2022-06-30: Family (Past)

• Log: 2022-06-30: Family (Past)
• Cast: Emilia Eschonbach, Banagher Links
• Where: Republic of Zeon Colonial Musem, Zum City, Side 3
• OOC - IC Date: 18 June, 0096
• Summary: In what was once the palace of the Zabi family, two youths try to learn about the family that once occupied it. They find a mutual connection in the exhibits. Leads in to 2022-06-21: Friends (Present).

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<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Zum City, named for the late Zeon Zum Deikun, is nowadays mostly a cultural heritage site. Last night, it was host to the final show of Sheryl Nome's earthsphere tour.

        In the museum that now makes up the old Zabi Palace, tour groups are run as the guide talks about the history of the palace and the Republic of Zeon, the significance of the rooms, what the palace was and is now. Emilia Eschonbach was on the last tour, a chance to walk around the place that in another life would have been her home. A place where she might have been a princess, instead of...

        It was confronting. And she wished she'd asked someone else to come with her. But she couldn't ask that. They might have realized why. It's one thing to be half spacenoid, it's a whole other to be part of the dynasty that almost conquered the Earth Sphere. And Britannia. Would they still see her the same? Kallen might. Milly... Milly's kind, but she's still nobility... And Ranka... Ranka hates fighting. Would she be okay with someone whose family warred, even for independence?

        Now, she stands in a room in the museum, walking through the historical exhibits. Reading the plaques. Feeling her spirits drop. Was this who the Zabis were? Were they really... so close to what her Grandfather said?

        She follows the path into a little side room- a historical exhibit with three or four seats. Shadows, sound amd light. She hadn't been paying attention to the entrance, a little stunned. It's her own fault. But she won't be prepared for it. A portrait lights up and Emilia's eyes go wide. A funeral portrait of a man with purple hair. A man she'd only seen in her locket.

        Her father, Garma Zabi.

        For any newtypes in the area, distress radiates off Emilia, along with desperate longing. She can't leave now. She has to see it all.

        A shadow with a distinctive silhouette walks in front of the silhouette. A simulated crowd chants Zabi- an exhibit to show what it was to be there. How easily one can get swept up. The crowd falls silent.

        "We have lost a hero! But does this mean our defeat? No! It is a new beginning!"

        Emilia's heart is a mess. She'd never heard the speech. Her Grandfather forbade it. And now she feels as if she's in the moment.

        "The Principality of Zeon is fighting for the freedom of all of humanity... and God will not turn his back on us! My younger brother, the Garma Zabi that you all loved, is dead! Why!?"

        It was a question she often wondered. But surely even Emilia won't be alone in here, even in this museum, on this day....

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

On the very same late tour walked a young man. Banagher tried to keep to himself, hands held in his hoodie pockets, not saying anything to anyone. If he was fighting alongside Zeon, he should try to understand what they actually stood for. And... perhaps to learn a little bit more about the girl who started him on this entire journey.

Banagher looks carefully at each and every display, reading plaques, listening to audio guides. Images of grand crowds and shining mobile suits were stunning. It was the sort of spectacle he'd never seen before, and it was in such contrast to his previous image of Zeon. In his experience, the Zeon remnants had always been rattag terrorists, with none of this glamour or splendor. The Garencieres was certainly comfortable enough, but there was no excess to be found there.

"I can't believe it used to be like this..." He murmurs to himself, looking up at a display on the wall. The rest of the tour has long left him behind, and Banagher decides to catch up with them, until --

A complex swirl of emotions strikes him. Covering his right eye, Banagher winces. There's something familiar about it, something that reminded him of her. Could it be?

He races through the museum, searching for the source of those feelings. Slowly but surely, Banagher approaches the little side room. "Audrey--!" He calls, then comes to a sudden stop. It wasn't her. His cheeks turn red with embarrassment, and he puts his hands in his pockets once again. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else." Banagher looks up at the display, then back down at Emilia. That feeling of distress had been so palpable... "Sorry, but are you alright?"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        "Garma died in order to wake you out of your wishful thinking."

