[PLOT] A Cup of Kindness (Moana / Lailah) [FIN]

[Teigra]

Squinting at the reflection of the bright sunlight off the pale sands, Moana kept scanning the ground before her, looking for some sign, anything that might stand out beneath the grains. It couldn't be that far, right? It wasn't as if her mother strayed far from the waters...ever, as far as she knew, nor for any large amount of time. How far could it be?

Apparently, further than she'd initially thought.

With a sigh, the Naiad paused to take a sip from the shell cup she carried at her waist. Before much longer she'd need to return to the lake as well. She had maybe a bit longer that she could keep searching before then, so she pushed on, determination set in her expression.
 

[Teigra]

The preparation for today's mission had been a bit different than for her previous tasks. No cloak, no supplies for a stake-out, no warm clothes and blankets for camping, and definitely the most unnerving of all...no weapons. That made Lailah the most edgy. Even with the knowledge that she could summon a weapon if needed, she preferred the feeling of her blades in her hands. Or at least, ready if she needed them at her side.

She had been unable to shake the feeling though that the Guardians were trying to teach her something with these tasks. After hours of prayer and meditation, she'd been compelled to approach this task differently than she had the Faun token. Even if it made her completely uncomfortable to do so.

The incident with the Faun had gone...particularly 'not to plan'. She'd felt she'd had it all worked out, swift in and out, no one had to get hurt...but apparently the direct approach had not been what the Guardians had wanted. One small blunder and the whole incident had snowballed, forcing her to take drastic measures to ensure the success of her mission against the odds. She had succeeded, yes, but at a price. A price she wasn't sure had been necessary.

As much as she hated the idea of taking advice from a heretic...that seemed to be exactly what she was about to attempt today. No weapons, no direct force...she was going to, Guardians help her...ask for assistance. She hadn't worked out the details yet, but she supposed that was part of the challenge. Lailah would have to address whatever situation she was given to work with.

Taking wing from the City near an hour before, Lailah was currently gliding over the lake, looking for any opportunity to get one of these 'Naiad' alone. As unlikely as it seemed, she hoped to find one out of the water, even if close, if only to make talking to it easier. Ugh...talking. She'd had little interaction with any of the water-dwelling heretics thus far, mostly the tree-hugging Faun...and that kept going so well.

The Guardians were smiling down on her today. Lailah's eyes locked onto the brightly colored figure crossing the sands of the beach below. No wings...and those looked to be fins at her sides...a Naiad? She'd heard they could travel on the land with legs; strange dark sorcery, clearly. That must be what she was seeing. She seemed to be searching for something...perfect. Taking a moment to steel herself for the challenge, she folded her wings back to descend towards the sands. She landed some distance away so as not to startle the heretic into fleeing, though she'd placed herself between the strange female and the water...just in case. Here goes...

"'Scuse me," she called out, raising one hand in greeting, even as her stomach twisted uncomfortably. "I couldn't help but notice, but do you have some sort of trouble?"
 

[Teigra]

Not expecting company on her search today, Moana's eyes lifted to the winged Pae'il making her landing on the shoreline. At first, she took in the Pae's position between her and the water, as well as her sudden appearance with wariness in her stance. Though...it seemed only a young one...and she was asking questions as if intending to offer help. Surely her father's paranoia was spreading. She knew that the Queen had had issues with some odd land-dwellers before, but...surely they weren't all that way. The few she had met before in her ventures to land hadn't been so bad, at least.

Relaxing, at least for now, Moana offered the teen a smile in reply. "Some sort, you could say. I suppose it's somewhat obvious, huh?"


Lailah watched the tension dissipate and let out a tense breath. She may have startled the heretic after all, but at least she didn't seem about to bolt for the water. "Somewhat," she agreed with a casual shrug, then a glance over the other. "It's not often we see one of your kind up here, at least...not without reason. You...looking for something?" she prodded gently, finding this conversation thing much harder than she'd imagined. She wanted so badly to just...get on with it and be done with this.


"Hmm...I suppose you have a point," Moana agreed. She didn't normally come to the surface just to be here. That didn't make much sense, what with the hassle involved in doing so. Sensing no harm in proceeding, she reached towards her waist. "I was looking for something, yes. One of these," she said, displaying the shell cup in her hands. "My mother seems to have...misplaced hers, and I was trying to find it for her. I don't suppose you've seen anything like it while in flight?" she asked, a hopeful note in her voice.


Lailah's expression shifted just slightly as the cup was presented, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes from lighting up. There it was! What she needed, right in front of her! All she had to do...was reach out...and take--

No, that wasn't what she was supposed to learn here. That's what she'd tried before. Just because your goal was in sight, didn't mean it was in hand. Nothing is so easily won and it can always be taken away. She wasn't supposed to use force, she'd sworn to the Guardians that she'd do this differently. Even if it killed her.

"It's...very lovely. But no, I've never seen anything like it before," she answered carefully, keeping her hands to herself.


