Valeria didn't go on the reflective walk with the others. She hasn't been on Earth quite so long as the others, though perhaps surprisingly longer than she had realized, and had instead stayed behind to practice playing her harp, which much to her chagrin had been starting to get a little rusty. It turns out listening to music on your phone and playing music based video games do absolutely nothing to maintain actual skill at playing musical instruments.
After practicing for a few hours on her large concert harp she's pulled out her smaller lap harp, sitting on the couch. After taking the time to tune it, which her ears tell her it badly needed, she starts playing a light melody on it, filling the room with a light Waldian melody. It's one of those old staples, the songs that you'll here two to three times at least if you go to a fair or carnival, a song so ingrained in her she couldn't possibly forget the notes if she tried.
Her fingers also seem to remember these notes fairly well, which they'd better after years and years of practice. No special flourishes or changes are made, the lavender haired girl doing her best to duplicate an exact reproduction the way she'd originally been taught. It's going pretty well; maybe she isn't as rusty as she'd worried?
Rune did not immediately want to come home after the encounter with Shira. Physically, she took only modest damage from that fight; Shira had landed some decent hits, but the sheer shock of Shira's special advantages has come down enough that Rune no longer calls for a retreat from the tiniest of glancing blows.
This time, the damage is emotional. Her conclusions about Shira are not correct, but their newest foe's rhetoric has done nothing to suggest another possibility. And so, faced with someone who strongly fits what the investigation of the late Queen's murder suggested was true... Rune spent the better part of an hour trying to pursue Shira with no useful clues to go on.
It only served to make her angrier, face grit in a mix of 'hurt' and 'furious.' She avoided taking it out on any/one/, but did take it out on some /things/; a trash-pile and netting in an alley along the way home got kicked, benches and lamp-posts rattled, and so on.
The damage done was trivial; Rune outside of transformation is simply not much of a threat even to random objects. But the raw emotion of it was still there, and it delayed her return home.
Whether she was left to fume on her own - and she certainly tried, willing to sprint away from others for brief periods of time, but eventually willing to relent if they kept pressing - or with friends, eventually Rune made it inside the house... and raised an eye as she heard music from back home. "What?" In a calmer time, she might realize the likely source. Right now she's just baffled, and conflicted on whether to still be angry or not in light of this harp-work.
The fight against Shira was sudden and unexpected, and pretty confusing to Fate personally. A random assassin, attacking Runealy suddenly, attacking all of her friends, and attacking some random bystander. Spending time to rescue the bystander did mean that Fate got attacked a little bit less, but she also was not the primary target of the assassin.
The primary target, Fate noticed, was angry and wanted to be alone. At first Fate was worried, chasing after her, and certainly it would have been difficult to actually outrun the device user, but after a while she got the hint and left her alone. It was sad, seeing Runealy so upset, but Fate didn't really know what to do about it.
She shows up just a bit after Runealy, not quite recognizing the song, or rather she's trying to decide if she does or not. She heard some music when she visited Waldia, and that was certainly a time of celebration.
She doesn't say anything to the princess at first, wanting to give Runealy some space if she still wants it, but she does go up to Valeria. With a smile, she speaks softly, "That's a really pretty song."
The song being played is almost certainly one Fate would have heard during the celebrations following the barrier restoration, though perhaps on a different instruments. The door opens and closes, twice and Valeria smiles, calling, "Welcome home!" once, and then again at the second arrival. She's looking at the strings as she plucks them and so doesn't notice the state Runealy is in right away; someone as practiced as she shouldn't need to, but it is a useful crutch in times like these.
When spoken to, however she does look up, smiling back to the young device user, "Thank you. It's called 'Memories of Celebration', a Waldian classic. It does invoke a certain air of festivity, does it not?" Her eyes go from the shorter blonde to her Princess, but upon seeing the expression on Runealy's face, and the wounds, though moderate, that she's received flubs the next note she plays, eyes widening a little as a loud, discordant sound trills from her harp, hanging in the air before she recovers the nerve to stop it, jitteringly resuming the song a moment later.
"Rune, you're hurt! What happened," she asks a moment later, voice filled with concern. It isn't just the physical damage she's noticing, either, giving searching looks to both the Princess herself and to Fate.
