Aisede

Sundered Samsara (Honkai Impact 3rd - a Third Era AU)

Power: C; Endurance: D; Agility: C; Intellect: D; Honkai: D; Burst: D
Health: 3/3
Honkai Corruption: 0/3
Burst Charge: 0/5
Time Fracture: 1/1

You're in a new place

You're in a new country

You're surrounded by new people

You can make this work

Hinode brought a hand up to her neck, grazing the ivory charm suspended there with a pale, trembling finger. She couldn't help but think about the people occupying the transport. Would they be... ? Balling her hand into a fist, she gripped the shattered claw, hard eyes taking in her companions. There was Jessica, their supposed leader. There was something so... What's the word? Fake about her. The smile, the confidence. Ni-sama would frown and point and say she's putting on an act. A 'brave face' when really, she didn't want to be here. Ni-sama's smile would be real, it'd smack her and the crew in the face with raw positivity and the sheer force of 'go get 'em' she remembers so fondly.

Moving her gaze to the next in line, a pretty blonde woman. Hinode recalled what she'd read on her profile, and offered her a nod of respect. She felt an instant kinship with her fellow tragic figure, and idly considered if she'd have come out any different were she sworn to a Kaslana-adjacent family. 'Thou shalt live by this oath: Purge the vile Honkai.'

Liliana Lehtinen... She'll remember this name.

Next, the Faramont girl. She'd actually encountered her, briefly, in the corridors of World Serpent. After she'd come begging and screaming for revenge against the monsters that took her family. Her friends. It was only later that she learned of the possibility of some kind of fusion, a method to her means of Honkai's eradication. Of course, it wasn't available to rookies such as herself...

... The kind of rookie who gets her friends killed, because she was so overeager- so overconfident, that she ignored rule one fighting the Honkai: expect the unexpected.

Neither Faramont nor the Isa lady really held her attention, that's when her attention shifted to the third techy in their bandwagon-

"... Hinode."

She blinked, and unclasped the claw, staring the outspoken lady up and down. She was Chinese- A culture similar enough to her own to be comfortable with- and evidently one to take the initiative. Ni-sama would approve.

Furrowing her brows, she listened. Something stirred within her, a dread that only deepened her frown. She was perhaps too outspoken. Too friendly. But Hinode could hardly fault her with how dead silent the ride has been.

"In Normandy, France, yeah." She had surface-level knowledge on the topic, but she was more concerned with the layout of their destination. A Honkai Outbreak... When she'd received the briefing, some small part of her had hoped- foolishly- that her monster may make an appearance. But after reading 'No elemental variations detected', her enthusiasm drastically waned. It was still an opportunity to prove her mettle, and one step closer to receiving the power she needed to exact her revenge. Besides, stragglers or not, she will still be putting a blade to Honkai. That's good enough for her. "There's a river. River Seine."

She pulls out her phone, brings up Google Maps, and leans over to show her, and anyone else who may want a look.

"It'll be roughly East of us when we land."

She zooms in on Sottevile, tapping the screen.

"There are three main roads that all lead towards the perimeter. If we split up, we could clear a path to our destination and hopefully spread a wide enough net to catch the stragglers."

She pauses, glancing towards Jessica... Then slowly leaning back and pocketing her phone. Splitting up was probably a bad idea- they were brought together as a team for a reason, after all, even if she didn't know what that reason was.

Tapping her fingers on her thigh, she looked to Liliana again.

That dread built up, bubbling to the surface in a haze of frost and lightning- "You wanna be my wingman?"

The words just spilled out. She couldn't lose another friend. She couldn't afford to make another friend, but out of all the people here she was the only one she suspected she'd get along with. Well enough to perform her duties without worrying about friction.

She composed herself, distracting her racing mind with the gleam of her hair and the odd getup that reminded her of the word 'eskimo'.

"As in... Pair up. I'm actually used to working with someone with cryonic powers. We liked to joke and call it magic... Eheh..."

Oh... She's already making a fool of herself.

Sundered Samsara (Honkai Impact 3rd - a Third Era AU)

Hinode

Hinode

Japanese | World Serpent | 19 y/o
| Disciple of Taixuan | Human | C - Rank | SWARA | Katana
POW - C (+1) | END - D (-1) | AGI - C (+1) | INT - D (+1) | HON - D | BUR - D

Lightning

Biologic

Weapon: Lightning Soul

St. 7308 Labs designed this saber for arming Valkyries. Vast amounts of Honkai energy particles adhere to the surface of the blade. The blade has a unique shape, not to enhance its performance but rather a personal design choice. This weapon is essentially a super-taser, to a rather lethal degree. Arcs of electricity snap off its surface upon contact with any surface. It also seems to mildly enhance the penetrative power of lightning attacks performed by the wielder. Not quite enough to ignore a rank of Endurance normally, but when the user channels a Burst-tier feat of Honkai manipulation through the blade, it finally magnifies it enough to do so.

Battlesuit: Avenger

Features: The typical suite of comms, GPS, and subspace storage.

Time Fracture: An ability that increases a Valkyrie’s Agility by one level for a single post or about 5-10 seconds, giving them the opportunity to dodge some form of peril and potentially retaliate in the same timeframe. Can be used once per battle.

Honkai Arts

Electrokinesis: D
Time Fracture: E (1 use)
Honkai Sensing: C (medium range)

Burst: Lightning Strike

Rank: D
Duration: 1 round
Modifier Points: 5 (+1 Power, +2 Range, +1 to Honkai, +1 Paralysis)

Effect:Unleashes a monstrous slash of thrumming plasma and lightning out to Medium range. Raises her Power and Honkai by 1 rank for a round, as she focuses deeper on her control over lightning and attempts to inflict paralysis on any creature struck by the beam. Her Honkai is also considered an additional rank higher, but only for the purposes of inflicting paralysis. If inflicted, paralysis lasts for a single round.

