2019-07-14: To Kiss and Tell-eport
- Log: To Kiss and Tell-eport
- Cast: Seraph Amaranth, Talia
- Where: Moonflow
- Date: 14th July 2019
- Summary: Amaranth goes out to practice with Talia, leading to a race across the treetops that leads to...
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Between Ragnell whirlwinding into her home, and /then/ getting into a fight with Nimue and whirlwinding a second time into her home, Amaranth's life has been anything but normal and it's by default sending her into that Queen Anastasia-fuelled spiral again...
Which is why it might be time for an intervention.
The Festina Lente has sprouted several straw training dummies on the side with a :) face each.
"... d-do you think this is... fine... I don't feel..."
Amaranth shuffles on out. She's wearing a dark violet garb that rather looks the part of a shinobi infiltrator's, complete with a mantle around her neck and shoulders. Her slightly baggy pants end in leg wrappings that finish in straw sandals with the characteristic two-toed socks.
"... it's a bit much I think ..."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia, of course, missed some of that. She had spent some time away -- most of it with the Caravan Kinship, where she continues to be Jacqueline's bodyguard. That persisted after Leo called off the order on her life. She came back to find Amaranth wrapped around Queen Anastasia...
...and, well, it was time to try to help her through this. Talking can help, but so can physical activity and /doing/ something about her problems. Talia cannot do much about Ragnell and Nimue.
She can do something about this. She steps out behind Ammy, wearing the usual garb she took to wearing: sleeveless shirt, black pants, boots, and a short-sleeved jacket that is cut to end at the waist. She added the jacket recently.
She looks over Ammy's outfit.
"Maybe a little," she admits. "But sometimes, it is good to have a little too much on, no? It can feel nice! Or... at least, it is a little way to make yourself smile." She winks.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"... I-- should find something else to wear, but this was... well, this was the most familiar garb for actually... /fighting/ in," Amaranth admits. Which isn't a pleasant thought, but even when she was grandiosely dressed as la Fils du Temps she wasn't exactly... intending on fighting.
She sucks in a deep breath and bashfully chuckles, shyly as she hides half her face under that mantle.
"This is the first time you've seen me dressed like this, I guess. ... I didn't know if I ever wanted to wear it again."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Well... we can find something else for you to wear, no?" Talia says. She smiles, then she reaches a hand up. She rests it on Amaranth's cheek, one thumb brushing across it. "I've never seen you wear it, no. But... whatever you wear, it does not change how I see you, no?"
She lowers her hand, though her fingers curl with reluctance when they leave Ammy's cheek. She turns her head, looking at the targeting dummies.
"We can start slow," she says. "I know... you have avoided this. And--you do not have to use all of those techniques. If you want to develop a new way to fight, learn new spells and whatnot... I will help, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth nods, but leans towards that hand of Talia's. Her cheeks are fairly red as she hears her affirmation that whatever she wears... it doesn't affect how she sees her.
"Yes... I can -- focus on the fundamentals," she admits. "Now, uh-- well, this would sound silly. But what do you practice to keep sharp?"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's fingers actually lift, a little, like she has a mind to put her hand back on Ammy's cheek -- except, no, they aren't here to get in a good snuggle. Her own cheeks redden, a little, with the thought. Then, she turns and looks back at the dummies.
"Well... I start with the forms I learned--I go through those, in the morning and at night." Ammy has seen her do that, in all likelihood.
"Then, it's about control. I, ah, I can use ice magic, so... I try to do that. What I like to do is a set-up like this, and then manipulate my spells to hit every other target. It's harder, and takes more concentration, than just blasting all of them, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth's heart thumps like -- like is Talia going to do more? But realises they're not here for that, and she has to put that want to one side! Perhaps as a reward...
"Hmm... it's a bit much for me to recall the kata I learnt. There isn't much that isn't related to... /that/. So..."
