2024-08-09: Nowhere Else To Go
- Log: 2024-08-09
- Cast: Stella Loussier, Flay Allster
- Where: Asticassia
- OOC - IC Date: 09 August, 0099
- Summary: Flay is called in to remind a certain troubled student of Asticassia that her future is at stake. She finds there's a lot more to her situation than meets the eye.
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
"Thank you for coming, Miss Allster."
The school counsellor stands from his desk, walking around to shake Flay's hand. He then quickly dives into the issue at hand, "I asked you to come today in the hopes you might be able to provide some help for one of the student cases I'm overseeing. She's a first year student in the piloting course. Sixteen years old. We don't have a lot of information about her background but it seems her parents were caught in the crossfire of war and she's been an orphan ever since. She's here as part of a scouting program for the corporation that is sponsoring her."
"The issue is, she's on the verge of failing. Her focus appears extremely scattered. Her teachers say she spends most of the time in class in her own world. She doesn't appear to spend any time with any other students except for the two who are sponsored by the same corporation. And she appears to be suffering from a case of illeism, likely brought on by post traumatic stress syndrome."
"Now, this may sound like she's a lost cause and not fit for the school... But take a look at this." The counsellor hands over a tablet, which shows a recent test presumably submitted by the student in question. Sure enough, the grade on the test is barely enough to be considered a pass.
But Flay will quickly realize what has drawn the counsellor's attention: The test has only been answered up to about half way through. With every question to that point answered correctly. The rest have all been left blank. Expecting Flay to see this quickly, the counsellor continues, "I believe she has the potential to be an excellent student. She simply appears to be struggling to maintain focus. She hasn't been particularly forthcoming to me. But I was hoping if you spoke to her, given your accomplishments, she may be able to see a potential future for herself that might encourage her."
Finally, the counsellor finishes, "She's currently waiting in the adjoining meeting room. Her name is Stella. Stella Loussier." He then remembers something apparently important, "Oh. And you may want to avoid any mention of death or dying. She appears to react badly to such words. Likely a result of past traumas."
Sure enough, in the attach room, Stella is currently waiting. Wearing the typical Asticassia uniform, she's seated at a table, head propped up on her elbow. She's simply staring out the window at the fake blue sky of the colony.
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
As a recent graduate of Asticassia - aside from participating in the CANON duels, Flay occasionally takes on the role of a graduate assistant for its current student body, though that doesn't tend to take her directly into the classrooms. It's something she's been fine enough with doing - after all, it's good to keep an eye on your future competition, isn't it?
But the request she got this time, almost seems to baffle Flay at first - that they'd trust her of all people with a task like this. It's not like she isn't good at motivating people if she angles it right, but... feels like something they should entrust to a kinder person than her. Then again, she supposes that's not exactly in high stock in a school like this.
Giving it some consideration, she decides to go anyways, dressing in something more approachable than a military uniform - a slightly loose pink blouse and black skirt. The handshake she returns to the school counsellor is surprisingly firm. "Doesn't sound like she's all that much younger than me... and a similar background, too. Honestly, I don't know if this will work, but sure, I'll do what I can." Her smile is somewhat strained but it's there.
Can't focus at all, can't make any friends or connections, almost fails every test, or stops halfway through... in the past, Flay would probably just dismiss that as someone who doesn't care enough to try. It's not like the impulse to do so is entirely gone. But knowing that grief is probably the underlying cause, there's at least some sympathy there. "A potential future for herself... don't worry, I'll make her understand just how important that is."
Flay turns to approach the room Stella's waiting in, but when the counsellor gives her one last piece of info, she pauses. "Why would anyone want to talk about that?" She does make the mental note, anyway, and keeps walking.
Stella would hear the sound of a bag being dropped on the table, as Flay moves a chair to take a seat across from her. "Hey. You must be Stella, right?" She asks. She's not familiar - after all, the existence of Phantom Pain is above even her access level. "Flay Allster. I'm... the girl your counsellor sent to talk to you." She reaches a hand out, with an uneven smile.
Stella looks kind of absent, so Flay just kind of tries to look her in the eye and ask the obvious question first. "Why did you decide to come to Asticassia? People outside the big companies don't really come here for nothing... so do you have some kind of dream you want to make true?" If she's going to make her understand her future's at stake, might as well try to figure out what it could look like first.
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
As Flay enters the room, Stella's eyes briefly glance in her direction. There's a firm look to them as they study her for a moment, before returning to their previous task of staring out the window.
As Flay sits down, introduces herself and offers a hand... Stella says nothing. Nor does she move to shake the hand. It comes off as rather dismissive.
The silence is probably a bit awkward, but Flay continues anyway, trying to engage Stella. It's hard to see whether Stella is listening or not, given she continues to stare out the window. And for a short while after the question of her reasons for coming, the silence continues. Until finally Stella says something, "Stella was asked to come here. Stella has no where else to go."
