savetheearth | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Saretha, Amy
What: Getting acclimated
Where Las Vegas, Amy's temporary residence
When: September 23rd

Amy sighed as she looked around the hotel room she was staying in. Saretha had managed to get her a fairy nice place to stay in - a lot nicer than she was used to, in fact. She almost felt like she didn't belong here, but then, she also no point in arguing.

It had been annoying, leaving home. The actual act of leaving had been the easiest part, but taking a leave of absence from school and her jobs and making arrangements had been more difficult. And the most difficult part was that Amy hadn't wanted to leave.

Unfortunately, her brother and mother had strongly disagreed. Now all she really had to focus on was her responsibility as Saretha's assistant. Speaking of which...

She looked up, and checked the time on her phone. Quickly, she scrambled to gather up her things. She had to meet Saretha; there was still enough time for her to arrive on time, but she wanted to get there early.

Amy was worried about being late to being early. That's the kind of girl she was.

Who: Neil, Amy
What: Siblings
Where Same location
When: September 25th

Two days later, something else was bothering Amy. It was evening, and she was sitting alone on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts were on her mom, and on her brothers for various reasons... reasons she wasn't sure how to talk about.

Frowning to herself, she sat up and reached for her phone. Then, she sent Neil a text.

Can you come over?

It was late, and Neil had responsibilities... still, she hoped she could talk to him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Saretha waits, quietly, just outside the door to her own suite. She checks the time, noting it's still early yet, but... she knows what to expect of Amy Dylandy by now. So, she's basically all ready to go herself.

She's been quiet in the weeks since the rescue attempt for Robyn, her own failed attempt to stop interference that could endanger her, and dispatching the trap those charging in had sprung. She had to collect her thoughts, and narrow down just where this whole mess had put her. She fled the city not out of fear, but to give herself some breathing room. She has no intention of staying out for long, but the value of a tactical retreat cannot be underestimated.

Other things bothered her too, stemming out of that, and other matters, but... She'll get to those in time, too.

Amy arrived, looking rushed and hurried, but otherwise fine right on time. Which was, again, as good as being late for her.

"Hello, Miss Kaiser!" she said in greeting. "I haven't kept you waiting long, I trust?"

"Heh!"

Saretha smirks, looking at her watch as the girl approaches her. "Right on the dot, so... not at all. Although I suppose that is late for you, isn't it?"

Amy was screaming internally at Saretha's last comment. What she said as a joke was actually a point of serious contention for Amy. Nevertheless, she did an excellent job of not showing her frustration with herself outwardly.

"Ha, that's good then," she said. "Anyway, ah, I checked the schedule... our only appointment today isn't until the afternoon... so we have plenty of time to whatever we need to do beforehand?"

Of course, Amy was a bit unclear on just what Saretha's intentions for that were. But even without a set schedule, her boss always found a way to keep them both busy.

"Its nothing terribly complicated, we simply need to sort of... re-assess ourselves after the recent upheaval." She begins to walk, expecting Amy to follow her. She pulls a folder out from where it had been tucked beneath her arm, passing it to the younger girl. "You'll find updated information regarding the Kamuis that I've gleaned from my latest encounters with Satterfield, recently obtained abilities on my end..."

Her eyes flicker a bit.

"...and I suppose you saw her Senketsu speaking on the Network, the other day."

Saretha had never responded to it herself.

Mostly, because it disturbed the hell out of her for a number of reasons. Of note, the pulse it caused.

Amy took the folder and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, something to focus on that was productive.

"... ah, yeah, I saw that," she said. "I mean, he was just asking about movies, but I still made notes about it. I have them in my bag."

Saretha's reaction doesn't go unnoticed, though.

"But. Uhm. What did you think about it? I don't want to presume anything, but you seem a bit... troubled by it?"

Edited 2014-09-29 19:24 (UTC)

Saretha's stride slows for a half step, unnoticeable to most, but... she's learned over the past several months that not a lot seemed to escape Amy's notice, for better or worse. Usually the better.

She gives a confident, almost dismissive chuckle. "You assume a lot with only a little information, Dylandy."

Her vision drifts back to her, though. "You realize that Junketsu is just a monster, do you not?"

"Maybe, but I'm right on the money, aren't I?" she asks nonetheless, unable to stop herself from smirking on her own.

Her next question causes her some pause. She tilts her head a bit, thinking.

