That Ulla, too, was an inmate makes Cloud feel just a little more comfortable talking to her. Not that Allen didn't have relatable experiences, too, but it's different somehow.
"Hm. Two and a half years." How long it took her to graduate. "Seems like a pretty short time to me, but dunno how it stacks up to the average around here." He's sure the actual answer is that it's different for everyone and comparing inmates is like comparing apples to oranges, but...still, he wants to know.
Anything he's willing to share, huh? Maybe, but first-- "You're only my second warden, and the first one didn't really know what a temporary warden was supposed to do. So...what's your take?"
"Mostly temporary wardens are here to make sure you have what you
need, that you're alright, and that you don't go killing other passengers.
Only one of mine kept an eye out for me after our pairing ended. I try to
do better, but people are exhausting sometimes and I don't always keep up
as well as I should."
She's a little cynical. Except... "I think their real purpose is less what
we do for you in the month we're paired, and more testing the waters for
permanent pairings. The Admiral didn't even wait out the full month I was
Warren's temporary inmate before he paired us permanently. And James was
assigned as my inmate right as our temporary pairing was due to end. Some
people get paired a month or two later. It's a matter of connection and
common ground, usually."
Cloud shrugs slightly. "Can't blame you. People are exhausting sometimes. Don't worry, not planning any killing." That last part is meant to be a bit of dry humor, but he says it so deadpan that she could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
He nods along with her explanation. "Makes sense to me."
As for sharing... "Not sure what to share. Uh...got a few other people from my world here, if you know any of 'em. Zack, Sephiroth, Aerith, Vincent. And Angeal."
Ulla is always more prone to frankness than tact, so she'll tell him, "I
don't know Zack well, but he's close with my warden, Warren, whose
judgement I trust more than anybody else's. I work with Vincent in the
infirmary, and I offered to help Aerith get plants from home. Sephiroth was
annoying enough that I decided back when I was an inmate to ignore him as
much as possible. It's boring listening to rants about how superior
someone is. ...Though I suppose I haven't noticed as many of those lately.
I'm not sure if he changed his mind or just got bored too."
Cloud vastly prefers frankness over tact, so he appreciates it. He perks up a little when she mentions helping Aerith get plants from home. "You mean the lilies, right? The yellow ones? But...she's a warden, too, why doesn't she just request them herself?" Is this a bit of mild revenge for Aerith playing coy about literally everything? Maybe. But he's also just curious.
Then she talks about Sephiroth and Cloud can't help a quiet sound of wry amusement. "Changed his mind a little. Mostly focused on other stuff now." And by 'other stuff' Cloud means himself, but anyway.
"Oh, I work in the engine room. Though sometimes, calling it 'work' is a real exaggeration." He rolls his eyes. "But Nico figures out stuff for us to do. Ain't bad."
"Why ask the Admiral for things we could handle ourselves? It isn't
necessary. My magic is mostly just limited by understanding and
creativity. And the Enclosure lets me see plants from any world I want,
including yours, which helps with the understanding part."
Ulla smiles wryly. "I'll request things for my inmates, but I hardly ever
need to make requests on my own behalf. Twice so far; adding the ramp and
balcony, in case he didn't want me changing the structure of the cabin
myself, and modifying the transportation device by the door to fix a...
vulnerability that got me killed last year. I have no idea how that
thing works. I couldn't change it myself."
Cloud tilts his head slightly. "What kind of magic?"
He glances down the ramp to the entrance where the wheelchair and the fishbowl thing both sit. He's not sure which one she means...probably the fishbowl, if she has no idea how it works, he decides.
"How'd it get you killed?"
Cloud's not asking her questions to avoid answering any himself on purpose...not consciously, at least. She's interesting, her cabin is interesting, he's curious. It's been a while since he had the experience of running across something new and learning about it. Back home, they've been so focused on rebuilding and figuring out what the future looks like that there hasn't been time for that kind of thing.
"Sildroher have innate magic, and it works through song. I'm a very good
composer with a lot of raw power, plus Hjerte amplifies it, which means my
skill is rarely the problem. It's that to do anything, I need to understand
it well enough to describe it musically. Like a language, but in notes,
not words. The more complex the spell, the more complex the song it
requires."
So Ulla does a lot of studying any time someone asks her for something new.
