2022-04-11: Starting Up
- Log: Starting Up
- Cast: Rixia, White Knight Leo, Hilde
- Where: Meribia, Althenan Guard quarters
- Date: 11th April 2022
- Summary: Rixia turns up to join the Guard... surely nothing amiss will occur!
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia is a fresh arrival in Meribia as of a few hours ago; she's run into a very friendly blue catgirl (from space) she's decided to start adventuring with, and after a meal at the nearest street vendor, the white-pink-haired, twintailed beastfolk decides to set out for her true objective...
The Guard!
Fortunately, there's a Guard office here in Meribia. It doesn't take long to discover it either, what with it being a particularly prominent fixture. How are the Guard perceived in Meribia as of now, anyway? Rixia wouldn't know.
What IS the case is an 18-year old dressed in a ratty cloak that's suffered one blizzard too many, with the way it looks like it's frozen over and melted in an unpleasant way. Her tunic and leggings are of meagre make, suggesting a backwater origin, and her shoes, uhm...
The soles kinda flop from where the seams have torn. They have not survived the journey.
Rixia's objectives, at present:
1) Buy new Shoes and Clothes 2) .... I don't have money 3) Hmmm Join the Guard As I Intended 4) Maybe they'll give me a Stipend 5) Loop Back to 1!!
"Excuse me?" Rixia calls out, fresh-voiced and full of energy. "Is this the Althenan Guard headquarters? I've come to enlist myself!" Seraph Lanval has arrived.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Meribia was once the headquarters of one of the Four Heroes, but after Lunn's assassination, the others have had to step in to cover his turf. This week, it's Leo's responsibility. His soldiers stand at attention on either side of the door, bearing polearms. A few more stand inside, watching Rixia as she makes her entrance. One of them--barely a few years older than Rixia--turns to face her, her brow furrowing. It's a bit hard to tell, given the bandana tied over most of the right side of her face. A few scars peek out here and there from beneath.
"I can take you to the sergeant-at-arms," says the soldier. Her tone is even, level, and very deliberately so.
The guardswoman leads Rixia deeper into the building, to a room with a great wooden desk and shelves upon shelves of documents. One of the clerks is the sergeant-at-arms; he looks at Rixia with the same quizzical look the guard gave her, and...
"Goddess bless you for your selflessness," says the sergeant-at-arms. "Please have a seat. I'll return with the ranking officer shortly.
MEANWHILE
Several floors up, in a securely-warded room, White Knight Leo wears a rut in the floor. He's been pacing back and forth for the past ten minutes, elaborating on what he saw in a certain Rolancian noble's abandoned manor, gesturing to further enunciate his points.
"This is precisely the point," he says. "It's possible no one knew what Lubov was up to, but it's possible /someone/ did. If so, how far does it spread? Does the Regent know? Does General Heldalf know? Does--?"
Someone knocks. Leo jerks around to face the door, and says "Yes?" with a bit too much tension.
"A thousand pardons, White Knight," says the sergeant-at-arms, a dark-haired Merian in a civilian adjutant's robes. "It's just--we have a new recruit."
There was a point in Leo's life where this would not have been a significant event. The Guard received dozens of recruits each day, if not hundreds. But now...
Now he is trying to remind himself of all the good he can still do here, because the whole thing isn't rotten, is it? It can't be. "We'll be right down to greet them," Leo says.
And he is.
The sergeant-at-arms returns, but he is no longer alone. White Knight Leo walks behind him, drawn up to his full height. His uniform is spotless, and there isn't a hair out of place. His horn gleams in the light cast by the enchanted candles. And when he looks down at Rixia, he is the very image of nobility--
--Despite a traitorous voice in the back of his head looking at her and going: 'Oh. That's why.'
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Ever since leaving Spira, most of Hilde's time has been spent in Hyland. She has much to catch up on in her absence, and her people to look after - as Knight-Protector of Hyland, she has certain duties to uphold. But, she has not forgotten her oaths to Althena's Guard, either, even if certain revelations have lead her to question what she knows about them. Many of her countrymen are still among the Guard's number, and with the tensions with Rolance due to Heldalf's betrayal she feels it's important to be present as a mediating presence. She checks in often through the statues and occasionally drops by personally - such as today, when she visits the headquarters in Meribia.
