2023-02-17: Forms of Love
- Log: Forms of Love
- Cast: Arriety Hearn, Eight York
- Where: Ra Mari II
- OOC - IC Date: 17th February 2023
- Summary: Arriety and Eight catch up after the former's absence.
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety's been... well, to say she's a 'presence' is wrong, because she doesn't really try to stand out in a crowd or anything, but she's definitely been going from one task to another in a kind of restless fever, as if stopping is going to make her unbearably bored. Eight receives a notice that she's just finished doing her routine patrol; minutes later, she's just about done with the post-flight checks and is hovering away from the Zeta Gundam, moving towards the hallways and getting ready to transition to artificial gravity. She's already back in her oversized jacket, turtleneck and skirt combo and looks pretty tired.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight York, on the other hand, is usually something of a presence! There's both the matter of her warm, red aura for those who can sense it, and the way she stands out on the ship... in part because people tend to salute her. But no salutes just now; she's already changed out of her new uniform for the day, and so she's in civilian attire, a loose flowing white top and some jeans.
So there she is, at the hallway where artificial gravity kicks in more strongly, standing there waiting.
"Hi," she says. "Long patrol?"
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety's aura hasn't... been quite the same ever since she came back. Gone is the overbearing, powerful presence that she occupies on the psychic spectrum, the almost borderless signature that's often spiky and always pulsating; what's replaced it is... something a lot smaller, inwards. She's found borders and walls. Maybe that's a good thing, in a way. They feel damaged, though.
"Oh......" Arriety blinks, just catching up to Eight's presence being there. "Kinda. Didn't find anyone, but there were a few old space mines... it was kinda hard to deal with them, but we made do."
She smiles wearily. "You're off the clock? ... I think I kinda like that, changing out so you know you're 'off'... I don't really change clothes."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight can sense the damage. So maybe it's a good thing... But there's not only good things. That's all right, though. Eight has told Arriety before that she values her, good and bad. She wouldn't want her to only show the good to her.
"I see," Eight answers. "Well, good work! I'm sure I'll see the report later, too."
She smiles back. "I am," she says. "I like it, too; I used to stay in uniform even off-duty... but after all that time without uniforms I found I like wearing my own clothes around the ship."
She turns to the side, as if to invite Arriety to walk with her. "It's worth thinking about," she says, of changing clothes. "...Hmmm... Maybe I should get you back to your quarters. You seem tired."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety starts walking. She doesn't seem used to having to walk everywhere; she's become something of a lift grip kid on her time around the first Ra Mari and other low-gravity ships, perhaps. ... it might be better for her to walk, though, because the amount of accidents Arriety's gotten into holding one of those and not paying attention and crashing into someone or a wall is: not zero.
"I'm tired, but I don't want to just like, wave you off or anything," Arriety insists. "Hmm. Yeah, I remember... I feel like you're more comfortable here -- well, that's obvious, but like... ...well, like you said. It's home. It might be the first place since Winter Wonderland that really has a chance, too..."
She picks at her hair a little. "I do need to go shop for clothes. I don't want to just borrow a quarter of Miss Chovan's wardrobe forever."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight enjoys walking! But then, there are many reasons she likes having more solid artificial gravity. She bumps her head less in her quarters this way...
"Then we'll visit," Eight says brightly. She is--obviously in a very good mood. It's hard not to notice it, really, even for someone who doesn't know her so well; she's practically aglow.
"I am," Eight says. "I liked the old ship. I hope we can do something with it other than 'hand it back to the Federation to use as a tool of oppression'," she says too, but then she considers. "That's true," she admits. "Nowhere else has had a chance for me... and it sounds like Londenion really didn' get there for you."
Eight smiles. "I can go with you, if you want. It might be fun. A new wardrobe..."
Licia needs her clothes back!! ...Well, not that urgently.
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety walks for a bit longer, then stops once she's at her quarters, which... ... well, honestly, it's just a bog-standard basic quarters as was appointed to her a few days ago, with no furnishings above it. She pauses, then walks to sit on the nearest chair in the living quarters. "... I like it, honestly. The old room was just one space and then a combined bathroom and shower. Now I have two. If we need a Ra Mari III, I expect three rooms, clearly..."
