2024-05-10: .come into the tiger's deN
- Log: .come into the tiger's deN
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Elisa Kafim, Koji Kabuto, LiSA, Sayaka Yumi
- Where: The Silent Castle, Kaffeklubben Island
- Date: 2024-05-10
- Summary: The Kafims invite the Yumi-Kabutos over for tea and a tiger meet-and-greet, because Yuliana is still feeling skittish about going out into the big dangerous world after her brush with death. They get to meet their family -- including Maksim's new snake friend, Swordtooth. LiSA makes a friend in Sokrova, and Koji and Sayaka get to see the archaic design of the Castle and the eldritch improvements the Kafims are making to their machines. Yuliana reveals that they mean to make war with the Empress -- and her friends in the Light don't want the tragedies of the past to repeat again, now the Kafims are turning against their vengeful God.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8DTD7GvQY Nobuo Uematsu - The Castle
As it happens, Yuliana didn't show up for therapy on Monday... because, apparently, she took a dip in the ocean.
The Arctic Ocean.
She's fine, but the family was shaken, and she's feeling wary about leaving the safety of her home after such a frightening brush with death. Instead, after a welfare check from Leina, she's...
... invited Sayaka and her family to the Silent Castle!
Yuliana has noticed how charmed LiSA was by Plyushokrova, the life-sized, realistic tiger plush who Yuliana carts about the Photon Power Labs; she's asked before, here and there, if she'd like to meet him. Now... LiSA has the opportunity! And isn't it a reasonable compromise to invite her friends here, if she's feeling too spooked to go out there?
Precisely. It's fine. Everything is fine.
The Silent Castle looms high, off the coast of Area 9 -- far in the North, past any of the settlements Britannia took over. (Though NUNE has established a listening post, on the coast, to monitor the hostile base of operations. Everyone hates being assigned to it; it's quite cold.) This is, in fact, the very North-most point of solid ground on the Earth. Past this, it's all ice.
... and fly far enough North, and the ice becomes green. Luckily, that reality-altering event was restricted to the North Pole, so the ice by the Castle is still white. Mostly... mostly white. There's one dull red iceberg, in the shallows beside the Castle, which feels horrifically ominous. (Because it isn't ice; it's inert Psychoframe. None have been brave enough to take it from the Kafims, after Yuliana took custody of it following the calming of Denver Colony.)
Kaffeklubben Island -- 'Coffee Club Island', a disarmingly cute name for such a sinister fortification -- has been largely consumed by the sprawling walls of that Castle, with three towers clustered at one end of the island, and a single, lone tower closest to the North. (The North Wing -- Elisa's domain.) Green pylons stretch up from the outer walls, promising magical defences to ward attackers away. There's enough room outside the Main Gate for a machine to land, and there's even a pier, if they prefer to bring a boat.
The Salamis Kai parked on one side of that pier doesn't look... well. The Shandor has always been green, but did it always have... tentacles? Living tentacles, by the look of how they twitch and curl idly in the ice? It's... probably fine. That's probably fine.
Don't worry about that. The gates open as soon as they approach -- they're expected. It would probably be a good idea to get inside quickly, because even in the back half of Spring, it's cold out here. A solid -10 degrees Celcius... or 14 degrees Fahrenheit, if one measures by the Britannian scale.
Luckily, it's much warmer inside, though it's still a little nippy. (The engineers amongst them may note two things: one, the hall is lit by gas lamps alongside the chandeliers above... though most of them are off right now, because eternal daylight is plaguing the Castle. Two, the heat in this entrance hall seems to be largely the effort of heat vents transporting heat through the Castle, rather than electric heating. It's all very low-tech.) The entrance hall hosts a massive oil painting of the Mistresses seated together, in full Calling regalia, Yuliana with her golden winged helm and Elisa with her twin golden horns. Sculptures decorate the floor, grand draconic figures and perfectly-sculpted women; beautiful silk hangings decorate the stone walls, where that central painting doesn't sit.
A woman in a teal-trimmed fur uniform lets them in, but of course, Yuliana is there to greet them. She's in furred black robes, herself, customary for the Castle's residents; all the fur probably isn't a statement on how much they hate animals as much as just a base necessity, living in a place this cold. "Yaka!" She declares, spreading her arms wide. "Koyan! Lisichka!" And she's explained before, surely, why she finds LiSA's name so delightful, and why her nickname would be so long: 'lisa' means fox, in Russian. A diminuitve Lisichka, then... is a fox cub!
"How wonderful to see you," she says, stepping away from her stately wife to gesture them in with a hand at Sayaka's arm. "Come in, come in. It's warmer in the sitting-rooms. I hope the trip wasn't too harrowing? We sent Wendy and Ingvar to go keep the various lookie-loos occupied so they wouldn't watch our front door too closely -- I'd hate for you to have to answer uncomfortable questions." And, of course, she ushers them inside, up one of those grand staircases, and into...
... well, she called it a sitting room, and that's surely what it is. There are several couches arranged around a fireplace -- and thanks to the burning wood, with the fire a normal welcoming orange, it's much more comfortable in here.
There is also a small child! Two small children! And an old woman in a babushka scarf and hair which much resembles Yuliana's, where it peeks out. (Though, Yuliana isn't going grey, and this wizened woman's hair is lighter. Her skin's a little lighter, too, though she certainly couldn't be called white.) Maksim Morozov is an eight-year-old boy with mint-coloured hair and a snake wrapped about his shoulders; the five-year-old Makar Morozov, meanwhile, has aqua hair, and is currently riding atop the back of a green tiger instead.
