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Post by Greed on Mar 20, 2013 1:32:28 GMT -5
-Mileena-
Okay, the guy who had help them get out of the city wasn't as friendly as she remembered... though, she had been good friends with his mother, as well... that, and there was something about his tone that put her on edge. However, an unsatisfactory answer was not what either of them were going to give.
"Not a chance." Arlee had a tendency to sound bored when she spoke, which Mileena had tried to get her to grow out of, but it kinda... didn't help, "I was trained by the dimon arachne, and these guys don't interest me in the slightest. Hell, I'm a bit offended you're lumping me in with them."
"I can't say he's unjustified though..." Arlee thought to herself with an inward grimace, "all these preachy necromancers running around, course I'd look suspicious."
"A-Anyways..." Mileena shifted a bit; last time she'd met William, he and his mother had been helping people escape the city, along with quite a few others. At the time, there hadn't been time to chat, but they had saved them more than once on the way out of the city.
"Suppose that a friendly face doesn't count for much at the moment, then?" Mileena sighed, glancing behind Winter to the place he had exited from. Was... that place still open for the moment?
-Nebula-
Nebula giggled slightly as Peppermint said that.
"Yeah, it was the same way in Devoid. The internet there is.... yeah. But-" Nebula paused, and something clicked in her head.
"... huh. wireless communications are working again. I guess whatever was causing the interference moved on...." A mischievous grin spread across Nebula's face as she thought these, realizing something quickly.
"Guess it was a good thing we got that over with quickly, huh?" Nebula tapped the back of her neck, and raised her hand up.
"C'mon, Pepper, I think this deserves a high-five."
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Post by Tokrochiru on Mar 20, 2013 1:41:58 GMT -5
Bulgrish watched as Winter left. That was the last time he'd ever see Winter walking through that door, and within half an hour he knew he would follow suit. He could have left hours ago if he wanted to, but he just couldn't quite bring himself to simply leave this place behind without spending some last few moments with it. That's why he was still here.
He was going to miss this place. A lot.
He looked through the front window at the desolate horizon in order to remind himself of why he was leaving this place behind. His bar happened to have a perfect view of the section of GD that had been torn asunder by lasers. Sometimes, he could also see the necromancers walk about, performing their sacrilegious deeds. He observed as Winter walked off into said horizon...
...He had not gotten more than 20 yards away from the old bar than had he run into two individuals that he could have SWORN he'd seen lurking around at night.
"Oh, hell no!"
It was bad enough they were dishonoring the dead with their corpse robbing, but now they had the audacity to approach his bar. Now they had the nerve to be talking to one of his best friends that he'd known for years.
Bulgrish turned around and entered the backroom. He took the (unusually large) trap door down to the basement. It was, of course, littered with metal parts, weapons and devices, most of which he had planned on leaving behind. He found the 14 foot tall power armor that he hadn't used in years, but always kept in good shape. He went through the regular procedure....
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Not long after Winter greeted the pair did a series of loud stomps echo throughout the otherwise quiet area. An incredibly tall and bulky figure appeared from behind one of the buildings. It looked to be some kind of walker vehicle made mostly of red-painted orzidite, with a hardglass window revealing the pilot to be a bald, bearded orc who was wearing goggles. On the left arm of the left arm of the walker was a gattling gun, and on the right was a flamethrower. In addition, there appeared to be two swarm missile launchers on top of it.
The walker marched angrily toward the pair, as a booming, and somewhat muffled voice threatened them. The voice sounded like it was speaking through loudspeakers of some kind.
"Alright, you two. I'm a nice guy, so I'm gonna give you thirty seconds to get the hell away from my truck, my bar, and my friend before I sear you like a zog over a spitroast."
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Post by Greed on Mar 20, 2013 1:51:09 GMT -5
-Arlee-
Wha-
Serious-
What the-
Arlee froze on the spot, staring at the mechanical monstrosity; that was no Devoid mech. That was one of Argenon's nightmarish toys. Something that worked under the philosophy of "there is no kill like overkill".
