2022-12-22: A Heavy Hope
- Log: A Heavy Hope
- Cast: Leina Ashta, Eight York
- Where: The Ra Mari, in Space
- Date: December 22, 2022.
- Summary: Eight goes to Leina to have a talk about her past, and Leina--with the Yumi Foundation--offers her help in learning more.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
When the Unicorn and the Double Zeta’s little sibling return, they’re both a touch messed up, the damage isn’t terrible, but it definitely shows the signs of battle. And it would come in shortly thereafter in the Federation reports for Eight that while G-Hound took the plant, it was costly, and that it was 70% evacuat-ed by the time they managed to slip in their first boarding party.
The first thing the two did was retire to their quarters for a while, then Leina requested a sandwich from the mess, ate, and slept a good ten hours. She still wasn’t used to the adrenaline rush of battle, and coming down from it afterwards.
The day after, when Eight comes to see her, she’ll find that Leina’s moved to the communal showers, if she enters them on the women’s side, she’ll hear the water still going in a stall, suds in her hair.
She knows Eight is there of course, and has a decent sense of her intent being on her. “Be out in a second!” As she gives her hair one last rinse, then touches the button to turn it off. Toweling herself off quickly - which doesn’t take overly long given her short hair, she opens the stall to move out to a nearby bench, and dresses.
When she comes back out around the corner, she’s just wearing a pair of shorts and an oversized Sheryl Nome world tour shirt that reaches her thighs, as well as a pair of sandals that strap around her feet, shower clothes apparently.
“Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Captain York?” Leina asks, with a sunny smile on her face.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight, obviously, was concerned. She was /more/ concerned when she heard the reports coming out of the PLANTs about G-Hound--and more determined not to mention to anyone that she had Leina on board. But she's given her guests space... until now, anyway. Now, she decided to look for Leina, and it wasn't hard as Captain and as a Newtype to figure out where she is.
Eight's intent is on Leina all right, but it's concern more than anything else. Concern, and curiosity. She steps into the showers on the women's side, keeping away from the actual wet in order to avoid getting her uniform wet. "OK," she answers.
"If you want some privacy," Eight says, "I can let you use the shower in my quarters." Just an offer, goes her tone. She doesn't particularly seem impatient for Leina to come out. But eventually she does, and--
Eight smiles back. "Well, a couple things. I had something I wanted to talk to you about. ...But first, how's it going? How are you feeling? Banagher, too."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
“Oh! Thank you very much for the offer. If you think it’d be best to be discreet like that then – I’d appreciate it.”
She doesn’t mind using the communal showers at all, and despite the perceived vulnerability of them, she has her handgun with her. She always has it with her. However, it’s not just that, it’s what they just did, keeping their presence secret is wise.
Leina’s still idly toweling her damp hair, before letting it come to a rest over the shoulders of her shirt. There’s a sigh, and a smile, “We’re okay. Both a little enervated but having a safe place to rest our heads helped a lot. It wasn’t the outcome I was hoping for, but – we did what we could, and it made a difference. Banagher and I aren’t killers. We did everything we could to avoid casualties, even if they didn’t deserve that kind of mercy.”
Her eyes wander up towards the ceiling of the room, “But because we aren’t, it’s all too easy for them to put us in a bad position…”
She shakes her head, “… Commander Rau and ZAFT retreated so in the end it came down to the decision to either melt their boarding parties, and endanger the PLANT doing so... or let them go and just trust that we’d held them off long enough that enough people had gotten out.” A beat, “Also I learned that I absolutely despise that woman that tried to flex on you, Sokolov?”
There’s a roll of her sea green eyes, “She thinks that because she’s trying to ‘bring stability and give the children a future’ that there’s no hypocrisy in her only bringing the Spacenoid to heel for ‘experimentation’ while letting it slide when it’s the Federation.”
There’s a wry smile, “… Yeah. Guess it’s no surprise that an Ex-Titan lives her life full of flimsy justifications and unexamined contradictions.” Lifting up the towel from her shoulder, she dries off a part of her hair behind her ears further, “That kind of talk is no fun though, unless you’re really here for the battle gossip mill.”
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Probably best," Eight agrees as Leina mentions discretion. "You and him both." Also it means fewer handguns in the shower... "I trust my crew, but there's no sense in taking unnecessary risks."
