2019-07-25: No Such Constraints
- Log: No Such Constraints
- Cast: Amaterasu, Kaguya Alathfar
- Where: Luca - Port District
- Date: July 25, 2019
- Summary: Kaguya and Amaterasu speak in Luca about current events as well as the next steps. And... waitresses.
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
There are houses in Luca, when all is through. Even close to the harbor where it all began, more places are unbroken than not by the time the fires die down though hardly untouched.
This building was once a tavern. It's been scorched externally -- the sign is barely legible -- but it still stands.
Today is a rainy one for the city, a heavy storm rolls in from the sea. The gutters run grey with ashy water.
It will help clean the city, Amaterasu thinks. And in time, there will be proper rebuilding. At some point, they must turn Luca into a proper base of operations. Kilika already isn't sufficient. Once they get things up and running here -- gathering and distributing food, supplies, and so on -- they will be able to turn their attention north.
Her attention, speaking of that, is on a map laid out across a table. A few bright red stones mark waypoints to the north, alongside an assortment of smaller duller stones, perhaps meant to suggest their forces on the Highroad... and the forces of Yevon that are known to them.
"I wonder which it is that the Guard plans to sieze next," she muses aloud, her fingertips skimming the stones for Djose Temple, the old Crusader base of operations, and of course, the Moonflow south side.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Maybe they'll reopen. Maybe they won't. Kaguya remains confident that a prolonged siege would've been worse for Luca than what actually happened. ...Doesn't make it all nice, but--
War rarely is.
But here, inside, away from the rain, is a map, and--from the side of this room--a doorway. Kaguya steps through it, dressed in casual enough finery, essentially a field uniform that vaguely pretends at being armor. "Who knows?" she answers her older sister's question, stepping up to the table and peering down at the stones on it.
"Mushroom Rock where the Operation was has been pretty empty... but it would be a good place for a small force to hide and strike behind our lines later, if they'er smart about it."
Kaguya waves a hand vaguely, gesturing as if to say 'whatever.' "The Drifters who favor Yevon here are probably all focusing on evacuation efforts for the people displaced. People are reluctant to get into the middle of a war."
"...Which, I mean, fair. I wouldn't be either if it weren't where my experiment's going. Waiting around for them to decide what they're doing is sure a thing, but... I need to see how far they can go, with help instead of direct orders."
Beat, "So, stab anybody interesting lately?"
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
Without a doubt it would have been worse -- this sentiment is shared by Amaterasu as well. She's waged war on enough fronts to have an idea of how things could have played out here in Luca. Some of the humans have died. They've sown fear and terror, and will meet opposition in the weeks and months to come.
This is still, she feels, the best course.
"Ka-ya," her sister greets her with, along with a nod of the head. "I was beginning to worry you had gotten lost. Even if your condition has improved, you should not be out in the rain."
Her gaze turns back to the map.
"What of my armor? How are the repairs progressing?"
Her gaze lifts from the table only when Kaguya approaches and evaluates their plans.
"Hmm hmm. So, that may be a place to watch. I do not think we quite have the numbers yet to sieze and hold it ourselves, unless we begin conscripting from the Spirans, but we must at consider what lies before us. Similarly, I believe a push for the Moonflow will stretch our resources too thin and much too soon..."
She's seen the overeager commander, before, grab what they could not hold. In an enemy's land they must be prudent.
"Hmm. Do you think so? I had been considering the possibility some of their number might strike back against us, but it may be that they have no more loyalty to Yevon than the guard. With most of them as strangers in this land, it does limit their choices, if they wish to avoid stepping on Yevon's toes."
She taps, again, the land outside Luca.
"We, however, have no such constraits."
At 'experiment' Kaguya receives a silent, questioning look from her older sister.
Which is followed by:
"Some. I crossed blades with a 'waitress' at the docks after the Golems made landfall. She badly damaged my armor. There were two more later. One with quite the display of magic akin to our own, and the other a young lady elf most insistant on inspecting my weapon."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Kaguya lacks the sheer amount of experience Amaterasu has in warfare--but she's had a serious crash course over the past years, particularly with the Oasis Free Company that has now become the Green Guard. Sure, her tactician left for Filgaia... but she's a quick study.
"Hey Mat," she answers. "And no, I just took the long way to avoid more of the wind. The wind's totally worse. Sometimes the whole 'weather' thing is still pretty weird, honestly."
