middleofsomewhere | Wings of Wonder: NPC Interactions and Investigations

"Yes," Madoka says with a slight nod. She crouches down - still at a slight distance from the child, so as to not frighten them more, but hoping that perhaps she might seem a little less weird and intimidating when she's lowering herself to their level.

She's at least glad for the very convenient out she's given here by the things the sali is saying..

"We heard about the trouble you've been having with the storms here. So me.. and my friends," (She figures it's probably less weird than just a general 'we', she wants to show that they can be trusted!) "came here to try and help. Some of us are trying to find out how to get rid of it, and I'm here to help people who got stuck or lost, like you."

There's a brief pause, but then Madoka shakes her head, showing the child a tiny smile. "I'm sorry. It must all be really scary for you."

.. and for the animal, because oh gosh, does it ever keep crying. But Madoka figures that it'll take a whole lot more to calm an animal down than the sali, considering it's not like the animal can understand her..

Who else could they be? Why would birds bring shapeshifters, trying to trick them? So the child thinks, hopes, wants to believe in, as everything is a mess around them, and all they have is this hope.

(They have to be reasonable, think through fear and worry, after all. That's the sali way.)

Their expression shows confusion however, briefly, but it also shows the same apprehension and fear that's been on its hairless brow line since seeing the girl. But, if they heard about the trouble...

"Did the Forevers call you? Shala is stern, but they're very powerful. They'll get rid of the storm."

You should speak to them, the child is about to suggest, but then realises - are they young too? And if they're out here looking for people, people like them, then they're being stronger than they are.

The sali sniffles, then turns to the beam over its leg. Not a very big one, but there's more rubble on either side pressing it down out of the sali's reach.

"I want to help too," they say anyway, regardless of their position; a fervent whisper. "I can help get the livestock."

There's an inclination to tell the child that it's okay. That they don't have to help out, especially when it's dangerous out there, somewhere between the birds and the boars and all the other fighting going on. But Madoka knows what it's like to want to help out, and she knows what it's like to be told that in return.

So she doesn't. ".. okay. That would be a big help, actually. I think a lot of the animals got really scared by everything that's going on, like the one you've got there.."

Instead she turns her attention towards the beam, walking up to it and inspecting some of the rubble that's blocking it. It doesn't seem impossible for her to move, so she starts shoving the rubble off to the sides the best she can.

It'll take a few moments, but she thinks she can do it. As long as she watches out that nothing else collapses..

Meanwhile the sali's words echo through her head. The Forevers.. Were those the beings some others talked to?

"But.. um, I haven't spoken to the Forevers, but I think some of my friends have.. Are they usually the ones who help you all out when you're in trouble?"

"Forevers--" There's a pain that stops it, but it bites on it, continues. "Forevers are people who became one with the land. They see things we don't see. They are one of us, and they're really powerful! You do not have Forever Ones?" They look at Madoka with curious eyes.

"They learn to weave the lands' energies, and become one with them. They become stone!"

Surely, everyone had Forever Ones.

"Um.. No, we don't."

Madoka doesn't look at the sali as she's saying it, but it's mostly since she's focused on getting rid of this rubble so she can free them as soon as possible. It can't be comfortable to be stuck like that, after all, and she doesn't even want to imagine the ways this situation could get worse. So even though she knows it's still going to take a few moments for her to clear this enough by herself, she's going at it!

And she can still totally talk while clearing rubble. It only means she can't look the other's way.

"But--! You make them sound really amazing, you know..? Are you saying they can see things through that energy of the land?"

The sali would like no better than to reach out and help itself (maybe try and push the wood off from its leg), but it's distracted when the baby animal beside it tugs, crying, and they instead pat it on the side of the face to soothe it.

"Yes," they answer, sure. "The Forever Ones see everything. They have to know you and your friends are here!"

Why wouldn't they? It made sense to the sali. And they get the bright idea from that, wondering:

"Did they call you? They must've called you!"

It's better - easier - to think about the hope of help, than the noises of what's going on outside, the state of affairs around them. The pain of their leg.

She's about to think about whether to say that she thinks that she didn't hear or feel anything, mostly hesitating because she doesn't just want to ruin the child's dreams..

.. but then she realises that maybe they did call them here. The train responds to distress signals, right? Maybe those Forever Ones were the ones who sent those out, who drew the train here.

"We did receive a call.." That's not a lie, right. She can totally say that and not feel guilty about it. "We didn't know who it was from though. But.."

