1306/S-Files, Episode 1306: Red and Gold

S-Files, Episode 1306: Red and Gold
Date of Scene:	18 March 2024
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Rashmi's attempts at last-minute exam prep are interrupted by the COUNTESS VON STEINER. The two do some much-needed catching up, and Hannah agrees to teach Rashmi the Meister's art. And then talk turns to Aloisia, and Rashmi survives the brief instance of a Steiner's wrath.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Hannah Steiner

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Debate Club cleanup is done, and Rashmi has one more stop before going home and starting the business of packing; to see what updates there are to be gotten at the Shed. It would seem a pair of 'issues' are currently active in Tokyo, and the noteboards might provide valuable insight, or at least actionable information on the towers.

Sadly... there's little to be gleaned that would help Rashmi deal with the Eclipse Zones solo, which is just as well; her own run-in with their lesser forebears taught her the value of 'stay away unless in overwhelming numbers' far more succintly.

That said, the Shed is still a reassuring space, and it's nice and quiet... Perfect time to do last-minute revisions on tests not taken. Which is why the redhead is bent over a geometry book, wishing she could be studying *anything* else but unwilling to get worse than a C in *any* subject.

Math is *awful* though.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Movie Night with Ami has done much to quell the worst of Hannah's recent malaise regarding a certain Shield Princess, at least enough that she's not been sent out from classes since. Several prayers, and a visit to her favorite Cathedral, St. Mary's (no, not /that/ one, the /other/ one), has done little to quell the lingering sting of Aloe's words nor how she's been second guessing herself as of late.

Which all leads to the rather insidious ball of anger that's been growing in her heart, already itself prone to various ends of that particular spectrum in her darker moments.

A further distraction being needed, after much prodding from her Device, and then quite literally being dragged away by Lyra, Hannah stands before the entrance to The Shed.

A knob goes twist the wrong way, and then, a firm high-heeled boot THUDS against the door. That last part isn't necessary, but it sure does feel good!

All of that nice, quiet atmosphere is suddenly shattered as one Hannah Steiner, Lyra, and Blauer Greif enters!

"Oh...Ja, ja, ja, let me go, Lyra! I am COMING, you traitorous featherball! Und enough from you!!!" Grumps Hannah to her cane, that somehow manages the Device ping equivalent of rolling her eyes.

A deep, deep sigh!

"Is anyone in this little underdeveloped travesty of a security bunker?" Comes the Steiner heir, less in actual criticism of the defenses, and more because it's a convenient scapegoat for her frustrations.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hi, Hannah-chan~!" Rashmi singsongs without looking up.

Look there is only one person who knows about the Shed, who would have the audacity to court it needing its door replaced.

A few more symbols are scribbled down, and then Rashmi feels confident enough about her retention to look up, and smile warmly. "Are you doing better?"

...Which should immediately be a suspicious question, given how much time has passed since the two girls have spoken. *Much* longer than the new nemesis' arrival.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
It's likely a good thing that Lyra doesn't let go of Hannah, as the already emotionally-tumulted young woman finds a very strange edge she's never felt before.

On that one hand, has her wanting to shout at Rashmi. But that's unfair. She's been so busy what with trying to not get murdered, then signing a peace deal out of duty and surprised acceptance from the other side, and /then/ getting called out for it from a Defense Force member she still isn't quite sure whose side she was originally on.

And the long comet of their last meeting isn't making her feel much better, really.

"The fact that I am needing to choose between flashing mein blade upon you for having the audicity to ask me such a thing, und squeezing the life out of you in a hug from sheer /guilt/ having not kept abreast of your affairs, dear freund, should answer that question." Comes Hannah, threading the needle and growling in pure exasperation.

"So you have a reprieve, Rashmi. Come here." She sets her Device against the wall, and then simply opens her arms, with something adjacent to gentleness.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I'll take it," Rashmi says with a chuckle, scooting out her chair and just walking straight into the hug.

Knowing that Hannah's magic is more an expression of her personality than anything.

Rashmi, you shall be missed.

"It's *good* to see you again," she says, squeezing back as best she can -- even knowing that she's likely to have her lungs squeezed out momentarily. "I've been worried about you for the last while. I know what Chrono set up, but that's not the *same,* y'know?"

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Lungs definitely vacate air, but luckily, the emotional mess that is one Hannah of Great House Steiner is far more interested in the presence of her friend than the usual back-breaking show of force and affection.

It's fairly telling that Rashmi's spine isn't even acheing and how those arms linger, nevermind how the taller Space German has somehow managed to all but tuck herself against the Book Mage. Strange how one can be bigger yet /feel/ smaller in the moment.

Then suddenly a hand is ruffling that big ol' brilliant red plait of hair, and she's...gently isn't in Hannah's vocabulary, but she's /firmly/ pushing Rashmi away.

"Ja. You too." She agrees tenderly. No shame in that.

Her hand finds a seat, she vindictively kicks the chair out, and then lounges out. Legs cross. A hand supports her chin as she leans back, and Lyra does the usual clamoring up into her lap to lounge there, with far too much volume of dog-lizard.

