Lover's War Burst: S3

[12:16] * Oxford changes topic to 'Lare Albaesk i Fem Nemme Lektioner'
[12:22] <@Oxford> The savory scent of stewing meat fills the small hutch as purple twilight gathers outside. Marupol stirs the pot slowly, occasionally adding a dash of salt or spice, or dabbing away a drip with the hem of her apron. Vladko has left to gather firewood, and insisted Cille stay with the Novgoraadi resistance fighter to help prepare dinner.
[12:25] <@Oxford> It is the third time today that the handsome pilot has tried to force the two women to interact without him being there, but the first that neither of them managed to avoid. Marupol glances at Cille from the corner of her eye, but has yet to ask for help or suggest a task with which the younger Cimbrian might make herself useful.
[12:29] <Cille_Lund> Cille has spent some time...recovering from what she saw. The question rings in her mind, what can she do about such a horrid thing? It rings deep in her thoughts...but not deep enough that she can't notice the fact that they are all awkward as hell...if hell were for awkward people. The Cimbrian tries to find something useful to DO...but isn't having much luck. "Honestly at this point, you might as well talk in languages you can't understand at each other. It's bound to be more interesting than this." "I wonder if we could curse at her, and she wouldn't know." "I wonder how you SAY curses in their language. It has to sound offensive." These voices...may o may not be helping.
[12:31] <Cille_Lund> "You should just demand that he teach you Novgoraadian instead of leaving you out to dry." "...Why not communicate with pictures?" "Communicate what in pictures?" "The idea of asking if there's anything she can do, obviously!" "...Oh. Ooohh, that's not bad. ...Er, how?" ...A hit and a miss.
[12:34] <@Oxford> The book that Vladko gave her has helped a little bit in that regard. While the vocabulary seems to be aimed mainly at tourists and schoolchildren, it does a decent job of explaining Novgoraadi grammar. Communicating via pictures, as the voices suggest, would be time consuming. At least, assuming she were drawing the pictures by hand.
[12:38] <Cille_Lund> "Well, he's certainly trying, at least. He's an arts guy who learned a language, not a language teacher. ...We think." "It should be enough to give her a piece of your mind, right?" "A perfectly harmless one that'll be wa--oh don't you even start, back in there, no coming through, ba--" It cuts itself off quite suddenly! ...Still, it's worth a shot to at least...read that book a bit, see if she can find a phrase...
[12:39] * TemporalMechanic ([email protected]) has joined #WorldWarBurst
[12:40] <@Oxford> What she's looking for is in the second lesson, under 'Interrogatives'. It's given as one of the sample exercises, and conveniently worked out on the subsequent page.
[12:44] <Cille_Lund> ...Ah, there! ...Then...hmm...like... "Voinko autta sinua?" Oh god how do you even SAY these words? Her pronounciation is terrible, even if it's spelled out like that. She's pretty sure she messed up 'auttaa', too. That a should have been longer.
[12:49] <@Oxford> Marupol smiles cooly back, raising one fiery eyebrow. "Kylla, hienonna nama sipulit ohuiksi paloiksi ja sitten heittaa ne jauhettu valkosipuli," she says, as quickly as when she talks to Vladko. That first word sounded like "yes," but after that it's a mess. Half those words probably aren't even in the glossary.
[12:52] <@Oxford> The older woman lets Cille struggle for a minute before coming to her aid. "Here," she says, "sipulit," grabbing a few of the onions from the table beside her. She makes a chopping motion with her hand. "Pilkkoa."
[12:57] <Cille_Lund> "--ah, there we go. All better. Just in time to hear that storm." "If we're not mistaken, she said 'yes', and then told you to master the Novgoraadi language in three seconds." She looks at her for a moment, blankly...and thankfully is stopped before the very thought frustrated her to a sigh. ...She's pretty sure she knows what to do. ""She wants you to cry." "...Yep. She does." ...It's still something that needs to be done! At least she let her! She's looked at this one hard, she had to be sure to know how to thank someone for...er, giving her something to do to help. And something to keep her mind of the insanity she saw, if only for a while. Until she knows. "Kiitos." Time to chop!
[12:58] <Cille_Lund> At least her cutting skills aren't rusty. She cut herself all the time! ...Wait, no she didn't. She was a cook for a while. That was it.
[12:59] <@Oxford> "Not problem," Marupol says, her Cimbrian almost as bad as Cille's Novgoraadi. Is it an effort to meet her half-way, or to show off her slightly-higher bilinguality?
[13:04] <Cille_Lund> Well, it's not like they can stretch much farther, right? Take it easy. Everything will be alright. ...Agh, she's got the skillset of a good wife. She might have been a cook for a while, but she's displaying a lot more talent in that field. All she's really got is an intellect and a drawing hand that she's spent a long time not using until recently. ...And, you know, magical powers. And whatever her personality is. Nnnnnn. ...Work hard, work hard......there's probably a way magic can simplify everything. "In ways that don't cause you to approach self-martyr status?" Ways that...voices, please. You're right, but please. She nods in affirmation, and gets to the chopping. ...Not too slowly, of course. Can't hold her back.