She steps so that she's in the middle of the training dummies. "Why don't we combine both practices? You can control your spells, and I can try... evading them? Keeping myself safe is more important than aggressively attacking, I'm sure."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia swallows while she looks at Amaranth. She has a similar line of thought: she should do more of that later. She may want to, afterward; this isn't easy for her, either. She remembers attacking Amaranth, really and truly, and the intent behind it. The idea of doing something opposite of hurting her...
That feels nice in ways beyond the obvious.
She steps back, then nods at her suggestion. "I think that is a good place to start," she says. She can worry about the katas later -- or, maybe, she can find Amaranth a different weapon. She holds a hand up.
"Now, I won't use a spell that could really hurt you, no?" she says. "I don't want to actually injure. So--this will not be fun, if you get inside it, but it will be uncomfortable at worst."
Which is when a gust of magical frost -- in a cloud -- shoots out, and begins to make a wavering S-pattern that tries to engulf Amaranth unless she moves!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"It'll be like splashing water on each other at the beach," Amaranth reasons with a bit of a smile. If she thinks of it like that, it'll be more fun. And she knows Talia is up for some harmless mischief, once in a while--
And the magical frost comes; she recalls it from their few battles, and practices a few side-hops. Backstep... and when she notices that it's moving in an S-pattern, she has to cut more distance and winds up springing in a backflip that ends up with her looking a bit groggy.
"... ah, not quite," she holds up where some of the frost has built up onto her sleeve. "But close. The muscle memory is still there, though..."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"It is a little like that! Chillier, no?" Talia winks at that.
She doesn't make the frost as biting or unpleasant as those battles. It still makes it sharp, and she watches Ammy move. She can appreciate, in an instant, that she hasn't let her skills dull entirely... or, maybe, they were that tightly engrained in her. But, her spell catches up -- and she sees the frost on her sleeve.
Talia snaps her fingers, and the ice vanishes. "You seem sharp, still. It is... not so different than running across rooftops, like you did as the phantom thief," she says. "Do you want me to do it again? I will do a different pattern."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"A lot less theatrics, but the principle is the same," Amaranth nods. "A lot of what I did as the phantom thief was the pure movement I learnt in my original trade, that's right."
She nods when Talia offers a different pattern, though. She looks to the dummies for a moment, then says, "I'm ready. I'll try something a bit more complicated this time."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"It is!" Talia says. "Ah, I practice like that sometimes, too. I had a course in Luca--and in Hilton, and Adlehyde. I haven't found a new one yet, no?"
But running like that keeps her moving. She sighs, before she raises her hand. She looks at Amaranth and nods -- and then she sends out a pattern of lines of frost from her hand. They form a cone-shape, roughly, though with gaps between each line, as they rush for her.
Talia's fingers tremble a little. This isn't easy for her. It brings back memories she would rather not have.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"That reminds me that we said we'd try racing each other to the top of a tower in Luca... but I suppose that's too late. Elseplace, perhaps?" Amaranth muses.
There's a firm pursing of her lip as she focuses -- and then backflips and lands on the training dummy's head (the face moves to a DX) to let it bear the brunt of the cone of cold; then when the second one fires, she hops to another's head, then the third--
And when it's clear she can't keep running like that, she holds her fingers up in the shape of a mudra and vanishes.
It'd be impressive, but the bated breath and wheezing kind of upsets it as she taps Talia's back with a slight giggle. "Still have it."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia isn't quite talented enough to move her spells a /lot/ when she already cast them. She uses combat magic, making spells quickly in unison with her strikes. She does try to veer one line a little, and sees the spell rushing towards Ammy on that dummy--
Her red eyes widen, and she feels that spike of disgust and guilt in her stomach that is sharper than she expected. But, that turns into a gasp of surprise when Amaranth vanishes.
And then she laughs, when she appears behind her back. She feels the tap on her back, and turns. She looks at her, grinning widely -- the emotions of a moment before receding, if not truly gone. "Ah--that was incredible! You do have it, no?"
She tilts her head, and her hand jerks a little -- nope, she tells herself. She lowers it before she can reach up. "Maybe... need to practice this, a little," she says. "Your teleportation, against mine. And... we play a game of tag, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"It's exhausting. I doubt I could do it more than once in succession now," Amaranth admits with a slight more of a wheeze, though she notices the reticient way in which Talia behaves. She bites her lip. "It isn't quite as free as the way you fly through the sky with Mirage."
