2018-09-29: The Amazing Spider-Kalve: Difference between revisions

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(Removed some OOC bits!)
 
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He opens his eyes again, looking up at her. "Would you mind if I finished my ascent? This is something of an awkward angle." A rock tumbles loose below him, bouncing and clacking down towards the ground below.
He opens his eyes again, looking up at her. "Would you mind if I finished my ascent? This is something of an awkward angle." A rock tumbles loose below him, bouncing and clacking down towards the ground below.


Maya Schrodinger (Maya) pages Kalve and Riesenlied: heyyyy can i swing by observingly
Kalve (K) pages Maya Schrodinger and Riesenlied: I don't mind
You paged Kalve and Maya Schrodinger with 'sure!!'
==== <Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed. ====
==== <Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed. ====


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"A-aah-- yes, of course, please," Riesenlied gestures as she shifts back and scoots just for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed. "... is it that strange?" she asks of his earlier comment.
"A-aah-- yes, of course, please," Riesenlied gestures as she shifts back and scoots just for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed. "... is it that strange?" she asks of his earlier comment.
Maya Schrodinger has arrived.
 
[GRID] Maya Schrodinger has joined Riesenlied!
[OOC] Maya Schrodinger is now set as an observer.
[OOC] Kalve says, "I'm sorry to say you missed the musical interlude"
[OOC] Maya Schrodinger 8(
[OOC] Riesenlied says, "this scene is definitely getting named 'The Amazing Spider-Kalve'"
[OOC] Kalve says, "I am 100% okay with that"
==== <Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed. ====
==== <Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed. ====



Latest revision as of 07:18, 30 September 2018

  • Log: The Amazing Spider-Kalve
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Kalve
  • Where: New Petra
  • Date: 29th September 2018
  • Summary: Possessing incredible "Manipule-Powers" has granted Metal Demon Kalve the proportionate strength... of an eight-ARMed Metal Demon, otherwise known as--


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The Metal Demon intel wouldn't have been far, even with Kalve arriving from Lunar -- following the Metal Demons' second attack from Adlehyde, the contingent of Waysiders have gathered in an old, familiar place...

Old Petra.

A former colliery village whose glory days are long gone, Old Petra was the natural victim of so many other frontier villages along the Adelyn border -- banditry, desertification and other such problems have left it a skeleton of a town...

... until the Metal Demons used it both as a village and a staging base, a proto-Wayside of sorts. That lasted until the Demon of Elru visited...

But now?

New Petra stands as a reminder of what the Tainted are capable of -- essentially survival veterans at this point, they've created a large band of prefabbed buildings and tents around a perimeter, and in the distance, their now-distinctive dragon-headed ramshackle airship the Fereshte can also be seen.

It's... it would be impressive, given its half-Hyadean carrier origin, if it weren't also so patched up and dinged up and more often seen on fire and dithering through the air than grandly sailing.

In the midst of this, Riesenlied is spending some time to herself, overlooking the village from an outlook. She's dressed in her Fereshte clothes, and unlike the party, she's... chosen to reveal that both her feet have now fully degenerated into a misshapen dragon-like shape, with a talons upon the heels too. She's been distressed about it...

... so maybe that's why she's chosen to have some time to herself now.

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

Kalve is not precisely looking for the Tainted.

He's out in the world again for his own reasons. There's a few places he needs to go, a few things he needs to check up on since he'd been gone for so long on Lunar. Old Petra seemed like a worthwhile stop on his way. He might be able to resupply from the caches buried in what used to be one of their bases, assuming drifters hadn't cleaned it all out. Reports of Riesenlied's band being nearby... well, they're flying now, so what are the odds of running into them here?

Very good, apparently.

Kalve's approach is accompanied by the dust-cloud of something moving over the increasingly desolate terrain at a rapid pace. It isn't until he spots the telltale lights of the buildings in the distance that he slows enough to prevent himself from being easily spotted on the ground. He lets his gleaming metal armature retract, spindly limbs collapsing back into something more humanlike as he gets his legs back under him. He hesitates.

Shortly after, he's ascending the overlook to do precisely what it sounds like: look over the settlement. He isn't being particularly stealthy about it as far as anyone who might be up there is concerned, but the angle of ascent is such that it isn't until he's within easy earshot that he actually spots Riesenlied. It brings him up short very abruptly, partly suspended from a cliff wall by the Manipule Array with his head and shoulders sticking over the ledge. He's looking very, very surprised.