Stella turns her head a little towards Flay, eyes glancing back at her. She starts, "Flay Allster..." There's a pause as if she's considering the name. Then continues, "Stella wasn't told about you..." She eyes what she can see of Flay, then concludes, "Not a student... Not a teacher... Who are you?"
I see no "emit" here.
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
The selfish side of Flay decides that she hates being asked to help someone who won't even so much as look at her, let alone actually talk to her. That impatience doesn't quite show up on her expression, but she drums her fingers on the table with some monotony, until she finally gets Stella's attention. She wonders if it's something outside that's distracting her... but it doesn't particularly look like anything out of the ordinary from where she's sitting.
She tilts her head when Stella explains, in the third person, that she was asked, and that she had nowhere else to go. If it's less about her decision, that might explain why she isn't all that motivated to succeed. "You're not here just because you want to be? Mmm. Then.. who asked you to come here?" Couldn't be the parents, must be some other link to that minor company. Something about it bothers her.
Flay gives the girl a bit of a look, when Stella says she wasn't 'told' about her. Not having heard of her is one thing she's had to get used to, but the wording strikes her as really strange.
"Well.. I'm with the Gaia Sabers," She explains, and stops there, because she's not sure how Stella would feel about military. "But not that long ago, I worked really hard to graduate from this school too." She adds. "Because I didn't have anywhere else to go either."
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
It's probably nothing specific outside that has drawn Stella's attention. There's little to see from this particular building. And her eyes looked unfocused as she stared, so she was probably just lost in thought. Though given her initial glance at Flay when she entered, it's clear that Stella was aware of her and so just chose to ignore her.
At least until the conversation started to actually go somewhere. Still mostly turned away, but head tilted in Flay's direction, Stella says, "They found Stella alone. They tested Stella. They said she had potential as a pilot. They trained her. They sent her here to school. To watch and learn." Not exactly an answer on who specifically they are.
But as Flay says she's with the Gaia Sabers, this does seem to get a stronger reaction out of Stella. She seems more alert and curious, possibly out of recognition of the name. She actually turns in her seat to face Flay, repeating, "You're with the Gaia Sabers?" There's a pause before Stella asks, "Do you know... Neo?"
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
The possibility that Stella just chose not to acknowledge her was there, but obviously Flay was hoping for a different explanation. Who likes being ignored?
Stella's answer to her question is... not what she was expecting at all, though, even if it scans with what little information she was given about her background. "Then you really did have nowhere else to go..." Flay's gaze turns shaky, not quite able to look at Stella. The school should probably know about this, right?
There's some silence again, Flay realizing that there's definitely more to this than just an unmotivated student. "Do you want to be here?" She finally asks. "Do you want to be a pilot? Or are you just going to wait for someone to protect you?" She follows up, pointedly.
The mention of the Gaia Sabers also seems to spark some kind of interest... or recognition from Stella. Flay is able to look Stella in the eye for the first time. She even mentions a name, though it's not a familiar one. "Never heard of them. Friend of yours or something?" Flay answers, after some thought. The Gaia Sabers are a large faction, after all, she can't know everyone. A pause. "What kind of person are they?"
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
Stella tilts her head to the side, eyes looking away as she is asked if she wants to be here. She seems to be considering it, as if she'd never been asked that question before. It takes her a little while to answer, though it's not exactly a firm one, "Stella... Doesn't wnat to leave here. It's a lot... Safer than than other places Stella has been."
Again Stella seems to ponder the questions, this time looking down at the table as she thinks, "Being a pilot..." She shakes her head emphatically, "Stella doesn't want to-!" At first it might seem like those two sentence fragments are connected, but then Stella looks firmly at Flay, rephrasing, "Stella will fight to protect herself. To survive." Stella then blinks in remembrance of something, looking at Flay and asking, "You graduated here... Are you a pilot too?"
When Flay indicates she doesn't know anyone named Neo, Stella looks disappointed. But she perks up again as Flay asks about him, Stella nodding quickly in response, "Neo saved Stella! Took her away from horrible place. Neo looks after Stella. He visits. Gives Stella gifts. Teaches her how to be a pilot. Pats her on the head." Stella is actually smiling by the end. It might be hard to keep track of the history of this girl, as told in so many incomplete sentences. But it seems like this man is a pilot in the Gaia Sabers, who has helped Stella in the past. Or that's the way she sees it.
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
Flay notes how it seems to be a while before Stella comes to an answer whether she really wants to be here or not. "Safer... I guess it would be, even if the people here aren't really the nicest." She nods. "So... if you REALLY don't want to leave, it's all the more reason to work hard on your assignments. Right?" It's a fitting, if not kind of cruel, time to pepper in some encouragement.
Flay continues to find it difficult to follow Stella's kind of unusual speech, as it sounds like she doesn't want to pilot at first. She's perceptive enough to fill in the word she might've actually had in mind, though. "Then fight as hard as you can. And survive." Flay tells her, just as firmly.
