exsiliumlogs | Taking home stray idols

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Taking home stray idols

Date & Time: March 1st, Evening
Location: Housing Unit 501
Characters: Rise Kujikawa, Cairistiona Vyeth-Sunstriker, and open to Nanami Kiryuu
Summary: Rise's still a bit shell-shocked from this whole being taken to Exsilium thing, and Cairistiona doesn't want to leave her alone to fend for herself so soon. So what better solution than letting her sleep over?
Warnings: None that I can think of

Rise just wasn't ready for all this. She'd met some nice people and reconnected with some old friends, yeah, but she's still coming to terms with being taken from her own world to help with some kind of war or whatever in this dump.

She's lucky Cairistiona stuck with her all this time. She's honestly not sure what she would have done if it weren't for Cairi. Probably cried a lot more than she did.

And now they're approaching Housing Unit 501 - not Rise's new home, she's not ready to deal with new roommates on her own yet. But Cairi invited her to come stay with her for the night. And Rise thinks she just might be able to handle staying with strangers if Cairi's there.

Normally, she's stronger than this. She really is. But as they approach the door, in her frazzled state, Rise clings tightly to Cairistiona's arm. She's not afraid, really. She just doesn't want to let go and fall apart into the sobbing wreck she almost became earlier.

She misses her home, and she can't go back. Could anyone really blame her?

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One of the things Cairistiona never minded was helping others in need. So, that's why she let Rise tag along with her as she searched for anyone familiar from home. She managed to find Anduin, so that was a plus! Maybe some more people from home were here, too? She'd just have to find out.

Along the way, Cairi told Rise things about her home and things like that to focus on something else besides the predicament they were in. She also asked the young idol questions about her own world just to see what differences and similarities there were.

When they arrived at the apartment, the paladin blinked at Rise and gave her a calm smile. "I don't think they'll attack you," she gently said. "If they do, I'll have words with them."

Like that, she went into the room and instantly put on her knight face. "King's Honor, friends. It seems like I'm rooming with you. What do you say to working together for the best results?"

Fortunately (or perhaps not), Cairistiona's arrival coincides with one of Nanami's rare forays into the communal living spaces in the apartment. She spends a great deal of time sequestered in her room or wandering the rainless city aimlessly.

Not many adult women were present in her life even before coming to Exsilium; now, even though she knows there must be some present, she's rarely interacted with them. When the door opens, she jumps up from her seat on the geometrically strange living room furniture and stutters out a stock greeting.

"You startled me," she says, a bit irritably. "Are you really moving in here?" Is there someone else with her? Nanami leans to one side slightly, attempting to catch a glimpse of the other person outside the door. "There's only one empty room."

At Cairi's reassurance, Rise kind of relaxes a little bit. "Yeah, I know."

She takes a deep breath and slowly lets go of the older woman's arm. And she's okay. Not even freaking out a little bit, though having Cairi nearby is still helping with that.

She even giggles at Cairi's greeting when she walks inside ahead of her. It sounds like something out of a foreign fantasy film! But then, so did most of the things they chatted about earlier about her world.

What surprises Rise the most as she tentatively steps in behind Cairi is her roommate. How young is she?! Seriously, what's with this place and teenage girls?!

Ugh, and it doesn't look like they're off to a good start, either. Rushing to defuse the situation a bit before it can even develop, Rise explains, "Oh, I don't live here! I'm just visiting with Cairi-san..."

"My apologies," Cairistiona replied, bowing in both respect and also to show that she was sorry for startling the younger teen. She took note of the room around, casually making notes here and there.

"I'm Cairistiona Vyeth-Sunstriker and it's a pleasure to meet you, miss. I hope we can work together here." She had risen from her bow by now, but was still making sure her body language was relaxed.

"This is Rise Kujikawa and I just met her here. I'm one of the new Transports and have been assigned to this room."

"Nanami Kiryuu. Nice to meet you..."

The girl she's brought along can't be much older than Nanami is - and Japanese, too, probably, from the sound of things. Nanami folds her arms over her chest, settling, however unconsciously, into a sort of defensive stance. It's hard not to feel invaded, even if she has no control over who they send to live with her.

"Well. Make yourself at home, then..." Seeing as she'd already been invited without Nanami's knowledge. "A man lives here, too, but I don't know where he is." Her eyes pass somewhat uncomfortable back from Rise to her new roommate, who seems very formal, and that helps keep her manners in check.