At the table she continues, "We didn't have all the parts I needed, so I had to take the extra time to get the materials and make them myself. I think I've improved on the design, though. There's some fibers I was able to integrate that grow around here that'll make it much more resilient, and boost its protection against fire, too."
Kaguya taps her cheek before she puts that hand through her hair, pushing a lock behind her ear, for all the good it does being short. "Yeah. And I don't think conscription's a good plan, with the way these humans view each other. And we don't want to over-rely on the Golems, in case Sin shows..."
Kaguya looks up at Amaterasu. "Some of them might,' she admits. "They're pretty mad. There's definitely some who think the attack was unprovoked. But most of them just aren't willing to get their hands that dirty. I know some of the Drifter population pretty well. It's the exceptions we'll need to watch out for. Plus if Odessa gets involved again on the other side this time."
She grins. "That's true though. Having decided we don't care about Yevon's opinion, there's a certain freedom."
Experiment. The questioning look--Unlike the Kaguya of a century ago, this one is confident as she looks back--there's a certainty, a 'trust me' in her returned gaze. But--
Her eyes light up at 'waitress' and her expression turns both amused and interested. "Ahhh, you met Lunie," Kaguya declares thoughtfully. "That explains why your armor's in such bad shape." She considers. 'Waitress'... delivered that way...
"Maybe you ran into another Gebler type? I know there's a few of them running around. The lower-levels are hilarious, and if we can keep them being funny we can downplay how dangerous they are. A lady elf..."
Kaguya shrugs. "I mean, I get that, I'm interested in opposing ARMs too, but who's dumb enough to try it in the middle of battle?"
"Lunie's the big one to watch out for, though--Lunata Croze, winner of the Lacour Tournament of Arms. She's definitely the most dangerous of the waitresses I've met. Not only trained in delicious sandwiches, but accompanied by an emissary of Ge Ramtos, Guardian of Death. It's an ancient tradition in the Adelhyde region, you know. They say that learning to balance multiple dishes and serve many tables effectively is a good way to learn to handle multiple opponents, too."
The bullshit is small, so far. She's not sure how much she can get away with here. But it is true that Lunata Croze is a dangerous opponent...
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
Amaterasu appears to consider, for the first time, the sound outside. "Hmm. So that's what the howling sound was. Very well."
Just like always, she treats Kaguya a little bit like a lower-ranking soldier, and a little bit like a child.
She slightly shifts the positioning for a stone on the map. "I see. Once it's repaired, I will have the opportunity to put the adjustments to the test. I plan on taking to the field against Yevon soon, but not until my armor has been repaired. There is no sense in taking unnecessary risks." Her eyes hood. "I do not plan on dying to a hand of a human."
There are battles she has yet to fight, and they are not here.
Slowly, Amaterasu nods. "Indeed. The humans of Spira cannot be trusted, yet. We must take care to impress on the Guard not to overextend our grasp at any point until we receive reinforcements, destroy Sin, or see Yevon bow before us. I am eager to fight again," she explains.
"But I am less eager to lose."
Against Sin, against Yevon, against the Drifters that choose to get in their way.
"Indeed. I have faced a few of their ilk already," Amaterasu states, inclining her head in a single short nod. "But that is true. Perhaps their attentions are diverted. I have heard of meddling from Odessa, though not to which end their aims lead. We will want keep a loose eye on what they are doing... but until it affects our plans, it does not matter what those here from Filgaia intend."
If they get in the way, then they can move to wipe them out. Unlike Yevon, size should not be a consideration, or so Amaterasu thinks.
"Lunie... so that is the name of this 'waitress'," Amaterasu voices, her face a mask of deep, pensive consideration. "I would trade blades with that one again. It is rare for a human to stand their ground so."
As for the other:
Amaterasu frowns deeply. "Perhaps. I would hope it would not be. I have told you before of what the alliance between them and the 'other' did to us. I have heard from command that some humans merely display a 'wild talent'. It may merely be so, rather than 'their forces' meddling also in this land."
But it's when Kaguya speaks more on Lunie -- Lunata -- that she has her big sister's full attention.
"I see. Both a champion and a 'waitress'... I have not heard of such training previously. Do go on."
And accompanied by one of the Guardians, as well...
