2023-06-06: Choices

• Log: Choices
• Cast: Zhang Xiumei, Eleanor Klein, Hannah Curie
• Where: Klein Central Ward
• Date: June 06, 2023
• Summary: Eleanor takes Hannah to meet Xiumei in person, where they've previously only known of each other through Eleanor's letters. Hannah also learns about their engagement.

---

============================<* Klein Central Ward *>============================

The central ward of Klein City is dominated by the great, imposing castle of House Klein, black stones with great spires stretching up to the sky atop a high cliff overlooking the rest of the city, with a fine view of the sea far below. ...But while the fortress could be imposing, it is largely open to the public, the government offices of the city sprawling from within the castle itself into the sprawling buildings that have sprung up somewhat less securely. The bureaucratic machine that oversees most of the trade of Meria Boule with other nations requires a great deal of upkeep, and many industries have sprung up to provide for and cater to the officials and merchants involved in the process. Klein City occupies a notable place at the east coast of Meria Boule, and it is in many ways its gateway to the rest of Filgaia, particularly outside Aquvy. Accordingly it is fairly cosmopolitan, favoring bright fashions and a sophistication that can sometimes grate on those who prefer more straightforward talk and manner. The rocky terrain means people are often closer together than not, but it is not known for its great machinery or production as a rule, even if it is one of the more bustling cities of Meria Boule.

BGM: Chrono Cross - Another Termina

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiumei is meeting one of Eleanor's friends. Eleanor, of course, left the planning to Xiumei; she is very good at planning. It also keeps the anxiety at bay.

She spent more time than is strictly necessary going over the menus of a few of her favorite cafes in Klein, settled on one that she thinks will be agreeable to someone she hasn't met before, and then she got there early to get them a table.

It is a lovely sidewalk cafe, serving a variety of dishes. The bread is very good; a basket, wrapped in cloth, is on the table. Xiumei has a glass of iced tea, which is ideal as it is a little warm. She sits at the table, with two other chairs set, and has a sip from it.

She is a woman in her twenties, with purple hair, green eyes, and glasses. Her long hair is worn in a ponytail; she has a brown vest, over a white button-up shirt, and a multi-colored skirt on. A bag sits next to her chair; a couple of ledgers can be seen inside it.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Yes! Planning to Xiu. That's a great plan, because Eleanor also has rather a lot of anxiety about this particular meeting, because...

"Well," Eleanor says, "I recall that you were a little surprised by news of my upcoming wedding..."

Eleanor is in a floral dress, light for the daytime and the cafe, and she is walking along with energy. ...Nerves, more like. Hannah may notice that part. "And, well, also, I wanted you to meet someone important to me. You remember Xiumei, don't you? How I told you about my dear friend from primary school? She never got to meet you, but I talked about her a lot all the same."

"Well..."

Eleanor approaches the cafe and smles at Xiumei as she does, waving, and then she turns to Hannah. "Well."

"...Thingsdidn'tworkoutwithMontyafterall and I'm engaged to her now!"

Beam. "Let's take a seat!"

Eleanor walks very quickly to the table. "Hiiii, Xiu!"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah, meanwhile, doesn't quite know what this is about. She remembers the tidbit about Eleanor's upcoming wedding--but it slipped her mind since she found out about it in... let's say, less than ideal circumstances.

It's fine. She's fine. Everything's fine.

"Oh, right," she says as she walks along with Eleanor. She sees that nervousness--she and Zephyr both see it, and there may have been a glance or two exchanged between the two as they walked along. "Gotta admit, I don't know how y'all noble types do it, but I was just surprised you two ain't tied the knot yet. You two been engaged long enough, ain'tcha? Least 8 years or so?" They were already engaged when Hannah met Eleanor, so...

Hannah is dressed more for travelling than having lunch at a nice cafe, but it's probbly fine. Short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and hiking boots. Not to mention a fine specimen of red-tailed hawk riding on her shoulder. She has a courier bag slung behind her, with a wrapped up riffle attached on top.

Eleanor wants Hannah to meet someone important to her, and she self-consciously looks down at herself. She's not really dressed for 'meeting important people.' "Right, I remember. Oh, is that who we're meetin'? How's this related to your upcomin' wedding?"

Hannah and Zephyr look at the woman Eleanor waves to, but then she's speaking again. And--

Hannah blinks.

"... What?" A pause as she digests that repidly delivered explanation, followed by a bit of an outburst. "Wait, what?!" She blushes and cringes a little as she realizes she's drawn a few stares.

