REPORT 022 :: ANNIVERSARY // ACTION

[daisy023]

[For the first time in months, without the intervention of any friend of hers to do, Daisy breaks her routine. She takes a walk to the forest out of her armor.

The Chief remembers talking with Adell about his world. No matter how much she heard from people of all worlds, it all seemed too fantastic for her to understand, but his was the strangest. The thought that his world had an afterlife of sorts sent a pang of fear.

Daisy had never really been religious, but she remembers the time before she was six: Thinking about heaven, paradise, and the wings -an irony that hits her right now-. She realized only now that it was mistaken christian mythology, but after she graduated as a Spartan, she never put much thought in any afterlife. For a long time, she imagined that when death came for her, that would be it. It was a fate every Spartan had always been ready for.

One she had taken before she was reborn in here. She doesn't know what to take of an afterlife that may judge her when her time in Luceti ends. And for the first time in years, she is afraid.

She sighs. How many friends had she lost in the last few months? In her whole year? Charlotte. John Stewart. Edge Maverick. Shirou. Rin. Saber. Faze Sheifa. Meiling. Remilia. Marica. Lina. Amelia. Litchi. Kent. Tomoya. David Jordan. Michael Blanc.

Kirimi.

As she was trained to become a Spartan, she became used to the possibility that she or her comrades would die on the line of duty... Sometimes even in training.

Or during augmentations.

Even after she became a Spartan, and would have to go to some missions alone, sometimes she willingly secluded herself. With the pain of losing friends of her in this place, more than once did she wonder if this all was worth it: The parties, the events, the attempts to reach out, the things she is learning, and the socialization.

...

Daisy remembers waking up alive after that skirmish, and hearing Meiling's words. The first person to know about the Spartan's fate in the dead soil of Harvest.

“By all rights, I shouldn't even be here.”

“Hey, come on. Don't think like that. You should be happy you got a second chance.”

A second chance. She found herself muttering those words after that same day, and after her lone pilgrimage to the mountains. Those words have remained with her ever since.

It has all been worth it.

She continues walking. Those words are the reason she had changed so much in one year.

One year. Daisy thinks. Hard to think so much has changed in little time.

Daisy remembers the last letter of the Major David Jordan as well. He wished a peaceful life for a Spartan, away from warfare, and all she used to know for over fourteen years. And strangely, it's only now when she understands what he meant. What he wanted for her.]


[Strangely, Daisy will not be found at the Gym, nor at the Battle Dome, nor the places she frequents to keep herself and her armor sharp. For the whole of the day, Daisy walks around the forests in silence, silently tracing her steps where she first arrived -running from cover to cover, with her senses being as tense as strings back then-, all the way to the outside of Jordan and Litchi's house -Kazama's now, she corrects herself-, and to the coffee shop where Charlotte invited her for a warm drink.

She remembers being baffled to think that people would want to eat and drink with a Spartan. Now, she also realizes only one of the people that first saw her when she arrived is still here. Riku.

The rest is gone. Charlotte. Green Lantern. David Jordan. Shirou.

She was a malnourished and scarred weapon little better than an attack dog, hiding her fear into a drive to kill when she first arrived in that sundress. Now, she is a woman clad in red winter clothes fit to her shape and a golden scarf, and her hair had been allowed to grow long enough to reach her hips – Something Daisy blames both the fairy tale shift and Valvalis for.

When her team ran away from CASTLE Base, she once wondered if her parents would even recognize her after everything that was done to them. She is still over two meters tall, she still depends on her armor, she continues to crave for any sort of military to give her a sense of normalcy, and for the battlefield to give a sense of thrill she had only just found in other places thanks to friends of hers... And she still carries that tiny bear she had held on to for so many years.

But now she wonders if other Spartans would recognize her.]


((OOC: Those that look for Daisy will most likely find her in the forest, walking; she may be found in front of a fire made from dead branches she collected, staring at it and meditating to channel Eferin; or even on an attempt to make a snowman. Generally, she's going through her steps when she first arrived in Luceti, quite pensive.))

Comments

[Voice]

[seakingbait]

[Sometime into Daisy's walk, a concerned Keimi's voice squeaks over the comm.]

