At that, Yukiko couldn't stop the grin from appearing on her face, though she did at least keep it mild.
"Leave it to Evan," the captain shook her head softly, trying to reign in her amusement. This wouldn't be the first time she had responded lightheartedly to Evan's antics, but she never really defended him, either; she might be amused by him, but she also understood that he needed a good kick in the ass every now and then to get back in line, which Mizu was good at providing. Yukiko would be lying if she said she didn't on some level enjoy watching the process, but that wasn't really anything worth apprising Mizu of.
"Not who I'd pick as our supernatural negotiator, but if he's managed to establish contact, perhaps he's the right one for the job."
There were still notes of amusement in her voice, but her reply also carried a sense of seriousness with it, which she hoped came across clearly. She was very aware that this almost certainly meant Evan had gone behind Mizu's back in some way, but Yukiko trusted that the commander had issued him the appropriate kick in the ass about it, such that the captain wasn't particularly concerned about those details.
Her brain was swimming with curiosity about other details--who was this goddess, this Demon Queen and Queen of Dreams? Just how did Evan establish contact? Goodness, to speak directly with a deity, what was that like?! But many of those didn't seem like questions for the commander. Some part of Yukiko's mind wondered if Evan would be amenable to an approach by now; she hadn't tested the waters in a while... but that was risky for a few different reasons. Her curiosity might just have to wait on that front, alas. For now, with Mizu, Yukiko opted to focus on more practical questions.
"Does that mean negotiations with the goddess are ongoing, then?"
Part 1 (Start Reading Here)
Moderator: On Dreams And Desire
Re: Part 1
Deciding to sidestep the more casual quip about Evan, Mizu elected to pay more attention to Yukiko's question. At least Fujiwara wasn't completely antagonistic about the situation. The fact that Yukiko managed any vote of confidence in Evan boosted Mizu's mood slightly. Maybe the commander could trust her with more?
"He intends to meet with her again tonight. Captain Rutliffe did successfully negotiate for a soldier back last night, and he's under command to ask the goddess some questions so we can get more information about the situation. I need to know what we're dealing with." Mizu paused briefly as if contemplating something. "I'll be honest; I didn't expect this to become a factor of this civil war when the army split from the king, but she very well could give us the advantage we need." Mizu allowed a subtle frown to come across her face. She still couldn't quite believe that she was taking this all seriously. She found herself in the middle of some other culture's folk tales, except there was almost undeniably reality to them now. Reality completely outside Mizu's control with the single exception of Evan. How in the name of the gods did he always seem to manage to put her into this situation?
"He intends to meet with her again tonight. Captain Rutliffe did successfully negotiate for a soldier back last night, and he's under command to ask the goddess some questions so we can get more information about the situation. I need to know what we're dealing with." Mizu paused briefly as if contemplating something. "I'll be honest; I didn't expect this to become a factor of this civil war when the army split from the king, but she very well could give us the advantage we need." Mizu allowed a subtle frown to come across her face. She still couldn't quite believe that she was taking this all seriously. She found herself in the middle of some other culture's folk tales, except there was almost undeniably reality to them now. Reality completely outside Mizu's control with the single exception of Evan. How in the name of the gods did he always seem to manage to put her into this situation?
Re: Part 1
Yukiko's expression brightened visibly at both the mention of Evan having negotiated for a soldier back, and then even further at the indication that the goddess might give them an advantage. The captain almost let an inquisitive "Oh?" ring out, but the sound caught in her throat as Mizu's expression shifted into a frown, and Yukiko's own expression muted a bit as she contemplated why the commander was likely to be less than thrilled with the situation. It could just be frustration with Evan, but Yukiko played back over that last sentence to refocus on the less-exciting parts of it, and she thought perhaps it was safe to guess at another thing that might be on Mizu's mind.
"If I may, commander," the captain spoke up a bit more tentatively than her usual, "We broke away from a status-quo that had been in place for generations. If anything humans do is likely to bring us to cross paths with gods, it'd be something like that. I certainly never expected the supernatural to factor into this war, either, but now that it is... I can't say I feel terribly surprised."
She was a little worried after she'd said it that her thoughts here would be a little too far off-base, too far off-topic, or just simply unwelcome altogether, but, well, they were said now, and even if any of those things turned out to be true, Yukiko wasn't sure she'd regret having voiced them.
