2022-07-22: I Don't Need to Hide Anymore
- Log: I Don't Need to Hide Anymore
- Cast: Leina Ashta, Puru Two, Arriety Hearn
- Where: Londenion
- Date: 22nd July 2022
- Summary: Leina arrives at Londenion to see an old friend and her newfound sister.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
After leaving Shangri-la, Leina traveled by shuttle to Londenion. It'd been a while since she'd been in space at all, much less to the place of her birth. Unsurprisingly, startlingly little had changed. Perhaps in some aspects Shangri-la was worse. However... that doesn't mean the visit was useless.
This visit had been arranged in advance, she wouldn't drop by unannounced unless she thought someone was avoiding her. She skips swinging by to see Bright Noa first, because she's received all the more incentive to visit Callisto and her roommate as soon as possible.
There's a spring in her step that's exaggerated by the low gravity as she heads down the row of apartments, double checking her phone for the number - and dropping it back in the tote bag she's brought with her. Instead she grips a Haro green communicator in her hand, precious cargo that was given to her, and... knocks on the door lightly.
What they'll see at the door, or on any viewscreens to confirm its her is a young woman with short, curly and fluffy brown hair. Despite being nineteen she's still wearing a star barrette on the left side. She's dressed casually, a grey T-Shirt with the mascot 'Lucifer' of the hit movie 'Artesia' from two years back. It's a dented off-black Haro with white hands and feet extended, and yellow eyeholes. A pair of denim shorts, white socks and grey sneakers.
She's definitely smiling. There's just about nothing that could wipe this smile off her face right now...
... Oh no what's she up to.
For those with Newtype senses, it's perhaps a bit odd, Leina's a known Newtype herself, and powerful at that. However... they don't feel her approach. There's not that pressure of her intent coming towards Callisto. It's only when she's examined up close that one with those senses might realize that vast sea of Newtype pressure is being compressed almost entirely inside herself, with very little leaking out.
It's a trick Sayla taught her, to help keep her safe.
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety's been put in leave following very scary altercations with void women and nearly being in mortal danger, to give her a chance to take a break and recuperate for a bit. That means time off in their apartments, since she really shouldn't have Minae grab a place and then never use it; it's good to alternate staying on a ship and a colony to mix it up.
It's also somewhat rare that Callisto's got visitors, so she's promised to clean up and also prepare some food for her visit. The black-haired Korean girl's currently working up a bowl of nachos and chips with a variety of dips in the middle -- a cheese and green onion dip, a salsa dip, and sour cream on the third half of the bowl.
She's also got something bubbling on the stove behind her, which has the pleasant scent of chillis, garlic and soybeans, since Miss Howmei's taught her well.
Arriety hears the knock on the door and smiles. "Oh, is that her, Callie-sis? I can't step away from the stove at the moment, sorry."
Arriety's Newtype presence, contrasting to Leina's, is... loud and vibrant. She's a girl with plenty of latent, untapped strength on that wavelength, and comparatively little in the way of being able to control it; her presence feels... a little dark, gripped with the stench of death about her, with a small fragile core of life in the middle -- but right now, it's also calm, soothed by the presence of her sister. Not as spiky and prickly as it usually is.
<Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
Eight years... it's been eight years since the First Neo-Zeon War. That's nearly half of Callisto Diana's total age. Practically a lifetime ago.
Eight years without a word from anyone, as if all the actors had left the stage and gone their separate ways. She'd wondered if that would be it. If her one-time saviors had disappeared for good... space is a big place, after all.
>> "Oh, is that her, Callie-sis? I can't step away from the stove at the moment, sorry."
But this year, it is as if the seal is broken. Familiar souls come back into close orbit. Older, wiser, but no less vibrant. One after the other, after the other. Is it overwhelming? Perhaps a touch.
"Oh--yeah, that must be." the girl with the short orange bob is trying to program an electronic display on the wall to show a landscape painting instead of the colony weather programming. She's not the most domestic person. Without badgering, her room would probably remain a white box with a bed in it and little else. "I'll get the door..."
