driftfleet | Mama Knows Best

Entry tags:

Mama Knows Best

Who: Lailah and YOU
Broadcast: Video; Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva's Hospitality Deck
When: 9/7, after that bull ship went down

[When Lailah wakes up to strange and extremely unfamiliar surroundings, she feels disoriented and confused about everything. However, those feelings take an immediate backseat as she bolts upright with a gasp, hand clutching at her heart. She looks sick and in pain. Her eyes dart around the room frantically as she scrambles to stand up from the cot.

She knows this feeling. She’s sensed it so many times in the people around her, and on a handful of occasions from her own former Shepherds. Paradoxically, this is a sensation that’s entirely new, too. Someone she never in her wildest nightmares thinks she’d ever feel it from....]

Sorey…?

[Her words are a horrified whisper. Lailah feels that she has a pact with Sorey again, a Shepherd and dear friend she hasn’t seen in a long, long time, now. She’s not sure how, but the fire seraph isn’t going to question it for the time being. What’s more important is that she’s sensing it from both Sorey and...Mikleo, but she can’t be certain. Lailah’s sure that one of her Sub Lords has been corrupted, though, and if it’s Mikleo, then...she wonders which one fell first.

Ultimately, it’s not important.

The fire seraph runs out of the room. She sprints down the hall, looking in every door to see if she can find Sorey. He needs her, right now. Lailah’s heels are a constant click-click against the floor as she barely slows down in her search. She goes over every room she can access twice, trying to make sure she hasn’t missed him. Eventually, Lailah returns to her room, scared and worried but not for herself. Her attention is totally on Sorey and what she can only assume is Mikleo. If one falls, then the other will surely follow or die trying in the attempt to help the other.

Then, Lailah notices that there’s some kind of strange device in the room. It might be nothing, but...there’s a chance, however small, that it might be something used to communicate with other people. Even if it’s not, even if nobody will be able to see or hear her, Lailah has to try. She needs to do everything she can for two people who are precious and irreplaceable to her.]

Please, does anyone know where Sorey is?! He has brown hair, green eyes, and wears feather earrings! He’s in trouble and I need to get to him as soon as possible!

[And now she waits. Silent. Praying. Praying to Maotelus and the other Four Lords to please please please keep him safe, keep him able to be purified. Lailah doesn’t want to lose Sorey to malevolence, too. He doesn’t deserve that fate. He doesn’t deserve to die in some unfamiliar world. Neither does Mikleo, though the fire searph fears that it’s too late for the younger seraph. She prays that the other Sub Lords are also safe and well, not wanting to lose them, either.

Please, please, they deserve a kinder fate than this.]

{OOC: please note that she probably won't be seen/heard by normal humans. any questions about it, though, pls PM me!}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... I have no idea who you are, lady, but you have some really bad timing.

[the voice that responds to Lailah is dry and a bit sarcastic, but she's not wrong.]

Also, your description of Sorey is a bit outdated. He's changed up his look.

[Sorey's malevolence is really starting to make her feel sick. Nightingale's response doesn't make her feel any better, and certainly doesn't help with her guilt. Besides, it's not like Lailah can argue that point.]

I'm sorry. I wish I was here sooner than now, but.... [The other woman can't see it, but she's shaking her head.] It's no excuse and won't help at this point. My name is Lailah.

...Then he's completely changed into a hellion at this point. Do you know where he is?

[Lailah won't be able to reach him until the shuffle, but it'll at least give her a place to start.]

Lailah?

[She takes a moment to recall the name, and then realizes.]

Oh, shit. You're the Prime... Prime Lord? The one Sorey is useless without. The Atroma have a sick sense of humor, don't they... They probably timed your arrival this way on purpose.

Sorry, I don't. He was moving, and probably left after he kicked my ass.

I'm still fuzzy on the whole "hellion" thing, but do those need to eat? He doesn't have a mouth anymore. It's that going to be a problem?

[... She may be a little out of it on painkillers at this point.]

["The one Sorey is useless without." Dear Lords...perhaps that's more true than Lailah ever realized.]

The Atroma are the ones who brought us here, yes?

[Guess who's going on this Lady of the Lake's shit list.]

You're correct, though. I'm his Prime Lord, though that may not be true for much longer.

[Oh. That's...horrifying.]

No. They get stronger by killing more hellions, but it's not necessary. Dragons are the only ones I can think of who would, if not out of necessity then for the sake of killing something.

Yeah... They're assholes. Oh, wait, you're new. I write a guide for the newcomers, I should send that...

[It doesn't appear to be forthcoming just yet, though, just going from one thought to the next.]