"If I may, commander," the captain spoke up a bit more tentatively than her usual, "We broke away from a status-quo that had been in place for generations. If anything humans do is likely to bring us to cross paths with gods, it'd be something like that. I certainly never expected the supernatural to factor into this war, either, but now that it is... I can't say I feel terribly surprised."
She was a little worried after she'd said it that her thoughts here would be a little too far off-base, too far off-topic, or just simply unwelcome altogether, but, well, they were said now, and even if any of those things turned out to be true, Yukiko wasn't sure she'd regret having voiced them.
Re: Part 1
Mizu noted Fujiwara's excitement at the idea of an advantage and admitted to herself again that it would be nice to have a supernatural ally, nevermind the believability of the situation. Mizu's frown did deepen as the captain replied, however. The commander hadn't thought of their decisions that way; in fact, Mizu doubted that she would ever have expected any single action she could have taken would have gotten the attention of a god or goddess. But, Yukiko did have a point. What they did wasn't unprecedented, but they certainly knew they were rocking the boat when they committed to this course of action.
"I don't like how unstable our ground is. We are literally at this goddess' mercy--with Evan as a bargaining chip--and from the sounds of it, the goddess isn't particularly stable herself, either. The last thing we need is someone worse than the king on our hands."
"I don't like how unstable our ground is. We are literally at this goddess' mercy--with Evan as a bargaining chip--and from the sounds of it, the goddess isn't particularly stable herself, either. The last thing we need is someone worse than the king on our hands."
Re: Part 1
Ah, unstable Evan plus unstable goddess did indeed sound, well, less-than-pleasant. Yukiko closed her eyes briefly in a thoughtful expression as she mulled over those concerns, and checked in with herself about how the thought was truly landing in her own mind. There was some surprise; she had always thought of gods as exceedingly stable, grounded deeply in traditions and concepts and places and things. But, then, the old woman had called the goddess in question the Queen of Dreams, and dreams were about one of the least-stable things Yukiko could think of, so perhaps that made sense.
"I've always thought of gods more as forces of nature than anything else," the captain opened her eyes again to address Mizu and share some of what her pondering just then had lead her to. "And, we've been at the mercy of nature this entire time. If a snow storm were to blow in tomorrow, we'd probably have to make some tough calls, which is certainly terrifying to think about. Luckily, we can reasonably predict that one won't, even if we can never be truly certain. It sounds like this goddess is a storm we've unwittingly run into, and now we're making some tough calls--but really, not near as tough as if the storm had been snow. So, for that at least, I'm grateful--especially if we can learn to harness the storm's power by the end of it."
Granted, all that somewhat rested on Yukiko's pre-existing concept of gods being true to the reality that these new experiences was uncovering, but she was pretty sure she'd have to be pretty far off base before the metaphor stopped working. She decided to go one step further with her reassurance while she was at it, and attempt to inject a slight bit of humor, as well, broadcasted by a slight curl of a smirk tugging at her lips.
"And if any of us has the gumption to harness an unfamiliar storm's power, it's Captain Rutliff."
"I've always thought of gods more as forces of nature than anything else," the captain opened her eyes again to address Mizu and share some of what her pondering just then had lead her to. "And, we've been at the mercy of nature this entire time. If a snow storm were to blow in tomorrow, we'd probably have to make some tough calls, which is certainly terrifying to think about. Luckily, we can reasonably predict that one won't, even if we can never be truly certain. It sounds like this goddess is a storm we've unwittingly run into, and now we're making some tough calls--but really, not near as tough as if the storm had been snow. So, for that at least, I'm grateful--especially if we can learn to harness the storm's power by the end of it."
Granted, all that somewhat rested on Yukiko's pre-existing concept of gods being true to the reality that these new experiences was uncovering, but she was pretty sure she'd have to be pretty far off base before the metaphor stopped working. She decided to go one step further with her reassurance while she was at it, and attempt to inject a slight bit of humor, as well, broadcasted by a slight curl of a smirk tugging at her lips.
"And if any of us has the gumption to harness an unfamiliar storm's power, it's Captain Rutliff."
Re: Part 1
Though Mizu listened attentively, she didn't know that she liked the storm analogy. Perhaps it was just the fact that that didn't improve her ability to control the situation at hand, or perhaps it was that adding snow to their list of problems wasn't going to help matters. But, the commander did appreciate the sentiment. At least one of them was acting level headed about what was happening.
She did allow herself a small, quick chuckle as she imagined Evan riding a storm and decided that did feel appropriate somehow. She got her expression under control once again, however.
