2023-02-13: White Egrets

• Log: White Egrets
• Cast: May Morseland, Rikka Takarada
• Where: Tsutsujidai - Kamesan Park
• OOC - IC Date: 0097 02 13
• Summary: Two friends re-acquaint themselves, and May Morseland wonders whether it is better to have and have lost, than never had at all.

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<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

It was a nice, pleasant day in Kamesan Park. While the atmosphere could still hardly be called 'breezy' given Tsutsujidai's current circumstances, the green open area was still a distinctly calmer, quieter place than most.

Hence why May Morseland could be found there, idly sitting on the grass and regarding the sight that awaited any who turned their gaze skyward. It was not clear how intently she was staring at the strange geometries looming above, or what thoughts they inspired...especially given she was somewhat occupying herself at the same time, a thin-bodied accoustic guitar in her hands and under her fingers. She wasn't playing especially loudly (she'd never been strictly penalized for such before, but no reason to push it), but the resonant tones of the well-polished strings still shimmered through the calm air.

It was not a simple, languid piece either. Indeed, notes swirled in an intricate dance across the fretboard, the colours vibrant yet umbral in a way one might not necessarily expect from the eternally cheerful, plucky foreign third-year. Such was actually fairly common for her tastes; she liked the darker, more intense stuff as an outlet. There was just something kinda fun and catharic, ya know?

Besides, getting literally hands-on with a craft like this, with an instrument in hand and a melody in mind, was just generally something she preferred to help order herself. There was something comforting about directing one's will through a project. And though she was as social and collaborative about it as a consummate performer could be, she also had to admit.

It was nice being the director of her own arrangement, instead of the note(s) of someone else's sometimes.

Though admittedly she couldn't necessarily put words onto why she felt the need to do so here; not that she didn't love her some busking, but either she was diligently hurrying from place to place for schooling or downtime was spent with friends or at her apartment. Regardless, she felt like bringing her guitar on the walk with her and so she did.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka has been busy of late. Even with peace gradually returning to Tsutsujidai, she still has some work to do as the Tsutsujidai Rescue Team's founder. ...Along with other, more personal matters that mean she hasn't always been present in person.

Today, though, she's on her own. All of her tasks for today have been tended to, so... she feels like spending some time at the park. It's been a while since she had time to simply sit down and enjoy the atmosphere there.

...And, today, it seems like she isn't the only one who felt the same way. As Rikka makes her way through the park, she finds herself greeted by the melodic plucking of guitar strings. As someone for whom music is an important part of her life, Rikka can appreciate the way emotions come through on the strings. For a moment, she finds herself stopped in her tracks - and then, Rikka adjusts her course toward the guitarist.

She approaches May - but she doesn't interrupt until the song has reached its natural conclusion.

"...Wow. That was really good." Rikka comments, impressed.

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

Normally, May would've easily still noticed the other person coming from a decent way aways. It wasn't even like she *liked* seeing what occupied the skies for the past couple months, per se. But she had her reasons for this particular dalliance to be something she devoted much more focus inwards, until it resolves. It isn't a *total* surprise to be greeted after, but it still catches her slightly off-guard after being so musically intimate. In the good way, however, as her trademark broad smile lights up.

"Thanks! I really-"

Her potential trailing into a tangent about the piece is interrupted when she turns to regard who is actually praising her. She must've *really* been into it to not immediately notice the voice of someone this familiar, she thinks, blinking a bit before continuing to smile warmly.

"Oh! Hey! Rikka! It's been a bit!" The guitarist's face lights up as she chirps towards Rikka. Having become acquaintances through Namiko and Hass, they were definitely at least slightly close, even through the school year difference and Rikka being somewhat elsewhere a great deal recently. May hoped so at least. Rikka was cool and a dependable sort.

"How's it been hanging? I mean," May casually tilts her chin upwards and then across, in a gesture quietly alluding to recent events. "Obviously life's been coming at people fast in general recently, I guess!" She chuckles warmly.

While hardly lacking in warmth and amicability, as usual, one who knows May might note that...she's still comfortably sitting down with her instrument. Normally her boundless positive energy would compell her to bound upwards in a welcoming gesture. And yet.

