2018-03-17: Crashing at the Carakin
- Log: Crashing at the Carakin
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber, Xantia
- Where: Plains of the Goddess
- Date: March 17th, 2018
- Summary: Brought back to the familiar sight of the Carakin by Metal Digger Locus, Xantia reunites with Jay, and receives some much-needed assistance with the shaky state she's found herself in since arriving on Lunar.
=========================<* Plains of the Goddess *>========================== The Plains of the Goddess consist of an enormous prairie that occupies the heart of the Meribus continent. It is the breadbasket of the world of Lunar; Althena's blessing lives strong in the soil, and the crops grown here are healthy, hearty, and free of disease. As a result of this bounty, the vast majority of the Plains are uncultivated; farmers have little reason to expand into the untamed wildlands when their larders and storehouses are filled to bursting. Only a few roads cross the Plains of the Goddess, linking the major cities to each other, with the ruins of Vane at the hub of a wagon wheel. Althena's Guard patrols the highways regularly, making travel (relatively) safe. Anyone heading deeper into the fields does so at their own risk, however. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi_p5wdBrXw
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
With few exceptions, the Carakin was like nothing else one might encounter on the surface of Lunar. A large, wheeled vehicle, the outside decorated with the Caravan Kinship's symbol and bearing panels that could be folded out into stalls.
On the inside, it was like someone had taken their home and put it on wheels - there was a living area with comfortable couches and a message board for the members to leave notes, rooms for everyone, and even a working kitchen.
Today, the Carakin is parked in a small clearing in a forest near the city of Vane. Because it was such a unique vehicle, they had decided it would be best to try to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. If you knew what you were looking for, however, it would be easy to find.
Jacqueline knew exactly what she was looking for.
She had been away on business for a time, and was glad to finally be back. She pushes open the door and steps inside.
"I'm back, everyone! I hope you didn't get into too much trouble while I was gone..." She calls into the interior of the vehicle, for whoever might be there at the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia hasn't had a very pleasant time of it since her arrival on Lunar, ending up by herself and wandering around ever since, trying in vain to find someplace or someone she recognized. After a bad experience with some of the locals, she'd been avoiding populated areas entirely, which didn't make her search any easier. Her accomodations weren't great, the most recent one a cave in the middle of Sluice Forest, but she managed to scrape by. She'd survived for months alone in a desert before, this was comparatively easier.
At least, it should have been. Back then, she didn't remember anything or anyone, so there was nothing to miss. Things were different with a year's worth of memories.
She was eventually discovered by Carina, who was following up on a rumor from one of the local farming communities that appealed to her superhero instincts. City officials tend to scoff at such rumors, or they'd be spending all their valuable time chasing down overblown tales of superstition such as bloodthirsty monster girls with flaming hair and an X on their chest. But in this case, there was at least some truth at the heart of the matter.
Having been led back to the Carakin and told by Carina that she could help herself to some food and a shower, or rest on the couch if she was tired, obviously Xantia did all these things, in her own special way. First of course came food, of which she ate three times as much as the average person would. The shower, she took with her clothes on, feeling it's practical to clean everything at once. Finally, while not completely dry yet, she collapsed on a couch, and slept approximinately forever.
Right up until being woken by a voice announcing their arrival, causing Xantia to sit up with a start, and look around in confusion for a moment. Right... the Carakin, that's where she is now. Once she spots Jay, a smile is quick to appear, and she waves with her usual enthusiasm, greeting simply, "Hi, Jay!" As if nothing was unusual here. Looks like she's the same as ever, if a bit damp, the X on her shirt having suffered a reddish discoloration, and wearing a domino mask over her eyes for some reason.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline notices something amiss shortly after announcing her presence. There's someone else here. Her attention drifts to the couch, where she notices a familiar individual fast asleep on it.
Jacqueline couldn't blame her. There'd been times where she'd slept on the couch, too, and she even had a bed here. She considered stepping out quietly, but it's too late - she's already been noticed.
Normally, one would expect to be a little unsettled by finding someone in their home in a manner like this. But Xantia was a friend! It was surprising, but not unwelcome. So instead, Jacqueline offers Xantia a smile and a small wave.
