paixaorpg | (no subject)

Celes hadn't been quite as good as Setzer about figuring out the city, but she was by no means completely helpless here. After a slight discussion on Sabin's journal, she'd informed both men that she would be there with them at the appointed gate, so she made her way there as quickly as she could.

The ex-general herself had a tendency towards wandering and she figured getting out and about every so often would be a good way to not get lost when she had somewhere to be. Thus, she knew a little of the ways of the city, enough so that she could find her way with the help of the device's map.

Once she reached the gate, her gaze swept around the area, taking in a familiar silver head that she made her way towards as soon as she spotted it. "Have you seen him yet?" she asked as she walked nearer, mind wandering to how Terra would be doing as well. "Or Terra for that matter." She hadn't heard from the other girl in quite a while and it was starting to bother her.

"HEY!!!"

Sabin made sure to bellow loudly to make sure his friends heard him. He stood a little taller than most of the other blonds who were there, and the same for his mass, so his stature as well as his clothing made him stand out at least...a little. Or so he hoped.

However, he had to resist the urge to simply barrel into Celes and Setzer and give them a bear hug, as he was sure that would result in a couple of bladed objects embedded in his gut. He opted instead to treat the unfortunate crowd around him like an obstacle course, and to create a ruckus as he crashed through the poor people to his buddies.

He figured once he was standing next to Celes that he probably could have accomplished that in the same time frame, with less noise and fewer angry cityfolk cursing at him.

"We are looking for a blond man in a mess of blonds," Setzer pointed out, just before Sabin's yell split the air. "On the other hand," he added, "we may not need to look. As for Terra, I haven't seen her yet. I'd imagine we'd have heard about if Kefka had her though."

Kefka wasn't the greatest at keeping from gloating, or so he'd seen, and he'd imagine that would be even more so in this case. Well... at least once he'd gotten over that defeat from last time.

Celes' lips quirked up in a small smirk for a moment at Setzer's words just as Sabin's yell came through to her ears. "At least it's pretty easy to know when he's got something he wants to show off." The man did have a point there about Kefka and his gloating. At least then they'd know exactly what he had when he had it.

Her eyes moved to where she thought Sabin's voice had come from. "Certainly took him long enough," she muttered, mostly teasing... or as much as she ever got.

Sabin clapped Setzer on the shoulder, trying not to do so too hard (as that would also result in a bladed object being embedded in his gut). He knew much better than to touch Celes at all without permission. Though...the same thing should apply to Setzer too. Sabin didn't care though, a little physical contact wouldn't make the gambler go off nearly as fast as it would the general.

"It's great to see you guys! How are ya?" He was much quieter now, since he was so close to the two of them. However, the reduced volume couldn't conceal his excitement.

If he had dog ears and a tail, the ears would be standing straight up, and the tail would be wagging happily.

"Well enough," Setzer answered. "The place would be better with a proper sky, though." Not that the answer should be unexpected and he'd gotten as used to it as he likely ever would. But having friends around would hopefully manage to stave off boredom well enough. After all, boredom was never enjoyable and things begun to stagnate a bit too easily for his liking in a place like this.

"And possibly without the local Queen of Hearts."

Celes was rather glad she managed to get around being smacked on the shoulder as the sensation had never quite appealed to her. Being exempt from it was nice in her mind, though she figured she'd probably deal with it if she had to and it meant she'd be around her friends more.

"Could be better, could be worse," she agreed after Setzer had spoken, scoffing at the idea of Kefka again. "That Queen of Hearts hasn't bothered us since. If our numbers keep growing, he would be stupid to try now."

She glanced at Sabin then. "I suppose you haven't been here long enough to have an opinion on your status?"

"Not really,' Sabin answered. "I've been here long enough to know that I've been through more in our world than you guys, and that some weird guy named Timon is the 'mayor,' and that I came through the Muspelheim gate. That and the blue-haired, scarred person, who I think might have been trying not to be suspicious and condescending. He was pretty good at being both." Sabin spoke more or less matter-of-factly, it wasn't like any of this was very important to him, not yet. He was just happy his friends were here.

Ever the one to stay on his feet, Sabin quickly changed the subject to something more pressing--food and lodgings. "So, where should we go?"

"'Time is out joint,'" Setzer answered with a slight shrug. "But I don't think it's something we can fix."