And then Eleanor tries to just move right along to taking a seat.

"Now wait just a gosh darn minute, Eleanor!" she insists as she trails behind. "Y'can't just drop news like that and not explain yourself!" But then they reach the table. "Whaddya mean it didn't work out with Monty? You were crazy about--"

And then she realizes who Eleanor just addressed, and what Eleanor said after the rushed part about breaking up with Monty. "--oh! Ah..." She clears her throat, and the releaxed, small town accent she was just speaking with shifts to a more scholarly, city-leaning one. "Ahem. Excuse me. It's... ahh... a pleasure to make your acquaintance?"

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiumei stands up when Nora approaches, with Hannah in tow. As it happens, she did not hear what Eleanor just said to Hannah. She smiles at them both, before she waves a hand.

"Hello, Nora," she says. "And hello, Miss Curie. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you. I heard a lot about you."

She pauses, though -- noticing she seemed flustered, and didn't she say something about Monty? -- and then she smiles. Xiumei extends a hand towards Hannah. A handshake.

"Zhang Xiumei," she says. "My family is of Galadian ancestry, so Zhang is the family name. Xiumei is my given name. It's a pleasure. I hope Eleanor has spoken well of me."

She adjusts her glasses. They catch the sunlight, hiding her green eyes.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Everything is definitely fine!

"Ha ha, yes, actually, we would've been married by now," she says as they walk. But then of course there is the matter of--

'What?'

Eleanor does indeed try to move right along, and smiles nervously at Xiu. Then, Hannah asks her a question, and she insists on it, plus an explanation, so... "I was," she says. Then she looks pained. "...I'll explain. I promise."

"But please, meet Xiumei first. Then, I'll tell you everything. I love her very much, and it's my fault that things are awkward."

"...The short version is that I am no longer engaged to Monty. The long version... I'll tell you as soon as I have a drink."

Which will be very shortly; the confusion means the waiter is on the way.

"Hannah, this is Xiumei. Xiumei, this is Hannah, a friend from school. She's rather more alive than I thought she was!"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah is caught in the very awkward position of asking Eleanor about her old fiance in front of someone who is, apparently, her new fiance. She's not on really solid footing at the moment, but she's trying her best to recover.

"Oh! Ah, I remember Eleanor talking about you a lot, as well." Hannah reaches out and gives Xiumei a rather firm handshake. She might run on the shorter side, but she's got a really strong grip.

"She has, and... congratulations on your engagement." That she just found out about ten seconds ago.

"I'm Hannah Curie, and this is Zephyr. He's my friend." She indicates the hawk on her shoulder with a a little incline of her head. Zephyr chirps at Xiumei as a greeting.

But Eleanor promises to explain, and Hannah nods, taking a seat. Her own bright green eyes glance aside a bit, the younger woman cringing a bit as Eleanor brings that up. "Eh heh... yes... I am, at that."

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"That's a tremendous relief," Xiumei says, with a smile -- and a glance at Eleanor. A friend who died? It wouldn't be the first, though... she wonders, then, what might have made Eleanor think Hannah might have died. "I'm glad you're not. I remember Eleanor mentioning you in her letters."

She smiles again.

She is a little surprised by the strength of Hannah's grip; she doesn't comment, though, and she lowers her hand. She looks at Zephyr, smiles, and then nods. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Zephyr."

She takes a seat, too. "And... yes, thank you! I--ah--it's so soon!"

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

It's awkward all around! Eleanor was hoping, not very wisely, that speeding past it might pop the awkward subject and get around it entirely. As it turns out, this did not happen. Instead, "She disappeared for a long while," Eleanor explains, "But showed up for the first time in years to help with the rescue. And now, she can meet you!"

"Oh yes, Zephyr is very good," Eleanor says. "That's why I asked for outdoor."

But, she did make a promise... "Thank you for the congratulations," she says. "And it's very soon. I hope you'll come!"

Pause. Their other drinks are ordered, and arrive. "But I should explain. ...Back when you were in school with me, I was crazy about Monty. For the first year or so, it was... wonderful. Though some of that was a bit of a first love situation. It's just..."

"After that, we started to grow apart, no matter how hard I tried at first. He was so distant... I couldn't understand what he was thinking. I couldn't tell how he felt."

"And then, cue years later, I'm reunited with Xiumei, and... over time, I realized that I feel more than friendship for her. Then, at the wedding, she spoke up about her feelings."