The calm looks and the easy grace are all a facade. Callisto, Puru Two, whatever name she's grabbed on a given day... is a little nervous. She always is, when reckoning with her past. She pads quietly across the apartment to the door, dressed in the terribly exciting combo of... a mauve blouse, jeans, and white socks. She takes a deep breath, and then swallows her anxiety. It's as physical a motion as it is mental: she actually swallows hard and tries to look on the bright side.
Maybe moving to adulthood is harder than piloting the robot was.
The door to the apartment swishes open. There she is before Leina Ashta: a surviving sister of that pure-hearted (if slightly confused) gremline, Elpeo Puru. Taller, yes, but immediately recognizable.
"H--" Callisto Diana briefly clears her throat, her cool opening move destroyed. "Hello, Leina..."
If she looks cowed about anything, it's about sounding like she has a cold for a few seconds instead of a cool big sister.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
A side effect of closing off her pressure is that she unfortunately keeps herself from receiving anyone else's, until they're up close. Basically right beside her. Thus she doesn't get it until she's at the door. There's a cant of her head to the side as she lets herself feel it. "Oh."
Her eyes half-lid, as if taking this in as a first impression. A sadness in her green eyes. It doesn't wipe the smile off her face though. It's a familiar feeling, in a way.
However, then the door swishes open and she straightens up. Did she notice? There's a soft giggle - yep she absolutely did - "Hey Callisto." They haven't been up close in years. So it's easy to think there'd be some distance on Leina's part. Even back then though, they didn't know each other well. As she steps in though, she drops the tote bag, and utilizes her arms for something else.
She tries to wrap them around her before she can protest or resist, into a hug. Arriety from her vantage may notice the green communicator she's holding in one hand wrapped around her. Whether Leina succeeds or not though is up to Callisto. If she refuses it, she doesn't seem offended.
"I'm so happy to finally be here. I've been waiting for this for such a long time."
It truly doesn't seem like she's trying to guilt her or anything either. She waited for Judau and Roux almost as long. Leina doesn't hold onto the hug awkwardly long or anything though, her head cants to the side. "Oh is that Arriety? So nice to meet you!"
Lifting her tote back up she heads inside, looking at the Landscape painting on display and around the apartment. "Wow, Londo Bell arranged you two a really nice place. I'll have to let Bright know he gets a passing grade." She sniffs, "Mmmmm-! Something certainly smells incredible."
There's a mischievous grin on her face, she's leading up to something. "So, how do you two like your life here?"
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
The First Neo Zeon War... more than any other event in the past, that's the one that keeps coming back to her friends around her -- whether it's with her sister Callisto, or Rena, or in the way Roux and Judau have routed into her life, and now she's meeting Judau's sister in turn...!
She smiles as Callisto goes to fetch the door, and calls out for Leina -- there's an unconscious aura reaching out to her to try to reassure her, but it's a bit faint. She looks up, red eyes and all, towards Leina as she enters and smiles. "Oh, hello! Yes, that's me, Arriety Hearn, it's nice to meet you."
Myrme is... somewhere inside the apartment and she hasn't seen her in a bit -- hopefully she's not chewing through the circuit breaker again. That was hard to explain to building management.
She's content to give them a bit of time, though, given the first moments of a reunion tend to be the most important; she snaps the fire shut and opens the lid and takes a whiff of her cooking, seemingly content with it.
"It is a nice place," Arriety agrees. "When Miss Roux said she got a nice place, we inquired about it as well and pretty much all got places in the same block... we switch between the Ra Mari and these apartments a lot, but I certainly can't complain."
Arriety takes her apron off -- she's got a full-length sweater with gloves on, as well as pajama pants and indoor slippers because she's an adult now and she's allowed to do that.
"I made lunch for us, and some snacks to start too," she smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Leina!"
<Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
Feelings come in a rush, and that's normal. Events like this just... happen, and even with a little forewarning, it's easy to get overwhelmed in the moment. So many unknowns, after all.
To hear her chosen name from the lips of someone who knows the truth is always a tricky thing, too. On one hand... are they really convinced? Or are they being polite? On the other hand, it's wonderful. It's an affirming thing, knowing you aren't defined by the ghosts of your past.
