2022-05-15: Trust, That Selfish Desire
- Log: Trust, That Selfish Desire
- Cast: Magilou, Eleanor Klein,
- Where: Alcidamas
- Date: 2022-05-15
- Summary: Eleanor and Magilou discuss Ethius Hesiod, and come to some sort of an accord in the process.
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
It's not safe for people here, any more. Wayside Outreach and ARMS are all doing their work to get everyone to safety, and the villagers are all shell-shocked from their loss besides -- which means night in Alcidamas is getting quiet as a corpse.
There's still someone hanging around outside, though.
On the rooftop of the town hall, a witch lies on her back, hands laced behind her head as she looks up at the sky, at her home, at all the little stars in heaven -- white, red, yellow. Black. Her gaze lids against the infinite light, all speckling through the darkness.
"No wonder," she murmurs, sotto voce, a loose smile laced across her face.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor has brought professionals to help with this effort; there's only so much she can actually do herself. She's done that! And now she is stepping around the facilities looking for missed or hiding people, and happens to go outside in the quiet locale... And ah. There's the rooftop. There's someone on the rooftop. Eleanor considers for a moment... and then murmurs an incantation, hopping up the ladder swiftly and finding herself on the rooftop, too. She crosses her arms, looking up to Lunar, as well...
"What's so unsurprising, then?" Eleanor wonders of Magilou. She doesn't even sound hostile! Just a little distant.
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
Magilou is a professional! She's not helping, though.
The witch glances sidelong from her hooded eyes, that bare scrap of purple over the green. Her gaze and smile are lazy, as she gestures up, with a hand, towards the stars.
She doesn't bother sitting up.
"Demetrioi's terraforming was following the rules of another star altogether," she explains, through her fingertips. "There was nothing sinister about it... just alien. Whether it would have gone so well without the ad-hoc materials Homebody added to the mix... who can say? But humanity can scarcely bear the logic of their immortal neighbours... let alone a stranger."
Her fingers curl, as if grasping some invisible rope.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Lazy, lazy. that's Magilou. ...Or is it?
"Hmmm," Eleanor answers, considering her explanation. "...A reasonable theory," she admits. "Alien rules would be enough to make the spirits of this world uncomfortable. It certainly seems to work that way with some other aliens who come here..." The Veruni, for instance. "Though not all. Homer himself seems to have had no trouble."
She moves over, and steps beside Magilou, taking a seat with a sigh.
"Humans..." she shakes her head. "They aren't so bad, you know."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
Magilou lowers her hand, down to her clavicle, all covered in black feathers. Drum, drum, her fingers fall over her cape. There's a little tapping noise, as one finger hits its gold clasp.
"Individuals... no, they integrate well enough," she says, a shade distantly, as she looks up to the sky. "But grow bolder than that..."
She doesn't protest Eleanor sitting down. Or much react at all, really.
Her hand stills, near her neck, and Magilou sighs.
"That's how we know you're young," she tells her, not unkindly. "A few hundred years will sort that optimism right out... and you, as well." Is she saying Eleanor won't end up being not so bad, eventually..?
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Distantly... Hm. Maybe it's hard for peoples to mix. Eleanor can't say; she hasn't seen the results of what will come of Lunar and Filgaia integrating with one another, yet. Oh, sure, there's been some, but... She knows full well that there's much more to come, if that's to happen. But Magilou....
Eleanor looks at Magilou for a moment, and notices how not awful that tone of hers is this time. ...It's....
"...I don't believe that," Eleanor says. "The first part. ...The second, probably. I let my temper get the best of me today, and if I'm older and wiser I'll probably do that less."
"But Marivel still believes in people, and she's ancient. So I think it's possible."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Does she?" Magilou wonders, up, to the sky. She has her own opinions on what Marivel believes; she's hardly bothered to share them.
One way or another, it will come out.
Her eyes shut; she wags the toes of a foot, stretched precariously out towards the edge of the roof. "Eleanor... huh." It's a quiet murmur. Was it even meant for her? "Must be cursed..."
She shrugs her shoulders against the tiles, opening her eyes to glance, sidelong, to Eleanor. "You're a good kid," she says, out of nowhere, before her gaze centres back on the sky.
