2023-08-16: Light Bleeds
- Log: Light Bleeds
- Cast: Gridman, Yuliana Kafim, Elisa Kafim
- Where: December City, Side 2
- Date: 2023-08-16
- Summary: Gridman calls the Kafims out to Side 2 to discuss his wish for a new body, and agrees to offer his blood to Elisa to construct it. Yuliana and Elisa dwell on whether the Giants of Light are their enemies or not. (They surely will be; Elisa is right, as always.)
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
Laying in bed in Max's guest room, Gridman stares at his phone. Oshansoo-san, as steady as ever, shows him an empty message. The cursor blinks.
Communication with Yuliana and Elisa is weird. They don't use VERTEX, but direct phone messaging. It took Gridman a little while to figure out how to even do that, he's so used to VERTEX. In this moment, it wouldn't make a difference. The problem isn't how to communicate, but if he should.
Since talking with his brother about Hyper Agents, Gridman has felt sick. There's a peace to having his decision settled -- to knowing he has to be the one to go back to the Computer World -- but that doesn't extend to making him happy about it. Sigma mentioned Gridman could return someday, using a new host. But the idea of taking over someone's life again, or worse, being trapped in Junk whenever he isn't needed...
He shudders.
It's not right. There has to be another way. And of all his allies, he can only think of one group that could make this wish come true.
A deep breath, and he taps at the screen.
>hi can i talk to yuliana or elisa please?
>i have kind of a crazy idea
---
Leaving Tsutsujidai for too long still makes Gridman anxious, and so, he finds himself just outside the city's PLANT in Side 2. He's chosen the "December" colony cluster for this meeting. He dressed for winter, only to discover December was as warm and pleasant as colonies usually are. Whoops.
With his jacket draped over the back of his chair, Gridman waits at an outdoor cafe. He's ordered a milkshake -- chocolate, this time. It's something he has to eat slowly, which helps him enjoy the flavor and texture of the food. Despite everything, that sensation is still so new...
He's not ready to let it go. Not ready to let any of this go.
Oshansoo-san is propped up in front of Gridman. He sips his milkshake quietly as he listens to Yuliana's latest sermon. Notably, today, there are no Neon Genesis Junior High Students to be seen. It's not that he doesn't trust them, just... the way Vit and Calibur reacted last time...
Yes... there are many worth your gratitude, aren't there? Think on this, on those who support you to achieve your desires.
It's as if she knows exactly what Gridman is struggling with... Even if he can't support everything Yuliana says, there's still so much good in what she does. It must balance out.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Oh, Yuliana uses VERTEX. She just doesn't tend to use it much in her personal life. It's an amateur mistake to engage in honest conversations on one's sockpuppet accounts, after all...
No, personally, Yuliana doesn't keep much social media. It's part of why the Silent Calling feels like such an exclusive club -- she's not preaching to them over To-Witter, but through private emails and unlisted videos. This isn't to say that the Silent Calling has no presence on social media, of course... just that it is, by and large, driven by its members rather than its leaders.
It's very sweet.
And yes, Gridman is, too.
> Of course.
The message comes in; does it matter who sent it?
> Where would you like to meet?
...---...
Attending the Sides makes Yuliana unpleasant, but she can cope with being in such a wretched place with her wife beside her. She's wearing her own sweeping jacket, open in the front but still mysteriously curled around her; her pleasant black blouse is obscured by a scarf in a dozen shades of pink, and her black skirt has a matching stripe of pink along its cut and layered edges. (It's a femme look, today. It's fine to do that, sometimes, too. After all, the temperature in the Colonies is at least... decent.)
It's not immediately identifiable as the look of the Calling -- the Call is of Earth, after all -- but it's not dissimilar, either.
Her hands are woven around Elisa's arm, naturally, as she enters; and she smiles, when she sees Gridman. "Ah," she says, recognising the sound of her own voice, "you have heard us? I'm so glad."
Naturally, she takes a seat. No need to ask.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Location does not stress Elisa. The Sides are simply another place. And besides, she is with Yuliana here. Elisa is dressed in a draping black dress, as is usual for her, long but not floor-length this time; it exposes most of her arms, where she wears bangles about her wrists. Her earrings are dangly and golden much like the bangles.
Elisa is not hard to distinguish, as a rule. Certainly not with Yuliana present.
