paixaorpg | I don't think we're in Ivalice anymore, Venat. [Active]

Entry tags:

I don't think we're in Ivalice anymore, Venat. [Active]

Character(s): Dr. Cid ~~and Venat~~ and anyone who wants to stare at someone 'talking to himself.'
Content: Entrance.
Setting: Joutenheim Gate
Time: Evening
Warnings: hmm...

He gazed around through his glasses, rolling his head to the side, quite curiously, and perhaps a bit confused. There was a small crowd of mismatched fools near him and he watched, silently, skeptically. And then after a moment he leaned back, dropping his arms to his side, eyes widening a fraction. “No, I don’t particularly recognize this place, myself,” he said deeply, seemingly to no one in particular. He eyed the gate of giants, rolled his head to the other side, then tilted it up. “Domes. Doesn’t seem to be high on technology.” Glance at the dark sky. “No airships in sight… What’s that, Venat?” He frowned, nose wrinkling. “No Mist? That is quite unfortunate.”

He moved passed the group he had been watching, and walked around the line, weaving around the few stray people, glancing at the booth. He began to chuckle for no reason at all. “Yes, I noticed that as well.” He laughed again, then moved to the front of the line, leaning in far too close to look at the man behind the counter. “Pardon me, but my colleague and I can’t help but wonder that this place isn’t anywhere located on Ivalice.”

The man stared and leaned away. “This is Paixao. Your name, please?”

He pulled back, looked to his side, and seemed to ignore the man asking for his name. After a moment and a head tilt, he glanced back. “Doctor Cidolfus Demen Bunansa.”

“Uh…” the man blinked and the good doctor smirked, just a bit.

He gazed around through his glasses, rolling his head to the side, quite curiously, and perhaps a bit confused.

“Too much for you, boy?”

“This journal is for you.”

“Ah, so there is a bit of technology in this small place. Thank you, m’boy.” He chuckled, glancing the device over. “Oh no, it may be useful,” he said, and the man looked at him oddly. Cid ignored him and moved toward the gate again, looking behind at the bright grass. Curious, that. This place did seem interesting, but it was putting a roadblock in his plans, and he had to wonder if those fool pirates and the princess had taken his bait already. How long would it be until he would see those results? He frowned deeply, nodding a bit. “Yes, this is quite a problem we’ve found ourselves in. …Idea? No, none. And if you can’t even figure it out, then it seems like we’ll just have to delve into this mysterious city.”

He stepped in, making observations on every detail, keeping track of it in his mind, commenting once awhile. The fact that stood out the most still bothered him some, however. No Mist. That meant that the only bit of it they had to work with was in his fragments of manufacted necithite. Hopefully they would not need it any time soon.

“Well, might as well begin our research, hm?”

Threaded | Flat

Ironically, it was that very lack of Mist that was shortly to lead a set of rather familiar people to the general vicinity. Mistless though the place may be, Fran's senses were still more than sharp enough to pick up the faint traces of Mist in the pieces of nethicite he carried. And that in itself was more than enough to prove slightly worrisome, given the reactions she had seen in not only herself but also in Mjrn.

And try as she might, she couldn't help but keep a slight frown off her face at the memories that called to mind. But those could wait, no sense n dwelling on the past. Not now.

"I sense Mist here," she announced quietly, making no attempt to hide the fact that it struck her as slightly odd. "Nethicite, it seems."

"Nethicite?" Balthier asked, "What in the world would that...?" No. No, it couldn't be. The old man was dead. He wasn't coming back, he never would. Then again, Lord Rasler was somehow here in this place as well, and he'd been dead for years, hadn't he? But... no. Absolutely not.

"That can't be good," he finally decided on saying, "Should we look into this a little further or wait and see if fate feels particularly generous in telling us exactly what it is this time without us getting up to our necks in trouble?"

He was very tempted to pick the latter, although the former was tempting, if only to see if who he didn't want to be there really was. At least then he could make plans to stay away from the madman in the future.

((Hoshit! ~~I want my bigger guns.~~))

A silent Occuria was one that anyone should pay attention to. It caused Cid, not much further beyond the gate, to take pause when his conversation turned one-sided. He glanced at his ally, wondering what could have distracted it so. "What is it?" he asked, and then it seemed as though he broke the spell and their conversation resumed. Cid glanced around at the odd number of young blonds, all keeping their distance.

