Lenalee Lee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skycrossing) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
asgardeventide2012-08-16 12:23 am
skycrossing) wrote in asgardeventide2012-08-16 12:23 am
Entry tags:
01 ✦ VIDEO [Day 128]
[ the day is fading. somewhere within the thor district that a video framing a new young face appears. leaning against a desaturated brick wall, the girl's hair is messier than it deserves, thick, dark locks falling into her face in jacked chunks, as if she'd been running and didn't care to brush it flat. her eyes, a dazzling violet, show obvious signs of distress and restlessness, and her thin brows are furrowed with frustration and… sorrow.
though lenalee lee had been pulled into asgard at a critical moment, she compromised with herself before leaving the palace, determining to take up this mission to repaint the land of asgard because it's better to have a goal than be stuck refusing it. however, in walking towards her welcome hall, she strayed off the path to follow a colourless cat and was eventually led to an area of depressing greyness.
overwhelmed by a sensation only she could liken to the atmosphere of a post-battle infirmary, she finds the need to stop and collect herself. somehow, seeing this emptiness strikes her soul even though she's not unused to these feelings, these smells, and overall sight of disease.
there is but one question heavily bearing upon her mind, and that is why she looks at the camera now, desperate. ]
…The letter did not say. Can anyone tell me how this place became this way? Losing all its colour, its emotion. The people's faces, even the birds and cats on the street. They all… it's like—
[ a yelled profanity. lenalee's eyes shoot wide open and she flicks her head to her left, meeting with an entity enshrouded by a dark mass and running at her with a long, bludgeoning weapon.
the connection terminates after a drop in perspective, the sound of a smash, and tumbling image of debris, pavement, and black. ]
( OOC: Late!!! But here's to a dramatic intro. Lenalee is being attacked by a Taken, and during this encounter she'll realize she can't activate her Innocence. YIKES. But she's not so helpless and uses her super! speed! to run away because… she thinks that person is still a human? SO NO CAN KILL?? please feel free to action this up, but any network responses will be answered after she's gotten to a safe, light place… also! tags may come late, as I'm getting on a plane in 12 hours! )
though lenalee lee had been pulled into asgard at a critical moment, she compromised with herself before leaving the palace, determining to take up this mission to repaint the land of asgard because it's better to have a goal than be stuck refusing it. however, in walking towards her welcome hall, she strayed off the path to follow a colourless cat and was eventually led to an area of depressing greyness.
overwhelmed by a sensation only she could liken to the atmosphere of a post-battle infirmary, she finds the need to stop and collect herself. somehow, seeing this emptiness strikes her soul even though she's not unused to these feelings, these smells, and overall sight of disease.
there is but one question heavily bearing upon her mind, and that is why she looks at the camera now, desperate. ]
…The letter did not say. Can anyone tell me how this place became this way? Losing all its colour, its emotion. The people's faces, even the birds and cats on the street. They all… it's like—
[ a yelled profanity. lenalee's eyes shoot wide open and she flicks her head to her left, meeting with an entity enshrouded by a dark mass and running at her with a long, bludgeoning weapon.
the connection terminates after a drop in perspective, the sound of a smash, and tumbling image of debris, pavement, and black. ]
( OOC: Late!!! But here's to a dramatic intro. Lenalee is being attacked by a Taken, and during this encounter she'll realize she can't activate her Innocence. YIKES. But she's not so helpless and uses her super! speed! to run away because… she thinks that person is still a human? SO NO CAN KILL?? please feel free to action this up, but any network responses will be answered after she's gotten to a safe, light place… also! tags may come late, as I'm getting on a plane in 12 hours! )
PERMAVID! & no problemmm i fell alseep anyway orz
[ she repeats in a murmur, drifting into thought the more rapunzel explains. as an exorcist, lenalee can't help draw parallels along the way between this disease and that of the akuma virus. there is no cure and unless one is a parasitic type, with innocence embedded somewhere into a person's body, there is no way to prevent infection, and death is instant. it's a whole lot crueler, giving no chance for the afflicted to survive. at least these people can have hope—if only felt indirectly.
( another bracelet to depend my life on... )
though good at masking her emotions more often than not, the preoccupations are not hidden from lenalee's face. her brows knit and her lips thin until just a moment after rapunzel finishes and she nods in agreement, lifting her eyes from her ankles back to the camera. the smile she shows now is sorrowfully compassionate but nevertheless radiant. ]
I understand. Thank you for telling me all this. It isn't an easy thing to explain. I'm guessing you've been here a while?
[ carefully, gently, because she knows whoever else has these bracelets are also far from home, from friends. ]
no subject
Something like that. Not as long as some of the others, for sure, but -- [ a shrug ] It's home all the same.