For now she'll keep playing, though she looks ready to spring off of the couch at any moment now.
Rune had been careful to avoid lashing out at Fate in particular on the way back. Even gripped in so much turmoil, the princess kept herself in just enough check to not say anything harsh or make any sort of threats... what little she gathered of their guest's past was enough to suggest it would be especially badly received in Fate's case. Rune still kept her distance, however.
It's only when they get back and Vale makes that little 'hiccup' in the music to ask what happened that Rune provides good answers. "Did you see the report? About what happened the day mom was killed?" Vale would not have been in the 'inner circle' privy to it in the days after the murder. It is however possible that /Guardian Knight/ Vale would have been let in on the details. Regardless, Runealy recaps them: "At least one demon, and one or more accomplices... either demons disguised as people, or one or more actual people." The distinction is interesting; demons are apparently 'not even people' in this perspective.
"We found one of them. One of the people who helped let the demon with three flaming claws in. She was /proud/ of it and said we were going to be next! And then... then I lost her. We couldn't figure out where she went, so now she's out there somewhere in Tokyo!"
She's not sitting down right now. Definitely in the living room, but unwilling to head to a couch just yet. Instead, Rune paces with obvious agitation.
'Memories of Celebration' sounds like a nice name, Fate thinks. "It does! So that's a Waldian classic? That's really neat!" The longer she listens, the further convinced she is that she recognizes it. She would have heard it, back then. Her mind categorizes it as 'Waldia music', since that's where she first heard it.
Then Runealy speaks up, and Fate is quiet. She doesn't want to say the wrong thing, and has no idea what the 'right' thing is, so she just sits there shuffling her feet. Then she listens, and she feels something far worse than anything like nervousness or awkwardness.
This isn't the first time that Fate's heard about Runealy's mother, but it's certainly the first clue she had that their strange attacker might have had something to do with it. Fate's wine-red eyes go wide as she hears Runealy's explanation. Is... is it really someone like that?
She wraps her arms around her stomach. She looks down at the flooring. Her twintails droop over her shoulders as she takes all of that in. That's so horrible.
"So... that person..." Fate turns to look up at Runealy. "... that person... killed your mother?" Well, 'helped' was the key word, but is there really much of a difference? Maybe that girl didn't deliver the final blow, but that hardly matters. She was in on it.
Playing a happy festival song when thinking about awful memories can be hard, but Valeria presses onward for now. Or at least she will until the song ends. After Runealy recaps the report the young lady shakes her head, "No, I hadn't but perhaps I should have. They think... they think Waldians might have helped? But that's ridiculous! Why-" She cuts off and shivers as Runealy says they found someone, some person who had helped kill Queen Lene.
Her head tilts down, her bangs causing her upper face to be shadowed by the overhead light, a stark contrast to the light and airy music of her harp. When looks back up it's with a mix of anger and pain, though she can't imagine it's close to what Runealy herself must be going through.
"Then we'll just have to find her again and make sure she pays for what she's done." After an indecisive moment Valeria adds, "Better here than back on Waldia though, Rune. We have friends here who can help us, and we have each other. I don't like the idea of anyone coming after us, but I think we might be better able to defend ourselves than the people back home are." After all, there is the Guardian Princess her Guardian Knights, and Fate in Tokyo. Waldia's army has already proven incapable of stopping one assassination attempt.
The song she was playing comes to an end, and Valeria carefully lifts the harp from her lap, setting it beside the couch and standing up. "If she did we're going to make sure her crimes don't go unpunished," she notes to Fate.
She looks between the two and walks so that she's standing between them, just offset so they can still see each other past her. "Rune," she looks to the princess, "Fate," she looks to the mage, "it will be alright. There isn't anything we can do about the past, but we can make sure that tragedy is not repeated in our future. We can stop her and her demon allies before anyone else is killed, now that we know she's around."
She takes a small step closer to Runealy, "I'll help you in any way I can; you know I will. We'll help you bring justice to the ones who did that to your mother." A gesture to the house they all live in, to emphasize them all, "All of us will."