        For that? That's why she doesn't have a father? That's why she's-

        Banagher's sudden entrance, calling for Audrey? That pulls her out of her head. She stares at him, her eyes wide. It takes her a few seconds to process, Gihren's speech continuing.

        "We must never forget this anger and sorrow! Garma has shown this through his own death!"

        Her late uncle's words hurt. This was the first time she had heard his voice. Full of hate for Earth... but this wasn't about Garma. This was about Zeon. It was all so... so... Britannian. She can't stand it anymore. And this boy is asking if she's alright and-

        "N-n-n-n-n-n-n-no." She manages, eventually, standing up and walking through the other side of the exhibit, as chants of 'Sieg Zeon!' roar in the background.

        Stepping out, there is a large exhibit about the power of propaganda, an interactive exhibit where you can record how Gihren's speech affected you, warnings about how it can be used.

        Emmy doesn't have time to read any of that. She needs air. She needs to breathe. She needs Ranka. No. She can't. Why does she want to throw up? Why is it all like this?

        Was Grandfather really right? Were they really all like this? Even... No. Mother wouldn't have loved a man like that. She clings to her locket for emotional support, as she leans against a wall. She's not expecting Banagher to actually follow, so should he do so, he gets a surprised look. In the light, her long, fluffy hair is obviously the same colour as the man in the paintings.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher looks up at the speech, listening for a moment. "Garma..? That was the -- oh. Uh--" He cuts himself off as Emilia leaves. Giving the still-running speech one last look, Banagher follows her.

Rummaging in his pockets for a moment, he looks at what he has. A pen, two candybars (one half eaten), a little vial of dried flower petals, and an exhibit guide he had crammed in there earlier. Maybe... "Hey, you don't look too good. Do you want some candy?" He offers the uneaten candy bar. "I've heard that it's important to keep your blood sugar up. Maybe it'll help?" He smiles, shyly. "It's pretty good. Not chocolate, but that nougat stuff... Do you need a chair?"

"Hey, you know..." Banagher says, trying to think of a topic to get the upset girl's mind off... whatever was upsetting her. "Your hair kinda looks like that guy's back there. Garma, I think." He tries another smile. "It's pretty, like you're a princess." Girls liked compliments, right? And princesses?

Banagher gives Emilia's locket a curious look, but decides not to pry. He gets his own candy bar out instead, finishing off the remaining half.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        She blinks a little at Banagher, as he offers her the candby bar. She wordlessly nods, and hesitantly reaches out to take it. She's clearly a little... flinchy. Still, she takes it tentatively, and after a second confirming, opens it and breaks off a bit to pop into her mouth. It's something else to focus on, the taste of nougat. This also gives Banagher a chance to talk.

        Saying her hair looks like Garma's, though... Emilia blushes and it's a happy blush. It's the first time anyone has ever... compared her to him. Even if he doesn't seem to get why. "Th-thank y-you."

        The princess comment elicits something else. Another messy knot in her heart. "I-I-I'm n-not. A. P-p-princess." (She's also not his cutie girlfriend, but we covered this.) She shakes her head. She just needed... some support.

        "D-d-d-did you c-come to l-l-learn about. The Zabi. Family? O-or just Z-Zeon?" Maybe having a stranger to walk through the exhibits with will make it easier. Someone kind who she'll probably never see again. Banagher fits the bill.

        It seems the keys to Emilia's trust are simple ones- guilelessness and kindness. The young man seems to have much in spades.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher munches the rest of his candybar. "It's pretty good, right? I had some chocolate chip cookies the other day and wow, I couldn't believe how good it was. It's amazing how things taste extra good when you haven't had them in a while."