It isn't an expression he often has! Enjoy it while it lasts.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Flying... well...

'Flying' is definitely a very technical term, but certainly, it must be said that they did fly -- without flight, their efforts to save the people of Azado would've likely ended in failure when the tidal wave hit the burning city when Sin struck.

There's a quiet look on Riesenlied's face as she gazes over the town with a quietly proud look, though introspective and draped around herself that she nearly misses the noise coming up the wall and--

--lets out a very surprised yelp as well as she expresses, "M-Mister Kalve?? What-- what are you doing here?" A pause, as she stares and says, "Do you need help?"

Riese, he's just being a neighborhood-friendly Kalve-man...

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

Spider-Kalve, Spider-Kalve
Does whatever a Spider-Kalve does!
Makes an ARM,
Any size;
Lots of hands
Punches guys.
Look out!
Here comes the Spider-Kalve!

One brief audience-only musical aside later...

"Uh." Beat. A beat stretches into a moment. A moment stretches into a -- "No. I was... I did not expect to see you here. Up here. Or down there. Anywhere, truthfully. It... why are you --" Kalve looks momentarily exasperated, which is a bit closer to his usual speed. He's still hanging from a wall below her a short ways. "You reinhabited the town, didn't you."

He really should have spent more time reading reports instead of panicking over a little extra meat on some metal bones.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There's an aside where Riesenlied looks around and wonders where the music comes from. It will never be answered.

The blonde Tainted withers just a little more, looking a bit embarrassed as she gestures towards a nearby rock outcropping as she tucks her capelet a little closer around herself. Despite it being a desert, she still feels a bit of a chill towards the end of the day, it would seem. "I--it's all right! I was just... taking a bit of time to get used to the further changes in my body."

She kicks a foot up for a moment, letting the large talon-like 'toes' wiggle. "... I-- kind of was reminded of when you would give me check-ups. They were very helpful..."

She bobs her head, as she looks to the town. "We had no other choice. We had hundreds of refugees to house in a hurry, and this was the only place where we had sufficient knowledge of where to procure water and food in adequate amounts..."

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

It's probably for the best. We don't /really/ want to be Rhapsody: A MUSHical Adventure, do we?

Kalve glares at Riesenlied for a moment, as if daring her to accuse him of things like 'coming to check up on them.' Which is ridiculous, because he didn't know where they were, and even if he did... well, there's a pretty good reason for him to steer clear, comedic timing aside. He lets his eyes wander towards her wiggling... talons? Then she's still...

His expression softens somewhat. He's not actually upset, or even hostile towards her; he's a little concerned, and a little frustrated at the myriad factors making this a troublesome meeting. He closes his eyes, sighing deeply. "Of course you didn't. Of course you would. I forgot who I was dealing with for a moment."

He opens his eyes again, looking up at her. "Would you mind if I finished my ascent? This is something of an awkward angle." A rock tumbles loose below him, bouncing and clacking down towards the ground below.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

And then Demon Lord Priere took over once more ... ... ...

It's so easy to forget, with Kalve, that she's gone ahead and basically (well, not so basically, but who's counting) committed treason and that they're technically on opposite sides. Especially what with their last meeting being on Lunar where he had to grump and prevent her from dying to 'something as lame as random boars' because a Hyadean totally wouldn't!

"A-aah-- yes, of course, please," Riesenlied gestures as she shifts back and scoots just for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed. "... is it that strange?" she asks of his earlier comment.

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

Kalve is not one of the hardliners who would as soon shoot Riese as look at her, or this would be way less... whatever this is. If they didn't have the history they had, maybe this would turn into a high(ish)-altitude brawl over a settlement unaware of the peril. As it stands...

Well, as it stands, he does, too. He pulls himself up, the unfurled Manipule Array's extra arms carrying him upwards. His poncho is inside-out, as it usually is when he wants to be more subtle, looking iike a grey cloth cloud shrouding him instead of a riot of color. He turns, sitting down next to her on the overlook, sighing a little bit more. This time it's in relief rather than disbelief or exasperation, though. The arms pull in on themselves, coming to rest at his sides in parallel withh is real ones.