Eight uses her own, as a rule; it's sort of expected of her as the Captain to stay apart some, and well, she /has/ her own, so why not use it? But she got used to more communal accommodations a long time ago. Now, though...
"Okay," Eight answers, and the blonde smiles a little more--but only a little. What she says... yes. Eight can't say she isn't a killer; she's fired on battleships and mobile suits alike--but, "I'm glad you were able to try to stick to what you believe," she says. But a bad position...
"Not much of a choice," the Captain admits, and then her own red eyes narrow at the mention of Sokolov. "As a rule," Eight says, "I don't waste a lot of time thinking about her. The sort of person who thinks Coordinators are 'unnatural' and that's this awful thing is bad enough; someone willing to kill over it..."
Yep. An Ex-Titan, all right. "You know what's unnatural?" Eight says, and puts her hands in her pockets. "Pants."
But that moment of light-heartedness aside, Eight says, "But I'm not. If you need to talk about it I'll listen, but if you don't... I wanted to talk about something a little more personal. There's... some stuff I'm working out. That I learned in the Denver Colony."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
“Okay, I’ll let him know.” Leina winks at her, “He’ll probably get all flustered, but that’s half the fun of informing him.”
Leina perhaps considers ‘killer’ a subtly different distinction. She doesn’t think of her brother as a Killer despite his kill count from the war but… it’s not something she really imparts, “Yeah me too.”
Who knows how long she’ll be able to?
She listens to Eight’s point on what’s ‘natural’ vs ‘unnatural’ and the logic behind it, ‘pants’ cause her eyes to light up, “Or birth control for that matter. But between you and me-“ Leina leans forward as if confiding a secret suspicion, “-I’ve got a feeling she lets that one slide.”
The teenage girl however grows quiet in short order, a more serious look on her expression, “Alright. Let’s take a seat then.”
As Leina moves over to one of the benches with just a tiny hop in the lower gravity, and lowers herself down, “If ‘something you’re working out’ is due to what you learned in there, it’s definitely going to be a little heavy.”
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Maybe they'll talk about it one day. That day's probably not today. Instead, Eight laughs at Banagher's theoretical fluster. "That does sound fun!" she answers, and says, "Have fun with it."
Eight laughs when Leina mentions a very important unnatural thing. "Totally! Even if I weren't with Lavhi I'd be glad for that much." A beat, "But uuuugh, I don't really want to think about how /that/ woman gets to it. Point taken, though."
Eight looks more serious once Leina does, and moves over to sit on the bench, too. She leans back against the wall, her blonde hair dusting her shoulders as she turns her head towards Leina again. "Yep. I mean, it's not /bad/," she says. "Don't get me wrong. It's... a good thing, actually. Just a heavy good thing."
"...So, you wouldn't know this, but before the lab took me, I lived at an orphanage. I found some papers from that orphanage at the labs. I remember the nuns, a little. And some papers from someone else, who had been stealing from the labs I was at."
"...And in the process, they figured out... who my birth family was."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
“I always do.” Leina says airily, before chuckling at her not wanting to think about how that woman gets to it. She does Eight the favor of not following up on that thought.
Her eyes take on a definite lightness as Eight mentions it’s a good thing, as she stretches out her legs a touch, “Already a load off my shoulders. Everyone knows a heavy good thing is about ten times lighter than a heavy bad thing.”
There’s a small smile… before Eight mentions she was at an orphanage, and the smile dims a touch, at the subject. Eight may feel her walls come up some. “Huh. I may have to amend my evaluation. That’s definitely a little more weighty.”
Leina draws herself back up into a sitting position, palms on either side of the bench, “How do you feel about all that?” Her head tilts to regard her, eyes sympathetic and non-judgmental, “About your birth family? Is this something you’re thinking of pursuing?”
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
This subject is definitely less fun. Not as bad as the other one, but not a happy moment, exactly. Eight can go back to thinking of fun later, though. For now, she notices that lightness and smiles. But...
She might have to re-evaluate. Eight feels those walls come up, and she thinks that might be best. "The orphanage was OK," she says. "From what I remember, anyway. Better than the lab, for sure."