Skills

From a young age, Hinode had been recruited into the Disciples program. It's among Taixuan that she discovered her passion for gardening. It wasn't much, but it was something to pass the time. Mizu-chan introduced her to the wonderful world of rice balls, and from there, more conventional cooking (that usually ended in rice balls.) Asides from gardening and cooking, Hino didn't have much outside of practicing Iado with Ni-sama. She's not great at much... But she's not very bad at anything either.

Gear

After suffering catastrophic casualties during the emperor incident, Hinode has since learned it is best to deploy with the neccesary tools. These include: a rechargable lamp, a canteen, keycard and ID, and some snacks.

Hinode is somewhat unfamiliar with how most technology works, having spent most of her life away from big cities and their luxuries.

Appearance

Brown hair, yellow eyes. She sports a long, efficient Japanese ponytail, tied in place with blue ribbon. Around her neck is a peculiar claw. Hinode typically sports a white and blue changpao, with darker blue sleevs, a black belt, and boots. Around her thigh is an awaji knot.

Personality

Hinode is... Average. Average looks, average build, and unremarkable when it comes to personality. At least, this is how she sees herself.

She may come off as a bit shy or awkward, especially when meeting new people. It's not neccesarily the fault of whoever she's interacting with, it's just... Well, if you know, you know. She'll still make the attempt to socialize, and that's what matters.

Outside of casual interactions, Hinod can become quite the different person. She didn't used to take fights very seriously, but now that's changed. She can be focused, and may come off as cold. But that's just her way of caring for the people around her. She can't lose people to carelessness again.

Biography

Hinode, Mizumi, and Ni. The three disciples were thick as thieves, even if the elder Ni-sama liked to police them more than was strictly necessary. It used to be just Hino and Mizu– the two had always been together, but after joining Taixuan, Ni-sama was unwittingly dragged into the cadre of stooges. Hino and Mizu would grab lunch from the latter's place, and Mizu's grandmother made the best rice balls. They'd train together, Mizu would cast "spells" (At Hino's insistence), and Ni-sama taught Hino how to not kill herself swinging a katana around.

They were good times. Happy times.

And then they went to explore a peculiar disturbance.

They deployed without backup, and without possibly knowing what they might encounter. A handful of scarlet uriels almost did them in before the real threat arrived, and when it did-

She... Prefers not to think about it. But she does. She thinks about it every day. A towering emperor, wreathed in flames like a demon straight out of hell. It was far worse than any playful predictions Hinode may have had before, and in no time at all, she learned first-hand what the ranking system was for.

Her friends were dead. Ni-sama was dead. Mizu, who was like a little sister to her, was dead. It was a miracle she lived at all, if just barely.

In the rubble and ruin, all she was able to recover was a severed horn. Ni-sama's lasting legacy.

Everything after that was kind of a blur. She needed... She needed, and that needing lead her to World Serpent. Taixuan, as much as she loved and supported them, couldn't help her anymore. And she... Wasn't strong enough to fulfil her duties to them either. But World Serpent promised her power, the same power that could have saved her comrades in the past.

She's still a Disciple of Taixuan. She always will be. But for now, she belongs to World Serpent.

One day, through them, she will achieve the power to destroy the Honkai.

One day, she will hunt down the beast that destroyed her life.

One day, it will face her blade.

Sundered Samsara (Honkai Impact 3rd - a Third Era AU)

I'm sorry... I tried using a hider, but it wouldn't work...

Also WIP

Sundered Samsara (Honkai Impact 3rd - a Third Era AU)

Hinode

Hinode

Japanese | World Serpent | 19 y/o
| Disciple of Taixuan | Human | C - Rank | SWARA | Katana
POW - C (+1) | END - D (-1) | AGI - C (+1) | INT - D (+1) | HON - D | BUR - D

Lightning

Biologic

Weapon: Lightning Soul

St. 7308 Labs designed this saber for arming Valkyries. Vast amounts of Honkai energy particles adhere to the surface of the blade. The blade has a unique shape, not to enhance its performance but rather a personal design choice. This weapon is essentially a super-taser, to a rather lethal degree. Arcs of electricity snap off its surface upon contact with any surface. It also seems to mildly enhance the penetrative power of lightning attacks performed by the wielder. Not quite enough to ignore a rank of Endurance normally, but when the user channels a Burst-tier feat of Honkai manipulation through the blade, it finally magnifies it enough to do so.

Battlesuit: Avenger

Features: The typical suite of comms, GPS, and subspace storage.

Time Fracture: An ability that increases a Valkyrie’s Agility by one level for a single post or about 5-10 seconds, giving them the opportunity to dodge some form of peril and potentially retaliate in the same timeframe. Can be used once per battle.

Honkai Arts

Electrokinesis: D
Time Fracture: E (1 use)
Honkai Sensing: C (medium range)

Burst: Lightning Strike

Rank: D
Duration: 1 round
Modifier Points: 5 (+1 Power, +2 Range, +1 to Honkai, +1 Paralysis)

Effect:Unleashes a monstrous slash of thrumming plasma and lightning out to Medium range. Raises her Power and Honkai by 1 rank for a round, as she focuses deeper on her control over lightning and attempts to inflict paralysis on any creature struck by the beam. Her Honkai is also considered an additional rank higher, but only for the purposes of inflicting paralysis. If inflicted, paralysis lasts for a single round.

Skills

From a young age, Hinode had been recruited into the Disciples program. It's among Taixuan that she discovered her passion for gardening. It wasn't much, but it was something to pass the time. Mizu-chan introduced her to the wonderful world of rice balls, and from there, more conventional cooking (that usually ended in rice balls.) Asides from gardening and cooking, Hino didn't have much outside of practicing Iado with Ni-sama. She's not great at much... But she's not very bad at anything either.

Gear

After suffering catastrophic casualties during the emperor incident, Hinode has since learned it is best to deploy with the neccesary tools. These include: a rechargable lamp, a canteen, keycard and ID, and some snacks.

