2023-03-17: !we can trust no one with our thingS
- Log: !we can trust no one with our thingS
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Elisa Kafim
- Where: The Silent Castle, Kaffeklubben Island
- Date: 2023-03-17
- Summary: Yuliana heard a voice in the Banshee, when her aura disrupted the ghosts -- but it wasn't a dead girl's. Driven to fury, Elisa is all that can calm her, and the only one Yuliana would trust to see to her wounds. Elisa tells Yuliana that none of their friends can be trusted with knowledge as dire as this, and extracts some more bonds from her, in the process of examining each one for its potential. They resolve to handle it themselves, instead. (CW: Violence, self-harm, gaslighting)
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana returned safe from her little excursion... more or less. Though diagnostics show she never lowered her barrier, Da Xukong still took a beating; nothing critical, but the armour needed repair. But even though the damage was significant, it wasn't complete -- Yuliana didn't even need to engage that magic circle Elisa built into the machine to escape.
She got out fine... but she wasn't able to fetch Rita. (This part, naturally, can be reported by Yuliana herself.) She loves her new machine, of course, enthusiastically and viciously; to hear her tell it, everyone was so excited to see Da Xukong! (And this much is true, the same way their fight or flight was activated.) She has wretched, petulant things to say about Michele, of course, given how she abandoned her to the REA and ran even before she resorted to using some miserable doll; so too does she grouse about Rita, who refuses to sit still and let her fix the problem. ("Surely there's a solution," casual, offhand. "You must be able to do something, right, zhenushka?" And it is a far cry from the way she tried to keep her friends away from Elisa's solutions, before they married.) Jona, she dismisses as ill-suited to a predator's senses, given his status as prey. Strangely, in her idle conversation, the most neutral evaluations she has are for Zoltan and Roux; she doesn't like them, of course, but in passing they could be worse.
("By the way," she mentions, over tea, "did you know someone else is shattering existence these days? Nothing like our revolution, of course, but do keep an eye on that... what was it? Ace Robot? Yes, I believe that's the designation it was returning.")
There are a lot of ways in which Yuliana is flourishing, after getting out; she does poorly, in a cage. But...
... even though Yuliana is generally improved, there's still something bothering her, and surely Elisa can tell.
Being fair: by a certain point, everyone can.
That's the point where Yuliana picks up a priceless vase and FLINGS it right at Wen's head, in the middle of what was supposed to be a friendly card game. "Shut the fuck up!" She yells, even as Wen handily ducks, and the vase shatters against the stone wall behind them. "What do you know?! You don't know shit, that's what!"
"Calm down!" Wen snaps, already taking the long route around to the door. "I didn't mean--!"
That's the sound of her interrupting her sentence to bring that heavy oak door closed in a hurry -- before the entire table that vase was sitting on crashes against it.
She tries explaining herself to Elisa, instead, still quite harried: "I just asked if there were some Newtypes she wants to save these days! You know, since she's going after that Phenex -- I-I didn't know she'd -- anyway, she won't listen to me!" With Yuliana having one if her... episodes, of course Wen ran right off to fetch her physician-wife. Why would she hesitate to involve Elisa? Unlike the REA's scientists, Elisa wouldn't hurt Yuliana. Even if she's creepy... she still loves her wife.
Yuliana, of course, is still wrecking the sitting room. The tapestries have been torn down, the pillows have been tossed to every corner; the wooden framing of one lounge has been kicked right through. The windows... remain unbroken, though the broken shards of painting frames and candelabras show it's not without effort.
(But surely Elisa, recognising the tendencies of her wife, made sure the glass was particularly sturdy.)
Her knuckles are scraped and bloodied. There are cuts on her leg, under her black robes, where she put it through the wooden frame... and a more mysterious gash along her right arm, though the end of her sleeve is unbloodied.
It's her left hand which pitches a dragon ornament at the door, when next it opens. Without even waiting to see who's there, she yells:
"Piss off!"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa gives her full attention to Yuliana's report. She listened to her comments on her new machine, on the story of the battle, on her complaints, and on that note about someone else shattering existence! Why, it sounds as if Yuliana had a very exciting time. However...
However.
Something is bothering Yuliana, and Wen has the proof of it.
"Yes," Elisa says to Wen. "I see. That was a very unfortunate question to ask. But it was not an unreasonable one. I will attend to her."
Elisa approaches in her own black robes, opening the door. The dragon ornament slams into the door and against it, but despite the force with which it is hurled, the door does not move. It cracks, though. The forces operating on it at the same time are too much. But then it opens.
"I am sure that you do not mean that, darling."
Elisa steps into the room, and closes what's left of the door behind her, sweeping slowly towards Yuliana across the distance.
