2022-02-12: A Place That Wants You To Belong
- Log: 2022-02-12: A Place That Wants You To Belong
- Cast: Sayla Mass, Nidaime
- Where: Castellon, Spain, AEU
- OOC - IC Date: Feburary 12, 2022 (0096)
- Summary: A quiet winter night in brings a visitor to the Mass home after years away.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
It's a late winter evening in the Castellon country- or what's left of it at least. There's been efforts to repair after so many wars, but it's still bad. And in the middle of it, 30-45 minutes from the nearest town, is Sayla's house. Well, expansive Villa. The place is well maintained, the garden is full of durable native plants, and it's been renovated a few times for durability, repairs and a concealed comms array.
Tonight, Sayla is inside her lounge room, with a book, a blanket and a mug of vino caliente. with a charred orange slice for garnish. She puts down her book for a moment to rub her eyes, and when she looks up there is-
A blue maine coon, sitting on the book looking up at her expectantly. "Foras..." A moment later, Leina walks in, her short brown hair still curly and fluffy, wearing a fluffy jumper over her jeans and t-shirt. She's also carrying a yowling ruddy abyssinian, Buer.
"Sayla, I think the devils would like a word about the lack of dinner in their bowls?" Buer jumps from Leina's arms to join Foras in protest, the two cats looking intently at Sayla. "You are..." She looks up at the clock. "Twelve minutes, fifty three seconds. Fifty four. Fifty five." Leina has a mischievous look on her face.
Sayla sighs with a smile. "I can't believe you're siding with the cats over me, a tired old thirty something." She stands up, putting the blanket aside. "Alright, the three of you win. Come on then."
It's a few moments in the kitchen, getting the food: Handmade, gourmet catfood, suited to their breeds because Sayla is like that.She places their bowls down, before refreshing the water. This is one of the things she does personally, whenever she's home. The cats set in rapidly, chowing down. She looks out the kitchen window, at the Spanish night. In the low light, it's harder to see the damage.
She wanders back out to the loungeroom, where Leina has set up with a handheld game console. ...Sayla will have to ask if she knows anything about Kanji Fighter, later.
It's a night of casually existing in the same space as each other, quiet, and comfy. Perfect for a surprise visit.
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Thirty to forty-five minutes from the nearest town is basically an eternity of travel for Nidaime. She doesn't have a car, for instance. She does have a giant turtle father but naturally that doesn't mean she can just ride him over for, well, pretty obvious reasons. And yet, nevertheless...
Villas by their nature tend to be pretty expansive and that means lots of entrances. Nidaime has spent a looong time walking but is also feeling a little strange about going through the main entrance. Just knocking on the door like that feels strangely suffocating. She's not sure the source of this sensation, but she knows that it's there--
So she climbs up a nearby tree instead and then leaps onto one of the sort of siderooftops and falling belly first onto it. SHe crawls up it along her belly and then approaches one of the second floor windows.
She blows on it to see inside.
...Then she draws a smiley face on the remaining condensation.
She opens the window and slides inside stealthily--
--well stealthily except for the soft Nidaime-giggling. She shuts it down and locks it back up from the inside before sneaking(?) her way down the stairs.
This feels more responsible and sensible, Nidaime thinks to herself, then going in through the front door and feeling slightly awkward. This is an incredible and perfect plan that cannot fail.
"Saaaaylaa..." She calls as she nears. "Leeeinnaaaa..."
Of course she might've been triggered by some of the security already so all this sneakery is pointless but she was able to deftly avoid anything that would set off an alarm.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
The lack of the alarms is impressive, as is the way Nidaime sneaks in, giggling. Downstairs, no one is any the wiser. That said... for all it's size, it's quite empty. It's a big place for two people, and the six or so staff she employs- most of whom live in the towns because Sayla pays for their commuting time. Nidaime makes her way through easily.
MEANWHILE, IN THE KITCHEN:
Foras, having finished his food because he eats like a dog, feels his ear flick. Maine Coons are mousers. He looks up. And suddenly- He starts off!
Buer continues eating, because she will take her time.
Leina's the first one to twig to the fact that someone is there. Her eyes swivel in Nidaime's direction, then Sayla's, letting out a small cough. Sayla notices a second after that. Then the *spooky voice* comes, nd Sayla reaches for her waist-
Only for eight kilograms of cat to come barrelling at Nidaime with a 'mrow!!' as he leaps for her chest. Sayla vaults the couch, and Leina follows only to find...