"Uh..... h-hi there?" The situation was awkward, and there was clearly a misunderstanding here. Mileena nervously looked at William, and Arlee nervously contemplated bolting. This kinda misunderstanding was exactly the thing she had been worried about, though not quite on this scale.
"U-Uhm... okay." Mileena glanced at William, "Can you, uh, tell him to stop? Please?"
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Post by Advix on Mar 20, 2013 2:40:04 GMT -5
The green-eyed aren raised his hand up, signaling Bulgrish to pull back. He could tell they were truthful. "It's fine, Bulgrish. They aren't the kind you think they are. They are... or rather, the girl is a survivor of the Delphinus Blitzkrieg." He lowered his hand slowly before looking down at the bottle in his other hand. "I was on my way to the cemetery," he spoke to Mileena. "We can talk along the way if you want to." He began to walk in the direction he was walking before, motioning them to follow him. "So, if not the Order, what brings you here to Grand Divide? Certainly not the scenery, I imagine."
Peppermint suddenly lit up as she found herself able to connect to communications now. "My satellites! I can reach you! Oh Nebu, this is awesome! Highlight of the WEEK!" Peppermint skipped the high five and grabbed Nebula, skipping and dancing in circles with her. "Hey! Do you think the flowers will start to grow again, too?"
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Post by Tokrochiru on Mar 20, 2013 3:00:14 GMT -5
Oh....So that's how it was....
But that was no excuse. A pitiful past alone does not excuse anyone of their misdeeds. That was a lesson that Bulgrish took to heart.
"It doesn't matter if they're from the order! They're still necromancers, Winter! You of all people should know better than to let them get within sixty yards of 'Kensey's grave!!"
He would have expected Winter to be least tolerant of allowing people like these to get close to a fallen comrade. Especially her. Maybe he was acting soft because one of them was survivor of the Delphinus massacre. Clouding his judgment.
What would they do if they got close enough to 'Kensey? What if they tried to make her like them?
Even through the glass and the goggles, the orc couldn't hide the worry on his face from any of them. His grief was obvious to anyone who looked, and it wouldn't take much guess work to see his fear of an old friend being turned into a perversion of her former self.
Sometimes, the fear of resurrection could be just as valid and painful as the fear of dying.
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Post by Advix on Mar 20, 2013 3:49:31 GMT -5
Winter's shoulders slumped. He knew there was no use arguing with Bulgrish. So, instead, he placed the bottle on the cracked sidewalk, and stepped away from it. "Take it to her grave before you leave, then." He motioned for the two arens to follow him as he walked in the opposite direction. "As I was saying..." the green-eyed aren spoke up.
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Post by Greed on Mar 20, 2013 12:38:22 GMT -5
-Arlee-
"I would never use it... like..." She didn't know what to feel at that moment. The look of pain on the old orc's face wasn't something she was used to, "H-Hold on, I'm not going to..." She felt like she had to defend herself, and not from the mech now... just from accusation.
"Arlee. Just let it go." Mileena and Arlee turned away from Bulgrish quietly, following Winter. Arlee wanted nothing more to explain to the old orc that she wasn't like he thought... she didn't just resurrect people for no reason, and she certainly wasn't building an army. As she thought about this, she cast her eyes to the horizon, thinking about what just happened.
She wasn't like those people... right?
-Mileena-
She couldn't help but sigh, as her daughter promptly spaced out. However, it would have been rude to ignore William's question.
"Well... Arlee was thinking about starting school in Malen this year. But when all this happened, we decided to just check into what was happening here... its worse than Delphinus, almost." Mileena sighed, scratching her head as she walked alongside the half-Aren man, "If not for the size of Grand Divide, it would have been completely annihilated. And... neither of us like these necromancers, for the record. There's something blatantly shady going on here. Arlee seems convinced they're the same bastards that took over Delphinus, and I'm inclined to agree."