"Oh...darn," Moana's expression fell. No such luck, of course. That would have been too easy. "Well, I suppose I'll just keep looking as long as I can. I don't know what more I can do," she shrugged.


Lailah's mind was turning quickly. Was this it? Was this her sign from the Guardians? A missing cup, somewhere on the beach? Unprotected? There'd be no struggle, no violence...she just had to find it first, then her mission was complete and she could go back to the City and be done with these heathens!

Swallowing her hesitation, she hurriedly spoke up. "Hey, uh...this cup...seems pretty important to you and your mom if you're up here looking for it."


Moana hesitated, then paused and nodded. "It is. Well, I mean, if you come to the surface. I suppose it's more like a trinket in the water, but up here? Yeah, kind of important."


Lailah pondered this new piece of information...important for Naiads who came to the land? Why? This seemed to be an important bit of information that she'd been lacking. She thought it was nothing more than a token for them, some superstitious nonsense. Was it more?

Storing that information for later questioning, rather than seeming suspicious, she only answered with a nod. "Yeah, seemed like it. Well...I can't promise anything, but I can take a look from the skies. Maybe I'll see something from there."


Now it was time for Moana's eyes to light up. "Oh, could you? I'd really appreciate it! I mean, even if you don't find it, it's so kind of you to try to help me! I could really use a break, just to rest for a moment, so I'll be somewhere close by so you can find me again." She grinned widely, nearing to take one of the angel's hands in hers. "Thank you so much!" Heading for the shoreline for a short break, she moved to the surf and took a seat in the shallows, her legs swiftly merging to form her normal tail.


It took all her restraint not to make a face, or instantly start trying to wipe her hands clean as the heretic moved towards the water. Eww, it touched her...

The sudden transformation was enough to distract her, however, so much so, she even let her expression slip for a moment, jaw dropping open. Dark magic!


Moana caught the look of surprise out of the corner of her eye and laughed. "Never seen a Naiad transform before, I take it?"


Lailah was doing her best to brush off the unnerving feeling from being in the presence of such dark, corrupt powers. Ugh. "Err...no, first time," she admitted, suddenly quite eager to be away on her search. "Uh...so yeah, I'll find you later if I find something!" she said quickly, spreading her wings and taking to the sky as swiftly as possible without looking like she was in a rush to be away.  

[Teigra]

Perhaps she had misinterpreted the signs. Of course, it couldn't be as easy as simply finding a cup lying unprotected on the beach and taking it home. No, nothing was ever that easy. This wouldn't be much of a trial if it were, she supposed.

Lailah had spent the better part of an hour combing the beach from the skies. Aside from some normal, broken shells that had washed up on the sands, she'd found nothing resembling the Naiad cup she'd been shown. She hated to admit it, but she seemed less and less likely to have any success with this particular venture. So, what could she do instead? If she couldn't find the lost cup, then should she still return to the waiting heretic? If nothing else, it was a known location of a cup. She just...had to come up with some method of obtaining it aside from forcibly taking it.

Ugh, this was harder than she'd imagined...and she'd known it wouldn't be easy from the start.

Trust in the Guardians. They will guide my steps.

And hopefully my words as well.

Talking...not her strength. So why...?

Because a Knight must possess a number of skills, both on the battlefield and off.

With a sigh of defeat, she wheeled about in the sky, heading back towards the stretch of beach where she'd left the dark sorceress in the shallows...if she was even still there.  

[Teigra]

The sound of rustling feathers preceded the angel's return and Moana looked up into the sky expectantly. One look at the teen's expression was all the answer she needed. "No luck then?" she sighed, her posture slumping forwards. She'd done some more searching of her own with no luck before returning to the surf dejectedly.


"Nothing," Lailah acknowledged, awkwardly choosing what distance to halt herself from approaching the strange water creature. She knew that what she needed was just within grasp...and yet, still she could feel chills creeping over her skin, despite the warm sunlight, after what she'd seen the heretic do before. Being the presence of such dark powers...she would have assumed it was something that perhaps just this one could do...if she hadn't implied that this was something all her kind could do. Standing a few feet from the Naiad sitting in the water, she took a moment to compose herself before adding, "Sorry I didn't find anything."

Course, she was more sorry for herself, as she could have been on the way home by now.


Moana sighed again and shrugged. "Not your fault. I do appreciate the help, even if we didn't find it. I'm just trying to figure out what to do now instead. I have to assume it's just...gone." She stared at her hands, then reached to lift her own shell into view again. Granted, there always seemed to be shells available for new ceremonies of fealty, but where did they come from? Was there only one for each Naiad? A magical source that somehow provided one when needed? Was one the limit then?


"Sure seems that way," Lailah shrugged in response. Shame. This would have been much easier if she could have found it...though, it did raise questions as to what had happened to the heretic's token. The small movement at the water's edge drew her eyes towards the present token once more. So close...but how I do get it?