"Hello," Elisa greets as well, taking a seat in the third place, once she is there. "It is pleasing to see you again, though I judge that it is not so pleasant an occasion that brings you to us."
"...Nevertheless," she says, "I hope you are well, and am willing to discuss this... 'crazy idea'."
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
As Yuliana sits down, Gridman shuts off the sermon, flushing slightly in embarrassment. He doesn't want to make this any weirder than it needs to be.
"Hello!" He stands, quickly bowing. They're doing him a big favor by coming all this way, after all. Gridman only returns to his seat once Yuliana and Elisa are settled in. "Yeah, I've been on the email list. I hope that's not... strange for you, or anything?"
Why would it be strange? Gridman has no idea, he's just nervous.
"Thank you both for meeting me here. I don't want to leave Tsutsujidai alone for too long." Gridman is quiet for a moment, leaving room for a waiter to come by and take orders. "I haven't been entirely honest with you, and I'm sorry about that, but... It's kind of a big secret."
Gridman his ever-present wristband down his arm. A metallic device appears from beneath it -- far larger than should have been able to be contained beneath the fabric.
"I am the Hyper Agent, Gridman. I fight to protect Tsutsujidai, and defeat Alexis Kerib." As if to prove his words, Gridman's voice takes on a metallic tone. "I've taken the body of a resident of Tsutsujidai to accomplish my mission, but my time is running out."
Gridman takes a breath. Nothing to do but press onward. "...I've really liked being a human. Or at least, pretending to be one. I've only been here for almost two years, but I lost my memory when I arrived in this world. I can't remember a thing about the place that should be my home, and." He looks down. "I don't want to go back. But I can't keep this body, it belongs to a young man I've already stolen enough from."
"So I know this is... weird, and maybe not possible?" He sounds so unsure. Fear and guilt are clear in his voice, and on his face. "But is there... um." He scratches at the side of his cheek, still looking at his milkshake instead of the women before him. "Is there a way for me to have a body of my own? A human one? Without... hurting anyone, or stealing from a host."
Ugh. It sounds totally ridiculous! Gridman wants to pull his jacket over his head and leave, but he's got to be brave. The worst they can say is no, right? Or laugh at him and send him away empty-handed...
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana's golden hoops are much smaller than Elisa's -- a long habit of avoiding having something too easy to grab onto -- but she, too, has a bracelet peeking out from under the arm of her jacket. It's as purple as Elisa's hair.
She reaches over, once they're seated, to take Elisa's hand on the table. She does not remove her coat.
"It isn't strange at all," Yuliana assures Gridman, in the wake of his nervousness. "We're quite pleased, aren't we, darling?" A little glance to Elisa, a little squeeze of her hand.
And -- "Of course," she excuses his ties to Tsutsujidai, mildly, but she doesn't hold him up with a long reply. Rather, she just watches him dig the hole all by himself, revealing he's one of those Hyper Agents.
(A light, amused smile flashes over her face, briefly, when he mentions that he's Alexis's problem.)
By and large, though, she is concerned with what he's saying; she frowns, with that concern, and nods along with what he tells them.
"There are ways," she agrees, at length, and looks to Elisa again. "What do you think, zhenushka?"
A light beat of a pause, and she looks back to Gridman. "Though... if you've lost your memory of your life before your time here, might I ask how you're so sure you don't wish to return home?" It's a question which would concern anyone, really.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"Not at all," Elisa agrees with Yuliana. She smiles, and nods to her wife. She lets her hand be squeezed. Instead, she says, "It is natural and good to keep some secrets from those you do not yet know," Elisa says. "Especially such important secrets as that."
Similarly, she doesn't mention her prior relationship with one Alexis Kerib, nor that she has refrained from interfering in Tsutsujidai partly because of him.
"An important mission... Ah, I see."
She looks back to Yuliana, and inclines her head once again. "I think that it is... natural, to find that one enjoys the life of this world," she says. "There is much to recommend it. I know many who want more of their lives than only their missions. It is understandable indeed."
"And it is quite possible," she says. "But it will take time, perhaps more time than you have. It would be easy, if you were willing to take the body of another, of course; you can already do that much yourself. ...But to do so without harm, without sacrifice..."
"There is always a cost of some kind. Without such, we must sacrifice our time, instead, our effort, our work. Yes, this is possible. Through science, and through my power, I can do this for you. Through science, I can create a body. Through my power, I can ready it for a spirit to inhabit."
