World War Burst Into Treason: S3

[22:21:39] * BigTentacruel is now known as Henriette
[22:25:20] <Henriette> Ignoring the dull metallic creaking of the freighter's hull, Henriette bites her lip and hold a gently curled fist just in front of the door. She hesitates, more than a little nervous, but it's been on her mind for weeks, so might as well get it over with. Knock, knock. "Cille? Are you awake, ma belle?" she says softly. The hallway echoes her words, hungrily swallowing them into the darkness and then spitting them back out.
[22:27:10] * Firespitter ([email protected]) has joined #WorldWarBurst
[22:29:00] <Cille_Lund> The knocks echo. Before the door opens, one swears they can hear a familiar voice if they listen carefully (not hard in the silence, really). Not Cille's but...you know, those other things. "Ah, blast it, someone's here, we're g-" They cut off abruptly, as Cille answers the door, looking tired. "Yes? Is there anything you need?" There must be something, it's kind of late!
[22:33:26] <Henriette> "Err... peut-on parler?" she says. "Can we talk?" Not that Henriette has really ever been that confident, but tonight in particular, she seems a bit ragged. It's clear she hasn't been sleeping much. "Is it okay to come in?"
[22:35:59] <Cille_Lund> Considering what had happened earlier...well, in her case, it was magical seizures. That's pretty bad. "It is. ...You're up to speed on everything that's happened, right?" Dammit, she said 'speed'. Any other word, but she chose speed. Gah. Thank god she just plucked the damn thing, lest it be mocking her for her word choice.
[22:50:23] <Henriette> Henriette frowns. "Well... Non, but... ce est autre chose. Can we have this conversation not out in the hallway where... What is the phrase? The walls have ears?"
[22:52:40] <Cille_Lund> "That seems right." She lets Henriette in, and closes the door if she doesn't do so herself. Any applicable lights get turned on shortly after. If the walls have ears, here, this must be a something.
[22:55:43] <Cille_Lund> She keeps it down, upon that relevation...rather, she would have, were it not somewhat late already.
[22:57:35] <Henriette> Henriette glances around as if looking for a place to sit, but she doesn't move from the doorway. "Je... je vous dois- non, sorry. I owe you an apology, ma belle." She brushes her skirts carefully and bites her lip again. "I have wronged you."
[23:05:40] <Cille_Lund> "You..." She takes a moment to remember the wrongs. ...Some not without their reasons, but... "...have, yes. Though, I faintly remember us having a conversation about it once before..." Yeah, you had to patch HER up--ow" She plucks something shiny from her face, and puts it down on the nearest hard surface...where a lot of those things seem to have gathered.
[23:13:22] <Henriette> "Oui..." That wasn't the answer she was hoping for. "I also... well, I was hoping to have someone to confide in. Much as I like the other girls, I do not know that I wish to seek their help in... when I am failing them."
[23:14:05] <Henriette> "Mais first... I wish to apologize about what happened with Monsieur Vladko. He was... not what I was exxpecting. Non, he was not what I had been taught to expect."
[23:18:36] <Cille_Lund> HOPE DIES HERE. "...I see. ...And, I think you'd done that earlier too, but I'll forgive you all the same. Given our situation, and what I was thinking, and...everyone besides you, as well as yourself, I'm not sure it could have ended another way now."
[23:24:21] <Henriette> "Well... I have given it further thought." Truth be told, the player forgot the former conversation happened. "Et... you must understand that I struggle with my position. I can say that I am the leader of our squadron, mais that is really not true. No one listens to me, I am not useful in combat, et I must be the one to deliver the orders from faces most of you have never seen."
[23:29:06] <Cille_Lund> Cille continues the thought without skipping much of a beat. "Thus, the position of leader can go two ways. Either one can call Lily our leader, which is...I suppose sort of true in that she's the one that somehow ends up stable while having contact with the same faces...or one can call the faceless ones our leaders, or perhaps Vestergaard. They're the ones that actually give us the orders."
[23:29:20] <Cille_Lund> "Not being useful in combat is an outright lie though...so as long as you're conscious."
