mayfield_rpg | Chapter 16 - We Are Ready To Walk Again

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Chapter 16 - We Are Ready To Walk Again

[Action A - 458 Stone Street, Morning]

[This morning's mail had a package in it for Dakki, and she greeted it with the usual enthusiasm that she greeted packages addressed to her.]

I've got something! It's here! I've got something!

[...which is to bring it to the kitchen table, tear off the packaging, and prepare to share it with everyone. Out comes a compressed blue item cube, that then immediately blips away in a flash of blue nano transformer light. And in the next instant there's a visor-like set of goggles upon Dakki's face.]

Oh!

[It's a bit disorienting at first. It's her own pair of goggles from home, but they're still configured for her previous audio and visual sensors. So there's some rapid blinking of her remaining active eye, and a hand comes up to start making some adjustments.]

Well there's something I didn't know I missed until it was gone....

[Action B - Neutron Diner, Lunchtime]

[Why not do something a bit different today? Rather than just fixing herself a sandwich at home, Dakki took it upon herself to have lunch out instead. Just a simple cheeseburger and fries, with a chocolate milkshake to drink... But it felt like a treat. Even if the most she could taste from the food was salty and greasy, the milkshake had a flavor profile more suited for her CAST senses. Sweet, creamy, a sense of vanilla, a sense of chocolate... She seems a bit lost in her own thoughts as she eats, but if she spies anyone that she recognizes? She'll be perking up and waving them over.]

Ah! Hello! Come on over, why don't you have a seat?

[Action C - 458 Stone Street, Afternoon/Early Evening]

[The "novelty" of wearing Mayfield clothing again is starting to wear off, and Dakki would much prefer to have her armor back on... if it weren't so dinged up and scorched and filthy. So that was this afternoon's project. Her armor was laid out in pieces on the front porch, and she was meticulously scrubbing out the dirt and buffing out scratches by hand. Every so often she stops and frowns and looks discouraged, but it's not long before she's back at it again.

Although there are also occasional periods of staring off into nothing and scrubbing very, very slowly. This is a CAST with a lot of things to process, it seems.]

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Drawings. I hadn't expected that. I'm a little glad that's not my assignment, now. I'm not very good at drawing.

[Aurica's concerned half-question made her suddenly aware that she was still polishing that piece of armor. She looked down, looked back up again, and then sheepishly set the cloth aside. She ran her fingers over the pockmarks, instead.]

...I might just have to get used to it being a mess. But it looks a bit nicer with the dirt gone, and the scuffs rubbed out... right?

Mm...

[Not saying much else, Aurica walks over to where Dakki's sitting, and sets herself down beside her, looking at the state of the armor.]

I don't think I can help with that either, not without some materials from back home.

[Back home... She found herself still using that phrase, even if she meant the world she came from.]

..It still feels unreal to be here again, like this. I didn't believe I would get a second chance.

[Seeing Aurica moving in to have a seat, Dakki edges over to give her more room.]

Mm? You know how to repair armor?

[Talking about "back home" was common enough in Mayfield. It didn't give Dakki pause.]

It's a little strange to have you back, too, if I'm being honest. I didn't think that you would. I hoped, but... well, only a little? It's not always a very nice place.

[She sets the piece of armor down with a small sigh.]

...a "second chance" is a funny way to put it. What do you mean?

Well, maybe, but I'd need some things from home first.

It's... no, it's not always a nice place.

But, well um.. is it okay if I start calling you Mom again?

That makes sense. I might be able to do a better polish job if I had some things from home, too.

Hmm? [The question surprises her. And she wants to say yes, she really does, if it'll make Aurica happy, but... she's hesitating.]

I... don't mind if you call me 'mom'. I just... I suppose don't know how good a 'mom' I can be. I can try. I'm still trying! But I'm not even sure that I entirely know how. I've... taken care of a lot of people. But not like a mother would. Are you sure...?

. . .

[The hesitation could easily be seen. Really, she was asking a lot; she could see that in a way, even if she didn't fully understand. A lot of steps taken, except the biggest ones, was something she lived with for most of her life.

When it came time for her to make her own big steps, many times she had no choice. She had to grow up without a family, with the help of her best friend. She had to try to believe in herself as a Reyvateil, as a person, because of a guy that wouldn't stop caring about her. She had to move on from the feelings she felt of her past, many of them good and bad.

When it came time for other people to make the big step, many times they didn't follow through. The pain of being forever branded a weirdo by her peers in a younger age, never getting a promotion from being the failure of a D-Class she was, and even the reality she had yet to come to grips with, that the guy that cared for her wasn't ready for a relationship.

But, just like with that very last issue, she couldn't impose on Dakki like that. The town and her not!mom enabled Aurica the possibility to live a more complete life, just like that guy showed her she could spread her wings and aspirations.