"You are injured..."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
If Wen is bothered by Elisa calling it an unfortunate question... well, it's not like she's wrong, is she? "Thanks," is what she says, and she's not going to get any more involved.
Not until Yuliana calms down, anyway.
She isn't calm, when Elisa opens the door, despite Yuliana's efforts to spite it -- but after she sees who's stepping through, all her rage falls from her face. "Elya?" Yuliana asks, with a smaller voice. "Elya, don't go..."
Say one thing, then say another; Yuliana's always been labile. But is there any wonder Elisa is an exception? Elisa is exceptional.
She looks down at herself, at the room, and hums between closed lips as she grasps at the bloodied sleeve of her right arm. It's an injury she must have inflicted on herself, but isn't all of this, really? Never mind anyone else who might have been frightened by it. "Maybe... I got a little carried away..." Yuliana trails off, gaze veiling. "I just... was upset."
As if it's not her fault this happened.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
All that rage falls away. Elisa smiles. "Ah, darling."
She does not 'go'. She enters, and steps inside. She looks over Yuliana, and sees her injuries, that blood on her arm. Yuliana mentions getting carried away. Elisa, of course, looks sympathetic at her, and the ruin of the room is her least concern.
"It is terrible," she says.
"Terrible, that such a thing would happen. Come, sit. I will tend your injuries. We will have this unfortunate mess cleaned," she decides.
Of course it's not Yuliana's fault.
"It is so good of you to forgive your lieutenant for upsetting you in this way. It was horrid of her to do such a thing in the first place. She told me, of course."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
It is terrible, isn't it? There's something in Elisa's assurances which doesn't quite fit what Yuliana thinks she said -- did she really mention forgiving Wen? -- but maybe that's just a reasonable assumption, given how she got carried away. And she would, anyway; this isn't the first time her Lieutenants have prompted her to break things, but she's always let them off the hook eventually.
Elisa must just know her that well.
"Of course," Yuliana agrees, agreeable. She frowns, thinking of the wrong Wen did to her. "She can be so careless... but it's fine. I suppose she couldn't have known." Couldn't have known what, Yuliana doesn't immediately clarify, as she turns her gaze from Elisa to take quick inventory of the room.
Couch #1: Stripped of cushions and kicked apart right through the middle.
Couch #2: Stripped of cushions and thrown against the wall.
Couch #3: Hurled into the metal grating protecting Yuliana from the fireplace at great force, since its cushions couldn't be pulled up.
She considers for a moment before she just goes to rescue that last one, which is -- mostly not on fire, a testament to Elisa's thoughtful and safety-conscious castle design. Surely by the time Yuliana rights it by the fireplace it will be entirely not on fire. Her wife is a witch!
And so, Yuliana sits. Elisa will at least find these injuries easy to dress; compared to some of the complaints Yuliana's bought to her, these are largely superficial enough that she could care for them in her sleep. (Not that Elisa sleeps. Yuliana's woken up many times just to see her gazing at her.) Yuliana is so brave (compliant) in letting her dress them, too, even though she has a terrible track record with medicine.
"Sorry," she offers, meekly. "I've caused you more trouble again..."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Why would there be anything in Elisa's assurances that wasn't meant to be there? What a strange thought. Better to ignore such terrible ideas.
"She seems as if she can be," Elisa agrees, caring less than nothing about Wen in and of herself. "But she came to fetch me, so at least she knows that much. Yes?"
The third couch is indeed no longer on fire after a gesture of Elisa's hand. It is easy. It is simple. And it is indeed a testament to Elisa's designs.
In more ways than one!
She works to dress these injuries without complaint, having brought a medial kit with her. "You are so very thoughtful," she says, "Allowing me to assist you in this way. I would worry so if you didn't."
She smiles, at that. "It is all right. But would you like to talk about what is bothering you? It would be no trouble for me to listen to your worries. I welcome such a chance."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Was there something that wasn't meant to be there..? Clearly not.
"She's not a complete idiot, I guess," Yuliana says, with a shade of grousing. "Of course... you always know what's going on, Elya." Because she sees what Wen is capable of? Surely not because everyone's reporting to her.
Of course Elisa bought a medical kit with her! It's a natural precaution, when her wife is this upset. Let's just say this isn't the first piece of furniture Yuliana has put her foot through.
(There are no glass coffee tables in the Silent Castle.)
"I don't want you to worry --" Yuliana starts, and winces, just a little, given the splinters Elisa has to deal with. "Nnh... it's okay," she assures her, a shade of anxiety to it. She really doesn't want to worry her.