She grimaces at the latter question, though. "The one with the water.
Energy weapon, heated it and boiled me alive. It's impervious to that sort
of temperature change now."
On Gaia, innate magic is something only the Cetra could boast, as far as Cloud knows. "Sounds...amazing," he says, quietly but with sincerity. When Aerith died, it felt like all the magic had gone out of everything. The Forgotten Capital, the earth, the air, the whole planet. She didn't sing to wield her power, but the feeling the idea imparts to Cloud seems similar, at least. Prayer is a little like song, he thinks, and the voice of the planet is a real, audible thing. Water, too, holds power there.
Hearing what happened with the device, he winces. What a horrible, gruesome way to die. "Shit...at least you were able to stop it from happening again."
Ulla hums acknowledgement, and then she'll ask, "Do you have ideas of why
you're here, or what you'll need to work on? I'm willing to answer
anything you like about my own experience, in case it helps you at all."
On that note, "You don't ever have to worry about... politeness, or prying,
with me. If I'm actually here to help, and if I win magical deals beyond
even the scope of my power for it, it's only fair to offer something in
return. I protect other people's privacy; I'll protect yours. But I'm not
looking to protect my own."
Cloud nods to her note about privacy, but he drops his gaze with a troubled look. "...yeah. I know why I'm here. Came here willingly. Not sure how exactly to work on anything, but...nothing to do but try."
Questions about her experience, huh? He takes a moment to think. "Did you have a general strategy in mind, or did you just...take it day by day?"
"When I came, I didn't want anything but revenge. Being stuck here just
felt like... an obstacle that I couldn't see a way past. I spent six
months refusing to talk about things that mattered, another year and a half
refusing to fully trust anyone, and six months past that struggling
to figure out anything to want from my life beyond vengeance."
So really, he's already doing better than her just by wanting to do the
work.
Don't you want revenge for all that you've lost? You still hear it when you close your eyes, don't you?
"Sounds...rough." His tone is thoughtful, brow furrowed. "Mind if I ask, vengeance for what? And...how'd you end up finding other things to want? I got a...I know someone, who's kinda in the same boat."
"I was betrayed and left for dead by the only two friends I'd ever had. I
survived, but I lost my home and my people and the body I was born with.
Meanwhile, the two of them took credit for my work and used it to claim the
throne." And Signy's betrayal cut much deeper than Roffe's. The person
Ulla loved most in the world.
"My warden always believed I didn't need to give it up entirely to
graduate. He was the first person I willingly trusted after that. And
then I graduated the moment he asked me to go with him after the Barge, and
I said yes."
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onlyembers
no subject
Date: 2024-08-21 05:01 am (UTC)"Hm. Two and a half years." How long it took her to graduate. "Seems like a pretty short time to me, but dunno how it stacks up to the average around here." He's sure the actual answer is that it's different for everyone and comparing inmates is like comparing apples to oranges, but...still, he wants to know.
Anything he's willing to share, huh? Maybe, but first-- "You're only my second warden, and the first one didn't really know what a temporary warden was supposed to do. So...what's your take?"
no subject
Date: 2024-08-21 04:52 pm (UTC)"Mostly temporary wardens are here to make sure you have what you need, that you're alright, and that you don't go killing other passengers. Only one of mine kept an eye out for me after our pairing ended. I try to do better, but people are exhausting sometimes and I don't always keep up as well as I should."
She's a little cynical. Except... "I think their real purpose is less what we do for you in the month we're paired, and more testing the waters for permanent pairings. The Admiral didn't even wait out the full month I was Warren's temporary inmate before he paired us permanently. And James was assigned as my inmate right as our temporary pairing was due to end. Some people get paired a month or two later. It's a matter of connection and common ground, usually."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-21 05:43 pm (UTC)He nods along with her explanation. "Makes sense to me."
