2023-06-01: A Friendly Voice

• Cast: Banagher Links, Rikka Takarada
• Where: The Garuda
• Date: U.C. 0097 05 28
• Summary: Treasure Chest is sent to check on one of the newest guests aboard the Garuda. Despite dire circumstances, Banagher reaches out to her with compassion -- and finds Rikka is capable of the same.

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<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.

Treasure Chest has been out on ‘business’ with Aumerei, and has only just recently gotten back. It’s a busy time, though, so it isn’t long after that she finds herself with new orders - assessing the captive. …She’s a combatant more than anything. It’s a wonder why she’s been assigned to this, but she’s not one to complain or question. (She couldn’t even if she wanted to.)

And so, the sound of footsteps trace their way through the cellblock, eventually coming to a stop in front of the one currently occupied by Banagher Links. Treasure Chest stands in front of the bars, and watches him for a moment. She’s wearing the three-piece suit standard for Vist Foundation personnel. Her long hair, which has always been a point of pride, has seen better days… but it’s not as bad as it /could/ be, thanks to someone’s gentle care keeping it from getting too out of control.

Eventually, the silence is broken.

"Banagher." Treasure Chest addresses, and waits. She’ll do it again if she doesn’t get an immediate response - and if that doesn't work, she might need to explore other options.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Alouette's brave spirit has re-awoken some of the determination in the Unicorn Gundam's young pilot. Even though she's been taken away for the moment, he isn't crumpling as he had earlier.

Rage, grief, pain -- they all smolder in his heart, still, unforgotten and clung to. Banagher knows their time will come. For now, he lays on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Every bit of his body aches from the battle a few days ago, and his earlier frantic escape attempts.

The best way to ease things for now is just... staying still. His demands to see Alberto or Martha have gone unanswered, as have his increasingly-desperate requests to see Leina, or Audrey. At this point, Banagher is exhausted, body and soul. And despite his rekindled strength, it feels nice to just... be still.

Footsteps come closer down the hall, but they don't sound like Audrey or Leina's. He doesn't react.

Someone is watching.

...

Someone calls out.

"Rikka?" Banagher sits up, eyes wide, taking her in.

Slowly, nonthreatening, he stands, making his way to her. Banagher holds his hands slightly away from his body, trying to make it clear that he isn't going to attempt anything.

"It's really you." His voice is a murmur, golden eyes stricken. "I -- I'm not surprised, but, I guess I hoped..."

Banagher notices how the healthy sheen of Rikka's hair is lost -- but she doesn't look as bad as Leina does. Not as exhausted, not as thin. Maybe simply because Murasame hasn't had as long to work on her.

"I'm so sorry. It's my fault you're here. I -- I promise, I never... I didn't know they'd go this far." Banagher's shoulders slump. "I promise, I'll get you out of here. You and everyone. I won't let them hurt you anymore."

He rubs at his eyes. They sting, dry and angry. He's shed more tears in the past few days than he ever has before, and it seems he's run out, for the moment.

"H--how are you doing?" Banagher asks, awkwardly. There's genuine care in his voice, he just doesn't know if he has the right to ask. "If there's anything you need, u--um, water or... anything. I'll try and get it."

<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.

He's sitting still. For a moment, she wonders if he might be asleep. ...She has her duty, but she can afford to delay it even a few moments for that. Just as she starts to step away, he answers back.

"It's Treasure Chest." She asserts, a finger tapping against her thigh. ...He hoped it wasn't her. There's not much she can say to that but look away briefly. And he apologises - at that, though, she shakes her head.

"...This wasn't you." She replies. She's here because - because she wants to be, right? Because Aumerei is here. Because they're the only ones who can - who can set things right. "...You're really putting a lot on your shoulders, aren't you. You'll be crushed, at this rate."

He asks how she's doing, and she frowns, just slightly. The care in his voice... she finds herself taken off her guard. It's unexpected. There aren't many friendly voices here.

"...I'm alright, I guess. I'm being provided for, so I'm not sure what you could get me that I'm not already getting." She replies with a shake of her head, and after a moment of hesitation, "...I should be asking /you/ that. You look awful."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"No, you're Rikka!" Banagher insists. "Rikka Takarada! I'll never call you /that/ -- it's not who you are!"

Despite looking physically less rough than Leina, it's clear Rikka's mind is just as badly affected. Banagher tries to hide his despair as Rikka replies with worry for him. She thinks it wasn't him... They must've tortured Rikka into thinking she's a willing participant, just like Leina.

"I, uh--" Banagher sniffles, swiping his arm against his eyes. "Yeah, it does feel like being crushed. But I'm way better off than you and the other girls. They can't do anything too bad to me."

"So please don't worry." He almost manages a smile. "I'm glad you're being provided for at least. I--?" Golden eyes blink in surprise, and again, Banagher looks stricken with grief. "R--Rikka, how do you even have energy to care about me..."

Though he hasn't been given over to Murasame, Banagher hasn't exactly been provided for, either. He was already in a rough way after the battle at Dakar, and then trying to take on all of Vist's security forces at once (and getting tazed a few times for his efforts) only worsened his state.

Banagher has refused to eat or drink without Leina present, desperately leveraging his own wellness to try and give her time to rest. He's very, very thirsty, but he can't ask Rikka for that. Instead...