They both have big, blue eyes. (Sashenka Dian, the elder woman behind them, has eyes which are more teal than green.)
"Hey! It's the Light Guys!" Maksim says, running up to them. "Look at my new friend! Her name is Swordtooth!" He holds up his hand, and the snake coils around it, so he can hold her out for Koji to see. Swordtooth flares her frill and flicks her tongue -- and shows that it's a far more draconic thing than a king cobra ought to have, ridged like a dragon's crest. She, too, is an impressive shade of green... though her eyes are normally dark, for a Monocled Cobra.
(She does have an eye-spot patterning on the back of her frill, though, which is very green.)
"Sokrova is Auntie Elisa's familiar," Maksim explains, all puffed up with pride, "but Swordtooth's mine. It's okay! They're friendly! You can pet them!"
Indeed, Sokrova has carefully ambled up to Lisa in the distraction, and is already sniffing at her curiously while the small child atop his back stares.
"Let them sit down, boys," Yuliana coaxes them, gently, at least. And she gestures to them, helpfully, to explain: "These are my nephews, Maksim and Makar... and my mother, Sashenka."
"Zdravstvuyte," that wizened old woman greets them, in a deep Zaftran accent. "Be welcome. I am pleased to see the company my daughter keeps. I saw you at her wedding, yes? Before the unpleasantness." Is that what she calls an assassination attempt?! Well, she is Yuliana's mother.
Luckily, several of those couches look big enough to host a tiger.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
The family was shaken. It was terrible. But now, there are to be Visitors, and Elisa has prepared, which largely means that the servants have made things ready for people to visit the Castle.
Only mostly, though. Elisa has had preparations of her own...
It's fine.
Elisa, too, is in black robes, and her hair is down rather than in its traditional ponytail. She is comfortable here, it would seem. So Yuliana welcomes her friends, and...
Yuliana steps towards them, and Elisa inclines her head. "Be welcome," she says to her guests. "Partake of our hearth and salt and bread, and know that you are safe here."
It's formal! But Elisa's like that. She does, howver, lighten up after a moment. Her parents are here, too. Adharis and Faiz, a Meltrandi woman and an ordinary-seeming accountant, are there with Sashenka and the children.
"Hello!" Adharis greets. "I see that my daughter has colleagues even here! This is excellent."
"Hmmm," the man says. "Transport here is expensive, though..."
But Elisa steps forward. "Maksim is correct. They are quite docile."
"Hello. ...It is good that you are willing to visit."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
The Astro Scrander, nee Double Spazer, has several non-combat advantages over the Jet Scrander. For one thing, its slightly bulkier design gives it some rudimentary crew and lab space rather than the automated flight upgrade pack, allowing it to function as a personal shuttle for Koji and other pilots in the PPL.
Also it goes to space, but that's not relevant today.
What might be more relevant is its elaborate sensor suite, which is most definitely pointed at the Shandor as the Scrander comes in for a landing - after all, biological materiel attached to a battleship is extremely unusual.
"It's like the ship's mutated," Koji murmurs, before keying in the landing sequences and changing over to the VTOL thrusters to park on that bitter emerald ice. "This whole thing is getting really weird." The tone of his voice is... cautious, but also curious. (The sound of a scientist faced with increasingly unusual phenomena, of course.) "Don't forget the cold-weather gear, girls," he reminds his family as they disembark. (Super Alloy Z-threaded, insulated parkas and ushankas.)
The dramatic change in temperature once they're inside is warmly welcomed, pun fully intended, and those heavy-duty objects of apparel are eagerly removed. Underneath, Koji's wearing his blue work suit with the pale pink shirt and red tie.
"Yuliana," he replies as their first host greets them, smiling to her. "You doing okay?" His grey eyes are moving around the Silent Castle. "Quite a place you've got here, this architecture is somethin' else." The aesthetic contrast between this place and the 'cutting edge of futurism' design sensibilities of their home city are not lost on him.
They're led into the sitting room, where there is evidently a lot of sitting to do, and before anything else they are accosted by a small child - with a dragon-snake. Koji crouches down to inspect Swordtooth, and after a moment's examination of the creature, he has this to volunteer: "Cool." He grins at the child. "How long have you had her?" He reaches out to gently scratch the top of Swordtooth's head with one finger.
Then Elisa approaches, with her parents, and Koji stands up in order to respond to the Lady of the House's formality with that fold-90-degrees-at-the-waist Japanese bow. "Thank you for your hospitality," he replies, a little stiffly, before Elisa's father makes a comment about the expense of travel to a location this remote. "We have our own craft," he explains. "It's a lot easier to afford the flight out when we're not flying commercial."
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
There he is! The green boy! A living green tiger!!!
Rewind:
Lisa, out of understanding of the weather, is in actual pants. This is highly unusual. Under the winter coat she's wearing though, is her normal top combo and headphones, and she's wearing the same smile she tends to when not feeling angry or sad. Instead, she is happy! She gets to meet ... tiger. And evidently snake friend too!
But first: Politeness.