Hinode is somewhat unfamiliar with how most technology works, having spent most of her life away from big cities and their luxuries.

Appearance

Brown hair, yellow eyes. She sports a long, efficient Japanese ponytail, tied in place with blue ribbon. Around her neck is a peculiar claw. Hinode typically sports a white and blue changpao, with darker blue sleevs, a black belt, and boots. Around her thigh is an awaji knot.

Personality

Hinode is... Average. Average looks, average build, and unremarkable when it comes to personality. At least, this is how she sees herself.

She may come off as a bit shy or awkward, especially when meeting new people. It's not neccesarily the fault of whoever she's interacting with, it's just... Well, if you know, you know. She'll still make the attempt to socialize, and that's what matters.

Outside of casual interactions, Hinod can become quite the different person. She didn't used to take fights very seriously, but now that's changed. She can be focused, and may come off as cold. But that's just her way of caring for the people around her. She can't lose people to carelessness again.

Biography

Hinode, Mizumi, and Ni. The three disciples were thick as thieves, even if the elder Ni-sama liked to police them more than was strictly necessary. It used to be just Hino and Mizu– the two had always been together, but after joining Taixuan, Ni-sama was unwittingly dragged into the cadre of stooges. Hino and Mizu would grab lunch from the latter's place, and Mizu's grandmother made the best rice balls. They'd train together, Mizu would cast "spells" (At Hino's insistence), and Ni-sama taught Hino how to not kill herself swinging a katana around.

They were good times. Happy times.

And then they went to explore a peculiar disturbance.

They deployed without backup, and without possibly knowing what they might encounter. A handful of scarlet uriels almost did them in before the real threat arrived, and when it did-

She... Prefers not to think about it. But she does. She thinks about it every day. A towering emperor, wreathed in flames like a demon straight out of hell. It was far worse than any playful predictions Hinode may have had before, and in no time at all, she learned first-hand what the ranking system was for.

Her friends were dead. Ni-sama was dead. Mizu, who was like a little sister to her, was dead. It was a miracle she lived at all, if just barely.

In the rubble and ruin, all she was able to recover was a severed horn. Ni-sama's lasting legacy.

Everything after that was kind of a blur. She needed... She needed, and that needing lead her to World Serpent. Taixuan, as much as she loved and supported them, couldn't help her anymore. And she... Wasn't strong enough to fulfil her duties to them either. But World Serpent promised her power, the same power that could have saved her comrades in the past.

She's still a Disciple of Taixuan. She always will be. But for now, she belongs to World Serpent.

One day, through them, she will achieve the power to destroy the Honkai.

One day, she will hunt down the beast that destroyed her life.

One day, it will face her blade.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

Macy

Name: Macy, Honey, or "Honeypot."

Age: 34

Nationality: American

Noble Arm Name & Appearance:

Altia

Noble Arm Rank:

Insert NA rank here

Power: C
Speed: B
Range: A
Persistence: C
Precision: B
Potential: C

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range:

Support, auditory, close-to-very long range.

Noble Arm Abilities:

Fugue: Now why are you reading this when you can be doing something constructive with your time? Never you mind the little details of a young lady, you shouldn’t be so nosy anyway. It’s impolite.

Macy sings, her voice carrying for an unnatural distance. So long as you can hear her voice (even through other sounds), you are subject to the effects of Fugue. An internal voice that sounds like your own will attempt to suggest certain actions, although it is possible to ignore it.

Macy can choose who is and isn't affected by her music.

Chord: Macy raises her spear up high, causing a wave of sound to erupt in any or all directions, and to varying intensities.

Misc Abilities: Music. Macy has some killer vocal cords, just don't ask her to play a stringed instrument.

Personality:

*Likes: Music, exotic food, dance, parties, dance parties.

*Dislikes: Anything remotely dull or boring. Uh.

Fears:

Bio: Macy (Windu, hehe ♪) hails from Colorado, land of painted planes and picturesque mountains! The place is simply wonderful ~ Oh, but no matter how wonderful it is, responsibility always comes knocking eventually. Her father - a terribly amusivs man, just awful- decided that a life of stardom just wasn't in the cards for poor Macy. Singing was her passion, her divine calling, but daddy dearest just wasn't having it. Seeing as she wasn't going to wiggle her way out of this one, she also then decided to make the best of a bad situation. If she was going to be shipped across sea (In style, thank you. Civilian crafts just aren't for her ~) she would become Phillipine's bardic bohemian, an inspiration to the masses!

Now, she just needs to make her grand debut ♪

*Current Goal: Assist the ASEAN cause as a hired hand

Military or Civilian Rank:

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

Another day

A second sun blazes in the sky. A shield breaks. A girl slumps to the ground-

Kaitlyn wakes with a start, hugging the shape against her.

Where… ?

It takes her a moment, for the phantom sounds and images to fade, and for reality to reassert itself. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and a cold sweat wracked her body.

When will the nightmares end?

She sighs, shivering, and relaxes her hold on Hannie. Hopefully she hadn’t woken her up…

But Hannie is already awake. She startles at the sudden movement, wiggles a bit, and is still. She’s been almost sleeping for… she looks over to the alarm clock… man. All of five hours. It’s probably going to go off soon.

”... Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake up,” Kaitlyn whispers, releasing Hannie from her hold as she sits up. She cups her face in her hand, looking positively miserable. Exhausted. ”Did you sleep well?”

”Mm-hmm,” Hannie says. Kaitlyn glances over at her, dubious. Something about how quickly she answered…

”Are you sure?” she wakes up a little more, the fog of sleep quickly evaporating. Idly, she checks her hair, tracing her fingers over the little accessory.

”Mm-hmm,” Hannie says again, just the same. She looks Kaitlyn over. ”I don’t think you did,” she says, looking for her part fairly peppy.

Kaitlyn’s eyes unfocus, and she becomes just a little pale as… So many things run through her mind.

