2019-11-06: Peers Apart

• Log: Peers Apart
• Cast: Day Muirwall, Kaguya
• Where: Claiborne
• Date: November 06, 2019
• Summary: A young woman who has worked her way into the peerage of Hyland meets a young man who's doing everything he can to disown himself from that of Rolance.

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=================================<* Claiborne *>==================================

Claiborne is another one of the little farming communities on Kasutho Island, and until recently it was protected by Sylvaland, which claims dominion over it and its section of the island. However, with the destruction of its teleporter by Odessa, it has fallen out of immediate contact with Sylvaland, leaving it in an uncertain position with regards to the Veruni presence here.

Still, Claiborne remains a quiet farming town, whatever the actions of the outside world. Well-known for the quality of their horses, it's rumored that even the famed steeds of kings can directly or indirectly trace their lineage back to Claiborne stock.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2zw6vjNdCg

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Not many travellers in Kasutho are like the ones who rode into Claiborne not long before lunch, not aboard a vehicle, but aboard a large chestnut warhorse, a powerful destrier draped in mail and heraldic colours. The young man aboard the horse, clad in fine plate armour and carrying a shield quartered in red and black and blazoned with a rearing winged horse, drew most of the attention. Nobody mentioned the small white palfrey that came along, carrying an auburn-haired girl in a peasant dress.

Both horses have been tethered outside a small in, near a trough. Checking his saddlebag, Day Muirwall, Knight of Mourningside Abbey, ensures his belongings are secure before letting out a soft breath and looking out around the small farming town they find themselves in. He'd stopped for lunch, sharing some of it with his companion. Blessedly they had enough Filgaian currency on hand that the purchase was trivial.

The town is closer to what he's used to. Smaller, quieter.

Nostalgic. He closes his eyes for a moment and exhales, resting his hand on his saddle.

"Sir Day... you're thinking of the past again, aren't you," murmurs the young woman with him, her green eyes wide and sad behind her big, round glasses. She reaches out with delicate fingers, but stops herself.

Day doesn't respond immediately. When he does, he sets his shoulders a little, then relaxes them with a puff of breath through his nose. He opens his eyes again. "They breed good horses in this town, I'm told. I wonder if they can match a Glaivendish."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

As it happens, these travellers were presumed to be of interest to one Kaguya in particular--the Duchess Alathfar, as she is often known in the Guard, for her House. ...A new House, to be sure, but a real one all the same, and one already known not only for military technique but for the flowers that cover the estate.

Specifically, it was determined by a woman in Kaguya's employ in the town, who was waiting there for a little while and enjoying the hospitality of the inn before Kaguya returned for her. ...The small Veruni had thought better of leaving her human companion alone in the Control Zone.

"Good question," a voice from behind says--a girl's voice, or a young woman's maybe. It goes to a blonde in Filgaian attire--brown slacks, a white dress shirt, and a green mantle, asymmetric and draped over her arms. ....But at it's collar there's a brooch emblazoned with a gem and the crest of House Alathfar, tasteful. For once that applies to something on Kaguya's person.

See--the person in question is one of Kaguya's maids, who 'made' the trip to Filgaia as well... and radioed her Lady about these interesting people while she was already on her way back.

Digression aside, she continues fairly lightly and not slowly, "But I'm not much an expert on horses," she admits, travelling on foot, her boots making soft falls against the ground for her sheer lightness. She looks... a little pale, and a little otherworldly; her pointed ears, the sharp teeth that are part of her smile, the strange color of her eyes--

"Sir Day, I presume. It's good to see you--I haven't met any of the Guard since we made it here." She then bows lightly, directing her attention with some gallantry towards the young woman with him. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

The sound of a voice behind him surprises Day just a little, but he deals with it without particular reaction beyond drawing a breath through his nose and turning smoothly, mail jingling subtly as it shifts against part of his armour.

Kaguya's not entirely alien to him. Day was along with the Guard contingent that sailed to Spira, but he'd remained with the Rolance contingent and had few occasions to interact with the core group outside of Leo. But hes seen enough that Kaguya's face isn't unknown to him.

He's seen it elsewhere, too. Before all that.

The house brooch is actually harder to recognize. It's a new house, and Day hasn't had time to commit its heraldry to memory.