"Thank you for inviting me, miss Elisa, miss Yuliana. It's nice to meet all of you as well." She does the polite bow as Koji does, especially towards the adults in the room. She address the boys last, one hand creeping up automatically to Sokrova to let him Sniff.
"He's a very interesting tiger! Yuliana was telling me all about him. And this is -- Swordteeth? No, Swordtooth! It's nice to meet you, Maksim, Makar, and you as well, Sokrova, Swordtooth. My name is Lisa - that's my dad, Koji Kabuto, and my mom, Sayaka Yumi."
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Sayaka's first instinct, when Yuliana didn't show for her scheduled therapy session was worry, of course. Plenty of possibilities came to mind (surely it couldn't possibly be that Elisa convinced Yuliana it wasn't worth going to therapy anymore). Taking a dip in the Arctic Ocean after an unfortunate series of accidents wasn't actually one of them... but it's a relief to find out Yuliana is recovering.
She can understand Yuliana wishing to stay with her family, but an invite to the Silent Castle itself... surely it warrants a little more than a modest discussion with Koji. Despite the Kafims' hostility, Sayaka suggests bringing some PPL security just in case... but she does think meeting Yuliana as a friend would be good for her.
Aside from that... "The heart of the Arctic is a welcome change from Fujinomiya summer, isn't it?" The insulating nature of Super Alloy Z is even helpful in a place like Kaffeklubben Island... though it doesn't make the sights any less strange. "Those tentacles... almost make it look like it's alive," Sayaka adds, with curiosity of her own, especially with direct experience with how Yuliana's tentacles function.
As they're guided through the hall to meet the mistresses of the castle, Sayaka does indeed note the way the Castle is powered - it's hard not to when you work with Photon Power. "Have to admit the first impression is pretty charming. It really does feel like the kind of castle you'd see centuries ago," She comments, any potential horrors notwithstanding.
"Yuliana!" Sayaka greets, with friendly affection. "God, I'm so glad you're okay. I hope you've been warming up okay?" She asks, dressing down into a similarly sensible pale yellow blouse and long skirt. "And..."
"Dr. Kafim," she greets Yuliana's wife, in a much more professional, formal... distant tone, but no less respectful - that might only serve to continue to give her mother the impression they're 'colleagues'. "Thank you for your hospitality," She echoes Koji. They're guided into the sitting room, where Yuliana and Elisa's families are gathered...
The children are so full of energy, and Sayaka smiles when Maksim rushes up to show them his very own familiar. "Wow... that's quite impressive," Sayaka appraises of Swordtooth when Maksim shows them what she can do - and she lightly taps her head with a finger. "It's good to meet you Maksim, and you too Makar." Sokrova approaches, and Sayaka turns to grin at Lisa. "Now's your chance."
Sayaka shows a similar level of respect as Koji and Lisa to the rest of Yuliana and Elisa's families. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, having come all this way." She bows. But most of all... it strikes her just how ordinary and grounded each of these people are, even the elder Kafims - in a way that isn't bad at all, but definitely a stark contrast to the imposing castle they live in.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
The Castle must be prepared for guests; it so rarely receives them. Though it is not, indeed, in space. The Silent Castle is not that cold.
Yuliana has also 'let her hair down', which is to say, her frills are exposed behind her ears instead of folded up behind them. (Her hair is still a little too short to keep up or down, strictly speaking.) The Silent Castle doesn't tend to host Newtypes, so expanding her aura won't hurt anyone. Right?
"Thanks to my Elisa, I'm doing very well," Yuliana smiles, to Koji and Sayaka, when they arrive. "She made sure to warm me up as soon as possible, so I haven't suffered any frostbite or anything like that. And isn't the Castle striking? My Elisa had it made for me a few years ago... so I had somewhere to go when the Republic betrayed me." And that might be strange, too: the idea that this ancient-looking Castle is new. "Because we're not connected to any kind of grid, out here, we have to do everything ourselves," she adds, anticipating their questions. "We do have electricity, but we try not to use it for things which don't need it... we hardly need our lights on that system."
Maksim beams, when Koji -- who is evidently A Very Cool Dude, being that he's an adult man -- declares his snake cool. And Sayaka thinks she's impressive! "Yeah! She's so cool! Auntie Elisa just got her for me a few days ago!" Swordtooth tilts her head when she receives those scritches, her frill relaxing against her neck. She is, apparently, quite friendly.
Meanwhile, Makar's face lights up when everyone introduces themselves. "Hi!" He says, brightly. "I'm Makar!" And Sokrova, having sniffed Lisa so curiously, gently pushes his head into her in what must be the big-cat equivalent of a head bump. "Sokrova," Makar says, patting his shoulder, "I wanna get down." And it might be strange to see the way that Sokrova seems to know exactly what he was just told, because he carefully lowers himself down to the ground so that Makar can climb off. A tiger who understands human speech...?
Yuliana goes to sit with Elisa on one of the love-seats scattered around, and Makar climbs up onto the couch beside her; Yuliana scoops an arm around him, giving him a little squeeze as she holds him beside her. "Sokrova is a very clever boy," she smiles, looking at him as he rolls onto his side on the fur rug. Does Lisa dare to go for the forbidden tiger belly rub?
A Chinese woman in one of those teal-trimmed fur uniforms comes in, then, with a tray carrying a few trays of tea and biscuits. "Ah, Guanyu!" Yuliana smiles, to her, as she enters. "Thank you kindly," she says, as the head maid starts doling out cups of tea and the various things to put in them to everyone here.