After he finishes his candy, he crunches the wrapper and stuffs it back into his hoodie pocket. "Oh, well. You could be, with hair like that. It's so long, it must take you ages to brush it." Banagher's own hair looks as though it hasn't seen a brush today -- fluffy and a bit wild. Did he just take a helmet off, perhaps? "I... well. I came to learn about them both." He leans against the wall too, careful to give Emilia enough space. "I met someone who... is connected to the royal family. I wanted to learn more about them, from a different perspective. And I met some others who are connected to Zeon. None of them were what I expected, I guess. They're... good. Warm and kind, like anyone. I didn't think they'd be monsters or anything, but..." Banagher looks for words for a moment. "I guess I thought they'd be different from me, somehow. Looking at all this stuff in here, it almost seems like they would be. This grand palace, all these pictures..." Banagher looks around. "Even that speech. It's so much to take in. I can't imagine the people I know fitting in this world."

"What about you, uh -- can I ask your name? Mine's Banagher."

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emmy nods, quietly. She breaks off another piece of candy bar, and eats it. Nougat is interesting. She carefully folds the wrapper and pauses, unsure if she should be giving back the rest now she's had her fill. Sharing food is still something she's getting used to. "Um, d-did you...?"

        Emmy nods again. "Y-yeah. B-but... I p-promised M-mom. A-and I l-l-like it." And then her eyes go wide as he says about meeting someone connected to the royal family. "R-r-really? I d-d-didn't. Think. A-a-anyone was l-l-left."

        Banagher talking so much about people being different causes a pause. "M-M-Maybe. S-s-s-some of th-them are. Just. L-like the p-p-p-people where. I g-g-grew up." She pauses. "I wanted. To kn-know m-more t-too. M-m-m-my d-dad was. F-from Side 3." She's sharing a lot all of a sudden. But a random spacenoid... who knows someone from the royal family.

        "O-o-oh, I'm E-Emilia." She doesn't mention her last name. She's not entirely here legally. She pauses. "Um. Ban--anagher... D-d-d-d-do you... want to k-keep going?" She points ahead, to the rest of the exhibits. There's two more sections: The Fall of a Dynasty, and The Last of the Zabi Family. Emmy looks like she wants to keep going badly. She's just. Nervous.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"Nah, it's yours now. Have as much as you want." Banagher looks a little confused at the question. "Or throw it away if you're done. Either way is fine."

"Well, it's..." He hesitates. Can he trust this random girl? It wasn't like Audrey was a secret, exactly, but... "Well, there's the... youngest girl, right? The princess? She's still out there." He sort of mumbles this, unsure if it was safe to say. "So... that's someone, right?"

Banagher smiles, putting a hand forward. "It's nice to meet you, Emilia. I'm sorry about your dad. Were you two close?" Glancing ahead, Banagher nods. "Yeah, we may as well finish the tour. It'd be silly to go home without seeing the end. It's actually the part I wanted to see the most." Emilia's stutter brings another smile to his face, though he doesn't comment on it. "Are you okay to keep going? That speech back there really shook you up. There might be more stuff like that ahead. Do you... need to hold onto my arm, or something?"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Well, if it hers, she slips it into a pocket. Little treats like this are rare, even with her new job. After all, even with Milly helping, Earth to Side 3 isn't cheap. And then Banagher tells her something that makes her eyes widen and her voice go soft and impossibly quiet. "R-r-r-r-really?" She asks, like... like someone has been exposed to a sort of hope that she didn't think was real. A hope that she might not be alone. That she might still have family.

        Emmy is hesitant to touch, but does shake Banagher's hand. Her grip is soft and delicate, ready to slip away if harshly grabbed. She shakes her head, sadly. "...N-no. He. D-d-died before. I was b-b-b-b-born." She pauses again. "...In th-th-the O-. O-. One y-year w-war." There's some anger mixed in with that sorrow, that she can't let go of. Just like Gihren said.

        She pauses. "...Y-Yeah. I-I-I'll b-b-be. O-okay." She's not quite ready to have that much contact with a stranger who told her a secret. Her legs are steady now. "L-L-Let's go..."