"The myths I've been hearing about the goddess aren't exactly encouraging. The stories about her are... I believe the word Captain Rutliff used was 'lurid.' And he didn't deny that there was truth to them. I'm not sure what to make of that, but she definitely has some history with the king, and that seems to be our advantage. She wants him dead, according to both Evan and the old woman."
She did allow herself a small, quick chuckle as she imagined Evan riding a storm and decided that did feel appropriate somehow. She got her expression under control once again, however.
"The myths I've been hearing about the goddess aren't exactly encouraging. The stories about her are... I believe the word Captain Rutliff used was 'lurid.' And he didn't deny that there was truth to them. I'm not sure what to make of that, but she definitely has some history with the king, and that seems to be our advantage. She wants him dead, according to both Evan and the old woman."
Re: Part 1
'Lurid', eh? Ohhhhh, y'know what, maybe Yukiko had heard of the Demon Queen before, then. Ahahahahaaa, oh dear. She didn't recall any of the stories in detail, but had just enough of a context now that of course Evan was the one dealing with her. With a great deal of effort, the captain allowed herself only a brief show of amusement in her smile, not wanting to derail Mizu or put her off too much, but, oh, gods, imagining Evan having to describe something 'lurid' to Mizu was... absolutely something Yukiko was going to have to laugh her ass off about just as soon as it wouldn't be horribly rude to do so.
"Well," Yukiko gave a shrug, largely to shake off the parts of her that still wanted to chuckle, "a goddess wanting the king dead certainly does sound like good news for us. And as for the lurid details--" ha, haha, sometimes Yukiko thought she was very funny-- "Somehow I get the feeling Evan can handle it."
It only crossed Yukiko's mind after she'd said that that it might've been more of a hint about her history with Evan than she meant to, but with luck Mizu wouldn't read too much into it. Especially if she smoothly continued:
"Unless he's not what worries you on that front?"
Yukiko didn't personally feel all that threatened by the idea of the Demon Queen--hell, at this juncture, she was rather curious about the sorts of dreams that Philip and the others must've had--but, granted, at this point she was also just going off of vague juicy stories passed via pre-teen gossip from years ago, and she reminded herself that dealing with a real-life entity that had rendered some of their men insane wasn't wise to take lightly, especially with how little she actually knew.
"Are you worried she'd interfere with us getting Ponderance on the throne once the king is dealt with?"
"Well," Yukiko gave a shrug, largely to shake off the parts of her that still wanted to chuckle, "a goddess wanting the king dead certainly does sound like good news for us. And as for the lurid details--" ha, haha, sometimes Yukiko thought she was very funny-- "Somehow I get the feeling Evan can handle it."
It only crossed Yukiko's mind after she'd said that that it might've been more of a hint about her history with Evan than she meant to, but with luck Mizu wouldn't read too much into it. Especially if she smoothly continued:
"Unless he's not what worries you on that front?"
Yukiko didn't personally feel all that threatened by the idea of the Demon Queen--hell, at this juncture, she was rather curious about the sorts of dreams that Philip and the others must've had--but, granted, at this point she was also just going off of vague juicy stories passed via pre-teen gossip from years ago, and she reminded herself that dealing with a real-life entity that had rendered some of their men insane wasn't wise to take lightly, especially with how little she actually knew.
"Are you worried she'd interfere with us getting Ponderance on the throne once the king is dealt with?"
Re: Part 1
Sensing Fujiwara's amusement did not help Mizu's nerves. Yes, she had anticipated as much--that Evan was, indeed, a good candidate for the strange position they were in--but the larger worldview implications of this goddess' existence still troubled Mizu, and though Evan promised to get more answers tonight, Mizu wasn't sure she would like what they would be.
Mizu did, however, raise an eyebrow at Yukiko when she said that Evan would handle it, less out of a sense of propriety and more just to rhetorically question the familiarity with which the captain referred to Evan. Then again, Yukiko was generally friendly to everyone. Maybe this wasn't out of character.
"She seems in line with that purpose as well. Captain Rutliff said she had a vested interest in getting him on the throne." Mizu let that comment stand for a moment, knowing that it was still obvious that something further was rattling her. "It all sounds ideal, if everything goes according to plan, except...
"The priestess woman said that this 'Dehaljadrun' is some sort of 'gatekeeper god,' which means there are others. Forces of nature or not, we have already begun negotiating inside of a hierarchy we don't understand and are starting from the bottom.