Daisy-chin...? Are you okay? I looked all over for you, but no one's seen you anywhere.

[Voice]

[daisy023]

[Daisy stops her walk, and seeks through her journal to find Keimi's voice. She feels guilty for not letting her friend know about her second pilgrimage.]

Yeah. I'm alright. I just went for a walk around the forests. I'm sorry for not saying anything.

[Voice]

[seakingbait]

[Keimi nods a couple times.]

It's okay. I know today is... special.

[Being trapped in Luceti means a lot of things to a lot of people. Being here for a year is a strange thing to consider. It makes her quietly realize that she herself has been here for nine months. Would she want to wander off alone on her one year?]

[Voice]

[daisy023]

[She nods, looking at the forest. It's a day of reflection for many people here, it seems.]

Yeah... [What precisely does Daisy feel towards it, she does not know.] But I'm not against company, Keimi.

[It's not what Charlotte would have wanted for Daisy. It's not what anyone would have wanted for her.]

[Voice]

[seakingbait]

[She gives her a small, warm smile.]

My chair doesn't work very well in the forest. But when you feel like coming back, I'll be here, okay?

[dragmire]

[Atop his stallion, he is on his own little nature trip. Not for any sort of nostalgic reflection, but merely because he dislikes the village. A pity he has to live in it, if he doesn't want to freeze. He chooses to make a slight detour off the path when he notes a small camp fire. Leaving behind the horse, he approaches her from behind, taking a moment to note how intent she seems be on the flames.

With a small addition of his own magic, he makes the fire suddenly burst in power, only for a moment. Not dangerous enough to harm her, but sufficient to get her attention if his own footsteps didn't.]

This would seem a strange place to make a fire.

[daisy023]

[Part of the Spartan's trance consists in remembering not only the warmth of heat in winter, but the safety and comfort it brought to her team during the nights they would pass on training reserves... And in the aftermath of their escape.

When the fire grows in size, her trance ends abruptly.

It's after that when she regains her awareness, that she notices Ganondorf, and a massive horse behind him.]

I needed some time alone.

[She hates the feeling of all of her senses returning so suddenly. Feels like being hit by a truck.]

[dragmire]

It is unwise to practice magic so thoroughly exposed.

[He takes a moment to kneel in front of her fire, taking advantage of its warmth. There is no apology for interrupting her, though.]

[daisy023]

Sometimes you need to need to be away to be able to think.

[And Daisy doesn't comment on it. She's had her meditation sessions interrupted before in various other manners - Some done intentionally by close friends of hers.

She sets a hand above the fire, once again attempting to feel the combustion and the chemical reaction.]

It's been a while since I've been in the forest.

[dragmire]

[There is always something so hypnotizing about the flames. Real flames, anyway. When he commands fire, it loses randomness and wild nature. It becomes tame. He almost wants to reach out his hand and take control of this fire again. But he stops himself.]

Then the spirits are not your only reason for being out here.

[Action]

[vulcanblazer]

[It's only by chance does Adell come across her, as she passes by House 48, where David Jordan and Litchi Faye-Ling once lived. She looks pensive, almost lost in thought.

Adell considers leaving her be, but he can't help himself.

He walks over to her and gives her a casual wave.]

Hey, out for a walk, Daisy?

[Action]

[daisy023]

[The Chief Petty Officer snaps out of her thoughts with the voice of Adell. She turns to him.

There is a brief pause born out of hesitation. The casual wave and her lack of uniform manage to convince her not to salute.]

Yes, sir. Felt like breaking routine for once.

[For once. It's today when she needed to think. Her head turns towards the house.

She never paid him back those steaks.]

[Action]

[vulcanblazer]

[He watches her turn his head to House 48, her look almost... wistful.]

...I see. Is everything okay?

[It isn't like her to break routine, nor to look so pensive. He's a little worried about her, to be honest.]

[Action]

[daisy023]

[She's quickly taken back from her thoughts.]

Yes, Captain. [Daisy looks down.] It's just that so much has changed in one year. It's hard to belive it.

I'm not used to this much change.