        The Fall of a Dynasty section is a fairly factual detail of the last few months of the war, where chaos and infighting led to end of the Principality of Zeon, and the founding of the Republic. The Last of the Zabi Family details two major figures: Glemy Toto, an illegitimate child of Gihren Zabi and a newtype woman, born through IVF, who led a rebellion against Haman Karn's Neo Zeon. Emilia lingers there for a while. Even an illegitimate Zabi could start a movement. And then after him...

        Mineva Lao Zabi. The last heir of the Zabi Family, used as a figurehead by Haman Karn, but missing since the end of the First Neo Zeon War. The princess.

        The photos are seven to eight years old, but Emilia hovers over them, touching the picture. "...I-I-Is this... h-her?" She asks, trepidation in her voice. Is this who Banagher met? She has to know. She has to.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

In return, Banagher shakes Emilia's hand with the most most delicate touch he can manage. "I'm sorry. I've read a lot about the One Year War."

The two walk quietly through the display. Banagher pays the same amount of attention to each plaque and display, but he does keep an eye on Emilia, as though worried a strong breeze may knock her over. "This stuff gets so complicated. I wonder how much we don't know." He murmurs, walking through the Fall of a Dynasty Section.

When they come to the next section, it's as though the young man is transfixed. Letting out a soft breath, Banagher walks up to the picture of Mineva, also reaching out to touch it. His fingertips gently brush against her cheek, his expression terribly, achingly soft. "Yeah," He breathes. "Though she's older now. But she looks just the same. Her hair's just a bit longer, and she doesn't... smile like this. Not that I've seen, anyway." His other hand comes up to touch the picture as well, as though he could manifest the girl by the sheer force of his wish to see her. "She's strong, and beautiful, and so brave. From the moment I first saw her, I knew..."

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        "I... h-haven't r-r-read as m-much as. I'd l-like." She pauses. "...I w-w-w-wasn't a-allowed." The depictions here are extremely different to the Britannians. What she learnt in school was a brief lie, but there's so much she hadn't learned. "...Y-yeah." Admittedly, while Emmy is reading, she cares less about the particulars so much as the people.

        The way Banagher talks about Mineva is sweet... and sad. "She... d-d-doesn't smile m-much either..." Emmy's voice is near a whisper. Ad now... Emilia needs to take a risk. She wraps her hand around her locket, the e-carbon cord around her neck keeping it safe. "Uh, um, B-B--anagher. I. I-I-I-I'd r-really. L--ike to. To. M-meet h-her. If, if, if you. S-see her. A-again."

        Banagher is the first link she's had to someone. A blood relative. Her family she never met. People she never got to meet. She wouldn't run away with them now... She has a place at last. But she'd like to meet her. She'd like to know she has someone to go to, if anything happens. Someone who would accept Emilia Zabi, not Emilia Eschonbach. Who she doesn't have to her real name from.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"You weren't allowed?" Banagher frowns. "Well, you can read all you want now, right? Nobody can stop you."

Finally tearing his eyes away from the pictures of Mineva, Banagher looks closely at Emilia. Why did she want to see Audrey? This girl was nervous and shy, that much was certainly true. There was no way to fake the emotions he was feeling echo from her. He turns away from the pictures, somewhat placing himself in between them and Emilia.

"Why do you want to see Aud -- I mean, the princess? Did you... know her?" His stance is still casual, not wishing to scare Emilia, but the suspicion is clear in his voice. "I won't let anything happen to her. I -- just tell me why, and maybe I can do something."

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emmy pauses, then shakes her head. Someone could stop her, if he wanted. Maybe not easily, with Milly playing interference, but this trip was a massive risk. "...Th-that's... not t-true. I c-c-can't stay. M-much l-longer." She pauses.

        Banagher gets defensive and Emmy pauses. "I. I d-don't. Know. H-h-h-h-h-h-her. B-b-b-b-b-but." Her mouth stops. She's terrified now. Terrified to speak. Terrified of what might happen. Terrified that this could bite her. Terrified of... of...