"Its because they have to be." Arlee spoke quietly, "They got here so quickly after this city went to hell, they have to have been from the Delphinus Ruins sect. Nothing else makes sense." Mileena had to agree... it was unnatural. It almost seemed as if it was planned.
-Nebula-
"The flowers...?" Nebula looked out a window, and shook her head, "... I do not think so, Pepper. This area is eroding alarmingly fast... soon, it will be nothing more than a desert. Wasteland and sand, far as the eye can see."
It was bizarre; all the plant-life had broken down at a remarkably fast rate, and taken all the moisture from the ground with it. For an organic being, the area would be more and more arid, until it was downright unpleasant to live in.
"All in all... its probably a good thing we're leaving this place. Necromancers and a dying land... I think this is what humans would call a land of death, whaddaya think?"
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Post by Advix on Mar 22, 2013 4:54:39 GMT -5
"You're correct in your assumptions," Winter replied. "They are indeed from Delphinus. Members have been commuting back and forth between here and Delphinus." Winter lead them to a dried out plaza, the plantlife dead and barren. He walked over to one of the fastened tables, and righted the fallen chairs. He motioned for them to sit with him.
"I'm curious," he spoke up. "Assuming that the Order did play some part in all this, what would you do? Your reputation as a necromancer certainly won't improve if they are left unchecked."
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Post by Greed on Mar 22, 2013 13:10:11 GMT -5
-Arlee-
Both Arlee and Mileena took their seats quietly, the deadness in the air being an unsettling reminder of what this place was now.
She could see what he was getting at, all too well. But despite everything, despite Ieda, despite her mother, she'd tried to live her life as selfishly as possible. She knew what necromancy used for "good" really was. Disgusting duplicity, that was all it was used for. So in the end... it didn't really matter what people thought of her, despite how she felt about it. However...
"Well... I suppose a little investigation wouldn't hurt." Arlee brushed her hair out of her face for a moment, grinning slightly, "And if I get to murder one of these freaks, all the better... besides that..."
The undead assassin closed her eyes, looking over the barren landscape, "This place is just flat out dying. And that's something we can't do anything about."
"The point is... if you're asking for help, you've got it. After all... three Arens? I think we've got this."
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Post by Advix on Mar 22, 2013 22:44:14 GMT -5
[joint post]
Winter stared at the table for a moment, before looking up back at them. "I wish things turn out as easy as you make them sound. I must ask you, though, have you resurrected Adonis?" Arlee looked to the side, and shook her head. Mileena, however, was the next one to speak.
"My daughter was... um, she couldn't manage bringing Adonis back."
"Mom, I keep telling you..." Arlee stared at the ground, "Someone had to have beaten me to him. Its the only thing that makes sense."
"I'm afraid your assumptions are yet again correct," Winter spoke up. "There is a Reaper who bears a striking resemblance to Adonis. He travels about spontaneously, I don't know how. He frequents the Ruins, and visits Delphinus. And both his mind and body have been mangled." Arlee and Mileena both looked at each other, then back to Winter. Without warning, Arlee drew her dagger, stabbing it at least three inches through the table.
"I'll KILL the son of a bitch."
"I do not know who his master is, at least, not for certain, but there are times when Adonis is striken by something I cannot see," Winter added. "Something you can't see....?" Mileena questioned, "What do you mean by that?"
"Did my mother never tell you? I can "see" every living thing in Kyril. Though, there are some limitations. I cannot "see" androids, for example. And there are magics designed to hide life signs. With that said, I think we can rule out the possibility of Adonis's master being an android."
"So, basically, whoever brought my father back is hiding his lifeforce." Arlee groaned, shaking her head, "Wonderful, another thing to worry about." It was a shame; Arlee had gotten to the point where she was ready to move on with her life, and now... all of this happened.
"If it's any consolation," Winter spoke up, "he is still fighting. His master can bend him to his every whim, but Adonis continues to fight for his freedom."