She chuckles faintly, and then looks up at Eight again. She likes sharing in this good mood of Eight's; just like in the past, it's positively infectious. She feels less tired already.
"Also... yeah. I'm not sure when we'll have time to go shopping, but... it'd be fun. ... Minae's been bugging me about it. I might actually have to buy things other than turtlenecks to appease her."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight doesn't mind that it's basic quarters. Arriety's only had them for a couple of days; not everyone goes all in on decorating like she tries to. Eight tends to put a lot of effort into her spaces... which requires having the energy to have that effort, if not necessarily the time to put it in.
There's always things that can be cut!
"Ahahah," Eight says. "I'll keep that in mind."
She smiles back; her mood has held very well, all day, and she has no reason to expect it won't now. Especially since she seems to be able to cheer Arriety up a little.
She steps into the room and looks around, though. "We can drop by a neutral port soon," Eight says. "We can make the time; it's important, and... well, it's better if we stock while we can anyway."
It would be fun! That's encouraging. "Has she?" Hmmm. "You might just! I think there's a lot of fun options. Lately I've been into jackets and scarves, but I guess that's the season talking." Not that the temperature changes on the ship.
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
At the very least, she's obtained the stuff that they saved from the old shop -- it's conspicuously still in a cardboard box on the table, though it's been opened. Sadly, there aren't *that* many things in there, in part because she took some of her belongings back when she was hospitalised and discharged, so they're now busy being repossessed or something in Londenion.
The video game console Lavhi helped her jailbreak is there, though. But it doesn't look like Arriety's been in the mood for it.
"... yeah. It's gonna be expensive to stock a ship like this... maybe I can find short-term contracts or something to help out...?" Arriety wonders. "Sorry. That's work talk, and we're both off. Minae keeps insisting she's got creds on the line, but I'm not sure how dodgy they are... ...I wanna buy my own stuff with my own money anyway. It's about time."
The season, huh? "I'm almost expecting this ship to have simulated seasons, like a colony... though I'm not sure everyone'd be happy about freezing or melting corridors." She looks at Eight for about three seconds. "Hmm. A scarf is... nostalgic, with you. It reminds me of Winter Wonderland."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
That does give Eight some pause. A cardboard box, still...
She doesn't comment immediately. She instead shakes her head. "No need to be sorry. But it's all right. We can handle things like this. And I kind of worry when Minae talks about 'creds'..." A pause, and a nod. "Yes. I think that would be good."
"Haha. Maybe," Eight says. "But I suspect you're right. Weather gets dodgy..."
Then three seconds. And--
"Oh, yeah?" Eight asks. "Well, I consider that to be really good times, even now..."
"It's why I didn't start using my birth name. Well, one of the reasons."
Pause. "Do you want some help setting up, sometime? I'd be happy to do it with you."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
"... yeah ... I just imagine Minae saying 'light crimes'..." Arriety remarks, once she's given it some actual thought. Maybe there's a cartoon image of Minae robbing a virtual bank in a domino mask, carrying away a bag of suspicious virtual currency.
Arriety nods in turn, though. "Yeah... I mean, you looked good in them. Though I'm not sure there's anything you look bad in. Even when you were being Santa's helper."
She blinks a few times, though, at the mention of the birth name. She glances away for a moment. That's right, Rena mentioned that they'd found out some bad stuff, but...
"Oh... yeah. I think if I don't get a bit of a push, I might just keep putting it off." She seems curious, though, but... is it really the right time to ask, when she's in a good mood?
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"'Light crimes'," Eight says with a sigh. Yes. Maybe Newtype powers don't usually include visuals, but Eight certainly gets the spirit of the idea. But...
"Thanks," Eight says, and smiles a little wider. "Haha. Are you sure? You might just be saying that about the elf outfit..." Beat, "Though I did like the ears."
Eight notices Arriety glance away... Hmm. But first, "Then let's do it once you've had a chance to go shopping. We'll get stuff for your quarters, too!"