He stood out far too much. "It could not have been of much importance if it only kept your attention for so long. Let us not worry about it for now, Venat," he told the other. He had already figured out the journal; it would be useful in later times when he actually had research.

For now, it seemed as though they had to just get... familiar with this Paixao.

He certainly did not like this kink in their plans.

Carpet glided along at a sedate pace, listening to his master and his female companion's talking. He could detect some sort of magical presence not far off, but he wasn't sure if it was this Mist that the woman--Fran--seemed to speak of sensing. Could one really sense mist? As far as he knew, mist was just moisture hanging in the air.... And what was this Nethicite? He'd never heard of the word before. Was it some kind of mist he had yet to encounter? He'd had yet to encounter a lot of things, after all....

Whatever it was, Master Balthier didn't sound very happy about it. He sounded confused, in fact, and maybe starting to be downright upset. He was wondering about his choices..... He sounded as if he at once didn't want and did want to do both. Well, that probably meant he was conflicted, which..... well, which wasn't good for a construct that took orders, even unspoken ones. So he did the best he could, and decided to follow through on the option he could help with; they could always direct him away if it was the wrong choice, right? Carpet quickened his pace a little, sailing forward and homing in on the magic he could sense until he could feel that they were right in the same area with it.

They couldn't get much closer without actually initiating a conversation or confrontation, so Carpet took to circling overhead once he had reached Dr. Cid, observing the man--chatty, wasn't he? Who was he talking to?--as he waited for further orders.

"If it is who you fear no doubt he knows of our presence already." Or would soon - she'd never been entirely clear on what Venat could and couldn't pick up, but the fact remained that Venat was one of the Occuria.

Although from what little she could pick out from the noise of the crowd below as they drew closer it would seem that they hadn't been noticed just yet. Perhaps Venat wasn't paying as much attention as it ought?

"It is better to face our fears, is it not?"

Balthier sighed heavily and shook his head. No. He didn't want to do this. he never wanted to see the old man's face ever again. He never wanted to see him talking to himself like some sort of madman--a shell of the father he once was long, long ago. And yet there Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa was in his full, mad glory, standing there. Probably thinks this place one giant experiment for him to go through with, he thought to himself with disgust.

They could run. He could run, just as he always had, just as he had for the past seven years. He'd never have to turn back, never have to see his past again. And yet... yet he couldn't. He wasn't entirely sure why, himself--perhaps because of the last worn out string of familial ties--but he found himself nodding. "Let's get this over with," Balthier finally said, and bade Carpet to land.

Venat had indeed noticed them, it was just... fuzzy. This city was an unwelcomed presence for it, and its abilities. But now, the Occuria was certain that the odd atmosphere was not playing tricks with them, and made sure to inform the good doctor of such.

Dr. Cid turned a now distracted scowl to the skies, honed in on the carpet and sure enough the pair of sky pirates. "Still finding ways to pollute the skies," he told his side with a cock of his head, then leaned back a bit and briefly debated if such a carpet could be shot down. It was a curious little thing. No Mist in it, else Venat would have noticed, but perhaps a bit of something that they could use? Thread by thread even. He grinned in thought.

Now if only the two aboard were of any importance. No swords of the Occuria. No stones. What good were they to him? More distractions. The scowl returned, Venat informing him of such.

So that was how it was then. The past held them all, it seemed - and Fran was hardly a stranger to the woes that family could bring, even when one was so thoroughly cut of from it as she had been. Voluntary exile was still exile after all, preferable though it may have been to staying in the Wood. But if there was any good to come of this it seemed that the nethicite the man bore was of the sort made by hume hands.

Not that the manufacted variety was any less dangerous to those of her kind than the the shards of the Sun-Cryst had been, before it had breathed its last to wake Bahamut.

But that was of less importance at the moment. There was a ghost from the past to confront, after all.

No swords, no stones, nothing of the sort. Balthier preferred it that way... perhaps even because of the old man's annoyance. Well, he'd just have to deal with two "useless" sky pirates for awhile, wouldn't he?

"And here I thought I'd never get the privilege of seeing the good doctor's face again. I suppose I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, should I?" He wondered if this was the same case as it was with Lord Rasler. Could this Dr. Cid have come from a point before his death? A little prying was in order in his opinion, but how to go about it would remain to be seen.

That was, unless his little friend didn't tell him everything first.

He wouldn't have had a clue about this... supposed death that would have come for him (of course if anyone told him that it would be his future, he would deny it, easily).

