2019-07-18: Cuccovision
- Log: Cuccovision
- Cast: Yue Rohay, Acacia Saitani
- Where: Mi'ihen Highroad
- Date: 18th July 2019
- Summary: Acacia visits Yue's cell with treats in tow...
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Well, after all that's happened last time...
Yue did inform Acacia of her current abode. Which is to say, the sideways-up (sideways-down? Is this one of those half full, half empty kind of conondrums?) prison cell currently seated in a small crater in the Mi'ihen Highroad not far from the refugee camps. It's all gunmetal and mortar with the mark of its occupant clearly labelled in stencil: CR-S01.
... a tiny black mage is seated outside, looking really bored ...
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Acacia isn't sure what she expected, exactly. Being this close to Luca isn't her idea of a barrel of fun right now, not after everything that happened recently - but at the same time, she's got a core of curiosity to her that she just can't leave behind, and her intuition tells her that Yue isn't going to be throwing her to the wolves any time soon.
(Quite the opposite. She's getting the impression that there's some kind of longstanding gentlewoman's agreement between Marivel and the figures from her past. Maybe they all agreed to just take it easy and drift through life as they liked.)
She's not really sure how to approach a prison cell, though. It's not the sort of place you just walk up to and knock... is it? The Minder is there, so instead she lifts a hand from some distance away. "Yo. Uh, I bought some tea from Guadosalam? I figured it'd go down well as a present," she offers, a little lamely. The way the girl is twiddling her thumbs makes her continue. "And-- a free copy of the latest Bouletin? Best advice for how to... sleep in the Thunder Plains." Kamui had been kind of insistent.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
The Minder blinks a few times, her... her matte-black helmet... lighting up with a ?_? for a moment. She tilts her head one way, before her tinny, speaker-laden voice chimes up with a: "Oh! You came to give me a gift? Why, that's really kind of you-- uh... ... ..."
A pause, as the confusion just grows greater.
"Who are you?"
A muffled voice from inside the cell asks, "Do we have a guest, dear Minder?"
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Acacia's eyebrows hitch upwards, and she sticks a glum frown on her face. "... you could at least remember me after encouraging trying to beat me up," she grumbles as she offers the bag over. It's hard to be too upset with her right after seeing how bored she looked, obvious despite the opaque helmet. "I included some pastries," she tries sweetening the deal. "But it's for both of you."
"--it's Acacia!" she adds, raising her voice a little to answer Yue. Unable to help herself, she sneaks a glance around the side, curious as to how much of a prison it actually is. "Figured I'd take you up on the invitation. Marivel was busy with-- to be honest, I'm not sure I want to know."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
The Minder furrows her brow and pumps her hands very lightly as the expression rather predictably changes to one of light grumpiness. "I--I didn't forget! I just, was testing you!" A pause, as she lights up as she expresses, "Aha! Yes, I remember! From when that blonde lady gave me-- us-- eclairs."
And I mean, the prison is a prison. It's just also... sideways right now. The door kind of uncomfortably slides open as Yue climbs on out with effort, sitting on her doorframe with her legs crossed.
"Oh. Marivel was busy with me," Yue clarifies. "I dragged her to this cavern that was making the most raucous noise. Could not get a wink of sleep. We destroyed a machine of this... this..."
She clicks her fingers.
"Odessa of yours. Woeful bunch, that one."
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Acacia has yet to forget the sight of Marivel dispensing eclairs - at speed, sometimes with her feet - and so she lets out a breath. Really, things like that just fuel her 'laze around' theory. "That's the one. I'm not responsible for her, by the way," she adds as she drops the bag gently into the Minder's hands, her initial reconnaissance only finding gunmetal walls, only half-joking. "She just follows me around a lot, I think."
She looks back just in time to see Yue clamber out, and plants her hands in her pockets as she watches, polite enough to wait until the Veruni prisoner is done making herself stable.
Odessa is not a name she expected to hear about it so suddenly; she can't hide the way her eyes widen, then she glances off to one side with a tight frown. "... tell me about it. They're assholes," she bites - but catches herself a moment later. "--actually, tell me about it seriously. Making noise? What kind?
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
The Minder lights up with a =D as she holds up the bag and... um. Well, she holds it up to her face and imitates something that might look like a sniffing motion? But it's not really clear how she has a sense of smell given her helmet?? "Mmmmm!"
Yue puts a finger as she puckers her lip for a moment. "My my, Acacia. Pressing me so inquisitively already?"
She looks rather amused as she bobs, one leg lifting up gently as she reclines.
"Whatever will you exchange for me for this tantalising piece of information?"
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
The redhead pauses. She can manage a poker face when she wants to, even if she's not always that good at it; her gaze almost strays back towards the Minder as she wonders about the story between the two of them. Still, it feels too clinical and business-like to just focus on that, and she finds herself raising a hand to tug it through her hair.