Mirage... she hasn't thought about that Divine Armament for a while.
Talia offers a game of tag. It'd be better, if only to get her to stop shooting at her... she notices that it pains her a bit.
"You would leave me in the dust. I request a slight handicap," she chuckles.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Maybe, a little practice will help build that up?" Talia asks, with a little smile. It sounds fun -- and, besides, she doubts the Shadow Dragon will not send people trying to attack her. Maybe this could help.
And, maybe, she wants to not shoot things at her again. She lets out a little sigh, then her lips quirk up at mention of a handicap.
"I am fine with this," she says. "Maybe... you get a headstart, and I can only use Mirage when you use your mudra, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth smiles as she holds Talia's hand for a moment. She traces her eye down the bank of the Moonflow... then points towards where there's a cliff at the distance.
"Okay. There's a nice row of trees there to practice hopping on, and that cliff is within reach of how far I can shift and has a lot of waypoints for Mirage. Does that sound good?"
She looks like she's getting a little into it. Evasion practice wasn't quite where it was at, but it felt like racing against Talia was a rather fun way to practice without them having to try to hurt each other.
"Ready..."
Amaranth darts onto the first branch and hops off off it. "Go!"
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia glances along, following Amaranth's line of sight, until she finds what she means. She nods with her words, sizing them up the same -- already calculating the throws she would need to make with Mirage, and some of the footwork she might need. For all of her distaste for what she used to do, this part is fun.
"It does," she says, with a nod. She watches as Ammy takes off -- and she waits a moment, and then runs and leaps. She lands on the branch, and then jumps after. She is fast.
She might be gaining on her.
"Ammy!" she calls out. "We should have a wager! Something for who gets there first, no?" Talia winks, and her little magic heart becomes lopsided and drawn out as she runs.
"Something nice, no~?" If she flirts while engaged in a footrace, it means she might not think of the times she ran down her quarry on Pendrago's rooftops!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth lets out a little chuckle as she notices Talia gaining on her -- as speedy and adroit as she might've been, literal centuries of wear and tear are upon her; there's pauses after she lands on each branch as she finds herself less confident about whether her weight can be sustained that cost her some time.
"If you win, I'll make you some lovely ice cream," Amaranth offers. Oh, that's going to -definitely- fire Talia up.
She jumps again and--
"H-hey, it's not fair to distract me with your heart while we're racing!"
It's super effective...
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
The grin on Talia's face is somewhere between playful and annoying, at how she managed to throw Amaranth off a little with her wink. She does nod, though, because she happens to love ice cream.
"And if I win, I will get some bread from that bakery in Guadosalam!" she calls out. "But, you can't let me distract you, no?"
She has to be careful. Some of these jumps, she would normally use Mirage for. But, they agreed on a handicap -- and that keeps her just behind Ammy. She leaps on the branch she just left, steadies herself, and then leaps again.
Not for the branch that Amaranth is landing on, but one next to it. "You could distract me, too!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth pauses as she thinks about distractions -- in a real setting, it might be powder from a satchel in her bag, which may be anything from a sleep-inducing drug to caltrops or other such nasties. But not today. Instead, knowing Talia's right behind her, she throws her hand out and--
Doves! Doves fly in her general direction.
"Ooh... the Guado do really good bread. I wonder if it's because of all the root vegetables they grow..." Amaranth muses, and giggles as she hops off another branch and--
- CREAK*
"Ah--" Uh oh. Did she misjudge?
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia laughs, a little delighted noise when she sees the doves flying at her -- that pleasant reminder of any number of times she saw them before, and the time she first met Amaranth. They make her slow. She looks up, as Ammy jumps to another.
There is a moment's hesitation; she admires her leap, until she hears that creak.
Her eyes widen -- and then she leaps.
It isn't for the branch. It is for Ammy, with a hand outstretched, ready to grab ahold of her if needed. The other is reaching for Mirage, ready to draw and throw it if she must.