So that's why Callisto is a little stunned after being greeted. What's perhaps surprising is that she returns the gesture quite decisively after being given the surprise hug, putting both arms around Leina and squeezing her like a long-lost sister. From such a distance, one doesn't have to be psychic to read the signs. Relief, happiness, tenderness, these are all worn on the sleeve right now. "I know you were waiting... somehow." she speaks softly, maybe at risk of being a little choked up.
The hug is as much for her own sake as it is for the sake of those who have moved on, and can't offer hugs from the next life (yet).
The clone-girl smiles as she steps back and gestures for Leina to c'mon in, the two heading inside.
"It's not a bad home. Probably Mr. Noa's doing." Callisto sounds just a little cheeky, a hand on Leina's shoulder as Arriety calls to the both. "Yeah... Arriety, this is Judau's sister Leina. She was really close to my sister, you can trust her like one of the Kakapos."
That -is- a kind word, indeed. Perhaps Puru Two knows a little from her departed family, the bond of trust definitely feels evident.
"Our life here is... yeah, it's a nice place. But like Arriety said, sometimes we're underway a lot and not back here for a while. But we get to be together, and that helps the both of us a lot."
After a few moments, Callisto laughs softly as she remembers herself. "Ah--I don't... host that many guests outside of our unit. Feel free to have a seat, um, we can get you a drink or whatever you'd like..."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It is a bit of a surprise that Callisto hugs back - and yet it's not either. Time changes things. They're both different than they were years ago, when they first spoke. "It's alright." A hand actually reaches up and tousles her hair fondly and briefly, in a gesture more familiar than by all rights, it should be. "Seeing you again makes every moment worth it."
It's nice to have confirmation that Bright helped, and that Judau and Roux helped arrange them being so close. Bright officially gets to remain on her good side. "I'd heard! It's a relief really, knowing you two are within walking distance of Roux and my big brother." She winks at Arriety while resting a hand on her hip on the same side, "I need /someone/ watching out for them while I'm figuring out which University I want to attend next year."
A beat, the hand is peeled off her hip as she raises a finger in the air, "I'm looking forward to it. Mmmm-" She takes a moment as if trying to identify it, "-Korean if I'm not mistaken? It's been so long since I've got to sit down for some."
Life with Sayla afforded this girl from Shangri-la exposure to food from so many cultures. She's treasured every single moment that she might not have had otherwise.
As she smiles and takes a seat wherever she's bid, she puts down the tote bag, "Whatever you've got available to drink. Promise I'm not picky." And then she puts the Green Communicator down in any space available to her. "I was going to work up to this but... It'd be cruel to make you wait any longer. I met this boy on my visit to Shangri-la - his name was Banagher Links, a real sweetheart really. Well he told me he's currently traveling on a freighter named the Garencieres."
She's assessing Callisto's expression to see if she already understands where this is leading. It's quite possible she might already have this lead. "With a girl named Marida Cruz. He gave me this as a way of getting in touch with him."
Banagher saw a girl from her memories in a moment of connection, one that he said looked very much like Marida. She omits that part, not because she's hiding it, but because there's no need to hurt Callisto if she doesn't need to.
"I don't have confirmation yet, but I think she's one of your sisters. And if she is - Minovsky density willing - this could be your direct line to her."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety wordlessly moves the platter of chips and dips towards a coffee table, regarding the scene for a moment as Callisto pulls in more tightly. Relief, happiness, tenderness... she's reminded that not everything from the past has to be full of grief and misery. Sometimes, you're reunited with someone and that's a wonderful thing, without strings attached.
Arriety nods at Callisto's introduction. "Mmm," she smiles as she mentions she was close to her sister.
... she can't see her right now, but she does see her sometimes... Elpeo Puru. There's unmistakably sadness there, but... it doesn't have to just be sadness.
She looks a bit embarrassed for a moment when Leina brings up her brother, and she admits: "The first time I met him, I might have, um-- Miss Roux didn't quite bring up they were staying together, so I thought I'd entered the wrong apartment when he came out in his underwear and I ran out screaming, ahaha..."