"Your liebling did his duty, und I suspect, with a hand upon the scale despite himself. ...Do not tell him I said so. Sankt keep him, he is a 'busybody' by nature, und I am annoyed enough as it is, so much as I enjoy his company at the same time." Comes Hannah honestly.

Another long, tired sigh. "It should have been a moral und tactical victory, but then mein Unkle proves receptive. Given his dirty little assassin's loyalty, here we are. A great game of political...what is the word?" She searches.

"Chikin" Comes Hannah, ununciating the Japanese word in her thick Belkan accent.

Hannah is rambling at this point, just kind of spilling her troubles out.

A pause. "...I haven't even asked you how you are." She leans forward. Arms on the table.

"Forgive me. You are well?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"What can I say?" Rashmi says philosophically, basking in the glow of not even having needed to *survive* the hug. "When Chrono knows how to help people he cares about, you understand the *real* power of paperwork. And maybe it's a standoff right now, but, that means you get a *break* which I'm sorry Hannah-chan but you need. Other thing aside. *Anyway.*"

Rashmi leans against a desk, tilting her head. "I mean... good...? Mostly? Finals stressing sure, the towers Sunbreaker-san put up are worrying, but it's been a *whole month* since I got possessed by that youma, and apparently Adora-chan's back and recovering. I'll take that as a win, myself."

Rashmi falls quiet for a bit, pursing her lips. "...I did want to ask you a favor, though. And I wanted to do it in person, because it's a bit of an ask."

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah is at once thankful for her habit of wearing tinted glasses, in henshin and out, but she also well knows that it's likely doing little to hide how she's directing her gaze /entirely/ upon Rashmi as she mentions Chrono and the power of his paperwork magic. Nevermind the push-pull of Belka and Mid-Childa that the pair so often seem to symbolize on this world!

"Nein, Rashmi. Regardless of planet, or even provincial origins, any government worker - Palatine, Beinter, or even the local mail-sorter, knows the power of a good governmental decree or grinding treaties on the temple of a diplomat. Or a ruler." Siiiigh.

Hmmm. She drinks Rashmi's travails in.

Again, a knuckle, this time leeeeaning over and right on the forehead!

"Nein! No more getting possessed! ...Crystals of many hues ja?" She guesses, given what Ami told her.

Still, she nods, satisfied.

Hannah swallows. She knows Rashmi well by now. And there's only one thing, one /person/ that she'd find odious that comes to mind, at least that would require such a favor!

"Out with it." Comes Hannah, in the tone of a young woman that faintly suspects the subject of which she's about to be asked!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
At the knuckle, Rashmi can't help but chuckle. "Oh don't worry I *learned* my lesson, Hannah-chan. Turns out, some artifacts have... kinda... *loose* interpretations of 'taking hold.' So next time, no sealing anything until it's *well* subdued already. And... yeah, it was green. Usagi-chan has it now, I think. Anyway... the favor."

Drawing in a deep breath, Rashmi summons up her courage.

"...I want you to teach me how to fix Devices, Hannah-chan. I'll probably never be a Meister like you, but, between Nicomachea's sensors and your teaching I'm sure I *could* handle the small things, y'know?"

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah outright snorts!

"This Sanktkaiserless dirtsack has a loose grasp of magical theory, whether you cleave to that of Belkan traditions or those of Mid-Childa! Luckily, we Belkans well know that warfare und life itself is often a series of unwelcome surprises." Comes the young woman far-too-proudly!

Then Hannah almost falls out of her seat!

To say that wasn't what she's been expecting is to put it lightly.

"...Is that all?" She almost sounds /angry/ about it.

In fact, her Device is suddenly back in her hands, with only a flick of a leg from Lyra. She leans on it with one arm.

"Have you any IDEA how few people qualify as Meisters on this planet!? Und on OUR side no less!? Nein, nein nein nein!" She stands up, suddenly happy to have something to be both pleased and yet irritated about that isn't her personal woes.

Oh wow. That friendly arm about the shoulder is /really/ tight.

S M I L E.

"I do not desire /assistants/, Rashmi. Whether you gain the title of 'Meister' or nein is irrelevant! Ja, I shall show you how to fix und maintain. But my price for such is to aspire to more. Would we not benefit from a /Mid-Childan/ Meister?" Questions the young woman, even as she slips so easily into her political role as trying to inspire someone!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, you're not wrong," Rashmi says slowly. "...But let's see how long it takes me to learn the basics, so we have an *idea* what'll be needed. Because I will tell you right now, Hannah-chan, I do *not* have the head for backwards pig-Martian space math. I barely have the head for *our* math."

Still, that it was a smaller ask than she'd suspected is relieving... At least, unless her collarbones start to protest such an expression of friendship.

"Also I'm glad about what you said about unpleasant surprises, Hannah-chan. So it's probably not gonna be much of one that I ran into 'that girl.'"

"At the Korma."

... ..... ....... ..... ...

"...And I want to befriend her."