After closing her eyes to consider all of that for a moment, she opens them again and smiles resignedly, looking at her.]

Mm, it's okay. I want you to be happy too, so I want you to be sure of that choice. You'll always mean a lot to me, though, either way.

[Dakki looks away from Aurica for a moment, eyes going to her battered armor. And then out into the street, watching the drones about on afternoon business. She wanted to be sure of the choice, too. Why was she uncertain?

She shouldn't be. After coming to know Baal and Kanone, she had known that it was worthwhile both to befriend and to care for others. And that she should never refuse the chance to do either. Why the hesitation now?

'I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to fail her.'

Her gaze snaps back to Aurica. As a friend, well.. she didn't want to hurt her friends. But she wasn't as strictly responsible for them. But as a mother... with Aurica as a daughter....

...

Well, didn't she already feel a bit that way? Responsible, more so than anyone else in this place?]

...call me mom. I'm your mother here, aren't I? Call me mom. [Then, a laugh.] But I think I'd still like to call you 'Aurica', alright?

[Not even answering that, since her eyes lit up with caught breath after hearing that, and now she's busy hugging Dakki, with the brightest face she's had in a very, very long time, definitely the brightest she's ever shown in Mayfield. She'll take that compromise, even if she doesn't voice it.]

Thank you, mom! Thank you so much! [Her eyes begin to water.] That makes me so happy.

[It was a moment that certainly called for a hug, and Dakki pulled Aurica close. With her armor off, dressed as your average civilian humanoid, it was just about the same as hugging her when she was human.]

I never thought I'd have a daughter... I'm happy to have a daughter like you, Aurica.

[She means it. She really does. Mayfield does have its little blessings, for all the trials and troubles.]

[The moment lasts for a while. Yes, with all the difficulties Mayfield itself presents, this is something Aurica holds close to her heart. She doesn't even know how long this will last, but it's something she doesn't want to think about, not right now. Even if it's just for a small, precious time, it's meaningful all the same, as much as it was last year if not moreso, now that she really means that word reserved for one's own mother.]

Ne, even as a CAST, you can feel things, right? I mostly remember you from when you weren't one. That means you go through a lot of problems too, don't you?

[Everything in this life is temporary, as Dakki has come to learn... but temporary is still worth experiencing. Aurica's joy brings her joy. And possibly some hope that Mayfield will, in the end, turn out okay.]

I can still feel things, yes. I still have feelings. And I can still tell when you hug me. Is that what you mean? Both? Or one in particular?

[Then she blinks curiously.] ...what sort of problems do you mean?

♪ BGM: My Room (R)

Problems like, putting up with people. How you feel about them. That sort of thing.

[As open as Aurica has been with others recently, both here and in her world, compared to how she has been most of her life, she still kept her inner feelings and thoughts rather close to herself. Those that she might think others would find troubling, or pessimistic. Trying to inch forward into this is something she's only done with only a few people before, less than one could count on a hand.]

Aaaah.... [She rubbed at Aurica's back slowly, before pulling away from the hug while she thought about that.]

I get along well enough with people here, I suppose. And back home. You can't get along with everyone, but you can try to be pleasant and hope they return the feeling. Most people in Mayfield are quite friendly! Though there's...

[She stops. There's Dynamo. Now there's a complicated bit of semi-friendship...]

Umm...

[She tilts her head in response to Dakki's awkward stop, oblivious. ~~so hey Aurica what if mom wants a second hubby~~]

What is it, momma?

[Oh. It was too late to back down now, wasn't it? She had said far too much with just an "umm". She sighs and hangs her head.]

There's Dynamo. I... well, I suppose we're friends? Though we spend so much time complaining at each other. He keeps doing risky things! And he keeps beating me, when we practice, nff...

[Man, that last bit was really annoying.]

[Aurica isn't really the best one with giving advice, though she can listen a good deal.]

That sounds a lot like the complaining that went on with all of us. I think that's fine, if you two still get along.

But.. beating? What do you practice, a game? [She's hoping it's not a literal meaning.]

[Listening does often help! And sometimes, thoughts need to be worked through aloud.]

I suppose it's fine. I do still like him, even when he's being... a pain.

Hm? [She blinks. Oh, that needed clarification, didn't it?] We spar in the park, sometimes. I'm a Guardian, so I need to keep myself sharp, and he's... well, he's a mercenary of some sort, back where he's from. He's very good... [There's a silly sort of smile on her face for just a moment. It's quickly replaced by a look of resolution.]

...but I can still beat him! One of these days, I will!

[She could hear the words and see the smile well enough to know, in her own way, how Dakki felt. Her eyes shift in the direction of the house for a brief second. ... Well, the heart wants what it wants, doesn't it?