"Your Grace, the Duchess Alathfar, I presume." His voice is low and level, but he does incline his head respectfully and bring his right arm across his breastplate briefly. Tension between nations or not, there's a way one behaves around nobility. "You have me at a disadvantage... I wasn't expecting others to be in this part of the Blue Star."

Standing behind the warhorse, the young woman in the glasses recedes a little, her eyes a little wide as if with surprise at something. She eventually does lower her head and clasp her hands with the humility someone of low standing is simply accustomed to around the nobility.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Back then, Kaguya didn't stick around all that long, to see her handiwork's results... Particularly not in the wake of a friggin' dragon showing up. But that was then--

And Kaguya was a noted and apparently adept general among the Guard, during the war in Spira.

"That's me," Kaguya answers with his head's inclination. There are tensions between nations--but theoretically, they set those aside in favor of Althena's will. ....Theoretically...

"Coincidence, believe it or not--at least, coincidence that I was coming into the area in the first place. I got a little warning through one of those devices I use." Kaguya's strange technology is also well known by this point--though perhaps some of it seems less strange, now.

"You can call me Kaguya," she says then. "The Blue Star is mostly not that much for Lunar's formalities, and I don't mind it. I was in the area meeting someone recently, and was coming back for someone I'd regained contact with here."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Day spent a lot of time elsewhere during the Spira missions but came along to Macalania. His companion had followed, though she'd slipped beneath most people's notice.

It occurs to the young knight fairly quickly that the Duchess Alathfar is a more informal person than he is. Imperceptibly, he lets some of the stiffness in his stance ease, though it's hard to tell beneath the armour. Behind him, his horse snorts and flicks his tail.

For a moment, he glances back towards the village. He hadn't noticed any strange devices - but he also wasn't looking. When he looks back, he simply nods to Kaguya. "As you like," he says quietly.

"I've noticed the difference in societies here, yes. Their technology is closer to the devices you've used - ARMS and the like. It's interesting, though the world feels more lifeless."

As the young woman takes a quiet step into the background, evidently not at ease talking with the nobility, Day tilts his head to one side. "What was it you were warned about? Surely you didn't ride all this way back just to talk with one knight from Hyland."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

It's also true that Kaguya is--well. Scrawny. She's a tiny woman, thin and short both, and not exactly the healthiest--if anything, less so than she was on Lunar. Buuut...

"The world is dying," Kaguya drops casually. "Every year, the desert spreads a little farther--and one day, that'll be that. It just doesn't have the life Lunar does. The difference seems to be the Goddess--the Guardians who hold sway here can do a lot, but it seems they're as affected by the harm to the planet as it is, so they can't fix things."

Kaguya's happy not to hound the woman or anything, she was just being friendly.

"But they do have higher tech, especially in this part of the world..." She pauses, considers, and glances to--the east, maybe? Before looking back to Day. "...I have a lot of familiarity with it," she explains, and then actually grins.

"That's true, I didn't. I came to pick up Annette, one of my maids who made it to this area of the Blue Star after the Trials underneath Macalania. She just happened to let me know you were here when I contacted her to make sure she was safe and in town. I left her here with a few important things in her care, since I still need to find a more permanent base of operations in the area. ...There's places I have allies, but..." She gestures, vaguely. "So have you been in contact with Leo, at all? I haven't seen the White Knight or any of the other Heroes since I got here." She walks up a little closer, and finds something to lean back on, to talk more comfortably.

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

It's hard to tell what Day's physique is like. The armour is pretty heavy. He's got to be in very good condition to be able to carry it all.

When Kaguya drops that clue about the fate of the world, the young man raises his eyebrows, a flicker of surprise showing in his pale green eyes. "Dying?" he echoes, only to frown quietly when Kaguya goes on to explain.

"We were always told that the Blue Star was a lifeless world. Evidently it's on its way there, even if things do still live," he murmurs.

The grin on the woman's face is met with a blink, before he cants his head to one side and clears his throat. "I haven't had the chance to speak with him recently," he admits, tone a little quieter. "But he was with us aboard the Thames. A great many of the other Guard members are here. Knight Hilde, the Lady Paer, Lady Naelle and Pearl were all there with us, when last I saw the White Knight."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya, sadly, doesn't have X-ray vision. That'd be a useful power, but it is not one she possesses.

His quiet frown gets another nod. "...So far as I can tell--Althena brought people there after a big, awful event here. That it's held on this long is kind of impressive, in that light. I guess she couldn't bring everyone, which makes sense--Lunar's a lot... smaller, than Filgaia is," she says, using the term. There's a slightly odd way that Kaguya talks about it all here, not quite the same as the texts.

