paixaorpg | Through the crowded streets [Active / Closed]

Belle's steps were light as she half walked, half ran up the slight slope to the third Cafe Ersesat on her way from the Muspelheim area. Despite having a map, she'd somehow found herself going down a side street instead of staying on the main road and she now feared she was desperately late.

The cafe came into view and Belle slowed her steps, giving her rapidly beating heart a chance to calm. It wouldn't do to meet someone new flushed and out of breath. She tucked the errant lock of hair that always fell over her eyes back where it belonged and exhaled slowly, glancing through the mingling crowd.

With a start, she realized she hadn't even asked Yuna what she looked like. What if she was blonde and blue eyed like everyone else she'd met since coming to Paixao? But it seemed her fears were unnecessary, for standing right outside the cafe was striking girl with the most unusual clothes, clearly looking for someone.

Belle neared the cafe, smiling slightly. "Yuna...?"

Yuna hadn't been waiting long when she spotted someone hurrying up to her. The former summoner had forgotten to ask what her new friend looked like, but she suspected this woman was the person she was looking for. The suspicion was confirmed when her own name was spoken.

"I guess you're Belle, then," she answered with a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you in person."

And it was. Yuna was a person who thrived on interactions and friendships, so the more she had in this strange place, the better off she would feel.

"Would you like to go in or take a walk around outside? I haven't actually been very far yet, so I'm not sure how much help help I'll be, but at least we'd have each other for company."

Despite her best efforts at appearing unruffled, Belle's heart was still pounding from her exercise. "A-actually, would you mind if we sat for a moment?" she asked apologetically, one hand pressed against her heart. She still sounded out of breath as she explained, "It took more out of me to get here than I thought it would!"

She blinked, truly taking in the shorter girl's appearance. There was more skin showing than Jenny's outfit! She glanced down at her own conservative dress and quickly back to Yuna's face. If this was the norm for ladies, she wasn't sure if she had the confidence...

Yuna appeared not to notice Belle's exhaustion for the moment, but a smile crossed her lips and she nodded. "Of course! You didn't have to run here." A slight chuckle followed that statement as the summoner turned and headed inside, oblivious to the way Belle was examining her outfit. Had she known, she probably would have picked one of the other outfits she had in stock, like the white mage. That one only showed her face as far as skin was concerned.

But she hadn't, so she pulled open the door with no knowledge of any possible discomfort. Holding it open for her new friend, she tilted her head a little. "How are you liking it here so far?" she asked as they stepped in and followed a waitress to a booth off to the side, trying to start a little conversation early.

"Thank you," Belle murmured to Yuna as she went through the open door. "To be honest, I'm still in a bit of shock," she replied, scanning their surroundings with mild awe. "I just...never thought something like this actually happened to people."

She sat down in the booth as gracefully as her shaky legs would allow, arranging the skirt of her peasant dress over her legs. "I realized too late that there was a train here," she explained regarding her worn out appearance. "This is still so overwhelming..."

To be honest, Yuna had dealt with far stranger things before in her life, so finding herself in some strange land was unnerving, but not the worst she'd ever had to deal with. It had, of course, been made much better by the fact that she'd found people she knew nearly as soon as she'd arrived. Few people had that luxury it seemed, so she vowed to help anyone she could, starting right now with Belle.

Yuna slid into her own seat and ordered a glass of tea for the moment before turning hr attention back to her new friend. "I still haven't figured out everything this place has to offer. It's so different from Spira." With all its domes and lights, Paixao reminded her of Zanarkand and she wished she could see Sir Jecht or... Tidus and ask them if this looked anything like their city. A soft sigh accompanied her thoughtful expression before she was able to pull herself out of it.

"It really is," she continued, pulling out the device she'd been given when she first entered the city. "There's a map in here, but it's been so long since I had to use one that some of the symbols are a little different." She pulled up the map on the device and examined it. "Do you have a place to stay yet?"

Belle, who had been watching a young, fair-haired couple on the other side of the cafe after ordering some water, glanced sidelong at Yuna when she sighed and the girl's wistful expression, though brief, couldn't be ignored. Now wasn't the time to press, though...not when they'd only just met. Still, her heart went out to Yuna. Despite the wise depths of her gaze, she still looked young. Maybe even younger than Belle was.

"No, not yet. I only just learned awhile back that I could use almost anything as currency here. I was assured by this man named Timon on the electronic journal that I wouldn't have to be on the streets, though." She smiled, leaning forward over the table. "Is Spira the place you come from? What's it like?"

Yuna was still trying to find her current place of residence on the map, but after a little time with no luck, she decided to put it away until she could figure it out later. "You're the first person I've met here who I didn't already know." Granted, she'd only actually met a handful of people so far, but that was beside the point.

"It's a strange place, but I'm working on getting some sort of steady income so I can afford to stay in one place... a nice place preferably." She offered a smile, genuine and warm, at Belle. "Maybe if you'd like a roommate, we could look for a place together." It'd help split costs at any rate.

She paused when Spira was mentioned again and nodded once. "Spira is my home. It's..." How to describe it. "It's very different from this, though I've heard tales of a city that was like this a thousand years ago. I wonder if this is what Zanarkand was really like back then. I've only seen it after it was destroyed, so I don't know."

She paused again, trying to think of what her world could be described as. "Well, it's hard to describe an entire planet, but it was very diverse and I miss it... I miss the sky." The sky and flying. "Where are you from?"

Belle sat silently with wide, curious eyes, watching Yuna talk about one subject to the next. It was hard to pick a subject to reply to first, so she just decided to answer Yuna's question first. "I'm from a country called France. I lived in a small little village out in the country, surrounded by mountains and forests." She paused, smiling up at the returning waitress who brought them their drinks. At the inquiry about ordering food, she shook her head -- she wasn't hungry, having just ate a modest meal a few hours ago.

