2019-07-11: Thumbs Up!!
- Log: Thumbs Up!!
- Cast: Yue Rohay, Shalune Amira
- Where: Mi'ihen Highroad
- Date: 11th July 2019
- Summary: After fleeing the Theatre on Big Shal, Yue and Shalune have a little talk...
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
With a resounding 'whomp!!' Big Shal has taken the unenviable (?) job of escorting several people out of the direct line of fire of the incident at Spira's Theatre. It's not terribly far from the resulting refugee camps, and Yue seems terribly at ease in the way she sits and suggests familiarity.
"Hmm. Your sound is a touch different, my dear friend," Yue expresses. "No doubt the merits of your reconstructed body."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's still kind of reeling from the revelation that Big Shal might not - gasp! - actually be Big Shal, but she's at least managed to set that aside for long enough to make good on her promise that she'd help a bunch of refugees out of the city.
Now that they're safe, Shalune flops over the top of the golem from where she's still stood on the gantry, letting out a relieved sigh. "Haaah... I wonder if everyone else is okay? Mr. Ambrosius can be really blunt," she mumbles, not sure exactly how far she should trust the Veruni scientist.
Then she perks up, and blinks. "A-ah-- um, er-- about that! What on earth's goin' on?!"
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"Hmmm. Worry not for the sake of my friend. He is a hardy one and possessed of remarkable tenacity," Yue lets out a rueful little chuckle that's laced with one of those mysterious sideways smiles. There's a pause as she pats the Golem further.
Then a blink as Shalune asks what the heck is going on.
"What is an earth?" Yue asks gently. "Pray tell are you from a different world, too, Lady Shalune? I cannot discount the possibility any longer after arriving here in Spira."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"No, I mean-- I know that much," Shalune frowns. "And I'd like to think he really would just want to preserve the spheres. He's not quite Mr. Elvis, but I get the feeling he can get pretty close at times. Still-- those were Veruni golems attacking the city alongside the Guard. Someone's involved in this," the mechanic mutters to herself, frowning in thought. She's not really got the head for politics, but she can make a convincing assistant if she tries.
But she sets it aside, blinking as she realizes there's a lot of gaps to fill in. "Ah... sorry, yeah. I guess you wouldn't know, but a couple of months back a man from a group named 'Odessa' made a big fancy evil speech then activated some kinda relic. It sucked a whole ton of people from Filgaia to Spira - and me and Big Shal too, for that matter. We've been laying low since then, hunting for a way back."
"But-- um..." Jealousy is rare as hell for the pink-haired girl, and she doesn't really know how to process it. "As for Bi-- as for Prometheus, I found her in a junkyard in Elru. Spent a bunch of time there, learning how to fix her up. She was missing both arms, but I copied the existing leg."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"Ambrosius is a soldier, and stubbornly so. I take that he has drawn the ire of some Drifters, yet I do not know the story behind such," Yue has the faintest of grins cracked for a moment as she plays with her cucco feather wedged between her lips. "I do worry for him in other ways sometimes, but far be it from me to worry about his physical capability."
She lifts her leg and folds them at her knee.
"Are you certain you should be regaling me with these tales, dear Lady Shalune? I could very well also be an enemy," she chuckles. "But, the point is taken... and taken at an educated guess, I would wager this relic is the one called the Sorcery Globe, which has caused no end of grief for many a folk."
She holds a finger up though, even shackled as she is, wagging it.
"Now now. She insists upon Big Shal. I have honoured that promise, and you should as well. But, hmm. A junkyard in Elru, you say."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
For a long moment, Shalune pauses - and then furrows her brow. "I don't know if 'enemy' is the right term. I've met Kaguya. Travelled with her a lot, even. So I know a little about why the Veruni are fighting. I can't say I agree with /everything/ that they do, but I get the anger, enough to understand a little. At least, most of the time. Marching on Luca, I'm not so sure about," she mumbles, slightly sour.
She pulls herself back together the next moment, and encourages herself into a smile. "But most of the time, it's just that I'd rather be friendly than not. And Big Shal obviously trusts you, and I trust her instincts, so there you go," she sums up with an easier shrug. "I don't really want to think about who's an enemy or not if I can just talk to them instead."