But one thing was still clear for the doctor: he didn't want to deal with the pair of sky pirates. They would only get in his way, as always. Even if he tried to push Ffamram off a long time ago - surely he didn't think that he had become a Judge because Cid thought he was meant for it?

Ha. How comical if that was the case.

Cid scowled. Venat voiced its troubles. The city was dampening its senses, and the Occuria was unamused by such.

"It would have been a privilege to us both then. It would be best for you to run away and lay down then, Ffamran. I have matters to attend to. You wouldn't want to get your toy gun dirty now."

Run away was it? She couldn't help but doubt that that was like to be in the plans just yet, and even more so given that the man had brought it up - Balthier didn't care much for doing what was asked of him. And Dr. Cid had all but dared him to stay, for the time being. Therefore they would stay.

Or rather, Balthier would stay to spite the man he once called father or at the least to continue the conversation and she would hardly think to leave after all. Better to have someone who was less affected by these things, even if he could use the nethicite to thrall her should he wish it.

But for now, she'd remain silent - little more than a comforting presence at Balthier's side. It wouldn't be her place to say anything even if she had anything to say; it was Balthier's show for the moment.

Run away? Indeed, Fran's opinion held true. The old fool was daring him, and Balthier would take that dare. All the better to annoy him, and as long as he accomplished that, he was perfectly fine with this decision.

"Oh, then it's a good thing I brought along a real one," he replied, walking casually to the side a little. He didn't take his hand off of the weapon, however. In his present company it could very well be a death sentence. "Not everyone has the means to have as many flashy toys as you do. Another thing to be glad about, I think. Just imagine if all madmen had such at their hands! I mean, an esper, of all things..."

Balthier really was glad that Fran was here, if not for her company then at the very least for back-up. Goading the doctor when he wasn't entirely sure what Dr. Cid currently had up his sleeves wasn't exactly safe.

Cid's eyes merely followed Ffamran's movement, not even paying much attention to, yes, his real gun. Nothing that deserved his attention. Venat bristled briefly, a small flicker of energy, but they both figured that Ffamran had at least enough intelligence not to draw the weapon.

However, they wouldn't mind knocking him down if he did.

But then the doctor's interest flickered across his gaze from just one word from the other's sentence. Esper. Cid's stance shifted, very slightly, and just a bit tense. Now.... how would Ffamran known about that...? A guess, perhaps? Bit of a good one.

Cid scowled. Curl-back of his lips. He would have voiced his current concerns about Ffamran's little guess to Venat, but to have the pirates overhear? He didn't need that. Though Venat had its own curiosities about this.

"And you're one to have such a grasp on madness?" He said instead of questioning. It was just a damn good guess. That's all.

"We have seen more of it then we care to." After all, between both Dr. Cid and Vayne there had been a great deal of insanity from the Empire during the events that had led up to Dalmasca's freedom. More than enough to last her for quite a while, that was sure.

And yet here was a man they had seen die standing before them. A strange madness, this twisting of the timestream. But perhaps it would be to there advantage, should he not expect them to have seen what they had.

But they'd first need to know when he was from, and that was best left to Balthier - he'd known the man better and for longer than she had, though he might not like to admit it.

Oh, but that got to him. Balthier couldn't repress a satisfied smirk. He was getting to the old man. Excellent. Later he would think about how foolish he was being with his life, but for now the doctor's scowl was more than enough incentive to continue.

"Well, they do say that those who are mad aren't exactly able to tell that they are, hm?" he answered, "So, of course, you wouldn't have a clue. Luckily for you, plenty of people have seen the signs and are polite enough to tell you the truth."

The pirate continued to pace for a moment before he stopped to turn to face the man he once called father. "By the way... Can't help but notice you didn't have any to say about your toys. You usually seem to have quite a bit of fun letting everyone know just what you've made."

(( orz Sorry about the wait x.x ))

Venat made an off comment about saving Paixao some trouble and ridding it of the sky pirates. The idea was seeming more and more appealing, although while the pair was useless at the moment, it was possible that the doctor could use them in the future... Easy accessible pawns..

"No, Venat," he told the Occuria firmly. He schooled his features and put on a more amused expression than his annoyance from earlier. "Perhaps then, 'madness' is a blessing," he commented to Ffamran with a smirk. "It brings all the proper tools to my doorstop."