"She talked about it, you were there!" Rune isn't shouting this at Fate, but the response is very confident. "...Maybe you were a bit away from her when she said it, though." The princess can't recall. "She just kept shouting about how we were all going to be next, so she had to be in on that. She didn't land the actual... hit," Rune struggles to use any sort of word to describe the blow. "I'm sure of that. The one who did that was a demon with three claws with fire!" She was the very first person to discover those wounds on her mother's body, in fact.
"Still, she helped. She helped and she was proud of it. So the next time I see her...!"
Rune trails off, mostly to allow Valeria's comments to go uninterrupted. Valeria has some good points. The army, such as it is, is very modest in size and mostly equal to the task of patrolling roads for bandits, general dispute enforcement, and chasing off wild animals that get too close to any given town. With war such an infrequent thing on a world that is typically unified under the royal government, the army just isn't an elite force - or a magical force, more importantly - capable of handling threats from demons or Shira.
"...I just...!" Rune /starts/ to respond, but continues to have trouble finding coherent words even in the face of reassurances.
Eventually, she just gives Valeria and Fate a nod apiece. Fury diminishes, as Rune instead slinks over to a couch and flops atop it. Adrenaline and anger are finally starting to be replaced by fatigue and her body acknowledging that Shira /did/ in fact deal some damage, and tending to it sooner or later is probably a good idea. "...Thank you," is all she manages to add right now.
The room is a lot more solemn, and Fate doesn't fail to pick up on it. She's feeling the same way. To accuse an entire town of being 'murderers' and wanting to kill Rune for it. It's just not fair. What murder are they being accused of? The fact that the assassin had lumped some innocent bystander in with all of them doesn't really lend a lot of credibility to her in Fate's mind, but even if her motive is confusing her intentions are pretty clear.
"She called us murderers. I remember that. She also hated us and called us 'Royalists'. She was attacking people who had nothing to do with us."
Vengeance is talked about, or rather Justice. Can Fate blame either one of them? It's a matter of survival at this point. At Valeria's words, Fate nods. "I agree. This is the best place for us to be, especially if we're being targeted." At the talk of punishment, Fate looks down and away. "I understand. What she did isn't right, and if we don't stop her then she's going to do it again. A lot of people were depending on Rune-chan's mother, and now they're also depending on Rune-chan herself. It's bad enough to kill someone, but to kill someone so important..."
She understands, but doesn't necessarily like it. 'Accepts' would be a more accurate word.
At the mention of stopping her, Fate nods. "That's right. There's no telling who she'll attack, so she has to be stopped no matter what. I'll help, too."
She watches as Runealy walks over to a couch to slink down on it. Fate herself isn't wounded, so she doesn't worry about herself that much.
Valeria's features harden for a moment as Runealy gives a few more details on the encounter. "None of us are going to be next," she says in as confident a voice as she can muster. "We've faced Demons before. They're powerful, but we know they can beat them. If she's working with Demons we'll have to deal with her in the same way." What does she mean? They dealt with the Demons by destroying them in combat. Is that what she's prepared to do?
Actually, she isn't sure. If someone was honestly trying to kill them and refused to stop they might not have a choice, however. Considering what crimes the person in question is being accused of she certainly wouldn't morns if it was true, and right now Runealy has her convinced.
She looks towards Fate and winkles her nose at one of the new pieces of information she notes, "Royalists? What else would be be, anti-Royalists? Without the Royal Family Waldia would long ago have been completely overrun by Demons, there might not be any people left at all." It's hard not to take such a statement as more damning evidence against the one they speak of, "But then, maybe that's exactly what she'd want." Another small node is made to Fate, "It's terrible. Unthinkable, even."
The princess sits down and Valeria follows, dropping to kneel in front of the couch and situating herself between Runealy and Fate. It's not a subservient position she places herself in so much as a consoling one. She thumbs the old signet ring on her finger and closes her eyes, saying quietly, "To protect our future..."
A flash of light and her henshin forms around her, armor and all though devoid of sword and shield. She's going to have to figure out something similar to Hinote's finery, she realizes; heavy gauntlets likely don't inspire thoughts of gentle healing.
She looks towards the other two first Runealy and then Fate, smiling to try and lift their sprits a little, "You're hurt, and you're both tired. Let me help, please." Despite having transformed it's still an offer rather than a demand, a hand held out towards each of them only halfway.
