queenofheartsrp | ❀ 001 action/video

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[She's been spending the past few days getting to know the Gardens. It's an odd place, and there are some odd things here, but not many that are stranger to her than the building she finds herself standing before now.

It's a greatly reduced and somewhat battle scarred version of a building she knows well, and she's not sure what it's doing here in such an idyllic spot, in the midst of so many green trees and bright flowers. The earth around the structure looks like it was scorched bare at some point, but the grass is already growing there again, covering the old damages. The Vine has wound itself around the building. It doesn't look like anyone's been there in some time.

But it's not completely abandoned. There's a solitary clockwork robot, silver and spider-shaped, as large as a medium-sized dog, pacing around the perimeter of the building. It comes running up to Aerith as she approaches. She starts, fingers tightening on her rod, but it seems it only wants to greet her, so at last, though still a little wary, Aerith pets it. This appears to make it happy, or about as happy as a robot spider can seem. It circles her, remaining at her feet for the time being.

After a long time staring up at the small copy of Shinra Headquarters, Aerith turns to the Vine. It senses her intent and displays a mirror.]

Hello everyone. Is anyone out there today? If I don't know you already, my name's Aerith.

[The Gardens are such a quiet place, she's not necessarily sure of getting a reply, but it's worth trying.]

Has anyone else found anything familiar here? This building... I know it, from back home. Do you know how it came to be here?

[But that's not the only question that's been on her mind.]

And I was wondering, what were you all doing, before? Right before you came here, I mean.

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[perhaps no more than ten seconds after Aerith finishes speaking, there's a woman standing a few paces behind her. Her arrival is accompanied by the faint sound of wind--or perhaps it's just a breeze. It dies so quickly, it's difficult to tell. Her coat bats against the backs of her knees faintly from it. She's dressed in a businesslike manner, or would be--if her starched shirt weren't rumpled, her tie loose, her hair falling ungracefully from what was once a neat bun at the back of her head. She examines the building before them, brow furrowed deeply. When she speaks, it's a low, steady voice.]

I'm here.

[it's a statement, plain and simple, and she leaves it at that, falling silent for a long moment.]

There are only a few beings in existence powerful enough to move such a large structure. Perhaps it's a recreation. [other than a faint, tense curiosity, there's very little inflection in her tone. She stops again. Then adds, as an afterthought--]

I was dead.

[Aerith gives a start at the sudden arrival, but she doesn't seem too startled.]

Oh, hello! Yes, you are.

[Her expression turns back into a smile, although there's still a slight worry in her eyes as she turns toward the building again.] It might be. It isn't quite the same as the other one. It's smaller. But who could have put it here? And why...?

[It's puzzling. Why would someone recreate Shinra Headquarters unless they had something to do with Shinra? Is there someone like that here? There doesn't seem to be, but she's almost afraid to try going inside.]

You were dead? [She doesn't seem too surprised at this, either, but her smile fades into a look of sympathy.] I'm sorry. So was I. [She supposes it's all right to talk about it with this woman, since she's so frank and doesn't seem likely to be bothered.] Or I was dying. But then I was here. That's why I asked. I wondered if other people had the same thing happen, or if it was just me.

[she doesn't move, watching the miniature skyscraper intently--or perhaps her gaze has gone a bit distant. Either way, she only turns her head to Aerith after an awkward pause has buffered the end of her statements.]

[This woman is human? Or must be--Castiel's perceptions are still muddled, since the first thing she'd done upon arriving had been to attempt to fly through the barrier shielding the place. It had required several days of recovery. The others seemed to be as well, or most of them, at least. She'd heard their chatter through the Vine, but seen no reason to use it herself.]

[this wasn't Heaven. Nor was it Hell. There weren't many other options.]

This Queen of Hearts must be a pagan god. [she doesn't beat around the bush. But a pagan with enough power to kidnap all these humans and and angel? That was troubling. It seems she was even stealing dead souls, as well. Souls that belonged to Heaven. That couldn't go unpunished.]

Perhaps this is the way she maintains her power. Her worshipers. Spiriting them away to this place, away from prying eyes. [she seems a lot less concerned about this than she should be. Also the dying thing. But in a way, she's at peace. She did her part.]

[She'd bought the Winchesters time. The rest was in their hands.]

It's far more difficult to remove the dead from their attachments, than the living.

A pagan god? [She's not exactly familiar with the term "pagan".] What kind of god is that?

[She doesn't think this could be the work of the Goddess. She's never heard of something like this happening. Although if no one came back to tell about it, then she wouldn't, would she?]