They might have had a few spells that dealt with time, but Haste and Slow weren't exactly going to help, which left time travel quite firmly in the realm of the impossible. Which was fine by him, really.

"That depends on what you had in mind to start with."

Celes listened carefully to what Sabin said, processing it and filing all the appropriate information back in her head. This would certainly prove interesting if they were trapped here for an extended period.

"The dome hides a lot," she spoke up after a bit of time listening. "I haven't had the chance to thoroughly explore it, yet." She paused for a moment, contemplating letting her guard down a little and finally went through with it. "If you're looking for the local gym, you'll have to find it yourself. I hear a bit of exercise does a body good."

Taking a couple steps back, she regarded Sabin carefully to see how he would take that little... attempt at a teasing joke. Having her friends around now was going to do her a world of good.

Sabin laughed at Celes, but didn't do much to respond to Setzer. "The gym'll have to wait until I've gotten something to eat. Are there any good restaurants nearby?" As if on cue, he felt his stomach growl. "I haven't eaten anything since I got up at home."

"Conveniently, there is," Setzer answered. Admittedly it was more a cafe than a restaurant, but he was fairly certain that the distinction wasn't precisely as important as the fact that it served food. At least not at the moment, anyway.

"It's fairly close by, even."

Celes' lips quirked up at one corner slightly and she relaxed a little bit further. "I don't know where the closest place is here, but I'd be willing to bet it's not far." She glanced at Setzer, who seemed to know more about this place than she did. "At least most places here are decent in their cooking. So, where to, leader?"

"Great!" Sabin was about to add "let's go," but since Celes had already named Setzer leader he felt it was unnecessary. "After we eat, either of you up for a sparring match?"

"I think I'd be a bit outclassed there," Setzer answered. He could handle his own in a fight, but cards and darts weren't precisely a match for Sabin's fists.

"It's this way," he added, heading off in the direction of the cafe he had in mind.

Celes smirked a little, tossing errant locks of hair over her shoulder as she began following Setzer in the direction of the cafe. "What type of spar are you up for?" she asked. "Magic, weapons, fists?"

If it was a fist-fight, they ALL knew Sabin would win hands down. But sometimes it would be worth it just to get back in the groove as it were.

"Not going to join us, Setzer?"

"Just a friendly sparring match," Sabin replied as they walked. "No magic, but using whatever we use best." He grinned, and had to resist a momentary urge to flex and show off his biceps.

That probably still wasn't good enough to make them want to spar with him. "Um...you guys could go two-on-one against me, how does that sound? And I should be a little rusty, I've been cooped up in the castle since we...beat...Kefka..." He trailed off as he remembered the gap there.

"Yes, but you did beat him. You've a better hand by default." Which wasn't to say he wasn't willing to try his hand at the odds all the same, but he'd like the odds to at least be recognized.

But if it was a two-on-one fight he'd gladly hop in, although he'd leave it to the others to arrange thing first.

Celes smirked slightly and moved her hands to touch the hilts of the blades at her sides. "Aside from our meeting with the Queen of Hearts -" She snaked a glance at Setzer then. "-I haven't done much of anything lately. I was asleep for a year and then..." Things happened. "-I found myself here." She shrugged nonchalantly. "If we're all on a relatively similar playing field, I don't see why we can't have a friendly spar. Are you in, Setzer?"

Sabin looked sheepish for a moment. "I'm not sure how 'level' it would be, unless you guys both go against me. I've learned a lot since Kefka got a death ray."

"I may as well do my best to even things out," Setzer answered with a grin. "I haven't been playing that sort of hand lately and it wouldn't do to fall out of practice."

Besides, the place was hardly safe with Kefka lurking about and he could hardly avoid him forever.

Good. At least this way they could prepare for the inevitable second meeting. The more Returners they had, the better.

"Two-on-one sounds fair. Better make sure you're ready, Sabin," she commented as she spotted a building ahead that looked like it could be a cafe of sorts. "Is that the place, Setzer?" she asked, tilting her head in the direction of the building.

"Great. We'll have a sparring match a little while after we eat, then." Sabin earnestly hoped that the establishment in front of them was it, when Celes asked Setzer.

"C'mon, I said give it back!" From around the corner whipped the young woman, ponytail bobbing all the way behind her as she darted forward. It was only on the second take that you could see that she was in hot pursuit of something small, and furry. And fast.