”... I had to say goodbye to my unit, yesterday,” she says, hollow. ”They were the only family I had out here, so… far from home.” Her throat tightens, and she rubs at her eyes. It’s too early… late? It’s not the right time for this.

Blowing out air, she hops off the bed and glances at the clock- Just as it starts beeping.
Hannie jumps at it at the first tone, and silences it before the third. She settles back to where she’d been like nothing happened. ”Unit?” she says, contemplating the term. ”Um… you had another team?”

Kaitlyn smiles at this, circles around the bed, and ruffles her hair. Hannie is so cute when she’s curious, isn’t she? At least Kaity thinks so.

”Yes, Hannie. I operated under Corporal Castro. I’m a private, remember? I operate… operated… In a unit. Unfortunately, they were reassigned elsewhere, without me.” Come to think of it, she was never really made clear on the structure of Task Force Obsidian. She’s just kind of been following Alonso’s orders.

Hannie gives this an intellectual-sounding ”Oh,” and is just quiet for a second. She doesn’t really know who Kaitlyn’s talking about. She adds, ”Sorry,” also unhelpfully. Kaitlyn’s rubbing slows, and her smile turns just a little melancholy.

”It’s okay, Hannie. I still have you, and Nil, and the rest of the Task Force.” ‘the rest’ don’t really matter to her on a personal level, but she’s still determined to help them however she can.

Speaking of helping…

”Now, let’s talk about you,” she chirps, stepping away. She digs out a set of pistols and begins to rapidly disassemble them. Hannie sits up and tracks the movements of the pistol-pieces for a while, silent. Then…

”I, um.” Pause. ”Didn’t ha… um… I mi-... I guess I had a unit?” she says. She taps the mattress beside her. ”I think I had a unit too.”

”Who were they?” she asks, gentle, unhurried. ”Did you get along?”

As soon as the pieces are laid on the table, she withdraws a cleaning kit from her belt and gets to work. It’s all routine, and she hardly has to think about what she’s doing, keeping an ear out for Hannie’s voice.

”There were other Arms Masters, who, uh.” She pauses again, frowning up at the ceiling. ”I… had to be with… sometimes.” She trails the point off like she’s purposefully skipping over a lot, which tracks with what Kaitlyn has learned from her. She had to leave her mother, and she had to join the army. What has Hannie actually gotten to choose for herself?

”And you had to come here, too,” she surmises, quieting down. There’s a pause, and Kaitlyn’s rote motions slow. Hannie nods, her expression neutral, evidently not on quite the same thought-track. Kaitlyn glances over, thoughtful, then continues her cleaning with increased vigor. ”Well, I’ve got an option here for you, Hannie. You don’t have to accept it, and if you don’t, that’s perfectly fine. First I have to ask: do you enjoy using your NA? Like… Would you prefer to use another weapon if that wasn’t your first and last resort?”

”Mmm… mm-mm. I don’t like her.”

Kaitlyn reassembles the pistols on the table about as quickly as she’d taken them apart, slapping on the final pieces and raising it up to display it to the little girl- safety on, of course. Always keep the safety on outside of combat.

”This is a Glock Seventeen. Seventeen round clip, reliable, accurate.” She tests the latter, aiming down the sights. Mhm. That’ll work. When she’s ready, she passes the weapon off to Hannie, who leans away from it, her eyes widening.

”N- wait. Uh…” Hannie shakes her head and stammers for a moment. ”I- I shouldn’t have a gun. Either.” She shakes her head again, and Kaitlyn is quick to withdraw the weapon, looking guilty.

”I’m sorry, I… Didn’t know.” She frowns, looking down at the weapon. Sighing, she holsters it and the spare, then takes a moment to think, leaning with her back against the table.

So no guns… What else does that leave?

”I’m sorry. It’s just, um.” Hannie looks thoughtful, as if running over a list in her head. ”...I shouldn’t. I- I guess Kirvella’s fine. That’s… her name.” She pronounces it as if in someone else’s voice, a little deeper and seemingly in another accent.

Kaitlyn nods at this, slowly, contemplatively.

”That’s okay… How about… A taser?” The thought was ludicrous. She felt insane for suggesting it, but it was an option, and the Philippine police should have some. ”It’s a non-lethal option, and it will still incapacitate any would-be aggressors long enough for you to disengage and hopefully find help.” Her voice becomes softer, then. As do her eyes. ”You don’t have to kill if you don’t want to, Hannie.”

It looks as though something around the word “kill” physically struck Hannie. She flinches a bit and draws her legs up onto the bed. Kaitlyn immediately realizes her error and quickly adds ”I’m sorry- It’s… It’s not actually you, is it? It’s… Kirvella?”

The thought kind of just constructed itself as she pieced together a panicked excuse for her blunder. Who even knew if her NA had that kind of power over her? But Kaitlyn couldn’t really see Hannie killing people as indiscriminately as the person she’d seen on the beach. It just didn’t fit what she knew of the girl, even if she had to do it.

”It’s Kirvella. She… acts for you.” She watches Hannie, searching for confirmation and praying to God she’s right and she doesn’t just sound insane.

Until you learn your own courage. Hannie blinks. She hesitates, and nods. It doesn’t look like the made-up excuse Kaitlyn was working with, so much as a response to having been caught out.

Kaitlyn nods back.

”We’ll find you a non-lethal weapon for self-defense before the next mission, and…” she thinks for a moment. Phones would be nice, but the enemy could trace radio signals pretty easily. There’s a reason you never see soldiers whipping out their Samsungs to call for backup. Radios, maybe? Short-range. ”Radios. You’ll have one, I’ll have one, and you can call me if you need me for anything you can’t handle. How does that sound?”

”I… almost forgot… we were gonna be fighting.” Hannie frowns, thinking the offers over. ”...okay. I hope a, uh, taser’s fine.”

