2019-02-02: Snacks and Romance Novels

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  • Log: Snacks and Romance Novels
  • Cast: Lan Lilac, Gwen Whitlock
  • Where: Baskar Colony
  • Date: 2019-02-02
  • Summary: Gwen runs into Lan while on a delivery. They chat.

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

After a little over a month spent in the sterile confines of first a Solarian hospital and then Loren's family's manor, Lan is oh so very happy to be back on Filgaia. The months spent on Lunar weren't so bad - aside from some aesthetic differences and a few new rules about drinking and religion, it hadn't been that different from her native world.

The city in the sky had been a kind of hell that Lan hopes never to revisit, with or without friends by her side.

And since she's been back planetside, Lan can't help but feel a little homesick for the village she'd run away from. Baskar Colony is no Little Firelight, but maybe just being among her own people will help ease some of the ache? So she'd told the others where she was going and set out.

Having been here for a few days already, Lan is kind of surprised by just how much she'd missed being among other Baskar. While no two villages are alike, at least she doesn't have to constantly question or explain things here!

Having traded her labor for lodging, she's just about spent - another long day spent weeding the village's scant crops has left her pleasantly tired and her back a comfortable amount of sore. But with the day's work over, she can spend the rest of her evening in leisure... even if her idea of it is 'lying on a blanket underneath a scraggly tree, reading a dogeared book and snacking on crackers'. She's close enough to the main entrance to the village that she'll get to spot any newcomers first!

Satisfied with her lot in life for the moment, Lan munches on a cracker and turns the page, eyes riveted to the text. Oooooh, is Dirk the Gallant going to confess his feelings to Mabel the Courageous?!

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Ah, the saga of Dirk of Gallant! Such a great book, so romantic~

"Heeey, I haven't seen ya since we were back out east!" A familiar cheery voice wafts fom beyond the world of the amorous hero, accompanied by the snort of a friendly silvery-grey horse.

It is, of course, a Gwen. Thumbing up the rim of her hat, she gives Lan a wide grin, walking over with Gulliver dutifully trudging along on his reins. "How've ya been doin'? Did Loren get through all that mess in one piece too?" Lan's book is given a brief glance. "Oh, you're readin' that one too? How you been likin' it? How far are ya?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

The hero doffs his battered cowboy hat, a small (manly) blush tinting his rugged features. He leans forward, the better to whisper into Mabel's ear...!

...When a familiar voice scatters her rosy fantasy world like fallen leaves on a gusty day. "Bwuh?" The blonde shaman blinks up at the sight of Gwen Whitlock (and Gulliver!) smiling down at her. "Oh! Gwen, long time no see!" It's so great to see someone familiar, especially when they're friendly and not trying to punch her head off or something. "Yeah, he was in the hospital for a while but he's all better now. Grumpy as always." Lan makes it sound like that's a prized quality in a nerd, or something...!

Sitting up, Lan scoots over and pats the blanket beside her, offering Gwen the box of crackers. "Yeah, I'm on chapter five so far. I really like the main character so far. He kind of reminds me of someone, but I can't think of who. I can't believe you've read it too. What're you doing out here, on another delivery?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

And then...!

A horse.

Gulliver, specifically sensing something interesting on the relaxing Lan (specifically, the crackers), moseys on over to sniff (at the crackers) before his reins are gently shortened, disallowing him from moving further (and stealing some crackers).

"Hehe. Glad to hear he's still his normal grumpy self." She hunches down, leaning in. "It's deffffinitely a defense mechanism. Can't let anyone notice he can be a softy underneath all that rough exterior." She coughs. "Noooott that I've seen anything like that. Not at all."

Sure, sure, he may be an agent from a mysterious floating city that may actually be kind of dangerous and scary despite the fantastical nature of the entire idea, but he's so _grumpy_.