"...I chose her," Eleanor says, and reaches out to take Xiumei's hand. "Monty felt it was for the best; he wanted someone more his speed, who... wasn't so needy, I suppose, but also who would put him first. He's with Danielle, now, and they're very happy together."

"But I chose Xiumei. My best friend. And so we got engaged, and now, we're marrying. I thought my parents wouldn't allow it. That they'd insist I marry some man, at least, even if not the one they chose. But that's not how it turned out."

She smiles, and while she's still nervous, it's hard to feel bad when she's looking at Xiumei; the adoration in her eyes is obvious as she turns back towards her. "So that's... how things are, now. Xiu and I have fought many battles together. And been through a lot. And at the end, this is what we found."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"Oh, she did? I'm... flattered that she thought so highly of me as to mention me." Well, they were a bit closer back then, before she left Sielje.

Zephyr gives Xiumei another happy chirp as she greets him, and hops off of Hannah's shoulder to take his own perch on the back of an empty chair at the table.

'Disappeared' is one way of putting it. But it's... good enough, for now. "Yes, it was... rather fortunate I happened to be in the area."

An invite to the wedding. "Oh! Um, okay. I'd love to! Is it okay if..." She glances meaningful to Zephyr. "You know he won't cause any problems." It might be a bit unorthodox to bring a hawk to a wedding, but she's not about to leave him behind.

This does mean she's going to need to buy something new to wear to the wedding, though.

She listens, as Eleanor explains about Monty. But apparently it was mutual, to some degree. "So... you're both okay, then?" But he's dating Danielle, and she blinks. "... Oh. Huh."

The mention of Danielle reminds her. 'It was a wedding present but I kept it anyway.' "So that's what you meant," she says to herself, without intending to.

If she'd been there she wouldn't have needed to find out after the fact.

"But, ah, I'm happy! For both of you! I'm glad you both found each other, in the end."

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"Ah! Yes," Xiumei says. "I'm very glad that you helped with the rescue. I was... quite worried. And my ability to fight has been limited recently," she says. She hesitates. "We're working on that."

Then, she looks back at Eleanor. She blinks her eyes a couple of times; it takes her a moment to catch up. The summary of Eleanor's relationship with Monty -- and of their own.

She flushes when it comes up that she objected at Eleanor's first (unfinished) wedding.

"A-ah, it... it was a little embarrassing," Xiumei says. "Y-Yes, um... it all worked out spmedidly, didn't it? But--yes, we... ah, Eleanor proposed." She smiles, and she nods. "It was wonderful. I never thought she would... ah, I'm rambling. Please, forgive me."

Xiumei shakes her head once.

She looks at Hannah, then, and -- her eyes widen, but she shakes her head. "Oh, yes, he is certainly welcome. I would be happy to have you and him both," she says. "And--ah--thank you! It's a pleasure to meet you."

She tilts her head. "You... also attended Sielje, yes? You're a sorceress, too, then?"

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"We are," Eleanor agrees with Xiumei. "And of course!" Of course she mentioned Hannah. She wrote to Xiumei of a lot of things, actually.

She doesn't harp on why she thought Hannah had died for the moment. Instead, she goes into her story and, well, "We're both okay," Eleanor answers. "He took it rather well--apparently he wasn't very happy either, not that I... blame him, considering." Pause. "Yes! He and Danielle are getting on very nicely. They bonded during the planning for the wedding. The ah, first wedding."

But it was a little embarrassing. "It did. And--aaah. Well, I had to wait for the right time," Eleanor says, and then she smiles. "I'm still happy with your answer."

She doesn't catch what Hannah says to herself. Instead she catches that she's happy for them, and beams back. "Yes," Eleanor says. "We're very happy. My family loves her, too. They always have, of course. And soon we'll be family, too." She squeezes Xiumei's hand--and then sips pretend-daintily at her drink. It's fine.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure it's fine. If you think he'll be comfortable in the cathedral, it's certainly big enough for him." There are people who won't like it but... Elean rwill smooth it over."

Then Xiumei asks that, and Eleanor lets Hannah cover it.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," says Hannah sympathetically, of Xiumei's current inability to fight. "I hope you can get that resolved soon." She doesn't press for details.

Probably best to save some of the details of Hannah's recent life for another time, yes.

But Danielle and Monty bonded during planning for the first wedding. "They did? Huh. Well, as long as it seems to be working out for everyone...?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. You know him, he and I can get along anywhere as long as we're together. Long as its not a library, right?" A joking reference to all the times the librarians at Sielje kept Zephyr out. She looks to Zephyr. "What do you think? Get you a bow tie, perhaps?"