"Oh, hello there, Xantia! I'm glad to see you're alright..." She says. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
As she waits for a response, her eyes drift to the message board, where she spots a note from Carina explaining the situation.
"...Ah, I see..." She murmurs, with a chuckle to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is quick to wave off the apology. "It's fine, it's fine, I slept a bunch already." She thinks. It's not like she checked how long it's been, it just feels like it was a long time. "Haven't slept that well in a while," is something she can say with certainty. Having to be alert for monsters or some enterprising bounty hunter following up on rumors all the time made it hard to sleep very deeply.
Hopping off the couch, she stretches and yawns, feeling like she might be able to sleep yet more all the same. It's funny what a huge difference friendly surroundings make. Speaking of... "It's really good to see you, or, well, anyone familiar. I've been searching for so long... How did this happen? Everybody was fighting the Lord of Calamity, and... did we win? I think I got knocked out, or something..." More accurately, she pushed herself until she couldn't push herself any further, but the result was essentially the same.
Absently, she touches her face with her hand, feeling something that doesn't feel like something that belongs there quite yet. Her eyes fly open in realization. "--Ah! I forgot to take it off!" She quickly removes the domino mask, sliding it into an unseen pocket on the inside of her cloak. "You weren't supposed to see that... I'm Mystery Hero X now, Metal Digger Locus's sidekick! Please keep it a secret!"
Yeah, this is obviously going to be even less of a secret than Carina's alias is.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Good, good. Well, I'm glad you were able to get some sleep, in that case." Jacqueline replies with a smile. She moves to take a seat on the couch across from the one where Xantia was currently sitting - or at least was, until she hopped off of it.
"I don't have much more information than you do, unfortunately. I..." Jacqueline's expression falters for a moment. "...I blacked out while defending the statue of Ge Ramtos, and when I awoke, I was here, on Lunar."
She shakes her head slightly, though she does look on in concern when Xantia looks surprised by something...which turns to a look of amusement, as Jacqueline realizes what it is. She lets out a friendly chuckle.
"Ahh, of course. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She says, with a conspiratorial wink. "Metal Digger Locus is a fine hero to be a sidekick to."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia crosses her arms and nods several times as Jay relates her story. "I see... I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. I mean, I was there, but I didn't really see everything that was happening... Siegfried was really strong, I had to keep watching him." She was pretty ready to collapse by the end of that battle already. Fighting the Lord of Calamity directly afterwards... thinking about it now, she's not sure how she kept going for as long as she did. Strange things tend to happen in crisis situations...
She shakes her head, instead moving on to the more cheerful topic of Metal Digger Locus, which is quick to bring a smile back to her features. "Yeah, she sure is! We teamed up during that battle too, it looks like our styles are pretty similar! I have a really good feeling about this, I'm sure I can learn how to be a hero if we fight together!" First it was all about becoming a pirate, now apparently she's decided she wants to be a hero. At least she isn't short on motivations.
Moving right along without even a pause between subjects, she continues, "I shouldn't stay here long though, I have to find my way back to--" She blinks. Wait a minute. Back up a little. What was it that Jay said earlier? "...did you Lunar? We're on Lunar?!"
Abruptly, Xantia's demeanor shifts entirely, enthusiasm replaced entirely by distress and she shakes her head wildly. "N-no, I can't be on Lunar! I have to be on Filgaia! I have to-- I was so close, I know there something there, I have to go back there!"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"It's alright. You did what you had to do. If no one kept Siegfried occupied, he very well may have killed all of us, and then the Statue..." Jacqueline replies, shaking her head.
Fortunately, Xantia elects to move on to a more cheerful topic - that of the Metal Digger. She wanted to be a hero now? That was a motivation Jacqueline could approve of.
Before she can respond, though, Xantia moves on - she shouldn't stay long. ...And then she makes a realization.
Jacqueline stands up quickly, taking a step in her direction. There's an look of apology and concern on her face.
"I-I'm sorry...I thought you might've known..." She murmurs. "But... It's true. I'm sorry. We're trying to think of ways back, but..."
