2024-05-01: A Good Day
- Log: 2024-05-01: A Good Day
- Cast: Redi Hayworth, Yulie Ahtreide
- Where: Caves under the Ruins of Memory
- Date: May 01, 2024
- Summary: Redi and Yulie, having made camp, talk late at night. (At least, they think it's night. Hard to tell in caves.) The conversation takes a turn neither quite expected, though...
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<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
After they fell down into the caves underneath the Ruins of Memory, there was a lot of talking -- then a lot of walking -- and finally getting a much-needed bath and much-needed meal, before settling in to rest.
But not quite sleep yet.
It's been a long day, but this is a chance to enjoy a sight that, as Redi and Yulie both observed, very few people have seen. Thus, by the lake, at their makeshift camp, they're getting a chance to enjoy the view.
It's like watching the stars at night... but different, too. Because the low-burning embers of the campfire and a trio of small fireballs Redi made are dimly lit, but reflecting on the crystals above. The crystals reflect, all sorts of colors, and glimmer above in a way that's not quite like stars -- especially with how it reflects off the lake.
Redi looks up, wearing her sleeveless shirt and shorts, sitting next to Yulie. And leaning back against a large crystal that's good for sitting against. The crystals sparkle in her blue eyes.
"...You know," she says, quietly. She had just been enjoying the view, quiet for a little while. "Today was... it had some really rough parts and some really scary parts. But... I don't think it was bad, either, despite everything."
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Sleep sounds good... but Yulie is still a little too wound-up to go to bed just yet. So for right now, it's a great opportunity to just sit and enjoy those rare sights, the likes of which few people have seen before.
It's incredible, the way light plays and the crystals glimmer and reflect off the lake... and Redi's eyes, too.
Yulie sits next to Redi, leaning back against the same crystal. She's still in her cozy sleeping clothes, too - and she looks Redi's way, when she breaks the silence.
Today... it's true that there was a lot. They both experienced some terrible things... but, Redi isn't wrong. Yulie smiles.
"You're right. It has been fun, really... now that we're far enough out from it all." She replies. "It was scary... but we made it here in one piece. It's been nice, seeing everything with you."
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
"Yeah!" Redi says, not quite energetically -- but not subdued, either. She looks sideways at Yulie and smiles. "It... could have been really bad. I don't know what I'd have done, if it was just me falling down here, after... all the stuff I saw."
She is quiet for a second. "But... getting to see it with you and figure out what to do made it..." She almost says 'better,' but that's not right. That makes it sound like something she settled for.
And... it's more than that.
"It made it good," she says. "It's..."
She is quiet again, looking back up at the glimmering crystals above. "...For awhile, when I'd be happy about something, I'd wonder if I deserved it." Her voice gets quieter. "If I stole that chance from the... the other Redi."
She keeps looking up, then sighs softly. "...But I don't feel like that, now," she says. "It feels okay to be happy about being here with you."
(New BB Message (2/27) posted to 'Announcements' by Tragedienne: GS Adjustments 5-1-24)
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie nods. She can understand that - she saw the memory, after all. Having to deal with that kind of weight, and then to be suddenly stranded on her own... She's very glad Redi didn't end up down here alone.
She listens quietly as Redi continues, giving her the time she needs to find her words. She made it good... Yulie offers her a small smile.
It's nice to hear that - that she can allow herself to be happy here with her.
"I'm glad..." Yulie replies with a small nod. "You deserve happiness, too. Maybe I would've gotten along with her... but you're the Redi I met. I'm glad I got to share this with you."
She smiles.
"I'm happy, too."
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
"Yeah... I know. I have to remind myself I do, sometimes," Redi admits. "But... it's easier, now, at least." She considers for a moment. Would Yulie have gotten along with the original Redi?
Probably, she thinks. She isn't, really, that different from her.
"I'm glad, though. That... you know, I'm the one you met. Maybe it's a little selfish, but..." She smiles at her, too, looking back at Yulie. She is quiet for a second.
"...I'm glad you are," she says. "I... was worried. When they came back. When I saw scared, how worried you look, I... I didn't want to see you hurt like that."
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"I can understand that..." Yulie admits. Redi herself had to remind her of that not too long ago, after all. It's something that takes work - but at least they can help remind each other. Yulie reaches over, taking Redi's hand to give it a gentle, encouraging squeeze.
Redi's glad she was the one who Yulie got to meet, and Yulie offers her a smile.
"It's okay to be a little selfish sometimes." She assures.
Redi was worried for her when Brionac arrived, didn't want to see her hurt like that...
"...A part of me knew they were still out there. I'd hoped they'd vanished with Odessa's fall... So I pushed them to the back of my mind. So when they showed up so suddenly..." She replies, trailing off. "...Thank you for bearing there for me. If it was just me... I would've frozen."
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
Redi looks down, not quite surprised -- not at this point -- when Yulie takes her hand and squeezes. She smiles more, then, and she squeezes back.
"Yeah," she says. "That goes for both of us, right?"
She hesitates, though, as Yulie explains. And she understands that -- because she had doubts she ignored about waking up in Aquvy, about memories that faded and answers that sometimes didn't quite add up.
Because she didn't know quite how to face up to an unknown truth.