But--Leina looks over, and Eight looks into the tile, thinking about it. "I'm still figuring that out," the Captain admits. "I mean, I /have/ a family, right? The Yorks took me in. Maybe they were involved in some of what happened, I've figured, but... They got me out, and they were good to me. If I think 'who's Mom and Dad?' then that's who it is."
"At the same time though," Eight says, "I think I'm going to look into it. Not because I need a new family, but because... I want to know what they're like. Who I could've been, I guess. Maybe not that. Maybe just..."
"I just want to know. But all I've really got to go on is a place and a name."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
“I mean, low bar.” Leina notes when it comes to comparing any place to a Cyber Newtype Lab, “Did the nuns treat you well?”
She asks more specifically perhaps, because if this orphanage is a bad one, then it’s something for the Yumi Foundation to look into. Their job did not end at simply rehoming war orphans.
As Eight looks down, Leina’s just examining her face, searching out her feelings as she thinks about her family. “Hmmm.” Leina leans back after Eight finishes speaking, eyes raising to the ceiling, “Do you still intend to ask your parents? What their role was? Or just… is that something you’d rather not know?”
‘I think I’m going to look into it.’
Leina’s heard this a hundred times before. All she can think of is that time when she was nearing the end of her stay in the hospital when Sayla asked if she wanted her to look into where her parents are.
‘Don’t bother.’
She had told her. Because she knew far too well how that was going to end. It usually doesn’t end much better for people who don’t. However, there are times when it does…
… even she has to admit that. So she doesn’t say any of that, instead she falls back into what she knows, what she’s helped Sayla do for years.
“A place and a name is honestly plenty 90% of the time.”
It’s harder when it’s a child too young to know where they lived, or the names of their parents beyond some variation of mother or father, or a surname at all. That happens far more often than she’d like to say.
“Captain York, are you asking for the help of the Yumi Foundation here? It’s what we do. And right now I’m…” Pause, “… I’m sort of in the position of running it, since Sayla vanished.”
She gives her a serious look, “I can do this for you if you want, we have the resources to investigate it very rapidly. The only other thing I’d ask for is a genetic sample.” She holds up a hand, “Which I’d keep confidential. It wouldn’t enter any archives afterwards. We’d dispose of it properly the moment we found a match..”
She understands it’d be a concern for any Cyber Newtype in particular, for someone to take too close a look at their genetics.
Callisto is evidence enough of that.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"I think so," Eight answers. "I don't remember too well. I was /really/ young. But I have a few positive memories, and I don't remember bad stuff, so..." That suggests it to her, anyway.
"I'm not sure if the orphanage is still there. I should look into it, too."
But Eight's face is mostly thoughtful; she's obviously conflicted. She wants to know more than she's letting on; she treats it calmly, but there's a deep need there. And the question about her parents... "That I don't know," Eight admits. "I think I might have to eventually... but I'm not sure I want to."
But a hundred times... Leina doesn't say any of that. Instead--
"Yeah?" Eight asks. Then she considers. "...I wasn't," she says. "But since you mention that that's something you do... Yeah, I am, if that's OK. I want to know, and I'm not in a position to go hunting around Zeon right now. And if it's one of the things you do..." Hm.
"That's fine," Eight says of a sample. It's a concern--but Eight trusts Leina with this much. Why not a little more? "Then yeah. I'd appreciate that, Leina."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
There’s a slow blink of Leina’s eyes as Eight mentions she was very young, positive memories, don’t remember bad stuff.
It doesn’t rule it out, but it makes it less pressing. The orphanage is usually a good starting point, but if it turned out to be a pipeline to a Cyber Newtype lab?
“You don’t have to do anything.” Leina notes quietly, “If you like them, if you’re happy. If you think this would change that…” She trails off, “… if it were me? And I thought they were lying to me? I’d… need to confront that. I don’t think I can live my life in any other way.”
She’s tired of being someone who lives surrounded by so many lies.
“You’re not me though.”
Eight notes that she wasn’t, and Leina actually smiles because she believes her. “It’s okay. In fact, I’d like to do it for you.”
Going hunting in Zeon isn’t exactly a simple prospect for her personally either. There are dangers for her even existing in Side 3, but she has people to do most of the hard part for her, “Then it’s no problem. I’ll take care of it. Just tell me what you know, and I think I’m pretty sure I have a swab in my bag back in my room.”
