2024-11-06: Black Waltz
- Log: Black Waltz
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Elisa Kafim
- Where: The Silent Castle, Kaffeklubben Island
- Date: 2024-11-06
- Summary: Elisa and Yuliana take to the dance again, as Yuliana recovers from a terrible ordeal. Elisa offers an option to her, and the two of them make a dark plan...
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
OST: Nobuo Uematsu - Black Waltz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6jAWMVIpJ0
Yuliana had come back shot, the day before Halloween. Luckily, the bullets only impacted her tentacles -- those intrepid little snake-orchids are designed to protect her from those dangers she can't intuit herself, literally positioned to watch her back with those frills they can fan out. But still, they shot at her!
Naturally, she hasn't left the Silent Castle since then.
She's been rather upset about it all. She told her wife at once, of course, about the uncanny experience she had remembering someone who had been elided from her memories. How could her memories be messed with like that?! It's never happened to her before, not once! They made her forget the child so she wouldn't get distracted with any positive regard for those Newtypes they put in her squad--!
It's bad when the REA manipulates her, obviously.
Her mood has been wretched, in the week since, though of course she pulled herself together for Halloween the next day. (The children went from door to door in the Silent Castle, as if they were visiting the neighbourhood for candy.) But now the holiday is long over, and Yuliana is over, too -- which might explain why they're on the dance floor, now. What better way to re-invigorate Elisa's wife than to invite her to dance?
She steps out onto the floor in a shimmering green dress, slipping her hand into Elisa's, and follows her into the preparatory step of a waltz. "Oh," she sighs, as she leans into her wife as they move into their box step, wrapped close together. "This is nice... I think I've been rather stressed, Elya. I can feel my troubles falling away...!" She does so love to dance; it can make her feel much better, freeing herself from those troubles.
(Those inhibitions.)
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa can be patient. That is why she did not immediately storm off to take vengeance upon the place and people who dared stand by while her wife was endangered. She had been upset--but so had Elisa. Still, for Yuliana's sake, Elisa kept her fury largely to herself. Hearing that they had manipulated Yuliana's memories...
Are there more memories yet that she had not found? More alterations that she has not rooted out?
Elisa likes Halloween. A time when people like to be scared... it's an emotion easier for her to interface with than some.
But now, they are dancing, and Elisa leads Yuliana closely. She is stressed, yes.
"Good," Elisa says. "They shall not hold you. Trouble cannot contain you, my darling."
"Be free of it. ...Tell me of how you feel."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
The children love Halloween. The children love Elisa, too, though some of them are a touch... intimidated by her. But Yuliana loves her, so she must be a positive force in their world. Right?
Yuliana has, at least, assured Elisa that Choir isn't to blame. NUNE thoughtlessly took advantage of the poor town in its struggles to rebuild -- and Elisa was party to their local Speaker calling in a tizzy about the gunshots, all too worried about their great leader.
Yuliana is, of course, worried that her memories might be even more altered than she thought. She has sought her wife's strength in supporting her through such a harrowing idea.
"I'm so angry!" She exclaims, on the back-step, as they sweep into a turn. "It's true she irritated me to no end with her damned Awakening, yet she was but a babe, Elya! Only a child... and already learning how best to sort the Republic's mess. Or wherever she went..." Yuliana sighs, as she steps forward, again, sweeping her leg out around Elisa's as she follows her lead. (Of course Elisa leads the dance.) "... and they must have seen it," she grumbles, as she follows. "I guess along with Ritechka, they figured it out... it's harder to blame the children. So this second one, they just took her away... they just took her away! There's no justice to it!"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa has feelings as regards the children. They are mostly positive. Probably.
But with Choir not to blame, Choir can survive, and indeed the Speaker's worries... Hmm.
A turn, and Elisa holds Yuliana when she returns, swept out. Elisa leads back another few steps, turns, stares into Yuliana's eyes.
"I see," she says. "No, there would not be. 'Justice' does not exist of its own accord..."