...And what a day she's picked.
When Leo arrives to greet the new recruit, he's not alone - Hilde is there to accompanying him, and she immediately looks Rixia over. She is... more concerned, than anything, by the state she's in.
"Greetings. You appear to have come a long way, miss." Hilde notes. "And yes, that is correct."
She glances Leo's way, to get a feel for what he's thinking.
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia tries her best to hide her nervousness and terror as she comes across actual honest-to-goodness armed soldiers, and those of the Goddess nonetheless, but nods gently at the guardswoman and the sergeant-at-arms. Selflessness? Uh oh. Well... they don't need to know...
Rixia's fidgeting a little, and by the time she takes a seat, Leo and Hilde emerge not terribly long after. Her eyes widen a little, and she can't help but admire how... how clean his clothes is! How nice she looks! Is that what luxury is like? Not having your clothes perpetually caked in mud and frost? One day, that'll be her too...! One day!
She just about jumps out of her seat and-- oh no, she doesn't know the proper salute! Think, think, think--
"I'll teach you a gesture of greetings my people used, Rixia," the voice of her father, Alwaid Ronso, echoes in her mind. He's a rugged sort, blue-skinned and stout of frame, with wild hair and a very visible horn protruding from his forehead.
He rises from his saloon chair, and moves his arms horizontally to cup... then bow.
Rixia -- six years of age -- tilts her head where she's kicking her legs on the high saloon chair. "That's a goofy greeting," she giggles. "Okay, I'll remember that!"
--ah! The horn on this gentleman's head! He must also be... what fortune!
And thus, on her very first time stepping on the property of the Althenan Guard: Rixia performs the Yevon bow.
...
"Um-- sorry, sir, ma'am, that was a greeting my father taught me to greet his people," Rixia realises that she's just about presumed and jumped the entire gate. Should she do another salute? Would that look odd?? HELP!
INTERNAL TERROR 95
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo's right eye tics as he sees Rixia cup her hands and shift her weight. He knows what comes next, and to his credit, he does not immediately scream heresy and throw Rixia out into the street as she executes that bow. Behind him, the sergeant-at-arms cocks a brow, and stares at her for a moment before returning his attention to his paperwork.
"Your father," says Leo. "'His people?'" For a moment he wonders if this woman has somehow come here all the way from Spira, but the fashion is all wrong for how worn it is. His second thought is Raculi. His family wasn't the only one there--or even in the surrounding farms and townships--with Ronso ancestry.
Leo takes a breath. "But I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we? What's your name, recruit? From where do you hail? Why do you come here?" Not the enlistment part, obviously, since Rixia already said that. But /why/ does she want to enlist?
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde notices Rixia's fidgeting, and in response, offers her what she hopes is a reassuring smile. She doesn't blame her for being nervous.
...And that's when Rixia springs to her feet and performs the Yevon bow for Leo. Hilde takes note of this... and then, takes a quick look around, to ensure that no one jumps her for that. Still... the very act means that she has even /more/ questions.
"It's quite alright." Hilde replies, with a polite shake of her head. "Though... I would recommend you be careful in the future. There are some among the Guard who may misinterpret that gesture."
That might be a... tactful, way to put it.
Leo handles the official questions, so Hilde takes a different tack.
"I am Hilde, Knight-Protector of Hyland." Hilde introduces herself, resting a hand over her heart. "Would you care for something to drink? I could fetch some water, perhaps."
She might need it, if she's come as far as Hilde thinks...
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Oh no, oh no, oooh no, that eye tic, the way the sergeant-at-arms raises a brow, that was definitely not the right move at all. Curse you, fond childhood memory! You're supposed to come through at a time like this, not make things more awkward!
"O-ooh, yes," Rixia answers Hilde with egg-on-her-face tone when she advises her to be careful with that gesture.
"Also, um-- yes," Rixia bobs her head. "My name's Rixia, of Sagahli. That's... um, an extremely small village in the northwestern reaches of the foot of Mt. Zulan. I spent two weeks walking on foot to arrive here! I... don't think a lot of people know about it."
Or perhaps, conversely, it might be /somewhat/ known by trying too hard to be obscure, because it tends to be a place where people who want to go missing tend to end up. One of /those/ kinds of extremely remote villages, out in the middle of nowhere.
