2019-05-16: Return to Sender
- Log: Return to Sender
- Cast: Lunata Croze, Shalune Amira, Jacqueline Barber
- Where: Mushroom Rock Road
- Date: 16th May 2019
- Summary: Shalune and Jacqueline drag Lunata to a nearby cave to recuperate, post-sending. Then, the following day unfolds...
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata's consciousness eventually gave way as she hugged Jacqueline and Shalune tightly at the apex of the first of the Sending dances; it was best that she got dragged away before the second wave came in, and naturally it was late enough that the three childhood friends needed time to recuperate after going overtime into the wee hours of the early morning.
And when the first rays of the sun come...
Lunata's eyes flutter open gently as she glances around. Where'd she been brought to, and who was around?
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
The more things change, the more some things stay the same.
Shalune had kind of twigged that Jay probably wasn't going to be in much of a state to do anything after the pouring out of her feelings at the Sending. She didn't feel that hot either, but Shalune at least had more time to prepare for what might happen, so she's a little more with it as she carries Lunata's body against her shoulder and coaxes the alchemist down the path away from the beach.
And, Shalune being Shalune, they've somehow ended up comfy camping one last time.
Nestled in a quiet cave along the Mushroom Rock Road, she's set up a reasonably solid shelter, with a canopy propped up over the cave entrance by a couple of poles and a tent and blankets set up inside of it, with Lunata resting inside. Sat just outside of it, Shalune is poking a campfire upon which a pot simmers. Her soup might not come close to Lunata's, but she can at least try.
Every so often, she looks up as some of the Crusaders limp back along the road, supporting each other - and each time, she offers them a sympathetic but encouraging smile, and a warm cup. It doesn't look like she's slept all that much, but she looks more satisfied with what she's doing than she has in a long while.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It had been an exhausting day...for a /multitude/ of reasons. Physically, mentally, emotionally...everyone was tired, but no one could be blamed for it. Jacqueline had pretty much reached her limit, and after being lead to what would be their campsite, settled down and drifted right off to sleep - an uneasy one, but sleep nonetheless.
By the time Lunata wakes up, Jacqueline hasn't been awake for that long, herself. She sits in front of the campfire with a mug of something in her hands. She hasn't said much since she awoke, though she might have tried unsuccessfully to convince Shalune to get some sleep, too.
But soon enough, she hears some sound from nearby and glances toward the cave shelter.
"Oh, Lunata!" Jacqueline greets. It was a relief to see her stirring. A part of her had been worried that she wouldn't wake up.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata looks a bit more... faded, perhaps, is the right term. She's feeling it as much as she's wearing it on her sleeve, physically. It's not unlike in Meribia and Glenwood when Lunata spent ample time away from her coffin that is the Rephaim, and being struck face-first by the Sending, even if it didn't send her...
It's not an experiment without cost, shall one say.
But first she smells soup-- and stirs quietly as she sticks her head groggily out from the tent and mumbles immediately:
"You should add half a teaspoon of sugar. The garlic's pretty strong."
... she can tell that much just from sniffing it??
Jacqueline's greeting further snaps her out of her soup-reerie, though, as she lowers her head. "... hey, Jay."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune has gotten some sleep, at least; at Jay's prompting, she'd explained with a bright if weary grin that she's smarter than /that/. But in the end the mechanic prefers to deal with things by keeping herself moving, and the chance to offer a bit of rest to the wounded Crusaders appears to be the best thing for her, buoying her own mood in turn.
She's finally gone a little native since Jay last saw her. The robes she's wearing wouldn't be out of place on a Spiran samurai, a white top with wide floppy sleeves and a long skirt in a light blue. She's apparently collected a dozen little bits and pieces to hang off the belt, wooden decorations and beads on leather cords, such that she's clacking a little every time she moves. She even has a sword... though the easy way in which she lifts the sheath with ease suggests it might just be a theatre prop.
"Oh!" she blurts as Lunata stirs behind her, then leans over the pot a little to give it a suspicious sniff. "You think so?" ... Shalune's preferences being what they are, it's possible she never even thought about that - but she certainly trusts Lunata when it comes to this stuff and so does as she's told, watching as the other two greet each other.