"But we could bring this 'justice' into being ourselves."
"It is within our capabilities... to punish them, for this 'sin.'"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
And Yuliana is glad for those feelings, which are positive, for she has positive feelings for children just the same.
Even, it seems, those children.
Yuliana gazes up into her wife's eyes, her endless green flashing with intent anger as she points out how little justice there is in the natural world. She draws a breath, as Elisa goes on to suggest what they can do, and --
"She wouldn't come with me!" Yuliana exclaims. "Even when I didn't ask, even when I just told her -- I didn't give her the chance, not like with Leyasha, but she didn't follow me when they shot me! They shot me! They wanted to make her shoot me, too! She wouldn't even think about escaping, would she?! They've kept her there, and, and--!"
Her footwork grows angrier, dancing flats stomping down on the ground, and it's testament to her skill on the dancefloor that she never stomps on Elisa's toes in the process. (Not that it would faze her.)
"I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!" Yuliana yells, as she turns, and turns, stepping backwards under the guidance of her wife. She spoke of punishment, and -- "Elya, let's hurt them! Let's make them bleed! Can't we do that?! Can't we just make them suffer?! They deserve it! They really do deserve it!"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
At least they're feelings at all. That's more than some would assume of Elisa. But they are, and they exist. She is... fond of them.
Anger. Elisa sees it, treasures it, holds it. And as Yuliana explains, she nods shallowly, encouraging her with her gaze to continue, to vent more of that anger.
Yuliana is such a good dancer.
"It can be hard to pull someone away from something like that... It requires more force."
A smile, then. "Yes," Elisa says. "Yes, we can. We can punish them. We can inflict upon them what they tried to inflict on you, and more, seven times more."
"I have just the thing..."
She whirls Yuliana then, and pulls her close. "Just the thing indeed."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Of course. Some of them are family; others are the children of true believers. They're worth a little fondness.
Yuliana is able to dance her best beside Elisa. Elisa's always brought out her talents, after all. She keeps looking up to her wife, held in her gaze and her arms, as her anger pours out and out and out. She is an infinite wellspring, beautiful and alive.
"Force! Yes! That's it!" Yuliana exclaims, as she dances with force just the same, pouring all that energy into her movements. "That's it!" She echoes, as Elisa validates her. "That's it!"
Her leg curls around Elisa's as her tentacles wrap about her, too, holding herself crushingly close to her wife for a moment. (They call it a 'hesitation step'.) "Oh, Elya," she sighs, looking up to her wife. "I knew you'd know. What? What shall we do?"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Beautiful, living, and furious.
Elisa is weightless in her dance; she moves easily and freely, as if gravity has no purchase on her. It is dazzling to watch; it is more dazzling to feel. And Elisa validates Yuliana so, so easily as they dance across the floor.
Elisa is not crushed by that grip, but she holds Yuliana close too. "It is time... for a dragon," Elisa says.
"If NUNE wishes to remind us of their past sins, then we shall send against them the manifestation of those sins. It is time to expend a token, my darling."
"...That one. Her pain will empower our works."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"Ah...!" Yuliana gasps, a vicious kind of victory fluttering over her face. "Yes... if it's for something like this, we can bring her punishment to an end! Let her do one good thing in her worthless existence before it's extinguished forever! That woman -- she hurt us -- now people like her are still hurting that girl! It's only decent! It's the only decent thing to do!"
She uncoils herself just enough to keep dancing, after that stutter-step of hesitation, fierce and vengeful and throwing her weight around. "We'll send a dragon after them," she says, "we'll destroy their ships, we'll destroy their armies, we'll CRUSH THEM TO BITS! They deserve it! They deserve it...!"
She spins, and comes close to her wife again, looking up to her with all that angry pain in her eyes. "They were going to make her kill me, Elya," she says, the reason why they deserve so much suffering. "And she didn't even know. Didn't know who I was. I didn't know who she was. Just that someone was fighting me with my own techniques... just something nostalgic like that! How is it fair, Elya? They mustn't even think us human!"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"It is time," Elisa agrees. "The pain she has steeped in... it should be powerful by now. More than powerful enough for this purpose."