Hilde introduces herself, and she looks dreamy for a moment. Knight-Protector... of Hyland? Ugh, Hyland... well, it's not her fault. "Knight-Protector... wow, that sounds so-- elegant!"
Hilde also offers water, and Rixia nods a few times. Water does sound incredible right about now... it's been a while since she had her last drink at the well. "Yes, please!"
Rixia turns her attention to Leo. "A-and, well, that greeting is something my father taught me. His name's Alwaid Ronso, and if I'm being honest... I'm trying to go after him." Hmm, she's not so sure complete honesty is the way to go here... would they just turn her away for having too personal a reason? She's not sure. Too late, though.
"Three years ago, he left me to join the Guard to go to back to his home in Spira. Back when the Guard first sailed there, I think? So I... well, I'm of age now, so I wanted to follow after him!"
She has noooooo idea of the weight of her words here... at all.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Hilde offers Leo some much-needed backup. Some of the tension bleeds out of him; his posture, while still straight and dignified, grows less held-up-by-a-ramrod. His ears flick at the mention of Sagahli, but he nods, and smiles. If nothing else, they are both Beastfolk from backwater towns in Meribus. As Hilde goes off to fetch water--good--Leo listens patiently to Rixia's explanation.
Then the name 'Alwaid Ronso' leaves Rixia's lips and all pretense of plausible deniability goes right out the window. The Guard is so massive--/was/ so massive--that Leo cannot hope to know every soldier who enlists. But /Goddess/, if what Rixia says is true, then it does not bode well. "I see," Leo says. "And I sense your determination. An admirable trait, to be certain. The Ronso..." A hand reaches up to tuck a lock of hair back, and ends up brushing self-consciously against his horn.
And for a moment, Leo is not looking at Rixia. He's looking through her, into the past, at the torn and crushed bodies dragged out of the surf at Mi'ihen. At the corpses of Yevonite soldiers lined up to be unceremoniously buried. At Biran Ronso, bleeding out on the snows of Gagazet, a Hyland-fletched arrow in his throat.
Leo's fingers twitch. "I," Leo says. He doesn't have words. He thought he would, but Rixia caught him completely off-guard and this isn't even supposed to be happening, he can't afford this.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
That awkward tone... It's unfortunate, but it's better to address it sooner rather than later. Hilde doesn't want to think what might happen otherwise. Rixia introduces herself, then, and Hilde nods.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rixia. I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar... But it would seem you have certainly come a long way." Hilde replies... and smiles, when Rixia comments on her title. "Ah, thank you."
But, Rixia could indeed use some water, it seems, so with a nod Hilde stands and excuses herself for a moment. She returns shortly with a glass, which she offers to Rixia - just as the latter is explaining to Leo about her father, and how she's trying to go after him.
Hilde sits down with a pensive expression, briefly glancing toward Leo. She can practically /see/ the words caught in his throat. She can't blame him. Her attention soon returns to Rixia.
"...I must commend your dedication, however, I must ask. The world is a rather... turbulent place, of late. This is quite a dangerous time to be sign. Are you sure this is what you want?" Hilde asks. ...To say nothing of the fate of her father, of which she is unaware - she's never met the man. There's no way of knowing what's in store for Rixia...
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia's not oblivious; she can still tell that the words she's saying are causing a not-insignficant amount of distress, and it definitely imposes some walking-on-eggshells behaviour in her. Too much? Not enough? What're the right words? Still, she catches onto Leo's words and can't help but ask:
"Oh... do you know my father's family?" Rixia asks. The way she phrases it, off his comment of 'the Ronso', suggests well that she doesn't /know/ the context of what the Ronso truly are, that her father is one of a large species of people with a shared surname.
She pipes down, though, since she knows that gaze -- she's seen it before, in her childhood, when she explains to people that she's a Glenwood orphan. The way veterans and other tired adventurers look past her into unpleasant memories of their own. She fidgets--
But she has Hilde to focus on. "A-aw, just Rixia's fine, ma'am, I'm only turning eighteen this year..." And then she has something more tasty to focus on, water! Oh, delicious fresh water that doesn't taste like rainwater! Mmm, this is truly luxury indeed.
