2019-12-11: A Crimson Bride-to-be
- Log: A Crimson Bride-to-be
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
- Where: Sielje
- Date: 11th December 2019
- Summary: Riesenlied works through a cold in Sielje by reading next to Noeline.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has been spending some time in Sielje now; she's met the rather lovely person at the other end of her letters, a former staff member who's coming on in her years (but rather like Mama Shibe, always expected there was a cute soul in love on the other end...) and attended a few lectures, which... don't seem to really sink into her.
Still, there's something in the way she's been seeking other methods to protect herself, maybe. A commitment to taking care of herself, when so much of her capabilities come with self-harm.
Today, she's spending the day in the library, next to a rather cosy fireplace around which she's replaced her wheelchair with one of the reading chairs. She's still doing her thing of reading a book on astronomy. Someone hasn't given up on that promise to her daughter, it seems.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
As much as Noeline likes to read, she's been significantly enchanted by Sielje's scenery; she's tried accompanying Riesenlied to a couple of her lectures, but invariably ends up with her attention split between the subject matter and the sight of the drifting rainbow colours outside. A couple of times now she's led her partner on a long walk around the walkways of the school, simply enjoying sharing space and the view with her.
When she does read, this situation is exactly the way in which she likes to do it - drawn alongside Riesenlied in front of a warm fire, with a couple of mugs she snuck out of the staffroom and into the library proper sat nearby as they steam. Her own selection of books trend towards sorcery methods, because as much as her ability is a very instinctive thing, there's something to be said in learning better how to channel power for Riesenlied's sake.
This is Noeline, though, so her attention does tend to rather waver over to other interesting topics. The dogeared volume in her hands right now is apparently a thesis regarding one particularly enthusiastic student's experiments in dropping things off the city on ropes, dangling them at the edges of the pocket dimension to see what happens.
It leaves her chuckling every so often, and she leans aside into Riesenlied's touch during one such pause. She hasn't exchanged many words, but the way in which she pauses to breathe in and recharge her Riesenlied meter speaks volumes.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied definitely has been taking advantage of the enchanted scenery for her Walking Days; she seems to have charmed a few of the students with her efforts, who seem to be rooting for her, if not trying to offer potions and other bolstering ingredients (of questionable variety; they are students, after all).
"Mmm... hmm..." Riesenlied bobbles for a moment, and shivers for a moment. She's rubbing her bare hands -- well, one bare hand and one scaled hand.
She peeks over to Noeline's books for a moment, and then closes her eyes for a moment. "Sorcery... I was going to ask her about Crest Caps. Perhaps it will help me be safer without having to get hurt."
She sniffles just a bit, too, since that cold is still ongoing. She takes a quiet sip from her mug of cocoa.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline isn't quite sure what to make of the more experimental potions, generally preferring they be marked with Jacqueline's name rather than any other... ... though she has been keeping track of which concoctions work particularly well, huffing in quiet relief before slipping off to have a word with their maker's lecturers.
She looks up from the latest experiment - 'On The Miscibility Of A Spoon Of Jam With The Dimensional Boundary' - when Riesenlied shivers, and the Hyadean is quick to put the sheaf of papers down and reach across to take her beloved's hands in her own, squeezing them gently together and then rubbing them for warmth.
"Mm," she encourages with a quiet smile. "That seems like a good idea. The more we can do to let you get used to this power without over-burdening yourself, the better... still, I have to admit that my knowledge of Crest Caps is still fairly limited. Would they be particularly compatible with the Ley?"
Riesenlied shivers a second time, and Noeline frowns lightly to herself, reaching over to rearrange the blanket that's draped over the other woman's shoulders. "Really," she sighs theatrically, and there's a little worry to it - but a great deal more warmth. "You'd never guess you came from Elru of all places."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has been fairly good at polite rejection as of late, regardless; she seems to have picked up the skill when she has to be firm with the Fereshte's children while still being fairly encouraging, after all. Still, perhaps more than anything, it's an encouragement that there are people eager to support her.
"I should have fetched my gloves, but those mitts are terrible for reading," she whines softly.
There is a quiet hum as they hold hands together, and her cheeks flush into red. She looks terribly happy about the exchange.