"Truce today, okay?" she drawls at both of them past a yawn that turns into a wry grin, her eyes glinting with amusement. "I'm too beat to chase after either of you and drag you back here."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline can understand how Shalune feels - she was much the same way, feeling at her best when she was active and doing things.
Shalune's change in outfit was a bit more surprising to her than that, however. There had been a little bit of it last time, but now Shalune looks to Jacqueline like she could easily blend in.
In contrast, Jacqueline blends in less - it'd been a while since the last time she'd gone out in her casual clothes, instead sticking to her adventuring gear. She should probably get it redone to match the local styles, but...she hasn't been in the mood for that.
At Lunata's greeting, Jacqueline sends a weak smile her way. It's clear that she's a little nervous...but there's concern there, as well, as she notes Lunata's condition.
Jacqueline was worried about that...and this time they can't exactly just call up Rosaline to conduct another necromantic ritual if something goes wrong.
"It's okay. I don't.../think/ you'll have to worry about that..." Jacqueline says with a nervous chuckle as she looks back to Shalune.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"... come on... it hurts to have to hear you say 'truce' like we're-- we're-- fighting," Lunata grumbles very groggily as she rubs at the messy nest of white hair and looks towards Jacqueline. Even if she's grumbling, though, there's a nugget of truth in it. Even if they're not shouting and arguing with each other, things are awkward right now...
But there's a pause at that. "Thank you... for being-- kind enough to stay."
She scowls for a moment. "I guess it didn't work, but... I did believe it would, just for a moment. And having the both of you there..."
She shuffles for a moment and sighs shakily. "... I felt content, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"... sorry," Shalune admits, scratching her cheek as she looks between the two of them. "That wasn't-- the best time for that, huh?"
She pauses herself as Lunata speaks, her expression briefly unreadable; she's experienced enough at dealing with the ex-waitress by now that she can tell just how faded the other girl looks, still strongly affected by the Sending - and knows pretty well where Jacqueline's worries will lie. She was the same way, after all, until they managed to talk it out properly.
So when she makes a decision, it's to shuffle across next to Jay and rest a hand on her arm as she lets out a quiet breath. "Lunie and I... we had a pretty long talk about what might happen. About how she's feeling, and what she wants to do. It's-- it's probably a talk we should've all had together a long-ass time ago, but better late than never, right?" she grins faintly, even if the cheer doesn't quite reach her eyes.
She looks to Lunata slowly, and nods. "That's-- what I want the most. For all three of us to be content, whatever happens. Whichever direction the three of us each go."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I-It's okay. You don't have to thank me, really..." Jacqueline says. It was something she would have done regardless...though she would be lying if she said she hadn't wondered whether staying would have just hurt her more.
It seems like she made the right choice in the end, though.
Shalune sits next to her and rests a hand on her arm. Jacqueline looks toward her, listening, and then toward Lunata, as she says she felt content.
"...I'm...glad. That I could be there for you." She replies, her voice quiet.
There's silence for a moment as she stares into her now empty mug.
"Marivel told me, that you intend to-" The words get caught in her throat and she pauses for a moment. "...'Go...into the sun', to...use her own words."
And it was impossible to mistake the way she had laid out all of her possessions.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata's lips press a lot more thinly as she shuffles very gently next to Shalune and takes up the stirring; there's a few more sniffs as she takes an experimental sip and without thinking just pinches several dried herbs and sprinkles them into the soup.
"The time... didn't... well, it wasn't kind to us, I guess," she admits. "But..."
She lowers her head more solemnly, more firmly as she listens to Jacqueline talk a lot more forthrightly.
Go into the sun. To use Marivel's words.
"That's right," she first admits, because she thinks it's important that that's laid out in the open. "I walked into that Sending hoping to be... sent."
There's a quiet press of her lips at that.
"I wanted... rest. To be able to rest."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune draws in a quiet breath as the topic is broached; she'd not been sure how directly to address it, but the cat's well and truly out of the bag by the time the pair have spoken back and forth, and it leaves the mechanic almost wanting to pick at her hair and clam up, just wait everything out--
--but she's done enough of that already, she reminds herself with a tiny frustrated grump at her own behaviour, and it's about time she made up for that.
