View source for 2023-01-01: Braves and a Birthday

*'''Log: 2023-01-01: Braves and a Birthday'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Alouette Pommier]], [[Character :: GaoGaiGo Team]]
*'''Where: Tsutsujidai''' 
*'''OOC - IC Date: 2023-01-01 (0096-12-26 IC)'''
*'''Summary''': ''Alouette spends her birthday with Ikumi. Catching her anxiety, Ikumi gives some much needed advice and the two share a different kind of understanding.''

 <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
<poem>
It is December 26 0096 - a very special date for Alouette as she celebrates her sixteenth birthday. Due to how busy everyone was with the desperate situation in Tsutsujidai, she was prepared to mostly let it go in passing...

So, Alouette makes her way to the Branch Order Room, to at least maybe get some Galeoria Pliers work done. On first glance, the room almost seems empty, until her eyes catch a flash of purple hair.

She slowly, carefully, approaches the solitary young man. They've both been around of course, but their work hasn't exactly lent itself to casual chat. "''Bonjour'', Kaid- Ikumi. Oh, what are you working on?"

She ''should'' just leave it at work, she thinks. There is absolutely no point bringing it up - he's probably busy anyways.. they can just celebrate it another time.

Ultimately, Alouette decides to be selfish. "Today's my birthday, you know." She states. "I guess there's not much we can do in Tsutsujidai.. maybe we could go out for tea?"

Her hands are shaking a little, at the mere idea of imposing herself on someone. "I mean! If you want to. You're probably here for a reason, right?" She smiles awkwardly.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
<poem>
Ikumi has been working hard, even when everyone else is busy. Mamoru's in a bit of a slump after the separation from Hana, so his clone-brother has been doing logistics. Specifically, coordination of the Wadatsumi's crew schedule for when Guy is busy.

He's pretty tired, right now, though. Working at the terminal, he turns to Alouettte when she arrives. "Ah, same as usual. I think that's everyone for the week, schedule-wise."

When she mentions it's her birthday, though, he pauses. "Ah, happy birthday, Alouette. Tea? I'd love to - I haven't had a single chance to rest, so a selfish excuse..."

He's learned something, it seems.

Ikumi climbs out of his chair, stretching once, before walking over to her side. "Where to? I don't know the city as well as you do, but I trust your judgment."

He also wonders where Mamoru is. If Mamoru is aware it's her birthday, they should probably hide for a bit from him. He's gonna bring out all the stops EVEN IF he is sad about Hana, and that means probably roping the entire crew into it...
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 <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
<poem>
She can definitely ''tell'' Ikumi looks tired - it's why she doesn't feel so bad about whisking him off for tea after some thought!

"I admit, I haven't either, between the Galeoria Pliers and Rescue Team work." She tries to relax the shaking by putting her hands together. "I suppose you were the one who taught me how important it is to take a break. Let's both take our own advice, shall we?" She manages a more relaxed smile.

Where to...? It's not like there are still many tea shops still up and running, but there is one place Alouette knows has the greatest tea in Tsutsujidai. "Let's head to Aya. That's Rikka's mom's shop so we'll definitely be welcomed in."

Since she knows the city much better, she takes the lead. It's not really a far walk to Aya by her directions. Alouette briefly considers taking Ikumi hand during the walk, but it never really felt right in the moment. She ''does'' share an umbrella as they walk through the rain, which some might consider to be a romantic gesture, but by all means it's just more efficient to only carry one umbrella.

After a few minutes, the homely junk shop-cafe hybrid is in their sights, the interior somehow still retaining the scent of fresh coffee despite everything. "The shop has mostly been repurposed for Rescue Team purposes," Alouette explains. "But Mrs. Takarada is still kind enough to leave drinks and pastries out for us."

She hesitates to actually take a seat. "Um.. do you want me to pour you a drink?" Alouette may be the birthday girl, but she still feels the need to take everything into her hands, and one look at her face suggests she still isn't fully ''relaxed''.

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 <Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
<poem>
Ikumi nods, and so, they walk to Aya, smiling lighttly. He doesn't quite notice the umbrella as anything odd - but he IS a socially deficit alien soldier, so. He did notice her hands shaking, though - cold, maybe?

"Excellently quaint. Thank you." He's about to take a seat, but Alouette's behavior is...off. Aren't they friends?

"It's your birthday, isn't it? You shouldn't host. Is something wrong, Alouette? You're anxious."

But, Ikumi is smart enough to also know it's not fair to needle her on her birthday. "Please, take a seat. I'll pour something for you, if it wouldn't be a hassle."

If she doesn't object, he begins, hoping she'll maybe realize and possibly discuss her apparent anxiety as he does so.
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 <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
<poem>
"The atmosphere here is some of the nicest in Tsutsujidai," Alouette nods. "A lot of people might think it's strange, but I really enjoy the junk-shop aspect." She looks off out the window momentarily. "It was my first choice for selecting parts for Guardienne Aviaire."

Her gaze returns to Ikumi as he catches her anxiety. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" She breathes out. "That's something I like about you, but.."

She decides she has no choice but to accept his kindness, and takes a seat at a nearby table. "Okay. An apple tea, please?" It's not hard to make such a simple request, but somehow, her heart is still racing.

"There is something..." she admits, when she realizes she can't hide her anxiety from someone so perceptive as Ikumi.. and perhaps it's a good thing that perceptiveness in both of them causes them to be honest with each other. "It's really difficult.. to have to be stuck here in Tsutsujidai again, I mean." It once again feels selfish, as she knows she doesn't have it harder than anyone else here.