"... That's good to hear. That's exactly like him," Mileena spoke quietly, and it was clear there were fond memories behind her voice.
"So then, what are you suggesting we do about it?" There wasn't anything but a growing irritation behind Arlee's voice, like someone was grating against her more reasonable side with a spiked bat.
"The Order seems to be split in two," Winter began. "There are those who came here, and there are those who remained in Delphinus. Logic dictates that you'll find more clues in Delphinus, though, considering that many of the zombies there are arens, I imagine it would be considerably more dangerous. While I am normally a more negotiable person, I believe that there is something you need to keep in mind; there is no law here anymore. If you truly wish to save Adonis, then go to any and every length you are willing to, but not without watching your back. Adonis's master is a cruel and twisted man, and the necromancers of Delphinus are little better. While I haven't seem these necromancers do anything notably heinous YET, assume that an offense against one of them is an offense against all of them."
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Post by Greed on Mar 23, 2013 1:27:44 GMT -5
-Arlee-
Arlee became silent after Winter finished speaking. He was right that investigating Delphinus was the smarter idea, but in the end, that presented itself another problem, that she was beginning to see, despite her earlier bravado, which was beginning to wane the more and more she thought about the sheer scale of all of this. She was wearing her growing frustration plainly on her face, and the more she thought about it, the further she got from any meaningful sort of solution.
"... this might be either too big for us, or too early to get into." Mileena spoke quietly, still staring out over the landscape, "Delphinus is an undead hellhole now, full of far more feral undead and elementals than anything else. And whatever these necromancers are planning, I get the feeling that trying to interrupt their plans this early... might be..."
"It would get us killed. No one's going to argue that they more than likely planned this somehow, but at the same time, a plan like this, its gonna have... what's that word again?" Arlee reached for it hard. She needed a word that described it just right, but eventually, she just settled with a sentence, "... they'd more than likely be prepare for any hindrance to their bullshit. Even if some scumbag necromancer has my dad, he's probably surrounded by even more scumbag necromancers. If they want to play the opportunistic asshat game, then what's so bad with us playing it as well?" She ended hard on that note, promptly getting up, and going to kneel by one of the dead plants that dotted the once extravagant gardens of the plaza, laying her hands on the ground as she did...
-Mileena-
It was... disappointing to see her daughter like this at times. It was a certain coldness that reared its ugly head from time to time, that Mileena could never trace the exact origin of. After all, it was probably linked to a multitude of things, and one of them was probably the fact that she could never bring her father back as well.
"... I'm sorry William. She's not usually like this, though...." Mileena chuckled a little, "I suppose you bringing her back down to Kyril was needed. After all... we're only two people, three if we count you. And my daughter is a little too proud and stubborn to go undercover as one of these guys." The undead assassin's eyes focused on a collapsed building nearby, her own mind wondering at possible approaches, before a realization hit her.
"... though, I have to admit, I would be revolted to impersonate one of those shameless sons of bitches too." Mileena had a decent giggle at this, as her daughter began to finish whatever magic she was casting, and a pulse of energy filled the plaza.
"In my name... revive." Slowly, all of the plants in the area began to spring back to life... in a weird sort of warped state. What had once been green was grey, the leaves a muted violet or blue, but in some way, every plant in the area was living once again. It was an undead garden, but at least, plants came back free of charge to necromancers. Usually, none of them bothered, because it was a detrimental practice to most necromancers. Wisps began to materialize, gathering in the plaza, flitting in and out of existence as they drifted between the odd, almost ethereal plant-life.
"... that's unusually sweet for her. Those undead plants create a safe haven for the souls of the dead, where no other necromancer can touch them. Even though it's almost inconsequential, she did it anyways." Mileena felt quite a bit more comfortable in the area now, admittedly. Though, that was probably because she was undead, and wisps were something very familiar to her.