Kaitlyn smiles, then steps towards her, kneeling so that they were roughly eye level. ”It is. We’ll go grab those right now then-” her eyes dart towards the clock. ”Then we’ll head towards the Auditorium, grab some breakfast, and we’ll be set.” She’d have liked for Hannie to carry a gun ‘just-in-case’, but that was pretty redundant when she had a Noble Arm. Guns were for people who didn’t have other options. Hannie nods and glances up to Kaitlyn’s hair ornament, looking for a moment like she’s thinking of something faraway, then nods again. She unfolds her legs, ready to get up.

And then they’re off to start another day…

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

Two Tired Girls

It isn't long after Hannie and crew return to home base that Kaitlyn seeks out what she realizes she is increasingly considering her own kid. It’s immediately apparent she's seen better days; her eyes are red, and she carries herself with a distinct lack of energy or motivation.

Finding Hannie is, for most people, something of an ordeal. She tends to crawl into strange dark spaces or curl up alone in auditorium seating. But Kaitlyn knows where to look, and the moment she finds her little Hannie - auditorium seating this time - she collapses onto her knees and wraps the kid in her arms. Trembling, and silent.

The girl starts at the sudden embrace, and doesn’t seem to have much to say herself. After a moment’s pause, she hugs Kaitlyn back. Kaitlyn reciprocates with an even tighter embrace, tears prickling the edges of her eyes.

“Hannie…”

A short silence hangs between them.

”Yeah?” Hannie says, apparently not picking up Kaity’s tone.

For some reason, Kaitlyn laughs at this. It’s more an exasperated exhalation than anything. She’s not even sure what’s so funny…

“It’s just… Good to see you again.”

She sighs and, for a moment, goes limp. But she rights herself up in short order, releasing the little girl and wiping off her cheeks with her sleeve. She has been crying… Or she’s about to.

“Did you have fun?” She asks, weakly.

”Um.” Hannie briefly considers the words, “are you okay?” It’s probably not a good thing to ask. ”Nil is hard to play with. She ran around everywhere and didn’t share and we had to sit down with a stranger.” She pauses. ”Yes.”

”A stranger?”

Kaitlyn sounds, and looks, concerned.

”Um,” Hannie says, again. She frowns, considering her options to explain. She kind of waggles her hands. ”Like… that tall? And, uh.” She deepens her voice and nearly affects an unspecific South-American accent. ”“Sounds like this.”

Kaitlyn covers her mouth, although there’s a look of amusement in her eyes.

”Hehe… Well, it sounds like you had a good time. I’m guessing Nil weirded him out?”

Kaitlyn’s mood already seems to be improving. The power of hugs and cuteness!

”I think we just bored him.” Hannie looks upward, trying to recall how it went. Kaitlyn could already imagine it was pretty chaotic. ”He talked a lot.”

Kaitlyn slowly nods, but exhaustion is beginning to settle in. The search has kept her going up to this point, but now she could use some rest. Some real rest.

Her eyes unfocus for a moment as a second sun blazes in her mind, threatening her with nightmares full of crunching sand and screams.

“Why don’t you tell me all about it while we walk? I’d like to check us into a hotel or something. Sleep in a real bed. Take a bath. I feel kinda icky. You?” She rises to her feet, then offers Hannie her hand with a small, warm smile. Hannie takes the hand with her usual lost, okay-sure-I’ll-go-where-you-go sort of look, and Kaity’s smile grows just a touch wider.

Over the next several minutes Hannie slowly picks up the story of how Nil had bullied and neglected her, how this strange bearded man had sat them down and bought them smoothies and made them talk. Her words sound like it was misery, but her tone sounds like she had some fun. Kaitlyn nods along and offers her sympathies, although she retains a small smile throughout it all. In no time, Kaitlyn sniffs out a decent place to stay- Capitol Resort, which is just down the street!- and beelines for the bed, tossing herself onto the comforter with an explosive sigh.

At last, a real bed! How long has it been?

Hannie slows to a pause in the doorway, looking around the room as if dazzled by the luxury, or at least the impression of it. It’s on the modest end as rooms abroad go, yet she appears fascinated, working her way slowly to the bedside while stopping to study every vaguely evocative painting and easy-clean carpet fiber.

”Hannie? Are you alright?” That concern creeps back into her voice as she leans up on the bed, watching her.

Tearing her eyes from a bulky white air conditioner embedded in the wall, Hannie tries to express what she’s thinking… and manages, ”Fancy.”

‘Fancy’ isn’t the word Kaitlyn would use to describe a 4.1 star resort.

“... Have you ever stayed at a hotel before?”

The girl hops onto the bed, examining the bland, intermittently peeled wallpaper. She shakes her head no, and tests the texture of the linens. They’re actually some quality stuff, all things considered. Soft and cushiony. Kaitlyn briefly entertains the idea of a pillow fight before chucking it into a third sun specifically conjured up to eat bad ideas.

”But you have slept in your own bed before, right? Had your own room?”

”Yeah? Most of the time.” Hannie doesn’t look as she answers, focused on the alarm clock on her side. 9:18pm, a good almost-twenty minutes over the typical curfew, and more importantly covered in strange and fascinating buttons.

Kaitlyn studies Hannie for a moment, then reaches out- but she stops herself just short of grabbing the little girl. She seems eager to explore at the moment, and Kaitlyn doesn’t want to impede on that curiosity. The girl scans the device, and taps a button to no effect. She presses and holds it, yielding a long shrill tone. She blinks. So does the display.

”Did I break it?”

Kaitlyn giggles and reaches over to tap a few buttons of her own. The prolonged beep is mercifully silenced, and a still 12:00am appears.

”No, silly. That’s the reset.” Kaitlyn briefly explains how the device works, and what the buttons do… To the best of her knowledge, at least. It doesn’t help that Hannie doesn’t seem to read Tagalog, but eventually she manages to correct the time to 9:21.