When she had been resting, she could only guess that a raccoon had taken it upon himself to investigate her things as she slept. Unfortunately, Terra had never been the lightest of sleepers, and had woken-up just in time to interrupt the rodent as it had taken particular interest in that... writing thing they had given her at the gate.

Her panicked reaction only fueled the creature as she had been chasing it for quite some time now, from the exasperated look on her face. With years of military work stored in that body of hers, she lept forward in a last-ditch effort to catch the thing -- only to fall at the feet of several passers-by.

Realizing what had just happened, Terra quickly rose to her feet, embarrassed, helping the woman to her feet that she had just knocked over, and muttering a fairly awkward apology. With a dirty look cast in her direction, she swept herself off, frowning as she scanned the crowd again for the thief.

"It is indeed," Setzer answered. When he'd said it wasn't far he'd meant precisely that.

However, what he hadn't expected was to find a familiar face running into the scene. And in hot pursuit of something, no less. Apparently the Lady had felt like being kind - especially in light of the conversation he had Celes had been having shortly before they'd run across Sabin.

"Need a hand?" he called in Terra's general direction, raising his voice slightly to be better heard over the crowd.

Celes’ attention had turned from her companions to the building, but was quickly ripped away from both entirely as a cry tore through the streets. She knew that voice…

“Terra?!” Of all the people around, Celes certainly hadn’t expected to run into so many of her friends so soon. Granted, it was nice and she wouldn’t turn it down, but it was still not something she had seen coming. Hesitating for just a moment, the ex-general made her way through the crowd to Terra, who appeared to have been chasing something. “Who is it and what do you need from them?” she asked quickly, obviously offering, in her own way, to go fetch the thing Terra was after.

"The idea isn't to fall on the pavement," Sabin said as he walked toward Terra, loud enough to be heard. Setzer and Celes stood out well enough, he wasn't worried about finding them again in the crowd.

He wore a big grin, happy to see Terra--and in particular, happy to see her looking human. He caught a glimpse of something scampering around between people's legs, but thought nothing of it.

"H-Huh?" Terra was caught slightly off-guard as suddenly -- people started talking to her! She spun on her heel, her eyes wide, she was sure that she recognized those voices! "Sabin!" was the first she saw amongst the small group, for obvious reasons. He looked... slightly different from when she had seen him last, on her way to the floating continent, but there was no doubt that it was Sabin.

Peering around his huge form, she noticed the other two. "Celes... and Setzer, too!" Relief seemed to creep into her tone of voice -- or was that happiness? "You're all... you're all here..." she trailed off as she dipped her head to the ground again, in order to conceal the smile that had crept its way onto her lips. Part of her wanted to cry out how glad she was to see them, but she kept herself restrained.

Realizing that she hadn't answered Celes' question, she pulled herself back into the reality of the moment. "My... that writing-thing," she explained, "when I was resting -- something grabbed it, so... I didn't know how to contact you anymore..." When she had first arrived, that device had been her lifeline, her communication with her friends, and when it was taken from her...

'Writing-thing' was it? Well, there was only one thing that could be and it wasn't precisely something he'd wanted to misplace. Especially not with the situation being the way it was.

"Well, I suppose we can't have that. Did you happen to see where this 'something' went?"

For now he'd ignore the comment about them all being there. After all, it was fairly obvious so there wasn't any need to mention it.

Having finally discerned what it was that Terra had been after, Celes glanced around her to see where the thing had gone. It took her a few moments of tracking - and getting strange looks from the locals in the process - but she eventually spotted the thing again. Shooting a well-placed Slow spell at it, she managed to trip the rodent up enough that she was able to catch it and wrest the device from its grip.

"Got it," she called to her companions, making sure the rodent had ambled off before she returned to the group and offered Terra the journal with what could pass as a smile. "At least it's not chewed."

Well, it was something, right? And she was attempting to be cheerful. It was quite the improvement from the last time she'd been out and about.

Sabin gave the green-haired girl a broad grin, the cheerful, almost stupid-looking kind few other than himself had mastered. He patted her shoulder lightly, hoping he was paying enough attention not to accidentally hurt her.

"How ya been?" he asked, uncaring (and leaving unnoticed) that he'd used much the same greeting with the other Returners. "And what were you up to before you came here?"

It would be worth it to find that out up front, so that he didn't say anything that might frighten her...or tell her something awful she didn't know yet.

