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

[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.

[daisy023]

It's my first year in this place.

[She doesn't sound angry, nor joyful about it. Whenever if it's because she's too focused on drawing the spirit of Eferin, or because she's just too used to the idea of remaining in here, she can't really know.

The Chief is a little afraid it might be the later. All in all, she is full of mixed feelings.]

Sometimes the spirits can give their counsel.

[At least Kipinn does. Eferin seems too energetic for thoughts like these.]

[dragmire]

A year is a long time. I am nearing half a year in this wretched place. Never did I imagine I would remain trapped here so long.

[Yet despite his words, he doesn't seem bothered. He spent centuries in the Twilight Realm, devoid of light or substance. This place is infinitely preferable to that accursed place.]

Have you succeeded in contacting Eferin? He is a choosy spirit. Unless a fire already burns in your soul, he will have no interest in you.

[daisy023]

Few here do.

[She was a bit more hopeful. Given the standard seems to be a year, she expected a year, minimum. Daisy had always worried that her time may come soon. As Ganondorf said, a year is a long time.

While she's still concerned her life may end either tonight or one year from now, she has accepted it. it is the same calm of Ganondorf.

The flames rise for an instant. At first, she has the images of sitting in front of a fireplace with a toy in her arms. She remembers the fires she would make with her group while campaigning...

--Then sees visages of a monster with four jaws snarling with an energy blade in hand, bolts of plasma burning human flesh and bone, and of a ship firing a beam against a planet come to her.

The fire loses some of its' power. She hisses in frustration.]

I'm determined enough. [She would not be a Spartan otherwise.] I've got to talk to him, but it's easier in winter. It's when you remember the comfort of heat.

[dragmire]

Determination is not enough.

[Ganondorf uses Eferin's power to draw the flames once more, for a moment making the shape of a bat appear from it, before dispelling it.]

Fire is destruction, born of passion and desire, hatred and anger. If that does not burn within you, then you cannot master the flames. You must burn brighter than the fire does.

[daisy023]

[But it helps, the Spartan thinks. Without it, even the strongest can be subdued.

The problem is, those same reasons bring mix her feelings concerning fire. She understands the need of a new weapon. But first she must overcome her viases -- just like her xenophobia.]

Same as when fighting. [With only one difference that made Eferin has been a difficult spirit: For a while, she related fire with the carcasses of human ships above a burning planet.] Eferin told me the same more than once.

I'll have to be honest. I think I've been having difficulties because of it.

[But she puts her hand forward again to try it. The Spartan keeps her hand from shaking, but the fires seem to reply to her thoughts.

The massive monsters she tore in half for her survival and that of her teams.
The memories of shooting, stabbing, and breaking fanatic enemies. The Third Party Elite she seared and quartered with a plasma blade of the Covenant. The fighting in the jungles amidst rain and thunder, with masses of winged enemies screaming for her death, beyond what even her eyes could see.

The rush of blood. The times she kills. The times she wins.

The battlefield. Her home.]

[dragmire]

[For a moment, he remains silent, watching to see if she succeeds or fails. It is difficult to tell if she is on the right track or not, because while he may be able to hear Eferin for himself, he cannot know what the spirit is saying to Daisy, or if it is even speaking to her at all. When the fire continues uninterrupted, he begins to speak, softly and just barely audible over the crackle of the flames.]

Think of your home. Barren, empty, dead. All you cherished lost. Your enemies thrive in a lush green land, celebrating the defeat of your kin. They deserve vengeance. With the flame, you can deliver it to them. Harness that anger and unleash it.

[daisy023]

[The words almost feel like salt into a wound. Not just the defeat of her kin, but everything she swore to protect.

Disturbing images cross her mind. Things that only in her worst nightmares would ever happen. And more than grief for knowing it is those things that they would unleash on her homes after she's gone... she feels fury.

A desire to unleash the same fire against them. Against them. Against the cultists. Against all fanatics.

In the back of her mind, she feels disturbed when she finds these thoughts make the flames rise violently.]

[dragmire]

[There's a nod of approval from him once the flames rise. He leans back from the flame.]

There. You've found it. Anger and hate can cloud your mind if you let it consume you, but it also has the potential to make you stronger. Do not be afraid to use it.

[daisy023]

[Daisy's hand slowly retreats from the flame, keeping them alight for an instant before her fingers slowly relax. The fire dies down.]

Same as when fighting. [She repeats to herself.] Many times I channel it to detach myself from the enemy. I only use it in battle... It seems it works just as well with Eferin.

["Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

It's one of the main theories of meditation taught to her. But, each Spartan knows, every weapon carries a risk of its' own.]

[dragmire]

Then you already have all the tools you need to master it.

[Anger, Malice, Hatred. He accepted those as parts of himself a long time ago. And look how well he's done so far.]

[daisy023]

[She says nothing. Her eyes turn back to the flames, which had taken a lot of the wood. Daisy hovers her hand above the fire to direct it towards the lumber yet-to-be-burned.

This time, she channels her thrill of combat.]

How do you not let it consume you?

[dragmire]

Anger is not something to be feared or ignored. You simply learn to control it. Wield it as you would any weapon.

[That is what he did. Or at least, it's what he believes. But it has stirred so long that he has become his hatred.]

[daisy023]

[The Spartan looks at Ganondorf for a moment before settling her sight back on the fire, nodding. Every weapon carries its' risks, and should be respected. Understanding and channeling Eferin with the things she knows of war makes it easier. While it is power she knows she must control, there is some strange comfort in delving into the familiar.

And for the following moments, she remains in silence. Her mind channeling Eferin. Learning to wield her new weapon.]

[dragmire]

[For his part, he remains quiet, not interrupting her. He is no hurry and has no pressing engagements, so he is content to wait and watch her progress. She already seems to be doing better than before.]