”If you want…” This time, Kaitlyn doesn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around Hannie and pulling her up against her chest, laying down on her side. “... After this is all over… You can stay with me. And you’ll have your own bed, and your own room, all of the time.”

The Hannie wiggles, stunned and displaced. She thinks for a moment. ”I don’t think my mom would like that,” she says, stretching herself out, stuck in Kaitlyn’s arms.

Kaitlyn goes still.

She had assumed…

”Where…” Her mouth is suddenly dry, and she takes a moment to gather her composure. ”Where is your mom now, Hannie?” She states the question gently, even as her insides twist.

”At home?” Hannie says. Then, as if remembering late that this isn’t very specific, she adds, ”Cairns. Queensland.”

”Does she know where you are? What you’re doing?” The thought that any mother would send their child off to the battlefield… She couldn’t possibly know, could she?

”Yeah. I don’t think she likes it.” Hannie frowns, stroking the sheets in front of her. They really are pretty nice. ”I hope she doesn’t worry too much.”

Kaitlyn isn’t even a mother herself, but she already knows just how much Hannie’s mom must be worrying. The implications that Hannie was here against either’s wishes also don’t sit well with Kaitlyn. Just what powers were in play here?

”Well… At the very least, I’ll make sure you can return home and see your mom again.” She squeezes Hannie, briefly, and smiles. ”I… I promise you this, Hannie. We’ll both make it through this.”

Hannie nods. For a moment, trees in the wind sound like crackling ice, and crackling ice sounds like that voice again.
”Place your faith carefully, child.”
She shakes her head, very slightly. Kaitlyn doesn’t seem to notice and, after a pregnant pause, she speaks up again.

”There’s something I should tell you…”

Needless to say, the two had quite the talk.

When all is said and done- And Hannie assists Kaitlyn with a sudden nosebleed- Kaitlyn reaches out and gives little Hannie a great big hug, then flops down onto the mattress, limp as a noodle. ”Now… I think it’s time for bed. I. Am. Pooped!”

Hannie glances at her palm. Severely frostbitten from summoning Kirvella earlier, but that always gets better after a while. She folds it under her other arm to help the thawing and drops onto the bed beside Kaitlyn, who immediately seizes the opportunity to convert her into a child-sized teddy bear.

”Thank you…” She murmurs, already beginning to drift off. It’s been a long day. ”For being here for me.”

F I N

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

Kaitlyn makes poor life choices

The briefing concluded on as positive a note as if could have. Kaitlyn perked back to attention once the Rear Admiral took the stage- literally, it seems- and she was rather relieved that some mature, level head had some part in this mission. Although for an admiral to step in... Things were going bad.

Things went bad.

You should have done something.

Kaitlyn frowned, setting Hannie down and getting up.

"Come along. I need to talk to some people, but Nil can keep you company until I'm back. I think I saw her here somewhere..."

She did see her, she spotted her earlier conversing with someone who appeared to be experiencing increasing levels of discomfort. She could relate.

What If he gets you killed? What if he gets Hannie killed? Or Nil?

She frowned. Myron's twisted smile flashed back in her mind. Noel standing beside him, oblivious, incompetent.

Either one of them could lead to their ultimate demise.

Her breathing picked up, and she zeroed in on Nil. She had to stop herself from rushing over, digging out some chocolates, and offering some to Hannie.

Don't think about it. Just don't think about it. We'll be okay.

Hannie points the way she's looking - she was already watching Nil, half because she's a thoroughly fascinating creature, and half because she's manifested her Arm.
She doesn't often stop to really wonder how other people are doing. She's been doing it for Nil.

"Thank you."

She smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze, then made her approach.

Almost immidiately, she could read the situation. The man Nil was talking too looked less than enthusiastic - she pitied him, really.

She eye'd up the staffs, assessing them at a quick glance. She hadn't seen her NA manifested before the briefing, and she could swear she caught one of them earlier. Does that thing self-replicate?

She frowned. Noble Arms never cease to induce unease in her.

"Hey Nil."

She smiled, giving the departing man a sidelong glance. At least he made it out alive.

"What did you think of the briefing?"

She'll honestly be surprised if she'd paid any attention at all to it, but she had to ask. Maybe she was wrong?

Nil slouched into her seat when the man left in a hurry, withdrawing the Noble Arm copy and resting her head on Stang, tilted left, did she do something wrong there? Did he not want to see her Noble Arm, was he disappointed? Nil could not get a read on him.

Before she could recollect herself and put her earmuffs on she heard someone call for her, it was... Kaitlyn, asking about the briefing?
"Oh? Did not listen."

Hannie does the cartoon trick where she appears by leaning out from behind Kaitlyn. Unlike the cartoons, there's no third person to pop out from behind her just now. She does a little wave.

Kaitlyn sighs.

Of course she didn't.

She pats Hannie's head, mussing up her hair a little. Silly girl ~

"I have an important job for you. Only you can do it." She looks at her, very serious. Perhaps too serious. Should she tone it down?"Can I count on you, Nil?"

Initially Nil didn't see Hannie, at least until Kaitlyn started patting her head, the little girl was doing well it seems, good to know.

"Yes, I'm ready." she replied to Kaitlyn's question with sudden readiness, she was giving her orders with the face and voice as well, Nil's response was almost automatic, if she learnt something from training and combat it was to not doze off when being given orders directly.

One second later and she already became less tense, wait, Kaitlyn wasn't an officer, right?

"I need you to look after Hannie." She nudged the little one forward, smiling gently down at her. "All I ask is that you don't get into too much trouble. If you need to buy anything-" Such as candy, she presumed "-This should cover a reasonable amount."

Having visited a TM earlier, she withdrew a modest amount of money. Not the amount you give somebody just-incase-you-die.

She reaches out for Nil's hand, and placed the money into it, looking into the girl's eyes earnestly.

"Share."

Nil was a bit uncertain about this order, looking after someone, that was not something she did often if at all, especially not in this manner, but why not try?
"Right."

