3833/The Truth

The Truth
Date of Scene:	21 February 2016
Location:	City of Ravnica <Rav>
Synopsis:	Yunomi tells the truth about how she feels regarding Rhapsody, the daughter of her mentor and leader of the Izzet League.
Thanks to:	Thanks to Rhapsody, who has been sitting on the idea of this with me for pretty much ever!
Cast of Characters:	272, 325

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Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi's last forray into the underground had ended with a Grave Troll and the semi-controlled collapse of a dragon-sized access tunnel -- over a leak in a few lines. Since then, she'd been taking more and more dangerous missions and repair jobs to the Undercity, broaching into territories best left for a large group of Izzet Magewrights.

    And she had been taking them alone, even evading Sidonia's careful eye for shifts at a time.

    Now, though, she's in Nivix, in the burned-out library where she often practiced. She had forgone the normal Izzet attire, bare foot and wearing a T-shirt and comfortable, loose brown leggings. Her hair was pulled back into just a ponytail, her cheeks flushed. She surged forward, lightning summoned from red mana crackling against her fingers as she leaps into the air, her toes curling, ears pinned back and tail following behind her like a banner.

    The poor stuffed dummy never saw it coming. It exploded into a hundred pieces, the smell of singed feather and cloth stinking up the air as the tanuki-mage lands, skidding on the ground in a crouch.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    It didn't matter if the tanuki knew she was there or not, after the doomed dummy is scattered to the four corners of the room, a small trio of claps comes from the doorway from someone that had been buried by the dual paperwork stacks of End-Of-Year reporting and TAXES. Seriously. The Azor really did their best to fill the entire top floor of Nivix this year, and had almost suceeded. They failed to remember that Nivix had a sky entrance! bwahahaha ha ha ha.. ha.... ha. ........................ oh god her wrists are still sore.

    With the MAJORITY of the paperwork done, and the rest left to a particular goblin and clockwork dragon, Rhapsody had started to wander the halls, checking on magewrights, weirds, elementals, and now, the #1 Offworld Apprentence who, she had heard, was getting quite wreckless lately. If she brings it up or not remains to be seen. "Every time I watch you, or spar with you, I'm glad to know you're with us instead of against us."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
There's a huff of air, and the ears swivel around as she hears the claps, and straightens up as she purses her lips, and gives a grin to the dragon. "Yeah... well, I'm not much to write home about." Yunomi straightens up, visibly brightening as the dragon approaches. "Luckily, writing home for you is cheap postage." she offers as a joke, and she gives a slight sigh, brushing her bangs out of her face as she regards the taller dragon.

    "How goes the reports and the taxes? ... sorry, by the way, about the animated quills... I thought it was a good idea at the time."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
A 'feh!' slips out of her, "Please, I'd write about you everyday if I had someone to send the mail to!" That -is- a compliment. "Postage be damned," she continues, smiling back as she heads toward the Tanuki.

    "Oh ah, those? Well, mostly done. The quills were a great idea! It was just -really- awkward when they went on strike and demanded a vegetarian option for ink instead of one from our current source..." headtilt, ponder, "I'm not even sure where our current ink comes from," she realizes before shrugging, looking back at Yunomi. "Either way, Thinael offered to finish the last bits and tugged Rizix into helping him so everything should be done with a few hours to spare." wait, what? But filing day is in April...

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi gives a dismissive snort, but she blushes at the compliment, and rubs the back of her head as she straightens up to her dimunitive five foot heighgt. "How very nice of Thinael and Rizix to give you a few hours off." she replies, and she grasps a handfull of feathers, and grips them together... then pauses.

    "Isn't filing day in April?" she questions, her lips pursing a moment. "Oooooor is that keeping on track?"

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
"Oh, it's in April, I'm quite sure of it. Thianel is just ... pacing it. I think. Its possible he may be trying to invent a machine to do it instead, but, you know, Izzet, right? It could be just about anything! Its only one page, after all..." ... That was a ramble, wasn't it? "Oh! Ah, since I've been wandering about, i've been gauging interest in setting a date for a presentation day this year! I wanted to see what you thought?"

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
"I don't know, with the Nexus project underway, I'm afraid I haven't had a lot to show for my own efforts -- manavines are so three years ago and the Nexus is currently under construction and hey, look at all the cleaning I've done down in the sewers..." Yunomi begins with confidence... but it ebbs. She lets her shoulders sag a moment. "I'm pretty sure I'm just all out of tricks to wow the crowds, Rhaps. Do I still have something to prove to the rest of the Izzet?" she asks rhetorically, and with the feathers in hand, she concentrates and then -- POOMF! -- in a puff of smoke and the sound of dispalced air, there's a large floor cushion that appears in front of them, and plops to the ground with an ungraceful FLOMMFP!

