paixaorpg | A Meeting of Unlike Minds as Decreed by Lady Luck [Active]

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A Meeting of Unlike Minds as Decreed by Lady Luck [Active]

Character(s): Celes Chere, Setzer Gabbiani, Kefka Palazzo (OPEN TO: Locke
Content: Celes meets Setzer at Joutenheim Gate . They then take the train and rendezvous with Kefka at Paixao Central Station.
Setting: Starts within the city just beyond Joutenheim Gate (Coordinates )/close to the train station. It progresses to Paixao Central Station (J6).
Time: From early morning to a little before or after noon. Likely before.
Warnings: ~~Kefka~~ ~~Pre-established ill-will~~ ~~Possible violence~~ None, for now.

After passing beneath the giants' massive clubs and stepping into the city, Celes had planted herself upon a bench not far from her point of etnrance, pulled her cloak more tightly about her form, and busied herself with the semi-familiar rectangular device she had been given by the peculiar, painstakingly adamant civil servant at the gate. "Journals" they called them. It certainly didn't look like a journal, but she hadn't concerned herself with it during her prior adventure in Paixao. The technology was simple enough to figure out, with or without the ungodly number of flyers and pamphlets she had been forced to receive. It hadn't taken long for her to receive replies to the post she had made, for her to find two familiar faces and a new ally, for whom she now waited.

The sun favored her skin with warmth, smiling down upon Paixao and its inhabitants with the very same light. The wind stirred, pushing its invisible fingers through her golden tresses and threatening her cape. Perhaps she would look into the city's armor, if not something she could add to her ensemble that had sleeves. It felt cold, colder than it had in Maranda. The thought of that Hellish city caused her to turn her eyes downward. The stench of smoke lingering upon her became a sudden attraction, causing her to cringe slightly. The screams, the pale tongues licking at the black sky...

"Not now," she told herself, forcing her head upward once again.

A sigh fell from the general's lips as she regained her composure and straightened herself. The cloak was pulled more tightly about her, her eyes flickering briefly to the journal screen before she surveyed the area. To think she was waiting for a gambler! Nothing could surprise her at that point, not with the heightened peculiarity of Kefka's behavior or the oddity of his squirmishes with her new acquaintance. Setzer Gabbiani, the Wandering Gambler...

Celes drew in a slow breath and bowed her head, closing her eyes for a moment. Her body had caught up to the change in setting for the most part, but "the ante had been upped". Conflict could take every form and seemed as limitless as the sea in that moment, no matter how near or far she was from it. Even if she had to endure childish bickering, it would be worth it, so long as she wasn't alone, wasn't left to her own devices.

Maranda, the wind whispered in her ear.

There was the slightest shudder. Celes opened her eyes again and beheld the world around her.

Any day now....

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As luck would have it, Setzer hadn't actually been all that far from the Joutenheim gate when he'd stumbled across Celes' little message on the boards. And despite what he might have said to Kefka there, the fact that Celes didn't recognize him was somewhat of bittersweet win. On the one hand, it gave him a clean slate; but on the other, he'd have to be careful what he said. And that would take doing - he'd grown just a little too used to Celes being one of the Returners. But he'd said he'd be there, and be there he would. Gambler though he was he wasn't about to break a promise to a lady.

Fortunately, he already knew who was looking for, and as a result it didn't take him too long to spot Celes sitting on one of the benches near the great gate.

"I haven't kept you waiting too long, I hope," he commented with a smile once he drew close.

Celes had followed the approaching man with her eyes, his style of dress clearly defying Paixao's rule of monotony. It was somewhat different from what she was used to, having lived as a military woman for as long as she could remember, but the style, the look about him...it was that of her home world, no doubt about it.

Closing her journal, she gathered the pamphlets and flyers in the same hand behind it and stood respectfully to greet the gambler. Rebel or not, his presence was more than welcome at that moment. His smile drew her back into reality, dimming the sensation of Maranda's steel claws in her gut.

"Not at all," she replied, inclining her head forward. The general allowed her grip upon her cloak to fail and extended her hand for a shake, despite a sudden onslought from the wind. A smile surfaced, small though it was for the chill--a rare anomaly, given the professional appearance she seemed to be trying to establish. "It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Gabbiani."

He'd have answered in kind to her answer, save for the fact that he wasn't sure if it was still 'good to see you' if the person apparently had no idea who you were. She was still just as beautiful as he remembered though, and that was a start. Having the sky back would have been better, but since it didn't look like that was likely he'd take what he could get.

