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[THIS ISN'T WORKING AT ALL.
Growing very frustrated very quickly when something doesn't go her way and isn't the realm she feels that she actually knows (like, you know, real battles), Hayame makes a sharp, dismissive sound that makes it seem as if she is pretty sure he just made this mystery non-human not-quite-lover up completely.]
There is no one "special" in my life, so you will die disappointed in that tale!
Growing very frustrated very quickly when something doesn't go her way and isn't the realm she feels that she actually knows (like, you know, real battles), Hayame makes a sharp, dismissive sound that makes it seem as if she is pretty sure he just made this mystery non-human not-quite-lover up completely.]
There is no one "special" in my life, so you will die disappointed in that tale!
Well, that's okay. [And this time, he isn't teasing. He may have a irreverent sense of humour, but he's not trying to be mean about it.] Why don't you tell me any story at all? I told you about my expedition to the desert, so I'd like to hear about your world, too. Then I'll tell you what you want to know.
Do you think you can distract me from the fact that I have yet to best you by demanding a story now, when you are the one who offered me one freely to begin with? You fairly demanded I listen.
[So he doesn't get to act like she owed him now!]
I am a warrior, not a wandering bard.
[So he doesn't get to act like she owed him now!]
I am a warrior, not a wandering bard.
Don't warriors love stories about glorious exploits and big battles and whatnot?
[They do in Fódlan and especially in Almyra, anyway, but he shrugs.]
Buuut, fine, I won't force you. Go ahead and take another shot at me?
[They do in Fódlan and especially in Almyra, anyway, but he shrugs.]
Buuut, fine, I won't force you. Go ahead and take another shot at me?
They are the subject of them if they do grand deeds, storytelling talents do not come with the ability to wield a damned weapon.
[The ability to know when one is being roundly, thoroughly bested, however... Hayame slumps in defeat back against the stall wall again, turning her gaze away with her face still red.
He is lucky that his presence has been the only warm thing for the past... days.]
... You only offered me that avenue because you knew yourself a man disinclined to blushing. Fine. Keep your win and your secret fake lover. But if by some miracle she is real, you should probably not tell her that you have spent your day leaning on my rump.
[The ability to know when one is being roundly, thoroughly bested, however... Hayame slumps in defeat back against the stall wall again, turning her gaze away with her face still red.
He is lucky that his presence has been the only warm thing for the past... days.]
... You only offered me that avenue because you knew yourself a man disinclined to blushing. Fine. Keep your win and your secret fake lover. But if by some miracle she is real, you should probably not tell her that you have spent your day leaning on my rump.
Nah, she'd probably say something like, "Oh Claude! You're so kind and considerate to sit with a poor lonely lady all day. It makes me want to ask for Father's blessing to marry you all the more!"
[He adopts a high-pitched voice like he definitely has someone in mind he's mimicking, then laughs.]
Like I said, we're not lovers, although she was very insistent about being interested. But I did figure out she's not human, much as she tried to hide it.
[He adopts a high-pitched voice like he definitely has someone in mind he's mimicking, then laughs.]
Like I said, we're not lovers, although she was very insistent about being interested. But I did figure out she's not human, much as she tried to hide it.
What? You're "just friends" with a woman? Your tongue is outrageous.
[............. Also, eew. With the voice, too? Hayame's lips purse, her chin juts out, and she stays avoiding his gaze, her arms crossing under her breasts a bit more huffily.
She almost thinks she won't say anything else at all, but.]
- If you were a gentleman, you would have let her keep passing as human.
[............. Also, eew. With the voice, too? Hayame's lips purse, her chin juts out, and she stays avoiding his gaze, her arms crossing under her breasts a bit more huffily.
She almost thinks she won't say anything else at all, but.]
- If you were a gentleman, you would have let her keep passing as human.
I haven't told anyone her secret. Believe me, I know what it's like to need to hide who you are, and we had an understanding on that front.
[And maybe he's overstepping the mark here, but... He looks away, to the opposite wall of the stall.]