"No, I was in pursuit, but then when I ran into someone -- " she began to explain to Setzer, but Celes, it seemed, had already taken the measures to get the device back from her. She was somewhat surprised, to see Celes using a spell so openly like that, wouldn't the people turn and stare?? Wouldn't they wonder how she could use such skills??

"Celes!" she cried, then toned her voice down to a harsh whisper, "Should you really -- be using magic so openly like that? In front of all these people?" as she spoke, Terra looked around, as though to make sure that no one else had seen the act.

She relaxed slightly, sure that no one had turned to stare at the group, and breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, she couldn't hide the warm smile that formed on her lips as Sabin put his hand on her shoulder. It felt -- comforting, yes, that's what it was. She looked skywards so as to talk to the fighter face-to-face, but when his words finally registered, everything came flooding back to her.

"Kefka!" she suddenly cried out. "We were trying to get to the flying continent," she became more animated in her speech, using her hands to convey the panic she seemed to feel, "that's where Kefka and the Emperor are!"

Her eyes darted towards Celes, "But Celes said... that he's here, too!"

"I doubt anyone here cares about whether or not we use magic," Setzer answered with a shrug. The city was a strange enough place as it was and while he hadn't seen everything everyone could do in the city, no one seemed to have cared about Kefka tearing up the streets with magic.

"It's an odd hand we've dealt into, after all."

More so with the oddities of time and the slight tendency of people to just up and disappear, to say nothing of the fact that the natives were so alike as they were. A sea of blonds in a strange city.

"I'm afraid he is."

Had it been anyone else, Celes probably would have rolled her eyes, even just a little. Since it was Terra and she'd obviously just arrived, Celes held it in, though the urge was strong.

"Terra, calm down," she replied, working off what Setzer has said in reply. She supposed she couldn't blame Terra, but at the same time, if Celes couldn't use her magic here, she would have been a lot worse for wear a long time ago.

"Yes, Kefka's here. Yes, he's dangerous. No, we don't have to fear him mindlessly."

She sighed, fighting the desire to rub her temples in frustration, though she kept that to herself as she realized that Terra was actually from her past. "The floating continent? That's all you remember?"

Sabin tightened his grip on Terra's shoulder, just for a brief moment, trying to give her a sense of security. "Don't worry, if Kefka comes around I'll be sure to pummel his ugly mug until he runs away screaming like a toddler, okay?" He grinned, and this time did flex, trying to prove his point that he would protect her--and that he could protect her.

A violent chill made its way down Terra's spine, causing her to shudder as the others spoke to her. She hated talking about Kefka. Couldn't stand that he was still a threat to them, even in another world. But above all else, she was frightened of the manical clown, and had to plead with herself not to think of all the crimes against humanity he had committed thus far, and was probably still planning.

As she felt Sabin's grip on her shoulder, she wished that she could relax, but her mind was now racing a mile a minute. Even though Celes said over the device that she had already faced off against him and won --

The girl's train of thought was interrupted as she looked up into the faces of her friends.She sported a funny sort of look now -- a mixture of confusion and panic.

"Wait," she looked to Sabin first. "Why did... you ask me what I was doing before I came here, Sabin?" She didn't want for an answer before her gaze travelled over to Celes. "Thats where you were too... You were all with me. And Edgar, and Locke, and..." now she turned to Setzer. "Right? You remember, don't you?" Another unsure pause, "... right?"

"Time is out of joint," Setzer answered, for the second time in that conversation. "What we remember of the game isn't necessarily the last hand you saw and vice versa."

And the last he remembered was bringing the Falcon up out of Darryl's tomb. He was probably the only one from that point, if what he was hearing had any truth to it, but there was no shame in being the last of anything; none at all. It meant there was more value in being that thing.

Celes’ lips twitched upwards slightly at Sabin’s words. She and Setzer sure could have used his help not long ago, even though they’d somehow managed fine without him. At any rate, having more of them together would certainly help things and made her relax a little bit more.

Terra’s words caught her slightly off-guard, though, but Celes supposed she should have been expecting that sort of thing. She’d been the same when she’d arrived, after all. Things were very different here and soon Terra would be figuring it out for herself. Celes waited for Setzer to add his two gil into the equation before offering her own words. This ‘trying to comfort someone’ thing wasn’t exactly what she was good at, but Terra was a friend, so Celes gave it a shot.