"It's nice to have visitors," Guanyu smiles, as she pops down one of those trays by Koji and Sayaka. "And the famed Kabutos, no less!" She looks to Yuliana, and asks: "Will you need anything else, Gentle Mistress?" Which might seem like a strange designation for Yuliana, except... compared to Elisa, she just might be gentle.
"No, this should be fine," Yuliana shakes her head, still smiling. "Thanks." And as the maid makes her leave, Yuliana explains: "Since the Castle is so large, we've had to hire some help to keep it running... there are a lot of expatriates from the Republic who were happy to take work far away from the Party's reach."
Meanwhile, another face comes to the door -- a dark-skinned man with greying hair and a severe, military expression. "Ayah!" Yuliana greets him, her frill raising in excitement as she looks to him. "I'm so glad you could make it," she smiles, turning to the others. "This is my father," she translates the Indonesian term for the others. "Tri Darma Dian. He was a Major, once."
"Not that they'd recognise my service these days," Tri Darma chuckles, as he takes a seat with Sashenka and pours himself some tea. "So this is Koji Kabuto... I've heard a lot about you," he says, nodding to Koji. "And Sayaka Yumi... my daughter speaks of you fondly. This is your little girl?" LiSA isn't that little, but Tri Darma is an old man, so maybe it's just a matter of perspective. His face creaks into a smile. "Heh. Nice to meet you."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
The ship has a lot of special new qualities.
Elisa regards how each of them interacts with the children, the animals, the parents. Koji is stiff, but so is Elisa, so it's fair enough.
And her father says, "That would do it. I'm not surprised that someone acquainted with Elisa would have the money for that."
"You are welcome," Elisa says to LiSA, and watches her for a long few moments. She's very interesting.
She is formal with Sayaka as well, of course. "Dr. Yumi," she acknowledges, and Adharis claps. "Very good!" she says. "It is likewise happy to meet you! We do not have many visitors here, not that I mind, but it is still nice for the change."
Elisa, meanwhile, nods to Yuliana. "I am fond of this castle that has become Yuliana's home," Elisa says. "And mine."
She smiles, and has the correct nmber of teeth, at Maksim's delight.
Guanyu explains, and Elisa allows this instead of interrupting. Until Tri Darma comes out.
Elisa smiles. "They are both instrumental to our living here. It was... interesting, to learn to live with others again, but I would not change it now."
Adharis says, "Yes! I hardly have to do anything, ha ha."
"...You don't tend to anyway," Faiz points out. Somehow it sounds fond.
But then Elisa continues, "It was difficult to save Yuliana from the icy ocean, but quite possible. I have many medicines for cold, and there is nothing more important to me than she is."
"...Or our family."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
This is a substantially larger family gathering than Koji was expecting! Perhaps he ought to have, given the emphasis on extended families many cultures of the REA have.
"Only a few days, huh?" He replies to Maksim. "She behaves like you've had her for years - but then I guess our cat has been with us for years and he's still a grumpy old recluse who spends all his time in the attic." He doesn't let himself get distracted too much from Sokrova, though - fully domesticated or not, he is still a tiger and the same size as Lisa - who just introduced herself as his and Sayaka's daughter.
Surprisingly, an interrogation on their relationship does not immediately begin, and he relaxes just a little bit more, glancing towards Sayaka as he's reminded of something by the way the elder Kafims banter. When Guanyu brings them their trays, he takes the proferred tea in hand, sipping it carefully, and nods to her in thanks.
The arrival of Tri Darma Dian has him chuckling awkwardly when the old Major says he's heard a lot about him. "Most people have," he admits. "And, yeah, this is Lisa, our gift." He reaches over to ruffle the teenager's hair with a fond smile.
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
A headbutt is accepted, and Lisa rocks. It may be gentle, but Sokrova is still a tiger. At the mention of being a 'little one', she does tilt her head - ah, new gentleman. "Good day." She says politely to major, just as before, before temptation calls as Sokrova rolls over. She stares long enough that Koji gets his headrub in, and her smile turns into a beam of acceptance. However-
Cat belly rubs are almost traps.
Big cat belly rubs are potentially super big traps.
However, in the scientific world, one must first experiment to confirm hypotheses. In this case, Lisa's hypothesis is simple: Sokrova belly rubs are Safe. So she must experiment by giving the belly a rub. This is just to say, of -course- Lisa is giving Sokrova a belly rub. You cannot put a trap like that out there and not expect her to give in.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"I'm glad to hear you're well," Sayaka smiles. It was Elisa who saved her from the icy depths of the Arctic... Sayaka doesn't doubt that's within her ability, even as Elisa mentions the difficulties in such a task. "It's a very good thing you had timely treatment available." Her gaze turns to Elisa, a slight nod.
"It's very unique," Sayaka offers when the discussion turns to the structure of the Silent Castle. "I mean, you almost never see architecture like this these days." Castles in those days, after all, were built to fortify against bombardment - hardly necessary in the age of mobile weapon warfare.
She nods thoughtfully as Yuliana goes into how the Castle is powered. "I see... that makes sense. The gas lamps and heat vents are a pretty creative solution. And they only serve to enhance that classic aesthetic, don't they?" But despite not being connected to a grid, they do have access to electricity after all. Huh...