She then smiles in a lopsided way as she explains, “You never know when this kind of thing will come up.”
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight doesn't know. She wants to look into that, too--find out if it was happenstance or intentionality that saw her taken to the lab. The more she thinks about it the more she needs to know. "It was the 'House of St. Frances.' ...But that's not an uncommon name I bet."
As for what to do, "...I do like them. But, I think I need to know. I mean, I don't think they're lying--I don't--but they might've just not mentioned something. If it turns out they were involved in some of what happened... Then I think they 'redeemed' themselves getting out who they could. That's where I'm standing right now, anyway."
Leina and lies... yes. That makes sense.
But Leina is offering, and Eight smiles at her. "Thanks," Eight says. "I appreciate it. We can head back there." A laugh. "I guess you really are always prepared, huh?"
"...But..."
"It was in Zeon. And my name was Dimara Kadun."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
“Do you happen to know what Colony it was on?” Leina asks after a moment, “It’s not, but we have ways of narrowing it down. Even knowing what Side it was on might be enough.” She listens to her speak about the Yorks, of her need to know. Wondering if the Yorks put her on a ‘need to know’ as their child. “You think?” Leina’s not so sure that she’d think her parents had redeemed themselves if they’d kept such a big lie all that time. Her relationship with Sayla is different than parent and child, but its built on so much trust. She can’t even imagine Sayla telling her such a big lie. “Well, I guess you won’t know until you’ve spoken to them, really.” This is such a thorny relationship hurdle to cross, who knows what she could find out? And if it will actually turn out to be something she can forgive. There’s a smile, as she notes on why she’s so prepared, “Sayla’s influence.” It is not, entirely Sayla’s influence. She was like this when she was a child. With her parents gone, she had to step up, be responsible, plan. She ran a household when her age was still single digits. Now she does so much more. “Zeon. Dimara Kadun.” Leina repeats, as if committing it to memory, and then slowly she slides over to her phone, and checks something, then raises it, waiting for a connection to be made, “Hey Sakura…” Pause, “…yeah sorry I’ve been scarce, it’s the whole REA situation.” She sighs, then smiles, “Sorry for the trouble. Can I ask you for a small favor? Can you run a check on ‘Dimara Kadun’? Side 3. And not run this through the usual channels?” She chuckles, “I know, I know. I’ll be home soon, promise – then we can talk more about delegating these things in Sayla’s absence. … Thanks again. Sorry so much is being put on your shoulders right after you got hired.” She knows that Sakura doesn’t actually mind, she was a secretary for GGG – and hypercompetent, but she still feels bad anyway. Eventually she hangs it up, “That’ll begin the process. What usually happens next is we pick up leads, then go check them out ourselves – so you don’t have to worry about that part. We’ll contact you only if there’s for sure a genetic match.” The Yumi Foundation does not deal in false hope. And thus they don’t put someone through that. The anticipation, the feeling of grief when a lead doesn’t pan out, dealing with scammers trying to make a quick buck. She won’t put Eight through that.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"I've got a pamphlet with an address and everything, come to think. That was one of the things we found; they'd checked it out, to follow up their leads."
"I do," Eight says of her parents. "They never hid where we'd come from. I just never thought that much about what their involvement must have been, beyond obviously they knew about what was happening."
Eight's relationship with her parents is different--but then, Eight's relationships in general are different. She'll have to find out, either way; she can only guess, until she talks to them. And there's a lot to talk about, now that she's an adult.
She smiles back though. "Yeah?" Eight asks, and she doesn't know Leina's full story, but, "It works for you anyway. And it's working out for me."
But Eight listens to Leina on the phone. She can tell there's a complicated relationship there... And she wonders a little. But--the process is started. "Hm, OK," Eight answers about the plan. "...Thanks. I appreciate it. The people who found this lead in the /first/ place were planning to scam my birth family, so... It's better to make sure the information's accurate."
Eight appreciates it. And she'll walk Leina back to her quarters, to get the swab but also just to keep her company for a bit. As to what's found...