[Action]

[vulcanblazer]

Change can be good, though. Sometimes it isn't. And it can hurt. But other times, and sometimes even if it hurts... it's needed.

[He turns to look at her, cocking his head slightly. He knows she's changed. She's loosened up some, become more at ease with this world and the stranger aspects of it. But there's more to it than just that.]

...How do you feel about it, if you don't mind me asking?

[Action] Totally hoping this works...

[semper_cogitans]

[The coffee shop is a warm, quiet place to stop - somewhere Robert pauses because it reminds him of Don, in the turtle's absence.

He doesn't expect to see Daisy there, dressed in civilian clothes, but he approaches her curiously - he can't read her expressions too well, but there is a look of deep concentration on her face that he respects.]

Ms. Daisy...? Could I perhaps... order something for you? It must be... cold, outside...

[He knows she can do it herself, but it's almost an excuse to have company. He's lonely...]

[Action] It does! Sod timelines.

[daisy023]

[Daisy doesn't seem too bothered when her thoughts are interrupted... She wonders how strange may it be to be seen more often in civilian attire.

But she nods -- without hesitation.]

Some chocolate.

[The taller woman accompanies Robert to the coffee shop, very akin to the time they shared an ice cream together.

This is the place where she first tasted chocolate.]

[Action] Timelines? WHAT timelines? 8D

[semper_cogitans]

[It's strange in the same way that seeing Don without his gear is strange. ... Unexpected, more than anything.

But certainly not bad.]

... Of course.

[He smiles at this - hot chocolate is a nice thing to warm one up - and escorts Daisy inside.

The parallel with getting ice cream together is not lost on him.]

Is today... a good day for you?

[Action]

[daisy023]

I'm thinking about it.

[She lowers her head to cross through the door. The motion to grab the ingredients for chocolate are instinctive.]

It's my first year in this place.

[Action]

[semper_cogitans]

[Somehow, Robert is a little surprised to hear this.]

... You have been here... essentially as long as I have...

[His arrival was, of course, a little later.]

... It will be... e-exactly a year for me on the twenty-first.

[Look how different we both are.]

[kenpo_kitty]

[[Uriko wasn't looking for anyone special. Rather, she was after a 'thing'. It was those damned urges of hers that... Well, sometimes they were fun and sometimes they were just annoying.

Today was one of those fun times. And it's not often you get insects outside in the Winter.

And Uriko was determined to catch that damned dragonfly! She wasn't, however, determined to make a blind pounce on someone coming from behind a tree.

She doesn't mean to jump on Daisy, but, she just didn't see her coming!]]

[daisy023]

[SPARTAN-023 turns her head, and processes the immediate threat with an augmented mind in the moment she sees Uriko leaping against her.

She spots claws coming in her direction along with an offensive jolt resembling the big cats of Earth, in what was clearly a hunt. But the miliseconds she comes to the Spartan, along with the steps she heard in the snow of a bipedal being moving at variable distances not relative to her, it's a jump too high to have a notable advantage over most humans, but not enough for someone of the height of a Spartan.

As the cat-girl begins to show a too surprised reaction, Daisy reconsiders her reaction against this: It's a miscalculated jump. It's not a threat. She doesn't set herself in a defensive position.

So a catgirl collides with a girl two meters tall to meet the snow.]

[kenpo_kitty]

[[And even in colliding, Uriko doesn't botch the landing. She is a cat after all! Picking herself up though, she just kind of kneels over the much larger woman, blushing.]]

S-sorry about that. I didn't know anyone was coming... [[And she turns away...]] And I get these stupid urges to chase bugs sometimes... I don't really like it but...

[daisy023]

[The bigger girl sets her elbows on the snow. She wonders if she has seen this kind of human -No, human-looking being- before.]

Not many visit the forest, anyway.

[And being a Spartan, she actually recalls that voice. She raises herself.]

I've heard you somewhere.

[kenpo_kitty]

Uh... maybe? You hang out with that crazy wind lady a lot, right?

I lived with her for a while... back when she was a little crazier... [[There was a time where... Val's inhibitions were not quelled by Nel, or the girls that came before her.]]