Sayaka chuckles lightheartedly, hearing Maksim's excitement. "Only a few days and she's already so friendly." She nods, when Koji'd assumed she'd been around for years. "You must have done a really good job training her, haven't you?" Evidently, Sokrova is quite the well-trained familiar as well, showing responsiveness you couldn't even get from your average house cat, let alone a whole tiger.
But Lisa is a Kabuto, and that means Sayaka has to take the same measures she does with Koji. That is, watching very carefully to make sure she doesn't eat the consequences for doing something extremely stupid.
"Thank you very much, miss," Sayaka sets the refreshments Guanyu brings over to the side for the time being as they continue to converse.
Sayaka smiles at Adharis' warmth and enthusiasm, and chuckles softly at the way her husband banters with her, somehow glancing towards Koji at the exact same time. The way Tri Darma carries himself, conversely, is quite different, a military man through and through. "Glad I made an impression," Sayaka smiles, and this smile reaches Yuliana too.
"Our very first," Sayaka confirms, and if one had a very keen eye, they may notice there could be a second on the way. "She may have come into our life differently... but she's no less special to us." She speaks fondly.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
When one has an entire Castle, would one not bring one's whole family within it, Koji?
Don't ask where the electricity comes from.
"Auntie Elisa said she's my fated friend, so she likes me this much even though we just met!" Maksim just blabs everything, because he's eight years old and has never so much as heard the term 'opsec' in his life. "I'm gonna train her to do tricks!" He adds, all puffed up. "I just gotta figure out what tricks snakes do..." When he sits himself on a chair, Swordtooth coils around him like a necklace, resting on his shoulder. Sleepy snake.
And though Koji might be dutifully concerned about Sokrova -- particularly with the BELLY TRAP -- he will find, in his observance, that Lisa's hypothesis proves true. She rubs at his belly, and he chuffs, rolling more fully onto his back and batting his paws at the ceiling. (Not, notably, at Lisa. He's mindful of where his paws are.) Those happy tiger rumbles are translated by Yuliana, helpfully: "Oh, he likes that! We shall have to show you to his gymnasium after tea, yes? He even has an indoor heated pool! Tigers quite like water, you know."
(While most cat gyms are made of some convenient shelves and cat towers, Sokrova's cat gym is an entire hall of an obstacle course. He's a very big cat, so he needs very big enrichment.)
"We have come around to adoption, yes, boyevaya podruga?" Sashenka asks Tri Darma, revealing, in the process, where Yuliana got her terms of affection in marriage. "Of course, after dear Lyubov passed, we adopted the boys ourselves... but we're getting on in years, so it is fortunate that our daughters were willing to aid us in their care." Which might explain a few things -- about how Yuliana came to have kids.
"Mama didn't like Auntie Elisa," Maksim explains, because, again: no sense of opsec. "She told us she'd throw us in a pot and turn us into frogs! She said Auntie Yulya got seduced by a witch." A pause. "I think 'seduced' just means 'tricked'," and no one tell him. "But mama was wrong about that," he goes on, with confidence, scritching Swordtooth. "Auntie Elisa is really nice, really. She's kinda stiff, but it's just 'cause she doesn't know how to talk to people too good."
Yuliana laughs, a cup of tea grasped in one of her tentacles. "Your Auntie certainly will not be turning either of you into frogs!" She smiles, widely, before she looks to Sayaka. "My Elisa's been very good to them," she assures her, and doesn't betray her belly in the process. If Sayaka wants to tell her family, she can tell them. Isn't Yuliana so considerate? "We all value our family very much."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa is not from the REA, of course, but Orb supposedly. Nevertheless, her parents are here.
As Koji talks with Maksim, Elisa inclines her head. "Yes," she says. "She is 'fated' to serve Maksim. She will remain loyal, and look after him, and aid him."
Pause. "...And sleep on him." It might be a joke.
No, Elisa doesn't interrogate the nature of LiSA, Sayaka, and Koji's relationship at all. It would appear to be intuitive to her. Talk of a 'gift' is just fine. "Yes," she says. "I understand. You must treasure her." ...Is it an observation, or an assertion? Their very first, Sayaka says. "I hope for your sake the first of many," she offers. "I wish you and they well."
Sokrova is finely trained. "Yes," Elisa agrees about their aesthetic, though. "I find that curating one's space is quite important."
Adharis and Faiz do seem happy together. They don't say a whole lot to everyone else, having started to murmur between themselves with a few laughs on her part.
Maksim explains, and Elisa nods. "Yes," she says. "Assuredly I would never turn people into toads. Crabs are a much more suitable life pattern."
That might not be a joke.
"Thank you," she says to Maksim. "I appreciate your fond regard."
Then, she says, "We do. Family is... vital."
"We always hoped our Elisa would give us more family," Adharis says, "But I did not expect it all at once! Ha ha ha!"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"I could look up some tricks for you some time," Koji offers Maksim, grinning. "I hope you two look after each other." 'Fated companions', huh. Once more the surreality of this whole arrangement strikes him, as he looks around at the assembled Kafims - married to a peculiar pang, at the realisation that both Yuliana and Elisa's parents are here.
He closes his eyes for a moment, pushing down the bitter feeling, smiling back over to Sayaka as the conversation turns towards Lisa and children in general. "Yeah... adoption's important," he agrees, "to give kids good homes." He looks towards Sashenka and Tri Darma, putting things together. "I'm sorry for your loss," he says, feeling the inadequacy of the platitude as much as its necessity.