A blink--Kaguya shrugs after a moment. Knights! They're like that.

"That's recently enough for me--Thank you for the update. I was wondering how many of us made it along, or if most of us were still back in Spira, or what. Seems we won't be fighting Sin for a while..."

She shakes her head. "Hmmm. Cool. Naelle's expertise will be handy--I bet she's enjoyed the Thames. Pearl I missed seeing around... the others, too, I'm glad they're safe. I was kinda concerned, you know? I'm sturdier than most," she says, despite looking kind of unthreatening, "But--" She cuts off, suddenly, breathing a little wrong and going into a coughing fit for the next five seconds, leaving blood on her hand when she takes it from her mouth.

"...Ugh. Ignore that," she gruffly manages, a little dazed as she stands back up. "Anyway my point is... I want to meet up with the others because--I've spent time here before, so I can help us regroup."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

"I could feel that the Blue Star has been through much," Day concedes with a small frown, sliding a gauntlet off to push his fingers through his loose sandy hair. "It must have suffered a great deal even after Althena brought us to Lunar. I wonder just how many were left behind...."

There's curiosity in his eyes as he watches Kaguya. Her perspective is different. Maybe it's because she's a Hylander.

Or maybe it's because she's reputed to be not quite human. Day's knowledge of the Veruni is limited.

He seems about to say something else, but when Kaguya begins to cough, he blinks and begins to raise one hand - but as she rebuffs him even before he can offer to help, he raises his eyebrows, mouth hanging open a few millimetres before he closes it and presses his lips together. Finally, he nods. "...I'm trained in healing magic, if you're injured," he says somewhat generally.

A nod follows. "I can take you back to the Thames. There and Meria Island seem to be where most everyone is congregating. I'm sure Sir Leo will be happy to see that you're well."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"You noticed, huh? You're pretty perceptive. It has. ....More than I realized, at one point. I'm still looking into some of what that was..."

How many were left behind? Kaguya can't exactly blame Althena for leaving a bunch of people--maybe they chose to stay, after all, and even if they hadn't... How many did her people leave behind, going to the stars to save their own civilization and way of life rather than sticking it out to try to heal the planet? Was it the right choice--or was there something else behind it? IT's all things she can't sauy for sure.

"...Thanks," Kaguya says, but gives a humorless sort of smile, a gallows humor in her expression. "But what I've got goes beyond healing magic. I didn't spread it around much, didn't want to worry the soldiers, but... I'm just sick. I have been for a long time. It's why I've already appointed an heir."

She considers. "But sure. I think I'll go ahead and meet everyone at Meria, in that case--I uh, prefer to spend less time on the ocean if I can help it, especially after..."

That. Transit.

"But I bet he will be. And I do have some important intel to give him. I wasn't going to go into my history much, but... Well, as a knight of Rolance, you'd know more than most that I wasn't born in Hyland."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Out of focus for now, Day's young companion listens from behind the warhorses, gaze moving between Day and Kagya.

Day himself scratches his cheek with two fingers, a small frown crossing his face again. "I don't know all the details, but the people here seem... more hardened, somehow. As if this world is unkind, and they've had to fight to live in it by the day. The tools they've developed to face it aren't things you develop in a world that's gentle."

The bitterness in Kaguya's face is something else entirely, though. The young knigh nods, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I am glad you have things in order."

She's appointed an heir. That draws a flicker of shadow across Day's face, and he exhales and glances to the side, as if his thoughts are wandering somewhere else.

Finally his gaze drifts back to Kaguya, and he clears his throat. "Yes, I had gathered that. Certainly I hadn't heard of the House Alathfar until you appeared after the mess at Lastonbell." Day clears his throat slightly. "Hyland seems to have appreciated your help anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya remembers she's there, but hey, if she wants to be quiet, that's cool. Kaguya will just make up stories in her head later about who she is! ...or find out. Either is fine, really.

"...Yeah, that sounds right," Kaguya says. "Centuries--no, maybe more like millennia--of warfare will do that. There's two nations on one continent that've been at war for two hundred years, so far. This world only just faced down a threat that landed some thousand years ago and was barely put down the first time. Multiple apocalypses--there are some who say that Filgaia would be better off put out of her misery."