"... how about a proper introduction, for a start?" she suggests with a light bow of her head. "Acacia Saitani. Formerly of the Meria Bouletin, now of the... Meria Bouletin, Spira version. Hopefully I'll get back to the first one soon. Pretty sure I'm related to one of Marivel's old friends," she adds with a lighter frown, "But don't ask me about the family tree or anything."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue seems content to let the Minder get distracted by treats, which given she's been bored out of her mind going from nothing to food seems like an incredible boon. She doesn't even ask her for one.
"Yue Rohay, prisoner. But you already knew that," Yue smirks. "Hmm. A reporter. But a reporter of what? I will have you know media and I do not particularly have a rock-solid relationship, Lady Acacia."
The cucco feather in her mouth wags up and down very gently, as if in amusement.
"Well. If the reason Marivel befriends you is because of the past, then I would say chide upon her for that. The past. Such drivel. Drifters are all too concerned about it. Would you not say?"
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
Here, at least, Acacia's on more solid ground; she plants a hand on her hip as she lightly grins, more sure of herself when it comes to questions like these. "I report the truth-- or at least, that's what I should probably say. But honestly, I'm pretty happy reporting on the simpler stuff, too. Nice places to go. Nice things to eat. Good news. That sort of stuff.
"Sometimes I'll write reports out of spite, too, though I like to think I'm good about binning those," she admits with a sigh as she leans against the side of the prison, watching the Minder bobble with her new gift. "And I'm pretty sure Marivel befriends me because she's Marivel. I mean, sure, there's other reasons in there. But that's the main one." She's not quite expecting the diatribe on the past, her eyebrows raising as she glances up. Her fingers itch a little for her notebook, to jot it down.
"... it's a copout to say 'the truth is in the middle', but I've got a friend who's a lot happier now she's remembered a few things. Maybe don't get stuck in it, sure, but it's got its uses."
"--do you actually like her or not," she can't resist asking, craning her neck up to watch Yue's reaction. "To be honest, it's kinda hard to tell."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"The truth... huh," Yue muses for a longer stretch of moment. She chews on the stem of her cucco feather as it lilts upwards. It's a very distinctive tic.
"Hmm. Whyever do you bin those passion pieces? The opinion article is a truer window to one's heart than any clinical piece purporting to claim truth," Yue's grin grows wider.
She thinks on Marivel and her reasons for a moment. Hmmm.
"... me? Like her? Who, Marivel?" Yue raises her eyebrows with an even bigger grin. "I require an eclair for that answer."
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
The answer's an easy one, and Acacia finds herself smiling quietly. "Because it's not just my paper anymore. There's someone else involved, and someone who's enjoying herself reporting on whatever she likes, nice and peacefully. I don't want to get in the way of that."
There is, however, a pause.
"... at least, not most of the time," she admits, scratching at her hair. "There's exceptions. Odessa. The Guard, right now. But I still haven't figured out where exactly I want to draw the line between 'uninflected truth', 'opinion article', or 'angry rant'. That sort of thing takes a while to figure out."
Her gaze settles into a glum look as she lets out a sigh. "I should've known. Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do next time," she puffs, before a thought crosses her mind. "--but-- are you really much of a prisoner? How come you can just go off to some caves on a whim?"
'Veruni not allied with Odessa?' she'll write later. 'Or Yue just cranky?'
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Someone who's grumpily doing reconnaissance from a near distance as she holds her head slightly up past the bush she's peeking out of. Grump grump grump... who's Master talking to? Humph!! Master could be in danger! Grump grump grump...
Or maybe it's just grumpy she's not getting the treats?
"Understand well what your audience desires... and then at that point you will be upon the precipice of knowing what you actually wish to write," Yue laughs very faintly. She narrows one of her eyes to remark, "Most people, after all, do not care about truth. They only care about what they wish to hear."
Wow, that doesn't sound bitter at all??
She bobs her leg out again and remarks, "Ah, the Minder has complained of the noise as well and has barked an order to have me despatch it. And lo... we did, Marivel and Lady Isolde and I, as well as a dear friend of mine."
mrff mrff mrff, responds the Minder.
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
The redhead pauses - and her eyebrows raise a little. It's not a surprise to encounter someone who thinks of the press in that fashion, but it's certainly a rare experience to hear it said out loud, and calmly rather than in an angry yell.
"I get where you're coming from, but that's not the sort of paper I want to write. I want to report on what I want to report on. If that means low sales, good for me," she adds plainly, folding her arms as she tries not to look or sound too full of herself. "I mean, I'm pretty used to barely making rent, but I'm a hell of a lot happier now than I was in Guild Galad."
She pauses for a moment, then glances up, finding herself grinning slightly as she decides to try her luck. Waiting for the Minder to become once more preoccupied with her gifts, she lowers her voice just slightly. "So, if you want someone to hear your story and report it /properly/, I'm your girl." It's more bluff than suggestion, but she's fairly sure she recognizes the signs.
"So-- what? It wasn't transmitting or anything, just making noise? Where was this, anyway?" she adds, back at normal volume.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
The smirk of Yue's just turns a little bit more wry as she hears about Acacia's time in Guild Galad and, by virtue of the name of her paper, Meria Boule. Unless she's writing about Meria Boule while living in Ignas or something silly like that. But that's just absurd.
