2024-07-16: Crossing Paths
- Log: Crossing Paths
- Cast: Anita Rosetta, Marian Cross
- Where: United Emirates of Orb
- OOC - IC Date: U.C. 0099 07 16
- Summary: A chance encounter sees Anita and Marian running into each other on the streets of Orbs. After solving a small problem, the two go to grab a bite to eat and get to know each other.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
It's a nice day. Sunny, maybe a little too sunny for some people, but if you're living in Orb you tend to expect that. Anita's gotten used to it, by now, having moved here in October of last year along with Rena. Thankfully, though she hails from space, her time on earth has long gotten her used to the idea of weather that does what it pleases, rather than dictated by control systems.
She strolls down the street of the city they had settled down in, in her usual casual hoodie and sweatpants combo, hands tucked inside her hoodie pockets. She's in no hurry to reach her destination - right now, she's just taking it easy and enjoying the walk.
Every so often, someone stops her for a chat and she engages them briefly. She's not the type to vie for the spotlight, but like or not, she's starting to become a familiar face around here. That's fine, though. It's a little nice, being a part of a community.
Sound up a head, though, catches her attention - and Anita looks up.
Up ahead, there's some construction work - and one of the construction-type mobile suits has broken down, with the pilot trying to no avail to get it back online.
"Mind if I take a look?" Anita offers, taking a step closer.
She's bound to not be the only one to notice this, too.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
For a workaholic like Marian, a nice sunny day like this is no different than any other. She's just on her way back to base after a visit to an Orb official. Seated in an unassuming black car as it goes down the street. Passenger seat, not driver. She has someone to drive her around nowadays. A perk for being a commander.
And sure enough, she noticed a crowd forming by a mobile suit as her car passes by. It wasn't obstructing the traffic by any means, but she still ordered the car to be stopped so she could check it out. She's not on patrol, nor is it really her job to deal with these kind of stuff, but she figured it'd help with her image as the 'Hero of Orb' if folks see her around. It's a calculated move, with her mind still in 'politics mode'.
So she stepped off the vehicle and moved closer to investigate. Her usual dress shirt is untucked, uniform jacket opened, pants, not skirt as she struts down the construction site. Casually waving and smiling to the laborers in hardhats.
Then she sees someone by the broken down mobile suit. A green-haired woman, not in a hardhat or dressed the same as the rest.
"Is something wrong?" She voiced from behind. Viewing the stranger with more than a little bit of suspicion for how out of place she is.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Naturally, when the Hero of Orb shows up, people are going to take notice. As Marian approaches, the crowd parts to let her through - and heads turn, whispers starting to go around.
The pilot has stepped off to the side, looking a bit uncertain to as if he should've okayed this - and quickly stands at attention as Marian speaks up.
"Just some technical problems, ma'am, but if you have any advice..." He starts, trailing off.
Anita, who has since climbed up on top of the foot, head inside one of the mobile suit's leg panels, seems to take no notice at all of them. She frowns, goggles pulled over her eyes, 'hmm'ing to herself as she investigates the machine.
"Yeah, it looks like some of the parts kinda slipped, so the suit's not moving... It's not serious, but it could've been bad if they were holding something at that time." Anita replies, consideringly. "I can get it moving long enough to see a proper mechanic, at least. I think I saw a toolbox nearby? Should be right near you. Could you hand me the, uhh..."
Anita pauses for a moment, considering how best to put it.
"The long thingy-thing? Looks sort of like a wrench if you took it and stretched it out a bit." Anita summarises, making a motion with her hands as if she expects that to be any more informative. "And if you wanna take a look, too, be my guest."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian simply flashed a casual smile at the pilot to try and put them at ease. They're not a soldier, and not expecting them to behave like one. She's just here as a concerned citizen, even if she came investigating with an ulterior motive.
"No, I'm just soldier, this isn't within my purview," she says to the worker, making no mention that she's not a mechanic or engineer and would have absolutely no clue how to fix a mobile suit. "But I can get someone to co-"
Her sentence is cut short as Anita starts speaking.
When the toolbox was mentioned, Marian walked towards it, and looked for the...poorly described tool. She has no clue what she's looking for, so she just grabbed the closest thing to the description she was given. A wrench that looks like it's stretched out a bit.
With the tool in hand, she climbed up the machine and joined Anita, before handing her the tool she thinks is right. She would throw it from the ground, but that's dangerous. And she can't be responsible for a civilian getting hurt unlike her own men.
"It's alright, I'll leave this to the experts," she says, still conveniently leaving out the detail of her having absolutely zero idea on how to fix a mobile suit despite being a pilot.
