2021-04-28: How Your Moms Met

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  • Log: How Your Moms Met
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
  • Where: North Calm Lands
  • Date: April 27, 2021
  • Summary: Riesenlied and Noeline are back at the Fereshte, and their children are curious about how they first met. The truth is more infuriating than expected. Maybe.

============================<* North Calm Lands *>============================

The Calm Lands are an expanse of wide plains, bordered on the north by a massive ravine - The Scar - which was formed when Lady Yunalesca fought and overcame Sin for the first time. The Calm Lands are truly massive, but almost entirely uninhabited - which is why most Summoners have followed Yunalesca's example, and taken to this area to fight their own final battle as well.

The northern part of the Calm Lands are past the scar. Here, the land is flatter -- and not from natural processes, but simply being repeatedly battered down by Sin's attacks over the years. The grasses are shorter here, though, and there are not even trees dotting them. Mount Gagazet dominates the horizon, its over 8,000 sharls of height climbing far higher than any mountain on Glenwood or Meribus A chill wind often blows down from it.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HowvEJNt5wg
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied is back in the Fereshte, following a particularly harrowing battle where she had to transform into the Ley Dragon. Let's not even worry about the particularly challenging way they have to go through to the Elw Teleporter, somehow it'll be fine...

    Because now she's cuddling with family, safe and sound in her bedroom on the airship. Janey and Mikaia in particular have demanded that they get more family time, so family time they get. "Hehe... you can have anything you want for dinner tonight, as a way of making up for it."

    Janey and Mikaia grin a little, humming to say, "Oh, not so fast! That was mom attempting to weasel her way into work again!"

    Caught...!!

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Noeline had looked quite grumpily aggrieved by the time she managed to get Riese back to the Fereshte, but not angry at her partner so much as just pouting at the world in general. With Riesenlied's chair in need of more repairs from everything they just went through, she'd carried the Hyadean most of the way herself.

    She looks a lot better now, having recharged herself with Family Cuddles - another thing she wouldn't have expected to ever be able to say about herself in the past. "... you're not going anywhere today. Doctor's orders," she adds with a snort, nodding along with the pair. It may even be a true statement given that Citan was on-hand in the fight. "Just take it easy, and make rest your priority. We can handle the cooking," she offers.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied feels pretty bad, still. The world really has a way of meddling with her, and she hasn't found an effective way to say 'no' to it when she really needs to. But she doesn't have to feel alone, since Noeline will be with her, through the worst of it.

    Even if she can't get rid of some of the guilt. That's just Riesenlid for you.

    "Yes, both Citan and Lily advised rest..." Riesenlied expresses. "Also-- ah! Yes, I suppose I will, then..."

    A longer pause.

    "Heeey, moms, you promised to follow up on that story last time," Janey grins.

    Mikaia nods. "Tell us a bit of how you two first met..."

    Riesenlied blinks again, flushing. "Eh? Eh?"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Noeline has Riesenlied's head in her lap at this point - the first thing she'd done upon getting on board the Fereshte was drop most of her armor, some of it quite literally on the spot, and change into something more comfortable. Her fingers drift through her partner's white hair as she smiles, just a little indulgently. "... I can tell you're tired. We didn't even have to nudge you more than once before you gave in."

    That indulgence extends to the brief silence; she drinks it in, eyes closed, as she takes a long and deep breath. The little ritual helps remind her of where she is, where they are - safe and together and, for the time being, with nothing pressing down on them.

    When the request comes, she opens one eye to glance between Janey and Mikaia with an amused huff. "--do you mean the first time we met, or the first time we managed to get a word out to each other? The two are an embarrassing length of time apart."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied also has some pleasant, lighter garments that Noeline has picked out for her in the past. She's looking pretty lovely right now. "W-well, I will not argue with that... I am pretty exhausted."

    She pauses as she smiles, and takes a chance to partake in the same ritual -- drawing a long breath as she reminds herself of the nice, familiar scents of their room.

    Then the question comes--

    "Y-yes, you may find yourself a bit infuriated at how long we danced around the issue..."

    Janey scratches her nose, then grins. "Well, try us anyway. The very first time."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Riesenlied's hair doesn't really need combing, or this much attention paid to it, but it's not exactly for the dragon's sake that Noeline is fussing so much over it; she hums happily, feeling the tension bleed out of her as she stifles a faint yawn.