Kaguya doesn't sound like she agrees--but it distinguishes the sheer scale.

"...But that's true too. There's dangerous stuff. If you want--I'll include you in some lessons, on how to defend properly against them. It's not like I care about proprietary secrets anymore."

His response is... surprisingly measured, but no--not that surprisingly. He is a noble himself; Kaguya has interacted with many, now. "...Thanks," she says. "I appreciate it. And at this point it's just practical; I've already almost outlived the healers' prognosis."

But for a terminally ill woman, she does seem... remarkably strong. Still--

"Yes," Kaguya says, and it's her turn to look distant. "Yeah. A mercenary commander, at the time. I've come to really appreciate Hyland in the time since I started working for them--but even so, that's how it started. But that..."

She shakes her head. "Hyland needed the help, at the time. Breaking a siege--that's one thing. That's part of war. But that monster, that was something else. I still remember it. ...Humans..." She stops, and doesn't continue whatever she was going to say about humans. Perhaps it's a reference to the fragility of mortals, or... not.

"...Which is another thing. Malevolence is less common, here. My soldiers were mostly drawn from people of the Blue Star, back then--giving them something to do instead of just aimlessly wandering and looting the countryside of both nations, giving them something productive. But they weren't counting on Hellions, that's for sure."

"...Anyway," Kaguya says, "My condolences on the people lost, there, to your nation. What I can say now, at least, is that the people of Rolance fought bravely and honorably--and I have no regrets that I've since been able to stand beside them instead of on the other side."

...She can do formal, if she wants.

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

Vess usually tends to try and slip beneath notice. At times she doesn't even seem to be there at all.

For Day, the history of Lunar is something of a learning experience. Folding both armour-plated arms across his chest, the young man nods along with Kaguya's explanation. "Similar to how things are in Glenwood, then," he muses. He, at least, hasn't forgotten how things went - nor forgotten that the Sinbringer, Sister Domitia, infiltrated not Hyland, but Rolance.

    '...humans...'

Day tilts his head slightly to the left, but he has the good grace not to call Kaguya on things on the spot. Confronting her would only drive her off. He'd have nothing to learn.

But Kaguya brings up Malevolence. Again, Day glances off to the side, his eyes darkening a shade with some suppressed emotion. "Even many people from Lunar aren't all that prepared for Malevolence. As far as I knew, only the Shepherd could deal with it properly. For others, dealing with a Hellion is... a challenge, when Malevolence sets in in a human heart."

He sets his jaw a little as talk turns to Rolance, but soon lets it go. "Thank you," he says quietly, "but my allegiance lies with Althena. I'm no longer part of the peerage of Rolance."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya won't actually share with anyone the details of the stories she makes up before she learns the truth. They're just for fun. But...

"Yes," she agrees--but then, the small Veruni hasn't forgotten about the Sinbringer's involvement, either. It's only now--having experienced the Crusade--that she can start to appreciate her influence, though. What does it mean? She's not sure yet. At the time, one manipulator was much like another, but...

Maybe not.

Kaguya would explain, if it came up. She may yet explain, before the details come out some other way. But she isn't planning to play all her cards, yet.

"Fair," Kaguya says. "And most people aren't as... tough, as me. And I don't have any way to deal with Malevolence other than kill it, burn the body, burn the surrounding environment, and drop a bomb for good measure."

She looks at him--his quiet return of words--and nods. "Cool. I thought... It'd be cruel of me, to pretend that I didn't remember how bitter that fighting got. But I wanted you to know that." She pauses. "...Sounds like a story. But I won't press you for it now. Not before I get around to telling you more of mine." She considers, and then reaches into her satchel.

"Hey, in case we get separated--can I give you something? It's a way to contact me. Don't worry about how it works--for your purposes, you just need to hit the button I'll show you and talk into it."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

It's not lost on Day that one kingdom's Sinbringer could be much like another kingdom's Starchild.

That shadow behind Day's eyes darkens just a little more, and he nods grimly, glancing away. "I don't have much of an ability to alter Malevolence, either. Unless it's to kill the affected Hellion."

There's a noticeable flatness to his voice when he says that - but it doesn't seem to be all that directed. If anything, it's more internal than anything else.