It's told with the faint embarrassment of a fond, funny memory, though. At least Judau doesn't sound like he's changed at all. Leina points out Korean food, and she nods. "Yeah. I'm a Spacenoid, but my parents and grandparents are from Korea, so I've been trying to reconnect... someone kind showed me how to make traditional dishes from there."
The topic shifts as Leina explains Banagher, though, which prompts a light of realisation. "Oh, I met Banagher the other day... he's really nice, and I kinda feel for his situation. ... I'm kind of in the same situation too."
But he's travelling on a freighter called the Garencieres, and... it could lead Callisto to a girl named Marida Cruz. Marida...
There's a pause, and her heart stills just for a moment. She looks to Callisto, and reaches for her hand gently.
<Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
Through the living room they go! A quick pause to adjust the environmental controls, maybe call up some easy listening music, or something... Callisto hurries to fetch their guest a drink, too. Today's treat: sweetened, chilled darjeeling milk tea. (It was on special for a pack of 12.)
"Arriety's cooking is incredible." she's quick to point out, just a little proud of the fact. It feels very familial, very wholesome. "She's always been good, but she learned a lot of tricks from the head chef on that Nergal vessel, and now..."
She pauses once Leina pipes up, listening to her intently. She can tell there's something important to be said, and quietens down to listen. Her gaze flickers at the mention of the Garencieres.
Like a switch flicked, the thrum of emotion inside of her flips. Polarity switch. Her heart is in her throat momentarily. It's clear that Callisto knows about *something* to do with the Garencieres already, even if she doesn't move a muscle.
"Marida Cruz..." she murmurs, her gaze tracking down to the cute little Haro comms-device.
(... Twelve.)
Callie is nobody's fool, okay, even if she's sometimes a little emotional. She can tell Arriety is worried about this one, and the two reach out for one another for a moment. It's amazing what even just a little reassuring touch can do, right? Thus, they hold hands for a bit. It helps calm her down.
"That's... a lot." Callisto admits with a quirky little smile after she's regained her composure utterly. "It's great. It's just--it's a shock. I thought I felt something this one time, but wasn't sure..."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina doesn't seem too scandalized at the thought of Judau walking around in his underwear and Arriety catching it and running out screaming. Quite the opposite, she does seem disappointed, "He's still so casual about that." There's a long-suffering sigh of a little sister who knows ALL ABOUT him doing this, "Never in a rush to put on pants when there's company about."
Despite her taking up the role of trying to instill more responsibility into his life, it's always been an uphill battle. And for some reason despite her frustration, she can't help but think of him in the fondest possible way. As Arriety points that out, Leina smiles wistfully, "I think that's a wonderful way to do it. Honestly I'm a bit jealous. I'm a Spacenoid born and raised myself but I don't really know anything about where I come from. Other than 'Shangri-la'."
And as Callisto mentions that her cooking is incredible, "My my, the Callisto seal of approval. Now I'm really looking forward to this." She winks at Arriety, "No pressure."
They'll both likely know about Shangri-La, the first Colony on Side 1. Badly in disrepair. A 'Shangri-La' only for the rich who want nothing more than to get away to some place even more upscale, a slum for the poor who have very few jobs available for them. A dumping ground for Earth's poor.
As Arriety notes she's met Banagher, Leina's eyes light up, though as she mentions she's in the same situation, it becomes more sympathy, "I'm sorry to hear that. He told me all about his situation, so I can only imagine what yours is. If you want to tell me about it later, I'd be all ears. I'm desperate to get to know both of you."
Just like that though, she can feel the switch flicked in Callisto's heart. The murmur. She can feel as Arriety and her reach out for each other, and she's glad that they both have each other. She understands how much this truly is to take in, so she patiently waits, and she doesn't look disappointed by her reaction. "It's okay. Really. I can only imagine how hard it's been on you."
Her eyes lid for a moment, she's sorry for this next part... but she has to say it...
