2018-01-29: The Botanist's Farewell
- Log: The Botanist's Farewell
- Cast: Kaguya, Jacqueline Barber
- Where: November City - Downtown
- Date: January 29th, 2018
- Summary: Kaguya requests to meet with Jacqueline, so that she may give her farewells, a warning, and a small request...
========================<* November City - Downtown *>======================== Downtown November City is the wealthiest part. Here, some of the largest corporations in the Seed City make their headquarters. Buildings can reach as high as six stories, with immense stone facades and modern construction that remind onlookers of the technological prowess of the Seed Cities. City Hall dominates the sight, with a beautiful stone facade capped by a large dome. Outsiders are less common here. The police presence is strong and actually capable; while November welcomes Drifters, it doesn't welcome them here, where the wealthy and priviledged live and work. One can find expensive restaurants, fancy hotels, and top-tier apartment living for the rich merchants and government officials. These well-to-do people would rather not be reminded of the dusty, dangerous Drifters that make their livelihoods popular. At the heart of the city is a curious building that hasn't finished construction. Massive beams of steel have begun to reach into the sky, at ten stories high and growing. The Bernadelli Insurance Company purchased the land and is constructing the building, which they call a skyscraper.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
By memory cube, a message comes from Kaguya to Jay; this is unusual, not just because of recent history, but because Kaguya doesn't make a habit of using the memory cubes in the times that the CaraKin has known her. ...But she does this time, and the message is as follows:
-Jay, this is Kaguya. I'm going to keep the details light here but I want to talk to you. I think it's about time, after everything, but I understand if you prefer not. I request that you come alone... But there'll be no consequences if you don't. I'm not looking for trouble.-
-If you agree, meet me in three days at midnight at the second bench west of the skyscraper. I'll see you there and join you.-
The message ends. There's no further correspondence, no answers to questions.
This place is dark; police patrol now and then, but they haven't been by in a while. It is pretty late, after all, and it's quiet. The streetlamps provide what illumination there is, and there are many alleys here, a number of closed storefronts of high class. The skyscraper in progress gleams in the moonlight.
No one is here.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Amidst the messages in her inbox, between two different blurbs about holidays, was a message from the last person Jacqueline expected to hear from in this manner. She stared at for quite some time in surprise...and it remained in her thoughts for a while after that.
Should she do as Kaguya asked? She had sent a few messages in reply, but had received no responses. She was, understandably, concerned. Did Kaguya just want to talk, or did she have something else in mind?
...She remembers, long ago, meeting with Riesenlied in a similar fashion, after the attack on Adlehyde. That had been in a quiet, remote location, and yet she had still agreed to meet with her. This, however, was a populated city, even if it would be late at night where there were less likely to be intrusions.
Though a part of her was worried...she had to give her the benefit of the doubt.
And so, looking somewhat guarded and wearing a coat to ward off the cold night air, Jacqueline walks through the streets of November City on the promised day.
She looks about, listening carefully for signs of trouble...until eventually she located the designated meeting place.
No one is here.
Jacqueline...worries for a moment, but shuts her eyes tight and takes a deep breath. It would be alright. She would be alright.
She takes a seat on the bench, clasps her hands in her lap...and waits, with a hint of nervousness to her posture.
She is alone.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Footsteps start to sound, after Jay sits down. Kaguya's boots sound lightly against the concrete as she steps from an alley, steps around the bench, and takes a seat beside Jay, in silence otherwise. She spots the nervousness. Jay's concern, frankly, is warranted. ...But Kaguya doesn't immediately allay it, save for a few touches:
She is not wearing her armor. She is not even apparently carrying her ARM. She is dressed in a green button-down, a black vest, and black slacks, with dark boots. The cuffs are buttoned, and she's wearing a tie in a lighter green, more jade than the forest of her collared shirt. Everything is tucked in, of course; there's a pocketwatch chain hanging from a pocket in her vest.
"...So you came," Kaguya says, turning to look up at Jay, thoughtfully. She looks... a little melancholy. Very thoughtful. And she's having trouble deciding what to say, for all that she thought about it. ...Well, no. A lot of her thinking was avoiding thinking about it.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jay's eyes turn toward the footsteps as soon as she hears them. She looks up, to see Kaguya. There is a small amount of relief in Jacqueline's eyes at that, but it fades away quickly, replaced with something akin to sadness. She watches her, studying her carefully.