"Crest Caps allow even the completely uninitiated to use a Crest Sorcery spell, I heard," she explains. "But once used, it is spent until it can be primed once more."
She sniffles again and whines, since people have been teasing her about it. "Does coming from Elru mean I need to have cold resistance??"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Perhaps if we just get you a light source, you can hide under the blankets entirely," Noeline suggests with a toothy grin and a light dancing in her eyes, entirely unable to avoid teasing Riesenlied just a little more - though she pairs it with a light kiss of affection, nestling a little closer in to the other Hyadean's side as she wonders: "We could always read together. It isn't exactly a children's bedtime story, but still..."
But still, she stays where she is, and even as Riesenlied puts her cup down there's a pair of hands ready to hold onto hers again - even if the clawed one is a little bigger than Noeline could hope to cover on her own. "Mm. ... but we are not exactly the most structured of casters," she considers with a light frown. "Would something like a-- a Ley Battery work better, perhaps? ... still, I'll try anything if it will help."
"Not at all," she adds to Riesenlied's whine, snickering softly under her breath. "It would certainly help at times, but it would mean I didn't get nearly as much of a chance to curl up with you. That's become something of a highlight," she hums to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has one of those terribly affectionate pouts in turn, puffing up in a way not far from Noeline's own; she leans quietly and murmurs, "I would be rather curious... especially if I can help you with your own talents. We are always ever learning, finding new ways, after all."
There is a quiet hum and a puff, as she slips her hands closer towards Noeline's again. "A Ley... Battery?" There is a quiet frown; the first thing she thinks of, of course, is... herself. "I do not know. Just... I figured..."
She lets that trail off, before drawing her lips tighter. "You know I would not miss the chance to--to--" Reddening, "Curl up." A pause, as she flushes and stammers, "When was the first time we started to do that...? I can scarce remember now. So much happened."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a quiet and slightly bashful smile, Noeline nods, settling her head down onto Riesenlied's shoulder. "It is a serious offer," she admits. "I wouldn't mind turning the pages along with you, if it meant you'd be more comfortable. And I do think that you're right - we were once opposite sides of the same coin when it comes to our relationship with the Guardians, but that just means we might both have something to learn from the other."
She does allow herself a brief, apologetic smile, because right after she said the words, she came to much the same conclusion as Riesenlied did. "... that's the wrong way to word it, I suppose," she admits with a smile. "But, something to help take the burden off of you. Not that I'm saying the idea is bad," she adds as her partner wavers, drawing back into a smile. "I'd be eager to try it."
She's silent for a long moment, then closes her eyes. "... it was shortly after Adlehyde, wasn't it? Of course, I'd pledged myself to you beforehand, but... it wasn't afterwards until the enormity of it all sank in," she muses gently, lost in light nostalgia. "You needed support, and-- so did I, if I'm honest about it."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"W-well, I believe I have started to memorise what is a planet and what is a moon, up in Filgaia's night sky," Riesenlied answers. "Beyond the Old Moon -- Lunar -- and the New Moon, that is." She ponders for a moment that note about the cursed New Moon, but thinks very little of it for the time being. "Sielje is a very good place for it. There is a wonderful stardome with a powerful telescope I want to see. Let us go together."
There is a further hum, and a quiet furrow of her brow. "I do not know, to be honest. I suppose Mediums are in essence a Ley Battery..." She smiles just a bit more wanly. "And there is swordsmanship to think about too, once more."
She dwells in nostalgia for a moment longer, then bashfully says, "I ... suppose so. It was a lot of grief and emotional turbulence." A pause. "Was I a different person... back then? Sometimes I wonder if..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's eyebrows pick up as she listens, glancing briefly at the tome that Riesenlied was looking through. "I see... sometimes I think I'm a little too focused on the ground to look up high," she chuckles, though it's said so lightly that it's obvious her teasing of herself isn't meant to be serious. "But that does sound very interesting, as something to go and see. Do they mention when you should try to visit it?" she adds, the question a genuine one - she has a sneaky suspicion that time might be a little bit off up here.