Nil had no clue why Kaitlyn chose to give Hannie's custody to her, does this little girl not have anyone looking over her? How did she even get to Lingayen? And especially, how many sweets can these money buy? Time to find out.

And so the Hannie changes hands. Two steps forward, turn around, look back at Kaitlyn as if they're now a world apart. Well. Being with Nil - being allegedly in Nil's charge - is sort of a different world. What happens if she knows what money is this time?

She glances at Nil's cash haul, then back to Kaitlyn. She nods faintly.
"I'll- uh- stay out of trouble."
Back to Nil. Maybe they won't be going straight to a food vendor?

Despite her concerns, she manages a laugh.

"I know you will." Hannie doesn't get into trouble so far as Kaity's seen. She doesn't... Do much at all, actually.

A little concerning.

"Now, I'll be back before the day's over. Go snack, socialize, whatever. Just stay in the area. If you need me, for whatever reason," she looked between the two. "Find the nearest soldier and tell them you need Private Kaitlyn Price. I'll come as soon as I can."

Her eyes lingered on Hannie. Was she really doing this? Leaving the fate of a child in the hands of... Nil?

She looked around.

Nothing but strangers. And she didn't really think Miss Lei would appreciate Kaity dumping Hannie on her.

"Is there anything else you need before I go? Anything at all- besides candy or more cash."

"Understood." though in the area wasn't very specific, were they meant to stay here in the briefing room or at least go back here? Maybe they could use a radio, that's how it's done during missions. Well, she was confident they would meet Kaitlyn before they were sent to, well, the sea, Nil almost shuddered.

That's when Nil glanced over to her left, realising Stang was still there, it had been floating uselessly for this while conversation, Nil withdrew her Noble Arm when she saw it.

"Um. I can't think of anything."
Is Hannie's trained response to "do you need anything," and thinking about whether she actually wants help comes after. Getting it usually wasn't worth the trouble at home.

What could she use? A leash? A second caretaker? Yeah, probably nothing. She nods again, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets.

Kaitlyn wait a moment, just Incasd they speak up. Hannie's response was a little too fast... But she didn't want to bother her over that.

"Alright." She nodded, backing away. "Remember. Share."

She gave Nil one more, meaningful look, then turned away, glancing Miss Lei's way briefly.

God help her if those two get into trouble.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

The long take...

Kaitlyn motioned the little one over while she listened, wrapping her arms around her and letting the stress of an impending fight melt away while she listened.

She, of course, had some misgivings of her own with the operation, but her priorities had shifted somewhat since she joined the military, and it wasn't neccesarily her place- as a lowly private and all- to speak up. This was the First Lieutenant , after all. What if she... Well, wouldn't it be speaking out of turn? Can privates even criticize the actions of her superiors?

... Well, it's happened before, hasn't it?

Miss Lei raised some good points. Just reaching their target could be pretty hazardous, and certainly they wouldn't only have the Lotus Squadron to back them up? What if they were overwhelmed?

-A miniature sun burns in her mind, cutting through airships like toy planes-

She gripped Hannie a little harder, focusing on... On something. On the texture of Hannie's shirt. On the features of Noel's face. Of Miss Lei's disconcerting claws.

She only listened with half an ear to the rest, content to stay in her place as an unusually high status private- and then he came along.

Terrorist. Murderer.

Her blood ran cold, and she shuddered as the uncanny man was introduced to them.

How can he be okay with this?

Her field of view narrowed on the man. Time slowed. She couldn't breath. She couldn't move.

How... How?

And then he spoke.

She didn't hear the rest of what was said. That is, until Noel felt the need to rush them right out the door.

"No."

Kaity nearly jumped out of her own skin at the sound of her own voice, but she held firm, clutching Hannie to her body.

Her eyes never left the murderer standing in front of her.

"I am not going anywhere with this man... Sir."

Noel nodded and said, "I can guess why. Murder is murder even though it was on behalf of normal people; Non-Arms Masters. Myron should not expect automatic sympathy just because he did it for... People who would not automatically accept his actions, even if he says he did it for them."

He sighed, "I'll make other arrangements, then."

Myron, meanwhile, blinked, shocked, as though genuinely surprised that Kaitlyn or any other normal person here didn't approve of the motives behind his actions. So all he can mumble was, "I know my methods were wrong but were the reasons...?"

He trailed off and went silent.

Following Kaitlyn when beckoned, Hannie ghosts over through the aisles and silently arranges her place sitting with her. In the private's arms, she listens along. Or "listens." Or at least, hears. A lot of this sounds entirely, relievingly, not her problem, and also kind of complicated.

Kaitlyn's shudder pulls her attention back in. What? This black-haired guy?

He's- what? He's done what? And he's supposed to be on _her_ side? Does Noel hear what he's saying?
She starts when the private begins to speak. She blinks, a little confused again at the immediate... backtrack?

"Good job, I think?" she mumbles.

"I don't need your excuses!" She hisses, narrowing her eyes on the murderer.

Her attention flicks over to the First Lieutenant, and he'd get the feeling that statement applied to him as well.

"This is entirely unacceptable, First Lieutenant Alonzo. Mister Makaraig should not expect any sympathy with any human being with an ounce of decency. And you're defending him?"

There's a twisting in his gut.

Then he finds the words, "This war was my way to redeem myself, to save as many people as I killed."

Noel tried hard to muster a response, actually scared now. He was still a child, still sixteen, burdened with a responsibility that had grown eightfold after he actually won in Lingayen, after he managed to eke out a victory in that front. But that was not an excuse. Nor was the fact that he was ordered to accept his presence, that Myron was necessary for the continued running of the ASEAN War's operations.

In the end, all he can echo was Myron's words, "He wants a chance to atone. As he said, his methods were wrong, back when he himself was a normal human. He's hurt a lot of people, killed a lot of people, but he says - No, this is his chance to make up for what he's done as much as possible."

Bile rose in his throat. He could not believe he was saying this.