That fact that she isn't equipped for battle is a relief...though only a small one. She had already seen that Kaguya did not need to use her ARM to be a threat. She had seen what she had done to Ethius.
Kaguya takes a seat next to her, and speaks to her.
"Yes, I...um. I-It's..." Jacqueline starts, but the words catch in her throat. She focuses on a crack in the pavement below and nods quietly. She remains quiet for a moment before trying to speak again.
"You...you look, um...well." She says, still not yet looking back up at Kaguya.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Sadness. Kaguya watches it, and looks... Tired, mostly. Like there's something on her mind, something weighing on her, that she hasn't quite figured out; sometimes it's hard to read her, but these hints are easy for the careful study Jay is using. As usual, Kaguya looks very sick, because she is, but she moves well; she has her cane, which is resting on the bench on the opposite side from Jay now. This one is black, with a brass handle, and brass fittings.
"...You too," Kaguya says. "I got pretty sick after things were done. I don't expect you to feel sorry for me or anything, but I'm good enough to travel again now." She pauses.
"...I wanted to talk. About what happened. And..." She looks down to the concrete, "About getting my stuff off your hands."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline...isn't quite sure what to make of this. It would make things much easier for her if Kaguya was unaffected by everything, but to see her looking like that, with a sort of tiredness she was personally familiar with...
It made things a little difficult.
"I...I see." She replies with a slight nod. It wasn't too surprising, from her knowledge of Kaguya's condition.
"...I see." She repeats. Once more she takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes. And then, finally, she looks back up at Kaguya.
"...I don't think anyone noticed me leaving, so...we have time to talk." She replies...and then hesitates a moment before nodding again. "...We haven't touched any of it yet, so everything is still there. I don't think Matilda would've let us, anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya's certainly not making things easy, in more ways than one. She keeps looking out, for a while. "...Don't feel bad or anything. I just left some stuff behind, and I don't... Like swimming. But I'm fine. ...Well, as fine as I get. It's not like you guys hurt me much." The casual arrogance is not really intentional; there's no bite to it... which might make that worse.
"Okay, cool. I asked you since... It's you. You're the leader. And I don't..." She shakes her head, "I don't want everyone else to see me. I don't want to see them. And I don't want another fight. I'm not... interested in hurting you guys more, if I can help it."
A pause, "Don't blame Atida, okay? She didn't know what all I'm up to. She didn't know about my superiors, or anything. ...and I did like it there, with you all. It was... Nice. It taught me some things. I don't blame humans that much anymore, for everything. Or Beastpeople, for that matter. But mostly humans." She pauses. "...I mean that, though. I learned a lot. A lot of Veruni look down on humans, think they're not worth much, but... I understand. You guys don't like being weak and squishy, either. You've got stuff to offer."
"...But I don't think it's right for me to go back. I can't apologize for what I did, just for hurting you. ...I can't promise I'll just... stop being Veruni."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline isn't quite sure how to take that. It doesn't sound like it's meant to be an insult, at least...she'll just take it for what it is.
"...I...appreciate that, at least. We've been through a lot lately. Having to fight you again...I'm not sure we could handle it." She replies, shaking her head. Emotionally more than physically, though the latter would be a problem as well.
Kaguya asks her not to blame Matilda, and Jacqueline shakes her head.
"You don't have to worry about that. I would never think to do that." She replies. Kaguya says some more things that are...well, she's not sure how to take those either, but they sound positive at least.
"...I'm glad to hear that." She replies...then goes quiet for a moment and nods.
"...Yes. I...I understand. I...would never ask that of you. I can't ask you to abandon your people." She says. Even if they were doing horrible things to humanity...
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Yeah," Kaguya agrees, unaware of her... Well, unkind statements being unkind. "We--" Pause. "...You have. Catenna's okay, right? I... didn't hear anything about her dying. Ethius too. I tried to take Ethius out in a way that wouldn't kill him, but Catenna jumped on the bomb so there wasn't much I could do about that..."
"I gt it, your beliefs are important to you guys. I know now that I couldn't get you to just stand by, ignore it."
Kaguya nods after a moment. "...I guess you wouldn't, huh? As long as there's that." She considers. Jay answers her, and Kaguya nods. "...Yeah," she says. "I'm gonna report what I learned. I hear we're apparently being pretty shitty to humans back in Elru. ...I dunno, I honestly wasn't paying attention. But since humans are being hurt by all this too, we might be better off recruiting you instead of just counting you out. ...It's not my decision, though. But that's what I'm thinking." Pause. "...I mean, you don't all smell that bad, humans can just bathe more, it's fine."