Madoka's voice momentarily trails off as she pushes some more debris off the beam.

"Ah, wait.. I think I can almost lift this to free you now! Does it hurt a lot..?"

"I'm okay!" The sali assures; nevermind that it hurts to the point of being numb, and that they'll likely be getting up with a limp. But the sali doesn't want to worry about that, not when they promised to help.

"Pull it up! I'll take my leg out!"

Plus, they don't want to be stuck here!

"Okay..!"

Though it's still more easily said than done. After all, it's still an entire beam, and Madoka is only one girl.. but thankfully now all the debris is gone from the top of it, it's just the thing itself she's got to lift. So Madoka puts her hands on the bottom, pulling it up. It's not moving up too far, but it's moving up enough for the sali's leg to be freed from its current position, with the beam now hovering over it, rather than pressing down on it.

"T.. There we go..!"

Hopefully the sali can move that leg by themselves though, or there's still going to be a problem here. Especially since Madoka is getting a little red in the face from all this lifting effort..

Fortunately, it's just the right amount of weight that little Madoka can raise it, and though it hurts the sali pulls back their trapped leg with a whine they can't hold back, gripping into the reins of the young woolie, a shaky sob in the throat they bite back. A pulsing of pain that sends waves through their body.

They screw their eyes shut, waiting for it to go.

"--Monsha!"

A voice comes behind them, as a sali pulls back at wreckage to get through the hole. They have a stone on their throat, not red, pulling out a blade as they see Madoka and the youngster.

But they don't ready it, holding it near their chest, gaze harsh but studying.

"Speak, you," they say to Madoka. "You're sane?"

"Older!" The young sali cries. "Don't hurt them! They helped me!"

It's a good thing that Madoka finishes lowering the beam again just a split second before there's suddenly another voice, or she certainly would have dropped it in surprise straight onto her own hands or feet.. but thankfully there's no injury - for now - as she turns her head around to see the source of the noise, clearly startled. Not even having time to mind the young sali and their pain like she was planning to, as all of her attention is now drawn towards the more intimidating factor in the space.

There's the instinct to grab her bow off her back, just to have something steady to hold on to in the middle of her nerves, but Madoka does at least realise that might just rapidly escalate the situation here - especially with how the older sali is armed. So she instead keeps her hands at her sides, hoping that the fact that she's technically unarmed will help here.

Even though she's so nervous. She's never had to deal with a situation like this before all by herself.

"Y-Yes!" She forces out, more in reply to the older than the younger sali, her face paling just a little. "I'm here to help! I.. I heard that there was someone trapped in here, so I wanted to free them.." For a brief second her gaze shifts back to the younger sali, her gaze and nerves softening when she sees the state of their leg. "B-But they're hurt. If you can help, please help them.."

Maybe that shouldn't be the priority here. Maybe the priority should be not having the older sali turn that blade on her, but this feels more important to Madoka.

The sali studies Madoka, but not without glances to the one beside her. "Older!" the child repeats, and the weapon lowers an inch - but they jerk their chin in direction of the animal.

"Take a hold of the woolie's ties. Anything funny, and I won't hesitate."

They wait for Madoka to do so before they slip the weapon into an arm sheath, under the sleeve of their clothing. Taking careful but immediate steps to the injured sali, they command, "Move back," to Madoka; demanding, but not as harsh as it could be. So they can examine the injured leg, check the state of it.

"Monsha," they say, then go silent. The child nods after a wild, then turns their head to Madoka.

"They're friend, I promise. They help far lands. The Forever Ones of the East must have called for them!"

Honestly, it's not like it takes much to command Madoka around in the first place. Even if the other isn't being incredibly harsh about it, the girl is definitely intimidated. Enough so to not really think about what he's asking of her - though she later realises it can't really hurt, once she's actually stepping back while trying to hold onto the animal.

In fact, since she figures she can't do much about the younger sali's wound, she instead moves to gently pat the animal with the hand that isn't holding the ties, trying to calm it down after such a stressful experience for it.

"We got a call for help," she says after the sali tries to explain to the other. Madoka figures she's got to do her part in that too. It's unfair to let the burden of explanation rest on the child. "That's why we came. But it seems those red storms that have been bothering you have already struck pretty badly.."