Seeing the space patted out for her, Gwen sits herself down, arranging herself to sit cross-legged while accepting the offer of crackers(!). "Oho. Chapter five? That's when it gets good! Mabel's so adorable, too!" Munching on a few crackers, she continues. "Don't worry, I won't spoil a thing, I promise! Who does Dirk remind you of?"

Gulliver's nose sniffs urgently at Gwen's hat as Lan talks, relenting when the courier occupies him with some gentle pets up his muzzle. "A delivery, as always! The Baskar Colony has several of my best customers. Though, I never asked- are you from this tribe, or another?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

Lan has never kept a horse, but she knows a couple of things about them. One of those things is 'horses should probably not eat crackers'. When Gulliver leans in to nose for the enticing promise of people food, Lan gently pats his nose instead of giving him a Forbidden Treat. "Ahaha, you think so?" she laughs. "I can never tell. One minute he'll be almost normal, you know? And then something will ruffle his feathers and he gets all offended. He's funny like that." It's good to know she's not the only one looking out for Loren, at least.

She passes the crackers over to Gwen along with a twine-wrapped glass bottle full of water. There are a few weird charms woven with the string, but the water inside is clean and cool. "Well, he's earnest, and kind of a showoff, but he's got a good heart and a good hat." The face that comes to mind when she puts all of those qualities together... sure isn't Loren. "I guess... Ashansi. He's another friend of mine, we travel together now and then. You haven't run into him out on the road, have you?" It'd be pretty great if someone else could help her keep track of that guy, too...!

"Nah, I'm not from here-- have you ever heard of a village called Little Firelight? It's a bit smaller than Baskar Colony and tends to keep to itself mostly, but I wouldn't be surprised if you'd made a stop there now and then." Especially if Uncle Gerr has been mail-ordering stuff behind his wife's back again. Lan looks up from resettling herself on her belly on the blanket. "I don't think I ever asked - where's your hometown?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Horses do not eat crackers, indeed. Gulliver's appetite is quickly quelled by his appetite for pets and attention, the demure horse accepting the pats from Lan's hand with a soft exhale of warm air. through his muzzle.

"I guess that's the way he had t'live, y'know?" Gwen leans back on the palms of her hands, thinking back to what she saw in that abandoned colony. How their 'ideal selves' had all acted. "Lotsa people are like that. My guess is that place he's from is really militaristic. I mean, a place like that... everyone's probably livin' real cooped up together, right? Like some city ship, except you can't just jump off and swim away."

Or can you?

Drinking from the offered glass bottle as Lan talks, Gwen sighs with contentment. "That sounds like Dirk, yeah." Admiring the small charms on the side, she hands the bottle back to Lan. "Ashansi, huh? Can't say I've heard anybody by that name, but there's a lot of people in this big world. What's he look like, aside from wearin' a good hat?"

Little Firelight. Gwen idly nods. "I think I have, now that you mention it. Places like that don't always have the best access to trade, but the business I get makes it worth it. So you're from there, eh?"

Of course, that makes the next question a very natural one. "...." That's a very, very good question. It'd be easy to just say 'Boot Hill', but is that really the answer she wants to keep giving? Has her past run-ins with Janus taught her much of anything?

".... A lot of my childhood was spent in Little Twister," she finally says. "But the second half of it was spent in Boot Hill." Simple, nothing shameful, just the truth. "Don't sweat it. I think a lotta us Drifter types don't ask. Gotta keep that illusion up of us bein' like tumbleweeds, driftin' from place t'place."

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

Like some city ship. Lan's mouth thins slightly, the girl looking down at the brightly-colored blanket for the span of a single breath before she lets out the sigh she'd been holding in. "I wouldn't be surprised. From what I've seen, the whole culture's pretty bass-ackwards. Or maybe it's just Loren, after all."

For instance, Leah seems to have turned out mostly* okay**!