Moana emerged from her thoughts to note the angel's attention to her shell. She hadn't missed the way the teen had looked at her cup before either. Frowning a bit, she glanced between the two before speaking. "You seem quite interested in my cup as well."


Internally, Lailah berated herself for being caught staring so openly. Quick...need a cover...some explanation more innocent than the full truth...but she couldn't lie blatantly either. "I...sorry for staring, it's just...it's quite nice. I...don't really have anything like that back home." True enough...Squires didn't need many personal possessions. Not that Lailah desired such things either. Not for her own purpose, not for just collecting things in general. She dropped her eyes, looking at her arm sheepishly.


Moana's questioning look softened at the reply. "Oh...well, it's nothing fancy or anything, but...I guess you wouldn't have many things made from shells up here, would you?" She laughed lightly, turning her gaze back to the cup.

She was back to pondering her other issue, what to tell her mother about her own missing cup. Would she get in trouble for it? Could she get another, even if she did? Or would she be without because of a simple mistake? "I don't know what to do. I mean, I don't want Mom getting in trouble...maybe I should give her mine and take the wrap myself. A price to pay for my own curiosity...at least, I come up here more often than she does...maybe they'd be more forgiving on me than her." She'd been muttering to herself all this time, then she turned a soft smile on the angel. "Eh, you know what moms are like. Can't help but feel like we owe 'em, right?"


Lailah had turned a curious ear on the Naiad's musings...she was going to give her cup to her mother...to take punishment on herself? The notion puzzled her...heretics weren't supposed to be selfless...

The question, however, disrupted her thoughts before they could wander further. "I...no, actually I don't," she admitted honestly with a shrug. "I...don't have a mother."  

[Teigra]

The simple statement seemed to hang in the air for a moment. Moana couldn't imagine...of course, she knew that the case existed for some...the pearls that came from the Cave of Life, for example. The young ones were raised by other Naiads in the palace, but generally, they didn't exactly have a 'mother' of their own. And in the case of those who came from the sea like her own mother, well...either they had been left behind or...

They didn't talk about it often. The former sea Aernyn always seemed so sad when the subject came up that...well, it simply wasn't raised anymore.

After turning her eyes down to the cup for a moment, Moana shook her tail free of the water until it transformed back to legs so she could stand and move towards the angel to press the cup into her hands.


Lailah's eyes widened, her surprise so great she didn't even think to recoil from the heretic's touch. Instead, her fingers closed around the shell cup, even if she wasn't entirely sure why it was now in her possession. The polite response would be to immediately and automatically refuse. She wasn't about to, but she had to respond with something. "I...don't understand."


Moana smiled and shrugged, releasing her hold on the cup and taking a step back. "Just...I wanted you to know I appreciated your trying to help me out. Not many would do that for a stranger. I know it's not really anything big and I suppose it doesn't do much for you land-dwelling Pae, but...just think of it as a gift in exchange for your time."


Lailah took a moment to look down at the cup, turning it over in her hands. "You...said something about getting in trouble for losing it..." The implications...she was having some trouble understanding...why...?


The Naiad frowned, glancing aside. "Maybe. I don't know. Can't say I've heard of any of the others losing their cup before now, but...maybe it won't be too bad. I mean, Mom's already lost hers. At least this way, what ever happens, we'll share in it. Maybe it won't be so bad. Even if we can't get another..." She trailed off...it was a distinct possibility that they wouldn't be trusted with another, though that possibility probably upset her more than it might her mother. "Ah well," she shrugged, interrupting her train of thought before she changed her mind. "That's what family is for. To share in the good times and bad. And besides, I'd like you to have it, really. It was nice to make a new friend up here today."


The strange statements just kept coming. Lailah wasn't sure how to process the odd sentiments from the heretic...was this all...some sort of trick? It didn't sound like it...and what would she gain from it? A confusion tactic perhaps? Still...even if it didn't sound like a trick, perhaps that was just a testament to how deceptive they could really be...

"I...don't know what to say," she responded honestly. Even if it was a trick somehow, she had what she needed. As hard as it was to say such words to one of the heretics, she managed to add, "...thank you."


Amused that the other seemed nearly speechless from the gift, Moana allowed a giggle to escape, waving one hand. "There, now you have something pretty to take home! Please, don't worry about it too much. I'm sure everything will be just fine." She glanced towards the water. "Well, I suppose that means I should get back to the lake then. Please, have a safe journey home, wherever that is."


The shock lingering from how things had played out, Lailah simply nodded and answered, "You too," without a thought.

If such selfish, generous notions existed among even the heretics, then perhaps...they were not all beyond saving after all. This was worth looking into in the future.

She actually waited until the Naiad dove back into the lake, turning and waving to her before she disappeared beneath the surface, then she turned her eyes to the skies. Conversation had been a trying task indeed...

But she had succeeded.

Prize in hand, the angel spread her wings and began the accent towards home.