It is 'decent', is it? Elisa smiles more widely, and while she is still 'weightless', now Yuliana is 'weightless' too, effortlessly moved by Elisa's strength, effortlessly kept up with. "They do," Elisa agrees. "The largest dragon yet..."
It is indeed time. Yuliana looks up at her with pain in her eyes, and Elisa stares down, resolute, certain, alive.
Her own fury ignites there.
"To destroy you... They dare. They dare, in such a way. Yes. It is unfair," she agrees. "But we will make it 'fair'. Whatever they think... Their thoughts will turn to ash."
Pause. "...Perhaps we can rescue the girl, while we're there. Perhaps."
"But they will suffer for what they have done."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"She can at least do this much for me!" Yuliana exclaims. "At least this much...!" She does not think of the pain Dr. Devi has suffered; it is only fair, after the pain she inflicted.
And Yuliana isn't so heavy, as Elisa sweeps her in endless turns around the hall. It's as if she weighs nothing at all -- as if there is no weight to her rage, as plain as the air she still breathes. "Yes!" She laughs, when Elisa assures her how large such a dragon could be.
She has so many emotions. Overjoyed at Elisa's support, overwhelmed by the horrors of NUNE, horrified and furious and even, yes, scared. All of them at once, all inside her, bursting at the seams.
"We'll make it fair!" She agrees, viciously, as she sweeps in a turn which lolls her head back from the unmoored nature of it all, before she pulls in towards Elisa again. "I want her back," she says, holding onto her wife's hand as if it were her one lifeline to existence. "They made me teach her, then they took her away! It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not FAIR! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!"
And she is lost in her hatred, for long, ranting moments, before she comes back to her thoughts. "They made me angry! They made me angry at anyone but them! They think they can just make me move as they like!" And she steps backwards, following her wife's footsteps, as she rants. "But I can value who I like! Whatever I decide! If it doesn't make sense, it's their fault, anyway!"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
The pain Devi has suffered is the point. It is why she is useful.
Well, not only that reason...
Elisa smiles at Yuliana laughs; she notices all those feelings, and treasures each. Even the fear is a reminder that Yuliana must treasure her own life. Fear can be good, too.
So many feelings, when Elisa has so few and so vital...
"Then we shall inflict that hate upon them," Elisa says, and mentally updates the plan to attempt to keep this young woman alive.
"They do. ...But this is your choice, now. You are the one who has decided."
"You have chosen to value her. And I shall see that that desire is honored..."
Elisa smiles. "Yes, my darling. It shall all be well..."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana can be all too risky with her own life, but she must value it; she wants to stay alive, with Elisa, after all. Mortal beings require a little fear to maintain their existence.
And she is still mortal, for now.
(A mortal woman who treasures Elisa's feelings, though she has so few to share.)
"Oh, Elya," Yuliana sighs, gazing lovingly up to her wife as she presses herself close to her. Her heart still quickens in response to all this activity and excitement; even her cool temperature rises a little, twirling around like this. "You've always seen my desires through. I'm so glad I can rely on you, boyevaya podruga... you are truly my sole ally against their injustices." Her 'combat friend', as she calls her, the woman who stands beside her against all of life's challenges.
"You're the only one I can trust. All will -- it shall all be well," she corrects the phrasing, the way it's always been.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Mortality. Kaworu has explained to Elisa its fleeting beauty, and she can see it. ...But she likes things she can hang onto, as well. Things she can grasp.
Elisa's temperature is cooler still. But she sees Yuliana's desires through as surely as if her blood burned with flame. "I am," Elisa says. "And I always shall be."
"...Yes," Elisa says. "Together, we shall see it through."
"Hm hm hm..."
"A new song begins..."