Do you think that could be? She just wants to be worshiped? She should probably ask first. I don't think most people want to worship a kidnapper.

[Aerith doesn't seem too worried herself, although she is more worried than she seems. She tends to hide her feelings when they're negative ones. She wonders what's going to happen to her friends, back in the Forgotten City. Will they be all right? She's sorry she'd had to leave them.]

Yes, because the dead are already a part of something else, aren't they? They're not just themselves anymore.

A lesser one. [hey, she's still got her prejudices.] Relying on adoration and worship for power. And usually ritual sacrifice. [this last bit is spoken in the same tone as everything else.] Have there been sacrifices here?

[Castiel shouldn't care about this place, by all means. Doesn't she deserve rest? But she is still the angel that defied Heaven and all her siblings for a human woman. And with that comes an odd feeling of...responsibility for the situation.]

The dead should rest. [she's not being very considerate of Aerith's feelings on the situation.]

A lesser god than what? [She's still not following Castiel, coming from a world where Christianity doesn't exist.]

I sure don't adore her, whoever she is.

Hm, I haven't seen any sacrifices. [Fortunately!] There are a lot of beautiful flowers and trees, but nothing like that. But I've only been here a few days. The cats said– Well, the cats' notes said we were supposed to build together. They didn't mention sacrifices.

[Aerith doesn't disagree with Castiel's statement. She also doesn't seem to mind her blunt manner, either, though she doesn't sound happy about her death.] Oh, they probably should. After all, there's so much to do when you're alive. But I don't know what's going to happen to me, as I'd only just died. Unless this is what happens. But it doesn't feel right somehow. [She ponders this. Some part of her seems to have a certain expectation for what things were going to be like, afterward.]

Than my Father. [no reason to hide it.]

These days, sacrifices upset people. Perhaps she's trying to-- [and here her stiff posture finally shifts: she raises both hands, two fingers extended, and wiggles them up and down.] "appeal to the modern demographic."

[that is definitely a phrase she learned from spending too much time with humans.]

You should have been judged. And led to your proper resting place. This place...is not proper. [understatement of the century. She lets her arms fall back to her sides.] There must be a way to kill her. Pagans always have a fatal weakness.

[a little extreme there, Cass. But then--her best friends are a little extreme.]

Your father's a god? That's impressive. [She isn't sure whether to believe that, and if Castiel's manner had been different, she might have grown suspicious. People claiming to be gods were seldom up to any good.] But how is he better than all the other gods? I didn't know there were so many. I've heard of the goddess before, and there are spirits...

Well, why wouldn't people be upset by sacrifices? They don't sound very nice. [She's not sure yet what to make of Castiel, so she plays along, lightly.] I'm not sure if I count as the "modern demographic". [That sounds like something a Shinra propagandist would say.] But I do like the flowers, so maybe I do.

No, I don't think there's any judgment involved. [Aerith had the feeling that that wasn't how death worked. At least, not as far as she was concerned.] It was going to be something else, something more.

Kill her? We haven't even spoken to her yet. [Aerith thinks she's being more than a bit too hasty.] Maybe it isn't what you think at all.

He is the Creator. [strange. Even if many humans didn't believe, they had at least heard of Him. It's a little frustrating not to be able to just look and find out why. She has to use...words. Something she's never been very good at.]

His power will not diminish, no matter how many humans turn away from Him. [she doesn't sound entirely certain. Somewhere deep down, she believes it was her Father that raised her up again, after Lucifer's release, to continue watching over his champions. But she can't be sure. She's never even heard His voice.]

[and most humans didn't handle death with such grace. This woman is different.]

Even if she deigns to be reasonable, she will want something in return. What do you have to give?

Oh? What did he create? [Nope, no recognition here, although she's perfectly polite about it.]

That sounds like a useful power. Yet he wants people to worship him, too?

Do you think so? She only seems to want us to have a nice time, so far. Not that I approve of kidnapping, but it could be worse. [She's experienced worse kidnappings, to be sure.]

Me? [Aerith considered the question thoughtfully. What did she have?] I have a ribbon. An armband. Some Materia? Or this. [She gives a swing of her Princess Guard, although a careful one, as the rod is a weapon, after all.] And I have my best manners, too. Maybe if I ask nicely enough...?

[her expression actually changes from "vaguely perturbed" to "deeply puzzled".]

Everything.

[as if that explains it.]

The Earth, the cosmos, my brothers and I...and your kind.