        ...of her being able to meet Mineva. The last member of her family. Terrified of getting what she wants.

        Wordlessly, she lifts the locket. She watches to see if anyone else is looking, but the museum isn't crowded today. Her eyes glance for security cameras. There's no blindspots, but she can hide what she's showing. She shifts slightly to make sure the locket isn't captured. She presses the release.

        There are two pictures. On the right, Garma Zabi with a blonde woman with green eyes like Emilia's. On the left, a little girl that HAS to be Emilia, maybe three years old. With all this evidence, in this room? It's indisputable. But in this room, with the harsh read on Zabi history, it's also obvious why she wouldn't just say it. Why her voice would be so quiet.

        And right now, in this moment, when she forces words out, Emilia sounds scared, and vulnerable and lonely. She closes her eyes, not wanting to see Banagher's reaction, cringing away from him slightly. "P-p-p-please." She begs. "D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-don't... t-t-t-t-t-t." She shakes her head. "T-t-t-t-t-tell..." Tell who? It's hard to say. Probably anyone, with the amount of fear she has right now.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

@emit

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

Carefully, Banagher steps forward to look into Emilia's locket. He spends quite a while looking, recognizing the man from the earlier display, and then finally looking up to Emilia herself. "You're but this means"

In a heartbeat, his entire demeanor changes. A bright smile crosses his face, and he softly grabs both of Emilia's hands in his own. "I understand. This is great! This means.. you're cousins, right? And if you've never met We have to change that!" He practically radiates excitement and hope. "Don't worry about anything. I'll take care of it, okay? And I'll take care of you uh, if you want me to, of course. Anything that you need, I'll get you, okay? I'll keep you safe from now on!"

Realizing he may be coming on a little strong, Banagher releases Emilia's hands, stepping back just a bit. "Sorry. This is just so exciting, so wonderful. I'm so glad you exist that we bumped into each other."

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia is, frankly, overwhelmed as hell by this response. She's still scared, she's still shaky. Indeed, when Banagher grabs her hands she's trembling, and pulls away slightly. Not violently, just reflecively. Banagher's forwardness, offering to take care of her. There's anger there, amongst everything else. Why?

        "...I-I-I-I j-j-just..." It's hard to speak. "W-w-want t-t-to m-m-meet her. S-s-s-s-s-safely." She's so quiet. "That. w-w-w-would be... be en-enough." There's so much she can't explain now. Here. Not easily. And she's running out of time.

        'I'm so glad you exist.'

        Those words stop Emilia dead in her thoughts. She doesn't know what to say to that. Wordlessly, again, she closes the locket. She reaches for the phone, and holds it up with the number exchange screen up. Something else is on the screen, a reminder for when she has to meet the others for her flight. She'll have to leave soon to make it, and she wants to be able to say goodbye to Ranka, rather than mime it.

        But quietly, a tear in her eye, Emmy finally looks back up at Banagher. "Th-th-th-th-thank y-you." She manages. Just.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Feeling the hint of anger in Emilia's response, Banagher blinks. Where did that come from? He must seriously be doing something wrong, whenever he tries to express himself to a girl they end up upset. "Sorry," He murmurs, putting his hands back in his hoodie pockets.

"I'll find Aud--Mineva. I'll find her and tell her about you. Then we'll find a way to all meet, okay? " He notes down the number carefully.

Emilia is now about to cry. Banagher looks distressed as well, but tries to reassure her with a smile. "Of course. I'm here for you now, okay? And I'm... strong. If you ever call, I'll be there. Can I walk you out?"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia blinks at the sorry. Why... did he apologize? Still, when he says he'll take care of it, Emmy has no other option but to believe in Banagher. He's the only link she has. Her only chance. And he seems honest. He's not a liar. He's just.... open. About everything. Britannia would devour him whole.

        Emmy pauses, at the offer but... nods. She may be physically fine, but emotionally, the foundations of her world have shifted, ever so slightly. She just can't afford to hope too much.