    Yunomi just sort of hangs out, pulling her legs up and sitting in the air.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
Though she doesn't just flop down, Rhapsody slowly takes a seat, "Oh please," she begins as she settles. "When you started you could barely handle magic and red mana was something I think no one, including my father, ever thought you would be able to handle. I think you just need some time to come up with something! You have to let your brain float, come up with ideas so far outside of the box that their in your neighbors lunch thermos instead! So far out that the box you used to have your ideas in spontaneously combust and the remains freeze into a sculpture of your new idea!" Pause. "Don't lose confidence, Yunomi. And if you do I'mma yank you up by your boot straps and shake you until one comes out." smirk.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    At the mention of Niv-Mizzet, Yunomi sort of... pales. Even the reds and blues in her bangs fade from azure to sky and from scarlet to light red -- but it lasts only a heartbeat. "I remember all t he fire supression systems built into my first lab." she admits, and glances up at the ceiling. "And if you start shaking me by my boot straps, I claim no responcibility over what Albert might do in response." she replies kiddingly, and gives a wry little smile to the Guildmaster.

    "And it's not that I'm out of ideas... it's that my ideas are currently being built with a /huge/ amount of funding."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
Rhapsody laughs at that, "A pheldagriff. He's just... so silly.." she comments, smiling all the while. "I will take that risk to restore your confidence, mark my words!" she adds, beaming all the while. "Funding? Please.." she seems uninterested. "You are hardly the worst offender for asking for money in the Izzet League, Yunomi. Some of the projects some .. very ambitious magewrights ask for are, in a word, mad. Insane even!" In this guild? Imagine that. Whoda'thunk it? "Don't worry about the funding, hon. You've proven yourself with the vines, and your current work on the nexus. If you have a good idea, you can bring it to me, my siblings, and Thianel, and we can figure it out."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
"... but that's just the problem, Rhaps... I'm tapped out. The Nexus was pretty much the most ambitious thing I could figure. Providing an upgrade of energy provision to the city, quickly setup and self-maintaining power lines, the increase of green space in Ravnica to the surprise of the Gruul and the Grove both..." Yunomi begins, then shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe that's it. Maybe that's all I have to give. Just... a big battery."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
Rhapsody snorts. "You make it sound like such a small accomplishment when its one of the best things to come out of the Izzet League in a long time. Give yourself a little more credit!" she insists. "And don't be so hard on yourself. You're well respected, and anyone that thinks otherwise is just jealous. Don't listen to'em. Not ever."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi frowns a moment, then forces a smile. "ah, listen to me complain, 'wah, wah, no one likes me, boo hoo.'" she laughs, and hangs upside down, her ponytail dragging along the floor slightly, ears wiggling. "What about you? What are you hoping to see out of presentation day this year?" she inquires, her eyebrows rising.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    "Explosions." Rhapsody says very matter-of-factly, completely straight face. "Other than that, though, who knows! That's what I love about the curret Izzet and the Multiverse invitation to join the day. You can see all manner of wild inventions! Tony Stark showed up one year, after all! Who knows who will show up if we have another one? I just love to see the ideas that are sparked by a day such as that. You know, no one in the Izzet was able to cash in on Tony's wager? I'm still kind of surprised by that."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
"Well, it wouldn't be an Izzet presentation day without explosions." Yunomi replies dryly as she rights, and flops down onto the cushion next to Rhapsody.

    "Bahamut says hello, by the by. I think he likes you. He tried to impress me."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
As if on cue, the dragon just leans against the Tanuki and sighs. Not a bad sigh, just a comfortable one. At the mention of Bahamut she blinks, "Eh? Oh? How so?"

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi gives a soft 'eep!' sound, and leans harder against Rhapsody to not only show her support of the Guildmaster, but also to not get crushed by the Guildmaster! Size matters not, unless it's a dragon leaning against a short mage! "Oh, you know, the usual thing. 'I am a great dragon, look at me being a great big dragon, I am pretty much the best thing around 'cause dragon, and by the way -- how /is/ your Guildmaster doing do remember me to her when you see her next while I rip apart this Grave Troll.'" Yunomi gives a grin. "I think he might be sweet on you. Which, obviously, means war."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
Rhapsody snickers a little at the description. She can probably, accurately, think about what Baha actually did, and said. The war comment causes her to blush lightly, "E-eh heh heh..." A LOVE TRIANGLE AAAAAAAAH, "He can be a bit..." WORDS ARE HARD. ".... I don't know."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    "... well, if you think I'm just going to let someone stake a claim on you because he's all 'rawr dragon' or 'rawr, dinosaur prince' or anything without your consent and want of attention, he's got another think coming." Yunomi bristles slightly at a memory, her ears flicking back and the hackles on the back of her neck rising, then falling as she draws up one leg.

     "You deserve someone that's going to love you for you, for your sense of fun and duty, for your encouragement and your heart, for every broken flaw and every beautiful thought, who will support you in every action and sing your name with every beat of their heart. Not for power, or prestige, but because they can't imagine you not being there in their lives."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
Well. At this rate, Rhapsody may end up as red as her brother. She doesn't even MANAGE a reply. She's just... extremely surprised, and touched, by what was just said. Oh wait, she may get a word in, "W-wow.." its not upset or irritated, its ... very impressed.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
... well. Yunomi's father /did/ write poetry and convince a sunbeam to marry him.