"Likewise," he answered, a polite smile on his face.

The previously extended hand was allowed to return to her side. Celes nodded, glancing over their surroundings for a moment before returning her gaze to him. She folded the pamphlets and tucked them in the carrying pouch attached to her belt, ignoring the wind and checking her grip on the journal as she stepped forward and brushed past him. After taking a few steps forward, she stopped and glancing over her shoulder expectantly.

"Shall we be going then? The first train should be leaving shortly," she said, then paused. "We should have an ample amount of time to talk along the way."

To be honest, Setzer wasn't entirely pleased about the concept of meeting Kefka in person, even if the man had promised to play nice. Not that he trusted that, of course. He'd seen to much treachery from the man to expect otherwise. But he'd deal with that card later.

"We may as well," he answered politely. "It'll be hard to get anywhere if we don't."

Even if it meant walking straight indeed to the lion's den. Oh Lady Luck, don't fail me now, he thought as he moved to follow Celes.

Celes nodded and proceeded to take the lead, maintaining a steady pace as she steered them in the direction of the station. She tucked her journal into her pouch as she walked, slowing after a few long strides. The station wasn't that far away. It was in plain sight and the train wasn't due to leave for at least a half-hour. They had plenty of time before the storm was scheduled to begin brewing. No doubt interaction between her colleague and new ally would be strained.

"If you don't mind my asking," she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "how long have you been in the city, Mr. Gabbiani?"

He shrugged at that question. He'd only been loosely keeping track of how many days had passed since he'd first arrived; a sort instinctive reaction to the fact that he was half-sure that if he started actually counting the days the depression would get to be too much for even him to bear.

"Not more than a week or two." A pause and then a smile. "And please, call me Setzer."

"A lot can happen in a week's time," the general replied, pausing as she caught sight of the smile, "Setzer. How has Paixao treated you?"

There was no lengthy line at the ticket booth, no game of Push-and-Shove to be played. For this, Celes was thankful. She had a clear shot at the ticket counter and she took it, glancing at the large schedule plastered to the wall as she passed it. Her fingers were already grasping the mouth of the pouch, searching for some amount of coinage. Multi-tasking was not half as difficult as people so often declared, not for her anyway. She was listening regardless of her fumbling fingers, the man at the desk looking as monotonous as the rest of the drones of the city's civil servants.

Between the pamphlets and her journal, though, it was hard to locate much of anything. "Let's see. I should have..."

How had the city treated him? The short answer was 'not well' - to find himself stranded without the Falcon was discomforting, even if he trusted his companions to keep her (relatively) safe. Not having a proper sky helped that a little, but it did nothing to help the unsettling feeling of being caged in. And to the freedom-seeking gambler, that was not a good feeling.

"Well enough," he answered, smiling to hide true feelings. "Although I won't deny missing home on occasion."

"Allow me," he commented upon noticing Celes' trouble in finding an appropriate payment for the ride, one hand already heading towards one of the pockets of his coat.

Despite Setzer's words, Celes found it in herself to continue fumbling for gil for another moment before giving up. She looked to Setzer and nodded slightly, inwardly sighing at herself. Her nerves were not yet shot, but they would be if she didn't pull herself together. For the sake of their temporary alliance, she was going to have to do so, and relatively quickly. She couldn't afford to be shaky when they arrived at Paixao Central Station, not with the hostilities present on both sides of the coin.

That was the problem with being sandwiched in the middle.

"I will pay you back," she said. Her attempt at veiling her relief was only partial as she turned her attention to the man.

A request for two tickets for the first train headed to Paixao Central Station was issued, the money the only end left untied. She looked to Setzer again before glancing in the direction of the train.

'Home....'

"I appreciate the offer, but there's no need," he replied. He'd said that money wasn't what he was after and he'd meant it. Of course, if she insisted he'd accept her offer but that was a different matter.

A short amount of time going through the contents of his pocket was all that he needed before coming up with the right amount of money and handing it across to the ticket seller.

"Home," he answered simply, handing one of the tickets to Celes.

"Thank you, but I insist," she offered Setzer a smile and motioned towards the platform. "Shall we?"

Rather than walk ahead, Celes waited for Setzer so that she could walk in step with him. There was no point in rushing, now when they were so close. They had plenty of time to kill, anyway, and the benches planted about the stretch before the railway was more than welcoming.