Zephyr cocks his head at Hannah in a way that seems to suggest he's thinking about it... and then chirps and bobs his head.

"I thought so."

She looks to Xiumei as she asks about Sielje. Another awkward subject. "Oh, um, yes. I studied Crest Sorcery, the same as Eleanor did. Then when I left, I started adventuring all over, so..." She's trying to skip past a few details, like not graduating and not telling people where she was. Save that for later.

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"There was a lot of planning," Xiumei says. "And the party after the wedding didn't happen was... very memorable, too." Though she needed a break before she returned; as it happens, interrupting a wedding and having social anxiety is rather tricky.

She looks sideways at Nora, then she smiles. She nods, once. She still likes her answer, too.

"Y-Yes, we will," she says. She squeezes Eleanor's hand back, before she has a sip of her iced tea while she listens to Hannah. She can spot where there may be a couple of deliberate omissions...

But Xiumei gets why someone might leave those out, too.

"Ah, that makes sense. And then you were well-suited to help with rescuing Eleanor and the others from the Memory Maze," she says, with a smile. "I'm glad, then. It sounds as if all worked out."

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"It has!" Eleanor says of 'everyone'. "As Xiumei says, there rather was, and the party... Well, yes." She laughs a little. Eleanor didn't mind at all the 'break' at the time; she had a lot of anxiety herself, even though she's more of a social butterfly, so to speak.

Then she nods firmly at Xiumei and then, "I do. I think he'll be fine..." A laugh. "Yes. Not the library." She looks curiously to Zephyr as he seems to consider it, "I think that would be very dashing, personally."

She knows well that Hannah's leaving things out, but then, she left things out too and she's not calling her on it, so fair's fair. Besides; "You're here now, and that's what counts."

"It's been valuable experience, I imagine. I've done a lot since school, myself. I joined up with ARMS, of course, and that took us all sorts of interesting places. But we do have some research to discuss later, don't we?"

"Xiumei also supports me in those 'other duties' I mentioned. It's a good thing, too. She helps keep me grounded in the world... Reminds me of important things."

Pause. "And I'm pretty sure our books are doing better with her involved... Did you know that Xiumei has great skill in accounts? She's really a marvel! I mean, I'm decent in mathematics but she's on another level!"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah is taking a sip from her lemonade when Xiumei mentions the party afterwards and almost spits her drink out as she laughs. "Wait, wait. You still had the reception afterwards? Even though you didnt go through the wedding didn't happen?"

"Yeah..." agrees Hannah on being suited to help with the Memory Maze. "I'm just fortunate Miss Marivel found out I was in the area so she could ask for my help..." She might have sort of crashed the mission, but... it's fine. It all worked out. "Yeah, I've certainly learned a lot since leaving Sielje." And yet so little. She nods to Eleanor. "Right." To Xiumei she says, "I, um... found something while I've been traveling, and Eleanor is one of the best sorceresses I know, so..."

Another nod to Eleanor. "Y-yeah." She's here now, but... there's a pang of guilt. The talk of Sielje reminds her she hasn't brought going back up with Eleanor, yet. Now's not the time, though.

"Oh really?" she says of Xiumei's accounting acumen. "That must come in handy keeping an organization like ARMS afloat. I imagine they incur a lot of expenses."

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"Ah, Marivel is talented at knowing when someone can help," Xiumei admits. Then, she glances at Zephyr. "Oh, he doesn't bother books, does he?" she asks. "I'll want to be sure our library's properly protected, when you're over for dinner or having tea..."

Because, of course, she has a library.

Then, she looks at Eleanor and nods, and she glances back at Hannah. She smiles when Eleanor mentions how she compliments her, then explains: "I'm a clerk. It's not my only duties in ARMS, but... I'm rather good with numbers. And organization."

She nods at the talk of research -- she looks curious. "Magic, though, isn't my forte," she admits. "Ah, as in I've no talent with it, I'm afraid. But..."

She sighs. "...yes. Quite a few," she says. "Fortunately, I keep their ledgers in good order. And make sure everyone has enough supplies."

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"We did!" Eleanor says. "There was no sense in wasting everything. And it helped mollify some people..."

Marivel is good at that. Eleanor smiles. "Thank you," Eleanor says to the compliment, brushing some hair back behind a pointed ear as she then continues, "We're going to get to the bottom of it, for certain."

As for Zephyr, Eleanor laughs a little. "At Sielje he was never given the chance to find out. I think he'll be fine around books, though." She's glad to hear that Xiu is comfortable with Hannah being over, though. It's... nice. "Xiumei and I are living together now," she explains. "Which is why I haven't invited you over yet. Because I wanted you to meet her properly first."