"But no one will believe I told you that."
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"She does. Oh, she has trouble with it sometimes," Eleanor admits. "She's seen a lot, like you. But she's put her faith in us all the same."
Eleanor... Hm. Was it meant for her? It sounds more like a memory spoken aloud than anything meant to her, and she admittedly can't figure what she means about the curse. ...She is, but not for any reason Magilou should know, anyway.
"...Haha," she laughs, in surprise as much as amusement. "I'm not sure I believe you told me that," she answers. "Considering how we've interacted thus far. ...But thank you, I suppose?"
She doesn't mind being called a 'kid' by the old. She's still young, after all.
"...But you didn't have terrible points today, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Sure," Magilou agrees, loosely, to Eleanor's gratitude.
It wasn't meant for her, but maybe it's not a coincidence that name is haunting her again. Who knows..?
"Did you somehow fool yourself into thinking I don't know what I know?" Magilou asides, with an edge of sly amusement, before her tone gentles back out. "All that aside... this wouldn't be the first time I've seen enigmatic antiheroes burn their bridges in pursuit of their ultimate goal. Ahh, let's say I have a certain sympathy..."
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
She's not sure how she feels about Magilou of all people thinking she's a good kid, but 'thanks' is the polite thing to say, and so she does. She couldn't say whether it's coincidence or not; it's just her name. That's all.
The young elf rolls her eyes a little at that sly amusement, and then--hm. Enigmatic antiheroes...
"I don't," Eleanor admits of sympathy for Ethius--which is how she interprets it. "I don't understand him at all. He's perfectly capable of helping, seems even to enjoy the presence of others, but when it comes down to it he acts this way."
"...It just makes me so angry. I went to him, I asked, I knew this would happen, and--"
She cuts off there. She did not mean to say quite that much regardless. ....and it's clear, from her tone, that 'anger' isn't the only upset she has over it.
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Strange, isn't it?" Magilou says, of Ethius. Ethius isn't the only enigmatic antihero she has sympathy to here, of course, but Ethius is the one on Eleanor's mind, so he's the one she'll focus on.
She's angry, she says. She knew this would happen, she says. She cuts herself off, in the middle of what she says.
"... and?" Magilou prompts, looking over to her, eyes lidded.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor is definitely thinking of Ethius. Brad can be an enigmatic antihero, but he seems pretty heroic to Eleanor, as ironic as that is considering--well, considering a lot of things, frankly. The idea of what a 'hero' is is so important to ARMS's members. But an 'antihero' is something altogether different. And Magilou...
Magilou has probably figured out the thing she would keep secret. ...Maybe she hasn't. But maybe... Maybe since she could at least say it...
"..." Eleanor's shoulders sag. "And what good is seeing the future if I can't save people from it?"
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
Boom! There it is.
"Good question," Magilou says, easily, as if Eleanor hadn't just ripped the sky asunder with a revelation. "And what did you ask Ethius, exactly? You said he kept his word, back then -- technically speaking." This she adds with a little upward wave of her hand, as if to forestall her anger.
"What did you want... and what did you ask for? Can you tell me with certainty the two lined up?"
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
'Good question'. Well, that's fair. Eleanor wasn't really expecting Magilou to have an answer, even if part of her kind of hoped so. "I did," she confirms when Magilou asks. What did she want, and what did she ask for? The young elf looks sidelong at Magilou for a moment, and gives a bit of a sigh, and the sort of expression that goes with it. "No, I can't," she admits.
"I asked him if he had any intentions regarding Alcidamas or its mayor, because I 'saw' him standing over him with the town on fire. He claimed to have no knowledge of him, and assured me that 'he would not see the people of Alcidamas come to harm.' ...But what I wanted was for him to help me avert the fire in the first place."
Eleanor scowls for a moment. "...Not that he probably could've, anyway. The technology the Veruni have is... another level. And I had no idea they were the reason for the fire."
"...When I put it that way..."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
Magilou sighs, looking up at the sky.
"... the future is complicated, Eleanor. Not even I meddle in precognition -- I intuit consequences the old-fashioned way." Through knowing things, presumably. Magilou knows an awful lot of things.