Okay that wasn't very nice.
Kaguya shakes her head. "...Yeah. If I did, where would I go, you know? I'm... mostly on my own as it is, and my parents kind of suck, but... I mean, there's stronger Veruni out there than me, and they wouldn't take kindly to desertion anyway." Kaguya pauses. "...Speaking of..."
"Look, I know you're not gonna give up on the Statues. But if you ever run into someone calling himself Kartikeya--Run. Give up. You can't beat him. I can't beat him. I'm not even close to his level. Just get out of there."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline glances away at the mention of Catenna.
"She...was hurt pretty badly. Lydia and I managed to get to her in time thanks to Maya, but..." Jacqueline shakes her head. "She would've died, if we had been a moment later..."
She looks up at Kaguya.
"...It's...worse than that. I hear that the Veruni enslave us, force us to work in their mines until we can't work anymore." Jacqueline replies. "I haven't seen it for myself, but...that's what I've been told."
She goes quiet for a moment during that pause, at least until...
"I-I bathe regularly, th-thank you!" She replies, glancing away sheepishly.
She goes quiet again, and when Kaguya says she wouldn't have anywhere to go, Jacqueline opens her mouth, but...frowns slightly, and hesitates.
"...Kartikeya...?" Jacqueline repeats. She had seen Kaguya fight. Even she had been able to display awful feats of strength...and to think that there was another of her kind out there, leagues stronger than she was?
...That was a worrying thought.
"...I...I'll try, but..." She says. But she couldn't guarantee it'd be a situation she could run away from. She wasn't really the type to give up, much to the chagrin of those around her.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"...I see," Kaguya says, looking a little pained for a moment--a little, if Jay believes it, guilty. "Sorry about that. I really didn't think... She'd throw her life away for that. I knew she was being serious but... By that point there was nothing to do, you know? I tried to tell her to stop." Kaguya sighs.
She listens though, looking at Jay's face as they talk, her expression darkening. "...Ah," she says, quietly. "...I mean, I'm not gonna say it's a lie. I don't really know. But a lot of us don't think of humans as... people, you know? I didn't at first. And you know, I'm not all aboard the human train or anything, but..." She shakes her head.
Jay replies and Kaguya laughs despite herself. "You're fine, you're fine. You've got all those potions and stuff going for you too. But some of you, whoof."
Kaguya catches that hesitation from Jay, and shakes her head. "...You might forgive me. But say, Cyre? ...And Catenna shouldn't. And Ethius sure won't. There's just no way." She pauses, at that, and nods. "Yeah he's... psycho. I mean, yeah, I can go for a good fight, you know? I can get the feeling. But him... human, Veruni, he doesn't care. And he's one of our higher-ups." She waves a hand. "Veruni politics are kinda complicated. We don't all agree on things. Like humans, or enslaving, or... lots of things."
"...Just try, okay? He won't have mercy like I did. And I don't want you to die. He wouldn't make it easy."
Kaguya looks up to the stars, at that. "...I can rent a storage unit and you can put my stuff there. That way... The others don't have to see me. ...Thanks for having me, while it lasted. It made my life a little brighter, before the end, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
There's a quiet nod from Jacqueline, but she doesn't say any more than that on that matter. She does appreciate, at least, that Kaguya has some reaction to it. It makes her feel...better about it. That she did care, at least somewhat.
"...I see. It's hard to hear, but...seeing the way the Metal Demons treat us, it's not difficult to believe..." Jacqueline replies, shaking her head...and Kaguya comments and Jacqueline can't help but chuckle slightly.
It's a much-needed reprieve, even if the conversation does turn back toward much serious matters soon after.
"...I know. I...know that. Even if you came back...I know there would be no avoiding the tension. It'd build up until someone made a mistake that we wouldn't be able to recover from..." She replies, shaking her head sadly.
"That's...terrifying. I hope we never run into him..." Jacqueline murmurs, then looks back to Kaguya.
"...I...I don't regret any of it. Meeting you, and inviting you to join us. I'm glad we were able to meet." She says, offering her a small smile.
"...Just let me know where it is, and I'll have everything moved out for you as soon as I can."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya does; she still thinks about it a little as they go on. Once, she wouldn't have cared--would've thought it was good, that the humans got what was coming to them. Now... She mutters, almost inaudible, "Stupid, primitive Filgaian guilt."