But they didn't have any leads so far. She doesn't say it, but it's fairly clear from her tone.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The events of the preceding battle and her current ambitions far from her mind, Xantia now only looks to Jay for reassurance, some kind of sign that everything will be alright. Not immediately receiving that, she takes a step back from Jay, stumbles, and lands back on the couch. There she remains seated, slumped over, looking shell-shocked. She knew she had to be somewhere far from where she was, but on another planet entirely, with no way to get back? "What am I supposed to do now...?"
It takes her a moment to push past the initial shock enough to realize that Jay couldn't know the full extent of what this means. Looking over to the apothecary, she starts to explain with simply, "I've... remembered some things. I think. It's more like... things that I feel sure of. And things that I keep dreaming about. I'm not sure what it all means, but... I'm sure that there's something very important I was supposed to do, on Filgaia." She lowers her gaze, and lets out a sigh. "The answers I'm looking for... aren't here."
It could be considered progress, but... right now she finds herself wishing that she wasn't so sure about this. There was a time where she considered it very possible that she was someone who arrived from Lunar, and that was the reason nobody on Filgaia seemed to know her. But as things stand now, feeling quite certain that she has nothing to do with Lunar... her quest to recover her memories is at a standstill.
Her head raises suddenly, her thoughts shifting to another matter of concern. "...What about everyone else who was there? Is everybody here? What about Fei, have you seen Fei?" Putting worry for others over her own worries makes things easier to deal with, somehow. Fei, in particular... finding him is important.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline doesn't want to lie to her. She could say 'we'll find a way home in no time', but...she can't be sure of that. To get her hopes up, only to crush them...in her mind, that would be more cruel.
So, instead, she moves to take a seat next to Xantia on the couch and, if allowed, to rest a hand on her shoulder to offer some amount of comfort, however small it may be.
She listens as Xantia explains where her quest has taken her.
"...I see. I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't know..." She replies, shaking her head. "I'll do what I can to find a way back. And when I do, you'll be one of the first ones to know."
Xantia raises course, instead asking about the others. Jacqueline offers her a smile.
"I don't know about everyone...but I did see Fei the other day. He appeared to be doing alright. He wasn't too far from here, actually, in the city of Vane - though I don't know if he's still there..." She explains.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia has no issue with a hand on her shoulder. She also responds to the promise of informing her when a way back is found with, "Thank you, I appreciate that." Though from the lack of energy at the moment, it seems clear that there might not be a way to genuinely make her feel much better at this time.
That is, until Jay confirms that she's seen Fei. That seems to change everything, returning vigor to her to an instant. "Really, he's here?! Then I have to go to this Vane place, I need to find him!" That's right. Fei will know what to do. Or at the very least, things will feel easier to deal with when he's nearby. She feels confident of that much.
While it may have been her intention to immediately go do just that, jumping to her feet and rushing straight outside, she only makes it as far as a couple of steps before stumbling again, one hand grasping for her head. Jay probably knows the signs - if she reacts quickly, she can keep Xantia from losing her balance and falling over. She may have looked alright, but she isn't actually in the best of conditions.
This isn't something that Xantia is very used to, she can't even begin to explain why this is happening. "Not now... why do I keep getting dizzy?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It's a little worrisome that Xantia of all people seems to be drained of her energy, but at the same time, Jacqueline doesn't blame her. What she just learned must be very disturbing for her, after all... Jacqueline knew she was startled when she found out the truth, herself.
Fortunately, that energy returns when she hears about Fei. Jacqueline nods in confirmation.
"It's not too far away. It's just a ways to the southwest..." Jacqueline explains. She stands up when Xantia does...and when she starts to stumble Jacqueline hurries over, catching her before she can fall and offering her support.
"Oh no... Tell me, how do you feel right now? Does anything feel wrong, or off?" She asks. She's worried that Xantia might be sick...
"Come on, let's get you sitting down again...has this happened before?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Despite her frustration with not being able to act as she would have liked, Xantia smiles when Jay supports her. If nothing else, even she herself is amused by realizing, "Actually, I wouldn't even know which way is south-west..." Rushing off without thinking things through is her forte, and things usually have a way of working themselves out, but... perhaps it's not the best time for rash actions. Rationalizing it that way makes it easier to not persist in pushing herself.