The sali doesn't look at Madoka, continuing to assess the other's leg, asking a hushed "turn" to make it clear how hard they bite on their bottom lip to follow. A quiet sigh is let out, and they straight their back, now looking at the pink-haired girl.

"We've heard word of outsiders. Fine; for now, we need to gather our numbers. Shelter has been picked - you will follow me, take the woolie child with you. I will carry Monsha- quiet!" The sali snaps when the child, Monsha, starts to protest. They bite on their lip harder, tears in the corners of their eyes.

But the sali continues. "-You are to watch our backs. Drop the rope, lose the animal to use your weapon in danger, but don't turn it on any of our people if you're not skilled in destabilising. Understood?"

There's an impatience to the sali, fit for the mood, the situation. A readiness to get going, but even they can see - assume - this is a child. A child to instruct, and hope the weapon on their back isn't just for show.

".. yes."

There's a small pause where she considers the sali's words, but there's little reason to not listen to them right now. Getting the child over to the shelter feels like the most important thing right now, and it's not like Madoka can let this cute little animal run around by itself either when there's so much danger outside. She can just come along, make sure they're safe, and then move on to help more people.

The only thing that makes her want to protest is how harsh the older sali is to the younger one, but Madoka feels like speaking up in their defense might actually make things worse for Monsha rather than better. She'll just have to check up on the other when it's actually safe.

"What should we do then if we run into someone with red eyes?" That's the one question she has here. If they run into some other danger, she can use her bow, sure, but while Madoka agrees that she doesn't really want to shoot any of their people under the influence of something foreign, she wonders if they have already found some other way to deal with it, that they haven't yet. They only just found out that this is part of the threat here, after all.

The sali scoops up Monsha into their arms, a quiet "hold me" to have them grip on. They bury their head against their chest, and at the question, the sali first raises to their feet before answering:

"You shout the direction they come in. I will protect our front - scream if they grab you, kick or bite. You do everything to defend yourself, but kill. First, we get Monsha to safety."

Dealing with the trouble will come later. But there is a pause before - adjusting their arms to better hold onto Monsha with one for the moment - they extend out their arm, the one with the strap holding the blade on the inner forearm.

"Are you trained? ...Anyone can stab," they consider even before Madoka can reply. "Our goal is to the shelter. We move quick but quietly. Cause no trouble, and I will protect you."

They have an intimidating presence for one so young, but they don't speak to mess around, mean what they mean. Their gaze on Madoka stern, but also, the last of what they mean a promise.

"I'm trained with my bow," she explains. There's a moment where she glances at the animal she's holding, considering, but then she looks back at the sali. "Enough that I can be quick enough to pull out my bow and shoot if something like one of those boars approaches us."

But not the sali. If not just because Madoka knows she will worry, hesitate, just in case she's wrong and it's not one of the crazed one with the red eyes everyone is talking about. Just for a split second, just enough to miss her window of opportunity. But the sali's plan holds merit there. She can kick. She can probably resist enough just to get herself out of there and keep running.

She has to try, at least. Doesn't she want to seem a little reliable too, no matter how worried the presence of someone so much firmer than her makes her?

"So.. I'll follow you, and cover the back if necessary. I.. um, I want Monsha to arrive at the shelter okay too."

The sali moves the blade to keep a hold of, adjusting their arms to better hold onto Monsha again.

"Then we go," they instruct, turning for the hole they both came through from. "Remember, your life before the animal's."

A reminder, to not hold on. Some of the younglings clung too much to the animals, no matter the risk of themselves. But the sali had not intentions of hanging around, heading for the exit, checking the outside before slipping into the long grass.

Time to follow, Madoka.

Look at the callout of her on this sali's part, and that without even knowing her. Because Madoka is definitely the type who would risk her own life over an animal's - but she's just hoping that it won't have to come to that. Sure, she'll let the animal go if she has to use her bow, since there's no other choice, but Madoka is just hoping she can keep both the sali and the animal safe somehow if that happens..

Maybe. Hopefully.

But for now she just obediently follows as she promised, keeping a tight hold on the animal in case it might panic or otherwise try to escape once they're outside. Either because it realises it's no longer trapped, or just because of the chaos of all the fighting and the red haze.

The girl keeps her eyes on the sali ahead of her, but she's also keeping her ears wide open for any sound out of the ordinary around them as they walk. She's determined to play her part here. She wants to be a responsible Voidtrecker, even if she might be worried.

Wings of Wonder: NPC Interactions and Investigations

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