"... And Senketsu clearly isn't," she said. "Yeah, I've picked up on both of those things. But somehow them being different doesn't feel like the whole of it..."

Her expression flattens, lips becoming a thin line. Yes, she was on the money, and she feels there isn't a need to confirm that.

"No, it does not seem like the whole of it," she murmurs. "And something about that feels... important."

She pauses, letting silence rest as she thumbs the button for the elevator they've arrived at. After waiting for it and stepping inside, she speaks again only after it starts to move, a bit more quietly, not meeting Amy's face now.

"For some reason, Ryuko Matoi was important to Satsuki Kiryuin, too."

Amy slowly nods.

"You mean, in a way besides enemies," she said aloud, thinking as she talked. "Maybe as friends, or as..."

Her voice trailed off as she felt a bit of inspiration from her own recent experiences. Then, she bit her lower lip.

"No... that's sily..."

Saretha looks to her a moment and stares. She seems rather nonplussed by whatever Amy is thinking, and gives a mild shrug.

"It could be any number of things, but it colors things considerably when all else I remember is the two of them in combat. I do not know what that means for Satterfield, but..."

Her mouth quirks a bit.

"It should not bother me. Yet, it does."

"... Believe it or not, Saretha, she began, unthinkingly, "I've been in sort of the same situation. It's kind of the reverse... I found out that the people in my family... my brother's past life, had no connection to Aila at all..."

She paused for a second before continuing. "But I think I'm better off knowing that, now. And you'd probably handle it even better... because whatever connection you two had, I think you can turn it into an opportunity. Because that's what you do, Saretha...!"

There's another pause.

Before she realizes she called Saretha by her given name instead of "Miss Kaiser."

"... a-ah, I called you by your first name, didn't I?" she said, her face turning red. "I-I'm really sorry about that...!"

...blink.

Saretha just stares at Amy.

And stares some more.

There's a great deal of impassive, unflinching staring going on here.

There's another thought running through her head, but she doesn't show the first visible sign of it.

"What you call me is your choice, not mine. I don't pay you to be polite, Dylandy."

She crosses her arms and frowns, then, jumping right back into the topic at hand. "Be that as it may, I'm not about to leap to any conclusions."

Amy feels like an ant underneath an hourglass, the way Saretha is looking at her. But... she quickly recovers, nodding her head vigorously before clearing her throat and trying to regain her composure.

"R-right," she said. "I will take that to heart. Anyway..."

She thinks for a moment. "That's the wise course of action, I think. But at the same time... it's worth trying to find out whatever you can, I think."

Oh, Amy.

Everyone is an just that to her, in a sense.

She makes a mild sound at Amy's suggestion, meanwhile. The elevator slows to a stop, and there's a ding before the doors start to slide open. Finally, she responds. "Do not think for a moment I have no had intentions to look into Satterfield. She is... an oddity, but not one who's going to exactly respond to my questions directly."

While Saretha is formulating a response, Amy's mind is already at work. She takes out her phone, and begins scrolling through things... and by the time Saretha finally comments, she's ready to answer her.

"Yeah, she's definitely stubborn," she said. "But... what about hiring someone else to look into things about her?"

Ah, there's that haughty smirk again. As she strides out of the elevator, glancing back at Amy as she does so.

"You say that as if I have not in the past, and do not intend to again in the future. No, I have something - someone - in mind there, but... I need to figure out my angle there."

She looks forward again, continuing to walk. "Regardless, there's no need focusing on that. Anything more right now is rampant speculation."

"Very well then," Amy replied, falling in step behind Saretha. "If we're on the same page, I'll see about setting that in motion, Saretha."

It seemed Amy had made her decision in that department.

"And that's true, yes. Where should we focus our attention, then?"

Truth be told, Neil had been a little nervous about approaching his sister for the past week or so since she'd arrived in Vegas. He'd put his foot down, with his mother's help, in getting her to move and he's imagined she's not been too happy with him. The girl may have been significantly younger than him, but she still remained one of the last people in the world he ever wanted to rile up.

So, he taps on the door upon her request, and not without a bit of nervousness.

"Alright, I'm here to take my punishment," he says through the door. "Please go easy on me, Sis - I bruise."

Once Neil is done talking, the door slowly opens, and Amy is standing there, staring at him. Her cheeks are red and stained with tears, and her lip trembles as she looks at him.