But if we're going to play 20 questions I have to warn you that I am very good at it now.
no subject
lenalee blinks rapidly. the word "home" is sensitive. it carries so much meaning, and to hear it said in reference to this place, she can only imagine the reasons how it could seem that way. it's not too hard to adapt, but it takes much longer to adopt.
excuse her, if her emotions are misplaced. she just... feels rather fragile about that topic now, just like the state of her real home.
the moment to comment on the first line is, naturally, lost and quickly tossed out by rapunzel's enthusiasm to play a game. it reels a smile onto lenalee's face. ]
Wow. Well, okay, it's only fair, and I guess I could use the company while I find my way back to the main road. [ her smile grows fuller, determined, and prepared. ] Your turn to ask—ah. [ lenalee stops and pales a tad. ] ...Ahhh, how could I be so rude? Before we start, my name is Lenalee!! It's nice to meet you, miss...
no subject
[ Though in all fairness she's actually sitting on not-princess status currently and will, eventually, have a small, seafaring city-state in an alternate history's version of Austria to rule so all the trauma is probably good for her! ]
Oh, Rapunzel is fine as is. Just Rapunzel.
no subject
Rapunzel. [ why does that sound familiar? or maybe nostalgic. warm. ] Please, then do just call me Lenalee. Might we be the same age? I'm 17. How about you?
no subject
no subject
[ lenalee shakes her head. ] Not really, especially girls. [ she won't say why quite yet. ] Most of the friends I make are boys, three of which are around my age.
no subject
Blessing or curse? ]
I wonder why... Oh! And - yes. Thank you. For the birthday wish, I mean. [ This girl is so polite! She's almost Japanese... ]
Heh. Um. Where are you from, Lenalee? Are there just lots of men in your area or something?
no subject
the answer to that changes like weather, lenalee would suppose. right now, just plain friendliness is strikes her as a blessing. lenalee's delighted by the green-eyed girl's mannerisms and smiles genuinely. at last. ]
I'm from China! But... I grew up around Europe.
[ because the black order's original HQ was some secret shady tower up on an even shadier cliff, and also not to explain her abduction just yet! it isn't a hard story to tell, but she doesn't want to make rapunzel uncomfortable. ]
It's not that there's a lot of men in my area, exactly, but... fewer women become Exorcists, which is what I am. [ she lifts a hand to her chest, drawing attention to the silve cross embroidered by her shoulder. ] It's a rare job, something you're actually chosen to do.
[ her eyes widen, almost in a spark of distress and uncertainty. rapunzel has been here a while, hasn't she? then maybe... ]
Have you met anyone else wearing this emblem in Asgard, Rapunzel?
no subject
The latter is easier than the former, but only because she's been smiling in spite of things more often than she has because of them lately.
Not that it's made any dent in her ability to do so. ]
I... haven't. Actually. [ beat ] But I'll keep an eye out! It's possible they were here before and went home so...
What would they look like? Your friends. —oh. Sorry. Your co-workers. Are there many of you? Do you all wear that uniform? [ uh oh ] Why do you wear it at all? I like your boots... What is an Exorcist anyway?
1/3
of course, that isn't to say she doesn't feel disappointment. both true and false reassurances come in handy in preventing the feeling to show on her face. ]
Oh, that's fine! I didn't really think they'd be here. [ she tilts her head, smiling curiously. ] But what do you mean they could've been here and gone home?
[ right, twenty questions. lenalee is grateful rapunzel asks things she can answer with facts rather than with pure opinion. at the correction, however, she shakes her head and grins enthusiastically. ]
No, you're right, they are my friends! First of all, Exorcists are soldiers who work for the Vatican—that's a holy government in my world, headed by the pope—and no, there aren't many of us. There's barely more than ten Exorcists in my world now, including the veterans. We do all wear this uniform or a variation of it. [ because no one else would wear a skirt as short as lenalee. (except for road, maybe. but she isn't an exorcist!!!) ] This rose cross will always be present. [ she draws attention to her emblem again, a calm, teacher-like smile meant to mitigate any grimness perceptible with the occupation. ] That's how you can distinguish us from other soldiers.
Why we are who we are is because we're the only people able to fight these machines called "Akuma" because we can control weapons made of a material called "Innocence." I've tried to spare you all the technical details, but that's the gist of it. You can ask me more, of course. As for how my friends look like... [ she chuckles. ] Where do I start?
There's Timothy, a very young and energetic boy with blue hair in a ponytail. He used to be a thief until the Order—that is, my organization, found him. There's Marie, an older man, bald and due to a previous injury, blind, but he has a very good heart! He's like an uncle. There's Miranda, a German lady with short, curly brown hair, quite slim, and rather timid. She often has dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping well. There's Krory! He used to be a count. He's a very striking man, tall, with a long face and statue-like features. He has pointed ears, two-toned hair—black and white—and is very well-mannered. He and Miranda are both older than I am.