Yuliana smiles back, though it wobbles, just a little. "You're so kind to me," she says, though her affection is a shade muted. "It's just..." Her chest lifts and falls, in a great, shuddering sigh. She's rather occupied allowing Elisa to assist her, so it's those black tendrils snaking out from behind her which coil around the witch, instead.
"I told you how annoying it was Ritechka insisted on me helping that girl in the Banshee, didn't I?" Puru-1, she'd exclaimed, on more than one occasion, with clear disgust. She used to call that person a woman; she's a girl, now. "Since getting caught up with that meant I wasn't able to retrieve her, either..."
Of course, it's also terribly notable that Yuliana listened to Rita's request, but anyway.
"But... but it's more complicated than..." Another of those big, heaving sighs, shoulders up and dropping down. It might interrupt Elisa's efforts, but surely she's skilled enough not to be bothered. "Of course, someone like me interrupted the system. The girl inside that wretched machine, it's... who they've hooked up to fuel that infernal machine is our little Leyasha!" And that does upset her, even though Leina is one of those awful Newtypes.
She's one of hers, after all. That's the decision Yuliana reached all on her own.
"That Roux Louka, she was with me out there... associated with Leyasha's brother, you know. I guess I could have told her... why I was telling her to carve her cockpit out." Yuliana frowns, troubled. "I was just... stunned, Elya. I guess I wondered whether it might complicate her life if I spelled it out, but really, I... I mean, after what Devi did to me... I didn't say anything," she admits, tone muted.
She might even feel bad about it.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa has her ways. Let's pretend they're mysterious.
Elisa handles the splinters with grace and delicacy, not so much as moving when Yuliana shows her anxiety. She smiles back. The tendrils coil around her, and that's fine. She pats one affectionately.
"You did," Elisa recalls. "You told me about it." The 'girl'. And it is interesting indeed that Yuliana listened. Rest assured that Elisa will remember that.
"Complex?" she wonders, and moves with Yuliana. It could almost be comical, the grace with which she moves so as not to interrupt a single motion of her work. She doesn't even pause when Yuliana mentions who it is.
But she does think. Leina, inside such a machine as that... She doesn't bother, in the privacy of her mind, to think of how terrible that should be.
"So, it is not some new girl, but Leina..." She considers this, and tilts her head, regarding Yuliana.
"Would she have understood?" Elisa doubts it. "It is natural to keep important information from the ears of the untrusted. Even if Devi made use of that natural impulse, it is no shame for you to have said nothing."
"No... now it is something of which we are aware, and it is we who should consider what to do about it."
"I wonder, who does she now serve...?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana smiles, when Elisa pets the 'snake'. She feels it! It's... probably part of her. Mostly. It's hers, anyway.
Elisa is so graceful, but as much as Yuliana is always impressed, she isn't surprised. She was a gold medalist, you know. It's deeply impressive.
But -- it's natural, Elisa says, once and once again, and Yuliana believes it. "No... no, you're right, I can't trust her," she frowns, of Roux. "She's one of them, you know..." Newtypes, that is. Yuliana rarely refers to them as any other group.
(Well. Spacenoids, sometimes. Hating Newtypes and hating Spacenoids is a bigotry set which frequently goes hand-in-hand, but not always.)
Yuliana holds out her arm, so that Elisa can see to the gash. (From a jagged piece of wood; she must have pried it from the lounge.) "That much we know," she says, which means that Yuliana knows it, which means that Elisa knows it, because she explains everything as she invokes Banagher: "The Vists -- Nasya's family -- they've taken her. But... I've spoken to her not so long ago, and she seemed... well, a touch strange, but largely fine." Yuliana frowns. "So... so, either she doesn't know, or she knows better than to say it. They've set her to the Unicorn, I suppose... though it seems the Luio girl has an agreement with her to... borrow her." With an exasperated shade to her tone, she adds: "And our dear Alexis is involved, of course."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Aww!
Elisa is very impressive. It's nice. But Yuliana believes what she says, obviously. "Indeed. Their difficulty is known." To them. 'They' are the problem, after all. If Yuliana could mean anything else, Elisa doesn't seem to notice it. However...
As Elisa cleans the gash with an antiseptic, she considers Yuliana's tale. "Hm..."
The Vists are Banagher's family, of course. And they've taken her.
"She is probably compromised," Elisa considers, and wonders how best to turn this to their advantage, if at all possible. Is there a way? Maybe, maybe not. At the very least...
"We see how little we can trust those in power," Elisa reflects. "That they would take and abuse your things so freely. Make use of such things. The Banshee, really..."
Then she pauses, and puts on a warm smile. "Ah," she says. "That dear scamp. Did he tell you anything more?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"Mmn," Yuliana winces, again, as Elisa cleans out the cut. It's not Elisa's fault that it hurts, of course. She's so careful, and caring...