It's why I understand your feelings, too, at least a little. It's not easy, feeling like an outsider.
[And maybe he's overstepping the mark here, but... He looks away, to the opposite wall of the stall.]
It's why I understand your feelings, too, at least a little. It's not easy, feeling like an outsider.
[... an understanding. That does get her attention, and once she finally turns to look at him... he is looking at the opposite wall. Because of course.
Her own eyes avert again before he can look back and catch her directly.]
As if a human man would know how I felt?
[Here, in her stall, still mentally bound to the only treatment she has known all her life?]
Her own eyes avert again before he can look back and catch her directly.]
As if a human man would know how I felt?
[Here, in her stall, still mentally bound to the only treatment she has known all her life?]
Yeah. Where I grew up, people looked down on me as... a kind of beast, of sorts. Less than human. All because of where my mother came from. They said I had the blood of cowards and weaklings... I was just an aberration, in their eyes.
[He glances to the door of the stall, almost as if he's paranoid someone might be eavesdropping. This is something he'd rather reserve for Hayame alone.]
I endured some pretty terrible things, to put it lightly. So I ran away, across the border, to my mother's homeland. But I was naive. People there were just the same-- only now I wasn't a coward but a bloodthirsty savage, to be hated and shunned. It wasn't until I changed my identity and hid who I was that people gave me any respect at all.
Not everyone has that kind of luxury, though, right? [He finally looks back at Hayame, his expression uncharacteristically serious, his hands tight fists under his cloak.] I know that. That doesn't mean I can just abandon a fellow outsider to fend for themselves.
[He glances to the door of the stall, almost as if he's paranoid someone might be eavesdropping. This is something he'd rather reserve for Hayame alone.]
I endured some pretty terrible things, to put it lightly. So I ran away, across the border, to my mother's homeland. But I was naive. People there were just the same-- only now I wasn't a coward but a bloodthirsty savage, to be hated and shunned. It wasn't until I changed my identity and hid who I was that people gave me any respect at all.
Not everyone has that kind of luxury, though, right? [He finally looks back at Hayame, his expression uncharacteristically serious, his hands tight fists under his cloak.] I know that. That doesn't mean I can just abandon a fellow outsider to fend for themselves.
[To her credit… Hayame does listen. Even though a part of her almost wants to interrupt, the hurt child she’d once been raging that whatever suffering a half-breed human might undergo was nothing compared to that of a jinba… she stays silent and she just listens.
It is not so easy for her to imagine, not based in her own reality. She comes from a land where almost all humans looked the same, and the ones that did have slightly different cultures… well, they’d been largely subsumed by now beneath the crush of “humans”. Just the one race, who looked the same and thought mostly the same… and then jinba, who were easy targets for hatred and discrimination.
There was no hiding what she was. No human who could not look upon her and know instantly more than she wished about herself and her background and her status. Here… it was different in some ways, but-
She finally looks at him. Just a little. Perhaps it would be hard, in a different world.]
No, not everyone does.
[But he sounded… sincere, for once, in contrast to his usual flippant demeanor. And she finds, as angry as she had been… that she shifts slightly beneath him, loosening up the tight cross of her arms just slightly as she… seems to make herself comfortable (or as comfortable as one could be) back in the bed of hay leaning against the wall of the stall.
Abandoning a fellow outsider… Hah.]
… You are warm, at the very least. Continue to make yourself useful in that way and I will not throw you out.
It is not so easy for her to imagine, not based in her own reality. She comes from a land where almost all humans looked the same, and the ones that did have slightly different cultures… well, they’d been largely subsumed by now beneath the crush of “humans”. Just the one race, who looked the same and thought mostly the same… and then jinba, who were easy targets for hatred and discrimination.
There was no hiding what she was. No human who could not look upon her and know instantly more than she wished about herself and her background and her status. Here… it was different in some ways, but-
She finally looks at him. Just a little. Perhaps it would be hard, in a different world.]
No, not everyone does.