When Day does look back, he runs her hand through his hair once more. Sandy tresses spill through his fingers easily. "It's not that interesting a story," he says, deliberately trying to keep emotion out of his voice. Things hurt more than he wants to admit to someone who fights for Hyland, even if she is a colleague. Bad enough that Hilde is here and fighting alongside him now. "Suffice it to say that I fight for Althena, and anyone who fights in Her name is my ally, whatever their origin or noble standing. So long as we serve the same Goddess, we're the same."

When Kaguya roots around in her satchel, Day blinks, leaning forward curiously. "One of your devices?" he surmises. "Yes, you will have to show me. I don't understand Blue Star machines much."

They tried to get Day to drive a Gear. It didn't really take.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

There's definitely something up with that. If Kaguya were a nicer person, she'd show concern for Day here, maybe some kindness, or empathy. ...But, she's not. She's exactly nice enough not to pick at the wound, though.

"Good thing we've got a Shepherd around now, I guess." that's all the Duchess needs to say about it.

Kaguya's hair is paler, and more golden--but she doesn't mess with it at the moment. In fact her body language is a little closed--but then, she does have some blood to get rid of on her hand...

"Fair enough," she answers, though she absolutely doesn't believe for a second that it isn't interesting. Polite fiction is what nobility is all about, though.

...Kaguya's a Veruni--only the specific manners differ. Hierarchal society is in her blood.

"...Good sentiment. Then I'll tell you mine, one of these days. I still count myself an ally by that metric--even here, I hope to help the Guard as best I can, and the people of Glenwood who've made it here. ...I'm not from Lunar, but, well... it was nice, to have a home again."

But then--"Yes," Kaguya answers, and pulls a small, sort of bar-like object--it has a button, and a speaker/microphone built into the same little disc on it, plus a couple of buttons. "This button here," she points out, "Is the one to remember. That'll communicate to the larger one I have." As she says this, she extends it towards him, finger above the button in question to be sure. It's the one on the left!

"But I'm not going anywhere far yet so I can show you more later. I'm..." She considers, "Used to people not knowing machines."

"...Incidentally," she says, "Annette is a great baker. Just, you know, information out there, for free."

Kaguya thankfully didn't see that incident with the Gear. ....Thankfully.

"If you ever wanna know how it actually works I can tell you--but this one I made using some materials from Neo-Vane. That's why it's nicer than my jury-rigged models."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

"Yes... we're all happy to see the Shepherd around." There's no controversy there. Wherever the new Shepherd comes from, Day's not about to quibble with whom Althena chooses as her representative.

"I'm sure you have an interesting journey. It's not often that someone comes out of obscurity to enter into the peerage of Hyland. New noble houses don't appear every day." Day may no longer be in his own family's line of inheritance, but his interest in matters of nobility hasn't waned much - even if it's more academic now.

He nods, slow and sober. "I'm glad that Lunar could be a home for you.."

The young knight moves his hand to rub at one of his pauldrons. "...I was at Mourningside Abbey outside Lastonbell during the attack. I did what I could to help when it happened. Even with all that has happened between Rolance and Hyland, I am glad you were there to battle the Fell Dragon."

When Kaguya produces her device, Day leans forward curiously, watching intently as she demonstrates how the machine works. "They're messenger devices," he surmises. "Like carrier pigeons that don't need a pigeon. Interesting. The Blue Star really is more advanced than Lunar."

Oh-- it was made in Neo-Vane. Day blushes a little, then clears his throat. "I suppose the Black Wizard Borgan's mastery of devices is well-known. But... thank you."

<Pose Tracker> Day Muirwall has posed.

"I wish I could have done more, too." Here, Day glnces back towards where the horses are tethered, his pale green eyes finding Vess, who's standing by her mare and feeding her from a bag of goats.

The silent girl looks up, her teeth gently closing around her lower lip. The look she offers Day carries a mixture of sadness and quiet faith.

Day exhales through his nose, fighting the emotions he's feeling. "Nevertheless, it's over now, and we've made it. All that matters is what comes next. So long as we serve Althena, our foes are the same. If things return to the old order after that, that will come when it comes."

Taking the offered radio, Day looks it over once more, then nods slowly back to Kaguya. "We all have interests. Before I became a knight, my interest was heraldry. Perhaps someday you will allow me to see your garden. I would be pleased to see it."

He nods back to Kaguya, then, slow and respectful. "Thank you for your help. I don't understand much advanced technology like that, so I'll rely on you and Lady Sylkirk.

"Until then, all I can do is rely on my training."