"That's fine," Eleanor says of magic. "You have many other talents." Indeed, she says, "And really a good bit of why I made it back was the supplies Xiu insisted I take. She always makes sure I'm prepared for anything."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"Oh, I see," she says to Eleanor, of not wasting food. "That makes sense." She... probably would've done the same, in that situation. Not wasting food is important.

"Yeah, I've know her," Marivel, that is, "pretty much all my life. I'm... really glad I was able to be there for her when she needed me." She looks to Eleanor. "That goes for you, as well."

Zephyr lets out a small indignant squawk at the insinuation. "Relax, Zephyr, she's just askin'. She doesn't know you yet." To Xiumei she echoes Eleanor's comment. "Oh, he's fine around books! Never once touched any of mine while I was studying." But she definitely perks up at the mention of 'library.'

"You have a library?"

But if she's going to be invited over for dinner and tea... she might have to ask for some help with expanding her wardrobe, first.

But Eleanor hasn't invited her over yet... "Oh, don't worry about it, Eleanor. I've been busy as well. A drifter's work is never done, you know?" Hannah certainly does take on jobs... almost constantly. But at least she's coming back to Klein in between jobs, now.

She smiles to Xiumei. "I imagine an organization without organization doesn't stay one for very long..." Then she nods to Eleanor. "I did notice all of that jewelry you had on you that was burnt out when we found you..." Magically burnt out, that is. "Glad that preparation kept you going."

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"If I can help," Xiumei says, "please let me know. I'm not much with magic, but..." She has other talents. Mostly in keeping things organized and researching.

Then, she looks sideways at Eleanor -- and nods, before she looks back at Hannah. "Ah, yes! At the manor. It's something of an adjustment," she says. "My family isn't noble, but... I quite like getting to live with her."

She looks sideways at Eleanor, then she smiles, and she nods. She does like making supply lists and preparing packs. It's relaxing!

And it keeps Eleanor alive. Which is all the better.

She beams, then. "We do! And I'm glad to hear it," Xiumei says, looking at Zephyr. "Well... it's at the manor, but I've helped organize it, and selected books to add to it, so..."

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"You might be able to," Eleanor says to Xiumei. "I'll fill you in in more detail later." Code for 'better not to detail the nature of the research in public', but also for Hannah to know that Eleanor will share everything with Xiumei. As for Marivel, "I'm glad I could be there. And Marivel is good at knowing things... Though I think that'll be a little less true, in the future. She's closed her time loop. I... don't think I have closed mine."

But that's for later. Instead, "Yes, it has been an adjustment. But I think we're making her happy by now. I adore having Xiumei close by."

She smiles at Zephyr and then, "Well, all right. But soon, just tea or something. Perhaps a few books. We're all scholars here."

"Yes. I carry a lot of magical items to protect me, and fighting against Vinsfeld tested me to my very limits. Let alone the Memory Maze after. There are... things in there I still need to discuss. Still need to talk to ARMS about. But not today."

She smiles. "Today... The library." Pause. "The late Queen... well." Eleanor is related to her, of course. "She wanted knowledge to be spread and preserved. And she was a great influence on me, and on our family. So of course we have a library at the Manor. And then with what Xiumei's added to it..." She smiles. "It's even better than before. Mother established the local university, which has its own library, of course."

"But I'd be more than happy to show you ours. Perhaps later? Ah, but..."

The waiter is on the way over.

"How about we have lunch first?"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Xiumei offers to help. Hannah actually tenses a little and looks to Eleanor, who promises to fill her in later. There's a bit of a questioning look of 'Are you sure?' at Eleanor... but then she follows it with a small nod. Tacit permission to tell Xiumei. Fixing her magic might be dangerous, so... it's only fair to tell her fiance. But she looks troubled, all the same.

But she gives Eleanor a rather curious look as she mentions her own time loop. "That reminds me, I still have things I saw in the Memory Maze I need to ask you about, as well..."

But she does look excited at the prospect of seeing a new-to-her library, even if doing the social thing of tea makes her a bit anxious. "Well, if you've organized it as well as you keep ARMS running, I'm sure it's in wonderful shape."

"I'd like that," she says, of seeing the library.

Zephyr lets out a chirp, and Hannah laughs a little. "Yes, I'm famished. And Zephyr is ready for lunch, too." After they place their orders, she setrtles in for more light chatter and planning future library trips.