"Family is vital," he repeats after Elisa, nodding. He knows what it's like to not have it, after all.
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
Meanwhile, under her breath, while using both hands to really get in there to give good rubs and scritches, Lisa can potentially be heard muttering "whosa good kitty!" Lisa the kitty could snack on you and still have room for another snack. Still... who -is- a good kitty?
(It's Sokrova.)
"I would like to see that. I too would enjoy a heated pool, tiger or not." She sounds strangely philosophical about being a tiger. Is there a tiger or other large cat in your heart, Lisa? She seems to not be paying attention, before her lifts.
"We fought to keep the planet the way it is in the name of love, of family and others. Family is important. In any form we accept it."
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
A fated friend... if anything, despite the peculiarity of it, Sayaka's just glad the kids have such ways of entertaining themselves even all the way up here. Unfortunately Sayaka has nothing to offer in the way of snake tricks, but she's certain there's a niche book for exotic pet owners out there somewhere. "I'm sure next time we stop by, she'll know so much more!" Sayaka enthuses, despite the implications of there being a 'next time' at the Silent Castle at all.
Lisa even gets her daring belly rub in with Sokrova, who continues to be a typical laid-back kitty cat despite his whole 'being an apex predator'. It's cute and also kind of nerve wracking!
"Thank you very much for your well wishes. And... we'll always treasure her, and any others that might come along." Sayaka replies to Elisa, though she leaves any future children in the 'implied' for now. "Though it is wonderful to have your own children, I think adoption is special in its own way." Sayaka agrees. "Though I'm sorry for your loss, as well."
Sayaka tries not to think too hard about the morbid joke that might not be a joke Elisa makes, and focuses on her words about family instead. "It is," She nods. "Whether it comes naturally, or if it's something that you have to find." Or something in between - like the joined together families of Yuliana and Elisa.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"She's sleepy," Maksim explains, even as Yuliana giggles beside her wife. (She appreciates Elisa's humour.) Maksim goes on, "I think she's still getting used to everyone. But that'd be great, Mister!" He adds, grinning, to Koji, and surely he doesn't know that he might have just withered the poor man to dust. Koji's a 'Mister' in the eyes of the youth... "She's gonna know way more! I'll show you, Miss!" Sayaka too.
"Yes," Yuliana says, smiling, leaning on her wife. (She still has one arm around Makar, of course. Luckily for her, she has two extra hands, so she's able to sip her tea despite having hers full.) "We do wish you well, and all those that may come to you. You've been wonderful friends to me, after all." To her, rather than her wife; Yuliana is still considerate of Elisa's feelings about the Light.
But Light just throws the shadows into greater relief, don't they?
"Chff," Sokrova rumbles, happily. He's a good kitty. He's such a good kitty, and he is just eating up all the attention. Is that a poor metaphor when there's a tiger involved? Alarmingly, he does roll back onto his side and lift his head up during a gap in the belly-rubbing...
... only to give Lisa a big kitty lick. Oh no. Tiger grooming.
Makar blinks, reaching across Yuliana to tug at Elisa's robes. "I don't want to be a crab," he says, quite seriously. "I'm a human."
"It is quite all right," Sashenka assures Koji, in that thick accent of hers. (She must have learned English later in life than her daughter did.) "Lyubov had a weak heart... it runs in the family, I'm afraid. The doctors did warn us she could have a heart attack, even at her age... though it is a terrible tragedy." Which means it was an accident of her health, and not...
... a more convenient accident.
(Not that Elisa would ever do that to their family, just to get Yuliana some children.)
"Love... I saw the way you grasped for it," Yuliana says, thinking back to Goragon's possibilities. "But I didn't wish to be seen there... I fled into 'kami', instead. Perhaps it was short-sighted of me," she laughs, "to experience the world as the Empress After Eternity, loving the mortal woman Elisa from outside her reality. But since I didn't wish to abandon my Wife, and leave Her behind, I rejected those Possibilities..."
She sighs, leaning against her wife. "It's strange, isn't it?" She asks, thoughtfully. "I cared so much for sparing the Empress pain, but She kept hurting me... I suppose that's why it was inevitable," she says, giving Makar a one-armed hug as well.
"That we would realise we must make war with the Empress."
Strangely, Yuliana's family doesn't seem surprised to hear her talking this way at all.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Snake tricks! Elisa could accept this possibility. It is a worthy potential gift.
Good homes, though... Elisa wonders what Koji would consider a 'good home.' But he at least agrees with her in this. ...Not that she always believed it as much...
"A heated pool is a fine thing," Elisa says to LiSA. And then, "...Hmm. Yes. To keep the world as it is, you fought..."
Her, and any others that may come along, Sayaka says. "So you are ready for such a thing?" she wonders. "That is well." Something natural, or something found... She does not speak to loss. Instead, Makar tugs at her robes.
"And human you shall remain," Elisa reassures him. "I will not change your form against your will."
She is a little stiff, at the matter of a weak heart. For some reason.
Elisa regards Yuliana thoughtfully. Th Empress After Eternity, she said. "...I was angry, at those Possibilities," she reflects. "They hid you from me. But now you are here." Elisa leans back against Yuliana, putting an arm around her.
"Yes," Elisa says.