"Oh, Nidaime!" Sayla says, upon seeing her, which causes Leinaa to have a bit of a double take.
"Nidaime?" She blinks, a little stunned. Nidaime had always been younger than her but the age gaps wasn't this big.
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Kaijus express themselves based on how they feel. Nidaime has had reason to feel smaller.
Nidaime laughs joyously when as she's cat-tackled in the chest. She falls flat on her butt and catches the kitty with both arms. "Hahahaha!!" She holds the cat up. "Wow you're so big now! Ehehehahaha!"
She gives the cat a gentle hug. "Eheheheee...!"
She quirks her head at Leina. "...Wow! You're big too huh!"
She pets the cat and continues to sit on the floor like some kind of half girl half turtle person.
"Sayla invited me so I came in!" Nidaime says with nary an explanation as to why she chose to not use the front entrance. "Hahahaha!" She probably didn't smell this bad when she was last over either, Leina. She smells, well, like a lady who has been living on the streets.
"Anopapa wanted to come too but he is too big and it's too far from the water." She adds. She then kind of digets a bit, setting the cat down on her lap.
"I'm sorry for being gone so long..." Nidaime says. "I have a reason, I do I do..."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Leina may have questions, but Sayla gives her a look of 'not now, please?' The fact that she encountered Nidaime again was chance.
Foras is a friendly boy, who purrs like a fiend at being hugged. Or patted. Or any attention at all, really. Leina shrugs. "And you're... still very little." Leina says- she rougly knows Nidaime's deal, and she's met Anosillus but... Kaiju are still a little strange to her. Still she looks to Sayla, another unsaid moment of 'why didn't you say anything'. Those two communicate very quickly through simple looks.
The smell is... bad, yes. But Leina grew up on Shangri-La, and that place was a slum. Sayla's struggling a little more. Leina stands up. "Why don't I see what we've got for snacks, while you get comfortable."
"Thanks, Leina." Sayla seems... relieved and concerned all at once. Moments like this are never easy. "Hm. I guess we'll have to go down to the seaside some time, and find somewhere quiet. It's been a while since I've seen your father. It hasn't started warming up yet, so it shouldn't be too crowded."
And then she pauses, as Nidaime starts to apologize. Sayla leans in and hugs her, holding her tight. "It's okay. It's okay. I should have reached out to you too." 'Honestly,' Sayla thinks, 'the blame should all be on me.' "Come on, let's go to the couch, okay? Get nice and comfortable before talking."
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nidaime loves all manner of adorable beasts. She also loves being in this world. With Sayla. With Chibodee. With everyone, really.
"Oh Anopapa would love that," Nidaime agrees. Now that she has an opportunity to actually talk about it, well, it's a little hard actually. She isn't sure why it's a little hard either, it just makes her stomach squirm. She smiles because she imagines Anopapa enjoying the beach with Sayla. She could sit on his big turtle shell and soak in some rays or---have a picnic maybe?
"It's more complicated than that." Nidaime says. "I didn't have a phone." Pause. "Also, um, it's because I wasn't in this world. After what happened with... Him." Master Asia. "I returned to Tsutsujidai though I guess it wasn't called that at the time."
She steepls her fingers together, looking down at her hands. "...Um, it's also because.... I'm not supposed to be here...? In this world, I mean."
She shakes her head. "None of the kaiju are. So ... I was there instead."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla smiles, now that Nidaime's seemingly feeling better at the talk of a seaside trip. But she can sense the sadness. Sort of. Kaiju are... strange, to a newtype like her. Usually they don't register. But she could read Unizon, for the brief time she met her, and probably because of that, Nidaime then eventually Anosillus. But it's not as clean cut as it is for humans. It's hard, and messy. Fully understanding a Kaiju's heart would... be a truly special skill.
Once Nidaime is situated, Foras jumps up next to her and leans on her shoulder, purring. Sayla sits next to her. "I... see." Sayla's... not surprised that she and Anosillus would scatter after that. It was pure chaos, and so many people were lost. "The world Yuta and the others came from, then." It's still... bizarre to her, but Riku had stepped things up a notch anyway. Then a look of surprise crosses her face.