However, undetected by anyone but Winter, was a small life sign nearby, that had been almost undetectable to him previously, but was now fading in and out. In the end though, it was up to him whether or not to even bring it up. After all... everything in Grand Divide had been dead or dying anyways; what was one more potential body to that count?
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Post by Advix on Mar 23, 2013 12:38:28 GMT -5
"Her little display did a little more good than she knows," the green-eyed aren spoke up. "I couldn't see it until now, but there is a small child trapped under that collapsed building." He pointed to a downed apartment on the other side of the plaza. "The poor thing is very weak. You could try to dig it out, but the kid may indeed be too injured to survive. It's your call," Winter spoke.
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Post by Greed on Mar 23, 2013 21:18:11 GMT -5
-Arlee-
Well, now. That was a surprise. That little... bit of necromancy helped out somehow? While that fact made her a little bit happy, there was just something about Winter's tone she didn't like a whole lot. It was hard for her to put her finger on, but it was like he didn't have any desire to try to save the kid himself. It certainly didn't take her mother long to bolt up and away from where she was sitting...
Quietly, Arlee followed, giving Winter a strange stare as she did.
"Its your call." She might have been taking that the wrong way, but... that really pissed her off.
-Mileena-
If there was a child who was still alive in the rubble over there, then she was going to dig him or her out. No questions asked. As she leapt up the pile of rubble, and looked around, she felt something akin to her stomach churning, crossed with her gag reflex being forcibly triggered.
"This is... urgh..." Dead lamia, dead humans, dead drones, and to top it all off, rats everywhere, taking advantage of all the free food just laying around for them. An average human wouldn't be able to grasp all of it at once, their eyes didn't see it all. It was sometimes Mileena cursed her own eyes for, for allowing her to see too much.
"... yuck." Mileena shook her head, putting her hands to her mouth, "Hello! Can anyone hear me!?" It was a moment of concentrated listening before they heard anything. It was impossibly faint at first, but slowly, they heard it more clearly. It was little more than a whimper, but they could hear it. Without hesitation, the undead aren began to tear up segments of the rubble, practically flinging them behind her. An overwhelming stench of death, as the occasional body was flung behind her, almost made her reel... the fact that she was undead herself didn't seem to help oddly enough. Arlee struggled for a moment, pulling her muffler up over her nose and mouth.
"... there." With the force of a bulldozer, she had practically lifted up a small hill's worth of rubble, revealing... a lamian child. A small girl, to be exact. And in some miracle, she was covered in blood, and to Arlee and Mileena's eyes, mostly unharmed. But very, very weak. She was obviously dehydrated and starving... and probably scared out of her mind.
"..." The little girl tried to vocalize, but a dry rasp came from her throat instead of anything coherent.
"Arlee, she needs water and food, badly." It only took Mileena's daughter a moment to find a public water fountain in the plaza. First things first. Arlee bolted ahead of Mileena, to test to see if it even worked, while the undead assassin hoisted the lamian child up, carrying her as carefully as she could. When Mileena reached Arlee, her daughter just nodded, moving aside.
"Gonna go look for a vending machine now. Shouldn't take long." Arlee bolted yet again, as Mileena held the little girl close to the water fountain. As soon as the water begin to flow clean, and touch her skin, the girl seemed to regain some of her life, weakly grabbing the handle herself, and taking long, gasping drinks from the fountain. It was small, but some light was returning to the girl's eyes as she laid a hand on Mileena's cheek with a weak smile, speaking two words.
"Thank you..." Mileena returned the smile, looking back to Winter, "Hey William... I think we made it in time." It was odd to think, but... being able to save people even though she wasn't dead in the first place made Mileena happy. Really happy.
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Post by Advix on Mar 24, 2013 15:31:13 GMT -5
Winter walked over to Mileena as she tended to the lamian girl. "Well done," he said to her. "Follow me to my house. I have some food and medical supplies. It's not too far from here. ARLEE," he called out to her. "Forget the vending machine. We're going to give her real food. Follow me." He began to jog at an aren's pace, which was to say a sprint by any other race's standards. He lead them to his house, and opened the door. "I'm home. We have some guests."