"Apart from all that though...hope things have been busy in the good way! You seem like you've been upto a lot as usual!"

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka watches as May smiles before expresses surprising. She must've really been caught up in her piece.

"Hey, May. Yeah, things have been busy..." Rikka replies with a wave. She nods, at May's gesture, and considers her question - and, the way she's acting. Not unfriendly, but... maybe a bit more subdued than she's used to. In that case...

"Mind if I join you?" Rikka asks. And then, if allowed, takes a second to smooth out her skirt before taking a seat on the grass next to May.

"...But, yeah. Things have been good. ...Real good, actually." Rikka says. She can't help but smile just a little as she says it, thinking on everything that's been happening in her life lately. "Yeah, I've had a lot on my plate, but it isn't all bad... Now that we've got communications and travel back up, it's taken a bit of pressure off of me and the Rescue Team."

With that said, she looks over to May.

"...How've you been doing?" She asks.

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

"Oh yeah, of course!" She cheerfully pats the space next to her before Rikka occupies it. "Preeetty sure this place was public and all, last I checked." She chuckles to herself.

"Awesome!" May nods, eyes bright and staring right at Rikka, as usual being focusedly attentive to the words of one she considers friend. "Yeah I can tell." She gives a little smile as she picks up on the obvious warmth in Rikka's little smile to herself just now. Whatever it was about, she was really happy for her!

At the mention of communication of travel...a strange complexity crosses May's expression for an instant or two. It was brief, and small, but any shift in someone like her was distinct while it was there. "Oh yeah, I can imagine. Y'all've really stepped up to the plate!" Whatever it was has no bearing on her voice at least.

"As for me, nothing much unusual I guess, aha." She shrugs, shifting the fabric of her white t-shirt. "Which, is kinda remarkable in itself right now, but I guess I'm just doing my best to keep my head down and keep on keeping on. School year's been going great, all things considered, and it's almost over! Wanna stick the landing, y'know?" Even apart from her vibrant social presence, she was a consummate contributor and straight-A student across the board.

"...Actually, speaking of school," She appears a tad thoughtful for a second, as if realizing something. "How's...Akane." First name despite much real familiarity was a charactaristic sign of her breezy and casually affectionate attitude. "Weird tangent I guess but...even apart from being pals with some of the girls who really noticed, I have my own experience with a friend suddenly not being around at school, back home," She casually shares, not yet aware of the irony. "So I guess it was on my mind that...all this messed up stuff really hit all of a sudden not long after..."

For once in a relative rarity, May tactfully(?) leaves a point to implication despite her obvious, remarkably genuine concern. And if this subject is a deflection of topic, it doesn't seem...deliberate at least.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka laughs along with May as she takes her seat. She smirks a little, too, as she comments on her smile.

"Geez, is it that obvious...?" She murmurs for a moment. When she sees the look on May's face, though, she pauses for a moment. It's very brief... but, Rikka's always been the empathetic sort, and good at catching small changes like that.

"We've done our best, at least - though we didn't do it alone." Rikka comments. May continues saying that... nothing unusual's been up. Rikka considers her for a moment. 'Nothing unusual'...

"Well... that's a good thing. Life still goes on, even with everything that's been happening. I feel like you of all people will do pretty great, though." Rikka replies, and pauses for a moment before adding, "...Still, if something comes up or you just need to talk to someone or anything, feel free to call me, alright?"

She figures she can at least extend that hand for her.

And then... May asks about Akane, and shares a little bit of her history. A friend suddenly not being around...

"Oh, you have...?" Rikka asks, but nods and then thinks for a moment on how much she should say.

"Akane is... she's doing okay right now, don't worry. She had some big shake-ups in her life." Rikka explains. "So she's going to be away from Tsutsujidai for a while, though she said she'd try to attend through video call whenever she can."

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

"Maybe, I guess." May smiles dryly, as she humbly shrugs. "I'm just a dork who cares a lot. Life, people, friends. You. It's all rad!" She beams adorably for a bit, clearly savouring this and every other moment.