A soft sigh, "There's... something else. He offered for me to come with him. I almost did. However, he mentioned it was a 'terrorist' vessel - and I declined. He assures me they're all very good people, and I trust his instincts... but..." Eventually her eyes lift up towards Callisto anew, sorrow apparent at the coming bad news, "...I think the Garencieres is a Sleeves vessel."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety seems completely onboard with letting her sister indulge her extreme sweet tooth -- and to be honest, sweetened darjeeling milk tea is a great notch better than... canned parfait or whatever other sugary nightmare Callisto last found.
"I'm not surprised it's been a lifelong thing, to be honest," Arriety grins softly to Leina on the topic of Judau's antics, and her familiar long-suffering.
She flushes a little as her cooking is complimented, though. "It's cliche, but I do mean it when I say it's because I'm cooking for you and everyone else, sis." Leina says she's a bit jealous, since she's Spacenoid-born but doesn't really know anything about where she came from...
"... I think... that's important too," Arriety does say. "Winter Wonderland, where I've lived with Callie-sis and the others for years now... that's just as important as where my parents came from."
She does know about Shangri-La. It's much worse off than Winter Wonderland, which is... largely nice, if a tourist trap, with all the connotations that come with that: very nice mainstream areas, and significantly less nice areas outside of the tourist path.
Arriety's fortunate enough to live in a not terrible part of town.
Her psychic profile softens up considerably as she does so, so you know it's truthful.
A little pause, as she works through the news of Marida Cruz. She squeezes her hand in turn, and then Puru Two explains about the feeling she felt this one time... then Leina explains further. That the Garencieres is a Sleeves vessel.
There's a pause, and she reaches for a remote and presses a button. She reassures: "Minae told me to press that button if we ever have to talk about anything sensitive."
With that out of the way, though...
"... if you... want to sneak out and meet her, I'll help you, of course. I don't care what it means," Arriety is quick to reassure her.
<Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
There's a lot to Judau Ashta that Puru Two doesn't know. The boy who ran to Jupiter, the boy who saw the good in her despite all the awful things she was forced to do to him and his friends, the boy who cared for her sister as if she were his own blood...
... also wound up being, yes, the grown man fumbling around in his underwear. But there was something familiar about him, even after all those years, which shone through. A purity of heart that must be fairly similar to Leina, or at least, there's something linking the two that Puru Two can trust. Even if the younger sibling is the more organised one.
So, Puru Unit II gently sits down on a kitchen chair and lets out a long breath as she listens intent to Leina. A ghost of a smile returns to her face as she starts to gather her thoughts, peices them together. "I had a feeling it was a Sleeves crew before you said anything, somehow..." she admits. "I only saw them briefly. And they didn't give off a bad feeling. But even so..."
(Banagher's favourite line.)
There's probably no confirming beep or anything, as Arriety thumbs the switch that effectively kills every listening device or Internet Of Things-enabled gadget in the house. And then the girl talks a little less apprehensively.
"... it's going to be dangerous, but I want to see my sister again." Callisto admits after a few moments of reflection. Her gaze meets Leina's, averts again at seeing the sad look on her face, and then locks eyes with Arriety's. The degree to which the soft-spoken girl from Winter Wonderland has her back continues to mean the world to her.
"I want to meet this boy, too. Not as Londo Bell pilots or anything like that, just..." she pauses, searching for the right words. "Just as... people."
"... did you want to see them again too, Leina?"
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"I had to scold him all the time because he kept doing it in front of Elle. He never stopped though."
As Arriety notes that she thinks that Spacenoid origin is important, "I agree. I think in my heart I'll always be just a girl from Shangri-la. Could have lived there my whole life I think - but I'm glad I didn't." Leina giggles at Arriety's blush though over her compliments, "I can understand that feeling. We have staff back at the Villa - but I like to cook on my own. It's just, my way of caring for the people in my life." A beat, "You'll have to let me cook for the two of you sometime. I can make an incredible Paella-" She holds up a finger, "-you won't be disappointed. I suppose that means I've been drafted by Spain in the long run."
That's an understatement, Sayla and her bicker in Spanish all the time.