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Post by Greed on Mar 25, 2013 19:39:10 GMT -5
-Winter's House-
Mileena almost had a reason to laugh, as not two seconds after Winter had said that, there was a sound of shattering glass, as Mileena began to run after Winter. Arlee quickly came in, carrying at least an armful of pilfered chips, snacks, and candy, with a very... sheepish look on her face.
"... oh." Arlee shook her head as she caught up, "Well... uh..."
"William, it doesn't hurt to give her something right away, I mean-" Mileena was cut off by the lamian girl's stomach growling audibly, "...Well, yeah, that."
"We'll be at my house very shortly," Winter said. "In the meantime, give her something sweet and sugary. Her blood sugar is undoubtedly low. Don't feed her chips, she's dehydrated as is." The little girl looked at what Arlee was holding, and it almost seemed like she was listening to Winter, as out of it as she was.
"I-I'll... take one of those cinnamon buns then." Mileena nodded to Arlee, who tore open the small, packaged treat, before handing it to the girl mid-stride. It would have been amusing how coordinated she was doing it if she wasn't an Aren. All the little girl managed was an appreciative nod to Arlee before she began to devour the bun, finishing it off in seconds... fittingly, right as they reached Winter's house. Winter slowed as he reached his door, and opened it for them.
"I'm home. We have more guests." Peppermint and Nebula heard Winter as they stopped playing dress up. Peppermint was in a white and pink puffy blouse and skirt, and Nebula was in long blue dress, with a white blouse on top. The android was about to say something, but a surprised look crossed her face when she saw Winter's company, not quite sure what to make of the bizarre scene. In fact, she was debating running a diagnostic on her optical sensors.
Arlee and Mileena were almost as surprised as they entered the house, both shooting inquisitive looks at Winter. Their Aren eyes could see not one, but two androids, both resembling young girls. That was bizarre at the very least.
"Peppermint is an old model that I've found, refurbished and customized. She has been my partner ever since I reactivated her." Winter then gestured to the other, more human looking android, "And this is Nebula. Her story is a little more... intricate."
"It can wait, William. Go fix whatever you were planning to, quickly. Arlee, go get her a glass of water." Mileena looked at the little lamian girl, who was looking quietly at the two young-looking androids in the room with an air of curiosity. Nebula gathered best she could what was going on, judging on the lamian girl's appearance, but the specifics still alluded her, even with the girl's vitals on display in the corner of her vision. Winter quickly entered the basement of his house, and returned with a first aid kit, and cans of chicken and rice soup. He handed the first aid kit to Mileena as he made his way to the stove, and began to heat the soup up.
Mileena nodded as Winter brought the first aid kit over, taking out the bandages as she began to cover the various cuts and scrapes the young girl had all over her body as she did, cleaning out the wounds where it was necessary. Meanwhile, the little girl drank the water Arlee brought over until she'd had her fill for the moment, gasping from how long of a drink she'd taken. Given that there were old tear stains running down her cheeks, there was no telling how dehydrated she had actually been, especially if she had cried a lot of the water out of her system prior to them finding her.
"So... what's your name, kid?" Arlee questioned quietly, trying not to say anything about the young, and... oddly dressed androids in the room. She had a hard time deciding how she felt about them at the moment, and she figured it was better to just say nothing at all for the moment. The little girl looked at Arlee, and around the room, before looking back down to her glass as Mileena bandaged her up.
"My name's Lili. Uh... d-do you need to know my last name too?" Arlee and Mileena looked at each other, then back at the girl, before Mileena gave her a reassuring smile, trying to cheer her up.
"Only if you want to tell us, Lili." Peppermint slowly approached the injured little lamia, abundant with curiosity and confusion.
"Why are you all scratched up, Lili? Did a dog hurt you?"