Carefully, she slips her hand underneath the blanket, letting it come to rest against the curve at the back of Riesenlied's neck; the touch is light and meant to be soothing as she quirks a smile. "It will be part of your training. Bit by bit, you'll get better. There's no need to rush it - not when we have so many people supporting us."
Her gaze mists over as she thinks back to those times, chuckling quietly under her breath. "... you were. And so was I. But that doesn't mean that the change is a bad one," she's quick to add, cutting off what she expects of Riesenlied's reaction with a toothy smile. Sitting up a little, she puffs up, arms folded.
"You have lost some strength, true, but learned a great deal about empathy and conviction and love. I have stopped being such a wayward soul - not that I was all that wayward, apparently," she grumbles good-naturedly, "And begun taking responsibility for my actions and my choices, and trusting in others' opinions of me. We have both learnt to move forwards together."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"They recommended a clear night, somewhere inbetween the ninth hour and ten," Riesenlied recollects with a finger placed to her lip. She watches the fireplace for a moment, before smiling just a little bit wider as she says, "It is good to be grounded. But I have ever been one to get lost amongst the stars, do you not think?"
But there's a more quiet stammer as she admits, "I was pondering if some of what drew you to me might have been lost and if I should... find it again. But I know that is terribly silly."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"... you're asking that of someone who spent a couple of centuries pretending to be something she's not," Noeline can't help but grin, drawing her arms back around Riesenlied. "I might be counted amongst the Crimson Nobles now - but I wonder if I would have been at the time?"
She leaves that question unanswered, drawing up instead to place a kiss at the corner of Riesenlied's mouth, and another briefly on her lips. "I hope you stay that way. Those hopes and dreams could light up the cosmos brighter than any star," she tries, and it's a good job she doesn't have Riesenlied's horns because she's definitely doing her best not to sound too proud of herself for that one.
She softens and calms down the next moment, her arms tucked around her partner as she folds into a quiet, affectionate smile. "Really... you know that's not true. We have changed exactly because we have taken this journey together, learning to fit at each other's side. Besides-- the Riesenlied who would fight fiercely for her people is still in there," she adds warmly. "I have seen her often enough. In the way we continue on, even if we stumble."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied grumps ever further! Oh, how she grumps whenever Noeline is second-guessing herself, especially regarding her Crimson Nobleness. "That journal of Marivel's is not recent, you realise. That was when you were still being yourself, travelling the world as you see fit. And you read it as well -- that she thought you were not sullying their name."
There's a more precious pout as she says, "Besides, you-- you will always be my Noble, no matter what else."
A pause, as she ponders, "What is the title for a Crimson Noble's consort?" though that thought burns her up too much, so she hides into that kiss instead. And because Noeline's poetry about her light, brighter than any star rather suckers her up to that really easily.
".... mmm. I hope so. It is why I have been focused so much about my reason for fighting... because I wonder if there was a period in which that fire faded for a moment."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a light grin on her lips, Noeline laughs gently enough that it might be possible she's just doing this exactly /so/ that she can see Riesenlied grump and watch how adorable it is. "You're right, of course," she soothes, drawing a hand through Riesenlied's hair. "I'm just trying to make sure I don't become too prideful all at once. ... still, I'm more than aware how much of an honour it is to be considered as one of her kind," she adds, her tone suddenly wistful.
Her embrace tightens a little before Riesenlied even speaks - but when she does it's with a breathless chuckle, and another quiet warmth in her eyes. "... and you will always be my..."
She hesitates at the same time as Riesenlied does. Strictly speaking, the only source of truth she has is asking Marivel, and at the same time if she actually did ask that she feels it's a fifty-fifty bet whether Marivel would ever let her live it down. So instead she simply huffs and goes with her gut, as a recurring theme from a series of book titles drifts to the forefront of her memory. "... I /think/ they used the term 'bride' most often," she chuckles, and then her mind catches up to her.
Which is why she spends a while hiding in that kiss as well, still, red-faced when she pulls back. "I don't think it was wrong for you to follow the pursuit of peace for so long. Just as I don't think it's wrong for you to resolve to protect those you love now. Without one or the other, we would not have reached this point."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Oh no! Riesenlied is playing straight into Noeline's hands. Well, regardless of whether or not it was planned, she seems to take some pride in being protective and just a bit possessive of the title for Noeline's sake. She tends to be the kind to relent often, so it's a rare cute side of hers, this one.