Yunomi looks out over the charred library, and draws up her other knee to set her chin on it, and gives a soft huff of air "... because that's when you know..." she frowns, er ears limping, and her tail curling around herself, her gaze far away from Rhapsody, "... when you don't want to imagine a life without them, that it's love."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
There's a really long pause, but eventually the only response Rhapsody provides is an arm wrapping around the Tanuki's shoulder, and her tail doing similar along the floor. "I can't argue that.."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
The Tanuki mage bristles for a half second, stirred from her own thoughts by the action of Rhaps putting an arm around her shuolder and the tail along the floor, and her eyebrows rise. She takes a deep breath, and rubs the back of her neck, leaning against the dragoness a split second and trying to figure out what to say next, what to do next, but this wasn't like any other time. This wasn't a drinking contest after victory. This was something different.

This was Niv-Mizzet's daughter, who saw her as a sibling, and it was her boss, and she wilts a moment.

"You deserve someone who is worthy of everything you are." she adds quietly...


... and Yunomi knows, in her heart, that the tanuki wasn't. Not clever enough. Not strong enough... what she was wasn't good enough.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
"Mmhmm..." silence for a moment, then a very soft squeeze. It's barely a moment, but it's there. "Thankfully, I don't think I have to go far at all. Not even a single step.."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
"Rhaps..." Yunomi whispers, her heart in her throat and the familiar burn of tears in her eyes, memories flooding her, stormy seas and modern cities, holes in the sky and exploding arrays, looking up through the surface of a roiling ocean as a storm roars overhead.

"... I /can't/." she finishes, trying to sound firm. Her voice wavers, and the mage draws upwards, away from the comforting grasp of the dragon, running her hands over her hair a moment to try and get a breath.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
It catches the guildmaster off guard when Yunomi rises. "..?" She looks perplexed, wondering if she misunderstood something, wondering if her entire lack of experience in LIFE in general was coming to play against her. None of them were even 10 years out of the shell, after all. "You said war..."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
Yunomi wilts again, and rubs the back of her head. "Rhaps... I crawl around in sewers and do drudgery and mess up all the time. I tell stupid jokes because it makes everyone else assume I'm pretty dumb... and a lot of the time I am. You don't deserve the person who failed your father, who failed her homeland." her hands hang down at her side. "You deserve a hero. Someone who is happy and comfortable in their skin. Someone who can be trusted and depended upon... someone who won't get you killed."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
At all of this, the dragon stands. "You do the work of the Izzet that no one asks you to do. You do what needs to be done to keep the morale of your magewrights high and your friends higher. You helped save Ravnica, your homeland has been restored, and someone that has revolutionized mana transportation and generation. You have been with the League longer than -me- and have proven you can and will do what other magewrights scoff at. You have protected me and I would do the same for you on any day." headtilt. "I prefer to focus on the best things you have done. I refuse to be like everyone else and focus on failures when so many successes have your name on them."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    "And I refuse to drag you down -- you are like a /sister/ to me Rhapsody, you're the daughter of my teacher. You're my /Guildmaster/. I can't have these feelings for you!" Yunomi turns, her eyes brimming with tears. "If it were to get out, every new project, every idea, every experiment would be suspect. Every report reviewed for some form of collusion. I won't drag you down to that level. I /will not/ let others drag you down like that. I love you Rhapsody and I can't imagine my life without you in it, but /please/... you deserve better than me."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
There's a long bout of silence after all of this. The sigh and shoulder-slump that follows leaves the guildmaster deflated. "I guess people are still forcing my decisions for me, then," she quips before starting to walk out. As she walks past Yunomi, "I think I deserve to decide for myself," she adds before showing herself out.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi takes a deep breath as Rhaps leaves. She watches the dragon retreat, breath shuddering in her throat, catching as the door shuts with an echoing and angry THUD behind her.

    And then, into the dull, empty air of the charred library, Yunomi just mutters to herself:

    "You, Yunomi, are the /dumbest/ fucking person in the whole district at the moment, and you deserve every bad thing that'll happen to you because of it."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi had managed to slip out of the tower again, and wasn't able to be tracked for several hours -- and when contacted, was 'moody' and 'surly'.

    THe next morning though, things had changed. In the hazy light gast from the guild's doings and wavings over the city, flowers managed to creep their way to the guildmaster's window. Brillaint white, unstained by air pollution or dust, with mingled red and blue tips to the petals, the fragrance between roses and cinnamon, each one in bud. There was no need to ask who would send such a message -- one of the vines had a thin piece of parchment tied to it on red ribbon with 'I am sorry, I am a butt' written on it.

    Meanwhile, far bellow in her own quarters, Yunomi was face-mushed belly-down in her pillows and blankets, half dressed and thoroughly exhausted from cultivating the roses in the wee hours in the morning.