    "... you know, I am sure you were there when we were thrown into that vision of the past," she comments with an suspicious frown, then lets it go to chuckle to herself. "But I suppose a little nostalgia never hurt anyone. I've talked before about how life in the Photosphere was, haven't I? As a neonate, a much younger Noeline spent her time training, fighting, and doing her best to avoid everyone else," she puffs, with a rather wry smile. "That last part did not always work."

    She lapses into quiet thought for a moment, then continues. "Then, imagine if you were hurt and walking through the Fereshte, and someone had just neatly placed a roll of bandages in the middle of the corridor." There is a moment whether Noeline wonders whether she should make Riesenlied curl up in embarrassment, but that's an easy decision. "And there is a wing sticking out from around a corner where someone is trying to hide." The Mikaia special runs in the family.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "W-well, yeah... I know it was a pretty tough time too. There were bullies," Janey doesn't really sugarcoat it. Mikaia limpets a little bit tighter against both her mothers, before humming quietly.

    Riesenlied does quietly fidget and flush as she imagines it... oh no, woob woob woob woob, she's created the flashback bubble already!!

    *peeeek*

    THE PHOTOSPHERE, CENTURIES AGO

    A young Hyadean with no name -- save 'Nazgul', a name that she feels she does not deserve anymore -- hurries around the corner as she spots a certain someone pacing down the hallway. She's left a medicine kit and a roll of bandages in the center, rather suspiciously, and tries peeking around the corner... uwaaa.

    She's pretty small and scraggly, even moreso than she is now; she doesn't really have the facilities or the werewithal to clean herself up either, and wears ragged versions of the garb the Fereshte wear -- a real oddity in a place like the Photosphere.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Even by neonate standards, the young Noeline is small - not as small as the little Hyadean leaving her presents, but enough that she's a prime target for the rest of the Metal Demons in training who have already gotten the hang of punching downwards rather than up.

    It doesn't help that she hasn't gotten comfortable in her own skin just yet, and that she's had it drilled into her that her purpose is to be a spy. Even in an empty corridor she skulks and does her best to minimize her presence, sticking to the gloomier side of the corridor. When she catches sight of the gifts, rather than think the best of them, the ingrained response is wariness.

    It doesn't take her long to pick out the figure peeking around the corner, but she doesn't approach even when she's spotted the young Nazgul. Rather, she wordlessly keeps her eyes on the little Hyadean as she carefully scoops up the supplies, holding them close to her chest as she starts to back away to what she considers a safe distance.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "Eeeh...? Both mom and mom are unexpectedly cute, even back then..." Mikaia comments.

    ---

    Nazgul in a way had it easier -- if you call 'cast off so far away that she's no longer in view of the bullies' easier; no one particularly feels compelled to go to the Gutter unless they have to, after all.

    And... in a way, she also left the rest of the Photosphere alone -- until she saw a particular neonate that for some reason made her heart flutter and act strangely, and her cheeks flush. Who was she...? Why does she make her feel this way?

    Little Nazgul is still peeking, unaware she's been spotted...

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    "... yes, well... the Photosphere had its moments, after all. Despite everything else, it was our home, and other people's too," Noeline comments wryly with a huff.

    ---

    Noeline's tale is a little bit of a white lie. It isn't strictly the first time that Nazgul has done this - it's just the first time that Noeline hasn't immediately bolted afterwards, too used to having to hoard what she owns for fear of having someone try to take it from her.

    But it is the first time she hesitates, a flicker running across her brow, and then turns to where Nazgul is badly hiding. For a long moment she stands there, trying to read what the other Hyadean's motives might be, then turns to step towards the corner where the little winged girl waits.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied sulks a little and clings to a pillow. "I still miss my wings..."

    ---

    Nazgul jolts as Noeline starts to pace towards where she's hiding, and immediately bolts to flee!! At least, that would be the plan, except she trips a good two steps afterwards and collides on the ground.

    "Owww..."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    "Your wings now are no less majestic," Noeline hums, because the sight of the Ley Dragon is still fresh in her mind and she is entirely biased. And knows it, from the grin on her face.

    ---

    The neonate's expression is not exactly glum, so much as stoic. She's already recognized the value in not giving her antagonists any satisfaction of a reaction, and that making them bored is the best way to get them to go away quicker.

    She does her best to hold that flat look as she steps over the fallen Nazgul, but something in her brow flickers. Whether her silence has made her more prone to introspection or the unusual act of kindness has touched her, she's not sure which - but something makes her picture the scene from outside. One neonate standing over the fallen form of another. If she were laughing right now, she'd just be the same as the others.

