nods eagerly in the affirmative, and clarifies, "Rosaline's helped me a lot, so I'll help her with anything she needs, too!" By which she almost certainly means 'by fighting things'. She knows where her strengths lie, and she's okay with that.
As much of an amazing coincidence as it is to run into each other here, the way that Lorelei arrived here doesn't come as much of a surprise. That light, of course... Xantia knows exactly what happened there. She can't help but feel a little responsible, scratching her cheek with a sheepish expression. Should she say something? She should probably say something. If only to get it off her chest.
"So, uh, in case you were wondering... Vinsfeld, that guy who did the speech, he's the one who did the whole light thing. I was right there, but I couldn't do anything to stop it... Sorry." Making a fist, she adds emphatically, "You should be very careful if you ever fight that Vinsfeld guy, he cheats. He locked down my E... er, my magic, completely."
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.
"I missed you every day," Lorelei admits with a little sniffle, her hands resting at Rosaline's elbow's as she loosens the hug just a little. "I prayed to Granas so much that you would find a happier place to be... and now you're here, with friends who care for you! I never thought I would see you again...."
Trailing off, the catgirl grapples for a moment with the urge to just sob with delight. With a sniffle, she straightens herself, then clears her throat. "Ah, yes! I finished my training quite a bit ago and I've been traveling ever since. So you also went into the Ethos?! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you...."
Lorelei gasps as Layna weighs in on the help Rosaline's given her. "Goodness, that's wonderful! And you seem to be in such good health! That's the mark of someone very talented, isn't it?!"
Her eyes widen a little as Rosaline reveals something about Layna. "My, my, a virtuous privateer! There's nothing wrong with that! Granas loves those with love in their hearts, after all."
More introductions are made. Her eyes dart to Xantia, then to Lanval. "Truly, Hell itself?" She seems to have little difficulty perceiving him. "Well! Thank you, Seraph Lanval, for keeping Rosaline and her companions safe." The pink-haired Etone (well, the older one) tilts her head as the ratty Seraph explains a little further. "Ah, the Guardians? Well! Any friend of Granas is a mutual friend of mine, especially those who drag my sister out of Hell."
Sephilia chimes in. Lorelei touches one hand to her cheek and smiles as the girl holds up her fox friend. "An explorer of such renown, you say? Well! I'm sure that you'll be in good company and see so many wonderful things!"
Beaming a smile at Xantia, Lorelei nods crisply. "I'm so glad to hear Rosaline has strong friends at her back." The warning causes her smile to abate just a little. "...Yes, Rhadamanthus is a problem, isn't he? But that's a conversation for when we confront him again...."
Rosaline calls attention to someone else. Lorelei jumps a little. "--Oh! Well! Kobayashi, as well! And truthfully, I'm not a Lord of Catlamewty...." She winks once. "...I'm a lady of Catlovebeauty."
She gestures with one hand, looking back to the small figure she left behind earlier. "I've been very neglectful, though. This is my apprentice, Mignonette Stirling. I've been training her in the ways of the Ethos. She's most promising!"
The other woman - Mignonette - steps up to Lorelei's left and clasps her hands, inclining her head shallowly. She's quite a bit shorter than Lorelei, her features sharp but feminine but her hairstyle masculine, short and tightly swept.
"Peace be with you all," she says, before she pauses for a second. "...I'm pleased to see another from the Calice establishment has joined the Ethos." Her voice is quieter and much more flat than Lorelei's throaty, loud, almost theatrical cadence.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Aye, she's very talented, she is!" Layna agrees with a grin as Lorelei comments on the healing. And then Rosaline explains how she's a pirate captain, with an awe that makes Layna chuckle.
"Been a good while since I've done a good spot of proper piratin', really." She admits. "But aye, my crew and I help out where we can."
She lets the rest of the introductions play out, taking note of Xantia's comment on Vinsfeld and offering Mignonette a nod of greeting as she steps up to Lorelei's side.
"Ahoy there!" She says.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's eyes open partially at mention of there being an apprentice. Huh. He almost didn't notice there was another mortal present. Some mortals, he supposes, are the sort to just quietly let themselves exist without calling attention to themselves. Nothing wrong with that, of course.
"Nice ta meet ya too, Mignonette!" His eyes close again, his surprise resolved to his satisfaction. He slips back to quietness as he once more hears the name of the man who kept talking into his everything not long ago, living out an important lesson in real time but feeling no more comfortable for being before someone so thoroughly believing in their own convictions against what he understood to be the underlying natures of the world.