"But my Yuliana asks a pertinent question. I am willing to do this for you..."
"But before I commit to such an endeavor, I wish to be certain that it is your desire. It is not trivial."
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
"Thank you..." Gridman sounds genuinely relieved that Elisa and Yuliana aren't upset with him lying about his identity. They have every right to be, really -- it's something he's worried about since he realized his true identity. Deceiving his friends and allies is unforgivable.
The non-reaction to Alexis' name goes unnoticed. Gridman is too consumed with his own anxieties and worries to be on guard. As Yuliana says there are ways, and looks to her zhenushka (?), Gridman's otherworldly yellow gaze does as well.
"I can't know for sure. Maybe I have people waiting on me there." Gridman reaches out for his phone, holding up a picture of himself flanked by a young man and a young woman. Each has brilliant white hair -- it seems the trio is seeing a movie. Gridman has an enormous grin on his face, while his paramours are a bit more subdued. "But I have people I can't bear leaving here. My partners, and my friends. Everyone in Tsutsujidai..."
There's a moment where he steels himself.
"I'm not willing to gamble on the bonds I may have had versus the bonds I know I have." He says, his voice ringing with the tone of a long-worried over decision.
Elisa speaks of costs, sacrifices, and Gridman nods. It's easy to meet her eyes now -- this is a conversation he's familiar with. Making plans, discussing what must be done. It's easy to pretend this is just another facet of his mission.
"I can't ask you to do this for free. I don't have much to offer." The Hyper Agent admits. "I know you already have all the money and influence you could want. I could offer you a portion of my Light, I think. I've never done anything like that before, but one of my allies talks about containing that kind of power in cards. So it has to be possible."
Something in his stomach twists at the offer, but Gridman's mind is made up. For Kaworu and Rei, Akane, Utsumi, and Rikka -- and for himself -- he's got to do this.
"There's nothing I want more." He vows. "I want to stay with the family I made for myself here, in this world. Even if I have to go back to the Computer World, and return -- as long as it's not a permanent goodbye, it'd be bearable."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
If Yuliana's fingers twitch inwards at Elisa's advice to Gridman, just so -- if she blinks a little too rapidly -- surely it's nothing. She needs no excuse to run her thumb along the side of her wife's fingers.
If she's thinking of their mission, together, surely it's just because it's always on her mind. After all, it should always be on her mind!
(Zhenushka, of course, is an affectionate Zaftran term for one's wife. Yuliana doesn't bother to translate; Elisa speaks her languages. She's noticed she does, by now. And why wouldn't she? Yuliana's picked up Zentradi, too. It's very normal.)
But Elisa shares her concerns -- naturally -- and Yuliana listens carefully, as Gridman answers them. Choosing certainty over possibility...
It's a laudable goal. Normal people should be able to live normal lives, Yuliana thinks. (Never mind that Gridman is hardly a normal person.)
"Then," she concludes, once he is done, "you will need something to come back to. Yes, we can help with that. His offer will suffice, don't you think?" Yuliana asks her wife, again, another glance to her. The problem with relating Gridman's struggles with what must be done with hers, of course, is that Yuliana might grow sympathetic to him; she's always been protected from the worlds of both magic and science, but she presumes his price will cover the cost fearlessly, anyway.
(Of course, she still checks. It's important to check with one's wife.)
"Besides," Yuliana smiles, "if Kaworu is this important to you, I would like to see you well." She recognised at least one face, in that photo.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa of course does not give Yuliana any unpleasant looks about what she says. Surely it is just what she thinks is best to say. It is important to her expression to Gridman.
Maybe there are people there... but definitely here. Is that how it works...?
Elisa is stone-faced, impassive, not revealing at all what she might feel about this.
She regards the picture. She is familiar with the one.
"Indeed," Elisa says. "Something to come back to... it is important." A smile. "Indeed we would be happy to help his dear one." Kaworu's, that is. "Even if we were not already willing to help you."
"...Yes," she says, "A portion of your Light would make it possible. Before we part, I will request a small quantity of your blood. With it, I can synthesize the essence of your 'self' within you, separate it from the boy's body. With it, I can draw on a quantity of your Light, to ensure that your body is attuned to you when you come to claim it."
"If you can instead give me one of these 'Cards' that is also acceptable, of course; but I know that I can work in blood. Don't worry; I am a doctor. I will take only a small quantity, and that in a sterile fashion. The boy will be unharmed."