Then... Hilde warns her. About the world, and its turbulent state. "I... well. To be honest, there's nothing waiting for me anymore back in Sagahli anyway... this is the only thing I have left. I want to know just what father's homeland is like, and-- and maybe give him an earful for leaving me. And I can fight too, somewhat, so you don't have to worry about danger."
... she doesn't sound super certain, though. She's definitely a rookie in every sense of the word, though at least she made it through a perilous travel from Zulan to Meribia.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo has been seeing to his soldiers' health and safety in the aftermath of the Spira campaign. He hasn't been seeing to his /own/, per se, but he has picked some things up. His chest rises and falls as he takes several deep breaths, and he reaches out with a hand to run fingers along his cape. The velvety texture is clear, current stimulus. So is the sight of Rixia taking the glass of water with deep, sincere thanks. The hands of memory slowly lose their grip on Leo's throat.
"I know them, yes," Leo says. "The Ronso are a /people/ of Spira, and many of them live around a place sacred to the Yevonites. That gesture your father taught you was a Yevonite greeting."
"If your father knew his history--and I imagine he did, because he kept the name--he could've gone there. To Mount Gagazet. And I--"
Leo feels the tension building again, and the traitor voice tells him not to make a promise he knows he cannot keep. "--I will help you find him. If he yet lives, I will help you find him."
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde catches that wording, but it's Leo who gives the answer about the Ronso. She lets him give the answer, and in the meantime, she hands over the water.
"Just Rixia, then." Hilde confirms with a smile. She is pleased to see how much Rixia's enjoying the water... though it /is/ also a sign of just how long she's gone without a fresh glass...
Rixia explains, then, how there's nothing left waiting for her back in Sagahli - how this search is all she has. Hilde 'hm's pensively to herself, folding her hands in her lap. That she can fight 'somewhat' isn't... the /most/ encouraging... and then there's Leo. She glances briefly in his direction as he makes that promise - an 'are you sure?' sort of look. It's a noble gesture, but...
...Well, it's a little too late to back out now, she supposes.
"...I see." Hilde murmurs to herself. She takes another assessing look at Rixia.
"If you are that determined... then I will say no more." Hilde says with a shake of her head. "Sometimes, you must follow your heart."
...Even if there's a chance that only tragedy awaits.
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia pauses and catches a few awkward glimpses to Leo again, but he seems to be more at-ease... well, a little more centred is perhaps the better word for it. But what he says next does surprise her.
"A people? Um-- hm," Rixia is taken aback by this. "I thought it was a family name, perhaps a fancy one, but I didn't know it belonged... to so many. Yevon... I feel like I've heard him mention it, once or twice in passing. Mt. Gagazet..." Why does that name sound familiar? It--
Aaaah! It's where Ashiya said she was from! Does that mean she's a Ronso too? She, too, is a blue cat, just like her father!! Of course!
Her eyes widen further, though. "Y-you will, sir? Thank you so much!" She has to wonder why she's getting this kind of treatment, unaware of so much in the way of motives and history and wounds.
Rixia doesn't really have the trained stance of a seasoned adventurer, when Hilde assesses her... and... well, she probably should change those floppy pair of shoes into something more worthy first, before anything more combat-ready. And the clothes. And the cloak. Anything would be better than those mud-soaked rags.
"Mmm! I may be inexperienced, but I'm ready to give everything my all! Thank you, Miss Hilde, Mister... um--" She tilts her head.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
"It is a convention in Spira for those not of..." Leo looks, for a moment, like he's bitten into a lemon. ".../human/ stock to take the name of their people in that fashion." For a moment, he thinks back to Filgaia. Goddess, Rixia wouldn't even know about that, would she? She's likely still processing the existence of Spira.
But speaking of names, Leo hasn't said his, and this may be the first time he hasn't done so right out the gate in some time. "White Knight Leo," he says, "of the Four Heroes." There aren't four anymore, are there? But he gives Rixia his most reassuring look. "And I think you should get a nice, proper uniform. Proper armor, too, and--what weapon do you favor?"
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
...Definitely inexperienced, Hilde can tell. But, everyone has to start somewhere, and it isn't the first time someone who isn't a trained fighter has the need to fight. ...She'll have to keep an eye out for her, though, Hilde decides.