"Being here to do anything you can is always something to appreciate. Everything else is a very grateful bonus!"

She nods at Rikka's response to her own situation. "Sure does. I like to think I do my best not to...miss a beat." She giggles a bit. "Sorry, musician joke. But for real, thanks bud." And at the offer of support, as May takes in the obvious empathy and supportive concern in Rikka's tone, May very subtly purses her lips. "Of course..."

She appears to be thinking a bit about something, before the topic shifts to her own interjection. "Oh, phew, I'm glad to hear!" May grins, then taps her chin as she reconsiders something. "I...guess I should've figured she was okay at least, because you obviously care about her, so it would've been pretty clear if something bad was up with her...still, just thought I should ask anyway."

May nods, smiling, content to have got that out of the way...then she sets her guitar down near her carry case and lies back on the grass a bit, arms back and hands at the back of her head as she once more ambiguously regards the heavens.

"Hey Rikka...about that offer just now...," May isn't...solemn per se, but there's a distinct thoughtfulness to her brightness visible now. "It's nothing *super* serious, but...I suppose I have something I'd feel better shooting the breeze about. At least, I'm guessing you're down to hear me out about something less fun than all the usual talking-around-the-Kaiju-in-the-room we all have been doing recently."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka didn't quite expect that answer, and she's taken aback a bit by May's sincerity. She's stunned for a moment - and then smiles with a small laugh. What can she really say to that...?

"Well... I'm glad." Rikka replies, then listens as May continues. She laughs a little at her joke, and then nods.

"No problem." She nods back. She notes her response to her offer, but doesn't press her on it.

As for Akane... Rikka briefly finds herself wondering if everyone realised that before she did, before quickly reassuring herself that May probably didn't mean it that way. ...She can't be that transparent, can she...?

"It's alright. A lot happened, so worrying is understandable... I think she'd be glad to know people were thinking about her, at least." Rikka replies. That's something she can say for sure now, and that's a good feeling. She watches, then, at May sets her guitar aside and lays down in the grass.

"Yeah?" Rikka replies as she starts. She lets her finish, and then nods. The 'Kaiju in the room', huh... she wonders what she means about that. Still, she's not going to say no after offering like that, and after what she's seen. "...Yeah. Just, anything that might be on your mind."

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

May can't help but chuckle a bit at how obviously floored and appreciative Rikka is about her comments. She didn't even really mean that much by it! From her perspective, that stuff was just True And She Should Say It. Or at least, it was how she liked to do things. Especially now, in light of everything, things deserved appreciating.

"Yeah, and I guess uh...it's a senpai's duty to care about a kouhai or...something like that!" She starts this aside with a joking faux-gravitas that she swiftly corpses about as she finishes her statement. It was a very clearly ironic gag, considering how May had openly never really put much weight on such social expectations or roles. Not even for a God. (Though obviously she isn't privy to that particular context.)

"Thanks, Rikka." May slowly exhales a breath. Had she been holding it in a bit more than usual? "Well, for one, not about the kaiju exactly...I think." She taps her chin with one hand while pulling out her phone with the other.

"Obviously once those things started showing up, things got...weird for people." May blithely understates.

There was a young friend she made in another past. A first year, small and cute, would've met through club stuff. She probably would've came round for May's birthday, when no one else was able to.

She still can't remember her name. And May will take that absence with her forever.

"I was...sorta doing my best not to let it bother me. Especially since the vibes were obviously kinda down in general, for obvious reasons. And...I think I'll be okay about it, but," May's casual stream of thought is contemplative, but still cheery. "You mentioned communication and stuff is back...not long after new years, I uh, realized something."

She lifts her phone up, pulling open the contacts list. She scrolls past her favourites, and stops in the relatively short list outside those.

"I realized...I should probably think about my folks, back home, in New Zealand. Obviously I couldn't really call them or anything until recently but..." She quietly licks her lips a bit, her next words sitting with a strange weight in her mouth. Even she isn't sure what it will mean to say them.

"I can't. The contact's gone."