Oh. Okay. So Mikleo might still eat stuff? He does have a mouth still. How much do dragons eat?

[Oh, dear. Seems like this one's more than a little out of it.]

I would appreciate that, miss. And I suppose it would depend on how big the dragon is.

[Lailah just hopes that there's enough of Mikleo left for him to go after the livestock instead of people.]

Big. I was more trying to talk them down, or failing that, at least sucker-punch them out, but Mikleo was big enough that I'm pretty sure Sorey could ride him pretty comfortably.

[Beat.]

Well. That Sorey could ride him in a much different way than normal, anyway.

[!!!]

I don't think their relationship has evolved into anything quite so...passionate. Unless things have changed, of course!

[But to be more serious. Not that defending Sorey and Mikleo's honor isn't serious, but. It's not as serious.]

From the sounds of it, I don't think your plan worked well?

There is no damn way those two aren't together.

[LET HER BELIEVE THIS. but then her voice sobers up as well.]

No. I'm... pretty sure this is at least partially my fault, so I thought I had to stop them.

[And her voice quiets, sounding guilty, but she powers on after that. She can't let herself stop and wallow in her self-hatred again.]

But... I mean, I may be an adventurer, but I can't take a dragon, much less both of them at once. And I'm pretty sure Sorey resists status effects like this, or his stats are just way above me, so my plan to stall with dirty tactics didn't work.

It wasn't a total waste, though. I got information. He resists fire and ice, but lightning seemed to work better. He's basically super-boss-level at this point, so taking the two of them down is going to take as many people as we can get. Physical attacks seemed to work as well, but I'm not good at those. He's not committed to evil, since he didn't kill me once it became a bit of a pain, so he can at least still be talked to, even if he can't be saved that way.

I made some plans when he asked me to do a divorce for him and Mikleo earlier, and I think if I have backup when I'm recovered, I might be able to help... Maybe.

[Of course, by the time she's recovered, it'll be taken care of, but she doesn't know that.]

[Y'know, Lailah decides to not say anything more to Nightingale about it. Mostly because the poor young woman's out of it.]

Unfortunately, all of my abilities involve fire. The only thing I could do is make sure to heal anyone injured.

[However, once she says he's not committed to evil, the fire seraph feels some of the tension escape her.]

Then there's a good chance that the purification will be successful for Sorey. If there's anything I can do to help in the meantime, please, let me know.

... Fire, huh.

[Her voice perks up, like an idea hit her.]

I've got some pretty powerful fire myself. Do you think we can combine forces?

[Lailah's tilting her head, though Nightingale won't see it.]

I think it's a possibility. After all, it's possible to combine mana, so I don't see how that could be incompatible.

[She is on painkillers and you have now engaged her Nerd Mode. Good job, Lailah.]

Combining mana... Like splitting the cost of a spell? Or, if you're aspecting it, combining two half-formed spells into a new one? Like a doubletech... Well, it wouldn't be as flashy as Sorey and Mikleo's love fusion or whatever it is they do that turns him blonde, but the theory is sound... I've been working on new ways of channeling mana lately, so maybe if separate paths of mana are channeled into a shared object, then...

[She has to think for a moment.]

Okay, whether or not I have to go fight Sorey again, I need to borrow you later, I think I just had a breakthrough. It would just be a half-assed imitation of that waterfall thing those two do, but I think it would be more spammable, since it the burden on mana cost would be halved, and...

[She suddenly stops, mid-ramble.]

... Wait, this isn't helpful to what's going on right now, is it? Um. Wait, I had real plans for this.

[Lailah's covering her mouth, trying not to giggle. Nightingale's rambling about magic is cute and refreshing. She can just imagine that there's a certain spark in the young woman's eyes that'll remind her of a certain archaeology pair.]

I'd be happy to help you with experimenting. What I meant was that I can combine one of the three other elements with fire to create a combination of the two. For example, with water, I can utilize steam. Two or more seraphim of the same element would also have a stronger seraphic arte or general control of it.

[Besides, she can't help being curious about the possibilities.]

Oh, Sorey can combine with any seraph who's in a pact with me. We call it armatization.

Right, right, when they go blonde. I thought they were copying my style for a bit there... And don't those shoes of his hurt when they're like that?

[SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE THOSE HEELS]

The pact, though... I remember that. It was my idea to help him before things got this bad, actually- He said he can take a... 'squire'? Uh, another person who can do that, too? Something like that. The idea I had to stop this from happening was, they armatize, shoot me with the purifying thing to make sure I'm not 'malevolent'- which is still a stupid word for this, by the way- and then I make the Squire pact, armatize, and shoot him with it, then break the pact. A loop of purification, basically. That should work in theory, right? Though it's a little late, now...