"Mmm... shoundsh like... he got one up on everyone, huh," Lanval remarks contemplatively.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Lorelei is proud of Rosaline! Is this the happiest day of her life? Actually, it might be. The younger beastwoman has to prevent herself from becoming a sobbing mess right here and now. There will be plenty of time for sobbing later!
"A-awww... Thank you..."
Rosaline has a tiny laugh at Sephilia's bold proclamation. "Of course, of course, silly me. I'll do my best to help you fulfill that dream."
"Maybe you'll get your chance later," Rosaline tells Layna, regarding 'proper piratin. Not that she's actually sure she wants Layna to... do that. Piracy can be a bit of a morally grey zone, as it turns out!
Rosaline isn't sure Lanval will ever find Granas, but if he somehow does, she has little doubt the Seraph would be able to befriend Him. Eventually...? "It wasn't quite literal Hell, but... it was close." She fights back the urge to say 'AND YOU WERE THERE', because that would require... a lot of explaining. Yes, they certainly have a lot to catch up on.
"He's... Maybe," Rosaline tells Xantia, admittedly hardly an expert on Yevon. "I wish I could have been more help there..." She was indisposed when they moved against Odessa, unfortunately. "But hopefully we'll get another chance, when we find a way back to Filgaia again..." Lorelei might be puzzled by that 'again'.
"C-Catlovebeauty," Rosaline stammers out, blushing. Kobayashi nods with enthusiasm, pulling out a tiny notepad to write it all down. "Hello, Mignonette, I'm also happy to meet you. I was in your position until not so long ago. I'm sure with Lorelei's help, you can complete your training in no time." Truth be told, Rosa still can't believe she managed it.
"But... Yes!" Rosaline turns to the others once more. "We grew up in the Calice orphanage together." She doesn't know if Lorelei knows what happened to the establishment, but if she intends to tell her, she isn't doing it right now. Maybe she would rather keep this a happy reunion. "And if you're wondering, we aren't... actually, sisters in a literal sense, w-well, we're certainly Sisters, in the clergy sense, but! As far as we can tell, we were orphaned from different places. But since we were both pink-haired beastwomen, that's what people started calling us." In other words: A huge coincidence? In MY jRPG?!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Perhaps most would worry about Vinsfeld later, when there's no longer a whole world between them. Xantia has been doing that fight over in her mind for the past few weeks. Gotta make sure she's totally ready for next time.
Even so, she's happy to be distracted from those thoughts. With all the talk of pirating, Xantia asides when Layna speaks of it, "They're much better at pirating than I was." Like much of what she says, she doesn't explain what it means, apparently just sort of assuming that makes sense to everybody. Instead, she turns fully to Layna, expressing, "Just don't do any of the bad kind, okay? If I'm gonna be a hero, that means I'd have to fight you if you did that, I hope I won't have to do that!"
She's grinning when she says it. She can't hide the fact that she loves any good excuse for a fight on some level, even if it's to stop a friend from doing crimes.
Upon the introduction of a new person - who Xantia completely failed to notice before - she greets them as well... or attempts to. "Hi Ming... Mign..." Xantia frowns briefly. Well, never mind trying to say all of it, she'll just accelerate the shortening process on this one. "...Nonette, hi! I'm sure you'll be an Etone in no time if Rosaline's sister is teaching you!" Always thinking positively.
When the 'not literal sisters' thing is clarified, Xantia is quick to wave it off. Of course she would, given her own situation, which she relates happily. "That's fine, isn't it? Fei isn't my brother by blood, but by choice. That doesn't make it any less true!"
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.
"Please try not to pirate overmuch," Mignonette says with a dip of her head towards Layna. "It tends to cause problems."
When Lanval greets her, the short woman inclines her head, folding her hands neatly together. For a moment, her eyes dart over the Seraph, and she squints a little. Everyone's been able to see him so far; maybe she's just reacting to the quality of his clothing. Either way, she returns to her quiet silence soon enough, observing the pair of dames Calice.
Lorelei, for her part, wipes a tear from her eye with the back of one long finger at the sight of Rosaline holding her emotions back like that. Her smile is wide, warm and full of love. Even with years and years between their last encounter, the emotions seem to come back to her as naturally as they would've if it was yesterday.
"I wish I could've been there too," she says with a little sigh and a shake of her head. "We weren't able to get there quickly enough. It's awfully hard to make landfall in Elru these days...." She winces. "And very cold! And to come here, where it's so warm! We were thinking we would have to find some outfits that are more suited for the weather...."