"Yeah. I mean, at least we don't want to wipe you all out, right? Just... apparently work you to death. I guess that's not better. But not all of us want that, okay? Just uh... keep that in mind."
She takes the levity while it lasts though; Jay's laugh is nice, even if it's just slight, just quiet. But... As they go on, Kaguya nods. "Yeah," Kaguya says. "And, well, It's... yeah. I don't want them to have to deal with that, you know? They've had to deal with so much already."
Kaguya nods. "I hope you never meet him, too. I don't want to meet him much, either. Not more than I have."
"...Really?" Kaguya asks, with a small smile. "...Yeah. I'm glad we could meet, too. You, and the others too." She wtches Jay for a moment, "...Tell the others I'm sorry. And to stay away if they can."
"...I'll send you another message with the location once I rent it."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Neither option was preferable, but...Kaguya's assurance that not all of them want that helps, if only a little bit. Jacqueline nods in acknowledgment. Maybe at some point they'd be able to reach out to them, to try and make relationships better between them...
...But that would likely be a long ways off, she knew.
And then, finally, she nods, as Kaguya asks her to tell them she's sorry.
"I will. And...I'll relay what you told me about...him, too." She replies with a nod. "Thank you. I'll keep an eye on my inbox. And..."
She hesitates for a moment.
"...Thank you, for speaking with me, and warning me. You didn't have to do any of this, so...I appreciate it."
She says that, even though Kaguya was the one who asked her first...
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Long off, if ever. ...The odds aren't great. Kaguya is one, out of many, and even she's not really kind on the overall. But Kaguya does meet Jay's eyes for a little while, listening to the answers to her requests, to her statements.
Jay agrees, and Kaguya sighs a little. ...It's not quite a relief. "Thanks," she says. "I don't expect forgiveness or anything, but... I wanted them to know. You to know. I'll try and avoid you, otherwise. So you guys don't have to think about it as much."
A pause, "And good, about him. There's a lot of names to run away from among us. ...Like I said... I'm weak. I'm small, and I'm dying. They're not." Pause. "...Well not that weak, I guess."
She lets Jay's statement hang on the air for a few moments before she nods back again. "It was... important to me. Not just the stuff, but... To say it. To talk to you. If anybody else wants to talk to me, well... We'll see. But I don't know." She stops. "...I know I didn't have to. But... Like I said. I had a good time with you all. I'll remember it for the rest of my life."
As short as that might be.
...Kaguya rests her hands on her legs and then starts to stand, picking up her cane. "...But I should let you go before people start wondering."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
A part of her wants to say that's not necessary, but...she knows it would just complicate things otherwise. So Jacqueline nods.
"...Thank you." She replies. Kaguya's comment about her condition compared to others among her people puts things into perspective, in regards to what exactly they're dealing with.
"...I'm glad to hear that. I won't forget you, either." She replies. ...The others probably wouldn't, as well, but...for vastly different reasons.
Kaguya starts to stand, and so Jacqueline does so as well with a nod.
"Alright. I'll be heading back, then. But...please, take care."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
It would. Kaguya can guess it, too. She's thought a lot about all of this. ...About the CaraKin, about the people she knows there. About how things left off... About what she left unfinished. She considers. She thinks. ...She hears the thanks.
"...It's... fine," she says, shaking her head again. "And um... Great. Thanks. I'm glad. I don't... Well, I don't want to be forgotten, you know? I know I don't have long, but... You know." She lets that go, and watches Jay as she nods again. She's heading back; Kaguya should take care. She looks for a little while longer, as if etching Jay's features into her mind.
"...You too." A pause. "...If you're not comfortable putting a weapon back in my hands by the way... Shalune can have the Gear. She might like what I was working on with it. I don't care that much, I can always steal another." She nods. "...Goodbye, Jay. I know you all can make Filgaia a brighter place, at least."
Kaguya looks again to Jay, and then starts to walk, past her, down the street, footsteps and cane sounding quieter and quieter in the distance.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline listens quietly as Kaguya speaks, taking everything in. She nods in understanding. No one wanted to be forgotten, after all.
...The Gear. Hm. Well, she might take her up on that...it'd be hard to move that normally, anyway. Kaguya turns to leave, then.
"...Thank you." She says. And, quieter, just a moment later, "...Goodbye, Kaguya..."
She shuts her eyes tight, covered her face with a hand. She will stand there quietly alone for some time, before eventually returning to the Carakin, alone.