'Dimara' Kadun turns up more than one match; there's the records of the orphanage, of course, which does still exist. It's fairly well on the up-and-up, mostly around the time of Eight's youth taking in war orphans. The records of the scammers are helpful here; there's many children there whose parents claimed that they were the byblows of important war heroes, and some of them might have really been. But Dimara, one of the nuns remembers, for a few reasons. She wasn't actually given to the orphanage directly; instead, her mother came to live with the nuns, with her new daughter, and was even set to join their order. Her name was Gada Isarn.
Dimara's mother died soon after; the story the nuns were given was that it was in the crossfire of a battle. There were doubts, but there was little to be done, and eventually, a nice couple came to adopt the bright young girl, and they placed her in their home with well-wishes. ...As it turns out, the 'nice couple' were actually employees of Rhella Kan Zeitun's laboratory. From there, Dimara disappears completely into the system.
The other match for 'Dimara Kadun' is an older woman by that name, a Zeonic aristocrat who lives alone but for a couple of trusted servants. She does not participate much in society, being bitter and reclusive, but the name 'Gada Isarn' gets her attention quickly. She remembers; the girlfriend of her son, of whom she didn't much approve, who disappeared after his death in the One Year War. She had no idea that they'd had a child, and she suspects her son didn't know, either. But, while she is /very/ wary of potential scams--people have come to her claiming to know her 'family' before--the Yumi Foundation's reputation is such that she is willing to listen.
She's a match. She would like very much to meet her granddaughter, and indeed--she looks less bitter already, actually hopeful.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina leaves Eight in a cheerful enough mood when she puts the swab in a vial and caps it. It’s only once Eight has left that she ruminates on the swab with a melancholy expression.
“It’s what we do.”
She says to herself, telling herself to suck it up.
Leina has one of their better investigators check out the orphanage. It’s better as a Newtype to not go anywhere near such a place. She sends them in with backup to prevent any funny business, but it works out as they sort through the records in short order.
‘Gada Isarn’ ‘Rhella Kan Zeitun.’
There’s a frown as she reads over the report, about how a child just disappeared into the system. Of course they did. She tries to get pictures of the couple that worked in Rhella’s laboratory to see if Eight can identify them…
Leina goes to meet with ‘Dimara Kadun’ herself (Though she takes security along), in a professional pantsuit. Her etiquette is flawless, it doesn’t even look painful for her to put on that show. Leina does run her through the whole process, and even allows a third-party agency from Side 3 to come out and conduct the Genetic test. She’s insistent however on them signing an agreement that will allow her tech expert on site to wipe the data from their machine after.
There’s a match. Taking the report, she has the expert wipe the data, and Leina has the genetic sample destroyed after.
The grandmother has hope, Leina tries to make her smile not seem too forced. She is nice to her the whole time. The background check had enough information that she certainly feels like being nice to her.
Her return to the Ra Mari is discreet. This time she meets Captain York in her personal quarters. Eight might be shocked. It’s only been about three days total.
“Here’s a full report on our findings.” Leina says as she hands it over the packet, complete with photographs, orphanage findings, genetic reports, but also a briefing on her Grandmother’s political leanings, donation records, business dealings.
“… We found your genetic grandmother. She’s currently living on Side 3, and she does want to meet with you. Your birth father and mother unfortunately appear to be deceased, as does the rest of your immediate family… though we couldn’t confirm that to an absolute certainty for your mother, the witnesses seemed certain enough. I performed a background check on your grandmother, so you’ll know exactly what it is you’re walking into here.”
She then settles back, and gives her time to process all of this, to look through the report, to ask questions.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight has more memories than some of her early childhood; the mental exercises and procedures meant to Awaken her mind saw to that as a side-effect. Nevertheless, she doens't recall that much of the couple who 'adopted' her. But that comes a little later. Before all of that, Dimara Kadun notes the young woman before her, and responds well to her etiquette--but does not insist upon all the little things, either. Politeness on a regular level is sufficient...
The agreement is signed. There is a match, the data is wiped, and the grandmother thanks Leina, for finding her. "I thought my family had ended," she says. "...But if there is one girl, out there... I would like to meet her." If she recognizes Leina--which she may well, she's a sharp woman--she doesn't press her on the matter. Despite her reputation for bitterness, she is kind to Leina, and respectful.