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
"You know Kaworu?" Gridman asks, a genuine smile crossing his face. If these are friends of Kaworu's, then everything must be fine. Kaworu wouldn't associate with evil people.
"He's my boyfriend! We've been dating since." A little laugh. "Since December. Him, and me, and Rei. There's so much more I want to do together! We haven't gone on a trip yet. Kaworu and I wanted to take Rei to see the beach."
A sigh of relief, as Elisa and Yuliana agree to help him. Gridman has even more to thank Kaworu for, it seems.
"Thank you so much." Another smile. "Since you're a doctor, and it won't hurt this body, I think blood would be easier."
Something nags at Gridman, at the back of his mind. Didn't Elisa take Knight's blood, too, once upon a time? Is it safe to give his own over as well? Somehow, the Hyper Agent knows Knight wouldn't approve.
...
It's going to be fine. Knight won't find out until everything has been proven to be alright. No one will.
"Can we... keep this private?" Gridman asks, quietly. "I know some of my friends would worry. I'm sure they'll understand in the end, but for now... It's one more thing, and they don't need any more to worry about."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana sees Elisa's impassivity, though, and through the edges of it; that she has not bothered to wear an expression, in these moments.
She feels bad, wanting Gridman to be able to achieve his own wants outside of what his world wants for him. It's carried only in her hand, the way she squeezes Elisa's for support. She's being unreasonable, she supposes. Her whims often are.
... even so, her wife's willing to go along with it. Yuliana smiles, looking to her. She's always entertained Yuliana's desires, in this world... she's wonderful.
"Ah, you're seeing each other?" She comments, a shade distracted, when Gridman mentions his connection with Kaworu too. "Beautiful." She smiles, looking back to him to assure him: "Of course, you needn't worry -- she's really very good. My Elisa is the only one I trust to draw my blood, I assure you." Never mind the tantrums Yuliana sometimes throws about those needles; it would be ten times worse if it weren't Elisa, holding them.
She inclines her head, sympathetic, when Gridman asks to keep things secret. "My wife is the most discreet woman I know," she says, leaning towards her just a shade more than she was. "You are right, of course, to intuit that some people do not... appreciate the nuance of our deeds. They fear blood as an untouchable part of our existence... unfortunately, such fears tend to lead to a fear of physical existence itself. For what is blood, but the legacy of our Earth?" Never mind that they're not on Earth, right now.
"It's all right," she says. "It is not the duty of normal people to understand. We will bear that burden -- and this. Your secret is safe with us. Isn't it, zhenushka?" Again, again she looks to Elisa, checks with her, asks.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"We do," Elisa answers. She does not elaborate; instead she smiles. They've been dating for this long, have they? Yes, this makes sense. "The beach. How lovely."
"Very well," she says of blood. Yuliana is perceptive, of course; she sees what Elisa does not show, as much as what she does. And if she takes some lessons from what Elisa shows by absence, well...
Is that a bad thing?
"Then blood it shall be," Elisa says, and any sound like a bell or finality is surely just imagination. His talk of worry, though...
"My Yuliana is quite right. There are many reasons to fear in this world. ...We will not add to your friends' now. This need only be between the three of us."
The duty of normal people... Is Gridman a normal person, then? Hmmm.
"It is quite safe."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
It is quite safe. They speak a while longer, pleasantly; Elisa takes that sample of blood, with care, and Gridman gets a pleasant little bandage to hold the cotton bud in place. Yuliana engages him in conversation, just the way Elisa distracts her -- so he may not even notice the needle's done its work until Elisa tells him she's all done.
(Of course she brought a phlebotomy kit. Yuliana may be their Oracle, but it's Elisa who's the one possessed of foresight.)
The Kafims don't keep Gridman, of course; they understand he is anxious to return to his territory, and bid him leave in good health. But while they're here, well -- there's no reason not to see if there's anything decent to experience, here in December.
These colonies are specialised towards education -- so the PLANTs' children have all gathered, here. Yuliana is cheered, at least, to see them tumbling about in the parks -- of which there are some of passingly decent quality, in a place designed to raise one's young. Even the colonialists understand the importance of giving their youth green spaces.
When they take a seat on a park bench, though, the other patrons naturally give them a wide berth; perhaps it's the way they're dressed all in black, or perhaps it's the way Yuliana naturally drapes herself over her wife's side, her hand curling into Elisa's.