Then, "I don't mind talking about what I learned," she offers. "It's not all bad, either. Leina helped me get in touch with my birth family. ...Just my grandmother, she's all that's left, but even so."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Ah, she caught on. Arriety doesn't spend too long beating herself up, beacuse Eight did lead her in. "Y-yeah. Rena sent me a message, about how you both found out things about yourselves... but she couldn't give me any details, of course. Those weren't secure channels for that."
She slumps forward, placing her elbows on her knees as she laces her fingers together. "Leina... I was really surprised to see her in a mobile suit. A lot's changed in just six months. But your birth family..." A pause. "Did you get in touch with your grandma, or...?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight did! And she's happy to talk about it, more than just 'not minding'. "I see... Yes, it's best. The things about Rena, especially, were very sensitive. We've had enough difficulties with that..."
"I learned a lot of sad things, too," she admits. "But they were important." Eight has found a seat, too. And Leina... "It has. It's surprised me, too."
Then she smiles. "I did," she says. "She's... from Zeon. A noble lady. Apparently my father--her son--was a pilot, who died in a war. My mother was his girlfriend... but since my grandmother didn't approve of the match, she ran away instead of going to her. She regrets that," she says of her grandmother.
"That's how I ended up at that orphanage... and you know more or lesswhat happened after that."
"...Would you like to know what my name was?" she wonders. "You don't have to use it. I'm happy to stay 'Eight'. But if I go to Zeon again, society types might use it."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
"Y-yeah," Arriety answers softly. "To be honest... it didn't surprise me that much, because... I felt like I always sensed that a lot of us, maybe all of us... we were trying to escape a dark past. And part of what made Winter Wonderland so special was being able to both share some feeling of that pain with others, but also... not have it be brought up, at the same time."
She quiets down to listen, fully, though. Of Eight's grandmother... from Zeon... her son, a pilot, and how they eloped. And how she ended up at the orphanage...
"Mm..." Arriety quietly nods. "I want... I mean, I want to use the name you want me to use. Just like how you've called me Ah-ri in private all these years. If Eight is what makes you happy, when it's us, then I'm happy to stay that way."
She bobs her head. "... I've... given thought to just going with Ah-ri someday, myself. But at the same time, Arriety's developed meaning between us, kinda like Eight has. You know?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"...Yes," Eight answers. "I had that feeling, too. But when you put it that way... I don't regret not asking Callie, even though I suspected things were the same for her as for me. It was... Well, it's really important to me. I want to be able to be like the Yorks, one day, when it comes to family."
She smiles, at that. "Thanks," she says. "...It does. I like the other name. I do. I thought about using it... But I decided that it would feel like rejecting the life we built in Winter Wonderland. And that I don't want to do."
She says, "I'll support you if you do. ...But 'Arriety' is a good way to refer to 'you', too. I get it."
"...I'll tell you anyway, since I know both of the names you'd think about. It's the same name as my grandmother. 'Dimara Kadun.' ...Even though she ran away from her, my mother named me after Grandmother... That tells me that their feelings were more complicated than I know."
"It's... important to me," she says. "To balance what I've learned, with what I built."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Something lapses in Arriety's mind, and she rubs the back of her head. "Are... the Yorks okay? I didn't even think about that. I assume they're fine, since they're used to going to ground... auntie Seo-Yun's much the same way. ... actually, that might be why I haven't been able to contact her."
She nods gently, as Eight speaks of her other name. Dimara Kadun... "... yeah. It's not... always so cut and dry, like the grandmother's an evil wicked witch, like in faerie tales."
There's a smile from Arriety when Eight says she'll support her. "I don't really know yet. I don't feel too strongly. Arriety's stopped being a name I had to hide behind. It's become something that has meaning built into it, that we built ourselves."
She lowers her head. "To be like the Yorks..." A pause, as she smiles quietly. "Are you thinking about... starting a family, at some point? I was thinking that you're getting pretty serious with Lavhi..."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"They are," Eight answers. "They declined to come to the ship, but they're 'vacationing' in a neutral colony for now. ...You're probably right about her. She's even better at it than they are."
She smiles back. "It's a pretty name, isn't it?" she asks. "If I didn't already have one I loved, I'd be honored to use it." But yes--it's not like a faerie tale. Eight feels for that.