"U-u-uhm--"
Riesenlied definitely has just exploded, and you can see her horns doubling as steam vents just now.
"... well, if I am to be your Crimson Bride... then-- then I want some more commitment to when we should arrange a ceremony," Riesenlied answers with just a little bit of equally rare pomp.
There is a bit of silence afterwards, though, as she quietly nods and murmurs, "Perhaps not. It is... difficult for me to know for certain." (New BB Message (12/88) posted to 'Daily Armengard' by Sheriff Star: Armengard Wisdom (Dec. 11))
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is not exactly trying to studiously ignore her own decision, so much as stop her mind whirling a little; she covers for it in the short term by puffing out a breath, and catching Riesenlied's gaze with her own. "... remember not to spend all your time looking backwards. I support you because I trust you - the same goes for everyone who has supported us thus far. Whatever worries you might have over the past, that won't change."
She pauses, and puffs. "Besides, this is your own 'Crimson Noble' moment. I will always insist that you are the heart and soul of Wayside." Grump!
But she can't put it off too long, and she sneaks a glance off to one side as her cheeks finally colour hard. "... you are right," she mumbles, bringing her other hand to clasp the ring on her finger. "It's been a little difficult to think of, this far from home and the Fereshte. And if we did it now, the children would never, ever forgive us," she grumbles.
"So... once we find them again, perhaps," she decides, meeting Riesenlied's gaze once more, this time more solemnly. "So that we can celebrate their return, and offer our own celebrations in turn. So that they can all be there."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's lips wiggle for a moment as she draws in a breath and nods quietly. "Okay. I know-- I know, of course. But I suppose I would not always be me if I was not always so studiously self-examining myself," she chuckles nervously.
And-- pauses as Noeline is the one to turn the grump on her!
"W-well..." she twiddles her thumbs. "Yes, you are right. Though I still think the Heart of Wayside sounds a bit... a bit... much, perhaps."
But Noeline finally gets to that topic of their ceremony and...
"We will discuss with them. No doubt they would deeply enjoy being part of the planning process... hehe. Mikaia is the kind who'd try to figure out a whole spread on her own. Janey would mostly focus on what kind of foods she'd like to eat."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's laugh is softer, and she makes a point to finally sneak herself under enough of Riesenlied's blanket that she can suddenly part it and slip inside, tucking it around the both of them as she flashes a playful grin. "Hmm, where did I just hear that a few minutes ago?" she makes a play of wondering, before she leans her head against Riesenlied's shoulder and slips an arm back around her.
"We are truly as bad as each other," she sums up with a grin, fishing for Riesenlied's arms to place them around her as well. "But I don't think it's any less grand a title than Crimson Noble, surely? And I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in Wayside who would disagree."
"I wonder about that," she adds as she closes her eyes, her book rather forgotten in the comfortable position she's placed herself in. "I feel like Janey would surprise you. She'd be the one responsible for rounding everyone else up, I'm quite sure, and getting them moving besides. Somehow, she'd manage to stride right into Veruni territory and grab Ambrosius and Kaguya."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's horns wilt a little as Noeline playfully tucks herself under the blanket and grins at her, teasing about the very thing she was just going on about! "O-oh. You are right, after all, so... mm--"
She reaches up with her good, soft hand and flicks a bit of her hair. "Yes! I am truly the Heart of Wayside, ho ho..." A pause as her horns wilt the rest of the way. "T-that is not a title to be announced like that."
She thinks about Janey gathering people up, and...
"Yes, I think she would rather do just that, would she not?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a pure and breathless laugh, Noeline draws herself up to place her arms around Riesenlied's shoulders and scratch lightly behind the drooping horns. "Don't try to force it," she insists, and even if she's teasing a little there's a warm light of love in her eyes. "All you have to do is stay true to yourself, as you have been. It's not exactly a title to be paraded, after all. It just-- is, and we're all thankful for it already."
Still, she does look quietly charmed at the sight of the hairflick, grinning despite her soft tone. "... we'll find them again," she promises, clasping one of Riesenlied's hands in hers. "That's a promise. No matter how long it might take."