[But he sounded… sincere, for once, in contrast to his usual flippant demeanor. And she finds, as angry as she had been… that she shifts slightly beneath him, loosening up the tight cross of her arms just slightly as she… seems to make herself comfortable (or as comfortable as one could be) back in the bed of hay leaning against the wall of the stall.
Abandoning a fellow outsider… Hah.]
… You are warm, at the very least. Continue to make yourself useful in that way and I will not throw you out.
[ Gray doesn't arm herself as the two newcomers enter the clearing, though she keeps her right hand tucked close, ready to draw her weapon if needed. Alenroux is typically peaceful territory in the daytime (between factions, anyhow), but given her own reason for being here, she can't rule out the possibility of running into hostile Kenites.
Once she gets a good look at the two people, she cautiously begins to relax. She's seen them before in passing; even if she's never spoken to them, they're a striking pair, and she remembers especially being fascinated by how the man's six arms moved as he scrambled around in the training grounds. Still, listening to them complain is a bit awkward. Even if she's literally been sitting here and minding her own business, she feels like she's the one walking in on their conversation. Especially because "that woman" probably refers to a certain someone...
In contrast to the two recruits, Gray brightens a little when Hayame's blunt voice cuts through the clearing. Mostly because it saves Gray the social pain of having to explain herself to near-strangers. She often misses the days when she could simply hide behind her mentor whenever people tried to talk to her.
As the recruits receive their dressing down, Gray quietly turns back to her fire so that she can dig through her pack and stick a couple more ears of corn on sticks and mount them by the fire for roasting. Maybe they'll all be hungry after Hayame is done being disappointed in her recruits. ]
Once she gets a good look at the two people, she cautiously begins to relax. She's seen them before in passing; even if she's never spoken to them, they're a striking pair, and she remembers especially being fascinated by how the man's six arms moved as he scrambled around in the training grounds. Still, listening to them complain is a bit awkward. Even if she's literally been sitting here and minding her own business, she feels like she's the one walking in on their conversation. Especially because "that woman" probably refers to a certain someone...
In contrast to the two recruits, Gray brightens a little when Hayame's blunt voice cuts through the clearing. Mostly because it saves Gray the social pain of having to explain herself to near-strangers. She often misses the days when she could simply hide behind her mentor whenever people tried to talk to her.
As the recruits receive their dressing down, Gray quietly turns back to her fire so that she can dig through her pack and stick a couple more ears of corn on sticks and mount them by the fire for roasting. Maybe they'll all be hungry after Hayame is done being disappointed in her recruits. ]
What, I pour my heart out to you but I'm still just a slab of warm meat?
[He gives a slightly pinched smile and scoots down to lean his head against her. Maybe she just sees him as a gross human and what he just said meant nothing to her at all, if he had to guess, but at least he explained himself.]
Maybe I'll stop talking your ear off and take a nap. After all that, I'm beat. [The gentle rise and fall of her flank is soothing, when he's not intentionally riling her up and actually letting her relax.]
[He gives a slightly pinched smile and scoots down to lean his head against her. Maybe she just sees him as a gross human and what he just said meant nothing to her at all, if he had to guess, but at least he explained himself.]
Maybe I'll stop talking your ear off and take a nap. After all that, I'm beat. [The gentle rise and fall of her flank is soothing, when he's not intentionally riling her up and actually letting her relax.]
... You gave me a light summary of your heart.
[Hayame faces his smile with a frown, acknowledging... in her way, that it was something. That it was... heard. But in return, she gives him no more than what he had already ascertained with his clever mind and overbusy eyes. At the very least (thankfully?), the blush seems to have cooled on her cheeks in favor of something more serious, but...
She turns her face away again, so that she does not preoccupy herself with the strange sight of a man (of anyone, really) that close to her. His weight is... solid. Warm.]
Do not pout so. Sleep, instead.
[She hasn't been resting since Meridian's loss. It wasn't like she could claim to not be in need of it either.]