"Ammy!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth hesitates a bit too long to keep jumping, but Talia grabs her hand; the branch snaps in half and Amaranth goes dangling.
There's a wince as gravity resumes its course and she's not certain if her partner'll be able to stay on the branch with her added weight on hand.
"I can-- drop down if you can't hold on," she quickly offers.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia grabs Amaranth by the hand, and looks down. The muscles in her arm strain, visibly, as she looks down at her. She hears the first crack in the branch. Ammy makes her off, but Talia shakes her head 'no.'
She doesn't respond verbally, before she throws Mirage -- and it embeds into another tree. Then, Seraph and human alike split apart into smokey tendrils of shadowstuff. They come back together -- and reform, both on a branch. Talia is still holding her hand, though they reappear standing.
Then, Talia exhales. "Ah--well, that makes us tied, so far, no?" she says, glancing sideways at Ammy. She can't quite hide her relief.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth gasps for a moment and-- then Mirage happens, and they split apart and recombobulate on a branch as she reaches for Talia's arm to make sure she didn't sprain it.
"Sorry. If I'd been more sure, I could have jumped off in time. ... it rather reminds me of my earliest days," Amaranth muses. "It really is all in being confident."
She smiles a bit shakily to say, "It feels... different, to be brought along by Mirage. But, perhaps, something is a bit familiar too."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia's arm flexes, easily. She feels a little strain, but nothing like a true sprain. She looks down at Amaranth's hand on her arm, and then her smile breaks a little more across her face. She nods.
"It is different, no? It... well, when I was little and first got it, I took a long time to get used to it," she says. "Now... it is second nature, almost."
She tilts her head. "The confidence, it comes with practice, no? We can keep working at it. We'll get there."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth nods as Talia encourages that she'll get it again. It's just practice. There's a moment where Amaranth thinks of what it used to mean to have confidence...
To have confidence in your stride -- is to move inexorably to your target.
... she'll need to have confidence in something else.
"Shall we finish the loop?" Amaranth offers. "Then, we can have Guado bread... topped with ice cream as a treat, since we're at a draw."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia watches her expression -- and there is a little nod, even if she cannot /quite/ follow those thoughts. But, she knows something about what she grew confident in doing...
And, for Talia, she has always been good at displacing her fears and concerns -- at compartmentalizing those parts of her life, until she cannot.
It isn't easy to find a way for someone else to do that. This makes her confront them, instead. But the alternative is that Amaranth isn't prepared, and..
"Let's! You first?" she says, with a smile. "We'll have to have both of them!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"First, I want to see if I can do it -- in case I have to do it, like you can with Mirage..." Amaranth offers. And she drapes an arm around Talia as she looks up to the next tree branch, whispering that short incantation of the mudra with one hand--
--and though not quite as smooth or as magical, they've vanished and reappeared ontop of the rather sturdy branch. Another puff of breath.
"... I would not want to fail at a pivotal time, hmm?" Amaranth chuckles.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Ah--yes, that is a good plan, no?" Talia asks, with a little wink of her own. She slips her arm around Ammy in kind. There is, maybe, a little clinginess in how she does that. Almost like she wants to apologize for casting a spell at her earlier, even if it was the plan.
Even if she knows she needed to.
She blinks as they reappear, and then she laughs. "Ah! That was so different, no? It was more... puffy?" she says, of the use of the mudra. "I think... you won't fail, at a critical moment, Ammy."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
It was more... puffy?
Amaranth's everything droops as she says, "P-please don't suggest my mudras have put on some weight, Talia."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
That being said though! She clears her throat and clings a bit harder in turn with a faint chuckle, sucking in a breath. "... I know. I won't. All I need to remember is the resolve I felt when... say, Azado happened, and Kaguya had you. Pushing past all the fear, all the consequences, to what's important."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I-I did not mean it in such a way, Ammy!" Talia says, sounding flustered -- and then she sighs. "Just, they were... um..."