"He's really weird, but super trustworthy." Talking about Ashansi is definitely less of a loaded topic! Even if it's difficult in other ways, such as 'how do you even describe someone like that?' Lan rests her cheek in one hand and gives it some thought. "He's really, really strong. A good swordsman. If he gets drunk he'll probably fall asleep in a tree again. Uh... oh, and sometimes he loses his pants and thinks someone else stole them." That's probably the most apt description Lan has ever given of somebody in her entire life, and yet she's somehow still pretty sure that Gwen is only going to be more confused...!

Talking about home is a marginally easier topic. Her home, or someone else's! "I'm glad you've been through there! I've kind of been thinking about going back to visit for a little bit." While she's heard of Boot Hill, Lan can't say with as much certainty that she's ever visited it. "Do you get to visit home often? I guess if you travel past there you can always stop in, right?" She sounds so hopeful about it!

* haha

** AHAHAHAHAHAHA

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Gwen notices the sigh and shifts, stretching out her legs. "Huh. Maybe that's just the sorta way people get." Rubbing Gulliver's muzzle, the redhead ponders over this. "I wonder if they all went through th'same thing the Metal Demons did, when they had to infiltrate our society. Just... all this culture shock, except in their case, we're both humans, so it's not like they can pretend they're different because they're a different species."

Hehe. "Really weird, but super trustworthy?" Gwen laughs. "I know a few people like that. By chance, did he wear a red trenchcoat?" A pause. "Not like The Red Trenchcoat, but just a red trenchcoat." There is No Need for Lan to think Gwen has somehow gotten into contact with the man who destroyed July City, after all!! But somehow, this Ashansi doesn't seem like the same person as the one Gwen is thinking of. Especially as Lan goes on to talk about how he is a good swordsman and how he might just get drunk and fall asleep in a tree again. The thought of Mr. Balderdash/Not!Vash/Vash?/etc holding a sword makes Gwen squint into the distance, as if trying to make out something vague in the distance. Of her mind. Also, getting drunk. Did she really need to see that guy be drunk?

......... also balderdash seems to be very aware of where his clothing is at all times so YEAH NOT HIM "I'm thinkin' of someone else, then. He's not a swordsman at *all*. Sounds like Ashansi is th'sorta guy I'd know upon meetin' him. Is he Baskar too?" Somehow, Gwen is accepting all these traits as a suitable description. Swordsman who gets drunk, sleeps in trees, and sometimes loses his pants. Also, may or may not have a good hat, and is super trustworthy.

"If you ever want me to pass on a message, just lemme know. I'll even do it for free, as long as it's nothin' too fancy." Gwen confidently raises the brim of her hat. "It's nothin' for a Super Courier like I am."

The subject of home, at least the one that comes to mind automatically, is also easy for Gwen to switch to. "Many times, yeah. Auntie's the main person I go to when I really bang up my ARM, though, uh, Lunar and Elru's made me realize the value in havin' backups, eheh. What 'bout you?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

For some reason, it never quite occurs to Lan that 'talking to Gwen about Solaris and the fact that she has been there' would be a good idea. Later on she will probably regret this.

"I wonder? It's probably hard for them. It was hard for the Metal Demons, after all." Just because it was hard, of course, doesn't make them right... Especially not the ones who'd sided with Mother, after everything she'd done to them. Better to think of happier stuff, like handsome trustworthy men with nice hats. "A trenchcoat? Like that Vash the Stampede guy?" When Lan tries to imagine Asha wearing something like that... it doesn't quite jive. "I've never seen him wear one. He's got a poncho, though?" she offers, as if that's even close.

Just talking about him is enough to make Lan smile, though. Even if half the time, that smile is one of rueful exasperation. "If you're in a tight spot, tell him I asked him to help you out." It's the best thing she can think of to say - after all, Asha always seems to find her eventually on his own. It's comforting, like the phases of the moon or the seasons changing.

"Oh that's right - I never got a chance to say so back there, but your ARM's really cool-looking. It looks like it's part of you!" Lan looks a bit curiously at Gwen's arm, but doesn't go asking for another peek at it (especially not right there on the edge of the village). "I haven't been home in years," she sighs, eyes closing as she lies down fully, chin resting on her crossed arms. "I wonder if everybody's okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

What's the worst that could happen?