"They're wonderful, aren't they?" She asks, of a group of children flying a kite over the green. "I know it's been hard for us, but... I am sure you'll figure out why my body's so stubborn." They've been trying to have their own children, but Yuliana...
Well, she holds hope that Elisa will find an answer her body won't reject.
A light pause. Yuliana breathes, at Elisa's neck, all leant into her; her fingers tighten, through Elisa's. "Ah... does it bother you?" She raises, at length; it is neither natural nor good to keep a secret of her worries from her wife. "... the boy, I mean."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
In this case, foresight was forearmed. After all, Elisa always carries certain trivialities.
Elisa, though, barely notices the green spaces. She has forgotten already to make expressions. Perhaps that is the other reason others give them a wide berth; Elisa looks into nothing in particular and sees the same. She cares only in the moment to hold onto Yuliana's arm, and brood.
When Yuliana brings her attention back to the world, Elisa's attention alights on the child with the kite. "....Yes," she says. "I will find out. I will make all right." She pauses. "Even now, they play. They chase the world, chase the unknown that they do not yet understand... They do not know where the wind will take them, and yet, they pursue it."
But does it bother her?
"...Yes," Elisa decides, when Yuliana clarifies. "I do not mind assisting him. I would have regardless, for our purposes, even had he not offered such a great reward. Yes... Gifted freely, such Light could be quite potent."
She shakes her head. "But no. He chases the familiar. He will not even consider the idea of what might be waiting for him on the other side, so enmeshed is he in this world."
"...The boy is weak. He will not survive the Winter. And yet, I will assist him."
"Creature of this material plane that he is."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"I know you will, sputnica zhizni," Yuliana nuzzles her face into the neck of her life's companion, and though she has to hide her frill in mixed company like this, perhaps she can imagine the feeling.
(If she can imagine anything at all. Sometimes, Yuliana worries.)
Yuliana rests her weight against Elisa's side, stroking at the back of her palm with her other hand. "Mm," she agrees, wordlessly, with her assessment of the Light's power.
It's not what she was worried about, though, and Elisa answers that forthwith.
"It was an important question to me," Yuliana sighs, and it must be true; she asked it unprompted, after all. "But... for all this talk of Hyper Agents, Elya, don't you think he's a very normal person? You know... we want to tear down the inequalities Newtypes have imposed on this world. Wanting to exist materially... isn't it so that people can enjoy such a thing that we work so hard? He doesn't come from a place of truth, like we do."
She sighs, and deflates, just so. "I'm... glad you'll help him, Elya. I... I'm a little sentimental, I guess. Since I understand being distracted by this world, too... ah, I know it's a trial." It's not quite an apology. It may as well be.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa can imagine it. It is one of the things that she does imagine, that feeling, for all Yuliana's worry. No, she holds that power...
Even in a place such as this.
Elisa reaches out, and places her arm about Yuliana more fully. No, talk of power is not so important here, in this moment. It is something else...
"Yes," Elisa says, of it being important. "I am glad that you felt you could come to me." A pause.
"...Hmm..."
"I don't," Elisa admits. "He said it himself; he is an Agent, and one cannot be an Agent without an authority. He is likely our enemy, a Giant of Light, but more to the point, he has a duty. ...A normal person, certainly, should be allowed to focus on such pleasant things of this world. I do not intend to destroy relationships, enjoyment."
"Perhaps it is not so bad, what he wishes. It is what he ignores that troubles me. What if this 'Computer World' requires him after all? What if there is a deep truth there, as well?"
But she is sentimental... "That is something I love about you, my darling. Your kindness, your empathy for others. Yes, we will help him. I am not sure it will avail him in the end... But we will help him."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana would be glad for it. What she is glad for is the feeling of Elisa's arm, wrapping her up; she breathes out, tension bleeding from her body, as she hooks her ankle around Elisa's and nestles in beside her.
"It could only be you," she says, to herself and to Elisa.
Yuliana can't really go to anyone else, can she? Every time she tries... it's a bad idea.
Her face shifts against Elisa's shoulder, so she can look up at her -- without much bothering to straighten up, which means she's gazing up at her from terribly close. That's fine. She's used to Elisa filling her entire gaze. Her explanations, too. Though... there's something which troubles her, listening to it.