[Hayame faces his smile with a frown, acknowledging... in her way, that it was something. That it was... heard. But in return, she gives him no more than what he had already ascertained with his clever mind and overbusy eyes. At the very least (thankfully?), the blush seems to have cooled on her cheeks in favor of something more serious, but...
She turns her face away again, so that she does not preoccupy herself with the strange sight of a man (of anyone, really) that close to her. His weight is... solid. Warm.]
Do not pout so. Sleep, instead.
[She hasn't been resting since Meridian's loss. It wasn't like she could claim to not be in need of it either.]
Yeah, yeah, I hear you. [He pulls the cloak up to his chin, closing his eyes.] Let's pick somewhere a little more cosy to get some shut-eye next time, shall we?
[He hasn't given up on getting her out of the stable, in other words, even if he hasn't yet thought of a way to persuade her. (Besides the classic: Relentless Nagging.) That said, he soon drops off to sleep, being the type to be able to nap pretty much anywhere. Mercifully, he's not a snorer.]
[He hasn't given up on getting her out of the stable, in other words, even if he hasn't yet thought of a way to persuade her. (Besides the classic: Relentless Nagging.) That said, he soon drops off to sleep, being the type to be able to nap pretty much anywhere. Mercifully, he's not a snorer.]
[The two were confused to find Gray... but they are definitely not pleased to find Hayame. Or rather, for Hayame to find them. The simian woman makes an insolent face, the six-armed man doesn't really seem the respectful type, and as if they do not have an audience at all...
Hayame starts to dress them down further.
Do you think I teach you how to hold your bow close and ready for my own amusement, and not to prevent you from alerting every bit of prey in the area? Her finger points aggressively. I brought you out here for your own good, and you repay your instructor by not taking this seriously? Will you take it seriously if I leave you here when night falls and the beasts scent you on the wind? A tail slaps against a tree. Being able to hit targets on a shooting range has made you cocky!
... It's not pleasant, or very short. The woman tries talking back, once, and it goes very badly. But eventually... the two have been cowed into temporary? submission, apologies for their failure are solicited...
And the smell of corn roasting fills the air.
Hayame finally turns to the other woman in the clearing, her expression... well, not calming, but. Comparatively calming.]
Gray. I am forced to apologize for my subordinates. It seems these miscreants have disturbed your meal.
Hayame starts to dress them down further.
Do you think I teach you how to hold your bow close and ready for my own amusement, and not to prevent you from alerting every bit of prey in the area? Her finger points aggressively. I brought you out here for your own good, and you repay your instructor by not taking this seriously? Will you take it seriously if I leave you here when night falls and the beasts scent you on the wind? A tail slaps against a tree. Being able to hit targets on a shooting range has made you cocky!
... It's not pleasant, or very short. The woman tries talking back, once, and it goes very badly. But eventually... the two have been cowed into temporary? submission, apologies for their failure are solicited...
And the smell of corn roasting fills the air.
Hayame finally turns to the other woman in the clearing, her expression... well, not calming, but. Comparatively calming.]
Gray. I am forced to apologize for my subordinates. It seems these miscreants have disturbed your meal.
[Somewhere a little more cozy... Hayame frowns a bit further at the insinuation, the idea that her stall was unfitting for sleeping in. For a human, perhaps. This stall was much better than the one she had lived in. There was hay and wood shavings on the floor, not mostly packed earth... there was a halved-door (not that it had stopped him)...
Before she can manage to come up with a proper retort, it seems as if he's already asleep.
How foolish he seems to her, laying there against her flank with his body gently rising along with the slow inhale-exhale of her main set of lungs. He had been naive, he'd said, she doubts he is as naive any longer... but he still trusts her enough for some reason to let his guard down that amount around her. A woman he barely knew, just...
A fellow outsider.
In the end, Hayame doesn't say anything, nor does she wake him. It takes her far, far longer, unused to standing or sitting this closely to another person, let alone sleeping, but... eventually. Eventually her eyes close and she does something like nap, feeling just a bit warmer with another Meridian curled close to ward off the chill and despair of loss.]
Before she can manage to come up with a proper retort, it seems as if he's already asleep.
