Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Caellath]

Abelard princess-carried Elanee until she felt better then recovered his booze, changed his bandana and went about helping set up camp. He took a swig from the bottle before giving it to Elanee.

"I'm no specialist, but the wine's good."

[Ochita]

Elanee had recovered faster, and even joined Abelard in helping set up camp, taking the wine bottle and taking a swig from it, nodding appreciatively as she tasted it.
  "Hooh. You're right about that. Makes it more of a shame we couldn't rescue more of this.." She playfully bemoans, handing it back to Abelard.

[Caellath]

"Tough luck, but we gotta be happy with what he managed to get, even more when it's this good." he replied, taking another swig and as he set up the roof.

[Powder Miner]

Lucette had stopped and carefully healed everybody on the team. It hadn't been a quick process -- healing outside of battle usually saw a much slower, much more careful casting of the magical spell that performed the healing, which avoided burning the staff. Healing was interesting that way: healing spells were always much more complex that throwing a ball of fire or darkness or light, and thusly they needed a much larger focus than a tome to be done with any amount of speed, but unlike attack spells they could be done slowly enough as to not damage that focus. When you're in the middle of a pitched battle, and need to heal and move fast, this isn't exactly ideal, but afterwards is a different story.

Multiple times during the healing process, she ran her hand through her hair to mentally steady herself; she wasn't panicking anymore, but she was still shaken from that battle. And accordingly, once Jack grabbed her wrist after she'd finished, she yelped a little out loud, something which actually netted an embarrassed blush from her for a moment before it faded and she just looked down, following him a little limply.
:"R-right."

She knew what it would be about.

[Blade Master Model 42]

Once there were a few trunks obscuring the two from the sight of the others, Jack released Lucette's wrist, and turned to peer closely at her face. "What's going on with you? During the surprise attack, you panicked. And you're still jumpy." Jack half turned, not looking Lucette in the eye any more. "I need you in your best condition. You're the only thing keeping us in one piece. And its only going to get worse from here."

[Powder Miner]

Lucette nodded once, twice, three times. Yeah, it was about what she had thought it was. It was humiliating, to be brought out to be called out over it, but...
:"Yes, you're right. I'm... I'm sorry. It's... it's not the presence of that many enemy forces, or something like that. It's... it's just..."
:"It took me back to a very bad personal place."

[Blade Master Model 42]

"If it'd help, I want you to talk about it." Though it wasn't showing in his face, or his tone, Jack was feeling worse and worse. He was sure she didn't want to be called out this way. But whatever was going on, he had to drag it out of her now if there was to be any chance of success. Not that he was sure there was, at this point. "Whatever you say right now, it stays between us."

[Powder Miner]

Lucette let out a breath and then nodded again before leaning against one of the trees and sitting against it.
:"Right... okay... okay, but it's going to be hard and I don't know if I'll stay composed, okay...?"
She took in a breath, now, a little shakily.
:"I'm sure you know that the Lemieuxs don't really... exist... anymore, r-right?"
She gulped and stammered that line: it still wasn't easy to say, even after all these years.
:"Do you know why? Do you know... how?"

[Blade Master Model 42]

Jack knelt down close to Lucette, readying himself. Lucette had always seemed tough-as-nails, and he wasn't really sure what to expect from her when she was this vulnerable. "No. I heard that they were, well... Essentially wiped out. But I never managed to hear about the circumstances. I was half a world away when it happened. When I heard... To be honest, I thought you were gone when I'd found out." Some things were left unsaid there.

[Powder Miner]

Lucette let out a small sound, nearly unidentifiable, a small choke.
:"I... I almost was."
:"See... it had been after a lot of back-and-forth sabotage and assassination between us and some traitor families who had been getting into the god-damn Govitian's good graces."
:"But we could do that, we were good at it. We were the best at that... precise action in the shadows, knifing someone at night and ghosting away... that's how we had always done things in Ligneverte, and we had become damn good."
He already knew that much, she supposed -- he'd worked with the Lemieuxs, after all, with her. But now that she was getting the chance to explain things, it was all tumbling out.
:"So-- so there was this meeting. The Gerouxs and the Lemieuxs, then the god damned Hardys and Lefevres. We were meeting in this-- this room in an old mansion, to negotiate a close to things, shut things off with them and the Govitians.
:"We'd expected something, y-you know? Like... maybe a bomb hidden somewhere, o-or poison in the cups, we weren't stupid. But... But instead we came in and-- there was just-- a bunch of unmarked men with weapons, f-far more than there were of us... and... and..."

Lucette lost her words for a moment, choking up as she began to tear up.

[Blade Master Model 42]

Jack reached out and placed a hand on Lucette's quivering shoulder. An ambush... No wonder she'd reacted badly tonight. There wasn't much he could say right now. So, instead, he listened, waiting patiently for her to finish.

[Powder Miner]

Jack placed a hand on Lucette's shoulder and she had to take a deep breath, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve -- God, was she really about to cry? ...yeah, she was, and it was a humiliating possibility, but at this rate she didn't know if she'd be able to avoid it. Well, she'd try anyway.
:"D-dad was smart, figured out a secret exit to get me out but h-he couldn't exactly keep several people leaving secret so... it... it was just me."
She took another deep breath, trembling as she let it out.
:"Mom hadn't been there so... I just ended up being a maid to hide since it's what she knew what to give me for advice... but..."
:"Y-yeah, that's why that ambush, it-- it just--"

[Blade Master Model 42]

"And why I found you where I did." Jack abruptly stood, grabbed Lucette by the hand, and pulled her to her feet. "What happened in the past is done. You can't change it. But tonight, we were ambushed, and we won. Handily. And that's because of you." The two of them were very close together now. "Lucette... I need you."

[Powder Miner]

Lucette paused for a moment, a little taken aback by being pulled up to her feet -- and of being so close to Jack. But, eventually, she looked back down again.
:"Yeah... well... Jack, I'm having a hard time believing that it's me. Anyone else with a staff would... God, the way I've been on this mission... any other healer could, could do that and more. I've felt, so... so futile like this, scraping up whatever dregs I can offer and then being this panicked TOO!"
Lucette began to tear up again.

[Blade Master Model 42]

Jack let go of Lucette's hand, and let his own fall to his side. "I passed over a lot of other prospective healers for this mission. And I don't doubt for a second that I made the right choice... Lucette, I know that I couldn't do this without you, because I don't know if I can do it at all."