"Probably. I mean, one of them got real sweet on a Drifter." Is Fei technically a Drifter? "It's kinda romantic, when you think about it. Someone from the air falling in love with someone from the earth. Two sides of the coin, a forbidden romance! Love triumphing over boundaries! Like-" Vash the Stampede WAIT they're moving onto another subject aren't they?

"E-eh, yeaaahhh. Eheh." Gwen rubs the back of her neck. "But this guy's nonviolent! Specifically does not harm people at all!" Gwen never does answer if the man she's thinking of looks like Vash, or is, in fact, Vash. It's probably for the best. "A very good credo t'live by, honestly." She even told the blonde she believed in the same thing.

..... Then she... threatened to kill a man. That man was Isiris, yes, and he did... something to her. He touched something to her forehead and-

..... She's a real hypocrite, isn't she?

'If you're in a tight spot, tell him I asked him to help you out.' "Oh, right!" Shaking that dark train of thought like water off a dog's back, Gwen laughs. "I definitely will! So. Wears a poncho, sometimes is drunk and found in trees, sometimes loses his pants. Got it!"

At the mention of her ARM, Gwen shifts to lean back on her left hand, bringing her gloved right hand up before her. "Well, eheh, it kinda is? I usually don't admit t'that, but I figure it's okay t'tell ya at this point." She pauses a beat. "Er, I mean, it was attached to me surgically. It's not somethin' I grew, or anythin'!" No, that was her heart. That, she grew, through her ARM.

It's complicated.

"I bet they all are. You even helped make sure of it! The mighty Lan Lilac, with her- oh right!" She shifts in her sitting position to better look at Lan. "That ribbon stuff you did was pretty amazin' too! Is that somethin' you do with Rigdobrite's power?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

"It is kind of romantic, isn't it?" Lan seems cheered by the idea, though she'd probably be just as happy about two people from anywhere falling for each other. "Love is love and all, but people are people - you don't really need love to connect with someone, do you?" Sometimes she wonders... Lan who has never fallen in love with anybody, whose first 'kiss' was just her trying to keep Loren from drowning in his own blood. "Friendship is just as important, right?"

Maybe it just hasn't happened yet. Maybe, in time...

This guy? "You mean Vash the Stampede?" Of course, all Lan has ever heard are the usual rumors. "I thought he was just a story people made up to explain natural disasters! So he's really a nice person? I hope he doesn't get too upset that people are using him as a scapegoat for stuff..." As usual, Lan has... completely managed to miss the point.

Drunk, poncho, sleeps in trees, may be pantsless at any given time. "Oh, and he's got an enormous sword. I used to wonder how he could even lift it! Turns out he's just really, really strong." Stronger than Lan, who could barely tug it off of the ground the one time she tried.

Her lavender gaze follows the movement of Gwen's right ARM, idly watching the flex of fingers hidden underneath the leather. "It's part of you, then? It doesn't hurt or anything?" It'd be no good to have such amazing strength if it was a burden on your own body. ARMs in general remain mysterious to Lan - mostly through her own fault, since she never bothered to learn! Laid out comfortably on the blanket like this, it's definitely easy to not think too hard about stuff, to just let things float by...

"I hope so," she says, but Lan smiles a little all the same. "Thanks, Gwen. Even if-- oh, my ribbon?" She tugs the end of her long, heavy braid over, the silver ribbon tied into a floppy bow. "Sort of! I infused a lot of spiritual energy into it, and that acts like... like a fuel source, kind of, and then I just have to touch it with a little more of the same to make it wake up and work." It... sounds kind of complicated when she thinks about it, but it had been as easy to do as breathing. "But that makes me wonder if any shaman could use it?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

'You don't really need love to connect with someone, do you?'

Gwen's answer is quick, with the added ease of confidence. "Of course not! I mean, if it is, people like me'd be pretty lonely, right? I'm married to my job, so I just don't got time for romance." There's also that scary addition of the very notion of Gwen ever letting someone someone get that close.