[23:33:20] <Henriette> "Well... perhaps when we have a planned combat. I am not skilled at adapting. The incident with the sandstorm is proof enough of that." Frown. "Mais, orders we recieved from the Albaean military usually come through me, et I am afraid that the other girls... and you... see me as just their dog. I feel isolated."
[23:34:45] <Henriette> "You must understand that I love Albaea. She raised me when Gaulia abandoned my father and I. This conflict is... hard for someone like me because I love you girls dearly et... I have learned that people like Vladko are not what I had been taught."
[23:41:42] <Cille_Lund> ...There was a moment that she might have messed up at before having lost it. Perhaps it could be held against her if one tried hard enough...but... "Things never like being simple. I've...been in some situations that have proved that much. People act like people. Some of them are different than others. Most work with their own interests in mind, some for better reasons, many more without. Some are misguided, some just don't care. ...It's hard to realize that, as simple as some might think it is, but...at the same time, many people think that the enemy is a mindless swarm that needs to be shot down."
[23:43:32] <Cille_Lund> "...And of course, that's necessary for war. The one that doesn't think twice about shooting the enemy is most likely going to get shot by them. It doesn't leave much room to think about why."
[23:44:40] <Cille_Lund> "...Though, it's a lot easier for us. We take more than a moment of hesitation to die."
[23:47:32] <Henriette> "I am afraid, though... I am lost at sea, et the stars don't seem to want to show themselves. It was a lot simpler when we were based in Albaea. I didn't know anyone from Novgoraad. I didn't think they would be human beings. I didn't think my country could do any wrong." Tears start to well in the corners of her eyes. "Et... I am not a smart person. I struggle when the answers are not clear. I know that, yet I want to try and do right."
[23:48:31] <Henriette> "I have already decided. I will help you see Vladko again, ma cherie, and then I am submitting my resignation to the Albaean military for treason."
[23:51:08] <Cille_Lund> "You'lll...help?" She was prepared to wax a little longer, but the relevation pauses her. A small, yet somewhat long, crystal immediately forms on her left cheek. "Whoa! She was surprised! Surprise her mor--no, wai--" She snaps it off quickly, for even the quiet whispers were whispering somewhat loudly.
[23:52:48] <Cille_Lund> "...That...hn. I do suppose there is room for you to help, yes. Truth be told, I was already trying to prepare some arrangements of my own. I was...actually prepared to leave shortly after arriving once more, to find him."
[23:57:31] <Cille_Lund> "Though, a step involves simply using magical force. Would be easier to do that with someone else helping out. I'd rather not expend too much magical power at once. I'd already done enough of that earlier, and that made those noises start surfacing again."
[23:58:34] <Henriette> "I am not good for much, Cille, mais I am honest and would never go back on my word. If I say I will help, I mean that." She walks across the room to stare at a spot on the wall where the metal panel is cracked. "I once thought I would see the war end because of my actions. I wanted to be a hero. The truth is that I am not a hero. I have had that beaten into me by too many people, and perhaps it is finally sinking in." She turns to look
[00:02:43] <Henriette>  at Cille. "But I suppose what I am also good at is
[00:02:43] <Henriette>           supplying raw power."
[00:07:58] <Cille_Lund> "I'm not too much different, in that regard. For a while, I had seen this as a chance to make a good difference. That I had finally gotten something good from the world that hadn't been too generous with that, either as the good difference, or a magical way out. Of course not, it was just finding more ways to jerk my chain. I thought I would help end a war, or end up dead somehow, but I was working in a space that only let me pretend such things. Albaea doesn't seem to have a good idea of what it's doing, AND it wants to absorb Cimbria, likely for its own selfish reasons."
[00:08:48] <Cille_Lund> "...And then I realize I'm miswording things a bit. Those that run Albaea seem to want this sort of thing. Military leaders, politicans, whatnot."
[00:10:22] <Cille_Lund> "But the latest...issue helped me see that I wasn't going to get anywhere. We spend more time picking up after ourselves than pretending to do things, even. Half of us are wrecks. ...We might all be wrecks."
[00:12:04] <Cille_Lund> "Wrecks sent to do things by people that don't know how to use us right. I'm surprised I thought we could get anywhere like this."