It's not how she closes them off. "You're so kind to me, my love," Yuliana smiles, an affectionate blush flooding her cheeks as Elisa speaks of her own love. "Even if it's difficult for us, you honour my whims so often..." She lifts the hand she's captured, and presses her lips to Elisa's fingertips in a delicate picture.
"But..." Yuliana starts, looking up at her wife again, that same trouble in her eyes again. "Are the Giants of Light really our enemies, Elya? Alexis's emptiness is not ours, for all I wanted it to be, when first we met. Is it... wise to make an enemy of these Hyper Agents? The Gridmen, the Ultramen... there's much we don't know about them, but they're not insignificant foes."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Of course. It could only be her. Otherwise... No, it doesn't bear considering.
Elisa looks back at Yuliana as she speaks again, and smiles back. "Of course," she says. "It is my wish that you are happy, darling." She pauses, though; lips to her hand, and that trouble in her eyes...
"Hm..."
"They may not be," Elisa admits. "While I suspect that they will find reason to oppose us in time--while I imagine that their Light must necessarily fear our Darkness--it is possible that it could be otherwise, and that we could make allies of them, or at least coexistence with them. I would prefer that. But I doubt that it will be possible."
"Alexis Kerib's emptiness is not our own, but they would mistake them for the same. If this one is so attached to the world as it is, is it not natural that he would fight to keep it from changing, even if for the better? ...No, I do not think they can understand."
"Nevertheless, I will not be the first to break this stalemate. If they come to us in violence, I shall retaliate... but until then, yes, my darling, I will avoid antagonizing them."
"Do you think it otherwise?" she wonders, and there is no hidden insecurity in the question this time. "If you do, then I shall do my best."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Light fears the Darkness... Elisa is right, of course. Yuliana has seen it. The Kabutos have made professional enemies of them, despite Yuliana's continued efforts to reach out.
"Mm," she hums, cradling Elisa's hand to her own chest, holding it there in both of hers. Surely she can feel the building Power of those fold crystals, necklace hidden beneath her scarf, as they bathe in the empty space around Yuliana.
It's comforting, isn't it?
"You're right, as always. I just wonder, if..." Yuliana sighs, closing her eyes, for a moment. She centres herself in the cool sensation of Elisa's skin against her heat. It does get quite hot, for her, wearing heavy clothing to disguise her tentacles. Even so, she insists on being able to hide, to pass as any other person. The fingers of her unwoven hand trail over Elisa's knuckles, lightly, as she thinks back. "... do you remember, zhenushka?" Yuliana asks, finally, looking up at her wife with those endless green eyes again. "When you first rescued me from the Institute... I slept for a long time, but... when I woke up, you were occupied with your tablet. Helping some boy, wasn't it? But... you said you were investigating the Vessels of Light, too. What if... they already consider the stalemate broken, then?"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Yes. It is comforting. It is familiar. It is not like this place.
Elisa considers, then, as Yuliana wonders. And there, she asks that question, with those endless green eyes. Yes, they spoke...
"Hmmm... I remember that."
"It is possible," Elisa admits. "He was in a terrible situation. The only way out was a test of his fortitude, and a test of his friends' devotion."
"If you think that this research may have already turned them against us..."
"Then we must be prepared that if they learn of our dealings with this boy, too, that they may consider us a threat."
"Many people do not understand us. If, in their ignorance, they cry out for salvation from salvation itself... These Vessels of Light may answer. We must be ready."
"I must redouble my preparations." Elisa squeezes Yuliana's side, and begins to make to stand.
"...We should go. I have much to do."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
And it's always with her. Perhaps that's why she's so bold..?
(Has Yuliana really gotten bolder, since this time two years prior? Is that the word one would use to describe her changes, the standoffish Yuliana who Elisa met and the one clinging to her now?)
"You're right," Yuliana sighs, sinking into her wife. "You're right, of course. You've ever seen these issues, on the horizon. I only... sometimes I worry all the world's against us, Elya... this whole world."
What does that say about --
-- it doesn't say anything about them.
If this whole world's against them, this whole world is wrong.
But the familiar, affectionate pressure of Elisa's arm calls Yuliana back, from closing off her worries, and she smiles to her as she straightens up to let her stand. She takes Elisa's hand to help herself up, of course.
"Yes," Yuliana agrees, as ever, with her beautiful wife.
"Let us leave this wretched place..."