[any god that isn't her Father can't really be trusted.]

Materia? [it's the first real question she's asked. Something she's actually unfamiliar with.]

Everything? That's a lot.

No, I've never heard of a God like that. I've heard of the Goddess, but I don't think she created everything. She just is.

[Not that Aerith's an expert on theology. There wasn't much religious education in the slums.]

Mm-hm, Materia. I have some with me. [She's a little surprised herself at this question, but she doesn't hesitate to answer. She displays her bangle, with its slots for Materia, all filled with what look like round glowing stones.] It's how people use magic.

Human interpretations of Him became increasingly muddled with the passage of time. There are very few who know the truth now.

[she steps closer for a better look--perhaps a little too close, for a stranger, peering at what seems to be an elaborate piece of jewelry. But the stones set into it aren't ordinary gems, they hum with energy she can't quite identify. If anything, they feel very similar to souls...]

Magical artifacts. Such things are rare and dangerous. How did you come by them?

I haven't heard of him at all. But I'm sure there are a lot of things I haven't heard of, and that doesn't make them any less real.

[She's not about to argue with this woman about her own father. After all, who's to say what she's saying isn't true?]

Oh, they're not rare at all. [She shakes her bangle.] You can buy them in shops. Well, some are rare, but mine aren't very. [That isn't exactly true, but she doesn't have the White Materia with her.] They're good friends of mine by now, so I don't think they'll do me any harm.

[Her Materia are all mastered, after all. Maybe it's a little odd to speak of Materia as friends, but Aerith has always been a little odd.]

You're very reasonable, for a human. [that's probably supposed to be a compliment?] Most fear what they do not understand. [or try to shoot it.]

[either way, she's starting to think this woman must not be from Earth. Or some strange alternate universe, perhaps? That seemed more likely. There had to be a timeline out there somewhere where magic was bought and sold on such a large scale.]

[that's a more troubling thought, however, than any of her previous ones.]

They have no will of their own. They cannot consciously do anything. [she squints a little, confused.]

Why, thank you. [Aerith is genuinely flattered.] And can I ask what you are, if you're not a human? [She looks like a human.]

If I don't understand something, then I don't know enough about it to fear it, right? It could be something good, and I'd miss out on it if I were afraid.

[This makes perfect sense to her. Once, she used to be more afraid of the world, but she isn't now. Things had happened, and things had changed.]

I have been afraid of things, but only once they've given me a reason. [Like trying to hurt her or someone she cares about.]

[She looks down at her Materia. It's true that they don't really think or anything like that.] Oh, I don't know about that. There's some life in them. And they help me out when I'm in trouble. So they're a little like friends that way.

I am an Angel of the Lord. [a statement that doesn't carry as much weight here as it does back home, certainly.]

[and that's more wisdom she's heard from a human so young in some time. She considers Aerith's words for a long moment. Friends help you when you're in trouble, yes. That touches a little close to home. And here she is, without them again. Without anyone.]

[but if she's alive, perhaps she can return. If there's anything she can return to.]

[Ah. That thought hurts. It really shouldn't, she thinks. But it does.]

My friends are...far from here. [with one of them probably dead, another lost forever.]

I've heard of angels before. They have wings, don't they?

[Castiel doesn't have wings that she can see, but she's not doubting her.

The thought of angels' wings makes her a little sad, but feeling sad makes her want to smile more. Because sometimes there's no point in being sad, and it's better to show the world a smile. Or so she thinks.

At the mention of friends, however, Aerith does sober up.]

So are mine. [She brushes her fingertips lightly against her bangle with its Materia. It's really no good to her now, if she can't use it to help them.] My real friends. I hope they'll be all right... [They were in danger when she'd had to leave them.] I wish I could be with them now.

Yes. We do. As part of my true form they exist on a wavelength the human eye cannot perceive.

[except under special circumstances, but she doesn't see the need to mention that. If she considered it more, she could probably find a way to render them visible, but it doesn't seem important.]

My condolences. [she adds this awkwardly, her expression softening a little. Though usually it was the companions of the deceased that needed to be consoled. Everything about this situation is backwards. She hesitates for a moment, then continues--]

Even if this...Queen's hold over us is broken, it's unlikely you would be able to return to them.

[it's harsh. But practical, and that's why she feels the need to say it. She's had her own second chance, she's not deluded enough to think she'll get another. She doesn't...deserve it. That makes her look down at her feet, frown deepening.]

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❀ 001 action/video

[action]

Ooh, Castiel!

you got me! /holds up hands

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