    That thought gets her moving; she kneels suddenly, face drifting to a frown as she checks Nazgul over. "... there's no point getting this stuff if you hurt yourself in the process," she declares before she tears off a strip of bandage with a bit of a rough effort.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    There was something, perhaps, in that stoic expression of Noeline's that really moved the little Riesenlied's heart; perhaps it's seeing a majestic strength, but perhaps understanding that there's hurt underneath it too.

    She scampers and turns around, before seeing that Noeline is kneeling beside her and tearing a strip of that same bandage. She's scuffed her knee, and it's bleeding a little.

    "I--I am sorry," whimpers Nazgul. "No, you do not have to use that on me! That is... that is for you..."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    "I am still not sure how you proclaim that a spy is 'majestic'," Noeline grumbles. "I can feel my tutors of old really grumbling over it." She doesn't seem inclined to suggest Riesenlied stop, however...

    ---

    "And I'm choosing to use it this way," Noeline replies, quickly and in a clipped voice, cutting right through Nazgul's apology as she works. It's only afterwards that her fingers still for a moment, spooling back what the other Hyadean just said. It takes her a long moment to recognize that she's been apologized to; the very idea of is it kind of absurd, here, and it leaves her somewhat nonplussed.

    "... don't worry about it," she mutters eventually, too awkward - and many decades off becoming the eloquent Crimson Noble of today. Rather than risk saying anything else, she finishes working, spraying the scrape and then covering it with a loop of bandage. It's quick but effective work.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied squirms to stammer, "W-well, the way you cast a silent and handsome gaze over me, stoic and-- and knightly... knightly-- aaaa--" She gets interrupted midway on account of melting down...

    ---

    There's a soft yelp from Nazgul, not used to the sting of medicinal spray. She keeps her gaze trained at the ground, as if too shy to look up at the other Hyadean... though she sneaks a peek here and there, when she thinks she isn't looking.

    "Thank you," she expresses, warm and empathic -- something that hasn't changed in her centuries and centuries of life. And certainly?

    It's a strange and rare tone, in the cold halls of the Photosphere.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Noeline's eyebrows slowly raise as Riesenlied slowly melts down in her arms; she can only get so far before she starts to feel mildly bashful herself, huffing out a breath as she leans down to place a kiss on her partner's forehead.

    ---

    Noeline's work is quick and methodical - she doesn't look up to meet Nazgul's peeking, but that's mostly because she doesn't begin to know how to deal with it, her brow still furrowed slightly as she tries to figure out the strange Hyadean. It's treating her a little like she's a puzzle to be figured out, but ... well, the young Noeline hasn't worked out how to deal with other people just yet.

    "... yeah," she says non-commitally as she steps up, then steps back once. On impulse, she offers the other girl a hand up - even if the lift is a little rough, and she's too quick to let go, not able to meet her face. After a moment, she nods once, then steps back and--

    --definitely doesn't scurry off. But it's pretty close, with her still not being quite sure what just happened.

    ---

    "... and that was that," she notes. She has the self-awareness to be a little sheepish that there isn't more.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    The young Nazgul certainly looks bashful, and doubly so when Noeline impulsively lifts her up by a hand. For a moment -- just that moment -- their hands touch, and she feels like she's being taken to a new world by a warm, strong hand. And--

    Then she steps back, and by mousy instinct, Nazgul does too as she yelps to herself and clams up.

    ---

    "Oh come on!!" Janey exclaims. "You must've at least asked for her name, right??"

    "Um," Riesenlied gulps in a tone that suggests she's about to disappoint.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    "... well," Noeline starts, in that tone of voice where she's still trying to think of what to actually say. "I was a very skittish sort of person then, and Riese was not terribly bold either. And names were not exactly-- often given out," she adds, before puffing up defensively. "It was not hard to spot her, anyway. She was very, very unique."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "A-and you are one of a kind too..." Riesenlied almost sounds starry, as Janey and Mikaia try to not get pushed out of the picture frame at the bubbles forming around their mothers.

    "It was a bit of a miracle you two ever ended up speaking to each other, isn't it..." Janey slumps.

    "Truly, just like my romance novels..." Mikaia has a different idea.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Noeline can at least come back to herself, because she knows a lot more about their shared past now, and has seen it from two different angles. So when she looks to Janey it's with an amused snort and a wry smile, as she gets back to the important business of fussing over Riesenlied's hair. "It is thanks to a small miracle of luck, and a lot of effort on Riesenlied's part. You wouldn't think it, but she pursued me quite ardently."

    ... okay, it's also another opportunity to watch Riese melt as well.