"I think it was the Globe, yeah. I've never seen it before - I've been to Elru kind of a lot, but not really many places in it. Some day, it'd be neat to take a peek inside the cities," she adds, more brightly, obviously genuine in her interest. "But, uh, there were a whole lot of drones ready to shoot me, so I took refuge instead. Hung around there for ages, just learning about Veruni technology. Taking things apart, rebuilding them, that sort of thing. Big Shal was in pretty heavy disrepair."
Oh no! Is that a note of reproach in her voice?
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"Well! Upon that allow me to be party to your confusion, for I have been in Spira for all of twenty four hours and not much longer," Yue remarks in turn. She glances towards the city where some of the battle still rages on even now. A quiet hum.
"No doubt there are intricate political ties happening behind the curtain. This 'Guard' is an unknown quotient to me, for instance."
She shuffles around just a little bit more to become more comfy upon Big Shal, closing her extremely baggy, weary-looking eyes for a moment.
"But on that same front allow me to advise you caution too, for it is not always a matter of choice that the clashing of swords come down to. Even for me."
Hm hm hm... she hears Shalune explain, and lets out a cracked little grin.
"You are lucky to be alive, my friend. Veruni territory is all well-patrolled, even scrapyards. I can scarce imagine what you were seeking, but it seems a good measure of fortune that you came across Big Shal..."
A raised eyebrow.
"Thank you again, dear friend. I am glad you found an inventor the likes of which could restore you."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune relaxes - you can tell because she flops more freely over Big Shal's head, giving the golem a light hug. "Mm... okay, so, Spira's on the moon, right? But it's only one of the continents, and Althena's Guard are from one of the other ones. They got sucked over to Filgaia a while ago, stuck their nose into a bunch of things, then got caught up when we all got dragged over to Spira. They tried to work together with the Church here to defeat a big sea monster, failed, then the Church got mad at them and they got war-y right back."
She rattles all of this out in a few seconds, looking completely blank afterwards as her mouth thins into a line. "Basically, everyone's being dumb. Including Kaguya," says the girl who is fully prepared to toss a bunch of frozen explosives in her direction when they next meet.
She turns more solemn the next moment, furrowing her brow. "... I know. Some people don't want to fight, but they have to. Just like how some people don't have to fight, but can't help themselves. Even so-- I don't want to change how I am. Even if Kaguya has to toss me into a few more walls, I'll still think of her as a friend," she says with a quiet sort of conviction.
She lets it wash away the next moment as she blobs out. "Ehehe. Well, um. I think I've got a knack for it. By now, I know about pretty much anything. Gunsmoke, Hyadean, Veruni, Elw, you name it, I've banged a hammer against it," she admits, then softens into a nostalgic smile. "At the time I was... basically drifting. Lower-case. But Granny made sure I stayed safe, and helped me get started on the Veruni side of things."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
There's a long moment of silence from Yue. As she considers everything Shalune talks about to her. How nostalgic this all was. There was something in the exuberance of the girl's youth that was both familiar and yet new. And how many things she says that she must assume Yue herself will take at face value! The moon, you say.
"Some say you would be the greatest fool. But they say it takes a fool to change the world," Yue muses unhelpfully, grinning a bit wider.
But as she natters on about the kinds of things she can take a hammer to, Granny gets brought up. An eye cracks open.
"...... pray tell me more of her."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
The pink-haired girl blinks, kind of knocked out of her nostalgic thoughts. "Granny? Um. Well, like I said... I'd just travelled over to Elru out of the blue and on my own, y'know? I needed to get my head clear, and apparently that meant throwing myself into the most dangerous place on the map," she puffs up her cheeks, scratching sheepishly at her temple.
"Anyway, once I managed to shake the patrol drones, I nearly fell right into this junkyard tucked away in a canyon. Granny was the caretaker of the place. She wouldn't have anything to do with me at first, so I just kinda set up my tent and stayed out of her way, but over time we kinda warmed to each other."