As it turns out, Kadun's money is primarily in water purification and management. Her charitable donations focus in large part on veterans' affairs and on the victims and aftermath of war, though she is invested in spacenoid independence. Economic spacenoid indepence, primarily. Her other children died protesting the Titans and then later Axis Zeon...
Eight looks through the report. She is pretty surprised that it's so speedy, actually. But she invites Leina to make herself comfortable on the couch in the side of the room, and flips through. "This is pretty extensive..."
"So she might not love that I'm a Federation Captain," Eight admits, thumbing through, "But... At the same time, it seems like from what you pulled up of her donation records that we prioritize a lot of the same things."
Eight looks over Leina, thoughtfully. "It's amazing how much you put together so quickly. Thank you. I want to say that before I ask any other questions."
Then she looks down. "'Adopted', huh. I wish I could find them, too. But on second thought, no I don't. I don't have anything to say to those people. Nothing good." She shakes her head. "The nuns... I think I want to visit them. Their orphanage is still going? I want to donate or something. Give a little back, for taking care of me and... and my mother."
"She'll probably want to call me Dimara," Eight muses. "...I'm not sure how I feel yet. I made my own name. But having one I didn't have to reclaim from a lab... That's nice, too." Pause. "I'll figure it out. It sounds like she's not insisting on much from me..."
"What do you think of her?" Eight wonders. "I'll visit. I mean, I've got some leave stored up, I'll make it happen. But I want to know anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Despite her melancholy over the issue, there is at least a thin smile over the idea she gave her hope. At her core, Leina is a fundamentally kind person, and she just is happy to give people this. “That’s up to her now – but she did indicate that she wanted to find you. So I’d say the chances are good that you’ll be hearing from her, and us soon.” -=-=- Once she’s seated on the couch, Leina gives Eight her time to look through it, “We pride ourselves on being thorough at the Yumi Foundation. We don’t regard our work as finished just because we’ve found a match.” Indeed, there are many matches that would end in tragedy if they didn’t doggedly follow up afterwards. “You’re welcome. I made it a priority of ours over the last few days.” Leina takes care of the people on the Ra Mari; they've given Callisto and Renalle a home after all. To her that’s worth any amount of repayment. “As for you being a Federation Captain. I think she’ll be able to deal with it once she learns more about you.” After all, who can blame Eight for wanting to get away from Zeon after all she’s gone through? “It is.” Still going. “There are a few who certainly remember you. It seemed legitimate enough, though I’d take a friend just in case.” Call her Dimara? Eight gets a sympathetic look from Leina, “That’s something you can figure out, and I feel you’ll have to set boundaries at first until you get to know each other better. On both that, and the subject of your adopted parents.” What does she think of her? Leina folds her hands together and looks up at the ceiling, Eight at least will feel a certain strange sense of sadness and nostalgia about her before her walls raise, Leina is apparently guarded in this moment, she understands what pain she caused Eight by being too open before… “I think it’s as good a situation as you’re likely to have. She’s a noble from Zeon, but she’s no Warhawk or political extremist. Indeed, time has… likely tempered all of those feelings in her.” Leina doesn’t bring up the loss of her children to one political cause after another, she can sympathize. “Because she’s a noble and there’s no heir to the bloodline but you – there will be a goodly amount of pressure upon you. To marry, to take on the family name.” There’s a gentle rubbing motion of her fingers together, “And to that end she’ll likely want you to learn a great number of skills expected of a highborn daughter of Zeon. It is the only life she knows.” Leina gives her a long look, “You’ll have to weigh freedom versus responsibility here. Letting family into your life always takes away some of the former and offers more of the latter. And it’s up to you to decide how you want to balance those considerations.”
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight does take the time. Her eyes and fingers linger on some of the photographs, as if by touching them she can remember more clearly. "...So I see," she says of 'thorough'.
"A priority..." The blonde tilts her head, regarding Leina a moment again. She hasn't known Leina very long, but she's been a good friend to her in that time--though Eight doesn't exactly think she's been a slouch, either. It's just a surprisingly important relationship, over a short time. "Hopefully!" Eight answers.
"Hmmm. Maybe I'll ask Chovan to go with me. We can visit her family while we're around Zeon." Chovan, being one of Eight's officers; it's a little different from asking a 'friend', but it might be nice to get to know her co-worker a little better that way, and she trusts her that much. ...There's certainly no way she's running around Zeon with her eyes closed.