[13:08] <@Oxford> Marupol watches Cille increase the pace of her chopping out of the corner of her eye. Her own knife goes to work on a bulb of garlic, seperating out the cloves and mincing them with firm, percise strokes.
[13:12] <Cille_Lund> It's on.
[13:19] <@Oxford> Cille's long hours working in the kitchen of the Rusty Tub are paying dividends. Marupol is decent competition, but the onions are largers and easier to chop than the small, slippery cloves of garlic. Both girls match each other slice for slice, but at a crucial moment Marupol takes looks over to check Cille's progress.
[13:21] <@Oxford> The garlic slips forward and her knife comes down across the tips of her fingers. Marupol lets out a slight grunt, and Cille looks up in time to see blood dripping all over the cutting board. Marupol quickly grabs a towel and presses it to her hand, gritting her teeth hard.
[13:28] <Cille_Lund> "nopewe'reout" The voices seem to be busy lately...perhaps for a reason, as her thoughts had also went to a dark place for a moment. But no, that would make her a monster. The very idea would. Stop that. ...Something to clean the wound with, yes, that might be a good idea. ...Shit, water is kind of scarce, isn't it? ...She's more apt than Cille is at this. Ugh. ...Might as well GET water to see if she needs it.
[13:32] <@Oxford> "Ei vetta," the redhead grunts as she sits down hard on a box of supplies, "vodka." She gingerly lifts the towel away from her hand to inspect the damage, grimaces, and squeezes it back down.
[13:35] <Cille_Lund> ...Vodka, she's familar with that word, all that time spent in a bar would pretty much make it certain. Maybe that'll do? She's not sure, but...she does seem to know more than her, so...get that instead, try again!
[13:39] <@Oxford> Marupol clutchs her cut hand into a fist to keep the towel on tight and grabs the bottle from Cille with the other hand. She rips the stopper out with her teeth, spits it away, and pours the clear spirits over her fingertips. It splashes over the floor of the hutch, and Marupol's expression betrays the way the alcohol feels in the open cut.
[13:43] <Cille_Lund> ...Maybe that WASN'T a good idea. ...Maybe water would have been better. S-she doesn't know! Maybe ask Vladko if this happens again. Maybe he knows. ...Or maybe he doesn't. Despite everything, she IS concerned!
[13:44] <Cille_Lund> "...there. I see instead of her making you cry...she got a reason to cry. Funny how that works out." Voices, please.
[13:51] <@Oxford> Despite what the voices say, however, Marupol doesn't cry. In fact, as soon as her breathing has slowed back down, she gulps and looks at Cille. "Am sorry," she says through gritted teeth. "Mistake."
[13:58] <Cille_Lund> "...Though, she isn't. Tough one." "It's alright." ...Er, no, she should look it up in this book...
[13:59] <@Oxford> "No, is not. Is mistake." Marupol gets to her feet unsteadily and, again clenching her hand to keep the towel on firmly, picks up the cutting board with the other. She carries the board to the door of the hut, shakes off the now bloodied garlic pieces, and places it back on the table.
[14:07] <Cille_Lund> Is...is she going to be alright? ...It's hard to tell, really. ...She can continue her own work, but does so with a deal more restraint, clouded by uncertainty.
[14:07] <@Oxford> Then, still using just one hand, she carefully places a fresh clove on the board, picks up the knife, and slowly resumes cutting the garlic.
[14:08] <Cille_Lund> It's Cille that watches Marupol, this time. ...Of course, she's slower for it, but...something tells Cille that Marupol is too stubborn to ask for help. Still, though...
[14:21] <@Oxford> From outside, Cille hears the clatter of wood on wood as an armful of cut branches are dropped onto the small fuel pile. A moment later, Vladko's head appears in the doorway. "Hei! How's it going, you two?"
[14:27] <Cille_Lund> "One's cutting themselves and the other is crying. Picture perfect here, chief." W-wait--oh, she sort of is. Onions finally got to her. "...It's been a bit messy, Marupol accidentally cut herself with the knife, but she seems to be coming along fine..." ...Steel yourself. Don't get jealous of anything that's to come, don't get jealous of anything that's going to come.
[14:29] <@Oxford> His eyes quickly adjust to the light, and his expression changes to one of concern. "Marupol? Mita tapahtui? Oletko kunnossa?" he asks, rushing over to her. She waves him away angrily. "Ala haly kuin isoaiti. Illallinen on melkein valmis."
[14:36] <Cille_Lund> "She certainly seems to be hard on herself..." "Like someone else we know." "...Like a few people, really."
[14:38] <@Oxford> She turns away from him, and Vladko reaches around her from both sides, grabbing her wrists. "Lopettakaa. Pysahtya!" he says, sounding angry. She drops the knife and spins around, but he quickly regains his grip. "Olet loukkaantunut. Esitan siteella, joka." Without looking at Cille, he says, in Cimbrian, "Get the medical kit, please,"
[14:42] <Cille_Lund> ...Why didn't she think of that? That seems like a thing that would make sense! Dammit, herself--don't even start, voices. GET THE KIT. BRING IT BACK. Granted, she would have little idea as how to use it, but that's why Vladko is here!