Letting herself be guided back to the couch, she claims, "I've never had this happen before, but ever since I got here, to... to Lunar... I don't know, I think something's wrong with me. Every so often I get all dizzy, and I have to sit still a while before it goes away." Which, if you know Xantia, must be extremely difficult for her.
She's at least resigned herself to needing to do so, staying seated on the couch. With the way she squints when she moves her head, it's clear that she must still be experiencing that dizzy spell. So she asks the obvious question, given that this is Jay she's talking to. "Are there any potions for dizziness?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline gives a friendly chuckle at that realization, as she leads Xantia back to the couch. Admittedly, she was still getting her bearings here, as well...though she could usually manage.
"Hmm...I haven't heard about anything like that from others from Filgaia...and the travelers from Lunar didn't report those symptoms while they were on our side, either..." Jacqueline comments, with a frown. She folds her arms in front of her with a contemplative expression on her face.
"There...aren't any potions for dizziness specifically, no. Typically, it's a symptom of something greater. I can offer you some general purpose medicine, but without knowing what's causing it, I can't guarantee that it'll help...but it might." She replies. Then, if Xantia allows it, she'll raise a hand to her forehead to check her temperature.
"It's possible that you might be sick - have you been drinking enough water? It could also be a mental thing, a feeling that something's wrong..." She considers. "It may also just be something to do with you, specifically, though I couldn't possibly guess what..."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
In reaction to hearing there's no specific dizziness medicine, Xantia pouts, "Why is there never any medicine for things I could really use it for?" First amnesia, and now this. She generally heals from regular injuries pretty quickly, so from her perspective, medicine is starting to look like something that only helps other people. Even moreso since, according to her, "I don't think I've ever been sick... as far as I can remember, anyway. Is that what this looks like? I think I've had plenty of fluids..." Not specifying water, per se.
The hand on her head, and Jay's pensive expression going with it... Xantia wouldn't have understood it, had this sort of thing not happened before. "So you're... checking to make sure there's no damage I haven't noticed?"
As far as her temperature goes, everything seems fine. But thinking back to a previous medical examination, and one of the questions she was asked at a time, she realizes something else is probably relevant to mention. "Actually, I think I may be sleepier than usual... It's true that I haven't always been able to sleep much lately, but even when I do, it doesn't feel like I've slept much. Is that bad?"
All things considered, the suggestion that it might be something to do with just her seems plausible. Thinking about it a little more, Xantia suggests, failing to be very descriptive, "I did do... something... so I could keep fighting. You think maybe it's that?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline has to give Xantia a sheepish smile at that. It was true, there always seemed to be something she couldn't do...
"Something like this, yes." She confirms with a nod, and then continues. "Yes, that's right. It's happened before...some people can go for days without realizing that they've been injured."
Though that doesn't seem to be the case this time...and her temperature appears normal, too. It doesn't seem to be an illness, exactly...and then Xantia continues. Jacqueline frowns slightly, that pensive expression appearing on her face again as she explains her condition.
"Hm...I see. It's possible. It could be that you overexerted yourself...forced yourself to go beyond your limits, and are paying the price for it now. I don't know if it'll help, but I do have a potion designed to help promote getting a good night's sleep, if you'd like. That might make things easier for you..." She replies. "Could you tell me in more detail what it was you did?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia nods a bit, she understands the whole purpose of a medical examination after Lily explained it to her. This is much like what happened after she randomly collapsed in the desert while searching for clues regarding her lost memories. Though she still doesn't know what caused that, there wasn't anything physically wrong with her after that. This time, that seems to be different.
"Over... exerted?" The puzzled way in which Xantia repeats that, it's like she just heard a language she doesn't understand. Not that far from the truth, the concept is pretty foreign to her. So much so that it's not even a cause of problems that she ever considered. But she decides rather quickly, "Well, if that kind of potion could work, I'll try it. I need to get back to normal as soon as I can."
Asked to explain what she did, however... that brings a frown to her face. She has no idea how to explain that, it's just... something she does. In the end, she shrugs, deciding that just doing her best to explain the circumstances will have to do.
"I don't know... I was already tired from fighting Id, and then I was almost falling over after fighting Siegfried, but then the Lord of Calamity appeared, so I..." She pauses when she gets to the tough part, then shakes her head. "I don't know what it is, but I did something to make myself feel less tired, and-- Oh."
