2017-05-14: Holding Hands against the World

• Log: Holding Hands against the World
• Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline
• Where: Old Petra
• Date: 14th May 2017
• Summary: Riesenlied seeks Noeline's true convictions regarding their upcoming struggle.

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<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Old Petra.

The village has seen much more beauteous and bountiful days in the distant past, but now, it is merely the dried out husk of past glories untold, and darker secrets hidden further within. Plans are progressing. The lesser of the Tainted have been moved here in order to help with construction duties; this is largely a move by Riesenlied to ensure that she's overseeing the labor herself, to avoid them from being forced into a slave-like labour without consideration of their safety or protection.

Riese's hair whips in the wind as she impassively gazes down upon the town, which is now populated with Kalve's mechanical constructs. Her gaze is long and distant, her hand held at her heart. She is contemplative, as always.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline has not said a great deal, not since revealing a secret that brought Riesenlied to the point of terror. That isn't to say she's been absent, mind you - the Crimson Noble has remained at Riese's side every step of the way, watching over her as she recovered and then joining her for the trip back to Old Petra. For once, mercifully, she's deciding to keep quiet, almost respectful as she watches the hidden side of the abandoned village take on more of its shape.

Still... every so often, she peeks across at her companion. It is not exactly worry - it is not exactly unhappiness, or curiosity - but more a mixture of all three, and a rare look at Noeline being completely uncertain of what to actually do or say.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"... soon, this will be a battlefield," Riesenlied speaks from a different vantage for once. This isn't the compassionate, kind Riesenlied who gets flustered at every little jab Noeline throws at her. This was the Dark Angel, the leader of the Tainted, and the one with a stake in the future of the Hyadeans.

"Our forces will descend upon Adlehyde, and as precise as I'd like the operation to be, there will be much destruction, and there will be much death. In the worst case, this may be another Arctica. There is no turning back from this. All eyes will be upon us, after this."

She lets that sink into the whispering winds of the desert, carried into the lifeless husk of the town.

"I will ask you now, Noeline... regardless of what I have asked you in the past, now that it has come to this."

She turns and peers towards her compatriot, her expression sorrowful, and yet level. "Do you truly wish to be a part of this?"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline sucks in a soft breath, her eyes wide as she's caught by Riesenlied's gaze. For all her bluster, and for all her ability to sift through information, she's never exactly been a major player when set against the whole of Photosphere - and it shows in her bearing as she swallows uncertainly, as her eyes cautiously study the other woman's face. "... Riese..." she mutters after a moment, her only reply at first - though you can just see the impulse trickle through her brain to deflect and joke.

It takes her some time to really work out what to say, and longer still to work out how to word it. At length, she finally lets out a rush of air, turning her head down and away to look out over the dunes. "... as if /we/ have a choice," she finally mutters, sounding almost bitter as she makes sure to use the plural. "It is reckless. It is badly-timed. We can't trust that witch as far as we can throw her, and Drifters have a tendency to band together against any threat, in numbers greater than anyone can handle. But, such is our duty."

It's nowhere near to what Riesenlied asked, of course - but then, Noeline's pained expression suggests she's yet to finish, still sorting out many of her thoughts as she tries to track her commander's expressions and reactions.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied is quiet, and then she shakes her head, the first moment she can answer, "That isn't what I asked, Noeline."

She steps forward towards her. She isn't that much taller, if at all, than the woman who professes to be a Crimson Noble. But at this point in time, her posture conveys a certain kind of height and gravitas to her. "It is possible. There is a choice. You could vanish overnight. You are much more versed in travelling Filgaia than anyone in the Photosphere, even me. You've gone farther than anyone ever has. You are experienced in diguise and can carry yourself through thick and thin."

She puts her hand to her heart, closing her eyes. "So I ask you again. You, who has expressed regret publicly about Arctica. You, who have expressed as much fondness to humans, if not more, than I. You, who hold a connection to the Guardians above and beyond all that any Hyadean has ever dreamt of."

She opens them. "And above all, you, Noeline, the one closest and most important to me."

"Do you truly wish to be a part of this?"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

At the very least, the Crimson Noble does not step back; that much can be said for her, as she raises her head and does her best to try to meet Riesenlied's gaze with her own. An instant later she falters, though, her gaze dropping towards the ground as she bites hard at her lip. Calling her expression a scowl would be incorrect. That would imply anger, and the expression on her face is rarer even than that by her standards - a lost, forlorn little frown.

"... I don't know," she admits after a long moment, immediately raking a hand through her hair as she sucks in a breath and heaves it out immediately. The next time, her voice is stronger with the conviction of the statement, for all the sense that makes given the paradox inherent within it. "I don't know. How could I know?" she adds, almost making the question a challenge - to herself, to Riese, to the open air around them.

"Do you think I haven't asked myself the same question? Do you think I haven't turned it endlessly over in my head? If I stay there is every chance I am declared a 'defective product'," she scoffs to herself, "And if I go-- well, I do have /some/ pride in myself as a Metal Demon, you know." Immediately she hesitates again, her eyes flicking to Riesenlied for a moment as she amends: "... or rather, I should say: as a Tainted. ... I suppose that is what I count as, at this point, hm?" she adds, lilting the question without the slightest bit of humour in her expression.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied reaches for Noeline's hand softly, at a moment when she can do so. "I know you've asked. Over and over again. But this is the turning point for us, and it would crush me, it would break my heart if you are drawn into a struggle that you had no heart for, Noeline."

She peers towards Noeline, her eyes shimmering. For all the Taint in her blood, for all the weakness within her, it is the strength of certainty that carries her through the day. "I do this because I believe in the light of hope in the end. I do this for the Tainted. They suffer, daily, Noeline. You see it. We struggle for scraps of food where they see fit to throw away, even now. Even achieving what I have, the elders do their best to disregard us. They choose to ignore our existence when it is convenient for them."