"That is quite alright. We don't expect everyone to come to us as masters. We shall see to it that you receive whatever training you need." Hilde says, before glancing toward Leo as he makes his own observations. It's true, they probably /should/ get her some proper equipment... her current wear can't be too comfortable. "And do let us know if you require anything specific - dietary restrictions, and the like..."
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
Rixia is familiar with the way Leo makes that comment -- and of the way people tend to differentiate beastfolk and humans. She understands the meaning behind his words. "I see... to be honest, I don't know anything about Spira other than-- well, that it exists, three years ago. Father never really spoke much about it, but he often looked really lonely. In his letter, he said he had a partner and... child that he left."
... a child that's more important than her, she bitterly thinks for a moment, and her expression twists similarly.
But more importantly -- his name! Rixia's eyes widen as she gasps and-- somewhat flabbergastedly, comically starts to bow. "A-ah, I didn't know, sir! I'm sorry!" But the reassuring look does calm her down slowly, and when her brain catches up, she hasn't really done anything to warrant that, so... she continues.
... well, Yevonite greeting aside.
Leo asks about her preferred weapon. "Oh, I brought a weapon with me! Just a moment--"
She focuses but for a moment, and in a shower of extremely suspicious-looking data cubes that look more Hyadean or... otherworldly, a silver sword with a Ronso-like design appears in her hand and palm, with a bizarre gun mechanism incorporated into its hilt.
"This is my father's gunblade," Rixia half-truths. Well, it's not really his weapon -- he left with it -- but it's a spitting image of it, created by the mysterious device that woman from the skies that crashed in her backyard bestowed on her. She's not about to admit that part, though.
"I wouldn't say I'm experienced with it, but I at least managed to scare away the monsters on the way here." This might be a charitable explanation for what happened...
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo returns Rixia's bow, as calm and composed as he can be under the circumstances. "Think nothing of it," he says. "I imagine... you haven't gotten much news back home."
But then Rixia pulls her weapon out of nowhere, with literal Demon magic--except wait, no, that's not like what Leo saw in the Photosphere, not /precisely/. And the weapon definitely doesn't look Hyadean; Leo's seen those precise designs in the weapons used by the Ronso. Leo's eyes widen in surprise; he looks at the blade, then at Rixia, then back at the blade. "Quite the weapon. Is it... did he ever tell you how he came by it? An old ruin there, perhaps?" It could be one of those infernal Zeboim artifacts. It would be just his luck.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde watches as Rixia produces her weapon. That's probably the best way to put it - it just /appears/, in a shower of cubes. That certainly catches her attention - Hilde studies it with interest. A blade, with what appears to be a gun built in...
"That /is/ a fine weapon." Hilde agrees with Leo's assessment with a nod. She chuckles good-naturedly, then. "I haven't seen its like before... I suppose even I have things yet to learn. You will have to show me how it works sometime."
Already she's thinking of what kind of training regiment a weapon like that would require...
She listens with interest, too, as Leo asks where Rixia's father acquired it.
<Pose Tracker> Rixia has posed.
It's rather clear, from her unsurprised face and the way Rixia can't really /hide/ things, that she doesn't really think much of how unusual the weapon is... the true nature of the weapon eludes her, it would seem.
"Ah, no... there are hardly any news criers and missives that arrive back in Sagahli," Rixia confirms for Leo. Even here in Meribus, she's already going to receive a lot of shock on just how things have changed.
Did her father ever tell her how he came by it? "Hm... father didn't tell me much about his life in Spira, but he blabbed once about exploring old ruins for the..." A pause. "Ah! No, that makes sense now... he said he worked for the Yevon church. The name didn't mean much to me until you mentioned the gesture."
She tilts her head at Hilde and says, "It works like a sword, except if you squeeze this piece of metal here, it causes an explosion to happen. When I was little, I'd watch father scare off bandits and monsters with a combination of his swordplay and explosions..."
... that might not be the way the gunblade actually works, but unbeknownst to her, the device /shapes/ a weapon that her mind envisions, and thus... the erroneously functioning gunblade comes to life.
What a handful, this rookie! At least she has shoes now. Good job, Rixia.