Qingshe finally stood from her seat again, this time an edge in her normally affable demeanor. Her slitted eyes had bled a golden orange. For a moment, she seemed to ooze tension, before her spine slacked back into something approaching her usual mien. "Redemption," she licked her lips, "Is not something so easily attained."

"This, is not how you go about it." She took a step forward, and the sound of a short heel for audibly clacked with the movement. Rather than the graceful nigh-silent glide she normally used, this was a series of deliberated footsteps, punctuating with a stride that was more predatory than not. Her eyes flicked to Kaitlyn and Hannie before snapping back to Noel and Myron. "There's something to be said for acknowledging the past, but you take it too far. How did you think this would go, First Lieutenant, after you introduced this man in such a manner? Did you really think anyone would trust him with their backs, with their lives, after you introduced him as someone hailing once from an organization dedicated to the genocide of nearly everyone in this room?"

She paused to allow that to sink in for those who were less connected with geopolitical conflicts. "That said..." Her smile closed off, like merely tasting the words in her mouth disgusted her. "If I condemned him as he is wholeheartedly, it would be hypocrisy of no small scale. So... allow me to... salvage this? Hah." She shook her head.

Her shadow bubbled, spewing out a tablet that she gracefully scooped up. Unseen, her digital fingers struck at systems miles away, diving into files that she shouldn't have access to. She grinned internally at the attempts of pathetically feeble systems attempting to bat her probes away, shaking her head in dismay at the state of the Philippine cyber security. She even found a few bugs and backdoors. Honestly, the place was like Swiss cheese. No wonder their OPSEC was in the dumpster; she was halfway certain several of the probes were based off her own work.

Well... that was easily rectified. While she was there, she might as well do a little pruning. Backdoors were closed. Viruses and bugs purged. And because she was feeling nice, she began completely rewriting the core cyber security of the systems she had found. An update here~! A tweak there~! And voila~! Security worth writing home about! Now the only weakness was the ever-present human element, but Qingshe was confident that unless information warfare was conducted with another Noble Arm specialized in such, this security would hold.

Pulling out, she left a cheeky digital "You're welcome~!" message practically postal-stamped to her work, unsigned of course. Plausible deniability for her helpful -if wildly illegal- actions.

In reality, mere moments had passed, such was the processing speed of the world's greatest super computers. What a wonderful boon~!

Clearing her throat, Qingshe's smile rode a line of pleasant and... not. "I will give you this much, Makaraig, whatever anyone can say about your faults, your introduction does you disservice." Addressing the room, she clarified, "What they failed to mention about his defection was that it occurred more than four years ago. This is not a man who would have had the blood of Arms Masters on his hands mere months prior." She paced about, cheerily proclaiming her words like a teacher before a classroom.

"For all that they certainly gave it their best shot to put him in the worst light possible, he walked away from that life on his own... or so he testifies. He was personally involved in the coup that created the Philippines of today. A righteous cause in... concept, I suppose."

Glancing down at the tablet, where information continued to scroll so fast that few eyes but own might be able to follow it, she hummed again. "The Disablers... Well, not to trivialize what they are and what he did with them, but that period of his life was one of a foolish youth. Adulthood, it seems, brought some measure of wisdom..." Rapping her fingers along the back of her tablet, she tilted her head in faux thought. "Does that mean he should be trusted?"

Panning her gaze over the room, she blinked languidly, before shrugging and dropping the tablet back into the depths of her ooze without a sound. "I think that should be up to each individual to decide for themselves." Glancing over her shoulder, she met Myron's gaze with disdainful dismissal. "Personally, I don't, but I think my reasons are ultimately from an emotional place, rather than an objective one. I would not begrudge any other putting their faith in him. Nor do I think he is ultimately deserving of none at all."

Turning to Noel, she frowned. "That said..." There was a look in her eyes now towards Task Force Obsidian's nominal leader, one that had been building the whole briefing and only now fully crystalized into something openly reproachful. Her lip briefly curled, but she apparently bit back whatever initially was on the tip of her tongue, turning away and flicking her head. "I think... for the time being, you'll just have to settle for discarding any plan that relies on unanimous acquiescence to the use of Makaraig's Noble Arm."

She shook her head and strode back to her seat, her tone . "And to think, all of this mistrust could have been avoided if you had just said nothing at all." Her tone was laced with casual contempt. Retaking her seat, she crossed her legs. "Perhaps next time, you'll exercise those OPSEC protocols they clearly failed to drill into your skull in officer training."

"And in the meanwhile..." She smiled broadly. "I suppose the rest of us will make do." She chuckled. "As with several of you, I do not trust Agent Makaraig... but I do believe he should have the opportunity to prove us wrong. Is it too much to ask for that?"

She leaned back, propping her cheek up with her right knuckles, fingers curled lazily and elbow resting on the armrest. "You don't have to like him. You don't even have to rely on him. All you need to do is tolerate him breathing the same oxygen until he proves himself worthy of more..." Serpentine eyes glinted slyly, as an amiable smile retook its rightful place on her lips. "Doesn't that sound fair~?"

Kaitlyn watched. She listened. And after awhile... Some tension left her.

Oh, she still held onto Hannie, but she didn't feel threatened anymore. Not immidiately, at least.

Noel is incompetent she realized, looking between the two with schooled neutrality.

She decided to keep her mouth shut, simply offering Miss Lei a nod in gratitude for preventing a mess.

... She felt so tired now.

Sighing, she tested her chin on the little one's head, taking a moment to recover from the excitement.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War

Well, she was thankful he was keeping to his word- not that she thought he'd go back on it! Hannie would be safe aboard the ship, and she...

She imagines a miniature sun, searing the ship in half. Blood and screams...

don't think...

Breathing out, she digs into her pockets for chocolate, searching the room for her unofficial charge.

"Yes, sir!" She says, somewhat absently. Will the rest of her squad also be present? Will Miss Lei?