"Mm," Eight answers. "That makes sense. If you don't feel strongly... That's okay, too. Maybe that says something itself."
Then she smiles back, surprised at first, but then quietly happy. "I am," Eight says. "...I've gotten really serious with him," she says. "I..."
She bites her lip, and then says, "Actually, I'm thinking of doing it really soon. I stopped taking my birth control this month."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety has a sigh of relief, when Eight tells her that the Yorks are safe. "I'm glad. And... I can understand that. Hopefully auntie's okay, anyway, but she's so shrewd she'll probably show up in a junk collector's ship someday when I least expect her to..."
She nods in turn, though. "It is a pretty name. I like both. When you said society-types, though, I wondered if it might be something you don't feel as happy about... like it's a name for formal occasions. But I think it should be more than that. Your mother chose it for a reason, and that reason's for you, not for society-types..."
Eight tells her she's gotten serious, and Arriety's eyes widen slowly. "Oh, wow... to be honest, I wasn't sure -- like... I mean, I've never thought about... that, myself. And I was also not sure if you were going to wait until we had time... with everything going on."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Probably," Eight agrees, thinking about Ah-ri's auntie. She definitely is the type to be able to do something like that...
"Oh, I don't mind," she says. "But they're unlikely to see me as I 'am', so much as what they want me to be." She smiles. "...But I like that idea," she says. "Chose it for me..."
She'll think about that some more. She doesn't plan to use it all the time, but maybe there is a way she can honor it.
Arriety's widened eyes don't surprise Eight; it's a big statement to make! "That's okay," Eight says. "We're both still pretty young. But..." She looks up to the ceiling for a moment, "I was going to wait. But I got some good advice and... I decided I don't want to wait. It'll be hard, but I want to do it now. If I put it off until everything's less busy, I might never do it."
"...So," she says, "We're trying. That's part of why he was over at my place the other day so early--we've been... sneaking in extra time to see one another, for that." She flushes very slightly, because of what she's saying, but she meets Arriety's eyes again without shrinking.
"...I'd ask that you not talk about that to Rena yet; I mentioned I was thinking about the future, but I don't want to spook her; I know she and I aren't at that point, yet. If she ever wants kids, I mean."
"But..." She smiles more softly, "I... Well. I'd look forward to..." Pause. "Maybe 'Aunt Ah-ri', one day?"
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
"Ah... ... I mean-- if you're sure, of course... of course I'd support it," Arriety answers. "And that's true. The way our lives have shaken up, there's no guarantees... but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It just means... having to go for what we want... rather than ponder, 'but what if it's not the right time'."
She breathes in, taking her time. "Y-yeah... I mean, I would've been okay if you just told us that it wasn't a good time, honestly." She blinks a few times, though, as Rena comes up.
"Uh-- wait--" Her mind kinda spools to one side. "I know we've talked about us and how tough long distance is... and Rena and I also had that talk... I wasn't sure yet, though, about the two of you... um... but no, that's fine. You'll tell her when it's the right time."
... is there a right time? She kinda expects Rena to explode a little, but that's kinda par for the course... four-oven Rena...
What Eight hits her next, though, petrifies her.
"Oh no. I'm going to be old... these kids are going to be so much younger than me..."
That's her reaction!?
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"That's exactly how I feel," Eight says to Arriety, leaning forward in her seat excitedly. "If you don't follow your dreams, you'll only see them at night. That's what she said, my other friend... And it really sort of..." She laughs a little. "I admit, lately when I see anything about kids I get all weepy anyway. It's something I really want."
A shake of her head, at that. "Like I said, he was napping. It was a perfect time."
Long distance... "Yes," Eight says, "That's true." She remembers; there were a few reasons things turned out as they did, but... She's very happy to have Arriety back in her life.
"Oh!" Eight says. "Actually, we're sort of... Well, we're at least officially dating, now." She smiles. "As soon as I know for sure," she says, "I'll tell her. I don't want to get her worked up over a maybe." ...Since, her expression says, she expects a little bit of explosion...
But that petrifying--
"Ah!" Eight says. "...Ahahahaha," she laughs, and reaches out for Arriety's hand. "They are!" she says. "You'll be a full adult and everything by then!"