"That goes for you too," Rune insists to Fate, albeit in a more quiet tone now. "We'll be keeping an eye on you in case she makes a move on you," then a nod to Valeria, "and on you for the same reason. We're each others Circle of Shields, she can't slip in if we're surrounding each other." She invokes the social concept used back home of how friends and family are envisioned, rings of mutual protection and comfort.
Then the pair bring up a very interesting point. 'Royalists', 'anti-royalists'... a thought intriguing enough that it visibly confuses the princess. "Why would she have even been talking about that? I just don't understand where any of that comes from. The only reason she'd be on that is if..." A nod over to Valeria, "If she wanted the world destroyed. So that's probably what she's after."
The offered hand is nonetheless taken, and the advice likewise. "Alright. Sorry if I spooked either of you... I'll settle down for tonight. And Fate," A sudden glance to the blonde, "Thanks for carrying her further away from all that," she refers to Naru, not quite knowing how to identify Shira's target-at-the-time. "Hope she's okay... you probably kept her out of the worst of this."
Fate doesn't so much as flinch as the mention of 'dealing with her in the same way' is mentioned. Death is a reality of combat. When she henshins she's inviting that reality. It's a little different where she's from, when her opponents would likely be the TSAB, who embrace nonlethal magics... but just because the law takes that attitude, that's no guarantee that the common criminal would.
At the offer of healing, Fate looks up, smiles, and accepts Valeria's hand. "Thank you. It took a bit of my magic, and she wasn't holding back so I couldn't afford to either." She was feeling tired. She's just not used to accepting help from others in that regard.
She looks between the two of them. "So... she sides with the demons. I wonder if those are the ones she accused us of murdering. I mean... it's not like we'd hold back against monsters like that. I can't imagine anyone wanting to be friends with them. They're so cruel..."
After being thanked, Fate nods. "I'm glad she didn't overpower you while I was gone. I didn't take her far, but she seemed to be okay aside from being drained. I just don't understand why she was attacked."
Runealy's assurance that they're all each other's Circle of Shields gets a vigorous nod from Valeria, "We're each other's protection. Now that we know to be on guard for each other we can shield each other from the harm she intends to inflict." She gives a shake of her head then, one of confusion, as Runealy agrees she might be intending to destroy the world through the destruction of the royal family. "I can't imagine the lies the Demons most have fed her to put her in such a place. I would almost feel sorry for her for being so outrageously misled, but I can't allow myself to falter when the stakes are so high."
Her hands are taken and Valeria takes in a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh. A warm yellow glow surrounds both pairs of clasped hands, comfortable and relaxing. It quickly rides up their arms before washing over the rest of them, enveloping them in the soothing aura. Light residual pain melts away, whether from combat or other strains, and stronger pain is mitigated while wounds begin to slowly heal, open ones closing while abrasions and bruises smooth and fade. Somewhere inside the edge of magical fatigue is taken away as Valeria offers up her own reserves in place of what had been spent, a slow but meaningful process.
It does take a fair amount of concentration, especially healing multiples at a time, Fate's lack of outright injuries easing the difficulty of the task. "You're welcome," she murmurs in a slightly quieter tone, "this is the best way I have to help, and I'm glad to give it."
A few moments later she adds, "If it is Demons she speaks of she is foolish. We've only ever defended ourselves against their attacks, and I've never heard of a single instance of mercy towards their kind going unpunished." Demons, so far as Valeria knows, truly are among the very worst of creatures. It is a little longer before she poses a question, slowed by the task she has set herself to, "This person you speak of, what can you tell me about her? Have you learned her name, or remember how she looks?" Another pause, though shorter, and she adds, eyes still closed in concentration, "If there is enough information, I'd like to relate it to our allies in Virtue. They are now our Circle of Shields, as well. Not only can they help us, but they need to be aware of this new threat."
The yellow glow washes over Fate, who doesn't quite feel the level of exhaustion that Runealy apparently does, but she finds herself surprised at just how refreshed she feels. After the healing, Fate sits down on the couch, next to Runealy who... looks like she might be dozing off? Fate tilts her head at the princess, watching with wide eyes and a flat mouth, then she turns back to Valeria since the healer is still talking.