"I... I think I understand that. But I wouldn't ever leave you there," Redi says, quietly.
She looks at her, with that intense, slightly aglow blue-eyed gaze. "I said you deserved to be happy, too. So... I'll stay by your side and make sure that they can't take that away from you."
She squeezes Yulie's hand again.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"It does." Yulie agrees. She has people who can remind her of that - and she can return the favor, too.
Redi says she wouldn't leave her, and Yulie nods.
"I appreciate that... I know I can trust you." She replies. The idea hadn't even crossed her mind - she's seen Redi's courage even in the face of danger. There's no doubt in her mind that she would never have left her.
Yulie - is a bit surprised when Redi looks at her with that intense gaze, particularly striking with the glow of her eyes. She doesn't mind it, though it takes her a second to find the words.
"...Thank you." She replies. "I'm... really glad."
She nods.
"And... I'll be there for you, too. If they show up again... Neither of us are going anywhere we don't want to be."
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
Redi keeps a straight face for a second -- then it breaks into a grin.
"You can always trust the postal service," she says, before she breaks into giggles.
But it's back to a more serious mindset, only a moment or two later. Redi hasn't, really, thought of herself as courageous. But maybe that says something about herself, too, that it isn't even something she thinks about.
"...I'm glad," Redi says, her voice quiet. If the Veruni come after her; if Brionac comes after Yulie. She keeps looking at her for a moment.
Then she smiles again, her eyes ducking down. She feels a little flustered, then, like she realized she giving Yulie that intense look.
Her fingers squeeze again, though it's a little more idly.
"They won't take us away from where we want to be," she agrees. There's a slight stammer to her voice, as she goes on. "And for me... that's with you."
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Redi cracks a grin and Yulie stares - and soon enough, Redi's got her giggling, too. It takes her a moment to wind back down before the conversation turns back to more serious matters.
She smiles, just slightly. It's good to hear she feels the same way. Redi looks away, and Yulie laughs, just a bit softly. She must've just noticed it... Redi gives her hand a squeeze, and Yulie squeezes back in return.
And Redi agrees with her, and, stammering, continues...
And Yulie... is hit right in the heart. She opens her mouth to speak and her voice is caught in her throat for a moment before she manages to try again.
"...Me too. I feel the same way." She says.
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
Redi was looking away, but when Yulie opens her mouth -- and doesn't quite manage to speak -- the urge to look at her, and see if she said too much or too little, wins out over feeling flustered.
The squeeze of her hand helped. Yulie did notice; this time, it's Redi that notices. She squeezes her hand again.
Even if her heart is in her throat, too.
But then she breaks into a bigger smile before. She joins the not-quite-sure what to say club, for a moment, as she looks at Yulie. But...
It feels nice, both to see her look flustered like that and hear her say that.
"...I'm so glad," she says, with a smile. She looks back up at the crystal ceiling, still reflecting in her eyes. But then she lifts an arm -- hesitates for a second -- and then puts it around Yulie's shoulders. Her heart is, admittedly, in her throat the whole time, and part of her wonders if it was the right thing to do.
A moment passes.
"...So... good day, huh?" she says, with another awkward laugh. But not unhappy.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie looks at Redi just as Redi looks back - and this time it's Yulie's turn to look away, feeling a bit flustered herself. She doesn't let go, though - and seeing the wide smile gets her to smile too.
Redi puts an arm around her shoulders, and for a moment Yulie, too, finds herself scrambling mentally to figure out what the right thing to do is. Her Paladienne training never prepared her for this!!
Ultimately, she decides to respond by... scooting a little closer.
"Yeah. It's a very good day." Yulie agrees with an awkward, but pleased laugh of her own.
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
Redi shifts, happily, when Yulie scoots closer. Just enough to make it more comfortable -- and to lean against her, in turn. Her arm stays put, as she looks sideways at her.
This time, her cheeks are turning bright red.
"Mm-hm," she murmurs. She looks up at the ceiling, her heart pounding. "I-I... um... don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep for a bit, now."
She looks at her. "...But I'm okay staying here just like this for awhile, if you are."
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Redi looks sideways at her. So close! Yulie's a little red too, at this point - but she doesn't have any problems with the situation, either.
"I don't... think I could, either. Gosh." Yulie admits with a small, sheepish laugh, her eyes straying toward the surface of the lake. "I feel wide awake all over again..."
Redi looks back at her, and Yulie looks back.
"I think... I'm okay with that, too." She agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Redi Hayworth has posed.
Redi smiles at the sheepish laugh -- her heart practically skipping a beat -- and then she nods, agreeing with that. She keeps looking at her, too.
"Me too," she admits. "Like I just had a whole cup of coffee."
She smiles when Yulie looks back at her.
Redi keeps her arm right where it is. And there's a moment's pause, before she leans her head over, and rests it against Yulie's.
It really is a good day.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"Mm-hm." Yulie agrees. Redi leans over resting her head against hers. If her heart was beating any faster, it'd start echoing against the cave walls. Yulie takes a deep breath... and then exhales, allowing herself to relax into and enjoy this moment - a moment shared beneath glittering crystals seen by so few eyes before.
It really is a good day.