[14:48] <@Oxford> Vladko reaches into the bag and pulls out a long piece of gauze. He begins to wrap Marupol's hand, tightly but tenderly. She turns away, her face flushed a deep red, and inadvertently makes eye contact with Cille. When she does, Marupol squeezes her eyelids shut, and Cille sees the Novgoraadi's only tears so far glisten in the corners of her eyes.
[14:55] <Cille_Lund> Cille's mental state goes slightly wack! Slightly. ...She's paying attention, and she swear she sees what she has. Was it because of the pain finally coming through? ...No, this is a different kind of pain. One she can begin to understand, but is hardly in the position to do much about. She can only mutter an "..anteeksi.." under her breath. Of COURSE she's learned that word.
[14:56] <Cille_Lund> "...Yep, this sure reeks of 'there's a conversation we need to have but we don't have the guts to have it'." "No, that's the garlic."
[14:59] <@Oxford> When he finishes wrapping her hand, Vladko secures the bandage with a metal clip and then turns to Cille. "I think we'll skip the garlic today," he says, "so put those onions in and then we'll have some stew."
[15:01] <Cille_Lund> "Alright." ...Busy busy, then! ...It might be an uneasy situation, but...Vladko is here, things will be OK! They have to be! Hopefully the onions themselves are.
[15:04] <@Oxford> She stirs them in, and after a few minutes in the hot stew they seem soft enough to eat. Vladko helps her ladle the chunky soup into three bowls and places one in front of Marupol, who takes a spoon in her undamaged hand and begins to eat wordlessly.
[15:07] <Cille_Lund> "...Huh, the garlic is long gone, but it still reeks. Jealousy?" "No, onion." "Hee" "hee." Nnnnnn. With a lot of heavy things in the air, Cille forgets to speak as she eats...but doesn't forget to break off the crystal on her face, because they talk far too much.
[15:09] <@Oxford> Instead, Vladko takes over the conversation. "So, Cille," he asks, blowing on his stew to cool it, "how would you reccomend we proceed? I've alerted headquarters, but they haven't responded with instructions."
[15:22] <Cille_Lund> "...As things are, there isn't much we can do alone. The place is filled with hostiles that could be more than a match for me, there's still only three of us, and we've gleaned one of the more important bits of information. It would be good if we could figure out the mental states of the ones being kept, but doing so outside of a strenuous use of magic is ludicrous, and we wouldn't be able to do much about it until we finally take the damned place, and maybe burn it to the ground." ...Nope, she still hasn't gotten over it.
[15:25] <@Oxford> Vladko frowns. "So you're sure you couldn't destroy this place on your own? You're so powerful, I guess I take it for granted that nothing can stop you, militarily."
[15:30] <Cille_Lund> "Yes, but doing so might incur the wrath of many, many destructive forces, and we'll all die if that happens. I could damage the place, but gods knows how far I'll get. A small group of magical girls is destructive enough, they seem to have the motherload in there, it'd be like detonating a bomb while right next to it. ...And I've second thoughts about it even if, by some chance, not a single one has a pendant, odd as that might seem, since there's at least one I've known that's done some pendantless magic herself...but such a thing isn't well known, so we could risk that."
[15:30] <Cille_Lund> "...I'd have to make something that would be able to find pendants, though, which would be a strenuous, though not impossible task."
[15:41] <@Oxford> "We don't know how much time we have," Vladko says, his brow furrowed in concentration, "but if there's any chance of stopping these weapons from being deployed, we have to take it. If we lose track of them, the next time we see them might be as they rain on your cities." He sets down his spoon, quickly losing his appetite.
[15:42] <@Oxford> "A bomb the size of what I saw in there would be powerful enough to flatten an entire factory if it was packed with conventional explosives. Who knows how much more powerful it would be with..." He trails off.
[15:44] <Cille_Lund> "...Then...once I finish my food, I'll see what I can do. If it turns out they're all armed and dangerous, the most we could possibly do without being downright suicidal is stalk any plane that takes off a distance, then destroy it and hope the one in the bomb is friendly." It's strenuous! She's hungry as it is, and the stew is missing an ingredient! Gotta fill up~!
[15:48] <@Oxford> Vladko sighs. "I'm sorry to ask you to do this. If there was any way I could help, anything I could do, I would." From her seat next to him, Marupol stares angrily into her stew, picking up enough of the conversation to get the gist of things.
[15:50] <Cille_Lund> "Cille totally has a spare pendant. Just saying." "Elephants in the room." "The stampedes of elephants are lethal!" "The hearts of girls are fra--" She might be hungry and in a hurry, but she has alllll the time in the world to repluck those voices.
[16:04] <@Oxford> There is nothing more to be said. Cille finishes her meal, but the broth is as flavorless as water, and the meat and vegtables taste like chunks of sponge. From across the table, Vladko watches her carefully, ready to attend to her every need, while Marupol gazes sullenly into the murky contents of her own bowl, which she has hardly touched.
[16:04] <@Oxford> /session