Ah yes... his wonderful toys. Or lack there were. He would have to start anew now. Surely there would be something of use that he could use here and mold into wondrous new shapes and sizes! Weapons for a god. Venat would find something if he could not.

"I have all that I need with me." He turned away from them, faced with buildings that could use some inspecting, and other parts of the city. He called back, "Here I don't need any excess baggage to weigh me down without my lab. That includes them, and you." He begun to walk away.

"It is no blessing, to drive apart that which it should not." But all the same, it did - or at least had, in this case - as sure as the flowers of the Feywood bloomed each summer. "Or did you not see that, in your desire to follow as your Occurian 'friend' asked?"

For her part, she was fairly certain that it was closer to that second. 'Putting the history back in the hands of man' by toying with so many. True, it had worked in the end, but she was hardly one to enjoy being played for a puppet by any, much less the Occuria.

Balthier scoffed. And the old man complained of his running away. But he didn't dwell too much on the matter. If the old man wanted to leave, Balthier had no qualms. It got the man away from him, and that was what really mattered in the end. He'd prefer it if the doctor were in his previous state of exanimation, but that didn't seem as though it was going to happen without help, and the pirate wasn't ready to get into a fight just yet.

A smirk spread across his face at Fran's comment. Well said. Well said, indeed. He kept silent and waited for the old man's reaction with no small amount of amusement.

Cid wouldn't call it "running away" as having more better things to be doing. He barely had seen any of this city, after all. He needed to know what he had to work with!

His Occurian friend made note to shimmer at his side, which caused Cid to pause in walking. Venat had trouble being in full view, but it was still obvious that the god was there, silently. "It is hard to drive apart something that already managed to," he told the viera evenly, not even looking at Ffamran. He continued walking, and the Occuria hovered close by, burning eyes watching the pair carefully.

Of course Venat was there. Fran had yet to hear of it leaving the man's side, save for at his death and he was not dead here, after all.

That latter was, sadly, mildly annoying, and most likely more so for Balthier but she was willing enough to deal with it for the time being. And as long as he continued to carry his nethicite with him she'd be able enough to steer the pair of them clear of him.

"Can you claim it was not the madness that was the cause of the split, then?"

Of course, Balthier would know better than she but she doubted all the same.

Balthier ignored the shimmer. Venat wasn't important at the moment--it had never been, in his opinion--only the man it protected. Allies, puppeteer and puppet, either way, the old man had been led along by the Occurian. Following the bait of being free from the hands of the gods and all the while being told what to do by one. And of course Dr. Cid didn't even notice. He was too caught up in "his" dream to realize the truth.

Swords, stones, and gods. Bah, he'd had enough of them to last lifetimes upon lifetimes. There were none here. If anything, that was what he liked about this place. It was one bright spot, at the very least.

"I wouldn't bother asking him, Fran. Asking a madman who doesn't know he's mad if he's mad is a lost cause. As much of one to tell a sky pirate to abandon his sky once he's gotten a taste of it," he said, "Whatever happened happened. At least I wasn't the one left blind."

To Cid, everything had been in his plans - or easily workable into those plans - except for this dreadful city. A place without mist? Troublesome. Even interfering with Venat. But he still felt he could blame the other Occuria on something like this. Hide away the rebels where they wouldn't be found. But... that didn't explain the pirate pair.

Or maybe they had their own out, after they completed God's will. Rubbish. All senseless thoughts.

Just like that viera.

But Ffamran was right about one thing; whatever happened happened, and Cid wasn't going to indulge any longer on even more of these senseless thoughts.

((Annnd exit stage left! Lol. <3 Balthier.))

Had been and would continue to be, it seemed, even in a place such as this. Although perhaps Venat wouldn't have quite as much influence here. This was no place for any of the Occuria, rebel or no. But at the least it would seem that there would be no fighting today, at least.

"You may be right, I fear," she answered watching as the man headed of on his way.

"Shall we be off then?"

Of course he was right. Time had shown him to be right, and the old man would only continue to prove it in his continued existence in this false life he was living in this place. "I think we shall," he responded quietly. He seemed to rid himself of his morose mood in a second, however, "No use sticking around here, is there? Let's see what else this place holds."

Balthier watched Dr. Cid walk off before he turned on his heel, his back to the man. He just hoped he wouldn't find any more unexpected guests any time soon.

Threaded | Flat

I don't think we're in Ivalice anymore, Venat. [Active]

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