"... and that's okay," she stresses softly after Lunata's spoken, directing the words to Jacqueline before wincing. "Or, well-- it's a lie to say I'm totally okay with it, sure. But I... can see /why/, and I want to make sure I can send her off with a smile," she admits, drawing in a breath to steady herself. "More than anything else, I think that's important, y'know?"
There's a pause, and then she dips her head low with a softer smile. "I, um, I got real mad. It took Lunie days of prodding to get me to actually admit anything, I think," she admits. It's not just self-deprecation; she glances back up at the alchemist with a lopsided smile, putting on a bit of a grumble as she watches Jay's reaction. "Kinda feels like we've all got that in common most of all."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
There's a hitch in Jacqueline's breath as what she was afraid of is confirmed. Her hands clasp the mug a bit tighter, her arms pull closer to her body. She doesn't look up, her expression one of fear and worry.
Hearing it from Lunata, and in her own words...it's a very different experience from hearing it from someone else, or fearing it, without having confirmation.
Her head tilts toward Shalune briefly as she speaks, but she continues staring into that mug as if searching the bottom for answers.
Shalune isn't wrong...Jacqueline could agree with that. There's more lingering silence.
"Is...is there...nothing we can do...?" She asks, quietly.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata is a lot more quiet afterwards, as Shalune says that it's okay -- or at least, that she can at least understand where she's coming from, but Jacqueline... Jacqueline asks if there's nothing they can do. She pauses for a longer time, and stirs the soup for a longer time and sniffs again.
She pauses for a longer time as she-- turns it around, quietly asking:
"What would you do, Jay... if it was-- possible? What would you want?"
It's a bit of a leading question and she feels bad for that. But she does want to hear it from Jacqueline. Because running off on her last time before she could even formulate a response didn't feel good. Because she wants to know if Jacqueline's own feelings about it.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
This time, Shalune stays silent, remaining where she is between the two of them and lifting her other hand to Lunata's arm in turn; she glances between the pair as they talk, offering a quiet smile in both directions as she gathers her own thoughts.
Part of her still worries that, in a way, this distance between them could be considered her fault. She's the one who goaded Lunata into originally broaching the subject what feels like years ago, and she wasn't really aware then of how carefully she should take things, that not everything can be solved by just airing it out loud and hoping for the best.
Besides, she knows that this is an important question, and one that Jay has to face just as she did. She would have happily played pretend - gone home to Adlehyde and whiled out their days together - but there's no escaping the fact it would have been forcing Lunata into it against her wishes.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline flinches slightly, as Lunata asks that question.
What would she do?
...What /could/ she do?
For so long, it felt like the greatest difficulties in her life had relatively simple solutions. Something to find, a ruin to explore, or a villain to defeat.
It was greatly simplifying it, but even Mother - as powerful, terrible, and frightening as she was - was, in the end, a being of flesh and blood that could be overcome with determination and force of arms.
But, these days...that was becoming less and less true.
What would she do? There's a long silence, and then, a sharp intake of breath.
"I...I don't... - I don't know." Jacqueline admits, shaking her head. She sets the mug on the ground and looks up at Lunata herself. "It's...it's easy to, /say/ that I'd...do anything. That I'd march up to Ge Ramtos and, bargain for your life, or something, but..."
She didn't even know the first thing about what Ge Ramtos would want, or what the price would be, or...if it'd even be possible. "I just...I don't want you to hurt anymore, but...I don't...I don't want to lose you, either."
She can feel Shalune's quiet smile on her. She doesn't blame her for any of this. It...might be better this way, that they're having this conversation instead of leaving things unsaid.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata feels very dry at her throat, and it's not because she's thirsty or hasn't had soup either. She looks to Shalune and sighs for a moment as she feels Shalune's hand on her, like it were a little bit of encouragement and comfort.
"It feels... familiar," Lunata admits. "How much I'd been bottling those feelings up. Every time you'd get hurt... fighting someone like Neriah, or Mother, or most recently, when I got the call from Sigurd that you'd gone after Odessa."
I just... I don't want you to hurt anymore.
She closes her eyes for a moment longer.
"I haven't been... entirely forthcoming," Lunata murmurs. "I was feeling increasingly confused about the Carakin. About its purpose. About some of the people there. But at the same time--"
She lowers her head.