"I can't imagine why anyone would want to destroy a world, either. Especially when the method of doing so means releasing so many of those terrible monsters. They lie so much, there's no way of knowing what they told her." She curls her legs up in front of her, wrapping her arms around her shins and burying the bottom half of her face in her knees. "Every lie they tell is so scary. I can't imagine what it would be like to actually believe them."
Fate thinks back to the few times she's actually run across demons. "I remember when I used dark energy, my thoughts were twisted and confused. It felt like nearly everyone was slighting me in some way, and almost anything said seemed like an insult. I got more and more paranoid, and I stopped thinking that it mattered if I hurt anyone. I don't know if she has something like that going on with her, or if Waldia even has anything like that, but it's possible we're dealing with someone driven crazy."
Fate frowns at that, looking past her knees at the carpet. "If that's the case, maybe nothing she says has any truth to it. It might be pointless to try and figure it out. All we know for sure is that she intends to kill us. I guess it doesn't really matter what her reasons are, if that's her goal."
Valeria smiles a little as Runealy falls a sleep, though she sends a slightly worried expression in the Princess' direction. "She must have been really worn herself out, between all the fighting and the worrying." As Fate sits down it lets the healer focus all of her magical attention on Runealy, and also frees enough of her focus that she can talk a bit more easily with younger girl. "They seem almost incapable of speaking the truth, don't they? But those frightful lies they tell us in combat are to try to scare us into making mistakes, or into giving up or running away. There's another kind of lie they know how to tell. Lies that tell the listener what they want to believe, ones that twist their mind and turn them towards darkness."
She quiets as Fate explains about her own dabblings in dark energy, frowning thoughtfully. "It might have been easy for someone with the right lies to have entirely changed the course of your life, if you were in such a state." Lavender eyes turn towards the sleeping princess, "I'm glad she was able to speak truth to you before that happened. You did so much for us, I'm glad we were able to do a little something for you, in return." She of course speaks of Fate's assistance in restoring the Barrier and defeating the demon that had slipped past.
Someone driven crazy? Valeria nods as Fate notes that the woman intends to kill them. "In that it doesn't seem like there is any doubt, and I'm afraid if it's the case we must do everything we can." Eyes once more go between Fate and Runealy, "She's to important and more than that..." her head shakes softly, "She's been through enough already. She's already lost a mother, she shouldn't have to lose anyone more."
After Valeria mentions her, Fate looks at Runealy, sleeping soundly. Later one of them might need to carry her to her room, but for now Fate is content to let her rest.
"She was really upset," mentions Fate. "She needed some time alone. She was really angry. Now that I know that person was talking about her mother, I guess I'm not surprised."
Incapable of speaking the truth? Fate nods. That seems like a fair assertion. "I wonder if they lie to themselves as much as they lie to everyone else. That must be a confusing way to live, hearing lies all the time." Telling the person what they want to hear... Fate frowns and looks away. "Some truths are hard to accept. That can make a lie very appealing."
Runealy did speak truth to her. She's been doing that the whole time, in her own way, Fate realizes. "Even at my worst, she was still my friend. I don't think she ever tried to stop me. I don't... I don't know what I would do if she wasn't there. I still think that I would have run away, but I wouldn't have anyone to go to. She's been so good to me, even if she scared me a little at first. I can't imagine anyone hating her. I don't mind helping you, especially not when you've helped me, too."
Fate is quiet for a bit, looking a bit sad. It's a look that she's worn often since coming, but a little less often each day. "She is too important. I don't want to let anyone take any of my friends away. I've lost enough already. If that means defeating that strange lady, then that's what it means."
"I would be too," Valeria replies. "Someone boasting about something like that, telling me that my friends and I are next? I think I would need some time alone after that as well. Rune has been through a lot though. I'm sure she can get through this, too."
The idea that Demons might even lie to each other all the time hadn't occurred to her. It'd almost be a silly thing to think about, people being so untruthful that they can hardly get anything done. Almost. When they're sewing death and destruction it isn't really a laughing matter.