"...No. A building fell on me." Lili spoke as though she'd been asked something absolutely bizarre, that Peppermint should have thought this was an obvious conclusion. Nebula's couldn't help but be surprised, as statistically, surviving such a thing with mostly minor injuries should be a feat in and of it self.
"...Did it fall on your mommy and daddy, too? Is that why you're alone?"
"... uh-huh. Mom and dad are..." Lili looked down, as Mileena bandages her tail wherever there had been a cut deep enough to go through her scales, "... I-I know what death is. So you don't have to explain it to me, kay?" Even as she said that, it was clear that she wanted to cry, even as she said that. Arlee hazarded a guess that she was eight, nine, maybe ten if she wanted to be generous... though she didn't exactly hang out around lamia much. Peppermint hugged the little girl gently from behind as Arlee guessed at her age.
"Peppermint understands" she said to Lili. "I've lost many friends and family, too. I know how it hurts, and I'm sorry." Winter soon came to the living room with a hot bowl of soup for Lili.
"Give it time to cool." The little lamian girl shuddered just slightly from the android's touch as she took the bowl of soup from Winter, quietly blowing on a spoonful of it as she looked around the room, as she silently thanked Winter. She had no idea why these people were helping her, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about it.
"U-Uhm... you people... are really nice. Th-thank you... er, again." Lili took a gulp of the soup, and then another... and then another. She really was as hungry as she had sounded. And honestly, anything warm and tasty at this point was a blessing at this point, given that she was beginning to consider eating a rat.
"There is plenty more soup, so eat as much as you can," the green eyed aren said. "Let me know when you're ready for another bowl."
Peppermint released the little lamia, and rubbed her shoulder before turning her attention to the two arens. "So, who are you two?"
"Arlee." It was just like her to answer so simply, Mileena thought. She decided to answer more politely, at the very least.
"My name is Mileena, Peppermint. Pleased to meet you. Please forgive us if we seem a little uneasy... we haven't had many good experiences with androids." Mileena bowed apologetically. Given who they were, it was no surprise that androids of any kind made them uneasy. Nebula looked at Mileena, a bit nervous herself. This person was an undead, an animated corpse. Before, she would have tried to kill this person without a second thought, but with Devoid's network gone... she was able to resist that urge. Almost through with her first bowl, Lili looked at Mileena, and cocked her head to the side. She could only wonder why this lady was so cold. She hadn't even felt someone who was this cold before.
"So, how do you know Winter?" Peppermint asked curiously. As Lili finished her first bowl, Winter took it from her and poured another serving into it.
"Try not to eat too quickly," Winter said as he placed it back in front of her. "You don't want to throw up what you've just eaten. Take your time." Lili nodded in response, quivering a little as she slowed herself down.
"Um, well... Winter helped us get out of Delphinus when it was under attack." Mileena sighed as she responded to Peppermint, "Granted, I didn't really... survive what came after, but I'm long past moping about it." Lili blinked, cocking her head to the side as she ate another spoonful of soup.
"Didn't survive...?" She put two and two together, and couldn't really help but ask, "Ms. Mileena, are you a zombie?" Mileena blinked, nodding once.
"Mileena was a close friend of my mother's before she moved to Malen with my father," Winter spoke up.
"Um....well, yeah, I guess. She was a pretty no-nonsense person... It was pretty hard to convince Revi when I was joking." Mileena personally thought she was a bit too harsh, but that was just her.
"She hated that nickname too." Arlee came in, flat as usual.
"Yes," Winter added with the fondest of smiles. "She always blushed when my father called her by it, embarrassed and flustered, but she could never stay mad at him for long." It was then that Winter grabbed his set of dog tags for a moment before letting them dangle again. Mileena would have noticed that Winter had an extra third tag, which read "Revierra Green". If she hadn't known before, it was clear to Mileena now. Mileena's eye locked on the tag for a moment, leaning back on the couch. She figured that Revi had died when she saw her getting shot. It wasn't much of a surprise now. Winter followed Mileena's eyes before speaking up.