Then it comes, the idea of calling for the others, sneaking out and leaving to meet her. That Arriety and others would back Callisto up like that feels wonderful. There's a sense of warmth and understanding. Like, if Callisto wanted to leave this very moment, she'd support her. If she were in her position, she wouldn't want to miss this opportunity either.
The switch is flipped though, and by that description she figures that it's true she could speak freely. She's just, assessing her quietly letting her work through her feelings.
That she already understands it might be the Sleeves? A great relief. That she didn't get a bad feeling from them? Even moreso.
"I'm glad." Leina says that she wants to see her sister again, its soft, understanding. That he wants to meet this boy too, as people. And then she asks her...
'... did you want to see them again too, Leina?'
Leina slowly stands up, and the two of them might feel it, that moment she just lets go. And that pressure spreads out like a vast sea all across the psychic plane. It's warm, gentle, inviting - sorrow felt deep beneath the surface. Not hidden - but also not in plain sight except to those who willingly take the plunge.
It's shockingly vast perhaps, certainly not as powerful Judau or Haman Karn's pressure... but still so very strong.
It's a gesture, where she wants them to understand her, as only Newtypes or those like them can understand. Approaching Callisto, she says to her quietly, "Very much so. I'm not a mobile suit pilot, so I can't go all over on a whim like the two of you can..."
Her green eyes fix upon her, and they both can feel her longing, that desperate desire, "... but I never stopped looking for you, for them." She was definitely worried about her, when she vanished for that time, until Judau gave her the news, "I've been in touch with everyone we know about it. Listening for rumors, looking for signs."
As she steps forward, they can feel this sadness, this warmth of compassion, "All this time. For your sake. For theirs." And then she holds out her hand, palm up. She's not trying to hurt her. She knows it will hurt all the same. It's necessary though. "For her. For however much that girl hurt me... we decided to be a family in the end. I know she'd-"
Leina stops and after a moment corrects herself as that's not quite right, radiating that firm sense of resolve, "-she wants this, for all of you. And I do too."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety processes Callisto's wish to see her sister again. That she knew it was a Sleeves crew, before she said anything. But it doesn't make her feel bad.
"When I first came onboard the Ra Mari all those months ago, I promised to myself... I don't want to be the kind of adult who first judges people based on what groups they're on. Whether they're 'Fed' or 'Sleeves' or 'Zeon' or whatever... those kinds of people who basically look at the colour of your shirt and decide they don't like you already. I hate that kind of superficial person," Arriety expresses firmly.
"And I know the rest of the Ra Mari would support us too."
Not as Londo Bell pilots, just as people.
She relaxes just a bit as Leina tells her about her past in Shangri-La, and her cooking. "At first I... never quite had something like that on my end at first -- when I was little, since my parents were laborers, they kept moving from colony to colony. It wasn't until I got adopted by Auntie Seo-yun that I finally found a home... with so many important people in my life."
She smiles just a bit wider. "I'd love to try your paella. And we can have lunch when we're ready too -- I made sundubu-jjigae -- it's a kind of spicy soft tofu soup."
Callisto asks a very important question -- does she want to see them again?
Arriety feels that pressure washing over her; for a moment, she ceases to stand on the floor of her apartment, beside her sister; she's aloft in Leina's sea, cast upon the shadows of her face. There's sorrow, but also a warm, gentle strength...
Someone who never gave up trying to connect people. Someone who navigates this wide and wonderful world, no matter how dark and violent and scary it may be...
A guiding light in the dark and stormy sea.
"... yeah... let's go together," she agrees. "I'll help protect you two as best I can, whatever I can do."
<Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
The girl who calls herself Callisto looks up from where she sits, as Leina gets to her feet. Almost since she had learned to form words, she'd known how to convey and receive feelings in a different sense. And once, she might have recoiled from being intruded upon in that space where thoughts are shared without the need for clumsy crutches such as language. But certainly no longer.
In the same beat as Arriety gives her answer, she seems to agree: "Together." with a little smile on her face. As if finally working up the courage to make a big ask. "You know Eight and the others will cover for us."