She narrows her eyes. "You are welcome among us, as you have been, all this time. But there is no future for us out there, on our own. There is no technology that can sustain us that we know of. There is no supply, no facility that can stop our degradation save in the Photosphere. We are the hunted, the anathema, of the Guardians, and they would soon see us blotted from the world."

How Riese can say that with such certainty is... another question, perhaps.

She... pauses, daring to stroke at Noeline's hair. "Without pomp, without lies, without splendour, tell me, Noeline. What would you fight for? What do you seek?"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

For once, Noeline lets herself lean into the touch without reservation, without a single tease or amused hum. "... you," she breathes after a moment, letting her eyes drift closed; the word is said so softly it could almost be the breeze, punctuated by a long instant where she indulges in Riese's affection. "... when I pledged loyalty to you, it was not lightly. 'Seek the new world'... but what would Siegfried's new world be like? What would Alhazred's, or Berserk's?"

She lifts up slightly, shaking her head. "You are the only one whose new world I can trust," she decides, her brow drawn in determination. "You are the one who has the-- the /humanity/," the Crimson Noble adds with a lost snort, at least able to find some grim humour in the word, "To be able to care. To look towards an understanding, even at a time like this. To realize that maybe we aren't all that terribly different, just stuck on opposite sides."

For a long moment, the spy lets that hang in the air, falling silent; she turns away again, shaking her head as she drags in a breath. "... I need to ask you something. ... I need to, in order to explain what /I/ want to do."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

The fake vampire almost tenses, her lips pressed into a razor-thin line; she studies Riesenlied's face again, an edge of fear and uncertainty in her gaze. "... when Mother takes Filgaia for her own - when there is no more need for troops, no more need to claw for survival, no more scarcity... what do you believe will happen to you? To me? To the Tainted?"

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There is silence... and then Riesenlied lowers her head. "I believe in Mother."

It's almost surprising, perhaps... but, in a ways, perhaps not. Mother has never /been/ there, after all. She has been this figure of legend that has never had a voice of her own. Even now, when they have rescued her from the cocoon, she lays dormant, in torpor.

"You say that I have humanity, and that is correct," Riesenlied speaks firmly. "But what of greater powers out there? Humanity alone cannot save us... even the humans are not necessarily welcome in Filgaia. Mother promised us a bountiful land. Why do you think I espouse such a philosophy as the new world? It is because Mother inspired me so..."

She lowers her head. "It must. She must. She must save us all. Because what meaning would there have been to Arctica's destruction -- for our /being/ here? There are deep secrets about Filgaia that I am certain she knows."

There is a longer silence still. "And that is why I ask. Because I will not take your loyalty lightly... but I still do believe. My path is not a path that is completely unaligned with the Quarter Knights', Noeline. And there is a price I must pay for that, and I am aware."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Swallowing, Noeline looks back down and away, shaking her head. "... I wish I could have that certainty," she whispers, her brow furrowed as she lets herself lean forward and against Riese's shoulder. Even in the midst of a talk like this, she's angling for a pat on the head. How shameless. "How long has it been...? ... living among humans makes you more aware of time, perhaps. ... or perhaps I really have gone soft," she mutters, that bitter edge returning to her voice.

After a moment, she looks up - once again, back to studying Riesenlied's expression as she continues to talk. "I have to worry. I have to plan. I have to explore all of the options."

She pauses, stiffening - then straightens up again, managing to meet Riesenlied's expression this time. "Humans aren't the only ones that can be cruel and vain, nor the only ones that will take advantage of kindness. If the elders would rather the Tainted not exist - who's to say they will not carry out that threat, when they have the freedom to? ... someone has to watch your back," she concludes as she folds her arms. "Just as I have to watch my own. A sympathetic Metal Demon, reeking of the Guardians - I wouldn't have long, either."

"Perhaps that's the real answer," she huffs. "The reason why I fight - because I want to know what is out there. I want to know what the limits are - between Tainted and pure, between demon and human, between Guardian and-- well, damn near anything else, on that front," she grumbles.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"I don't have any other options. I already told you that we have nowhere to go," Riesenlied expresses. "We can't leave the Photosphere. We have no allies. We have no means to sustain ourselves. And are you not being too pessimistic about our obliteration?"

She quietly holds her hand up and strokes Noeline's hair, very gently. "..... that said, I share your sentiments. I know that there is some seed deep within me that knows that I strive within that sphere of ours for nothing. But given the choice, it is currently the lesser evil."

She sighs softly as she admits, "... protect me, when my vision has been obscured. Rescue me, if I am to fall due to the weight of my responsibility."

A pause. "I can offer you your assignment, now."

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Roughly, Noeline drags another breath in and out; this time, her hand has found Riesenlied's rather than vice versa, holding onto it tightly as she starts to talk past the other woman's words as if she might be interrupted any moment.

"More than that-- more than /any/ of this, I am not just your spy. I am your friend. Just as you so-- so casually admit that I am important to you, of course you are important to me as well!" she declares with a huff, her brow furrowed. "I know how much this means to you - how much you, more than I, stand to lose. So if there is something I can do to prevent some of that loss, however small - especially if it is in the service of helping to find your new world - then that is what I will do," she decides.

When she pauses, it's almost to roll the words around in her mouth; something in her expression firms, as if that's the closest she's come to being certain all along in this conversation. "... that is something that I want to fight for. What I, uniquely, /can/ fight for," she finally grumbles. "Unless, for the past few months, you have been an absolutely incredible liar in every one of your dealings."

"I swear," she adds solemnly as she looks up. "You have my support. You always will. Even if the world turns against us both."