And now she's suddenly finding it hard to not feel tired. The lesson here should probably be 'maybe don't fight three big bosses in the same day'. Instead, what she's taking away from this is, "I must've done that wrong somehow. I don't understand the things I can do very well, so... I probably need a bit more practice before I can do it right. Actually, maybe I can do something to make myself feel less dizzy..." Xantia, please.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Of course. Fortunately, I have some on me from a batch I made recently..." Jacqueline replies. She reaches into one of her bags, drawing out a bottle of dark blue liquid. There was something pleasant and soothing about it - almost like you might find yourself being lulled to sleep even just looking at it, if you stared into it.
It might even be familiar to Xantia, depending on whether or not she's been into Lily's room(and perhaps others) on the Yggdrasil.
She sets the bottle on the table then turns her attention back to Xantia.
"Hmm...yes, it sound like you had a long day..." She comments with a wry smile, though she does worry somewhat when Xantia considers that she might be able to do something to make herself feel less dizzy.
"N-no, I...think it might be better to let yourself rest naturally... You can practice some other time, after all..." She says, a slightly urgent tone in her voice.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia does seem to regard the produced bottle with some measure of recognition, but she's not quite sure about having seen it before. She doesn't have a very discerning eye where it comes to potions, not using them a whole lot. She's just seen enough to trust Jay to give her things that are useful for any given situation, that's good enough for her.
While not exactly berated for biting off more than she could chew... well, this is Xantia, it probably wouldn't have done much anyway. It's much easier to convince her to not use whatever ability she's talking about to try and force the issue, relenting rather quickly. "Oh, alright... doing that would probably make me hungry, anyway." Because that was clearly the biggest concern here.
That being the case, she's obviously going to need that potion, so she snatches the bottle off the table and opens it, to sniff its contents. Because that's always the biggest concern: how does it taste? Smell is generally a good tip-off in that regard.
It's also probably best to not smell something intended to help you sleep, as Xantia quickly discovers as a result of her actions, wobbling unsteadily. "W...What's..." Not something she was expecting. Potions only work if you drink them, right? Maybe she should have considered Jay's repellants in this equation...
She doesn't get any further than the start of her intended sentence, already starting to nod off from just that much. The bottle may need a rescue to not go to waste, her grip on it loosening as a result.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Ah, yes, of course..." Jacqueline says, nodding in agreement. It is kind of a concern, admittedly - even the Caravan Kinship could only keep so much food on hand at one time. To make Xantia hungry again, after she's already raided their cupboards...it would be enough to put fear into anyone's heart.
Not that Jacqueline would turn her away, of course.
And the potion does indeed have a nice scent - a nice, relaxing scent that's just as likely to make one doze off, as Xantia soon finds. It's a sweet scent, and the taste can be assumed to be along the same lines.
"Wh-whoa, careful..." Jacqueline says, noting Xantia starting to nod off. She quickly rescues the bottle and stands up, so that she'll have room to lay down. The bottle could probably survive a fall, but it's better not to risk it.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
There isn't much of a reaction from Xantia anymore after that. She's not even about to lay down on her own accord, she's liable to just doze off and sleep in a seated position. Ask anyone on the Yggdrasil - they've found Xantia asleep in many unusual places and positions, including hanging upside-down from a guard rail.
She's not about to object to being subtly or even unsubtly moved, either. A credit to Jay's mixture, to be certain, though it could also be a sign that this exhaustion problem is worse than Xantia gave it credit for. And then there's the fact that she always complained about Jay's repellants whenever they were used around her... she may have a particularly strong sense of smell helping this along.
Whatever the case may be, it looks like Xantia will be getting the rest she needs, and the Carakin's food supply is now safe. But for how long...?
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline just sighs, with a hint of a smile on her face. Well, at least Xantia appeared to be sleeping, even if the circumstances weren't exactly how she thought they'd be. Very carefully she eases her into laying down, then takes a step back.
"Rest well...hopefully this helps, at least somewhat..." She replies, shaking her head. And then, with that, she steps away to go find a blanket for her.