"Mm?" He looks at her. "Perhaps. It is strange enough that you left. Stranger still that you took the ones you did. That you've gone so far, and done so much. Helping others find a home..." He makes an uncertain gesture with a black-gauntleted hand. "You used the knowledge you had at-hand. It would be admirable, were it not simultaneously so dangerous."

Kalve looks out over the prefabricated structures for a moment. He exhales through his nose, back to a stone, relaxing slightly. He feels a pang of... something. Longing, maybe. He's not entirely sure himself.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"I never asked, but... it's a bit strenuous to use those arms of yours, isn't it?" Riesenlied bobs her head as she looks towards the Manipule Array. It's not like it's a prosthetic or something completely detached from Kalve... that wouldn't fit the Method Mercury from what little she knows of it, or so she thinks.

She still has that delicate smile though. "I'm glad you're okay, after everything we've been through in the Old Moon-- er, Lunar," she still finds herself having to correct her terms. "... it is dangerous, isn't it... we're trying our best to be discreet, but we often don't have many options available to us."

She bobs her head, feeling something in that moment. A simpler time, when they all could just collaborate without worrying about such things as battle lines.

"Mister Kalve... can I ask you something a bit... odd?" The Hyadean furrows her brow and lowers her head. "It's okay if you can't say, for security's sake."

But she glances to him to ask: "... I heard from Lord Siegfried himself. That he's heard Mother's voice. ... have you? And... what do you think, if so?"

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

"A little," Kalve admits. "They are an ARM made from my own flesh, by my own hand, and synchronized to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from my own body." One of them curls, lifting the edge of his poncho. There's a curving metal plate along his upper back and spine, behind and between his shoulders, that the limbs seem to connect to. There's no seam, though. "The control that affords me is unparalleled. But, if they act as my own arms..." He shrugs a shoulder. "Your arm and everything connected to it still gets tired after a long day's work, and travelling quickly always makes the days seem longer."

Riesenlied seems to acknowledge the danger, but there's certain elements she isn't aware of. He makes a small sound of acknowledgement, still looking out over what they've built here. He would have liked to have been a part of it. He would like to see it grow from this ramshackle collection of tents and huts. He doesn't think it can last.

Kalve glances back at her about the time she looks at him. The question doesn't quite catch him off-guard, but it does make him tense. He blinks a few times, rapidly, a flicker of red crossing his eyes as his carefully-controlled disguise falters and the marks he bears when he isn't passing for human briefly emerge. There's an upwelling of emotion within him, confused and muddled, but he keeps it mostly off his face.

"...I was present when she finally awoke," Kalve says, after a moment. "She was... passionate. Outspoken in her praise for us, and her desires." He looks away from her. "But..." He tries to think of a way to say it. He thinks he can, if he can find the words. Who else can you confess such fears to if not your sister-turned-enemy?

"My medical opinion," he says slowly, delicately, "leads me to believe she may be suffering from some sort of... affliction, from her long sleep. Some of the things she said..." The terrible voice. He remembers it, and he almost completely suppresses a shudder. Almost. "She has fits. She requires treatment. I endeavor to discover the proper one, to restore her to complete rationality."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

"That makes sense. I've always been-- a little envious about some of the things you're able to do, I admit," Riesenlied expresses somewhat lightly, "Noeline is able to shape her blade to her liking, and your arms..." she tilts her head and giggles a little bit. "But, I understand the gifts I've been given myself."

She holds her hand to that little Tear of hers -- the one literally crafted out of herself. In that way, it's not dissimilar to the Manipule Array. It sparkles for a moment...

Maybe that's why they're still able to have conversations like this. Because they were like sister and brother, in a way. "... Lord Siegfried seemed... a bit perturbed, himself," she confides. Even after turning, she still affectionately calls him 'Lord' -- not in the sense of a superior, but...

... definitely in the way a Hyadean can't find a word for 'father'.

"... I remember-- back before Arctica, before Adlehyde... I would pray to Mother every day, believe in a salvation that was... peaceful and amiable. That she would guide us to coexistence with everyone else," Riesenlied shares her side of what she thought.

"But... a year ago-- when Mother awoke just ever so briefly--" Riesenlied frowns very quietly. That she suffers from an affliction... but...