[00:14:47] <Henriette> Henriette appears visibly hurt at the idea that Albaea is doing wrong things to Cimbria, but she shakes her head. "You are right, though. I thought Albaea had the world's best interests at heart. I did not think she would seek to undermine other people for her own gain. It is... sobering, et it is yet another reason why I must surrender myself to whatever punishment I recieve. I find myself compromised, et I fear I will not have the will
[00:15:16] <Henriette> to take whatever action is necessary when the time  comes. I just... don't want to see you get hurt. That's all I ever wanted.""
[00:15:59] <Henriette> "When we took you back from Vladko, I did not do it for any reason except that I was afraid that he would hurt you. I was afraid that Novgoraad would hurt you."
[00:17:20] <Cille_Lund> "...And I, at the time, thought that in order to see him on proper terms, I would have to work here to stop the war, so that we could live together in peace. We have both made mistakes."
[00:20:02] <Cille_Lund> "I am left but two choices. Either reunite with Vladko and somehow manage to live in peace...or somehow find a way to end Novgoraad's threat from within it with no aim whatsoever...which is still less insane than trying to do anything from here."
[00:20:42] <Henriette> Finally, she sits. In a chair, if there is one! "The... Albaean military won't be pleased with what you want to do... with what I'm agreeing to help you do. I hope you understand what that means to me."
[00:21:34] <Henriette> "I can't follow you there, et I cannot bear to think that I would live once more exiled by my homeland."
[00:25:15] <Cille_Lund> If there's not a chair, there ought be a bed, right? "...I understand...yet, even while understanding while it means to you...I'm compelled to say that if I had the power, I would probably give Albaea a very stern talking to, perhaps worse."
[00:30:09] <Henriette> A small smile works its way onto a face that probably hasn't seen a genuine one in a while. Her cheekbones stick out against her skin like a finger pulling leather taut. "I wish I had never known about any of this. I wish I could have kept living my blissful little life fighting planes by the seaside for the boy I liked. I haven't received a letter from him in some time, et... I fear he will not find me desirable if I ever see him again.
[00:37:06] <Cille_Lund> "And I wish I'd never have been in a position to think about it. Yet another viewpoint, perhaps we are brainwashed so that we might be protected from a reality that we needn't know. The truth might be ugly, but yet, it might not be. ...You might be lucky. I'll say that I am...not. I fear the worst, I expect the worst. The worst has come at least...say, 95 percent of the time when it really matters, give or take 5. It's what makes me so thoughtful." "Secrets, rev--look, being crystalless is uncomfortable. We'll stop talking if you don't remove it. Deal?" She ponders, before not plucking. The silence is somewhat healing.
[00:41:42] <Henriette> The smile vanishes back from whence it came. "I'm afraid I don't understand very well, mais I will make sure what you want now at least succeeds, Cille." She stops speaking. For her, the silence is deafening.
[00:45:18] <Cille_Lund> "...Ah, I mean to say...you might still have a shot. People understand sometimes. Of course, if you still like him, it'd be best to pay him a visit as well. ...Though your position makes it very hard to do so. ...Actually, wait, the situation was sort of blinding me for a moment, there. You said you were turning yourself in?"
[00:47:48] <Henriette> Nod. "That is what I said. I won't abandon Albaea, et I have dug my own grave, as they say."
[00:56:05] <Cille_Lund> "...You say you don't want to hurt me, but you do still have your own set of beliefs. I'm not in a position to help you change your mind at all, though, since if things go...south, I too, would be digging my own grave."
[00:56:24] <Cille_Lund> "Just...make sure you know who will miss you."
[01:00:06] <Henriette> "Perhaps I misunderstand, then. Are you not saying that you wish to leave for Novgoraad and Monsieur Vladko? That is not going to be something you can take back. I had thought this was your farewell, ma belle." Henriette stands up, arms outstretched. "You all mean the world to me. I love my country, yes, mais I love you all even moreso, even when I feel hurt by someone like Rosalyne. If I had to take a bullet for any of you, I would do i
[01:00:23] <Henriette> She's going in for the hug, Cille. What are you going to do?
[01:01:33] <Henriette> it without hesitation."