"What do you mean? Kaiju have been here for centuries, haven't they?" At least, that's what the history books told her when she was young. Jinba had had to warn them about them, since they didn't have them in the colonies.
Sayla had spent a week imagining Lucifer as 50 foot tall, riding him around the country.
It's about then Leina comes back in, with a big much of hot chocolate, and half a punnet of strawberries, placing them on the table in front of Nidaime. She's also got a mug for herself, but it's more of the mulled wine. She's 18, it's fine. She takes a sip, before sitting on the other side of Nidaime. "You don't mind me listening in, do you?"
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
"Ah, I'm sorry. There's two type of Kaiju are'nt there...?" Nidaime murmurs, trying to collect her thoughts on this. "There's two kinds of kaiju. There's the megafauna kaiju, the ones that just...were always around. I don't actually know much about them." Nidaime admits. "But the kind of kaiju that I and Anopapa are..." She hesitates again and shakes her head, trying to clear it of disrupting thoughts.
"Kaijus born from the heart. We're not supposed to be here. If we continue to move between the worlds like this, then...it might happen more and more and more and then maybe there won't be a barrier between the worlds at all, really, and anyone can have a kaiju born from their heart."
She laughs, "eheheheh... Well some hearts are great, I'm sure, and wonderful kaiju are sure to spring forth from them, sure but..."
She looks back to Sayla. "It's...dangerous so... It's better if I remain in Tsutsujidai with Anopapa, that's what I felt at least."
"Oh but--! Since Gridman needs help, there's not much to do for it right now, I guess! But when it's over, I'll probably...move back and...well, until we're needed again, I guess."
Her eyes widen. "Oh!! Wow!!"
She noticed the hot chocolate.
"I don't mind Leina! You're family! I just don't want it to stress out the kids, heehee. They're so nice..."
She takes a long sip.
"Oh!! This tastes great, Leina!! I love you! You're amazing!"
She sets the mug back down.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla just listens, taking it all in. She'd never had it fully explained before, she hadn't understood the difference. "...And Kaiju from the heart only exist from Tsutsujidai?" She's trying to make sense of it but... There's an uneasiness in her voice. Something Sayla's not grasping. It's something she can't quite put her finger on.
Leina, on the other hand. "So, then, someone like you and Anosillus could just pop up anywhere, huh." She sighs, remarkably similarly to Sayla. "With the way the Earth sphere is, a lot of people with bad hearts would mean bad kaiju? That's what you're getting at, right?" The younger Ashta demonstrates her skill at cutting through the knots in Sayla's brain. She wraps an arm around Nidaime's shoulder, earning a 'mraw!' from Foras, who objects slightly to being squished before splaying across both their laps. Rude.
"...So you think it's better to stay away, rather than risk causing problems." Sayla's voice is... cold. She's trying to spare Nidaime that. The kaiju girl doesn't deserve it. And from the way Leina is looking at her, brow furrowed, she agrees. Sayla shakes her head. "...Sorry. Let's... cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"
Thankfully, Nidaime notices the hot chocolate. Leina pauses then. "Family, huh." She ruffles Nidaime's hair. Which she mildly regrets. "So these kids..."
Sayla steps in. "The Gridman Alliance, right Nidaime? You don't want them to know yet, right?" The blonde nods, and leans back in her seat. "...Chibodee would want to tell them, if he understood it." That could be a misread on Sayla's part. "But if you told him it was a secret, he'd keep it. He's honest like that."
Meanwhile, Leina is looking smug as shit for a few moments. "The best, right? And yet, Sayla insists on adding Neo-Bailey's to hers, ruins it. Keep the taste for sweets, kiddo." Leina looks down at Nidaime. "It'd be a long trip down to the sea at this time of night, do you want to stay over? We've definitely got room, you can get a good night's sleep, join us for breakfast, have a bath, I can message Roger to say Sayla's having a day off, then drive down and meet your dad. Sound fun?" She leans in. "And that we, we can make sure Sayla actually takes it easy for once. You know what she's like."
She sighs. "I see I'm not getting a say in this."
"Nope, that's the whole point!" Leina can be quite manipulative when she wants to be, and she's very good at it. Years of dealing with Judau, probably.
Sayla takes a sip of her drink, and sighs with a smile. "Alright. IF Nidaime wants to."
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nidaime's understanding of the theme here may be incomplete or inaccurate but it's the truth as far as she understands it.
