2025-06-18: Holding Pattern
- Cast: Miorine Rembran, Suletta Mercury
- Where: Asticassia
- Date: U.C. 00100 06 18
- Summary: Time has passed since Suletta's explosive arrival at Asticassia, and things have settled into routine. As the Holder, Suletta is now and then challenged to a duel by an overconfident student - and unfortunately, this time it might make her late to meet with Miorine...
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
The dueling field today is a desert zone, full of sand dunes and rough rock formations. On two ends of the arena, mobile suits deploy. One is a Jeturk Heavy Machinery mech - a personalized Dilanza, with a fancy paint job and a big rocket launcher. One, meanwhile, is in a classic white-and-blue dominated scheme. The Aerial, an advanced mobile suit designed by Shin Sei - and by it's pilot's mother.
"Victory is never determined by mobile suit performance alone."
Suletta has forgotten her opponent's name. It's very embarrassing, especially since Shaddiq, who is officiating the match, had just said it a minute ago, but she hadn't heard it. Her thoughts are elsewhere as she rushed through the duelist's vow. Why had she gotten into this mess? Why couldn't the duel wait for later? All she'd done was ask the opposing pilot to apologize to Lilique for bullying her! Bullying was wrong, so she didn't regret that part, but only when she'd accepted his angry challenge had she realized it would run right up against a very important event.
"Nor by the skill of the pilot, alone." She doesn't remember what he'd asked for if he wins. She would apologize profusely for that later, he isn't running away she should respect that. She wonders how much Miss Miorine would make her apologize.
"The result itself is the only truth."
"We need this one to be fast, okay Aerial?" Suletta says. She has five minutes or so, maybe she can make it.
<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.
Miorine snips away a leaf with a brown spot that had started to grow at its base. It's five minutes before they're supposed to meet, and Suletta hasn't shown up yet. On its own, that isn't really anything concerning, but she doesn't like sudden interruptions, and so she's gotten herself used to expecting Suletta early. Better than jumping when there's an unexpected knock on the greenhouse door. If anyone should know how her groom acts after this long, it's her, after all.
Maybe she's finally learned what a meeting time actually means. That possibility annoys her. Who gave her permission to start acting differently? And after Miorine had finally gotten used to her showing up half an hour early?
The pruning shears snip a little too loudly as she cuts off another dead leaf.
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
The Aerial launches from it's starting point, skimming across the ground and near the rocks with it's boosters at max power at a speed that would be terrifying to pilots less in tune with their machine. But Suletta has been with Aerial forever - she knows exactly when she needs to start a turn, when she needs to slow down or boost a different direction. Yet this is taking too long. Much too long. "Let's try to find them faster, okay?" She says to Aerial, and tilts the mech upwards to land on an outcropping.
Now where are they? Suletta scans the desert with her eyes and with Aerial's systems. She was usually at the greenhouse by now, but maybe Miss Miorine would be happy if she was exactly on time? Or maybe she'd be furious because of some Orbital Ring thing where you're supposed to always be there five minutes early. It was like an after-school club, she'd seen those in her shows, and people usually just kind of trickled in, so it was okay actually, right? Oh that's a rocket.
"Just two of you should be good!" Suletta sends out two of the Bits, which intercept the missile and blast it out of the sky - the Aerial jumping through the smoke and towards the enemy. She just needs it's antenna, right? This shouldn't be long at all! It had only been two minutes so far. Good time? Maybe? Hopefully?
<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.
If Suletta had gotten delayed, she would have texted, right? Not that she's worried, but it's out of character. Miorine places her shears on the ground and slips off her gardening gloves, pulling out her digital notebook.
That can't be right. Suletta wasn't supposed to have a duel today.
The feed loads, and she watches as the Aerial deftly handles an elaborately painted Dilanza. Of course it does. Her groom wouldn't lose to some no name Jeturk crony. Her chest swells with a faint puff of pride, but that pride is swiftly replaced by irritation as she clenches the notebook tightly. Suletta hadn't run this by her at all. She swipes the duel feed away and calls Suletta.
When Suletta picks up, Miorine's face appears on her display, filling the majority of the screen, clearly annoyed as she pushes her hair out of her face. "Suletta! What's this about a duel you didn't tell me about? Don't tell me you forget you promised to be at the greenhouse today?"
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
Bursting through the fireball, Suletta finds the rather unfortunate Dilanza at least smart enough to have not stayed in place after shooting it's shot. Once the Aerial is a bit lower to the ground, she lands, forming the Aerial's bits into their rifle formation and firing off a few shots. The arm bearing the launcher is blown clean off the Dilanza, and Suletta boosts forwards as a familiar face appears on her cockpit's screen and she flushes a deep red with shame.
"M-Miss Miorine! I-I didn't forget, p-promise!" She is using one hand to control Aerial's movement - the mobile suit can compensate for that easily enough, when there is such a straight line to follow. The other hand is occupied waving wildly in the air, as if to bat the accusation away. "I-I was helping Lilique, and a boy was bullying her so I asked him to stop, and he got mad and wouldn't apologize, so- I'll be right there!" This is absolutely her fault she should have made it clear it had to be tomorrow when he demanded a challenge, but she hadn't thought of that so now she's going to be late... The opposing pilot shouts something, but Suletta isn't really listening right now as she draws her beam saber for a final blow.
<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.
Suletta hastily rambles through an explanation, even as the notebook vibrates to notify her of the Holder's victory. So Suletta instigated the duel... and she thought she would be able to wrap it up before their meeting. A part of her is glad to see Suletta has that much confidence in her ability to win - these past few months have been uneventful, and she's starting to think she might be able to graduate from Asticassia without another major incident. When she puts it that way, her annoyance at being kept waiting (for their meeting which was scheduled for one minute from now) fades slightly, but not completely.