"I felt her. I felt... her wrath, her anger -- it ran so deep, it shook me to my core... I..."

She sighs very softly. "... in hindsight, I do think that contributed to my flight. I felt so betrayed, even though my faith was probably just a selfish projection of what I wanted myself." She does have a smile for him, though.

"It's so like you to look at it from a medical perspective... but I admire it. What kind of treatment plans did you have in mind, if any...?" Riesenlied isn't sure if she believes it, but... she wants to think it was a misunderstanding too. She just... can't exactly turn back and rejoin them, however.

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

Kalve looks to the Tear. It gives him a moment to wonder about something other than the dire predicament their entire species has been put in by the awakening of their unstable goddess. Curiosity is easier to deal with than unsteady, failing faith.

"Mm. We both observed her condition simultaneously, I think." Kalve remembers Siegfried exchanging a look with him during the moment. Neither of them were ready for what they were hearing. "I have been meaning to speak to him regarding the matter. Once I have sufficient data to propose a course of action with confidence..." He trails off. He might be one of the ones with a helping of brains to go with the brawn, but this is still kind of taking him out of his depth. How do you heal a goddess?

He quiets to listen, though, and takes away a certain degree of understanding. Kalve isn't sure he wouldn't have done the same in her shoes, if he felt the things she did. "Faith is an inherently selfish thing," Kalve finds himself saying. "Wishing for a higher power to take the troubles from your life and make your wishes reality. It should not trouble you to find a reflection of yourself in your belief."

Kalve folds his primary arms across his chest, frowning deeply. "Approaching problems from a clinical perspective allows me a degree of detachment to come to a reasonable conclusion. Unfortunately, this is... this is /Mother/." Two of his other arms spread in an encompassing gesture, as if having a hard time expressing the enormity of the problem. "There is no clinical disconnect when we are speaking of Her."

Deep breath. "Her physical structure included --" His brow twitches. "-- unusual organic matter. I had hoped to examine the Tainted further to see if there was a connection, or perhaps utilize my somewhat elevated position under Harken," he forgets the title completely, in a moment of understandable stress, "to access previously-restricted research that may offer somewhere to start. Perhaps she is still injured. Perhaps she requires psychological examination. I don't know yet."

Kalve lapses into silence. He rubs his face for a moment. All that self-control begins to crumble when he talks about the problems Mother brings. But -- "She knows of you and yours," he says, suddenly. "Did Siegfried tell you? I do not know when you last spoke to him."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

There is a momentary silence as she draws her legs a little closer around herself, feeling a bit cold with the weather around them. It's still terribly curious, to have mundane things like a chill make a Hyadean struggle so.

"... I can't do much to console him, the way I am right now, the things I have to do..." Riesenlied sounds regretful about that. "Please, if you're able to spare a moment to speak to him. ... he's hurting a lot, even if he does not show it."

She looks a bit surprised that Kalve empathises with what she's speaking about her faith. "... I--I suppose so, yes. It helped me push through some of the toughest moments back at the Gutter."

What Kalve says next surprises her a bit, though. "You... think Mother may be /Tainted/?"

The thought had never occured to her, but-- what /isn't/ to say that is not the case? The technological plague that so afflicted them after the Day of Collapse was never well-understood, the way it so degraded the living metal that was so integral to their life.

"I didn't know you were looking after Lady Harken now. I-- I hope you can also find her..." A pause. "I know she struggles with the kinds of... medications Alhazred gave her." She frowns deeply. "Neither I nor Lord Siegfried approved, back then, when we found out."

A lapse for a moment, sighing softly. "... this-- this is highly unusual for me to say, but--" She pauses. "If you want a sample to examine, I suppose you have my data-- and if you need more... well. I... /would/ really like it if it were an affliction. I really do..."

That comment of Kalve's about faith, ironically, comes back to her. What if they were both hoping too much that this was just not... the way she was?

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

Kalve gives Riese a weird look. He extends one hand, summoning a ball of yellow-white light and fiddling with the exterior with his fingertips. A second one appears in another hand, and it resolves into a narrow straight sword made of black metal. He jams it into the ground next to her, thumbing a switch hidden in the hilt. The edge very quickly begins to glow faintly orange, and it sheds a wash of heat as it merrily glows.

Fire is for people without exotic matter 3D printers.