And then as if a light switch was flicked in her head... "Hey, weren't you at Ruri's party? At the arcade? I thought you looked familiar."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Understood." The pilot replies, and is about to speak up when Marian is interrupted.
Marian climbs up, passing over the tool. Anita accepts it, looks it over - and nods. It seems like she must've got it right the first try, because soon enough, Anita leans in and gets to work.
"Thanks - and, sure." Anita replies. There's the sounds of things moving and shifting inside as small, delicate, but very important parts are worked back into place. She pauses, though, as Marian recognizes her.
"Yup, that's me." She says. She pokes her head out of the panel just long enough to offer her a smile.
"Anita Rosetta. I remember you, too." She replies. "Marian, right? Nice to meet you properly. I'd offer a handshake but, uh, grease. Rain check?"
She keeps how much she might or might not know about Marian outside of the party to herself. Right now, the world isn't that much bigger to her than this mobile suit while she's focusing on getting it up again.
"Anyone who's welcome at one of Ruri's parties is good in my books. What brings you out this way?" Anita asks, burying her head into the panel again.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
The little clicking and clanking from within does pique her curiosity, but Marian doesn't come closer to peek. Instead, she leaned on the side of the armor panel, a respectful distance away from Anita to give her space to work.
She smiled back when Anita recognized her. "Anita... Yes. And likewise. And don't worry. But it may be awhile before it starts raining," she joked pointedly at the nice sunny weather.
"Just passing by. Came that away from the admin building on government business," she replied. There's no secret there.
Then she offered, "once you're done here, how about we grab some lunch? My treat. We didn't get to talk at the party."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Hah! Good one." Anita replies with a grin. She tinkers for a bit longer, listening as she mentions she was passing by. "Guess we're both in the same boat, then. Uh, not in the 'government business' thing, but 'just passing by'. Same thing happened to me."
Lunch, though, is a sorely tempting offer.
"Sounds good to me, I didn't have any plans." Anita replies. Fortunately, it doesn't take much longer. After a couple of minutes... Anita pokes her head back out, closing the panel and securing it shut.
"Alright! That should do you. Try not to work it so hard next time? Looks like you went too long without getting any maintenance done." Anita calls back down to the pilot. He nods back - and then, he work done, Anita lets herself down with a small hop.
She looks up after Marian, to make sure she can make it down just fine.
"Where're you thinking?" Anita asks. She moves to put the tool Marian borrowed back - and at the same time, taking the opportunity to grab a rag and get at least some of the grease off of her hands.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian nodded in acknowledgment when Anita says her own reason for being here. That's a question she had answered.
She watches Anita finish her work, surprised the fix took that little time to be applied. Either the issue isn't actually that terrible, or Anita's just a really good mechanic. That would explain the goggles.
With a hop of her own, she joined Anita on the ground. A smile across her face when she noticed Anita was making sure she can make it. She didn't need the help, but she appreciated the gesture regardless.
"We'll have to go around a couple blocks, but I know a cafe that makes killer sandwiches!" She says, and before leading them to her car, she extend her hand for a shake. If there was still grease on her hands, she certainly didn't mind.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"I'm sold already." Anita replies approvingly. If it's as good as she says it is... she'll definitely have to take notes and come back sometime later with Rena.
With the incident taken care of and Marian starting to leave, the gathered crowd starts to disperse as the mobile suit, after a cautious start, is able to get back on its way. Anita watches it go just to make sure, then follows Marian over to her car.
Marian extends her hand - and Anita accepts it, giving her a good, firm handshake with a warm grin. Briefly belated, but it's as good an introduction as any.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
The car ride went by uneventfully. It only took a few minutes before they reached their destination. They have to walk after getting off the car and into a quieter street that only allowed foot traffic, but the cafe Marian mentioned is a quaint little place. The decor inside isn't anything extravagant, but it's obvious the owner put a lot of thought and love into it.
With a table by the window secured - not that the cafe's busy, Marian motioned the owner for a chicken sandwich and coffee.
"So how long have you been in Orb?" She asked, trying to get to know her. She knew next to nothing about her, save for being Ruri's friend and possibly someone from Magallanica slash Terminal.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita looks the place over with interest. A quaint, quiet little place off the beaten path, with love and care put into it...
Yeah, this is definitely up her alley. She definitely appreciates a place like this more than somewhere big and fancy. Leave it to a local to know all the good places.
Marian gets a chicken sandwich and a coffee, and Anita follows her lead - though a soda, for her.
"My partner and I finally moved in October of last year, though we'd been looking up places for a while." Anita explains. "Orb's always been good to us, so... it's been nice, living here."