"It's ironic, isn't it. It really did come out of not wanting to see you hurt. But in the process it hurt both of us-- all three of us-- and pushed us away from each other."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune lets out a breath, and while it isn't one of relief, it is one tinged with quiet pride. The fact that Jay didn't come out swinging - didn't come out insistent - means that it's been on her mind the same way that it's been on her own. "Yeah," she responds gently as she rubs for a moment at Jacqueline's arm. "It sucks, right? Not knowing what you should do. Knowing that what you could do might only prolong things, or make them worse. It's like feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place."
She pauses, and lets out a faint sigh as she picks at her hair, glancing at the white-haired girl. "... but... we both know that Lunie wouldn't want us to bargain like that. That'd just prolong this whole cycle, just put it off a little longer and leave it still festering. And it'd still mean no rest for her, either. I mean, I said 'why don't we just go back to Adlehyde', but... that's just the same problem."
This time, she doesn't offer an off-colour joke when Lunata speaks. Instead, she rubs the waitress' arm as well, her expression turning more solemn. "But--" she adds afterwards, her voice stronger as she looks back to Jay. "I wanna add that we're still proud of you. The stuff you've done, the people you've helped. We can do that /and/ worry about you," she puffs gently up.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline nods quietly toward Shalune. It was a good analogy - she felt...stuck. That the only answers were to seek some solution that might only things worse, or...
...or admit that there was nothing she could do for Lunata. And that hurt most of all.
"It's...it's all rotten. The whole system." She says, agreeing quietly with Shalune. "...Marivel scolded me for saying it before, but...I'm starting to think I wasn't wrong."
The whole system needed to be overturned...somehow.
She's quiet for a moment, as Lunata talks about how she'd become confused about the Caravan Kinship... and how, in the end, what was meant to avoid hurt just pushed them all apart.
She hesitates for a moment, and nods quietly.
"...I'm sorry. When I originally set out with everyone, I...I never intended for things to go the way they did." She apologizes, looking up at Lunata.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"I don't think... it's any one person's fault," Lunata admits, which is mostly the truth. "None of us chose this life. None of us ever figured we would become embroiled in struggles far bigger than even professional soldiers could ever dream of... I think I said that to Lunie the other day."
There's a faint scowl.
"But maybe that's part of why I want to find a way to free myself. Because I felt something profound in this land," she glances outside. "Something in the beliefs of Yevon... something in the way Pyreflies dance about the lands so freely."
A longer pause.
"I'm... going to stay with Yevon a bit longer. Because I think there are answers there. Maybe not satisfactory ones, but-- maybe a clue or two... we already know the Guardians are involved with Sin."
She looks back towards Jacqueline, as she hears Shalune reinforcing that she's still proud of what she's done. The people they've helped.
She tries, tries! Bless her soul, as she lifts her chin up a bit and tries to make a joke: "You'd best not let me see the Carakin or I might have to write you a light heresy ticket."
...
...
...
"... I don't think that landed very well."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
For a long moment, Shalune watches Jay's quiet outburst, her expression oddly flat; it takes her a moment before she startles herself out of it, swallowing and shaking her head as she runs her hand down the alchemist's arm to take her hand. "... I really hope you mean the Wheel specifically, rather than the idea of people dying in general," she offers wryly, though there's a glimpse of worry in her eyes as if Jay just might. "Or else you're going to be fighting a whole lot of gods."
She draws in a breath, then lets it out, suddenly feeling and sounding much older. "For a long while... I would have given anything to get my mom back, you know? I couldn't take it. That was why I ran off on my own, like I didn't know what else to do. It hurts, and it sucks, and it's terrible, but-- it's part of life, I guess," she dissolves to a mumble as she picks at her hair, looking momentarily sour as she looks off to one side. "It's /really/ cold comfort when I try and put it into words."
She looks back, and offers Jay a quick hug as of to underline her point, then rocks back a little to take Lunata's hand in hers. "I'm gonna--... --you know what, I have no idea what I'm going to do yet," she decides abruptly, frowning to herself in thought. "I want to keep tabs on Lunie a bit more, for sure, but at the same time I'm not sure I'm gonna be doing a whole lot of good around Yevon. Maybe I'll find my own way to some clue. But that doesn't change how important we are to each other, and nor will-- whatever else happens, in the end," she finishes with a determined look.