This time, the smile is as fond as it is quiet. "She's grumpy and she's annoying and mean and she hates when you interrupt her quiet time, but she looked out for me. Brought me food, kept me hidden during inspections, taught me some of the principles I needed. Of course, she mostly taught me by suggesting I go look at this or that, and would never say anything directly, but that's just how she is," she grins toothily.
"... she... um, she must've known I was human. And I didn't learn anything about the Veruni until afterwards. I just thought Elru had some really advanced cities," she admits with a pout. "But, that all didn't matter to her, I guess. She-- gave me this," she adds as she reaches for a leather cord around her neck, tugging it out from under her robe. A simple signet ring is threaded on it, pitted with age. The [GRANNYDACTED] house crest upon it.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
There's a long moment of silence from Yue. As she considers everything Shalune talks about to her. How nostalgic this all was. There was something in the exuberance of the girl's youth that was both familiar and yet new. And how many things she says that she must assume Yue herself will take at face value! The moon, you say.
"Some say you would be the greatest fool. But they say it takes a fool to change the world," Yue muses unhelpfully, grinning a bit wider.
But as she natters on about the kinds of things she can take a hammer to, Granny gets brought up. An eye cracks open.
"...... pray tell me more of her."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Whether Shalune catches it or not is a thing of debate, given her tendency to natter and immerse herself in speech when she starts to reminisce fondly, but the growing smile on Yue's own face as she closes her one eye back is unmistakable, cozily resting back upon Big Shal. Those were certainly all things that sounded very familiar. Very familiar indeed.
She cracks that one eye again as the cucco feather lilts up in curiosity, when Shalune presents the ring.
"Hm. Heh heh heh," Yue lets out a faint chuckle, growing into something of a really hoarse-sounding, weak laugh. "... haa."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's quick to tuck the ring away again, obviously treating it as one of the things she should be absolutely careful with; she pats it a few times to make sure it's safe, then breaks into a sheepish grin. "Ah, that's the story, I guess. To be honest, um. I was never sure if she had VR disease or if she's just kind of old," she whispers as she says it, realizing that there's a very real chance she might get annihilated for that later on. "I mean, she always seemed tough as a mule, and she's still kicking even now."
She blinks a little in mild confusion as she realizes Yue has already started to dissolve into a laugh, her eyebrows going up. "Um? Er-- do you know her, maybe?"
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue sags for a lot longer, still terribly silent despite the highly amused look that's carried up into her face. She nibbles at the stem of her feather for a moment further, before she tucks her head down as she awkwardly reaches to her neck and fumbles with her shackles.
She manages to finally get at a clasp at the back of her ragged collar, then gets up as she pats Big Shal again.
"Friend, Big Shal, we will have to spend time together as we did once more."
Then she hops off, but not before she tosses something to Shalune, on a loosed piece of chain ending in a little locket with the selfsame family crest as before.
"I will have you keep that for a while, just as she did with her ring. Until next time, Lady Shalune."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"E-eh?" Shalune blurts as the prisoner suddenly hops up to her feet. She'd been content to let silence pass for a while, but the sudden motion takes her off guard - doubly so when a sparkling object is tossed suddenly in her direction. "A-ah, sure, I mean-- I don't really ever make Big Shal do anything, it's all up to her, so I'm sure she'd be happy to--"
She cuts herself off when she unfolds her hand, revealing what exactly she's caught - and she breaks into another "Eeeh--?!" at the sight of it, immediately switching from 'holding it' to 'cradling it carefully. "A-are you sure? What? I mean-- I can't just take something like this!" she stumbles over her words, wide-eyed as she stares at a possibly-receding Yue.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
And what is in said locket but a faded picture of a more-younger Granny (still named Granny) and a smaller girl as well? Oh, intrigue!
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
It takes her several moments to even open the clasp; she hesitates hard as if she absolutely shouldn't, and it's only a nudge from the golem underneath her that spurs her on.
She takes in the photo slowly before biting softly at her lip, gently closing the locket once more, and ever so carefully looping the chain around her neck and tucking the locket away in the same fashion. "... did I just get adopted again? Are we sisters now?" she wonders as she pats Big Shal underneath her.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Big Shal quietly regards Shalune... ... and then gives her a thumbs up.
... were you expecting something else??