[ her smile just keeps growing, deepening with a fondness once she continues on to describing her closest friends. ]
Then there's Lavi and Kanda. Lavi is from all sorts of places, with shocking red hair, an eyepatch, and he often wears a bandana. He's a goofball and a walking library, because he's also a Bookman aside from an Exorcist. Kanda, on the other hand, has been an Exorcist as long as I have. He has long, black hair, blue eyes, and, unfortunately, a rather bad temper... but he's not too hard to control. And then there's...
2/3
Allen. He's about my height, British. He has white hair and a red scar over his left eye, from an Akuma attack. Like many of us, he's an orphan too, but he'd been a pupil of one of our generals, and about two years ago he arrived at our headquarters looking to join our ranks. He... has been a great ally, and probably our best Exorcist next to the Generals. He goes past his limit to save people, always, but somehow... it's the kindest people who have the worst luck.
[ —and not to leave her explanation on depressing note, lenalee jumps into one more description. ]
Oh! And I could never forget my brother. Komui isn't an Exorcist, but he is the Order's Chief Officer. He's very tall, wears glasses, and I believe he makes troublemaking a profession despite his incredibly important responsibilities! He used to make robots and odd things for everything, but his experiments had a tendency to malfunction, causing bigger problems!
[ she exhales strongly, frowning for a moment... ]
3/3 why does my tag look so long!! too long!!
[ and that concludes her answers. finally. ]
Do you have any siblings, Rapunzel?
[1/2] KEI PLS. DO YOU REMEMBER OUR TL;DR. DO YOU??
[ Something about the explanation reminds her so strongly of butterflies she's actually a bit thrown off by herself for once, and wonders if this isn't how everyone else must feel talking to her. Like what goes on in reality doesn't quite match up with how it's received and deciphered by her brain.
But then she gets it, and looks back to the rose cross, lips parting just slightly in funny combination of awe, joy, and envy. Watching birds and butterflies had been among her favorite things to do back home, but... perhaps not for the reasons most would think. Sure, they were lovely; everything outside her window was - but it was more than that, a deeper resonance that mimics the one she feels tugging her heart down into her stomach now. Rapunzel senses the tears just in time to keep them back. ]
flooding your inbox forgive me
No! No siblings. It's just me and Mother and Pascal at home. I hope your friends come to Asgard too. [ this next part with a wry, skeptical sort of grin ]That's... probably the most colorful group of people I've ever heard described...
But thank you for the explanation. It's been a long time. —Since I've met anyone like you, I mean! You remind me of someone.
[ And it's genuine happiness there even if she hadn't meant to add the last part consciously. Even if, inside, there's still that knotted mixture of aching unease.
Yearning. Yearning for the same thing that kept her so fascinated with the butterflies over so many years. With the birds and the rabbits and the insects and even the fox and her family. The wild boar. The fish. The thing that had inspired her to draw herself surrounded by creatures and plants on her walls, spiraling patterns next to the fireplace or on the wooden nightstand beside her bed. The same thing calling to her every time she'd seen those lights in the sky. The one feeling out of so many she's always secretly lacked.
Belonging. ]
no it is okay and ofc i remember. eats it like candy
Oh, no, I wouldn't call that a secret history. I'm sure I would've ended up telling you anyway, even if you hadn't asked!
Pascal? [ if not a sibling, then... ] I'm... guessing he's a pet? [ she giggles again. ] That's an adorable name. And yes, we are very much a mixed salad... the Innocence doesn't base its compatibility according to one's background, it seems. Sometimes people are just born with it. [ like allen. ]
You're welcome. [ she smiles sweetly. ] It's been a long time for me too, since I met anyone brave enough to ask. I don't usually stick around civilians, but I guess that'll change here...
Might I ask about this someone? [ she isn't told that she's like someone else much. ]
no subject
[ She's smiling as she says this too, thankful for the wonderfully appropriate and theatrical timing of the wind, which sends an abrupt gust at her strong enough to lift the hair into her face - good shielding. She's been sitting outside the bistro for a good hour, unaware or uncaring of the way it's picked up. But it's also been unnaturally quiet and she doesn't mind that at all; it's quite what she's used to, actually.
Which brings her to... ] Pascal, Heh. I named him after the mathematician. Since he didn't like any of the plant names I chose for us to match with. He's...my best friend too. My first - and my only, really. [ Even if she doesn't like the implication she hints at in saying something like that. ] But he's home. He didn't come with me when I ended up here. And Diva's gone now too so. [ her smile doesn't fade an inch as she shrugs ]
Oh well. I've never heard people referred to as a mixed salad before. I like that.