May lets this information sit for a bit before continuing with a somewhat bemused shrug about the situation. "Obviously, that smacks of kaiju bullshit, given everything before but...even apart from whether these things even *would* get someone got all the way across the Pacific, I think I would've realized by now if I had a weird fake-orphan phase, right? So...yeah. Just kinda...figuring out what the hell's up with that I guess!"

She gives a soft, slightly wan chuckle. Despite lacking where to place them for a picture, the pieces were very clear to her.

Enough for some part of her to realize that the whole might be lesser than the sum.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka laughs along with May as she begins to laugh about her statement. It's true, she'd always seemed open like that.

Rikka nods to May, though, when she exhales. She waits, giving her time to start speaking.

"...Yeah, I'd say." Rikka agrees with a nod, of kaiju making things weird. The timescale might be different between them, but... there are some things they can both see now that the fog has listed for everyone.

...But, things get worse. May explains the situation... and Rikka's eyes go wide as something clicks in her mind.

"...Oh, god, May..." Rikka whispers. She'd never really thought about it before, because everyone she knew in Tsutsujidai was from or moved there. ...But what happened to those who weren't?

"I..." Rikka starts. ...What does she even say? But she can't just leave her like this, when the situation affects her so deeply. She exhales, and her tone becomes serious but sympathetic. "...May. I'm sorry. There's something I need to tell you. It's going to be... hard to hear, and you might not believe me."

She hesitates before continuing.

"Tsutsujidai, and everyone who lives here who didn't show up in response to one disaster or another... You, me, Namiko, Hass, everyone..." Rikka starts. "...It only came into existence around two years ago. We have memories of things before that, but before that point..."

She shakes her head.

"...I'm sorry. If they're not here in the city, then... I don't know what the situation is like for them." She concludes. She waits, to hear her response - and prepares to be on hand to help however she can.

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

Even before Rikka delivers the truth, the way she's reacting to May's relatively idle musings already, in a way, say everything she needed to hear.

Well, what she wanted to hear. The rest...

"Oh..." May blinks, clearly concerned at the sudden shift in tone of the moment between them. "It's okay, Rikka. I'm not the kinda gal who'll just brush off something said to me this seriously. It's okay. Don't fret too much over my end, I'm a big girl." There's a gentleness in May's tone even while her energy is undaunted, the who's what of this situation not stopping her own decision of caring. Somehow, even now, the concern about this was *for Rikka*. "For someone like you, I'd do my best to handle anything."

A quiet conviction that would indeed be sorely tested. May just...quietly stares and blinks at Rikka a bit, politely, dutifully pondering every word. And there's definitely a lot to ponder, she thinks, in her unspoken second drastic understatement.

"I..." She closes her mouth, then stares up at the sky a bit. "Yeah, I can definitely see why this is weird for you to talk about...and I'm not gonna lie, if this'd been a few months earlier, I'd have a real hard time really getting it...but...now." She raises her hands, peering at the structures above through her deft fingers. Her expression is quietly inscrutable. "But after...all this. All the everyone suddenly coming in interested in this cozy lil place, all the kaiju...all the...whatever the fuck that stuff even is." She gestures to the sky, chuckling quietly.

She wasn't sure why. There wasn't really anything funny about much in particular right now, despite how much it felt like she was in on some kind of joke.

"Yeah." She faces Rikka again. May's still smiling. It's the smallest smile Rikka's ever seen from her.

"I believe you."

"And..." She follows up quietly.

"It's okay, you can say the scary part out loud. If Tsutsujidai is created, and everyone originally in it was created 'for' it, for whatever reason you may be privy to..."

"Then they're most likely just fake memories, right?" She shrugs. "Probably easier on who or whatever did all this, if the plan was for someone like me to never really find out anyway."

She slowly sits up and faces Rikka, energy still apparent in her motions...but...

"Thanks, bud. That...sure does answer my question!" She laughs to herself. A little nervously but...its a remarkably genuine laugh, even in the face of all this.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

May reacts with confidence. Rikka would like to think that - the last thing she wants is for the truth to break her. That it'll hurt is... unavoidable.