"I mean..." She hesitates, then defensively laughs. "W-well, that'd be a question to ask such a guy! I mean, if you could ever meet him, because, uh."

.... Because it's a lot easier to keep that lone homeless bum that sometimes wandered into her wagon at just the right times, like a comforting constant that just maybe, the world could be something far better than what everyone claimed it was. That he wasn't his own person, separate, with a past, that possibly included some terrible deeds. If he did, indeed, do them.

Silently, she wonders if it's easier to deal with an Ashansi than a Vash.

"An enormous sword, eh? Maybe I could lift it, ehehe." Gwen rolls her left arm in a display of muscles, which unfortunately is hidden underneath layers of clothing. "I'm pretty strong too, even in this arm!"

The fingers of her right hand, meanwhile, wiggle with all the flexibility of her left, with little to show that there was any difference at all. "It can, yeah, but it's not like your right arm wouldn't if you did something stupid with it. But yeah, I can't take it off. I can disable it, but I can't just detach it, even if some days it'd be easier if it was."

Seeing Lan tug her braid over, Gwen claps her hands in front of her. "Eee, I love your braid! So you use that, huh? When it comes down to it... sounds like my ARM and your ribbon ain't that much different. You feed your energy into it, and it does things with that energy, huh? That's real amazin', if ya ask me. How'd ya figure out how to do all that?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

Sometimes even Lan has to wonder, you know! If love really is the 'end all, be all' of emotions. If it's truly necessary to be understood, or to understand others. But if Gwen seems so sure of it, then there's probably nothing to worry about. "You're right!" She has to be.

What's even less certain, it seems, is whether or not Gwen has ever actually seen or met the Humanoid Typhoon. "Huh, it sounded for a minute like you'd run into him or something," she muses, but soon forgets about it. After all, that sounds like the kind of thing that a person would be certain of, if they had.

"I bet you could lift it, at that," she laughs. "But as long as your ARM doesn't hurt... that's something to be grateful for."

She looks at her ribbon again, a faint hint of flush coloring her dark cheeks. "Ah, I just hate getting my hair cut, you know? It's a nice color, so I thought I'd let it grow long." Gwen is so sweet! "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to take care of it though," she has to admit. Getting twigs out of it after an unfortunate encounter with a tree, breaking a comb on a stuborn tangle... there sure is a price to pay for vanity...!

"Mmm. Guardianist magic isn't like crest sorcery, I don't think. With what I do, it all comes down to will... will, and your ability to act as a, a conductor. No, a conduit, Mom said." Let the Guardians fill you with light, but don't let yourself be bleached by the sun... something like that? It was a very long time ago, after all. "And then you take that energy that they give you, and... well, you can do amazing things," Lan gives up on explaining after a few moments. "Aheheh, not a very good explanation, is it?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

At this point, Gwen doesn't know what the kinder thing would be: believing that a man could be so remorseful over his deeds that he would task himself with making things right in some small way, or in a man who felt no guilt, that disappeared with the city rather than suffer the rest of his days under the weight of his deeds. Or, the final one, that a man, or more tha one man, must deal with the prospect of being blamed for an event that killed millions of people. What would be kinder, and what would be the reality?

Surely this Ashansi person is just what Lan says he is, and no more.

"Well, there's, uh, other parts about it that get inconvenient," Gwen admits with a vague half-grin, "but it's just a set of pros n' cons. There's a lot of types of pain I'm pretty used to, so I might be just used to it, y'know?"

Speaking of pain...! "I never thought of it that way. I guess it *is* easier havin' short hair, in some ways." She tugs at a curly strand of hair atop her own head. "I mean, of this was any longer, it'd be a lot harder t'comb, I bet. N' havin' your hair tugged this way n' that! How'd ya even deal with that? Makes me shudder just thinkin' 'bout it."

