1743/Checking On Fate

Checking On Fate
Date of Scene:	17 July 2016
Location:	Waldians Home
Synopsis:	After Shira's attack on Fate, Runealy returns to ensure her friend and guest is okay.
Cast of Characters:	Runealy Waldia, Fate T. Waldia

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Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune had been torn on priorities moments after Shira's attack on Fate was foiled; pursue their enemy immediately, or stop to escort Fate away? Arf had moved to tend to the latter though, so the princess felt more free to go after the one who has been trying to kill them. That this chase yielded no real results only made the decision more frustrating...

...But now that the situation is over, the obvious thing is to check in with Fate. Pacing through the home, she heads toward Fate's room (it occurs to Rune that another 'Safe Room' may need to be added on to the home at this rate) and tries to knock gently to see if her friend is in any state to be visited.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate didn't really question the choice to go after Shira. It was a good call, and Arf did get her to Vale as soon as she could. If they left Shira alone, would she have just tried to take out Fate while she was weak? That was the way Fate saw it, which is probably why she doesn't sound particularly upset when there's a knocking on the door.

    "Come in!" says Fate, sounding almost cheerful, if a little strained.

    She's laying on her back, in the bed, above the covers. She really doesn't feel like standing up right now. Vale's healing did stop Fate from taking any permanent damage, but that doesn't immediately make the general numbness or weakness in her limbs go away. Arf is here, in wolf form, sleeping next to Fate's bed.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune doesn't sound or look cheerful, and is only mildly reassured by Fate's quick reply to the knock. Leaning her head in, Rune double-checks to make sure everything is clear... and then delicately steps in, eyes low. "I didn't get her... sorry about that. Fate, what happened just now... I'm not going to act like everything's totally okay. But,"

There's a bit of a pause as she walks over to bedside, gazing down to Fate. "Are you basically alright, at least?"

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Runealy comes in, and Fate brightens just a little bit more, though she winces immediately afterwards. She's taking it pretty well, or at least she's taking it quietly and without yelping. "It hurts, but I'll be okay. I don't think I should be walking around right now, but I'll get better."

    She frowns and looks down at her legs. She tries to wiggle a toe. Ouch. Bad idea. She cringes again. Maybe don't do that next time.

    "It's too bad she got away, but on the bright side so did I." She tries to make that sound cheerful, but... well... your mileage may vary. When she looks back up at Runealy, she asks, "Do you think this is how she intends to target us? Isolate us one at a time, and then try to take us out?"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune flinches when Fate does, not particularly pleased by the lingering injuries. On the other hand, Fate's quip has some effect on her; a tiny smile follows. "That's more important, by far. And... it sure looks that way."

Trying to be quiet about it so as not to disturb Arf, Rune scoots a chair over to bedside and sits down. That talking might be more noise than chair movement may be lost on her. "Really wasn't sure what to do. Right then and there, she was basically demanding a near-open chance at killing me, or else she'd..."

Several headshakes follow. "It's not fair, you're supposed to be safe with us, not having people do...!" Rune's voice trails off, letting the obvious implication go unsaid.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Arf doesn't seem particularly disturbed. Her tail swishes across the floor once. It seems she's content to rest there, regardless of chairs moving or people talking.

    Fate shakes her head. "I know this isn't what you intended, but I still feel safe here. You're my friend, and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. This isn't the first time I've been hurt in a fight, but at least I can say I wasn't in the wrong."

    Finally accepting that moving her legs is useless and painful, at least for now, Fate tilts her head up to look at the ceiling. "Throwing your weapon down did give the the opening I needed. I know it was scary, and maybe that's not how you intended things to go, but it worked. I should have been more on my guard, instead of eating cotton candy. Maybe that's just how things are now, if she's going to be after us."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"I don't know what I 'intended'," Rune admits. "Didn't have some great plan for how that was going to go, just didn't want to see you..." Again, Rune finds herself unable to finish the sentence.

She nonetheless looks a little better given Fate's opinions on how it did turn out. Even if her later remarks are met with an immediate "No." Then, more specifically: "No, we're not going to do that. Summoning Princess' Tiara."

The jeweled headwear appears in hand, and Rune puts a thumb over the center of her nation's emblem; right over the heart, leaving only the shield part visible. "If we do that, this is all we'd have. Right here." Her free finger points at the emblem for emphasis. The analogy might be a little abstract, though.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate looks a little surprised at Runealy's reaction. Her eyes widen slightly at the sudden henshin. She's not really even sure what to expect at this point.

    'If we do that, this is all we'd have.'

    Fate considers that, quietly for a moment. She looks down at her legs, contemplatively. Then her wine red eyes close, and she speaks. "I see. This is that 'safety' thing, isn't it? It's not enough to be physically free from harm. It's important to also be happy." When her eyes open, she looks up at Runealy again.

    "Maybe you're right. I shouldn't stop having fun just because mean people are out there. Still, I think there were some additional steps I could have taken. I just... wasn't really expecting an attack from her. I thought it would be my mother... or someone from Eclipse."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"That's exactly it. The comparison we've always made back home is that you could just surround someone in stone walls in every direction, and they'd be protected, but that's all they'd have. May as well be a prison. So,"

Rune nods over to Fate, "We're still going to have cotton candy and cell phones and walking places and all of that. We'll just have to be a bit smarter now that we know we've got... way too many people going after us. Go out in groups when we can."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate considers that analogy. Surrounded by stone walls, but not having anything...? That would be a sad state to be in. The tactically trained part of her wants to lean in that direction, but... she can't really say that she's happy like that.

    "Right. If someone else had been there with me, it would have been harder to yank me off the street. I'd been sending Arf off to handle things that I was afraid to do on my own, but I should stop that. At least for now. I do have scanning abilities that I can use, but I don't think they'd really help us unless we knew when to look."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Well, Arf can still be part of that. Seems like a really good idea to me," Rune nods over to the Familiar, then returns her gaze to Fate. "I just think it'd be smart of us to all start pairing up if we can help it. What we have here isn't just someone who is kind of annoyed with us. She's out to actually kill, whether it's by poison or using hostages or who knows how far she'll go! I'm just..."

This time, Rune does finish a sentence her voice started to trail on. She leans in closer to Fate and completes it: "...just glad you got out okay. Anyone else asking me that question at dagger-point is going to get the same answer!"

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate reaches down to touch her leg. She gives it a testing squeeze. It... actually doesn't hurt this time. As badly. It's still unpleasant and far from 'better', but at least some of the pain has gone away.

    The young girl looks up to Runealy, nodding at first to what she says, and then smiling at the last bit.

    "I'm glad you got out okay too, Rune-chan. I wouldn't want you to get hurt because of me."

    She glances towards a wall, considering. "She's made her intentions pretty clear. We should probably all have a way of contacting one another, since we never know who or when she'll strike."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"We've got these." Rune dismisses her tiara in a flash of light, opting to instead hold up their new Virtue-issued phones. "Sounds about as good as anything else I can think of, and... we'll get through this. You, me, everyone here. We'll be fine here, and one way or another we'll get to where we're alright around Tokyo too!"

She sounds more firm on this, more confident than she was upon entering the room with a downcast gaze.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
    Fate smiles up at Runealy, nodding. "We will. We'll get through this. We'll stop--"

    Fate pauses, suddenly reconsidering her words.

    "We'll stop her, and anyone else who wants to hurt us. I know it hurts now, but everything will be okay."

    She closes her eyes, adjusting her head on the pillow. "You've always been kind to me, even when I pushed you away. I won't forget that, Rune-chan."