Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2

[DracoOmega]

>"It's what drew me to the profession in the first place - being able to help people."
>Wry smile
>"Though lately I find myself with a rather more dramatic circumstances to do this."

[Oldmansour]

>"It's what drew me to the profession in the first place - being able to help people."
>Wry smile
>"Though lately I find myself with a rather more dramatic circumstances to do this."

>"Your circumstance is special, too, in a way. With proper training, not only would you have the power to protect people, but the knowledge and the skill to heal the wounded. In addition to the desire."
>"Sounds like you're offering." Reisen comments lightly.
>A comment which makes the doctor blush slightly and fidget. "Oh, I've never been that confidant in my teaching."

[DracoOmega]

>Let out a little sigh
>"Well, I suppose I should go speak with your sister before much longer."
>"...though perhaps it wouldn't hurt to rest a little more, first. It's been a long day already and the day's barely started."
>To Reisen: How are you holding up, anyway? You seemed pained during the battle, and I don't mean from any injuries.

[Oldmansour]

>Let out a little sigh
>"Well, I suppose I should go speak with your sister before much longer."
>"...though perhaps it wouldn't hurt to rest a little more, first. It's been a long day already and the day's barely started."
>To Reisen: How are you holding up, anyway? You seemed pained during the battle, and I don't mean from any injuries.

>"Take as long as you like." Alisaie replies graciously. "Everyone in this house owes you that much courtesy and more. I can look into getting better rooms for you girls, if you'd like."

>I'm fine now. Tired, but, other than that, fine.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm perfectly content with this, myself."
>That's good. I know this power felt very draining the first time I used it, and that battle was only a footnote compared to this one. I fear you've had quite the initiation by fire. But... thank you. I don't think we could have done it without you.

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm perfectly content with this, myself."
>That's good. I know this power felt very draining the first time I used it, and that battle was only a footnote compared to this one. I fear you've had quite the initiation by fire. But... thank you. I don't think we could have done it without you.

>"Me, too." Poppy agrees. "Just being able to rest for a bit's good enough for me."
>I think you could have. Reisen answers quietly. You're strong, Byakuren, really strong. And I don't just mean this power you have. I think you would have found a way to win.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but nonetheless I am very glad to have had you with us.
>Barring anything else, let's just rest up a bit, and see if Rin and Lily come around

[Oldmansour]

>Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but nonetheless I am very glad to have had you with us.
>Barring anything else, let's just rest up a bit, and see if Rin and Lily come around

>The rabbit smiles a contented smiles and gratefully inclines her head to you.
>"Well, then. I should probably leave you to rest, then." Alisaie says as she stands. "Both of your friends appear to be fine. I expect they will fully recover after some rest themselves. And, if you need anything else, then call for me, all right?" And then she takes her leave of you, leaving your group, for the moment, alone.
>After a minute or so, Reisen stands up from the bed you were sharing, leaving you the freedom to have a proper lay down. It isn't the comfiest bed in the world, the mattress being obviously cheap and fairly stiff, but for the moment, you can live with that. Poppy, meanwhile, is getting a better look at herself in one of the big mirrors at the bottom of the room. "I guess it's not too bad." you hear her say aloud after a moment's contemplation, followed by a short laugh. "I think I've worn less at Koa's sometimes."
>As she switches to her Glider form in order to examine that, her telepathic voice comes to you, About what you said before, Byakuren. When you said I looked pained. Did it look like I was having a headache at the time?

[DracoOmega]

>Yes, as a matter of fact.

[Oldmansour]

>Yes, as a matter of fact.

>You were right, it wasn't because of an injury. At least not one that Patchy caused. It's a bit complicated, but it was the result of going against my owners. In this case, fighting against Patchouli.

[DracoOmega]

>What do you mean?

[Oldmansour]

>What do you mean?

>I may be a slave, but I'm not the same as a Terran slave. Reisen explains as she flutters her Glider forms wings. These buttons on my ears aren't a decoration. They're a... restraining bolt, in your tongue. A magitek kind of a geas. They're their to ensure I adhere to the terms of my slavery, and that includes inflicting pain whenever I go against my current owners wishes. And despite the circumstances, Patchouli is still my owner's daughter. Fighting against her, without their express permission, activated them.