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Eight's dreams... ... what are her dreams? Arriety feels a spike of anxiety come on, and she doesn't like it, because she doesn't want to share that right now, but there's no really avoiding it in a room with Eight, no matter how closed her presence is. She's not that practiced at it.
She distracts herself by saying, "I did notice... there were some kids here too -- teenagers too. I haven't really talked to them... it feels a bit awkward."
"Officially... dating," Arriety blinks a few times. "Y-yeah... I think with Rena, the sooner you do it, the better, maybe. When it's good for you. She has that habit of kinda trying to catch up with something that surprises her with trying to grasp everything she's missed..."
She pouts, though.
"I can't... I can't imagine it. I just got over the 18 line. I don't even know what I'm doing with myself yet..."
She stubbornly adds, "I don't want to become my aunt when I'm older. That much I know."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"...It's okay not to be sure," Eight says, because she can sense that anxiety. "...I sort of... I had to think about that kind of thing more, as I became Captain. Because I'm responsible for the whole crew. If I can't know myself, how can I know them?"
But Arriety distracts herself, and Eight won't press the matter any further. "It does, doesn't it?" she says. "I think 'they're not that much younger than me, but we're so different'." She's twenty-one; she remembers a scant few years ago, what it was like to be a kid in school... And around Arriety, it doesn't feel as far as it usually does from 'now'.
"It's a long story," she says. "...But I think you're right... I did tell her I was thinking about it, but that's different from being active about it..." She nods, though. "Yeah. I'm gonna make really clear that she doesn't need to."
A fond smile, then. "That's okay," she says. "You have..." She considers. "Oh. Actually maybe you don't have another birthday first, if I'm lucky..."
She glances to the side, thrown off into embarrassment a little by her derailing her train of thought.
"But I think it's good to know what you don't want to be. It's a start, right? I don't want to be just like Mom and Dad, either. ...Just to be able to love like they do."
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
The words from Eight are admiring, but they also feel... lofty. The kind of words someone who stands very strong says. If she can't know herself, how can she know the crew? But Arriety has to remind herself that that wasn't very different from how it was back in Winter Wonderland either... Eight was usually there to guide her. ... she doesn't want to be guided forever. But she can remind herself that just because she's in a much earlier chapter, doesn't mean she won't get there.
"... it's scary," Arriety admits. "I don't feel wholly human, knowing what I've experienced... I'm scared of them asking what riding a mobile suit is like, maybe even admiring it a little... I don't know how I'd cope with having to answer it. But I know that... I don't want them to have to know what it's like, if I can help it."
She has a sad smile as she says, "Yeah... December birthday. I spent turning eighteen in the hospital. I think that was when we did the video call. ... my head's still really fuzzy around then. I might've fallen asleep on you all."
Eight doesn't want to wholly be like mom and dad... just to be able to love like they do.
"Love..." she murmurs. "... that's a hard thing for me to think about right now, with what I'm not interested in... but I know that's not what you mean. But I do wonder, sometimes... what that means for me."
She breathes in deeply.
"... I'll keep quiet about it, don't worry. I know you and Lavhi can do it." A long pause. "I mean-- er, you know, accomplish what you two want, not the other meaning, er--" Oh noooooooooooooooooooooooo
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight has gained a habit of thinking in that way, too. She's gotten a little more 'lofty'. But she believes in Arriety, too.
Scary... "I don't think it makes you less of a person, but..." She nods. "They might. It would be hard. I feel the same way, though. I don't want them to know, either. I want to keep them from that. ...If any of them choose it, I understand what it means to choose your own path... But it should be a choice."
December birthday. In the hospital... "I remember," Eight answers. "It's okay. You needed your reset."
"...That makes sense," Eight says, with a little wince despite herself. After all--'that' is something very important to her in a relationship. "But you're right, it's not. Other forms of love matter at least as much. ...Some of them, maybe even more." But what does it mean for her...?
"I hope you find the answer," she says.
But she'll keep quiet about--
"Pf," Eight says, and then manages to restrain herself from laughing outright. "...I know what you mean."
Pause. Wink. "You're right, too."