"And what exactly is it that you're looking forward to upon your return?"

The soldier cast him a glance, eyes silently discerning. It was true that he had left some details out of their first discussion. What gambler in his right or wrong mind would show all his cards at the first turn?

"As you wish then." The response could have been intended for either one of her comments or perhaps both. However, he was moving in the general direction of the platform, so there was at least one question answer.

The answer to her second question came almost immediately, as if he didn't even need to think about it. "A proper sky."

"A proper sky?" Celes blinked, glancing up briefly at the great sphere-like projection above them.

That was right. Paixao didn't have a real sky.

"I see...and what will you do when you have a proper sky again?"

A proper sky... What he wouldn't give to not have these infernal domes overheard.

"Why I'd fly, of course." There was a pleased look in his eyes at that. Flying free with nothing to between him and the sky... What he wouldn't give to feel that again.

To say she was surprised by his response might have been something of a slight understatement. Men didn't fly. Soldiers certainly didn't, no matter how down to earth their drinking tolerance might be. What exactly did Setzer mean by "fly"? As they stepped upon the proper platform, she foudn it in herself to direct them towards a bench befire what she knew from experience would be a decent seating area on the train.

"You keep wings in that coat?" Celes smiled slightly, catching the look in his eyes. Curiosity was spurred and stepped up.

Setzer chuckled at that. "Much as I might wish it, no." And wasn't that an interesting thought. Men with wings. "I've a different sort of wings."

A shame he hadn't managed to bring the Falcon with him here. Not that it would've made any difference what with the domes, but he could still think about how nice it would've been.

Celes took a seat upon the bench, leaving plenty of room for Setzer to join her if she so wished. They had time to kill. Why not take advantage of it? Her expression settled into neutrality, her exterior remaining safely within the bounds of her occupation and rank. It was all anyone needed to see. Being diplomatic didn't require unnecessary warmth. Smiles were things of show to ease the tension, slipping through under the stress of the present.

"What sort of wings do you have?" She inquired.

A worthy question to consider, that one. Naturally, he wasn't going to come out and tell the the plain truth of the matter. He'd been a gambler for too long to simply lay all his cards bare at once, after all.

A smile as he settled himself on the bench. "Why, I fly on the wings of a Falcon."

"A falcon?" The general blinked at him, then turned her eyes ahead again. The answer was vague, and intended to be. She committed it to memory for further pondering at a later date. "How...curious."

There was more activity at the station now. Preperations had been underway since before their arrival, but the platform had seemed lifeless up until then.

Celes turned her eyes over her shoulder, anticipating the small, disjointed stream of people filtering in. "It shouldn't be much longer now."

And not much longer until he was forced into close proximity with the one person he'd rather not have to encounter. Hopefully Celes was ready to put up with a fair amount of latent tension in the air during this affair.

"Perhaps, but it works."

There were very few people who would have wished to encounter Kefka Palazzo. In all honesty, Celes was among them. It was better, in her opinion, to keep her unstable colleague manageable and within sight. Allowing Kefka to roam the city as he pleased would no doubt result in a wasteland of ashes.

Shouts from the crewmen yanked the general back into the present, causing her to glance at Setzer briefly. "It looks like it's almost time to board..."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Setzer answered, with a smile that quite belied his inner nervousness.

Climbing to his feet, he turned to offer Celes a hand. The action might have seemed more than slightly odd coming from a man who freely admitted to being a gambler. But then again, he'd never seen any reason that his profession of choice should keep him from being polite when politeness was due.

Professionalism reared its ugly head, prompting Celes to stand of her own accord, without any assistance. The smile did work a wonder, though, resulting in a slight inclination of the head rather than a whole dose of rude disregard.

"Shall we?" She said, taking a step forward.

"After you." A slight bow accompagnied the words.

As for the decline of his offer to help, either he was quite used to such or simply didn't care. And what with his tendencies to smile it was hard to tell exactly what sort of emotions may or may not have lurked under the surface - in this particular case a sense of nervousness that not even his tendencies to feel more alive the greater the risk could entirely erase. Not that one could blame him for that, of course. Kefka was a dangerous person no matter how you looked at it.

And the danger Kefka posed to others was exactly the reason Celes wished to take it upon herself to keep the Court Mage in line. It might not have been her responsibility were they safely in the World of Balance, but in Paixao, there was no Emperor Gestahl to supervise the madman. She was the only Imperial personnel present besides Kefka; therefore, he became her responsibility. If it was in her power to keep him from taking an innocent life, she would not hesitate to raise her hand. That was that.