[DracoOmega]

>Oh no, that sounds awful. Is this something the Knowledges themselves did to you?

[Oldmansour]

>Oh no, that sounds awful. Is this something the Knowledges themselves did to you?

>No. They were installed after the war. By Ambassador Seiran, as a matter of fact. They were a condition of the agreement that allowed me to stay on Earth.

[DracoOmega]

>That seems deeply unfair. We're at peace; isn't the point of that not to treat each other as hostiles? What threat could you possible pose to warrant that kind of treatment?

[Oldmansour]

>That seems deeply unfair. We're at peace; isn't the point of that not to treat each other as hostiles? What threat could you possible pose to warrant that kind of treatment?

>Reisen was in the middle of changing forms again, likely to her Saber form, but your question makes her pause mid-sentance. She doesn't turn around, but you can see her pained expression in the mirror she stands in front of. She places her arm on the mirror and lays her head against it heavily. Not a threat. she says at last. A price.

[DracoOmega]

>A price?

[Oldmansour]

>A price?

>"People don't leave the moon easily." she says aloud. "Least of all people like me." She turns her head to look at you. "There's a lot about myself I haven't talked about with you. I was a lot of things... And my life here demanded a price to pay."

[DracoOmega]

>"Why should it? What could you have possibly done to deserve this kind of treatment?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Why should it? What could you have possibly done to deserve this kind of treatment?"

>Again, Reisen visibly hesitates. From the look on her face, you suspect that she doesn't think you'll like the answer. Or that the answer will change how you think about her. Or maybe both, you can't be sure from that look. You are sure, though, that it's not something she enjoys talking about.

[DracoOmega]

>"If it's something you don't want to talk about, I will respect that. But I promise that I won't condemn you for it, either. You're a good woman and a good friend. I am sure whatever it is you say can't change my mind."

[Oldmansour]

>"If it's something you don't want to talk about, I will respect that. But I promise that I won't condemn you for it, either. You're a good woman and a good friend. I am sure whatever it is you say can't change my mind."

>Reisen sighs. "I've almost never told anyone who wasn't my owner about why I came to Earth. But, you are my friend. And we are fighting a war together. A fight that, this time, I won't run away from. You trusted enough in me to find me worthy of this power, and that I could and would support you. I can't very well turn around and keep secrets from you, can I? You need to know who it is you've recruited. And I think White Rose will understand. She and I are of a kind. But I don't really know Lily very well. Do you think she'd want to hear the story of a solider who deserted her duty, her people and her planet?""

[DracoOmega]

>"Lily is a very compassionate soul. I don't think she will think ill of you."

[Oldmansour]

>"Lily is a very compassionate soul. I don't think she will think ill of you."

>"That's not exactly what I meant. It's... an ugly story."

[DracoOmega]

>"Are you... asking if I think that's more graphic than she'd like to hear?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Are you... asking if I think that's more graphic than she'd like to hear?"

>Poppy considers that for a moment, then nods. "That's a way to put it. Not everyone wants to hear about Lunar atrocities."

[DracoOmega]

>"You... may be right. She did choose not to view a memory of Makai because she feared it would be unsettling. She was... right. But nonetheless, no matter how terrible it is, I will listen."

[Oldmansour]

>"You... may be right. She did choose not to view a memory of Makai because she feared it would be unsettling. She was... right. But nonetheless, no matter how terrible it is, I will listen."

>Reisen nods, then changes her guise once more into her Caster form as she walks away from the mirror and back towards you, not in any hurry to get there. She sits at last again on the bed you're presently sitting on, but her head lowered, her eyes focused on the floor. "I'm a traitor, Byakuren. A deserter. I abandoned my post in Lunarian army. And high treason is one of the worst crimes a Lunarian can commit. This life I now live is my punishment for that crime."

[DracoOmega]

>"Your enslavement was something handed out by your own government?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Your enslavement was something handed out by your own government?"

>"Actually, it was the Terran negociator who suggested it. It was a compromise reached between the two planets. If I had gone back to the Moon after the war, they'd have put me to death."