"No... I mean... Mm..." Sayla's voice is cold, and Nidaime may not be strictly a newtype but as far as emotion filtered through sound she might as well be.
But that doesn't mean she's letting it get to her. She instead tries to understand it, where it's coming from. "Well, like me..." Nidaime isn't sure about that. She's a little weird even by kaiju stndards. Or is she? She doesn't really know the how of how she was made, only what her parents are and what they told her about herself.
"I don't...think it's quite like that though." Nidaime admits, looking up at the ceiling. "I mean...obviously I'd prefer being here... But I don't know if I prefer being here...if it means putting this world at risk. There's a lot of broken places here, and I don't...think I should help contribute to that. A lot of people are sad because of how this world got broken. They lost family or their country and most kaiju like me are guided by strong human wills and maybe some could be taken over and used to hurt a lot of people..."
She rubs at the cat's back. SHe doesn't think she's doing a great job of explaining it. If mom weren't music, she'd do a much better job of it, Nidaime thinks.
"I don't know if people coming into Tsutsujidai causes the same problems or not, I guess." Nidaime admits. "I'm pretty sure about kaijus going out though." She scratches her cheek. "I mean people are already going in and out so maybe it's inevitable and I won't have to worry about it eventually but... Well right now Gridman needs our help. And all those kids. The Alliance."
She nods once. "Yuta said some stuff that...I don't think we should move carelessly. Because it's not just Gridman that needs help. I remember a case like this, and there were trickier people who needed help and um--"
She racks her mind. "We should get to know them first, I think." Otherwise she'll just give the exposition away immediately and that'd suck!
She giggles at the hair ruffling. She likes that.
Should CHibodee know the truth. "I think... Chibodee likes not having to know all the things so he can just do what he thinks is important." That is Nidaime's analysis of Chibodee's character though, she does nod that Chibodee's an honest guy pretty much. Can't argue that!
"It was really cold outside," Nidaime adds at the invitation. "Is it okay to stay?"
Her awed expression, looking at Leina like she has somehow digivolved into a brilliant supergenius while she was away, speaks wonders. "Yeah! We can ride Anopapa!"
Sayla isn't getting a say in this but, well, look at that face.
For someone who thinks kaiju shouldn't exist in this reality, she sure is happy to be here.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
It's easy to forget thaty Nidaime's at least as old as Leina, if not moreso. For all she presents as and in many ways is a kid, she's been a kid for a long time. This is a lot to take on, for anyone. The fact that Nidaime's putting it on herself. "Nidaime..." No one should have to feel like being somewhere they like is a danger to everyone around them. But Sayla doesn't have any answers to that. Normally, she's more prepared but frankly... Doing something about that is going to far harder, and providing reassurances here feels... cruel, more than anything.
"...I think you're right," Sayla says eventually. "We should focus on helping the Gridman Alliance, and making sure they get through this. She smirks at her assessment of Chibodee. "...You're not wrong." It's a problem, in it's own way, but she'll manage that when she can.
When Nidaime seconds the request, Leina already has her phone out, texting Sayla's assistant. Sayla nods. "...Of course you can stay. You're always welcome here." She stands up. "In which case, we should go pick which room you want. Shall we?" Sayla is having a day off it seems.
But it might be good for all of them to focus on the good things, for once. You never get enough opportunities.
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nobody should feel like being somewhere they like is a danger to everyone around them.
Nidaime is older than she looks but she looks that way for a reason. It is how she sees herself. Homeless (in truth neither this world nor Tsutsujidai are her 'home'), Young (She still feels like a child in this vast and strange reality), and Small (Master Asia will never know his influence but how else can you feel when someone you trusted and loved killed others you trusted and loved).
One day, Nidaime thinks, a big strong lady. But it feels far away and because it feels so far away, it is. For now.
"Okay!" Nidaime says, smiling with--despite all of that--with genuine joy.
She has another long sip of that hot cocoa stuff first though wow that's so amazing Leina must be some kind of culinarian superstar, Nidaime thinks. "How did Leina get so powerful..." She whispers religiously.
But she stands up and will follow towards a room.
Maybe she can manage it because despite being a kaiju, despite not really belonging in this world--
--she was never made to feel that way by the people of this world. Indeed, she is made of love. Literally.
And every moment in this world she doesn't belong is a gift so she is, indeed, quite wealthy.