[01:08:34] <Cille_Lund> She returns it, naturally, tearing up. "...That is what I'm saying. It is going to be quite final, barring special circumstances. To hear you say that you'll turn yourself in, though...you might as well say that you'll kill yourself while I'm gone. Even if I am to be gone for good, one way or another, it is not pleasant to hear, and can't imagine it would be pleasant for Lily to hear about, either."
[01:14:16] * Firespitter ([email protected]) Quit
[01:19:09] <Henriette> And now Henriette's got even more to consider. "Of course... I can't even pay for my crimes san remords. But what am I to do, Cille? Would you have me lie to my commanding officers? Should I tell them I helped you, a powerful asset to your own country's cause, join our escaped prisoner in enemy territory? I have no choice."
[01:20:46] <Henriette> "Et worse yet... if I am ever to see Dirk again, I must return to Albaea somehow. If they... if I hid from them, I would never see him again. That is no life for me."
[01:26:30] <Cille_Lund> "...I cannot make this easy--rather, I cannot make this not hard. I do not envy your position in the least. Despite your position, you hold a trust in your country's leaders, but yet, you make them out to be about as merciless as I imagine them, ready to sentence you for eternity for helping...two people not be broken anymore, when both are probably willing to set Novgoraad back if given an opportunity."
[01:31:39] <Henriette> "That about sums it up, doesn't it?" A grimace. "But you are wrong on one front. I do not trust my country's leaders. I do, however, believe in the ideals that Albaean citizens treasure, even if those in charge do not concern themselves with following them."
[01:33:22] <Henriette> "I will not become someone who wets her towel in blood and then pretends it was not so by wringing it out. I would cease to be me, as imperfect and stupid and blind as I am."
[01:38:33] <Cille_Lund> "...Ah, right. The late night gets at me, and this...thing growing on me is starting to throw me off. But, then...if you don't believe in the leaders, but rather, moreso the ideals...then perhaps those ideals might have been betrayed if you hadn't let us off, and by doing so, you were true to them? Honestly, I know less about Albaea than I should...at some point, I started tuning it out."
[01:39:05] <Cille_Lund> "If that is the case though, you really have a no-win situation, here..."
[01:41:54] <Henriette> "You talk in circles around me, ma cherie, mais I think I understand. I am not the simple girl I was in Ternwald. The world is not black and white to me but shades in between and some whites speckled with black."
[01:43:46] <Henriette> "Seeing you happy, seeing Naida happily running her bar... Those are the things I dream about now." Figurative dreams, you know. Not actual dreams. She rarely has anything but nightmares these days. "I believe in people's happiness, et I would gladly sacrifice myself for that."
[01:50:13] <Cille_Lund> "...Honestly, after so long, I just enjoy talking...and, well, I won't be talking with you much soon. Pardon me if I get...a bit carried away. I'm not used to being...open, or longwinded. Even if it's about depressing stuff."
[01:50:50] <Cille_Lund> "I can only hope that you're satisfied with the outcome you ultimately decide on, knowing what they mean."
[01:53:57] <Henriette> "I have thought a lot about this, ma belle. I know what it will mean. I do not want to be the person you and the other girls associate with insensitive, manipulative old men deciding what is best for your country or your families. I do not want to watch you tear yourselves apart over divided loyalties."
[01:54:10] <Henriette> "If I can stop that, it will be enough."
[01:55:36] <Henriette> With a big sniffle, she looks at the ceiling of the tanker, drawing little lines through the rust in her head. Quieting the fear that she feels about what's going to happen is like silencing the crashing ocean.
[01:58:48] <Cille_Lund> "...I see. ...Thank you, Henriette."
[02:20:01] <Cille_Lund> ...After a long period of unease, she finally felt at peace with Henriette...and with that, she felt at peace with everyone, except Rosalyne, who would probably stab her in the heart if she showed it. She had a talk with Lily, Naida--though there's probably something lacking there, might want to take care of that--and now Henriette. For all the unease the situation brings, being closer to leaving with a clear conscience is what eventually gives her the ability to sleep the rest of that night, after eventually kicking Henriette out (no, you can't sleep here). What awaits them? Whatever it is, it's probably terrible!
[02:20:39] <Henriette>  /mini