"I know my mother could be harsh, but even if it seemed otherwise, you were always dear to her, Mileena."
"... I know. It was the same way for me. I kinda miss her..." Mileena couldn't think of much else, glancing back at Lili, who had oddly been watching her the entire time. The moment she made eye contact, the little lamia went back to her soup, as if she was trying to feign innocence.
"Kid... you don't have to be nervous around my mom, really." Nebula was still hesitant of these two, but they... seemed normal enough. For an undead aren and a probably necromancer. Honestly, she was going to have to get past this. It was odd, because Winter didn't trigger this aggressive mental response...
"So, I must wonder what should be done about Lili. I must confess, I hesitate to add another member to my household," Winter stated, laying his hand on the back of the sofa.
"I can imagine." Arlee stated flatly, looking around the room, her eyes stopping on the two androids, "So... do you have any ideas on that end?"
"...Can I keep her?" Peppermint finally spoke.
"No." Winter spoke first
"But-"
"No." Arlee spoke next.
"Peppermint, she's a child, not an animal." Winter sighed, placing his palm on his forehead; arguing with Peppermint wasn't exactly a favorite pastime of his, "If the two of you can't think of something, I'll take her to an orphanage. If you have a better idea, by all means, speak."
"... I can't imagine any remaining orphanages in Grand Divide would be pleasant right now. Beyond overcrowded, understocked, and probably understaffed to boot..." Mileena spoke quietly, and Arlee could tell she was hesitating about something. Something pretty obvious.
"Mom, don't. Please."
"... Just for a while, Arlee. At least until-" Arlee raised her hand, cutting Mileena off completely.
"Mom, it won't be 'just for a while', you know better. Besides, I don't think she'd want... well..." Mileena slumped slightly, until Lili spoke up herself.
"I-I'll... think about it." Almost immediately, she went back to her soup hastily, just so she wouldn't have to answer anything right away. Nebula wasn't sure what to make of the child. She seemed like she took everything in stride most of the time. But her vitals were fluctuating in strange ways the entire time, notably her heart rate. Was she ill, or were these effects of malnourishment and dehydration?
"Winter, I'm not... certain I understand the dilemma here. C-Could you explain it?" Nebula was being honest, as the situation was one of probably countless that she had never experienced before. Winter turned to Nebula, closing his eyes as he began to explain.
"This little lamia has lost her parents. We're trying to decide what to do with her. She can't live with us, for more reasons than I have patience to detail." Mileena could have sworn she felt the girl's tail stiffen as Winter mentioned her parents, but when she looked to her face, she was just drinking soup, her pale green hair shadowing her face as she did.
"Oh. And what are- oh right, patience." Nebula looked down at the lamian child, kneeling down beside the couch, "Um... I think I'll give up. I'm lost." Arlee rolled her eyes, clearly not used to Nebula's unique brand of cluelessness. Not like it was her fault, but still. However, Lili was shaking again, and dropped her spoon on the floor. Arlee placed her hand on Lili's shoulder squeezing her just enough to get her attention. When she turned, Arlee's face was close to hers, almost to an uncomfortable degree.
"Okay, kid, seriously? You haven't cried or anything since we found you. We're not going to think any less of you if you do." Mileena and Lili were both stunned by that, and neither had an immediate response. It was only a moment later that the group got a response.
"... M-Mom told me not to cry. She... told me to be strong... She..." Arlee couldn't help it that she had to wrap her arms around the kid, and give her a tight hug. She really couldn't. Everything about her face reminded her of how she used to be. Not as little, but... she was hurt. She was hurt inside and out, and she was trying desperately hard to hide it, just to make sure she did the last thing her mom told her to do. Arlee could picture such a scene all too well in her head, and for Lili, that same scene was still vividly playing over and over again. She had to be be strong, she couldn't cry. Its what she kept hearing, telling herself in her head.
But... why was it getting so hard just to do what her mom asked her to?
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