Like always, it's this wretched world working on Yuliana, forcing her hand, and Elisa picking up her pieces.
"The Banshee!" Yuliana echoes her, with clear pique. "Of all machines, they put her in the Banshee! It's so offensive!" As if it's a personal slight they've done to her, as if everything's about her.
Isn't it?
"Oh," Yuliana pouts, "he was sure to disclaim any personal responsibility for it, of course. And he was agreeable enough to the Unicorns being my things, but I'm sure he thinks he's rather clever for withholding this particular piece of information. As always, he's just trying to occupy himself with his little games." She's able to forgive him easily enough, apparently, even if she's a little huffy about it.
"But..." Yuliana frowns, looking to Elisa, again. "Elya, what am I to do about this? It would be truly wretched for her to suffer this alone. But she'll be informing on herself, I'm sure, so they'll notice if Nasya starts acting strangely." Which means she's considered telling Banagher, at least. Give her that much credit. "The boy couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, you know."
Does Elisa know that? Has she paid enough attention to Banagher to get that impression? Yuliana has, anyway, and presumes Elisa knows just the same.
... which she does, really, because Yuliana does, and it's a simple thing for Yuliana to tell her everything.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"It's all right," Elisa says. She is so careful. Always.
"It is an insult," Elisa agrees smoothly, starting now to wrap up the wound, like she has so many others. "A grave insult indeed. It will not stand forever."
But of course, Alexis... Elisa may call him 'scamp', but it is hard to believe she dismisses him so, not when her eyes are sharp and focused as she discusses him. "I suppose he might say that you didn't ask," she considers. "Ah, it is his way."
But what is she to do...?
"No," Elisa says, "You are right. Telling him is clearly not the best of options. At the same time, you do not wish to do nothing..." Elisa looks back to Yuliana, finishing with this next wound.
It's good enough.
"I see no alternative at this time but to continue the hunt. They will be sending the Banshee after the Unicorn and after your Rita again. If you hunt both, you may catch the prize. If there were anyone involved we could trust, of course, it might be different..."
Elisa looks into Yuliana's eyes. "Is there such a one, my darling?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"Mm," Yuliana hums agreement, when Elisa assures her it's all right. It must be.
"Of course," she agrees, more eloquently, when Elisa assures her the insult won't stand. "We'll crush them for their hubris, mark my words!"
She's less angry about Alexis, at least, as she nods to Elisa's assessment -- and again, to her analysis. But Elisa looks into her eyes, and Yuliana's gaze is captured, as her hands reach out to grasp one of Elisa's now her wounds are bandaged up. (Dressings on her knuckles, to cover the scrapes. Surely Elisa will be careful.)
"I don't know..." She starts, uncertain, with a steadying squeeze of her fingers. "Everyone involved... Leyasha knows them well enough to spot differences." She glances down and away, as she frowns, thinking to herself. Her attention comes back to Elisa, soon enough. "Maybe... Boss would know? I fought with him against the Mycenae, you know. But after that stunt Alma pulled in his stand, I don't know... I don't know," she repeats, again, a shade hapless.
Who can she trust? The only person she could is right here beside her!
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"Yes," Elisa agrees with Yuliana and thus with herself.
Elisa is very careful, as Yuliana takes her hand. She is gentle, in her movements, gentle in how she lets her fingers rest over Yuliana's. It is a delicate thing, this touch.
And this moment.
"Hmm... Yes, that girl is quite perceptive." But Yuliana gives her an answer! There is someone. Elisa smiles, reassuringly. "Is that so?" she asks. "My. Well, perhaps he would know something, indeed."
"It's all right. Now, come here, my darling. You must rest after your ordeal." She opens her arms, in the metaphorical sense rather than the literal one.
"All will be well..."
That is, all will be well after Elisa enlists Parminder's information gathering capabilities...
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Elisa smiles, and Yuliana smiles, in turn. She's so gentle with her; so reassuring. Even troubled as she is, how could she not be reassured, with such a caring wife?
"Yes," she agrees, and Elisa might not open her arms, but Yuliana scoots up beside her anyway, leaning her left side against her. (Surely Elisa positioned herself to Yuliana's left, so she wouldn't end up putting pressure on her injuries. She's so thoughtful.) "All will be well," she murmurs, she echoes, as she closes her eyes. "We'll handle it ourselves..." If she can't trust anyone to handle this with care, well --
She'll just have to go to Leina herself, won't she?
As for Parminder -- he knows an awful lot about Yuliana's part in the Mycenae Wars without even looking, but maybe he's just very good. Good enough to find what Elisa's looking for, certainly.
... he isn't all that bothered by the moral implications.