"I'd like my hoodie back." He says, softly. "But that doesn't matter. Have you seen Leina or Audrey, Rikka? Do you know if they're safe?"

<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.

Banagher insists that she's Rikka. Rikka Takarada. This isn't her. Something stirs, for a moment - but it's suppressed just as quickly as she steps forward, grasping the bars.

"It's /Treasure Chest/." She repeats. Her finger drums against her thigh a bit irritably, now, but it doesn't take long for her mood to level back off - and when it does so does she, stepping away from the cell. It's hard to stay upset with him, somehow.

"...I don't know about that. But I hope so." Treasure Chest replies. ...Even now, in this position, he's insisting she doesn't worry. She frowns, just slightly. ...How /does/ she have that energy...? She doesn't know. Somehow, she feels a feeling of... gratitude, maybe, toward him.

...It's complicated. Too complicated for her to untangle. She's unsuited for complicated things. She decides not to worry about that for now, instead addressing the things she can handle.

"...I'll ask Akane if there's anything she can do about that." She says, of his hoodie. It wouldn't do any good if she asked herself. Someone like her shouldn't be concerning herself with things like that. Instead... Leina and Audrey. She thinks back. "...They're both alive. I don't know any more than that right now."

She pauses for a moment and feels compelled to add, "...Sorry."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Rikka's demand of her identity makes Banagher pale, and he looks away, refusing to validate the code-name. She steps forward threateningly, but he doesn't move, staring away at the far cell wall.

Quickly enough, she steps back. Banagher looks back at her, fresh sorrow on his face. Her emotions rose and fell so quickly -- is Rikka even allowed to feel anger authentically?

"You can be angry with me if it'd help." He offers. "Even if you don't think it's my fault, it's okay. You deserve to get mad if you want to. I'm just sitting here waiting anyway, so I can take it."

Faintly, Banagher can feel Rikka's feelings, hopelessly snarled. Instinctively, he knows she can't deal with the complexity of everything right now. With a little sigh, he resolves to do what he can to support her in the moment. What else is there?

"Thanks so much." He extends a hand from the bars, not entirely sure what he's doing, but wanting to offer comfort. Maybe Banagher can pat her shoulder, or squeeze her hand -- something small. "For asking Akane, and for letting me know Audrey and Leina are alive. That really means a lot to me."

"I've been scared." He admits. "For everyone, but especially my girls. But… Are /you/ safe? Are they hurting you? Are you able to rest enough?"

Banagher knows Akane is doing whatever she can for Rikka, but is it enough?

<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.

She insists on Treasure Chest, and he looks away. She steps forward... and he doesn't move. A small frown crosses her face, a hint of shame, but she doesn't reply for a moment. In the end, she looks away from him, too.

"...It wouldn't." She decides, eventually. "...And you shouldn't be alright with people getting mad at you for things that aren't your fault, either."

...Saying that, she feels like she owes someone an apology, but it's hard to think that far back right now.

He extends a hand through the bars and she steps back a moment, getting a little tense. There's a lot of things that could go wrong... and what's more, if she's spotted, it probably wouldn't go well for either of them. But, after casting a tentative look around and taking note of her surroundings... She takes a step forward, adjusting herself just slightly, and accepts his hand - though only for a brief moment.

"...No problem." She eventually settles on - and then nods. "...Wish I could tell you more."

Scared, huh... She supposes that's to be expected. And he's still asking if /she's/ safe. She frowns, just slightly - and her response comes rather quickly.

"I'm alright. Like I said, I'm being provided for." She answers. ...Maybe that says a lot in and of itself.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"Alright." Banagher accepts, not entirely surprised by this decision. Even if Rikka is allowed to feel things authentically, it's not in her nature to be comforted by anger. "I guess I'm a little desperate to try and make things better in some way."

Banagher squeezes Rikka's hand in the brief moment they have together, then pulls his arm back into his cell. He saw the way she glanced around first, clearly wary. There's no point in offering comfort in a way that would get her in trouble.

Golden eyes burn with unshed tears, and he rubs them uselessly.

"You're so strong." His voice trembles. "You're amazing, and I'm glad you've got Akane. S--she'll take good care of you."

He can't say too much without exposing Akane's duplicity, but Banagher still wants to encourage Rikka to trust in her girlfriend as much as he can.

"You can do this. You're -- more than what Murasame wants you to be, and nobody can take that away from you. I'm going to get us all home, I promise. They won't be able to hurt you ever again."

<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.

Desperate to make things better in some way... Treasure Chest thinks on that for a moment.

"...I guess I can kind of understand that." She admits. Some part of her remembers the desire, the desperation, to try and make things better.

He gives her hand a brief squeeze, and accepts it when she pulls it away. It's good that he seems to understand why she's wary, at least... And he says she's strong, that she's amazing.

...She's not sure that she really believes that. It's hard to feel that way about herself. ...It's hard to feel /any/ way about herself.

"...She shouldn't have to. I should be protecting her, too." Treasure Chest murmurs. She can do this, he says - she's more than what Murasame wants her to be. Her mind wrestles with that thought, and it takes her a moment to eventually conclude with...

"...It'd be nice if that were true." She decides, and then nods. "...Okay. Just don't forget to take care of yourself, too."