A waitress is a fearsome foe indeed.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Kaguya has her ways of making up the ground, when Amaterasu leans on being the older sister. Now and then. ...More now than when she was younger, maybe, though a little of that too even as the small, brilliant botanist who maybe needed more protecting back then.
"Good. If you're up for it, I can include a couple of sensors to gain a little more data on our opponents. Like as a bracelet or whatever--similar to the ones I used during the Operation."
"Yeah. They've got assets... but so long as Yevon tells them we're the enemy, we're not accessing any of that. And with how gung-ho the Guard is about conversion, they're kinda right anyway."
Hmm. "Yeah," Kaguya agrees. "I can see that. That's what I'm working on in the councils, anyway. And losses give us good data, but..."
"Hey, what's the fun of a little sister not helping her big sister look cooler? I'd rather see you win, too."
Gebler... Kaguya can appreciate them, naturally. Likes to mess with them. But whether she'll admit it or not, she hasn't forgotten that they're not trivial opponents at all. "Same. My contacts at least tell me that for now, Odessa isn't inclined to work against us, and that's good enough for now. And as long as Gebler keeps it small, that saves us that headache, too."
Lunie... hearing Amaterasu say 'Lunie' in such seriousness is a very rigorous test of Kaguya's poker face. She passes, somehow.
"Oh, she'll stand her ground all right. Once she got stabbed through the chest like six times and then blasted Berserk with a Gear. It was pretty metal."
Yes... Gebler, and the 'Other.' "Yeah, I've heard some of that. Hey, that'd be nice."
Kaguya is frankly eager to focus on Lunata at the moment--she smiles, but it's a sort of confident knowing smile. "Oh, yeah. She even impressed the Demon of Elru--I saw him wearing her insignia. Her parents are both notable adventurers, and she's one of the founding members of the 'Caravan Kinship' who wounded Mauri--the Guard still don't like them much."
"But her training is intricate, and it all sort of ties in--it's not just bladework but a supernatural connection to death itself, that infuses her attacks. She can meditate on each even by food preparation--they say that each different protein represents another shade of death, and that a waitress can't even touch a sword until she can deliver a perfect crust while blindfolded."
"The stuff she can do with a knife while half-awake will pretty much always stick in my memory of when I was living with them," Kaguya muses. "But the big thing with her is just... She can't die until the Guardians release her. It's pretty fucked up, actually. But I've never heard of anybody who wasn't a waitress getting tied up in a deal like that, so maybe it's just how it goes."
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
Amaterasu again appears to consider her little sister's proposition. "I have no reason to refuse," she says at last. "Considering what we may be facing, it seems a useful opportunity. Be they Fiends, or Yevon's summoners, or other meddlers."
Assorted Drifters, or Odessa, or even Gebler included.
"Hmm hm... No, not until they have had more time to understand how things now work, or until the Guard has shown them that a victory over Sin is possible. If Sin is slain, they will flock to our side. But anything less than a miracle will not grant in them loyalty to us." Her gaze hoods. "I do hope the Guard understands that. Even the slightest challenge from these people cannot be tolerated. An example must be made, or we will need to watch our backs as well."
At least, for now, it doesn't seem that there are any plans afoot from Gebler. So that leaves only meddlers and Odessa... and of course, Yevon.
"I plan to take to the field... here." She brushes her fingertips near to the middle of Mi'ihen. "I do not intend to claim ground. Take note of that, Ka-ya. ...Instead I plan to rout their forces as much as is possible, and weaken their line before withdrawing."
She looks at her sister, critically. "We have force, but not numbers. Yet, enough losses and even they will feel it, in time. So when we do expand our area of control, we will not have to worry as much about what it will take to hold it."
In the meantime there are other matters to think about. Supply lines. Bodies for the front. Weak points. Allies, enemies.
Luca was a short battle.
It will not be a short war.
But her sister has her attention again as she speaks of the most dreaded Adlehyde has to offer...
...the waitresses.
"I see..." she says, with all attendant seriousness. "So even a human nation produces warriors like these 'waitresses'. Perhaps if they had but more of them, Adlehyde might not have fallen to the Metal Demons. ...Hmph. It appears I have been unaware of much, consumed in my duties in the territories." She shakes her head regretfully.
"An undying warrior. Indeed, that confirms what I had witnessed. Waitresses... warriors chosen by the Guardians..."
She nods but once.
"I understand now how 'Mother' fell."