"...Okay. As long as you're sure." Rikka replies with a nod... and then continues. After a difficult explanation she goes quiet, watching May goes over what she's told her in her head.

"...Yeah. Things have been pretty crazy lately, so..." She says with a nod. It makes sense that it'd be easier to grasp now.

...And despite all of that, May's still smiling - as small as it is. And she believes her. Rikka nods, as May laughs nervously, but genuinely.

As for why... Rikka has to think on how much she should say about that.

"...It's alright. It wasn't for a bad reason." Rikka says. ...Even if it got twisted along the way, she adds to herself.

"I've had a lot of time to think about it. They might not have 'happened', but I don't think our memories are 'fake', either." Rikka comments. "How you feel about them and what you do with them is up to you, but that's what I think."

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

"That sounds about right yeah." May smiles earnestly towards Rikka, the bright greens of her eyes catching the hanging evening light with a certain contrast. "Whatever else all this is, it made all of us. So I was pretty sure it couldn't be *all* bad, at worst. So...I'm definitely grateful for that part!"

May contemplates Rikka's advice with a quiet nod, slowly packing up her guitar to occupy her hands a bit. "Oh yeah for sure, totally on board with ya there!" She lifts the case a bit for emphasis as she giggles to herself a bit. "Clearly I can still play a mean six-string, so I'm still set in life regardless!"

As she calms down from her jest, May regards her friend for a bit...

Then reaches forward to gently take her hand.

"Plus, like I said. It made me, and you, and everyone else. No matter what else, we're here. We're alive. The world's still our oyster. And I'm feeling like some seafood, personally."

She lets the sentiment hang for a bit...then bursts out with a hearty gut laugh. She even doubles over slightly.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"That's a good way to look at it." Rikka replies with a smile. She's grateful, too. Grateful to be alive, grateful to have met so many wonderful people... grateful to have met Akane, who means so much to her.

She nods when May agrees about memories, and laughs a little as she lifts up the guitar for emphasis.

"That's true. You are pretty good at that... and I've always thought that the world could always use more music." Rikka agrees. May reaches for her hand and Rikka lets her take it, grasping it gently in turn.

"Yeah. It is." Rikka agrees with a nod. She keeps it together, but when May starts laughing, she can't help but laugh right along with her.

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

"Got a lot of reasons to be good for. To be honestly, only have even more now." May chuckles, squeezing the grasp a bit. "Plus, all this is a *goldmine* of inspiration to be quite honest with ya!"

Which only helps the moments they just spend laughing to and with themselves. And for just that moment, the world felt smaller and cozy...but also vast and full.

"Okay, for real tho, I actually am kinda feeling like seafood, or something like that." May snorts as she starts standing up. "I'm good to head back on my own now if you got other plans, but if not, hardly the worst reason to hang out again for a lil while, right? 'specially cuz it'd be my treat!" She cheerfully chirps, clapping and rubbing her hands together after her guitar is slung back over her back. Somehow, despite the fiction of her background, she still had money to spare from her fictive financial support. How, in the context of everything she had learned, this was possible was something she was thoroughly uninterested in right now.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Well... I'm glad to be of help." Rikka replies. She's curious about that, of course - why she's so happy about it... but she doesn't want to pry for now. She'll tell people when she's ready, Rikka figures - or, she'll ask, when it's appropriate.

May starts standing up so Rikka stands up along with her, taking a moment to brush off her skirt.

"That sounds... really good right now, actually. Sure, I don't have any other plans." Rikka agrees with a smile.

<Pose Tracker> May Morseland has posed.

"Well there we go!" May enthusiastically claps a hand and arm around Rikka's back and shoulders. "See, that's the trick with a simple kinda girl like me, right? You can tell me the wildest shit...but as long as we get to do something like this after, I'll consider it the day I got to bond with a friend, and share some good-ass seafood with her! Because it is, right?"

They slowly begin to set off in the direction of food and company, walking into the distance of the quiet park. As they do so, May takes one more look skyward, to the daunting vision of the oppressively impossible looming before her life. And she had just one reaction central in her mind right now.

It was in the way of seeing a nice sunrise again.

She'd do her best to make sure she'd see one soon.