Rise gives Cairistiona some space to respond before she jumps in. It just feels like it'd be rude to potentially cut off the woman who Nanami is going to actually be living with for the time being.

But it'd also be rude not to respond, so she does jump in when she gets the chance.

"Nice to meet you too, Nanami-san!"

In a very rare case, she speaks a slight bit more formally. Trying to be gracious since she is kind of unexpectedly crashing as far as the younger girl is concerned.

"And thanks. I promise I won't get in the way!"

She'll just... pretty much be sticking with Cairi for the night.

She does quirk an eyebrow curiously at the mention of a man living here, though.

"You mean there's no separate housing?! It's all co-ed?"

That seems kind of strange, especially with a young girl involved! How could people be sure of their safety?!

"The pleasure is all mine, Nanami," Cairistiona said, walking inside and sitting down. She unstrapped the shield from her back and her mace alongside it, the both of them resting on the weirdly designed couch.

"I'm sure you won't, Rise. Oh, and if you're wondering, Nanami, I'm taking care of her until she adjusts to being here." It probably spoke volumes of how much she was used to things of this caliber happening - just with more bloodshed.

She took note of the apartments being co-ed and just shrugged at it. Most of her men were, indeed, men and she shared rooms with them before. Why think differently of it now?

"Do you know his name?"

"That one's mine." Nanami gestures to the door to her room. So don't go in there...

There's a lot of conversation going on at once. While waiting (very impatiently, her lips pursed) for things to die down, Nanami fidgets at her sleeve.

"Soh -" she pauses with her tongue at her teeth and thinks a moment. "Sohki. Do you really think they're that worried about our safety? They just lock us away up here and expect us to fight for them."

Her next attempt to look at Cairistiona falls as flat as the others; something about her eyes is unnerving and makes her uneasy to her stomach. "It looks like you came prepared for that, though."

When Cairi said she'd be "taking care of" Rise, she nearly opened her mouth to argue. She's almost seventeen, she can take care of herself!

But... Cairi was right earlier. She's had a rough time today, so she can let herself rely on someone a little more than usual. Someone other than Senpai, that is.

She's still blushing a little bit. She's not used to letting herself appear so vulnerable. But Nanami explained it perfectly. She's just been taken to a world where she's expected to fight for the people who brought her here, even though she's not a fighter at all! Of course she's still nervous and uncertain.

But She's not so wrapped up in her introspection that she doesn't notice Nanami seeming uncomfortable for some reason...

"Are you okay, Nanami-san?"

She slowly moves forward, curiously tilting her head at the younger girl.

Cairistiona's eyes followed Nanami's finger and gave her a silent nod. She wouldn't barge in to her room without an invitation. "Very well. I'll look for my room soon."

She listened to Nanami's concerns, pursing her lips together in thought. "I'll admit, the situation isn't what I'm used to dealing with normally." Dragons attacking your home, the threat of Scourge being so prominent before Arthas' fall - just to name a few. "However, if they need our help that badly, then they have to be desperate."

She took a note of Nanami's gaze. Something seemed uncomfortable about her. Maybe she was shy? Not used to sharing living space? "...Pardon me if this is forward, Nanami, but are you not used to strangers?"

"Oh? I'm fine." Nanami smiles politely and very superficially at their impromptu guess. People keep asking her if she's okay, but it's the kind of concern that burns. Nanami's been here for a month, carving out a new 'okay,' but things aren't just automatically better because of that.

At least Cairistiona is speaking some kind of sense, though. They have to be desperate, the way they're pulling in people who can't offer anything to them. Like this girl - this Kujikawa - what can she offer? What can either of them? This isn't a game.

Speaking sense doesn't seem to preclude her from asking strange questions, and Nanami balks a little at that one.

"Isn't that why they're called strangers?" What a strange question. She can't help but frown, still maintaining the thinnest veneer of politeness "I don't think you're supposed to be used to them."

Rise's a good enough actress to recognize that Nanami's not exactly being forthcoming. But she's not going to pry. They just met, after all... if Nanami wants to open up to her, she'll listen, but she doesn't expect it to happen in a few minutes.