Guardianist magic. Gwen tilts her head. "... I didn't know there was a difference, I guess. So it really is like my ARM, huh..."

.... Like the time she reached out with her ARM, guided by that dying will, and grabbed onto that tablet- "I think it does, actually. You take on an energy, and you convert it into somethin' else, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

If she had any idea about Gwen's inner turmoil, Lan would consider herself lucky - after all, most of the people in her life are way less complicated. And probably only half as troublesome!

"Mmm. I guess it'd almost have to be. Otherwise everybody would be running around with ARMs for arms!" Does... she even listen to what she says? Probably not, considering that Lan doesn't seem to have found any problem with what just came out of her mouth. "It's kind of amazing though, isn't it? The things that people can get used to."

Lan watches Gwen's hair bounce gently when she releases it. "Curly hair's so hard to take care of. It tends to be really dry, and when it's longer you have to use a special comb on it so the curls all stay lined up properly. ...Still, if people take care of it, it's sooo beautiful~" she sighs. "My mom has curly hair and always made me help her untangle it. I didn't really mind, but..." But still, she'd been young and had always had other things she could've been doing! "But once hair is long enough, and heavy enough to tug on your scalp all the time, you mostly get used to it. Just like how people get used to other kinds of pain."

Of course, all the 'getting used to it' in the world isn't going to help Lan the next time her ponytail gets caught in a door, but no philosophy is truly perfect.

Uncrossing her arms, Lan props herself up on her elbows. "I'm not super knowledgeable about Crest Sorcery, but I know a couple of basics. You can't use any of its spells unless you have things called Crest Graphs, which keep the individual spells ready for you to use. So you need a Graph to use a spell for sealing up wounds, and another separate Graph for a spell to nullify poisons, and another Graph to heal burns. If you're a shaman, you can use your own spiritual power, or the power of certain Gardians, to heal someone."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

"Arms for ar- OH, yeah!" Gwen laughs. "I was thinkin' 'but what else would ya use for arms'?" It's not like Gwen herself has used the same phrase or anything, nooo, Gwen is a rational, easily understandable person. "Yeah, it really is pretty amazin'. I thought I was the only one like this, but now I realize, even if I actually was, I probably ain't the only one that's unique like that. Pretty big world out there, filled with people we don't notice until somethin' happens."

The lock of hair springs back to its loose, messy state. "Hehe. Yeah. I'm always tryin' new types of concoctions to get my hair t'play nice. Like, have long wavy curls instead of what I got now. A lot of it's just snake oil, but sometimes ya just feel all pretty when ya get somethin' made from rosehips and heal berry leaves. Still haven't found somethin' that deals with freckles, tho."

Lan explains the way Crest magic works, and the difference between that and that of a shaman, causing Gwen's eyes to widen. ".... Whoah... so it ain't even like you just have a piece of a Guardian's power, you really *are* a conduit! That's really amazin'! Can you talk to them, too? The Guardians, I mean."

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

"There're all sorts of people out there. Filgaia's huge, and the moon's pretty big too, and..." Well, Solaris had been strangely large, too. But the words die in Lan's throat before she even thinks to say them.

"Mom swears by this stuff that's a mix of mineral oil and some other stuff. I could probably mix up a batch if we can find the ingredients!" The idea of making something so simple, but that smells like home... it'd be so nice. But first, more pressing matters. "Whu-- why would you want to get rid of your freckles?!" From her tone of voice and the look on Lan's face, Gwen might as well have suggested cutting off her own nose. "They're so pretty! They always make a face look honest and cute. Don't get rid of them!"

Though, maybe they're easier to like for Lan, who doesn't have any... The freckles are always cuter on someone else's face.

She does laugh a bit sheepishly when Gwen seems so impressed. It's not anything special, there are lots of shamans out there! "You have to train to be a shaman, so that means anybody can do it! Some people are naturally better at it than others but it's something anyone can learn if they dedicate themselves." ...Of course it does take years, and you need a teacher, but so do most skill trees! "That's why anybody can use a medium. They're a piece of a Guardian's power, and you can use it to call them forth. To be able to use their magic without one is... well, it's just a thing you learn and train for," she finishes a bit lamely. Inwardly, she frets a bit. It always makes sense when she thinks about it, but putting it into words...