How foolish he seems to her, laying there against her flank with his body gently rising along with the slow inhale-exhale of her main set of lungs. He had been naive, he'd said, she doubts he is as naive any longer... but he still trusts her enough for some reason to let his guard down that amount around her. A woman he barely knew, just...
A fellow outsider.
In the end, Hayame doesn't say anything, nor does she wake him. It takes her far, far longer, unused to standing or sitting this closely to another person, let alone sleeping, but... eventually. Eventually her eyes close and she does something like nap, feeling just a bit warmer with another Meridian curled close to ward off the chill and despair of loss.]
[ Gray listens to the lecture shamelessly, curious about what Hayame is like as an instructor. The answer is that she's pretty much what Gray would expect. She thinks the simian woman is gutsy to try to talk back, but Gray wouldn't be surprised if Hayame started stomping the woman into bloody submission.
But luckily the simian woman has enough self-preservation to submit, and the clearing returns to (relative) peace. Gray blinks when Hayame addresses her and straightens a little as if she were a recruit too. ]
I-It's alright. I was thinking I wouldn't mind having someone to eat with.
[ She carefully avoids saying "people," unsure if Hayame would want to allow her subordinates to eat as well. She feels a little sorry for the two of them, but she doesn't dare step on Hayame's toes. Or hooves. ]
Um, would you like to have some corn? It's fresh from the fields.
But luckily the simian woman has enough self-preservation to submit, and the clearing returns to (relative) peace. Gray blinks when Hayame addresses her and straightens a little as if she were a recruit too. ]
I-It's alright. I was thinking I wouldn't mind having someone to eat with.
[ She carefully avoids saying "people," unsure if Hayame would want to allow her subordinates to eat as well. She feels a little sorry for the two of them, but she doesn't dare step on Hayame's toes. Or hooves. ]
Um, would you like to have some corn? It's fresh from the fields.
[... It is admittedly not what she expected, but the last thing one should do in front of one's subordinates is show unpreparedness, and so-]
I will accept your generous offer.
[Rounding on the two (one of whom looks about to accept themselves), Hayame points again to the forest around them, banishing them with a quick I expect you both back here with a creature to skin and cook on this fire within an hour! And seeing as that wasn't a complete refusal or shut down of the possibility that they would get fresh food too, and not just the rations they'd brought along with them... both end up scrambling back into the brush with more of a mission-oriented mindset.
Ugh. Gluttons.
But once they are gone... Hayame's pinched, put upon expression does ease just a little bit. Circling a spot by the fire near the other woman, she begins kicking little sticks and rocks out of the way with a hoof, waiting for silence to linger in the air before she looks back to Gray.]
What brings you to Alenroux?
[Even if she thinks she knows...]
I will accept your generous offer.
[Rounding on the two (one of whom looks about to accept themselves), Hayame points again to the forest around them, banishing them with a quick I expect you both back here with a creature to skin and cook on this fire within an hour! And seeing as that wasn't a complete refusal or shut down of the possibility that they would get fresh food too, and not just the rations they'd brought along with them... both end up scrambling back into the brush with more of a mission-oriented mindset.
Ugh. Gluttons.
But once they are gone... Hayame's pinched, put upon expression does ease just a little bit. Circling a spot by the fire near the other woman, she begins kicking little sticks and rocks out of the way with a hoof, waiting for silence to linger in the air before she looks back to Gray.]
What brings you to Alenroux?
[Even if she thinks she knows...]
[ Good luck, underlings... Gray watches them zoom off with well wishes. She doesn't particularly care about the meat, but it will be nice if they can all get through lunch without anyone getting jinba-trampled.
With a tentative peace returned to the clearing, Gray turns the sticks with their corn to get a nice even roast while Hayame makes a space for herself. When Hayame's question breaks the silence, Gray looks askance at her with a studied calm. If anyone else had asked her that, she might awkwardly try to make up an excuse, but it should be safe to share even sensitive information with Hayame; for all intents and purposes, they're currently working as two arms of the same operation. ]
Mr. Cyrus asked me to survey the island for strategic positions. He wants to occupy Alenroux... but you probably knew that already.