Miorine gets even closer to the screen, making sure Suletta can see how displeased she is at being kept waiting. "Good job winning, Suletta. Don't keep me waiting longer. Come to the greenhouse as so you're done, got it?" She hangs up without another word and sighs. She should be happy to have the greenhouse to herself, right...? No, of course it's unreasonable for her Holder to get into a duel without telling her, and to keep her waiting after she had finally gotten used to expecting Suletta early.
She picks a tomato and sets it aside for when Suletta arrives. She's probably hungry if she had a duel right before they were supposed to meet, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
Suletta hardly waits for the official result before she's on her way back to the ready room. "Make sure you apologize, okay? Okay!" She calls over the speakers as she goes. She had managed to finish the duel in time! ...While completely forgetting to account for the travel time between the hangar where she would disembark Aerial and the greenhouse. Oh no.
She comes to a stop and hurriedly opening up the cockpit, but as she steps out she remembers to pause and turn back. "Thank you for your help today, Aerial! I really appreciate it!" she says, bowing a little in thanks, before going on her way. Maybe she can borrow one of those scooters...?
To her credit, she is only a little late. Only a little bit, but more than enough that she is shaking a little bit when she knocks to announce her presence. "M-Miss Miorine, I'm here..." she says awkwardly.
<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.
Almost the same second Suletta's knuckles first make contact with the greenhouse door, it slides open, and Miorine stands on the other side with her hands planted on her hips. She glares at the taller girl for a moment, long enough to feel satisfied that Suletta understands what she's done, before sighing and stepping aside. "Well, come on in then," Miorine says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world that Suletta should already be inside.
"I figured you'd be hungry, so here," she says, handing the redhead a tomato as she leads the way inside. "I've been waiting half an hour so we could get started on repotting these younger plants, you know. I thought you'd forgotten." Miorine has a pretty good feeling she knows exactly what face Suletta is making right now, so she doesn't even need to turn around to look. Instead, she gestures to a bag leaning against a far wall of the room, then goes to retrieve a pair of garden shovels and an empty pot. "Grab that bag of soil and bring it here." It's better to move on, or Suletta will probably think she's mad at her, or something stupid like that.
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
Suletta freezes like a deer caught in the headlights as the door slides open on her. She only snaps out of it when provided the tomato, nearly fumbling it in her surprise. "T-T-Thank you, Miss Miorine..." Suletta mumbles. "O-Oh, right, okay!" She hurriedly munches on the tomato, getting bits stuck around her mouth but is in too much of a rush to wipe. Miss Miorine must be mad at her, right? She isn't even looking... but Suletta has to help out like she promised and then maybe Miorine will feel better. She hefts the bag of soil without notable difficulty, hauling it to where Miorine had asked.
<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.
Miorine is used to the girl's freakish strength by now, but even so she appreciates how much quicker it makes the physical work of gardening. The time goes by quickly, as she gives instructions to her groom while handling the more delicate operations on her own - it's easier than explaining.
As she finishes delicately placing one of the plants into a new, larger pot, covering it up and tamping the soil down, she takes the time to finally glance over at the other girl. She stares for a moment and realizes Suletta tomato seeds stuck to her face. Seeing her focused, straightforward gaze, Miorine briefly imagines Suletta as tanuki with food on its face, entirely unaware of that fact.
Miorine snorts, then bursts out into laughter as the absurdity of the mental image sets in, collapsing on the floor of the greenhouse and clutching her stomach. Through laughs, she manages to strain out, "Suletta, your face... the tomato..." before another fit of giggling takes her.
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
"Eh? M-Miss Miorine, are you okay-" Suletta rushes over to check on Miorine as the girl falls over. Did something happen, had she strained something- oh she's laughing hysterically. Suletta raises a hand to her mouth and takes a moment patting about to find the bit of tomato that got left behind. Then her face turns a roughly similar shade. "O-Oh." she mumbles, though she can't help but smile and giggle a little herself seeing Miorine in such a good mood now. Embarrassing, but the gaffe was worth seeing her smile. As the giggle fit calms down, she reaches a hand down to help Miorine up.
<Pose Tracker> Miorine Rembran has posed.
Miorine takes Suletta's hand, wiping a tear from her face as she lets the stronger girl help her to her feet. "Haa... ha... you really are absentminded about the strangest things, you know?" She straightens up, fixing her hair and getting her uniform back in order as she catches her breath, though her stomach still hurts a bit from laughing so hard. She gazes fondly at the plants, which should have some more room to grow now, and gives Suletta a grateful nod. "This would have taken a lot longer without your help," she says. "But tell me if you're going to be late next time, okay?"
She squats and slides one of the tomato plants into its old position. She can see Suletta's dopey grin at the edge of her vision, and seeing the girl look weirdly happy about having had tomato on her face, Miorine can't help but feel a little embarrassed for her. Yeah, that's it. That's why she can't quite make eye contact without her face getting hot. Her voice is a little lower as she mutters, "I expected you to be early like usual, so I came here early too."
<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.
"E-Eh? Weird?" Suletta isn't that weird, surely. She's been trying so hard to fit in at school! Was this just the new transfer student effect in action...? But more important things are at hand than that thought. "I-I'll make sure, I'm sorry I was late this time." Suletta nods fervently multiple times. Let Miorine know if I'll be late! But also try not to be late! It's bad to keep Miorine waiting. It's good that she isn't mad about it though. Suletta doesn't know what she'd do if she ever made Miorine REALLY mad at her, instead of Miorine-type mad at her. "Next time I'll be the one waiting for you!"