As for sharing... "Not sure what to share. Uh...got a few other people from my world here, if you know any of 'em. Zack, Sephiroth, Aerith, Vincent. And Angeal."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-21 06:13 pm (UTC)Ulla is always more prone to frankness than tact, so she'll tell him, "I don't know Zack well, but he's close with my warden, Warren, whose judgement I trust more than anybody else's. I work with Vincent in the infirmary, and I offered to help Aerith get plants from home. Sephiroth was annoying enough that I decided back when I was an inmate to ignore him as much as possible. It's boring listening to rants about how superior someone is. ...Though I suppose I haven't noticed as many of those lately. I'm not sure if he changed his mind or just got bored too."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-21 06:29 pm (UTC)Then she talks about Sephiroth and Cloud can't help a quiet sound of wry amusement. "Changed his mind a little. Mostly focused on other stuff now." And by 'other stuff' Cloud means himself, but anyway.
"Oh, I work in the engine room. Though sometimes, calling it 'work' is a real exaggeration." He rolls his eyes. "But Nico figures out stuff for us to do. Ain't bad."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-22 01:18 am (UTC)"Why ask the Admiral for things we could handle ourselves? It isn't necessary. My magic is mostly just limited by understanding and creativity. And the Enclosure lets me see plants from any world I want, including yours, which helps with the understanding part."
Ulla smiles wryly. "I'll request things for my inmates, but I hardly ever need to make requests on my own behalf. Twice so far; adding the ramp and balcony, in case he didn't want me changing the structure of the cabin myself, and modifying the transportation device by the door to fix a... vulnerability that got me killed last year. I have no idea how that thing works. I couldn't change it myself."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-28 05:29 am (UTC)He glances down the ramp to the entrance where the wheelchair and the fishbowl thing both sit. He's not sure which one she means...probably the fishbowl, if she has no idea how it works, he decides.
"How'd it get you killed?"
Cloud's not asking her questions to avoid answering any himself on purpose...not consciously, at least. She's interesting, her cabin is interesting, he's curious. It's been a while since he had the experience of running across something new and learning about it. Back home, they've been so focused on rebuilding and figuring out what the future looks like that there hasn't been time for that kind of thing.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-28 05:46 am (UTC)"Sildroher have innate magic, and it works through song. I'm a very good composer with a lot of raw power, plus Hjerte amplifies it, which means my skill is rarely the problem. It's that to do anything, I need to understand it well enough to describe it musically. Like a language, but in notes, not words. The more complex the spell, the more complex the song it requires."
So Ulla does a lot of studying any time someone asks her for something new.
She grimaces at the latter question, though. "The one with the water. Energy weapon, heated it and boiled me alive. It's impervious to that sort of temperature change now."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-28 06:08 am (UTC)Hearing what happened with the device, he winces. What a horrible, gruesome way to die. "Shit...at least you were able to stop it from happening again."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-28 08:25 pm (UTC)Ulla hums acknowledgement, and then she'll ask, "Do you have ideas of why you're here, or what you'll need to work on? I'm willing to answer anything you like about my own experience, in case it helps you at all."
On that note, "You don't ever have to worry about... politeness, or prying, with me. If I'm actually here to help, and if I win magical deals beyond even the scope of my power for it, it's only fair to offer something in return. I protect other people's privacy; I'll protect yours. But I'm not looking to protect my own."
no subject
Date: 2024-09-03 02:08 am (UTC)Questions about her experience, huh? He takes a moment to think. "Did you have a general strategy in mind, or did you just...take it day by day?"
no subject
Date: 2024-09-09 05:01 am (UTC)"When I came, I didn't want anything but revenge. Being stuck here just felt like... an obstacle that I couldn't see a way past. I spent six months refusing to talk about things that mattered, another year and a half refusing to fully trust anyone, and six months past that struggling to figure out anything to want from my life beyond vengeance."
So really, he's already doing better than her just by wanting to do the work.
no subject
Date: 2024-09-10 12:00 am (UTC)"Sounds...rough." His tone is thoughtful, brow furrowed. "Mind if I ask, vengeance for what? And...how'd you end up finding other things to want? I got a...I know someone, who's kinda in the same boat."
no subject
Date: 2024-09-15 06:04 am (UTC)"I was betrayed and left for dead by the only two friends I'd ever had. I survived, but I lost my home and my people and the body I was born with. Meanwhile, the two of them took credit for my work and used it to claim the throne." And Signy's betrayal cut much deeper than Roffe's. The person Ulla loved most in the world.
"My warden always believed I didn't need to give it up entirely to graduate. He was the first person I willingly trusted after that. And then I graduated the moment he asked me to go with him after the Barge, and I said yes."