"I love it here at Aya of course, but I was hoping I could spend my birthday closer to home. That maybe you would be able to meet my mother." Her mother... she feels terribly guilty for promising to visit way more often, before once again disappearing.

She slows down for a moment, to clarify one thing. "It's not that I've given up. I know we'll make it home and I believe in the scientists working on the Galeoria Pliers. I might even believe in myself a little." A hint of confidence at that last statement, despite another source of anxiety being the inadequacy of matching up to the work of other Great Minds in recent history.

She looks back down at the floor. "I think... what I'm scared of is spiraling again just by being here." It's always been that way for Alouette - she knows she's better at uplifting others than herself.

"I thought by spending time with you, I'd feel better. But I suppose you can tell I'm still just as anxious." She smiles ruefully. Truthfully, she didn't even realize how much her hands were shaking. "But um, thanks.. for pointing it out." She breathes out again, longer, as some of her stress subsides.
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 <Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
<poem>
As he brews the tea, Ikumi listens. He does not interrupt - he's good at being quiet and listening. He makes himself the same, for ease. Once she's done, though...it's time for him.

"I could say something about you being a Brave, and that you'll be strong. It's a tact Mamoru loves to take, and it has merit sometimes. But I won't." Ikumi finally admits, quietly. "Because it's okay to be scared. It's okay to be anxious."

As the tea brews, he prepares to set it out and take a seat. "Before we ever met, I believed I needed to separate myself from all my connections. That who I am - what I am, my role, my purpose, as a soldier of the Red Planet - meant I needed to accept it quietly. Leave my friends behind to protect them. I even told Mamoru the same. And yet, obviously I changed my mind. I'm still here. I'm a much different man than I was a child."

"I'm telling you this because...I can't tell you that you won't spiral. I can't tell you that you won't have a hard time, your anxiety won't keep flaring up, even if I know we'll make it home, because that'd be an unfair lie. People have the right to be scared. It's okay."

Ikumi's tea is ready after a few silent moments. He stirs and takes a sip. "What I can tell you is that you don't have to fight it alone. No one here is too busy to help each other. Otherwise we'd all go mad. If you're scared, any of us can help you. If you're spiraling, any of us can steady you. To me? &#42;That&#42; is the true power of a Brave."

"We're never alone."
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 <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
<poem>
The fresh scent of brewing apple tea, coupled with Ikumi's words, helps the tension in her further relax, if not just for the moment.

He takes an entirely unique approach - one she hadn't quite heard before. But at the same time, it just makes sense that he's the one who would come up with it. "Being a Brave isn't about being the strongest or smartest... right." She nods slowly. It's something she always tells others, but admittedly she tends to set herself to a higher standard.

Once the tea is finished and placed in front of her, she steadies her hands and carefully holds it, staring into tea as it ripples for a few long moments, before taking a sip. She patiently listens as Ikumi explains his lonely mindset as a child, how he pushed others, even Mamoru away all because of his role. "I think that's the first time you told me about your past in much detail." She realizes she never actually knew ''much'' about Ikumi beforehand, and perhaps that added to his allure... but this type of trust is... nice in a different way. "We've both changed a lot, then... that makes us birds of a feather in a sense, doesn't it?" A spark of joy in her eyes.

Alouette had been so insistent on doing all she could to avoid a spiral, by taking on any responsibility she could, that she neglected to think about how even if it did happen, it would be okay. That there are people around that she loves, who can be her wings when she loses her flight.

"That's probably exactly what I needed to hear." She takes a sip of her tea. "It changes how I see you just a little, but not in a bad way." She tries to word it as delicately as she can. "I suppose I always saw you as this.. strong, untouchable person. Not that you aren't strong, but you're strong in a unique, kind way." She'd only begun to realize this after she pushed Ikumi away during the events of Bujack, only to return with kindness.

"If it's not about being the strongest or smartest, being Brave is about knowing when to rely on others, right?"

'We're never alone'. That statement rings in Alouette's ears several times. "In that case, I'll trust you, and I hope you'll trust me too. Because we're friends." Her anxiety hasn't completely vanished, and her hands haven't completely stopped shaking. But they've slowed.
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 <Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
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"I don't talk about it much." Ikumi admits about his past. "But it still shaped me. How I see the world."

"Yes, I suppose so." He thinks about birds of a feather, nodding. "I can see why you'd think that - untouchable - but I'm an Earthling, just like any of us. And that's why we're going home. We have to see our families, experience the world, and fly. We can't stay here forever."

Ikumi's eyes move in that genuine smile way, as he nods. "Right. Do you think Guy and Mamoru would be as strong as they are without each other? Me and Mamoru? Hana and- wait, all of these are Mamoru...you understand, though." He makes himself chuckle, as he sips his tea.

"Let's trust, then, friend. Happy birthday, and to many more."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
<poem>
"I can imagine," Alouette sips at her tea, and ponders how Ikumi's past shaped him. "I wouldn't be the same without my past memories. Maybe I wouldn't be having this problem either.. but I'd never let go of them anyways."

"The only reason I thought that of you was because I never took the chance to know you," Alouette replies, sharply. And then she laughs as he makes three comparisons to Mamoru in a row. "You care a lot about him, don't you." It's hard for her to imagine a time where they were ever separated, emotionally.

"Yes! To many more, ''mon ami''." Her expression softens. "When this is over, I'd still like to show you my hometown. It's quiet, so you'd probably like it." It doesn't need to be a date.
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[[Category:Phase 1, Turn 2]]
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