Hard truths to accept? "Mm. I'm sure that's true. Especially with everything we've seen, the harm that can be done. How much easier would it be to pretend something terrible hadn't happened? That was never an option for Rune, though. Her burden is too great for her to allow herself to believe those kinds of appealing lies."
People helping one another- that's a much happier topic than the lies of demons, right? She listens Fate as she talks about what Runealy has done for her, and looks from the sleeping Princess to give her a smile. "Luckily you won't ever have to," she notes about not knowing what she would have done otherwise. "I'm glad you two met, it looks to me like you've helped one another a whole lot." A shake of her head, "Neither can I. When she's done wrong she's always regretted it, and she never hurts people for her own benefit. She put herself through so much without thinking of herself because her people needed it. She may not be ready quite yet, but I'm sure she'll make an excellent Queen, when the time comes."
Valeria looks over to Fate at the mention of people taking her friends away. It's then that she realizes she might have been giving too much of her concern and thoughts to the sleeping Runealy, and not enough to the small, sad girl sitting beside her. She shakes her head. "We'll shield you from that as well, Fate. You don't need to lose any more friends. I don't know all that you must have gone through, but I can tell from the look in your eyes that it's been more than enough. We are all here not just for Rune, but for each other as well, and that very much includes you. That's what it means to be in a Circle of Shields, to be our friend, and one of us."
"It's a cruel thing to boast about," says Fate, softly. "If she's that mean, then maybe that proves she's in league with demons. Thinking about it like that, it does make a lot of sense." Rune's been through a lot? Fate would have to agree. "She has, and she's done really well, too. Maybe some mistakes were made, but she's doing her best."
Wine red eyes look over the pink-haired princess for a moment longer before turning towards the lavender-haired healer. "It might be easier, in some ways, but lies don't make the problem go away. They only get worse and worse until you suddenly can't run from them anymore, and then what do you do? She's smart not to listen to that, and strong. Pretending might be easier, but we live in a real world and we're accountable to it."
Valeria's words regarding Runealy give Fate something to think about. She stays curled up in her little ball on the couch, but after a moment she lets one leg drop off the edge, and then the other.
"I'm glad we met, too. I think she's only ever asked anything of me once. Anything big, anyways. Otherwise, she's always been giving of herself. It's funny, because we agreed a long time ago that if we ever had to fight, we wouldn't take it personal... and then we never actually ended up fighting. I think I'm happier that way, honestly. Maybe she isn't ready to be Queen, but I think she's a good Princess."
Fate wasn't really trying to make things about her, so much as she was identifying with Runealy. When her own suffering is brought up, Fate looks up at Valeria, and then away. "... Thank you. I remember hearing about the concept of Circle of Shields. I don't know if I fully understood what it meant, but now I think I do. I'm happy to be a part of your Circle, and if you need something from me I'll be happy to help."
A soft head of her head is given as Valeria imagines boasting abut murdering someone's family. "I can't fathom what she must be thinking to do it, but your words about dark energy give me some idea." Then a sad smile, "No, they don't. Especially not when you're lying to yourself. Like you say, once you have nowhere to run what can you do? If you've cut yourself off from all that would help you, I'm not sure there's anything you can."
Fate saying so many nice things about Runealy is a great way to raise Valeria's opinion of her further, and the healer smiles as she listens. "It's good you never had to fight one another. Neither of you seem like you'd have held it against each other, but it might have made it easier for you to trust one another." She implies rather than explicitly mentions Fate coming to stay with them again, just in case that still has lingering worries and pains for the younger girl. "I think she is too," she replies about Rune being a good Princess.
Then the concept of working together for each other's mutual safety is turned back towards her, and Valeria smiles again, "And thank you, as well. I'm grateful to accept your help, though what I need help with the most you're already providing." A pointed look towards Runealy. "It's nice that you understand it; it's an important concept in Waldian life. Helping those around you to everyone's benefit, it makes very much sense when you put thought into it. Being here in Tokyo has made me realize that more than ever."
Her face moves to a neutral expression again and she looks away. She doesn't say it but it also shows how very far off from the Waldian ideal someone who is out to hurt others in some kind of petty revenge really is. How could someone from a society that makes mutual aid so important end up so wrong?