"Well, maybe from Hesiod's perspective, he didn't know Homer personally at all... if all he had was suspicions, he could quite easily say he had no knowledge of the man. After all, you heard the mayor -- he didn't know Ethius personally, either. All he had was his family reputation. And if we take it for granted that they're aliens, well -- Homer can hardly be said to be one of the people of Alcidamas."
Magilou stretches her back out, against the tile.
"... of course," she adds, after a beat of a pause, "all of those qualifiers are exceedingly exact. So who could blame you for getting so angry? You went to someone expecting them to honour the spirit of your request, only to find them respecting the word, instead."
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Knowing things. Of course. "It's not something I do by choice," Eleanor answers gloomily. But the matter of Hesiod and Mecone--well. It all makes sense. It does. "Technicalities," she answers. "...Not even good technicalities. But it's also possible he recovered from his amnesia after our conversation." Doesn't make her any happier about it, though. In fact, that might be worse!
"...Mm," Eleanor says to Magilou, and shakes her head again. "...It's not just that," she starts. "I was... I was angry, and I was upset, and... I was hurt. I trusted him, knowing it might be a bad idea, and I made the wrong choice. I suppose I'm as angry at myself as I am at him, or almost as much."
"...But it definitely is also that," she allows after a moment.
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Did you?" Magilou wonders, airily, when Eleanor says she made the wrong choice. She glances over to her, for a moment, before she returns her gaze to the sky.
"Well, I suppose you must have!" She concludes, with cheer. "If you hadn't asked Hesiod's help, why -- he wouldn't have known to confront Homer, and so the mayor would have come right out to help the Veruni and stop the conflict, I'm sure. And now look at him! Half-dead and beaten! That's on your conscience."
But is there a point, in all those sharp words..?
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Did she? Well, of course she did! It seems utterly clear, anyway. But then Magilou starts to talk, and she does it in that way that gives Eleanor a headache, dancing around the issue without actually saying what she means aloud. But Eleanor goes on the journey with her for the moment, though she frowns to do so, until... it does reach her, what Magilou is saying. Eleanor doesn't actually stop frowning.
"...Ugh," she says. "Temporal mechanics make my head hurt. I didn't ask for these visions, you know."
"All right, fair enough, if I waste my time worrying about what might have been I'll miss the next opportunity."
"...But I'm still hurt that after all the times I've reached out to him, he still couldn't trust me." She shakes her head. "...But that's nothing compared to what Miss Barber must be feeling. So I shouldn't get caught up in sulking about it."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"You poor thing," Magilou sympathises, perhaps an edge too sympathetic, when Eleanor says she didn't ask for this. "We could pry them out of your head, I'm sure! Shall I send Bienfu off to fetch a crowbar?" That -- doesn't sound survivable. Is that survivable?
Magilou shrugs, and leaves the question aside.
She sounds a shade surprised, though, when Eleanor shares her hurt. "Really?" She asks, glancing over to the younger elf. "Does it hurt you so much that someone can't trust you?" She -- doesn't seem to be feigning her shock, here.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Definitely too sympathetic. Eleanor rolls her eyes. "I'm sure. And the rest of my brain along with them." She will not whine too much about that, especially not with Magilou's reminder that she's doing so a bit. Instead, she notes Magilou's apparent real shock, and...
"Well," she hedges, and then... nods. "I know not everyone can get along, obviously. Even if we all understood each other completely, there would be differences of perspective and opinion and goal. ...But I did try to reach out to him more than once. I'd hoped that we were at least distantly friends. And I do believe that if we could work together, we could accomplish much more than we could apart."
"...So yes, I suppose it does. I had him figured wrong. I thought we were on the same side. If we're not, it makes more sense."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Hmm," Magilou hums, through her lips, as she looks back up to the sky.
"... well, that's what you wanted. What did Hesiod want?" She asks, distantly, eyes lidding against the night sky. "If he lost his memory... I wonder if he even knew."
She's silent, for a minute. Sixty seconds -- time it, if you like.
"Oh, well," Magilou sighs, when the clock runs out. "It's not like I care whether you stick with him, anyway. If someone like that is left to his own devices, it's his own fault, wouldn't you agree? After all... he's done nothing but aggravate you and your efforts."