Celes stepped forward, leading the way to the train. She handed her ticket off easily enough and received the stub with a stiff nod of her head, then walked up the stairs and paused to wait for Setzer.

She didn't have to long to wait, as Setzer followed not far behind her, handing off his own ticket before also climbing the stairs. Trains were nothing new to after all, even if most were no longer in operation thanks to a variety of reasons. And it would certainly be faster than walking that much was true. He nod politely at Celes - a sort of 'go ahead' gesture - and stifled the urge to sigh at what he could imagine the conversation to come would be like.

Celes went ahead as per the motion issued by Setzer, finding a comfortable window seat in a private compartment due to the hate with which she pursued it. There was nothing to be gained from sticking the two of them in any public area, or perhaps she simply had no desire to have strangers sticking their noses in their business. The two stood out like sore thumbs, when it came down to it. Paixao's inhabitants may have been monotonous, but that didn't mean they lacked the ability to properly use their given senses, intentionally or otherwise.

Drawing the length of her cape about her, she covered her shoulders as she sat down and drew her journal from its place. Placing it upon her lap, flipped it open easily and proceeded to scan the Network, doubling over the coordinates Sephiroth had sent her. He was a curious man, General Sephiroth. Her memory of their previous encounter was faint, but seemed to become more vivid with every attempt at recollection. If nothing else, witnessing an esper of such size and tremendous power, hearing its voice, had left a lasting impression in Celes' mind...

And the whisper came strong, a voice on the wind of memory. It was a language she knew, but did not know, something strange and foreign; and yet, it was...a name on the tip of her tongue, a name she couldn't quite remember, but she knew. She knew. She clung to the darkness provided by the back of her eyelids, reaching for that name, his name.

In the silence provided - perhaps unintentionally - by Celes, Setzer makes no effort to continue their earlier conversation, his mind instead busy on his own set of problems. Not surprisingly, the man they would shortly be meeting took up a large portion of them. Not so much because he was necessarily worried that his luck wouldn't hold, but more because should the deal go south he didn't exactly have a handy escape plan; the Falcon wasn't waiting in the wings, and he had no real friends to hold as spare aces. If only the Falcon hadn't been left behind when he'd come to this place. Darryl would never have let him live it down if she'd heard about it.

Can't even keep track of your ship, she'd have said. What kind of pilot are you? And then she'd have laughed that laugh of hers, as if to soften the blow. But she was gone now, and dwelling on it wouldn't change the fact.

A slight rustle of fabric as he drew a deck of cards out his pocket and begin to shuffle it with the ease of practice, occasionally stopping to deal out a hand, look at it and then return it to the deck and start anew - the action most likely intend as something to help keep his mind off of things he'd rather not dwell on at the moment.

The speaker over head brought Celes back to the present as it sounded, giving a monotonous "ten minutes until departure...destination: Paixao Central Station" to the still-boarding passengers. Her clear blue eyes fluttered open, the memory fading until it became yesterday's memory once again. She hadn't forgotten. She had every intention of continuing the conversation in which she and the silver-haired general had been in the midst.

An air of silence fell over the general as she sank into silent contemplation, her fingers occasionally tickling the keys set before her.

The calm announcement cut through Setzer's thoughts as well, as he flicked the four tens out of the deck almost effortlessly, and as if he'd known exactly where they'd been all along. Ten was a good number, promising good fortune, but in what, he wondered as he splayed them out in front of him. And more importantly, when?

Slowly, he ran a finger across the cards. War was hardly a good omen in this situation, nor was death. Which left wealth and love. And he rather doubted either of those was going to be much help in what was to come. He sighed as he looked again at the cards in front of him. Why did Fate have to be so maddeningly hard to understand sometimes?

The scenery was as monotonous as the rest of the town. Celes didn't bother looking up at it; though, she did give Setzer an occasional glance. He was a gambler; he had told her that much. That he should draw a deck of cards and begin shuffling was no real surprise. Still...

"...Are you reading them?"

Well now, that was an interesting question. It wasn't proper fortunetelling by any means, what he was doing but it was the closest he would likely get with his cards.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. There's a meaning to each of the cards, if you know how to find it."

Needless to say, he knew how to find it.

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A Meeting of Unlike Minds as Decreed by Lady Luck [Active]

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