Rosaline clarifies a bit of their family situation, and Lorelei dips her head towards the group. "Yes, many of us when we were children grew close. I joined the Ethos when I was somewhat younger. It took me some time, but I was able to complete my training and advance through the ranks - and now fate has brought us back together!" Again she reaches out to take Rosaline's hand, giving it an enthusiastic squeeze. "Oh, you'll have to tell me all about your adventures! And I'll tell you all about mine! It's been all these years -- oh, we'll have so much to talk about! I want to know everything. I'm sure you've been through so much -- oh, I wish I could've been there with you!"
Mignonette clears her throat and clarifies for Xantia: "Mignonette." She doesn't answer the rest.
Lorelei does. She curls her fingers near her lips a bit.
"Ohoho~" Her eyes gleam. "Well, Mignonette is a very wonderful student, and very organized! She's taught me a few things, too!"
"We're going to have to go," Mignonette points out, unemotive about it.
Lorelei's expression falls visibly. "...I suppose we have no choice," she sighs, before turning to Rosaline again and stepping in to give the other pink-haired beastwoman a tight, firm hug.
"I'm so glad that we got to meet again," she says, her heart in her throat as she holds the hug for a long, fond moment. "My dear little sister."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Ya aren't related in that way, huh..." Lanval tilts his head a bit at mention about maybe not being sisters but Sisters and... oh, orphaned from different places. "Mmmm... I get ya... I thiiiink," since Lanval technically might not even have a brain, him saying he 'thinks' might be a bold-faced lie unto itself, but Seraphim have never played nicely with that sort of logic. "...My own kind don't have 'em, either," he remarks, "but ya know... there'sh a few who jusht get sho closhe with one another, they may well call one another that..."
One of those weird appropriated terms from mortals who have a clear definition of that sort of thing. As Xantia chirps in about how Fei's her brother by choice, there's a bit of a laugh there. That said, in his five centuries, he's sure seen a lot of bad things get between mortal siblings...
...ahhhh but let's not dwell on that, he thinks! This is a happy time! He likes happy times. His smile grows a bit more stupid, as he doesn't dare intrude upon that last embrace before they have to depart on some important business, going by the matter-of-fact statements of Mignonette.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Maybe so, maybe so." Layna considers with a nod, as Rosaline says she might get her chance later. Of course, finding the proper target was the hard part...
...Not to mention that she currently didn't have her ship with her. She sends Xantia a grin, though.
"Not to worry, lass, you won't find any o' the bad kind here. That's not me anymore." She says, in regards to both Xantia and Mignonette's concerns. ...Anymore? She doesn't elaborate on that. "...Though I wouldn't mind havin' that fight sometime anyway."
Talk turns to Odessa, and Layna frowns somewhat.
"Odessa...somethin's botherin' me about them an' that Vinsfeld guy, but...can't quite put my finger on it right now..." She mutters with a frown. Maybe she'd figure it out later, and would be able to tell everyone then.
She shrugs, though, and listens as Rosaline explains the situation. Layna smirks, and sends a grin Xantia's way.
"Aye, the lass has the right of it, I think. If you say you're sisters, an' that's how you feel...you're sisters. That's the important thing, aye?" She comments.
Lorelei steps in to give Rosaline another hug and Layna smiles, looking away for a moment to give the two sisters a bit of privacy.
"Well, now that we know you're around...don't be strangers, aye? Either o' you." She says, looking back to Lorelei and Mignonette. "It was good meetin' you."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"I can give you cosmewtic items," Kobayashi offers when Lorelei speaks of seeking new clothes, "if you'll help me collect Katz Spirits!" Rosaline nods in approval, though she doesn't explain further what that can possibly mean. It certainly would be wonderful if Lorelei were to help her and Cyre with that particular, seemingly endless sidequest!
Xantia reminds Rosaline of her own sibling relationship with Fei. Lanval speaks of his own kind, and Layna concurs. This prompts a smile. "Haha... You're right, all of you, you're absolutely right. We chose to be family, and that's what counts."
They have to go. Rosaline deflates a bit at the news, as she had hoped to request that Lorelei join the Company of the Fox, or at least travel with them for some time. But somehow, this seems unlikely to occur. Maybe Lorelei just has some sort of 'temporary party member' aura about her. "O-Oh... But yes! Let's meet again! Definitely! I've got so many things to tell you..."
With that said, Rosaline certainly won't refuse another hug. "I'm so glad too..." she breathes out, tears beading at the corners of her eyes again, "Big Sis."