With a tentative peace returned to the clearing, Gray turns the sticks with their corn to get a nice even roast while Hayame makes a space for herself. When Hayame's question breaks the silence, Gray looks askance at her with a studied calm. If anyone else had asked her that, she might awkwardly try to make up an excuse, but it should be safe to share even sensitive information with Hayame; for all intents and purposes, they're currently working as two arms of the same operation. ]
Mr. Cyrus asked me to survey the island for strategic positions. He wants to occupy Alenroux... but you probably knew that already.
[A woman who was ignorant of dangers or too cocky for her own good might lie down... but Hayame is not that, and though she clears the space for herself she only plops her rear down instead of taking the more comfortable position on her belly. From there, a jinba took much longer to respond or rise, and those seconds were precious. Instead, she sits almost like a dog would, still towering over Gray. It is more cautious a position while not remaining fully standing.]
So you are scouting.
[Hayame hums, nodding in approval. A necessary task.]
Has it been going smoothly, then?
So you are scouting.
[Hayame hums, nodding in approval. A necessary task.]
Has it been going smoothly, then?
[ Hayame is really so big... Gray dares not take a seat, or else it might become a chore just craning her neck back to look at Hayame as they speak. ]
I haven't had any difficulty traveling, but I'm a little worried that I'm not evaluating the land as well as I could be. The General taught me a little about what I should be looking for, but I've never seen how a proper army moves... or what they might find important in reality.
[ Her misgivings flow from her easily. For most of her life, she's been a child readily guided by adults — almost never a peer with worries about saving face. ]
I haven't had any difficulty traveling, but I'm a little worried that I'm not evaluating the land as well as I could be. The General taught me a little about what I should be looking for, but I've never seen how a proper army moves... or what they might find important in reality.
[ Her misgivings flow from her easily. For most of her life, she's been a child readily guided by adults — almost never a peer with worries about saving face. ]
[Hayame, for her part, doesn't seem to be fussed about whether Gray sits or stands, leaving the business up to her. She was used to towering over the humans around her, whether they stood or sat.]
What do you mean?
[She raises an eyebrow over her eyepatch, trying to guess which of many things she might be referring to.]
You do not know how a larger group moves, or how much food they'll need... ?
What do you mean?
[She raises an eyebrow over her eyepatch, trying to guess which of many things she might be referring to.]
You do not know how a larger group moves, or how much food they'll need... ?
[ Hayame tends to ask very honest and valid questions, so why is it that Gray feels like she's being cornered every time? ]
Y-Yes. Like which sites are actually large enough to comfortably fit an army, or how far away they can be from certain resources. I'm not sure what's realistic.
[ It feels like a huge responsibility choosing these sites and it's weighing on her!! If she chooses badly, the troops may end up being miserable, or slightly worse, dead. She's never had to make decisions impacting anyone more than herself and the handful of people around her. ]
Y-Yes. Like which sites are actually large enough to comfortably fit an army, or how far away they can be from certain resources. I'm not sure what's realistic.
[ It feels like a huge responsibility choosing these sites and it's weighing on her!! If she chooses badly, the troops may end up being miserable, or slightly worse, dead. She's never had to make decisions impacting anyone more than herself and the handful of people around her. ]
[Tempering her intensity is... not a skill that comes easily to Hayame. Neither, usually, is realizing how she's coming off to others who do not respond well to it. In Gray's defense, even the most casual of conversations can come off overbearing when they are accompanied by the jinba mare's unwavering stare and cold manner of speaking...]
Do you have a map?
[Hayame holds out a hand in what is actually intended to be an offer to assist, but...]
I primarily dealt with hunting parties, but the experience may be better than nothing.
[For helping...]
Do you have a map?
[Hayame holds out a hand in what is actually intended to be an offer to assist, but...]
I primarily dealt with hunting parties, but the experience may be better than nothing.
[For helping...]
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