Anita looks at Marian curiously.
"How about you? Have you been living here all your life?" Anita asks.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian's ears perks visibly when she heard the words 'partner and I'. She's trying to not let her emotion show, and she manages, to a point. Even with the new skills she picked up recently from dealing with politicians, her poker face is still far from perfect.
"I see. That's nice... You got any kids?" She asks, curious about Anita's life after mentioning her partner.
The smell of fresh ground coffee beans drift their way as the owner prepares her cup of coffee. And Marian looks back at Anita, affirming her curiosity.
"Mhmm. My whole life. And I'm glad you and your partner found your place with us."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Marian perks up and Anita smiles, just a bit. She asks about kids... Fortunately for Anita, she has a lot of experience taking things in stride.
"I think... that's probably not gonna be a question for a while?" Anita replies. "Right now, I think hanging out with Eight and her kids is good enough for me."
Kids are... a lot of work. She's definitely not ready for that, and she's not sure she'll ever be. The scent of Marian's coffee reaches them, and Anita has to admit - that smells like a pretty good cup.
Her whole life... Anita nods.
"I had a feeling." She replies - and nods. "I'm glad, too. A cyborg and a Coordinator, and we're both from space... It'd be hard to find a place that's a big fan of even some of that, but Orb's been really welcoming. It's a relief."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
"Right. I wish I could have kids, but...that's no longer in the cards for me," she says. If her cup of coffee is ready, she'd be sipping on it right now to hide her melancholic expression. But she just have to make do by breathing deeply as if to take in the scent of coffee. It's a substitution, of sorts.
Kids are all she ever wanted. She never had a family. All she ever did as an adult was fighting and work. And now her deepest regret is having never made the time to be romantically involved with someone.
She could adopt, of course. She definitely thought about it. But...it's not the same. It's not the same as leaving a part of yourself behind.
"Yes. Orb doesn't discriminate against anyone. You can be half-Zentradi and you'd still be welcomed here. This is the kind of country Orb is. It's the country I fight for." A smile, then a beat, before she adds, "well, there's still a few bad apples, of course. But don't let them scare you away."
The sound of ice pings against a glass as a few cubes vibrates the glass cup. The owner is now preparing Anita's soda as the coffee's brewing. Seems it won't take long before their drinks are ready.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
No longer in the cards...
"...I'm sorry." Anita apologises. She doesn't know her circumstances... but she won't pry. She can see that melancholic expression, and that's all she needs to know.
She listens as Marian talks about the kind of country Orb is... and she laughs, just a little, at her addition.
"Yeah, that's the feeling I get. I feel comfortable being myself here, and that means a lot." She says. "A home to fight for... That's a good thing to have."
As for battles...
"Same as any place, right? If there weren't any, I might get suspicious, you know? Too good to be true, almost." She says with another laugh and a grin. That's just a part of life - it's just a matter of how you handle it.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian offered a simple smile in response. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault...but thank you," she replied. It was an odd choice of words. Almost as if she faults herself for what happened instead.
And she nodded.
"Makes it all the more worth it to fight for when we can create a place, and a home, for anyone with nowhere to go."
The drinks they ordered soon arrives, and the sandwiches just a moment after. She thanked the owner who prepared the food and drinks, and took a sip, enjoying the aromatic taste of coffee.
"Heh, maybe. I think it would be better if everyone can just learn to accept others, regardless of our differences...but I suppose people just don't accept that easily," she says with a little scoff. A shame in her view that people doesn't accept as easily as she can.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita nods. The way Marian's blaming herself... It's a rough spot to be in. But the words of a stranger can only do so much, so sympathy is all she can offer.
"Yeah. Knowing you've made a place where people can feel safe... it's a good feeling." Anita agrees. The drinks and sandwiches arrive, and Anita offers the owner a nod and her thanks. She takes a sip at her drink, then, as Marian continues.
Anita thinks over her words - and offers a small, slightly sad smile.
"...Yeah. It would be better." She agrees. "It don't come easy. Only thing to do is, just... work at a little at a time, I guess. Until then, we just gotta do what we can."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
It's true. Orb's ideals. Everything it stands for. Its Marian's only reason for being now. She has no grand design on bettering the world. Content to just keeping Orb's ideals alive another day longer until the day she passes. But maybe...just maybe... She could find someone that could continue her fight before she does.
"Mhmm. Here's to a better world," she smiled. It was almost an invitation to cheer with their mismatched drinks, but she thought better of it.
They continued to talk in the confines of the warm, homely cafe. Marian's posture visibly loosens as she merrily enjoyed her lunch. And as promised, she paid for their meals afterward.