And then puffs at Lunata, looking smug. "I took the Maester on a joyride on the Little Dipper and didn't even get a scolding."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It's true. Jacqueline had only wanted to live a simple life, traveling with her friends, selling their wares, and helping people where they could...
...But in the end, they got involved with bigger and bigger things.
She looks toward Shalune, then, and chuckles nervously.
"O-oh, yes...sorry, I wasn't clear." She replies. Not that she /hasn't/ thought about it before. Saving as many lives as possible was her goal, after all. "I think...I think we need to find a way talk to Ge Ramtos. The guardians aren't flawless. They're not omniscient, and they can change their minds. And if he doesn't..."
...Well, then she'll figure out what to do from there. She goes quiet, though, as Shalune explains. She can understand why it was difficult for her and, quietly, accepts that quick hug.
Lunata says she felt something profound in this land, and that she'll stay with Yevon for a bit longer.
Jacqueline is quiet for a moment, and then nods.
"...Alright." She replies. "If anyone gives you trouble...let me know, and I'll go frown at them for you, okay...?"
Lunata makes a joke, and Jacqueline actually manages a bit of a laugh.
"It's okay...if you saw it now, you'd hardly recognize it as machina - either of you." She says with a wink.
...Though, that's because the Carakin is currently disguised as a chocobo-drawn chocobo hatching shack, complete with a big design in the shape of one of the birds on the side of it.
She looks toward Shalune, then, as she says she isn't sure what she's going to do. Jacqueline nods quietly.
"...Well...you can always ask me if you need help with anything." She says, and then nods in agreement. "And...yes, absolutely. Whatever happens...you, both of you...you're so very important to me. Nothing will change that."
She says...then chuckles, as Shalune adds that she took the Maester on a joyride.
"Oh, really...? Maybe you'll be able to turn them around on machina after all..." She says, half-jokingly.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Perhaps the bigger, unsaid irony is that everyone of them wanted the same thing in the end. And none of them got it. She closes her eyes and squozes -- yes squozes, it's affectionate -- Shalune for a moment longer, before saying, "I was luckier. I had the Yggdrasil. Still have," as she pulls her Yggdrasil jacket a little closer around herself.
A pause and... she slacks just a little bit to say, "I wouldn't balk if you wanted to split off at some point... I know Yevon's a real stuffy place for you." She does sound a bit hesitant. Having Shalune there feels like a check and balance for herself.
"Ah, I see... the Carakin truly is mysterious. Being amphibious, and now low-tech..." she muses. She has no idea the reality is a lot more low-rent.
"That's... a good point. Maester Seymour seems incredibly pragmatic. Maybe it does take all types," Lunata mumbles.
But one thing Jay said does catch her... a way to talk to Ge Ramtos.
"There's more to uncover of the past. There always is. Honestly, Marivel seemed to /know/ Ge Ramda from when she was alive," Lunata says, unguardedly. "It made me feel more awkward, if anything... but..."
She breathes out for a moment, before she ruffles around under the jacket and... procures two letters. They have a fairly fancy seal on them.
"Here. ... I really hesitated to give this or not but ... I feel it's important that I do." A pause. "I wrote down everything I felt and thought back when we parted in Luca. So if anything, consider it a..."
She hesitates further. She doesn't really want to say 'will'.
"Well... a summary of my feelings, maybe," she awkwardly finishes.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"You'd better be looking after my baby," Shalune whines of the Carakin, looking back to Jay with a pouting expression. "I know it's been a while since I've been the one to do maintenance on it, but there's still a bunch of Prof's black boxes in there. One day one of them is gonna make the Carakin sprout wings and you're going to need me to align them." She's joking... right? Probably, if the light in her eyes is any indication. But it could easily be a counter-indication, instead.
She's all too happy to accept Lunata's squoze. Lunata Squoze. "... I mean, I /would/ have had you guys there with me, if it weren't for the fact I decided to exile myself out of the blue," she grumbles softly, but with a smile on her face; she's long since come to terms with how she acted, the good and bad of it all, and chosen to look forward instead.
Shalune does hesitate again when Jay floats the idea of talking to Ge Ramtos, though; she winces a little, obviously not on board about the whole idea. Talking to the Guardians, sure. Talking to the Guardian of Death, well... besides, that's obviously not the only thing on her mind, as she shares a look with Lunata for a moment and squozes her right back before turning to do the same to Jay.