She tilts her head, as Stella asks a question of her own. "That's right. I'm a pilot, too. Mostly because... I couldn't just leave it up to someone else anymore." She answers, with the slightest hint of a smile. "I'm not going to say it was an easy decision, but I want to protect the things I care about." She just also considers her own safety something she cares about.
The way Stella describes this 'Neo' person sounds an awful lot like... family. Flay looks away for a few moments, even as Stella starts to perk up. "I see... so he's something like your caretaker?" Considering Stella's past, it almost sounds too good to be true, and not everything adds up. Still... "Honestly... it sounds like you're pretty lucky to have him." She says, despite her suspicions.
Considering this 'Neo' person is with the Gaia Sabers, and Stella is here at Asticassia, something else comes to Flay's mind. "Are you going to join the Gaia Sabers too, once you graduate?" She asks, though it's a few years into the future. She figures Stella might not have even thought about it.
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
Stella looks actually confused as Flay tries to encourage her, responding, "Stella does well enough to stay, but not too much to stand out. Why would she need to do better?" It's true that she's just managing to scrape by. The not standing out part might be curious, but if she has the potential that the school counsellor seems to think she has, then if she put forth her full effort she very well could be forced into the spotlight of many people. And who knows how someone like Stella would handle that.
"You're a pilot too..." The tone in her voice almost sounds doubtful as Stella looks closely at Flay. She then looks away for a moment, murmuring somewhat quietly, "Stella didn't think so at first." That could easily be taken as an insult.
Stella blinks at the description that Flay gives to Neo, "Caretaker?" She seems to think on it for a moment, nodding in agreement, "Stella thinks so? Though Neo is often busy with work so sometimes goes away for long periods." Stella looks a little dejected at this thought. Though it's not surprising given his job. Though given the fact that he has the leeway to visit Stella at all suggests he is at least somewhat high up in the chain of command.
Stella goes quiet though as Flay asks her if she plans to join the Gaia Sabers. She is already part of it, after all. Though she's not supposed to tell anyone else that. Not even other Gaia Sabers. So as a result she appears at a loss for words. Though one could easily assume it's because she hasn't considered it. Hardly straying from the obvious parts of her personality.
Before Stella can really answer either way though the door to the room quickly opens and a young man with short green hair, wearing an Asticassia uniform, enters. From outside, the voice of the school's counsellor can be heard objecting, "Hey! You can't just barge into a session!"
The young man ignores him though as he quickly spots Stella, calling out to her, "Stella." He then gives Flay a cautious look, before asking back to Stella, "Are you okay?"
Stella looks relieved to see him, greeting him back, "Sting!" She then nods in response, "Stella is fine."
Regardless, the young man called Sting continues to give Flay a supicious look as he continues, "Come on, Stella. This session is over, it's time to go home."
Stella seems happy to oblige, rising from her seat and skipping around the corner of the table to head out of the room. Sting remains behind for a few moments, waiting for Stella to leave, before quietly warning Flay, "It'd be in your best interests to stay away from her." He then abruptly spins around and leaves too.
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"If you weren't standing out, then I probably wouldn't be talking to you," Flay points out the obvious part. "Pretty sure they think it's suspicious that you're only putting in halfway effort." Suspicious is more her feeling on it, 'concerned' might be a little more apt. "I think this place is probably safer for you, too. So you better do what you need to." She concludes, thinking back to some of the Gaia Sabers operations she's been on.
Stella sounds doubtful she's a pilot, and admits she didn't think so at first. It would be very to take that as an insult, and Flay gives her a glare that implies she does. But being honest about it... "I guess is kind of surprising. It's not what I was... supposed to be." She shakes her head. "But it was my decision anyway."
Neo is a Gaia Saber, so he probably goes on missions all the time, leaving Stella behind. Maybe that arrangement isn't as perfect as it sounded. "I guess that makes sense... he must have one of those autonomous licenses if he's all over the place like that." Flay says, though it's with a slight shrug.
Whether to join the Gaia Sabers, it seemed like Stella didn't have an answer for her. Even though she encouraged her to keep fighting, Flay wasn't sure if she wanted Stella to join them anyway. But that line of thought is interrupted by some other student barging in. Flay glares at him, since he's so rudely interrupting her, but...
He's here for Stella - probably one of other two here under the same company as her, and Flay watches as her entire mood shifts upon seeing him. "If it's already over, then I really better be on my way, too." She sighs, not sure if this was just a big waste of time for them both. "Goodbye Stella." Flay waves the girl off, noticing that Sting is still here.
She takes his warning seriously, out of self-preservation if anything. "Fine. I'll stay out of her way long as it keeps us both safe." She agrees, realizing what she's got herself into. This was SUCH a bad idea, she thinks, as she turns to leave herself. What is she even supposed to tell the counsellor, anyways? She just has to hope Stella's trust in that Neo guy isn't misplaced.