“We each seem to remember something different,” she began calmly. “Rather, some of us remember events further in history than others.” Her gaze snaked to Setzer and Sabin for a moment before returning to Terra. “The important thing right now is that we’re all here together. Much as we fear for home, our place is here now and here is our focus. We need to deal with what’s here and now before we can worry about home.

“And if I remember correctly, our primary worry was getting Sabin fed before he devours whatever he sees next.”

Sabin gave a hearty laugh, and forgot himself for a moment and smacked Celes just as heartily on the back--which meant he used a lot more force than was necessary, desirable, or, more than likely, safe. "Come on Terra, loosen up. I've beaten Kefka once, and with you guys to help me out I'm sure I can do it again."

Without giving her any warning, he scooped Terra up into a big bear hug, grinning like an idiot all the while. "Nothing's going to happen to you on my watch, kid. Just stick close." He set her down, and started to look around for the restaurant they were supposed to be going toward.

Terra's eyes fixated on the gambler as he spoke. Time's out of joint? Setzer always spoke so figuratively, sometimes she still couldn't decipher it properly. She was grateful that Celes took the time out to explain it a little better, though it certainly didn't make the half-human girl feel all that much better to hear it. Whereas the former general may have trouble in the 'comfort' department, Terra always seemed to give a less-than-shining effort when it came to 'relaxing.'

There was a strange knot that was making itself known in the pit of her stomach, but she didn't have much time to think about it, as the next moment her feet were lifted up from underneath her. Her initial reaction was panic, but when she realized what was happening, she was able to calm herself.

Sabin was just trying to make her feel better, wasn't he? That's what... friends do.

A warm sensation washed over her at that moment, which even manifested itself into a small, light laugh as she spoke. "Sabin, put me down!" When she was back at earth-level, she looked up at her three comrades, and she couldn't help the small smile that spread across her lips.

Slightly embarrassed, she dropped her eyes to the ground. "Everyone. ... Thanks."

Well, at least it was a familiar sort of oddity? And not one that he was likely to ever change, not when it part of who he was. You'd sooner get him to give up the sky, and given the likelihood of that it was safe to say that it wasn't something that was likely to change.

But that was just the way the cards landed.

"Don't worry about it," he answered with a smile. "We'd be very poor friends if we didn't try."

Celes had been expecting for them to turn and start walking for the cafe, or whatever it was. She had not been expecting the hand that clapped down on her shoulder. She was, by no means, a fragile person, but Sabin was extremely strong. The force of his hand on her back caused her knees to buckle and she almost went crashing to the floor, catching herself just in time with a few stumbling steps.

Taking the time to move away from Sabin to avoid this happening ever again, she turned back to him and offered him a sardonic expression. Not being the absolute best at comforting someone, she simply glanced at Terra and offered a small smile in response with a murmured, "Of course," following quickly.

"So... cafe, right?"

This group was the absolute worst about getting distracted...

Sabin grinned broadly and laughed loudly. "Missed you guys," he said in between breaths. He was glad that he'd cheered them up, even for just a minute. He'd been in a much better mood since beating Kefka, and having the world's weight lifted from his shoulders, but the other Returners here hadn't gotten to lighten their burdens yet. He felt he owed it to them to spread some joy and a few laughs--even though they would probably come back to bite him in the ass later.

Basking in the small moment of peace, Terra was quickly interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling loudly. With her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink, she clasped her hands over it quickly, and looking up, slightly embarrassed. The sound of resting at a cafe and the prospect of food -- reminded her of how long it had been since she had last had something decent to eat. Well, truth be told, it was probably that meal that the Emperor --

Shaking free and silently chastising herself, the girl looked over to the others, face by face. "Sorry. I guess -- I'm hungrier than I thought..."

"Cafe," Setzer answered with a nod. "Especially in light of how many of us seem to be in need of food." He was hardly so unkind as to leave his friends starving, and they were still close enough to be within sight of the one they'd been heading to before.

"Will that one suffice?"

Celes rolled her eyes a little, but there was a soft tint to her expression as she looked back at them all. It really was good to see them again. “Well, this is the closest thing right now, so unless you have a better place, I say we go in now.” Pausing just long enough to make sure they were going to follow her, the ex-general headed in the direction of the café doors.

"As long as they have something, it's good enough for me," Sabin responded to Setzer's question. He followed after Celes, eager to have a good meal, and figure out where he was supposed to live.

(no subject)

chucking myself in early >_>

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pardonnez moi as i crash this party

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