"Console --?" Kalve scoffs a little. "As if I could. I am fortunate I have the opportunity to speak to Lady Harken somewhat frankly; I would not count myself so lucky in Siegfried's presence. ... Still." Still, he'll put forward the attempt. He might as well.

A shrug. "She may be. Her physical structure is not completely in line with the Hyadean norm. She shows musculature that more closely resembles the Tainted, or... something more local." Kalve's frown is pretty serious, now. "We obviously deviate significantly, but there are certain physical commonalities we all share. It makes us what we are as a species. She is... somewhat different. Not completely. Just enough to make me suspect she may similarly be afflicted."

Kalve eyes her with a sidelong look. "She seems to have no love for Alhazred, that much is clear. I am primarily tasked with ensuring she is completely rehabilitated after the extensive injures she suffered before we went --" He flicks fingers towards the sky, meaningfully. "-- away. Something is strange, though. I can feel it. Things are not quite right. But... I need more information, first."

A nod, after that moment. "I do. And I may. If there is any chance, any at all that this is the case, I need as much as I can get. But... I am not equipped for fieldwork at the moment," he admits. "I stopped here to resupply on my way elsewhere, where some of my equipment is. Once I have it, I could come back and check on you." One of his hands pokes her foot lightly. "I suspect you would not object in either case."

"... you must be careful, though," Kalve warns. "Mother... she is awake, and she has made it clear that she does not suffer the existence of traitors. At least, no existence that contains anything more than suffering. Staying so close to one of our old outposts is inviting danger, and some recent developments have made it more likely you will be struck without anything resembling honor." Maybe that's why he's volunteering that part so readily...

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riese watches that black sword that erupts in flame for a moment, with no small amount of awe. Well, she doesn't have 3D printers, so flame it is for her... she holds her hands out to warm, though.

"... I've never even thought of that. I thought that-- well, Mother must be a Hyadean... the most fundamental from which we were spawned, but..." She quietly nods, biting her lip. "I... remember. She was harmed during the battle that took Berserk..."

She pauses, hesitating for a moment. "When I made contact with a Guardian and materialised him, somehow..."

She at least doesn't regret Berserk's death for long. She'd... made peace with what they had to do, then.

"I... I can surmise as much, that Mother brooked no dissent," Riesenlied shudders as she imagines Mother's voice again. "We are planning to relocate the Azadians elsewhere, as soon as we can... and..." she pauses. "Afterwards, we..."

She hesitates. "We will be going to Elru. ... to help the Tainted back at the Gutter of the Photosphere that are even less able than the ones with us, down below..."

A sigh, as she gets up gently and smiles softly. She steps closer to the cliff, as if motioning to start heading back. "... feel free to stop by for samples anytime. I believe in your work, and... even if what we pursue day to day is different-- well--"

She scratches her cheek. "I value... I value our companionship. Our history. And that -- I believe you want to see our species be hale, be healthy... that we may flourish."

<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.

"Mmmm." Having said it aloud, and gotten a reaction that wasn't a look like he was a crazy person, is what Kalve really needed. Riesenlied might be a traitor to the tenants of their society, but she still believes in them as a people enough to take in the wounded and the unwanted. That means a lot, especially right now. It's one of the reasons he can talk to her with some degree of ease.

"Lady Harken will be fine. Mother will be, too, though it will take prodigious effort to make her thus. I have not backed down from a task from its difficulty before, and I will not start now." Ah, the pride of a Demon. Kalve takes it as a personal challenge, so he'll give it his all. Hopefully, that will be enough.

Her plan, though...

"I understand you wish to help them," Kalve says, voice low, "but I ask that you not allow outsiders to find our home. I know you have friends and allies among the humans, and I know they will come with you wherever you lead them. But we have little enough that we can call our own, even after this foolish war of extinction. And while there are some things that I can forgive, certain trespasses that they unknowingly make, following in your wake..." His main hands ball into fists. He takes a deep breath and just shakes his head.

He manages a smile, then. It's small, but it's real and true. He remains seated, unwilling to go closer to the settlement. "It warms me to hear that. I hope that, no matter what the future may bring, we may still come together for this common goal: to do what we may to bring our people the prosperity we both know they deserve."

It's a happy thought. Kalve would like it to hold fast. Maybe it can.