Her cheeks stay red -- but she sighs with a little relief, when she gets off the metaphorical hook. Her eyes look down, for a moment, and she thinks about that resolve -- about Azado, and Kaguya...
"What's important," she answers, quietly.
She knows the answer. But, those little insecurities -- the voice that whispers that she doesn't deserve a moment where she can stand here in the treetops, hugging onto Ammy, and know what she means is important. Those stay in the back of her mind, clouding her thoughts.
She feels guilty for asking for reassurance, for an answer that she already knows, and there it is. "You mean me, no?"
And for once, that is a real question.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth doesn't answer immediately.
It's not because the answer isn't clear -- it's not because she hesitates. It's because she's now thinking--
"Every leap I took, every time I had to shift and bring myself just a bit closer, a bit faster... I should have recalled that earlier. That really was what brought me a newfound confidence. A confidence I could love and believe in."
Not that dark and horrible confidence of the past.
She looks to Talia with those glamoured eyes of hers with a smile. "Because I'm striding forward with the colour in my eyes -- you."
S-she's pretty good at flirting when she's not deliberately trying?! Talia has partially disconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia pays careful attention to Ammy, as she thinks through that. In a way, that pays off, because Amaranth gets to watch her face as she talks. There is understanding there, at first; Talia understands finding confidence in something else, even if she wonders if she really has it.
She looked for it, though, and she understands that importance.
But, then she realizes what -- who she means -- and if it's possible to watch someone fall in love in a moment, it happens here. Her smile brightens and then her lip quivers, like she might cry. Her hand clasps Amaranth's tighter, reflexively.
She almost tackles her right off the tree into a kiss. She thinks better of it, leaning in and putting her hand on her cheek, like before. "A-Ammy," she says. She blinks her eyes, before they tear up. "I-I--"
Her cheeks redden, and she stammers, and is at a loss for words, but certainly not for what she feels.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Ah, Amaranth thinks. That's it. That's why she could still wear this uniform, maybe, and not feel nothing but utter disgust and contempt in it. Because there were still uses for the way in which her body has been shaped into a tool.
And seeing that shift in Talia's face was what made her realise it too; like if she ever wondered she could fall in love with someone all over again? She quietly holds hands with her and...
Well, she decides to lean forward quietly and give Talia a peck at her forehead. It may be not quite the right move, but that's what her heart tells her right now.
"... thank you," she whispers. "I love you, Talia."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I love you, too," Talia answers. There is a little hesitation -- she still finds it doesn't come easily, the second time she manages it. But, it is easier than the first, and especially after that.
Her hand squeezes Amaranth's, and her cheeks remain red as ever. She looks at the branch, and their surroundings. "We should--um--"
She glances to the side, and she still looks and sounds shy. One day, she might tease her about what a good line that was.
"W-We should get back to the Festina Lente," she says. "I want, um. We should get back. If we stay here, I cannot teleport us to safety when we fall off while kissing, no?"
She stammers that part out, though.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth definitely doesn't have some kind of internal register of how good her lines are, despite the fact that she was inspired by theatre. You really should have a finger on the pulse of your lines, Ammy!! How can you spin things into a play later if not...
But to say 'I love you', it seems, gets a bit easier each time -- not as easy as Ammy thought it might be, but perhaps that's part of why it's important too.
That it doesn't become trivial to say.
"Yes," Ammy whispers. "Let's do that. We--"
kissing
"W-w-we should definitely do that!"
pause
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia leans her head down -- almost on Amaranth's shoulder, but she can't quite reach without risking their balance. She pulls back, though, and looks up. Her gaze is soft; her smile is touched, and eager, and nervous. She looks like she did a few moments before.
'aaaaaaaa'
And then she smiles playfully, and squeezes Amaranth's hand. "You are adorable, no?" she says, sweetly. She thinks a few other thoughts, but--
No, those aren't questions to ask.
She slips her hand out of Ammy's to put her arm about her waist. "There is lots to do, no?" Confidence and practice~!"
She throws Mirage -- this time, for the ground, near the Festina Lente. They turn to shadow a moment later.