"...You need not worry that we intend to destroy the world you love, you see. Our aims target a higher reality. It is vital to us that this world remain intact. ...So perhaps I was hasty, in certain earlier estimations."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"Goragon was a... thing," Koji says, wryly - and perhaps it speaks volumes that he lacks the words to describe that phenomenon. It hid Yuliana from Elisa? He finds that interesting. "It might have been possible to completely lose ourselves in what it showed us, but..." It's as Lisa puts it: They chose the world they came from, out of love.
But then:
"War with the Empress?" He repeats, blinking in surprise. "But - " why is he objecting?
"... What would that mean for you?" This question is directed straight to Elisa, who is, as far as he understands, a part of the Empress and connected to her.
That question asked, though, he sits back, sipping his tea, and listens.
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
"--!"
Sokrova goes in for the groom, and Lisa turns her head in time for the lick to go straight up over her left ear into her hair. Her hair's short, but it has the unintentional effect of giving her half-a-mohawk. "Yip!" She's startled, but not upset, barely holding back a case of laughter. "Yes, thank you Sokrova. I did take a bath you know." She mutters to him idly.
However, back to the far more fascinating conversation at hand:
"I'm sorry, did you just say make war with the Empress?" She asks, to hear Koji echo Yuliana as well. Lisa blinks a few times, then, off-handedly: "Well, just let mom and dad know where and when, I guess." A pause. "I'm pretty sure I won't be allowed to go, so they'll have to, so I can be told about epic things."
She does manage to say that with a straight face, but--
Even -Swordtooth- is probably aware of the look on her face switching to 'I'll probably be there anyways.'
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"The possibilities of Goragon..." Sayaka considers. "Truthfully, if it wasn't for those possibilities, I probably wouldn't have been quite so ready for what this world has to offer." Sayaka answers Elisa's question at the same time.
One of those possibilities, of course, was the one she shared with Yuliana. Yuliana certainly rejected that one, so it isn't entirely shocking to hear she'd rejected any others she faced as well... but it is a surprise to learn that to Elisa, it was as if Yuliana was gone from this world.
Sayaka crosses her arms in introspection, considering what the possibility where Yuliana was the Empress implies... only to hear a set of words she was not expecting at all.
'That we would realize we must make war with the Empress.'
Just like Koji, Sayaka's gaze also shoots directly for Elisa. "To make war with the Empress... do you intend to separate yourself from her and become your own being?" Sayaka asks, taking Elisa's seemingly genuine attempts to understand social relationships into consideration - and her words about keeping this world intact, too.
"If only it were so simple, Lisa," Sayaka smiles, though it's unclear if she means if only it would be so simple to fight the Empress or to keep Lisa home from such a fight... probably both.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"It is difficult to describe, even now," Yuliana agrees with Koji, and apparently they're at least of one mind about the staggering nature of Goragon. "But if I lost myself there... my Elisa could not find me," she supports Elisa's anger, looking to her wife. "I'm so glad I could return to you." And she's glad for her arm around her, too. She gazes to Elisa for a few fond moments, before she remembers that other people are still here, and she looks to Sayaka instead. "It was... illuminating, wasn't it?" She asks, carefully. "Maybe... seeing all those futures helped prepare me, as well, though it took me a while to think on them." Certainly she rejected Sayaka at the time -- but then she accepted the Photon Power Lab's help, didn't she?
Sokrova chuffs, and bonks his head against Lisa again, rubbing his cheek against her. Now she's doubly clean.
And his Mistresses aim at a higher reality... but what does that mean for Elisa? Yuliana defers to her wife to answer Koji and Sayaka's questions, though she adds, "I'm pleased to hear your concern." She likes it when people care about her wife!
She smiles, though, to Lisa. "I'm glad to hear you would support us," she says, "though it is to your credit that you mind your parents in this. They want the best for you, Lisichka, and no doubt it will be very dangerous. Our boys will not be making war, either!"
"But I wanna ride in a Muse Malu," Makar pouts. "'Cept I liked the old ones better. Your new ones are too scary, Auntie."
"The old ones are still perfectly good," Yuliana assures Makar, ruffling his hair. "In fact, I gave the plans and prototypes to Yaka and Koyan! So there's no reason you can't have a ride in one... when you're older, okay?"
"'Kay," Makar sighs, with a big pout.
(Sashenka can be seen nodding in the background, and perhaps it was her who insisted the boys not get too much of a taste for mobile suits while they're young.)
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"I see," Elisa answers Sayaka of the possibilities. "It is true that the Visions can often prepare us for that which we do not yet understand. Perhaps it is similar, in this way."
"But that is correct," Elisa says to Sayaka. "I must become my own being, first."
The other question is directed for Elisa, of course, who would know best. "It means a great deal," Elisa says, and lets that hang for a moment because she has a sense of drama. "I must gather my powers and prepare to overtake the Empress herself. I must travel to the Void, and there do battle with my Self until I am the victor. There is no half-measure in this; I must arm myself as much as is possible for such a confrontation. I intend to gather more might than simply my own magic of the Void for this purpose. I must anchor myself in this world, learn the ways of this reality, in order that I can bring its power to bear."
"I am a being of the Void; I cannot simply separate from it. And so I must take the battle to its source. ...So you see, I do not wish to bring the Empress into your reality; She would not come. I must assail Her very stronghold myself."