Observing the other girl kind of takes her mind off of her own problems for a moment. If she had to guess, she'd say Nanami is almost as uneasy about this place and the people that brought them there as Rise is. But instead of relying on others she can trust for support, Nanami seems to be staying on the defensive. Maybe she just wasn't as lucky as Rise and didn't have as much stability and support when she first arrived?

Heck, Rise's still a bit of an emotional wreck even with her friends and Cairi around. She'd probably be building up walls too if she were all alone.

All that considered, she's quick to agree with Nanami when she answers. "I guess so, huh? Especially in a place like this..."

She wants to reassure Nanami that she and Cairi aren't the kind of strangers she'd need to worry about, but maybe it's best to leave that to her to decide?

She wants to say something, though. Even if it means appearing more vulnerable.

"That's kind of why I'm visiting with Cairi-san. I'm... not really comfortable being alone around strangers here yet."

Cairistiona was, by no means, stupid. She could sense when people weren't fine - after all, she wasn't a commander for nothing. She decides to relax her shoulders, allowing them to droop slightly to show she was relaxed and trustworthy to Nanami.

"Well... Friends, at first, are strangers, right? You wouldn't have friends if you didn't reach out to strangers once in a while. Hence why I'm willing to help you two out however possible since I know how it can be to be all alone sometimes."

She takes a pause here and sighs, glancing at a window before she shakes her head. Right, that was in the past now and she was alive.

"I'll let you in on a secret. Back home, I have a family and I'm never too far away from them if I can help it. My husband has got to be worried sick over not seeing me around and making sure my children are getting ready for the day, so I'm worried over them." Maybe rattling off her concerns wasn't what Nanami wanted to hear, however it could show that someone as strong as her still had her own concerns about things back home.

"In fact... I think I have an idea. Why don't we focus on talking about our homes so we know each other better?"

She got up and walked over to where she believed her room was. She noticed her spare armor set hanging up and smiled at it before walking over to her photos. She soon brought out a picture of her husband and then her children.

"His name is Aegidis Sunstriker. He's quite the looker, isn't he?"

"Yeah..." Yeah, she thinks. If you're into that sort of thing... She's never had an eye for other people, outside of...

Well. She's never had an eye for other people.

"Congratulations on your marriage," she says instead. That many kids? Hmph. "What a big family."

She doesn't look that old, but she'd have to be, wouldn't she? She feels vaguely envious of this woman's ability to age gracefully, but that doesn't keep her from noting how much older she must be than she looks.

Taking great care to avoid Cairistiona's possessions, Nanami goes back to sitting - finally! She balls her hands up and rests them on her knees. Rise can sit too if she wants, for all Nanami cares, but she isn't about to invite her.

"There's nothing special about my family. It's just the four of us. Me and Mother and Father - and Touga."

In a stark contrast to Nanami, Rise actually perks up a little more at the change in topic, and looks at the pictures with obvious interest.

Cairi's husband is handsome, though not particularly her type. At the sight of the long, pointed ears she actually takes another look at Cairi herself. Nope, she didn't miss any odd traits like that... it must be something to do with her world, but wouldn't it be kind of rude to bring attention to it? Best to just ignore it for now.

But she does comment on the kids. Clasping her hands together, she flashes the closest thing to her usual cheerful smile she's shown since arriving in this world, "Oh, they're all so cute!"

And there sure are a lot of them, too. Nanami's not the only one to feel shades of envy at how youthful Cairi must look for her age, to be married with so many children. Rise's just a little more optimistic about it and hopes she'll be similarly blessed.

Not necessarily with all the kids, though! One or two would be fine, if she ever got back home to Senpai...

... She feels like she should sit down. Nanami doesn't seem to be throwing any warning signals, but she tries to balance sitting closely and keeping a respectful distance. Just in case.

"At least you have them, right?" She makes a brave effort at an encouraging smile. "I stay with my grandmother sometimes, but I don't get to see the rest of my family much anymore..."

Why is that suddenly so sad? She was always perfectly fine with it back home!

She never felt like this back home, though. So small and powerless to do anything. When she quit being an idol, she felt backed into a corner, but she was able to escape then. Even if it turned out to be the wrong choice. But here, she has no choice, except to survive.

Unconsciously, she hugs her arms tightly around herself, as if protecting herself from the outside chill again...

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Taking home stray idols

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oh god this is delayed....

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