Something about the dismissal sounds a hair bitter, underneath the way she carelessly brushes the concept off.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"That's a good question," Eleanor admits. "I have no idea what he wanted... or what he wants, beyond 'getting this machine.'"
Eleanor is content to be quiet for a little while, though. Right up until Magilou says she doesn't care, and then she asks that question, and--
"Ugh!"
"...My God, you're tiresome," Eleanor complains. "Every guilty impulse I have comes at me when you say things like that. Of course I can't just leave him to his own devices when you put it that way," the time mage grumbles. "...It's annoying, when you're right," she says. "I just want you to know that."
"...At best, he does still seem to care for Miss Barber and the CaraKin. And at worst, we have to keep an eye on him so we avoid this happening again. Either way... I can't actually write him off if I consider these things my responsibility."
"But don't think I'm thrilled about it."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Noted!" Magilou says, smirking, when Eleanor says she wants her to know how tiresome she is.
She sighs, her other hand coming out from under her head so she can fold them on her belly, instead. There's no visible wound. "But really -- responsibility...? Don't make me laugh. If you're going to lie to my face, you should have the decency to make it a good one."
Apparently, only Magilou can say she doesn't personally care, about something like this. How selfish of her!
"I took responsibility once," she remarks, lightly. "It was terrible! Everyone hated it. Learn from my mistakes, and never display an ounce of accountability!"
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Magilou smirks, and this is why Eleanor does not feel bad calling Magilou tiresome to her face. Because she reacts like this. One might consider that a tautology or something, but it's fine. Instead, Magilou sighs, and... Hm. A lie, is it? Eleanor lifts an eyebrow. And then, she notices that light remark--and rolls her eyes. "I'm sure," Eleanor answers. "But it's a little late for that for me, isn't it? I've taken on a lot of those."
She considers, though. A lie...? Eleanor tilts her head. "...Well, maybe that's not entirely the right word. But..."
"...I want to be the sort of woman who cares about people. Even when it's hard. Even when it's irritating. That's what I've chosen."
She looks back to Magilou. "Besides. If I wanted to get away from responsibility, I'm running in entirely the wrong direction with ARMS."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Oh, it's much too late for you," Magilou agrees, too easily and too quickly.
She laces her fingers together. "You went from 'responsibility' to 'caring' real quick, huh? Funny. I've never much associated one with the other. Or... is caring a burden, do you think?" Magilou poses the question too, too lightly.
Magilou looks up, at Lunar.
"Looking out for people who don't understand you... it's pretty tiresome, Eleanor." That particular word...? She's less wearied, as she cheerfully points out: "... so maybe you have more in common with Hesiod than you think!"
Is she really talking about Ethius?
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Much too easily and quickly. Eleanor frowns again. But then--
"It can be," Eleanor says honestly at the matter of caring. "Because it means you have to put someone else's well-being over your own impulses. If you care about someone, you have to do more than you would if you were apathetic. Caring for people means you hurt more when it goes badly... But it means you get more out of it when things go well, too. I think so, anyway."
"But if you find people who have responsibility don't also care, then that would do a lot to explain why you're so cynical. I know not everyone does... But I do."
Then she considers. Tiresome. Yes, that word. Does Magilou secretly care...?
Probably not.
"You think?" she wonders, and considers Ethius Hesiod's interiority. "...To care about people, but be unable to find ways to express it... That would be terrible."
"Hmm. Maybe. But whether he's just a terrible man or if he actually means well underneath all his... himness, I suppose I've made my choice already."
<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.
"Thanks! I hate it." Magilou says, cheerfully, when Eleanor describes the burden of caring. Good thing Magilou can't care less!
It would be terrible, wouldn't it? Magilou shrugs, with a loose grin, and doesn't answer. Not until Eleanor comes to her final conclusion -- at which point Magilou unlaces her hands, and pushes herself up, to a sitting position.
She reaches up, to right her hat. Her hair stubbornly falls over her face, of course. There's no righting her bangs.
"You have, haven't you..?" Magilou flashes her a grin, all razors in the starry night. "Then you'd better not regret it."