Callisto does not reach out and take Leina's hand. At least, not on the plane of the physical. But step above--or beyond--however you picture the realm where thoughts and feelings bounce around between those with sufficient awareness; there, the girl with the hair the colour of sunset clearly welcomes these emotions, makes the connection with this brave young woman.
Arriety once summed it up well, how it is to accept someone despite all their faults: "the whole messy package". So it goes here. However many hiccups and bumps in the road Leina and the strange girl from Axis might have had along the way, in the end, they were family. And it hasn't been forgotten.
"--ha." Callie has a soft laugh after a moment, a single syllable. Like the tail end of a longer giggle escapes her lips, thoughts transitioning back to the world of the physical. She reaches up and wipes her eyes briefly. Knowing that young Leina has been searching just as hard as she, and perhaps just as fruitlessly until now... something about it resonates strongly in her. Moisture thus gathers in the corners of her eyes.
"What'd I do to deserve family like you two, I wonder...?" she asks happily, pausing to cover her mouth with a hand and steady her breathing (so she doesn't make the giveaway *sniff* of cheerful tears). "I wouldn't have dreamed this chance up, not one year ago..."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina looks at Arriety in surprise as she says that, and then there's a broad smile, a sense of admiration radiating outward. "We have a lot in common I think." Says a girl, who once had an existential crisis on her true awakening as a Newtype, on the kind of adult she wants to be, upon discovering the version of adulthood that exists in the upper echelons of the Federation. In most ways, no better than Haman Karn's Neo-Zeon, "I admit, I do trust Banagher's instincts of them. I'm just a bit scared of the past repeating itself, but only because even if they are good people... they may have superiors who might know about my connection to Judau and Sayla. If they do, they may order them to take advantage of that connection..." Pause, "... I can't do that to them. Not to him again. Not to her."
And also, not to herself. Though as always, she is the last on her list of priorities compared to the others in her life.
Arriety will feel it, when she mentions her parents were laborers, moving from colony to colony. That sense of solidarity. But also... a void of a connection. Left by parents who were in too desperate a situation to have any choice but to accept letting their children fend for themselves. To grow more and more distant, save the small amount of money they sent home.
Then a brightening of her emotions on the end of the tale, her Aunt, a home, people important in her life. A lot in common indeed.
"Sounds delightful. I've never had that particular dish before, but-" She winks at her, "-I bet I can take the heat, at least." Mysterious, is she as immune to spicy food as Judau is to brain freeze? She'll never tell~
On that psychic plane, Callisto reaches for her. And not a disembodied hand - never that, but a pink silhouette of her soul shaped like her physical form takes hold. It offers understanding, validation. Acknowledgement of all those messy feelings. A sharing of feelings just as messy on their own about this whole situation. There are feelings deep beneath the surface, but she does not drag her down there.
One day I'll ask you. ...But not yet.
It is a choice for her to make. An invitation. Not yet though. It isn't the time. The hand keeps hold only as long as she wants her to on that plane, then it lets go without complaint.
"It's not about deserving." Leina answers her warmly, as she reaches up, to lightly tousle Callie's hair fondly, like she's a little sister she's known for some time. Not someone she's only met a handful of times. A bond on her side that she's tried to forge even more strongly even in absent, "Some things just are." As she touches a hand over her chest, "You feel it. You know."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
"I'm definitely being serious," Arriety nods to Callisto. "I know what'd happen if some of the stuck-up jerks in the Federation find out it was your idea... so I want them to focus on me instead. Let them yell at the clueless civilian attache who got caught onboard all of this, instead."
It's unspoken, but the obvious fear is that Callisto is going to get branded a traitor -- perhaps she's trying to direct that fear by impulsively using herself and her more unusual status as a shield. It's Leina's fear, on the other side.
But she does trust Eight will be able to smooth it out.
"I'd... I'd say you didn't have to do anything," Arriety answers softly. "You shouldn't need to do anything, or keep doing anything, to have a wonderful family. So many people don't get that chance, or they get it robbed from them, or have awful conditions attached to it..."