"... hmmm. How curious. News for your own sake, no matter how small the circulation? Perhaps I will go read, then," Yue remarks. It sounds almost sarcastic.
She lifts her head up and cackles to say, "My story? My story is long over, dear Acacia. There is no value in ruffling an old cucco's feathers, they say."
... is this lady all about the cuccos? (who is her player, and there thine shalt find thy answer)
"Right below us in a network of caverns. Specifically they are gathering Spheres, using a Sphere extracting machine."
She lifts her leg up until she can show that high heel of hers, humming confidently.
"We sliced it in half for all the grief it caused."
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
"Please do. We're confident in our reporting," Acacia retorts almost primly. She did actually have the most recent issue on her, tucking a hand into her bag to offer the tract up. It isn't much, but then the state of printing on Spira is pretty woeful, but she smirks nonetheless.
"And I don't believe that for a second. Like I said before, prisoners don't just get wheeled out for war. They could drop another couple golems and called it good. But you're here, and she's here," she adds, glancing back to the distracted Minder. "And I reckon there's something to that. Or a real good story about how you ended up in this, at least."
That said she steps back, holding up her hands as if in apology before looking down at her feet. "--Spheres?" she wonders, her eyebrows raised. In response she spins a couple of ideas around her head - but it's not like she knows enough for them to amount to anything, so eventually she can only frown. "Well... it sounds like we owe you one, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue looks towards the paper and quietly and gracefully accepts it with a chuckle. "Ah, literature. My only company within the confines of my own cell, I shall have you know. Thank you, Milady."
She leans her leg down and raises her eyebrows with a bigger smirk.
"Perchance what makes you believe my presence here is as preordained as yours? Mine Commander believes it to be an enemy trick, but the truth is as out there as why you, Marivel and everyone else is here."
She wags her finger in turn, then plucks that cucco feather out.
"You shall be able to trace some increased mercantile activity in Sphere dealing. Rin's ledgers tell a checkered tale, for the right price."
Then she cackles again. "But! All I wish for it is a good night's sleep. What do I know about the movements of a paramilitary organisation?"
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
"Spira pretty much sucks for books," Acacia notes, because on this at least she can commiserate with Yue's point of view. She hesitates, and then shrugs her pack off her shoulders - aware that she's been crowing about her newspaper a little too much. A peace offering couldn't hurt. "I've got a couple with me, if you want to do an exchange. Give us both something to read." Hopefully, Veruni text doesn't use a different language or anything.
She pauses again as Yue asks her question, and quietly thinks back to the rather muddled way in which Yue arrived, without much knowledge of anything on Filgaia. "It's not so much that you're here. It's that you're anywhere. Why keep a prisoner around indefinitely?" she wonders, but relents as she reaches back into her pack.
"--uh, but while I'm thinking about it - before we all got beamed over here by the Sorcery Globe, Odessa gave out a speech to damn near everyone. I dunno if you heard it, but I've got a recording," she offers it along with a couple of her lighter books. "Wouldn't call it good bedtime reading, but the others should do okay. Uh. Maybe a bit shlock, I guess. If you're expecting poems and eddas, not so much," she adds, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about the offer.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"Do you truly believe so? I find that there is quite a resplendence of literature, even from the scant few moments I have had to browse bookstores and other thrifty avenues," Yue cackles for a moment longer.
"The minutiae of fresh, lake and seawater fish. The history of Macalania's great crystalwood o'er the years. A treatise on boating, rafting and canoeing on Spira's many waterways. The tales of an ancient merchant by the name of O'aka. And of course, the Blitzball almanacs. I can share with you fascinating Spiran literature."
She grins ever wider to say, "Is it possible to not have heard it? 'Twas shown on the reflection of mine eternal companion Coccoro's eyes."
... Yue was listening to Vinsfeld's speech through cuccovision?!?!?!
<Pose Tracker> Acacia Saitani has posed.
"I thought you meant fiction," Acacia grumbles, though she keeps the books held out all the same. "Besides, I'll be the first to admit that reporting kind of makes you live in the present. It focuses you in on people, y'know? ... now who's the one reading about the past, for that matter?" she adds in a slight sulk, puffing out a breath before Yue makes her final comment.
The reporter draws up short at that, her mouth working for a moment as she tries to figure what to add. Eventually she settles on declaring, more firmly and with more feeling than perhaps she intended: "... I really hope you never have to hear Vinsfeld Rhadamanthus coming from your cucco's face ever again."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"Fiction and non-fiction, literature is but a fascinating window into the minds of its authors. In aggregate, it teaches you the knowledge, the assumptions, the prejudices and worldview of a peoples ..."
The Minder suddenly chimes in with, "This is why you're a book nerd with no friends, CR-S01."
UP NORTH, THE THUNDER PLAINS
A loud bolt of lightning strikes in the Thunder Plains.
NOW
"... ... please leave this thoroughly destroyed convict to her own devices," Yue requests.