Then, she lunges forward and wraps her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she can manage.

Okay, that is a surprise. He's taken off guard and very well nearly loses his balance as she hugs him, though a moment later he's patting her on the back and trying to move the both of them out of the hallway.

"Whoa, kiddo. Easy now. What's wrong?"

Amy let him usher them both inside, even as she stayed clinging to him. Eventually, though, she'd pull away and answer his question.

"I... I had a pulse," she explained, wiping at her eyes. She was embarrassed to have him see her like this. "I remembered some of Aila's... some of Aila's childhood..."

Dammit. It's one of the things he hates the most - no matter how much he tries to protect her, no matter what he does... he can't fully, can he? He can't shield her from those damned echoes.

He sighs, bringing her over to sit down. "...Aila, huh? So that's what her name was?"

He pauses, and then pats her on her head. "If you wanna talk about it, go on. Sometimes that sort of thing can be... good to get out."

Pot, calling kettle.

Amy nodded. If she were more rational right now, she might call him out on that, on how the two of them didn't talk much. But right now, she needs to get this out, and she needs to get someone to listen, so she sits down without complaint.

"... She was alone," Amy replied, her voice quiet. "She... she didn't have any family, Neil. She didn't even have a home..."

Neil closes his eyes and nods. That says a lot all on its own, doesn't it? The things she's seeing, what she's experiencing... They weren't the same as his memories. They couldn't be, not after what he'd remembered.

He lets out another breath and looks down at her then, reaching out to take one of her hands in his own.

"Yeah. I get that. If you want to know the truth, it was the same for him."

He frowns a bit. "Lockon Stratos lost his family. They died. Terrorists. As near as I can tell... He was just as much alone. I've known this for awhile, ever since... we dealt with that kidnapping. When we ran into those cultists. It's been bothering the hell out of me." He gives a short, bitter laugh. "Why the hell do you think I was so stupid wanting to go through that teleporter?"

He wanted to see his family. Verify they were still there.

"But... I've realized that doesn't really matter, does it? Because we're not alone."

She sits there, listening to his story. Neil... no, the other Neil... he had lost his family? And Neil had been holding all of this in, like so much else...

No. No, she couldn't bring herself to be mad about that. Rather, it was the exact opposite. She finally felt as though she understood her brother, at least a little bit, and all the ways they'd had trouble communicating over the years. It wasn't just about echoes... though they had certainly done their part in bringing them together like this.

Amy squeezed her brother's hand, nodding slowly.

"No we're not," she said quietly. "And... and even if we weren't brother and sister in another life... maybe... maybe this is this world's way of making up for that."

She sighed, and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry, Neil. I'm sorry... for keeping you at arms length. When you joined the army, and Lyle left too, I felt like I had to grow up on my own. I wish... I wish I could have appreciated you more..."

Neil blinks a little, and stares at her with some surprise. But then... it really shouldn't be a surprise, should it? They were pretty far apart, age-wise. While he had been there, it was also true that there were plenty of times he wasn't "there" in the same ways he could have been. They're a generation apart, they both see the world completely different.

Still... when it comes right down to it, none of that matters, either. All that matters is that this is his sister. So he gives her a bit of a lopsided smile, and reaches with his other hand to... ruffle her hair, something he's sure she won't appreciate, but he does it anyway.

"Don't worry about it, Amy. In the end, you're my little sister. That's all that matters. But... it's also why I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe. It's not about you being able to take care of yourself or anything else, that's just... my responsibility. And because I love you. So I know I might have pissed you off getting you to come here, but... I just want to make sure you're taken care of, okay?"

"I know," she said quietly, nodding her head even as he ruffled her hair. Surprisingly, she does seem to appreciate it... as moments like this have never really been high on their list. "I'm not mad about that anymore."

She sat back. "If... anything, I'm kind of glad for it. I never had my brother be stern and tell me things for my own good. If anything, you probably would have helped me dump my first boyfriend sooner... You would have really hated him..."

At that, she sighed.

"I guess what I'm saying is... we missed out on a lot, and I want another chance at it. The good things... and the bad things."

Neil nods staring up at the ceiling. He frowns, mostly to himself. "That's all kinda my fault, really. I should have done more, said more..."

He sighs, shaking his head. "But hey, so far as I figure... You're stuck with me for right now, eh?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only