Her smile is just a bit more sad. "I'm just giving it back a little, after what Eight and Rena and Annie and Minae and you all gave me."
Her attention is on Leina again, as she says she has something in common. She doesn't have words for it... but she does sort of understand what she's talking about. "Yeah... I'll try my hardest so we have an out, if that happens."
There's a secret weapon eating USB cables like they were silly string in her bedroom right now, after all.
She nods towards Leina's own sentiment, letting the two share something on that psychic layer -- and she turns towards the food. "I'll get us prepared for lunch!"
<Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
Fair and reasonable, really, that Callisto and Leina don't yet reveal the very core of their thoughts to each other on this emotional reunion... not yet. No, there are still things to be worked through. As heartening as it may be to finally reconnect, to make amends for time lost... as open and begrudgingly warm-hearted as Callisto might be, someone as emotionally mature as Leina can tell that there's still something deep in the other girl's soul. A hesitation, something she hasn't forgiven herself for... isn't sure if she ever can.
This, Arriety has known too, for as long as the two have known one another.
(... will I know the answer when you ask? I'm not sure... )
Callisto gently shakes her head. As if to clear the cobwebs from it. A kind of physical tell that she's back in her own mind after the moment has passed. Feeling with the five senses once more, and not so lost admidst the sixth. She even inclines her head slightly. Just a touch, acquiescing to the hand in her hair.
"You just know." she agrees, simply, with Leina's words. "I think... when you meet the rest of our little family," because the denizens of the Ra Mari are more than just a team, they really are family. "You'll feel the same way. Maybe... it'll feel nostalgic. Like that ship... the Argama?"
Before Arriety can skedaddle to finish the lunch preparations, her big sis taps her on the hand and takes hold of it again.
"Arriety. If the brass get all riled up at you..."
... the orange-haired clone grins just a little, despite the tenderness of the whole scene.
"Then I'm gonna toss my commission. We can figure it out on the run. I don't need to hide anymore."
So many strong feelings this afternoon...
... and so many gourmet treats!
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina cants her head to the side, watching Arriety as she gives her answer. It's something she agrees with so much - the two really have a lot more in common than one would think on first impressions. She's so happy that the two have each other.
And when she tells her she'll try her hardest to have an out, "I appreciate that. Thank you so much... it's a real relief. I just... thank you." And she /does/ trust her when she says that much.
If Leina had to be honest, part of it is guesswork, years of thinking about how this reunion might go. Years of trying to think of ways to make sure it went well. Years of trying to think of ways to help her heal. Even when she didn't know if she'd ever see her again.
She was worth that effort.
Instead of answering her on the psychic plane. Leina actually pokes a finger lightly to her forehead, right in the center of her bangs. And with a wink offers that line "I have faith in you." Even if she doesn't in herself. In the end, Callisto Diana must decide what she needs.
When Callisto mentions the Ra Mari, like that ship the Argama.. she gets a sudden flash of images.
A younger girl - Leina - passing out meals. As Shinta and Qum help, alternatively playing with a Haro.
Bright Noa in mortal combat with a chicken, ubiquitous laughter.
Beecha and Mondo conspiring in some scheme.
Fa slapping Judau, as Bright comes between them.
Astoinage waving a wrench as Judau as he closes the hatch of a Zeta Gundam and takes off half-cocked.
Roux and Elle quarreling as Elle makes childish gestures at her.
Leina in a normal suit, sitting on Roux's lap in a Core Fighter.
Children. Teenagers. The crew of the Argama, nearly bereft of adults, somehow making it work. Somehow.
"I'd very much like to meet them all." Leina says, and Callisto will understand how vast of an understatement that is.
There's a pause, when the two talk about the brass perhaps not appreciating the desertion. "If it comes down to it, I will call in every favor I have with Bright Noa. However, if that isn't enough..." Leina winks at them both, "... Don't worry. I know where you two can go."
Leina may not be a part of the Shuffle Alliance, but she's /certain/ Sayla will take them in.
"So let's just enjoy our lunch. ... Then figure out the rest after."