It should say something, that Rashmi is admitting all of this while still within Hannah's grasp. Of trust, and confidence, and of the suspicion that Belkans can gauge fear in movement.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah's smile straightens, as Rashmi shows that ever-present hesitation, and tries to declare the local math to be too much!

"Luckily, I personally know quite a wunderbar tutor for math local, und shall endeavor to cast upon your Device mein own Royal Lessons - such that are not verboten for nein-House members your understanden - to acht...translate."

Blauer Greif then pings Nicomachea with said Math Files...all, of course, sadly in Space German.

"Und while I can offer you some Sankt Church approved Mid Childan learning files, I think learning from your Liebling would be...both more swift und perhaps a bonding moment, as it were." There's no teasing there. Just a little wink, and a little cheer for the pair she thinks so highly of!

And then Rashmi takes her off balance.

Oh yes. Those collarbones start to protest.

Silence. Then silence again.

Thankfully for Rashmi's shoulders, she isn't so much up in the air suddenly by those, as she's being scruffed by the back of the uniform, and the tall Belkan is grinding her own nails into her palm through the cloth to ensure her dear friend is both worryingly not touching floor as well as staring right into Hannah's sightless eyes.

Her free hand has tossed her glasses aside, and given she's a pauper-Palatine? That's no small gesture when she's not in henshin.

She laughs. There's no humor in her voice. It lasts less than a few seconds, and then her face is just /tired/, with a side of angry breath to the side.

"Of COURSE you do!" Starts Hannah. Even as her arm tires, she grips harder.

She suddenly looks away, one, then two shuffles, and she suddenly casts her friend towards her previous seat with...a grunt, and suddenly Rashmi is back on her seat with a hard /thud/! There's a certain petty annoyance to it. But it seems like both the follow up and the included boldness of it has quelled anything more.

The better part of Hannah Steiner feels that trust.

"Und as Tharkad has nein treaty with Earth, you are free to treat the 'Shield Princess' as you see fit. Honestly I wish I knew how to handle her meinself." She admits, and then slumps back into her seat.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Wha--"

Rashmi suddenly finds herself dangling in front of sightless eyes, and it would take a much more holistically brave person than Rashmi not to be intimidated, scruffed like a kitten. There's even a little bit of whimpering, because an upset scion of House Steiner is like unto a force of nature, all her own.

A normal person might take offense to being tossed back into her seat like a pile of gym clothes. But 'normal' has fled from Rashmi's existence for the better part of a year, now, and a student of people like Rashmi has gotten *serious* value out of learning context.

So while the impact startles a rush of breath out of her, Rashmi only needs a few moments to recover, slipping out of her chair and fetching the discarded glasses. "Of course I do," she echos, nodding in agreement. "But the 'why' matters a lot, Hannah-chan, and if you'd do me the honor of listening... Maybe you'll feel better about it."

One hand rests on Lyra's head for fond scritches, and the other holds out the glasses.

"...Apparently your fight *really* messed her up too," she starts. "She has questions about what she's even doing. And you know Firefly-chan, you know the guy Hematite used to be. You *know* what working for the other side does to people who aren't... suited... for that kind of work. But you know nothing's gonna change unless you have reason to question what you're doing. If you don't *know* there's another option. Worst case, it stops being so personal, and we can have fun fighting an opponent that isn't super upset to lose. Best case, she ends up fighting at your *side* instead of at your face."

With that, Rashmi initiates the hug this time, and it's every bit as warm and gentle, and sincere, as her words. "...Basically I had a choice; I could be kind, or I could be strategic. I went with both."

Hannah Steiner has posed:
A more experienced Great House leader would know when she's being mollified...and really, some part of Hannah can feel that tug. Lyra's hiss-wuff and suddenly finding herself with her own glasses upon her head followed by wise words has her pushing them up with a middle finger instinctually.

It's really hard to /not/ stop smiling.

Hannah doesn't say 'yes' to listening. Her chin tucks. Her entire attention is on her dear freund.

Lyra licks Rashmi's face in passing, so much!!!!

Hannah knows that Rashmi is right. Worse, she knows that some most suited to the other side? Can in fact find common ground on the other.

Arms meet arms, and Hannah lets Rashmi just plow her in!

Squeeze. Gentle this time.

She nestles her chin upon Rashmi's shoulder, and then shudders.

"...Und what if, even if I was right...what if I was the taking of her family? Traitors or nein, what if I cost her everything? Sankt, why...???" Aloe could have taken her head. The shivering Steiner head can't fathom why she didn't do so!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Then you can't undo that," Rashmi says quietly. "But that doesn't mean you can't try to make it right. For her. For anyone who got hurt in the fight. You can do your best to be the *best* ruler you possibly can. And maybe that takes up your whole lifetime, once you get back. But it's *good* work, Hannah-chan, and *I* want you to be able to do it."

Lifting her head, Rashmi smiles. "And besides... with advisors like Usagi-chan and I, and allies like Chrono, by the time you get back? Yo'll be able to lead your people into a future so bright, you may not believe it's true."

And now she takes a long, deep breath, and makes perhaps the most controversial statement imagineable.

"For starters, we need to work on your defense..."