I've never asked him. Although, those might be my fault, since I do wear heels.

[Fear the woman (or man) who can run around a battlefield (sometimes with a bastard sword) in high heels and not trip.]

It's true he can take a Squire. However, creating the pact is beyond him or anyone else who isn't the Prime Lord. Technically, to purify him, you wouldn't need to go so far as armatization, if that's even possible for you. Just being in a pact with me will grant the power of purification.

If I can dungeon run in heels, he can deal with it too, I guess? He seems fine, anyway.

[She shakes her head. Heels are irrelevant, god damn it.]

I see... Okay, it sounds like I should ask you about all the mechanics of this stuff, then. I'm willing to give the pact thing or armatization a shot, anyway? If it'll help them. Is that an option?

[The real flaw in this plan, of course, is that Nightingale's a mage. She can't equip Lailah's sword.]

[Lailah pretty much wields it for everyone so it's fine. Probably.]

Right now, I'm afraid that becoming a Squire won't be wise. Sorey's malevolence is bleeding through the pact. Soon, I'll need to sever it in order to prevent myself and Zaveid from having the same fate as Mikleo.

[One dragon's bad enough. Two of them? Especially with one of them about to be shuffled onto a ship? Let's...not have that happen.]

[She nods, temporarily forgetting that Lailah can't actually see her.]

... I don't suppose that would solve some of our problems? No more pact, Sorey's malevolence doesn't make Mikleo a dragon anymore?

[It saves Nightingale from seeing the pained look on Lailah's face. She's doing her best to keep it together when all she can do is wait helplessly.]

...Once a seraph becomes a dragon, it's impossible to reverse it. The...the only way to save them at that point is to kill them.

[Mikleo. She's saying this about Mikleo. Never in a million years did the fire seraph think she'd ever have to say that about him. Lailah isn't a stranger to heartbreak, but it doesn't make it any easier to bear.]

[There's a long pause. Nightingale's had her own share of heartbreak, and her own share of awful things, and she's died more times than she likes to think about. She can't let any of that get to her right now- The last thing she needs is to start generating malevolence herself. Maybe even from this distance, it could affect those two...

Focus on the facts, and focus on what she can do. That's what she has to do right now. And those facts point to one very worrying conclusion.]

That, um. That might be a problem, here.

Death doesn't exactly... stick, in these places.

[Lailah's frowning on the other line.]

What do you mean?

I mean... Um, okay, there's this thing in my world no one else has ever heard of, but it's called a 'save point'.

[You can probably tell where this is going already.]

And, if you use one, next time you're killed, you just reappear back at the save point, as you were then, but a little weaker. Permanent death isn't really a thing when you get killed. And, I mean, my best friend had a spell to bring people back to life.

And then, in my last interdimensional shithole, we got killed all the time, and people came back- The beings in charge there could resurrect us, it was part of the deal that let them be in charge, I think? I'm still fuzzy on the details, but... I mean, between the two, I have died a lot more than I want to think about, but I'm still here.

[She's babbling again, the recent honesty effect making her slip out a few more details than she otherwise would.]

So, basically... If he dies, the Atroma will bring him back. I think? But whether it's as himself or as a dragon is... Kind of a problem, because I don't think the dragon can fit inside any of these ships. It would be, uh. Cramped. Explosively so.

[Ohhhh wow. Lailah's not sure she wants to be part of that world. She can't imagine there being much of a save zone.

It's all guesswork, though, on whether the Atroma will bring Mikleo back, if death is as impermanent as she says. She's not sure how to feel about it, but the seraph supposes that they'll find out soon enough.]

If they do bring him back, one would assume that it would be as a seraph. A dragon is far too dangerous for anyone to handle, perhaps even for them.

[Lailah doesn't want to put too much hope into it, but, at the same time, she doesn't want to say goodbye forever to Mikleo. Certainly not like this.]

Do you recall how long it took for your resurrection?

Mama Knows Best

voice, ambiguoisly forward-dated

voice, gently crying

voice, im sorry for this but only a little

voice, it's okay i'm welcoming all of this pain

voice, well there's gonna be a lot of that

voice, i can't wait

voice, i regret nothing

1/2 voice, LMFAO JFDKSLA

voice, i can't even

voice, THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK LAILAH

voice, SHE'S NOT SURE ABOUT THIS...

voice, lbr that's probably a good thing

voice, ;~;

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