Whatever awkward frown began to shape on her face was quickly tossed away before it could take form, when Dakki looked more serious. In its place a sad smile stood.]

. . . I hope you'll be able to, someday.

[Ah, mou... Claire would be so much better at this than me, wouldn't she? Aurica felt her surrogate sister was a lot more suited than her at giving advice. Many times, especially for Lyner, she would sing songs to tell those around her stories, things to help them understand their issues better. With that frustration in mind, all she could do was offer words of encouraging support.]

One of my own dreams can't come true, but if I can have this other dream with our family, I want to believe in you, too.

[Dakki doesn't dare label her feelings for Dynamo as what Aurica sees them to be. She's not certain. And it's embarrassing. And not the least bit like how the books she's read and the films she's viewed have made it out to be.

But she had passion in her face when she declared that she'd beat him someday.]

..you do? Ah, thank you, Aurica. I'll have to keep practicing! And maybe if I can be upgraded, then...

[She trails off, there. Aurica's still talking. There's still something that the girl wants to say. So she listens, then gives her head a little curious tilt.]

You have a dream that can't come true...? Someday we'll be free from this place, though. Don't think that being here is in your way of your dreams. We will get out of here. I know it.

[Oh, did she interrupt? She didn't mean to, though she didn't notice. She was just too absorbed in thinking about things. That person she wanted to call hers.

The idea of going back has always been a nice idea. It's getting more complicated to think about in a good way, though.

She gives a few nervous glances here and there, before finally answering. Maybe this should still remain her little guilty secret for a little longer: There's a good chance she'd prefer staying here more to going back to Ar Ciel.]

It'd be nice, yes. That's just it though. I.. there was a person in my life. He helped me through a lot of things. I used to think I meant nothing to people. I couldn't even sing my Song Magic properly, so I was no help to anyone.

{She recalled that pain from what seemed like so long ago now. She desperately wanted to feel like someone who could do something, be something, for someone, ever since what happened almost a decade ago. She sought that path for years, despite her failings. Lyner finally gave her that light after so long, that ability to dream.]

... I had a wish to make and sell music boxes, orgels. I wanted to make and sell them, with him. He didn't want to, though. That's what I mean. I ended up having an orgel shop still, but.. [She trails off, not saying anything after that.

The problem wasn't that she couldn't achieve her dream. The problem was that she felt she couldn't be that person to him, no matter how hard she tried.]

[Both were a little absorbed in their own reveries, but Dakki was happy to put her attention on Aurica's. She knew her own troubles more than well enough. They were nothing. But she knew so little about her Mayfield daughter's.]

So you have a good friend waiting for you back home. But...?

[There was more. There had to be more. So she was quiet again, letting Aurica finish.

And... oh. That was... that was odd to be upset over. He didn't want to run a shop with her, but surely he was still her friend? Dakki looks both concerned and a little confused.]

Maybe music boxes weren't really his thing... but he is still your friend, isn't he? And you have a shop, and it's just fine, isn't it? Maybe you couldn't do that one thing together, but there are other things you could share, right?

[There were quite a few things she could say to disagree, but Lyner's reasoning wasn't something she was going to dispute over immediately, not with what else her mom was saying. Aurica still says nothing for a few seconds, tumbling their words around in her head waiting for them to fall into place.

It saves her the trouble of having to embarrassingly elaborate on Lyner's relationship with her, but in a way it makes her happier for Dakki to see it in a simpler way. It reflects in the way the girl looks up into the darkening sky, the setting sun mixing with day and dusk. In the way she then closes her eyes.]

... Yeah. Maybe you're right.

[A friend, a shop, and opportunities to still do things, whenever he wasn't stuck doing his duty as an Apostle of Elemia for his father and Lady Shurelia anyway. Maybe there's still something to look forward to, even if that's going to make her choice harder later on.]

Thanks momma, that helps a lot. Really.

[In missing one point, perhaps Dakki had found another. And it seemed to bring things to a conclusion that she liked just fine. Perhaps Aurica just needed to be reminded that there were other options available.]

And maybe someday, he'll change his mind. You never know what the future might bring, right?

[She reaches an arm out to give Aurica a half-hug. And at the same time, she glances up at the sky. Wow, where was the afternoon going?]

Aah, I should get supper started, shouldn't I? I can keep cleaning my armor tomorrow.

[And she pulls away and starts to pick the various pieces up, each one vanishing into storage with a flash of blue light.]

[She made no motion to hug back, but rather leaned into the embrace, making no sound and with eyes still closed. It's when she hears Dakki begin cleaning up that she opens them to watch her for a few seconds.]

I think I'll stay out here for a little longer if that's alright. [She manages a smile.] What's for supper?

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Chapter 16 - We Are Ready To Walk Again

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Aaah I am the latest late person D:

No worries! ^^

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