"This is also what was explained to us," Adharis adds, returning her attention to the greater discussion as she takes her husband's arm. "I do not... entirely like the idea of my daughter battling a god, but she has shown the talents you have seen. ...And I admit," she says, "The part of me that is a warrior is pleased, though. This Empress has changed my Elisa," she says. "She has attempted to subvert her to her own will! If my daughter will stand to be her own woman, even a deity herself... Well! Then I will be proud of her!"
Elisa nods. "...More or less," Elisa opines.
Faiz nods along. "I have never been particularly religious," he admits, "But the things I've seen... Well. I've seen them."
Elisa continues, "LiSA. It is well that you would aid us, but I must agree. Act within the confines of your parents' authority."
She looks seriously at Sayaka and Koji. "...I will settle for nothing less than victory. Should you desire a piece of glory, so be it. But no longer do I wish to bring the Void to this reality. I wish simply to bring those who would go with me into a paradise of our own making."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
This is a thoroughly-considered and examined course of action, Koji realises. Elisa means to assert dominance over the entity that she is a part of.
His brow furrows. "In our fighting, we've seen... many people, beholden to great and cruel powers, try to strike out and seek freedom from those powers... And it's gone badly. Tragically, even." He looks over to Sayaka. "... If we can help prevent that kind of outcome this time..." He lets it be her call, though.
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
"Augh!" Lisa is headbonked, and responds by -- Lisa why are you hugging the tiger?
Then she says, to the group at large, "Why do you think I said mom and dad would have to go instead and just tell me later? I don't need to be on the field to help them, either." She points out absently. "If it's something I can help with in any way while listening to my parents and their concerns, I'm happy to still do that." There's a bit of a pause, like she wants to add something on, but she shakes her head and lets it slide. There's more tiger to head.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"Illuminating... that's a good way to put it," Sayaka agrees. "There's nothing wrong with pondering about possibilities, and they can even help you decide what you want to do... or what you don't want to." She considers Yuliana deciding to accept the PPL's help as well. "But there's no sense in being stuck in what's only a possibility."
'New' Muse Malu, Sayaka also notes... then the plans Yuliana shared with her, untouched by the power of the Void, weren't the only models in production.
She focuses then, on what Elisa says, about her true nature and her new mission. "I see," Sayaka nods, partially understanding why Elisa would want to take control in a battle against the Empress. "I wish you luck, but... I have to agree with Koji."
She won't stop Elisa from her mission, of course, especially given her word that she no longer wishes to plunge this world into the Void.
But when it comes to their place in it... "Glory isn't what's important. But if we were to step in and intervene, I'd want to be sure that our actions don't cause any further harm." She explains. "That the involvement of 'outsiders' wouldn't embolden the Empress's wrath."
"Basically, Koji has the right of it. We don't want this to become another tragedy, so if we can prevent such a thing... we can attempt that much. Otherwise, we won't get in your way when it comes to the Empress." She sips her tea. She certainly would rather avoid endangering Lisa, too... but she knows the young lady means it when she says she has ways to help off the battlefield.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"This world will surely aid us," Yuliana adds, leaning against her wife, "for if my Elisa is left only with her bonds to the Void, the Empress may destroy her. I could not bear such a thing... it's too much to think that we'd be gripped by the tragedies which came before! And I suppose it would not go well for me, either..." Without her protector, who would defend her from her vengeful, jealous Goddess-Wife? "But we will make the Void into a welcoming place... a place I needn't fear. Hence we may go in peace."
(All of them?)
"My Elisa saw that my heart was disquiet, after the Empress was so willing to watch me drown in the space between life and death. My Elisa saw I was unhappy... so she'll go this far, for me." Yuliana sighs, lovestruck. "It's wonderful, isn't it...?"
"Ewww," Maksim whines. "You always smooch her when you start talking like that. Gross!"
And Yuliana laughs, her fingers veiling her lips. "Oh, yes," she assures him, "we're very gross."
Sokrova chuffs when he's hugged, which is like a purr, if you're a tiger. He rests his head on her, because he can't very well get in her lap. He's very heavy. He can sit on Elisa and Yuliana's laps, but they're just built different. Regardless, it seems like Lisa's made a friend...!
"It was... an adjustment, to see our daughter had fallen for such a unique woman," Tri Darma says. "We always knew she had... alternative wishes in romance, of course, but... well, I don't claim to understand what's going on with our Elisa and this Empress of theirs, but we know she wants to keep our daughter safe, and that's what matters."
"She is loyal and true," Sashenka adds. "If she says she will fell a God to carve a path for us, so shall it be done."
"I would welcome your aid," Yuliana adds, smiling, to Sayaka and Koji. "So long as it caused no harm, you're right," and here she nods to Sayaka, specifically. "But I can See Her desires, and my Elisa can divine a path. We must rebel, for all our sakes." Whose sakes, precisely?
Surely this is better.
"But for now," she adds, smiling to Lisa, "I have another idea for how you can help. How would you like to rearrange Sokrova's gym to give him some new challenges to face? He'll be very happy! Come, let me show you." And she stands, and gestures them out, and...
... Lisa will get to design a new obstacle course for the cat, while Koji and Sayaka will be able to admire the way the platforms of the room are able to be repositioned and resecured in order to change its layout.
Naturally, Sokrova is, in fact, absolutely thrilled.