"Just... be careful, okay? The Guardians can be really stubborn, too," she whispers. She's not really sure how to find the right words, not without suggesting there's no hope at the same time. "It... might not work. I don't want you to get your hopes up /too/ high only to have them dashed. I don't mean that in a mean way, just-- I want to accept whatever's best for Lunie, okay? It's important to do that. For her, and us." A pause, and she lets go with a breath and a smile. "I know you've always got our backs. I'm really glad for it."
When she accepts her envelope, it's gingerly and with a certain reverence. "Okay. We should-- should we wait to read this?" she wonders immediately, blinking in mild confusion. "I mean, uh, this is kind of a weird order of things."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline smiles a little as Lunata mentions how the Carakin truly is mysterious. ...It may or may not be a little embarrassing when she learns the truth.
Shalune gets a fond chuckle in response, though.
"It's alright, don't worry. We're taking good care of it. I've been using a chocobo wagon to get around mostly, so it just needs the occasional look-over and repositioning to keep it in good shape." She explains.
She listens as Shalune grumbles...and then, quietly, returns her gesture with a squoze of her own.
"...I...I know." Jacqueline admits, as Shalune mentions that it might not work. "I- ...we have to try, I think. I just..."
She goes quiet for a moment.
...She just needs something to hold onto. Some hope, as distant as it may be, that she can help somehow.
She toward Lunata, though, when she mentions that Marivel seemed to know Ge Ramda...and then, pulls out a pair of envelopes.
Jacqueline regards it quietly...and then, carefully accepts the one meant for her, holding it close to herself.
"I'll...read every word." She says, with a nod...then looks toward Shalune, as she asks if they should wait. ...That's a good question, actually...
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Squoze has posed.
Lunata's lips thin for a moment as she grumbles, "I think I'm going to melt if you do that right now," with a light sulk in Shalune's direction. A pause. "But... I'm not kidding when I say I'm being very truthful -- or as truthful as I can be drawing lines in the sand in that state. Just..."
A pause. "Just be... um, ready, I guess. Is the best way to put it."
She clears her throat. "Anyway, soup's on?"
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune can understand the alchemist's hesitation; it's not like she expects Jay to magically be alright with everything in the blink of an eye, of course. It took her weeks of sulking and stepping on eggshells and being unsure of herself before she could really let it out and deal with it all, even when Lunata's plans became all too obvious.
So she draws in a breath, and pats Jacqueline on the arm. "... okay. Most of all, take your time - talk to people, talk to us. Remember to take pride and care in yourself. Don't try running off to uncharted continents. We're already /grandmasters/ at that, thanks to the Elw," she adds, ruining her cool moment with a gripe and a puff of air.
Lunata's comment makes her stare for a moment, then actually snort. "I don't mean right now! Just-- if we should wait until everything's done, you know? I bet you'd melt either way," she adds with a suspicious pout, but she can't hide the way she takes care of the envelope. For someone who tends to just toss everything into her enormous bag, she's meticulous in the way she leans over to sandwich it between two plates of scrap metal, her solution to the problem of ensuring it doesn't bend, then stashes it away in the most roomy side pocket she can find.
When it's safely tucked away, she finally nods. "I'm starving," she notes gratefully, or tries before it's lost in a yawn.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline looks toward Shalune with a quiet nod.
"I know...don't worry." She says, with a nod. She knew running off to do it alone would be disastrous. She'd need people with her...even if only to ensure that she didn't get too carried away.
She looks back toward Lunata, then, as she explains just how truthful she was. ...It's something she'd have to be emotionally prepared for, then. She takes a deep breath, and then she, too, stows the letter away as carefully and securely as she can - to ensure that nothing will happen to it before it's time for her to read it.
But, Lunata clears her throat, and lets them know the soup's on.
"...I'm feeling pretty hungry, too..." She agrees with a nod toward Shalune. There hadn't been much time for food yesterday, at least nothing major.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata chuckles and says, "This should be good. Lunie's been doing well," as she starts serving for the three of them. Unbeknownst to her, far further back in the cavern, a fourth participant...
( o o )
...has been gleaning of Everyone's...
Well, it's not quite a Grudge, is it...?
H-huff!