She blinks at Gwen's last question. Talk to them...?

It's been a while, hasn't it? Since Rigdobrite has said anything to her.

Maybe it means she's doing what she's supposed to...?

"Well, it's more like you train yourself to hear them. They always hear you talk to them, no matter who you are! Even if you aren't a shaman, or even if you don't worship them. That's what it means to be a god, you know?" she hums philosophically. "To know what's in everybody's hearts."

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Probably for the best. The less Gwen knows about Solaris, the less likely she'll end up in Solaris. Then again, isn't that how Lan ended up in Solaris...?

"Ohoh! I'd love t'try some! N'-" Gwen's head tilts at Lan's dismay. "Well, I mean, yeah, on my face they look cute, but my shoulders, they're, uh. Well, shoulder. But they're *plastered* there. So I keep hearin' 'aw it's a shame you got so many freckles, you have some pale skin' n' of course there's scars n' all that now, but *still*!" BEAUTY DOESN"T NEED ANY LOGIC

"Well, I mean, sure, anybody can do it if they dedicate themselves, but it's the same deal with pilotin' a Gear n' not everybody does that real well either." Gwen turns her body to face out towards the dry hills beyond the colony, her quiet musing accompanied by Gulliver moseying about the dirt for a few morsels of tasty grass. "I guess I just never thought of em' as gods. Just more like 'some people higher up on the plateau'. They're higher up, so they see more, and they can do more." She itches the side of her head. "If that makes any sense. I guess my upbringin's real weird that way. First part was at an Ethos orphanage, n' the other was with my Auntie, who didn't beliebe in nothin' except what she was able to figure out through science. So I'm kinda in the middle, I guess? Uh-" She raises her hands up, palms held out. "Not to insult the Guardians n' all that!! Eheh."

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

If there's on thing Lan wouldn't wish on any Filgaian, it's 'having to spend time in Solaris'. It's so sterile and boring!

"But what's wrong with shoulder freckles?" she asks, but relents soon after. It's probably like Lan and the thick scar above her navel - sure, it's an unusual shape, and not really ugly... but occasionally it itches, and it's not her favorite feature by far. Still, who says freckles are a shame?!

Lan nods, though, at the comparison to training for Gear piloting. "Exactly! Some people are better at it than others, but anybody can learn."

Lan turns over onto her side to watch Gwen recount a short version of her origins. "You weren't raised like I was, so there's nothing wrong with not believing that they're gods. 'Gods' is just the best word we really have for them besides 'guardians'." Lan pushes herself up off of the blanket, and picks up the few remaining crackers. "Tell you what, if you tell me some more about Ethos I'll show you how to make that hair treatment. I'm sure if we ask nicely someone will let us use their kitchen, and the ingredients aren't hard to find in most kitchens. What do you say?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

"I guess it really don't matter in the end, hehe." Gwen stretches her arms upwards, then flops back against the blanket. "It ain't like I'll be caught dead wearing those fancy shoulder gowns anytime soon.

"Oooh. I see whatca mean now." Gwen's head lifts off the blanket slightly to look at Lan. "Well, when ya put it *that* way, it ain't so strange at all!"

Somewhere, way off, a crow sounds its cry against the blue sky, and Gwen's breath hitches. She pauses.

No, it's just a normal crow. A random event.

And she laughs to chase away the fear. "Yeah! Sure, I could do that. Well, I say 'Ethos', but it's mostly just 'the Granas church', hehe." She raises up halfway. "Let's do that! I'm sure someone wouldn't mind us usin' their kitchen for somethin' like that."

She raises, and extends her hand towards Lan. A crow calls in the distance again, further away. The hand shakes, but holds firm.

"It's a perfect day for somethin' like that, eh?"