"And, from the sounds of it, the goddess might not be on good terms with the other gods. The king had his sorcerers bind her so that she has been unable to return to the upper realms. Freeing her may have unintended consequences, and though the old woman was confident that the goddess would move on without interfering with human affairs, I'm not certain.
"Not to mention that the goddess might expect us to provide human tributes to serve her once she is free." Mizu walked over to one of the chairs at the map table and sat in it without decorum. It was unfair to say that she slouched into it, but her demeanor was definitely one of distress. Putting one hand over her forehead as she looked away from Yukiko, Mizu finished with, "I'll admit that this is all getting a little beyond me." If she couldn't be straight with at least some of her captains, then who did she really have to confide in, after all?
Mizu did, however, raise an eyebrow at Yukiko when she said that Evan would handle it, less out of a sense of propriety and more just to rhetorically question the familiarity with which the captain referred to Evan. Then again, Yukiko was generally friendly to everyone. Maybe this wasn't out of character.
"She seems in line with that purpose as well. Captain Rutliff said she had a vested interest in getting him on the throne." Mizu let that comment stand for a moment, knowing that it was still obvious that something further was rattling her. "It all sounds ideal, if everything goes according to plan, except...
"The priestess woman said that this 'Dehaljadrun' is some sort of 'gatekeeper god,' which means there are others. Forces of nature or not, we have already begun negotiating inside of a hierarchy we don't understand and are starting from the bottom.
"And, from the sounds of it, the goddess might not be on good terms with the other gods. The king had his sorcerers bind her so that she has been unable to return to the upper realms. Freeing her may have unintended consequences, and though the old woman was confident that the goddess would move on without interfering with human affairs, I'm not certain.
"Not to mention that the goddess might expect us to provide human tributes to serve her once she is free." Mizu walked over to one of the chairs at the map table and sat in it without decorum. It was unfair to say that she slouched into it, but her demeanor was definitely one of distress. Putting one hand over her forehead as she looked away from Yukiko, Mizu finished with, "I'll admit that this is all getting a little beyond me." If she couldn't be straight with at least some of her captains, then who did she really have to confide in, after all?
Re: Part 1
Yukiko soaked in Mizu's words, piecing together the various directions the commander's concern seemed to be coming from. Sounded like most of it was existential at this point, which Yukiko found personally comforting--if there were to be a goddess in their path, she was certainly glad to hear that the goddess' goals seemed to align with theirs--but she could understand why Mizu was unnerved by the change in the landscape. The captain didn't bat an eye as Mizu sat down, though she did allow her own posture to relax in response, and after a short beat she calmly walked over to take a seat in the chair next to her commander's.
"It's unfamiliar territory, for sure," she nodded softly, her eyes falling shut in another contemplative moment as she decided on her approach here. She certainly did want to reassure and bolster her commander, but she had to make sure her approach wasn't hollow or full of hubris--something she did admittedly have to check herself on sometimes. Should she be more personally shaken by the idea of negotiating with a goddess? She wasn't so sure... was what they were doing here really all that different to the various prayers and rituals Yukiko had participated in throughout her life? Perhaps gathering more data about that was the way to go.
"Do we know when or why the king had her bound?"
"It's unfamiliar territory, for sure," she nodded softly, her eyes falling shut in another contemplative moment as she decided on her approach here. She certainly did want to reassure and bolster her commander, but she had to make sure her approach wasn't hollow or full of hubris--something she did admittedly have to check herself on sometimes. Should she be more personally shaken by the idea of negotiating with a goddess? She wasn't so sure... was what they were doing here really all that different to the various prayers and rituals Yukiko had participated in throughout her life? Perhaps gathering more data about that was the way to go.
"Do we know when or why the king had her bound?"
Re: Part 1
Some part of Mizu was grateful that Yukiko was now sitting as well. She didn't have to worry about possible power differentials that way.
"That's part of what Captain Rutliff plans to get more information about tonight. It sounds like the king and the goddess had some arrangement, and from the goddess' point of view, he did not uphold his end. I'm tempted to assume that the change in their agreement had something to do with the timeline of when the king destroyed her temples and became far more of a tyrant, but I don't presently have a lot of evidence to back that up."
"That's part of what Captain Rutliff plans to get more information about tonight. It sounds like the king and the goddess had some arrangement, and from the goddess' point of view, he did not uphold his end. I'm tempted to assume that the change in their agreement had something to do with the timeline of when the king destroyed her temples and became far more of a tyrant, but I don't presently have a lot of evidence to back that up."