That sympathetic look receives an appreciative one in return. "Hmmm yeah. I probably will. Like I said, I'm not sure how I feel yet? I guess it'll depend on how I get to know her. I think I'll tell my parents though, before I go see her. That we've found some other family. I don't want to leave them out of the loop." A laugh. "There's a lot to do..."
But what does she think of her? Eight feels that sadness, that nostalgia; she appreciates Leina's guardedness around her, but she's curious all the same. "Yeah. It could've been a lot worse," Eight agrees. If she'd turned out to be related to someone involved in the Neo-Zeon war effort actively... That would've been a problem, for one.
"I see. I guess that makes sense. So I should be prepared for some pressure." Eight is unused to the world of aristocracy; they weren't badly off in Winter Wonderland, but it's not the same thing. "Marry, huh...?" She thinks of her partners immediately. "I wonder if it'll be hard on Rena," she muses, a little sad to think of it. "Thinking about Zeon so much..."
But the things she'll have to learn--Eight nods. "That... makes sense, too. I'm not exactly--I mean, I'm a hockey player," she says by way of explanation, though truthfully she has actual training in etiquette and the like as a Captain. It might not be so difficult.
"Freedom... and responsibility. I think... I'm glad you put it that way. 'Letting' family into my life. The truth is... we're just related. It'll depend on her too, if we become more than that. I have a life already; I'm not going to throw it away. But... I think I'd like it, if I could thread some of this in, too."
"There's a lot to do... I guess I'll have to get everything in order."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It’s best to prepare for the worst kind of news, rather than expect the best. There’s a subdued nod, of confirmation when it comes to the expectation of pressure, and marriage, but… Rena? “It might. The news that her mother was well…” Leina trails off, not finishing that thought as she looks away, “… I wasn’t a fan of her mother, the few glimpses I saw of her, but Renalle still thought of her as her mother. I think she’ll be genuinely happy for you, but it’s quite possible she might bury how she feels a little.” Leina wonders if she’s only projecting. She’s seen plenty of people grapple with the truth of their parents well, she’s seen people reunite with their parents – and them turn out to be good people.
Still, she thinks it could be true for her. There’s a smile, “Hockey might scandalize a bit. Zeon aristocracy tends to be a bit… traditional, when it comes to gender roles.”
Glemy used to say that women shouldn’t become pilots, because it coarsens them. Irony of ironies given his Cyber Newtypes were all young girls, but he didn’t think of them as people. When you dehumanize someone, it’s easy to justify anything.
“Etiquette, piano, ballroom dancing, elocution… you’re old enough that they likely wouldn’t want you to start ballet. That’s more a prestige thing for younger girls to have on their resume.”
She thinks upon it for a time, “Then I’d say get your affairs in order and – see how this works out.” Leina smiles at her, “And just remember, you should set the pace. Set boundaries. If they can’t respect them, then that’s telling for how this will work out long term.”
Leina does smile at her.
“I’m very happy for you.”
She says it, and in the sense that this is what Eight wants, she certainly means it. She just hopes this continues to be something she wants.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
To say that Eight wasn't a fan of Rena's mother is something of an understatement. Nevertheless, "That makes sense. It wouldn't surprise me if she did," Eight admits. "But we'll make it through. She knows I don't hold any of that against her, for one. It wasn't her fault at all."
Eight might be happy... and she might not. She can't know yet. But she's glad to have the chance in any case. And she is amused, if a little worried, about hockey. "I see," Eight answers. "Well, I'm kind of 50/50 on gender roles... You've seen how I dress out of uniform," very feminine, "But I'm still kind of a jock. So I guess we'll see how it goes!"
Eight wasn't a 'person' to the labs, either. It took her years to claw back the idea of being someone for herself.
"I do like dancing," she says though. A beat, "But maybe I wouldn't have time for ballet. I like to watch it, at least?"
A smile back. "...I'll remember that, I promise. I won't let her push me harder than I'm comfortable with. But... I'm kind of excited, all the same."
Leina's happy for her.
"But I'm going to start a little at a time, not just for me, but for her too. ...Thanks, Leina."