"You...mentioned being roommates?" she asked hesitantly after the waitress was gone. It was hard to believe the other girl had offered; Belle had never had a single friend outside her father and Phillipe before, and they didn't really count. Back on her world, girls her age were notoriously not interested in being her friend. "You mean...living together, here? As friends?" She couldn't disguise the hopeful, eager note in her voice.

Yuna's smile grew a little as she listened to Belle explain about her home. She, too, declined anything but a drink, as she wasn't particularly hungry at the moment. "That sounds wonderful. I've been to so many places on Spira that it's hard to describe them all at once, but Besaid was my hometown."

She didn't miss the hopeful look on the other woman's face at the mentioning of being roommates. Something had happened here, though Yuna couldn't figure out what for the life of her. She didn't press for the moment, though. "Sure! I wouldn't mind at all. It's better to have at least one new friend to live with than none at all and I can't let anyone go without that."

The former summoner offered another warm smile. Having never had a point in her life where she hadn't had people either being friends with her or wanting to see the summoner / High Summoner who was the daughter of a High Summoner, Yuna didn't quite get why Belle was so excited about the prospect. She loved having new friends, though, and would never turn one down, particularly one as nice as Belle was.

"Oh, I'd love to!" Belle gushed, smile widening. "Thank you so much!" It was then she realized she was perhaps a little too excited and sat back in her seat, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "I've...never had a roommate before," she said sheepishly, gazing down at her glass of water. If she wasn't careful, Yuna would think she was odd too.

"I noticed that you wear some extraordinary clothes. Did you have an exciting job at Besaid?" Her eyes sparkled at a sudden thought. "Were you an adventurer?"

Yuna didn't mind the extra excitement. It meant that Belle was truly interested in her offer and that made her extremely happy. "I guess I never have, either, but I've traveled so much lately that it's hard not to imagine myself without anyone around. It'll be nice to have a friend with me."

If Yuna had known what Belle was thinking, she would have been quick to assure the other girl that it would take a lot for Yuna to think anyone 'odd.'

"I guess you could say I was an adventurer," she continued thoughtfully. "My guardians and I did a lot of traveling, but we had a specific goal in mind, though later the Gullwings weren't as dedicated to one pathway." She realized she was rambling a little and stopped, blushing a bit. "Oh sorry. I was remembering a little." She was so used to everyone knowing exactly what she was doing, and had done, in her life that meeting someone who knew nothing at all was different. She didn't really mind, though.

"Did you do anything special at your home?"

Belle shook her head, looking back down at her water. "No, not really. Where I come from, there isn't any magic or adventure. It was just me and my father." She looked back up, smile deepening as she spoke of her only family member. "He's a genius inventor. We traveled all over France when I was growing up. I guess that's the closest thing to adventure I've experienced; I usually just take care of the house and our few animals, or help him with his inventions."

After taking another drink, she leaned forward again slightly. "I hope you don't mind me saying so, but you seem so...experienced. Like you've seen so much." She laughed softly. "I'm a bit awed, I guess."

"At least.. you had your father with you, though," Yuna murmured with a sad sort of smile. Even though she'd been able to meet with her father upon her arrival here in Paixao, that would never make up for the loss of him during the rest of her life. She had spent so long without him that she'd barely known him... and he had barely known her.

Yuna had surrounded herself with friends because she had no parents. Kimahri, Lulu, and Wakka had practically raised her.

The mention of her experience drew another sad smile from the former High Summoner, but she tried to conceal it. "I don't mind, but... sometimes experience isn't always a good thing. Sometimes... experience is harder to deal with." She would continue if pressed. Not knowing how much Belle was interested in, she didn't add much to begin with.

There it was again, the brief glimmer of deep sadness in Yuna's eyes and smile. And her reply was so heavy with unsaid meaning that Belle couldn't help but press for more. "What do you mean, Yuna?" she asked gently. "Did something bad happen to you...?"

It was weird... having to explain this story again. Yuna had told her father everything that had happened to her, but she knew she'd omit a few things now simply because they were too personal to her at the moment. Still, Belle was a friend now, albeit a new one, and Yuna didn't begrudge her friends much.

"It's kind of a long story," she answered, glancing away for a little bit. She took a sip of her tea to gather her thoughts before she figured out where and how to begin. "Where I'm from, there was this being up, until two years ago, called Sin that roamed the world. It was said that if we lived by the teachings of Yevon and atoned for our sins, Sin itself disappear. Summoners were the only true way to defeat Sin, and even then... the summoner and one guardian would sacrifice their lives to defeat Sin for a short period of time. When I was seven, my father became a summoner in the hope of defeating Sin forever. I never saw him on Spira again. He defeated Sin and left me to be raised in Besaid. Ten years later, I became a summoner as well, knowing exactly what I was getting into. Lulu and Wakka tried to stop me, but... I did it anyway." She smiled fondly at that, wishing they were here with her.

There was a bit of a catch to what she said, though she hadn't intended it. She'd seen her father since, but not on Spira and things were... different there. A lot had happened since they had last seen each other. A lot had happened in general, though she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to explain things like Operation Mi'ihen and Vegnagun, especially not here. Maybe later.

"I guess France didn't have anything like that, did it?"

Water forgotten, Belle listened intently to Yuna's story. So much responsibility on a young girl's shoulders, so much sacrificed. Suddenly feeling shamed by her own selfish desires for excitement, Belle lowered her head, watching the crystal clear water in her glass ripple slightly.

She shook her head, smiling slightly. "Oh, no, nothing like that. Other countries had their share of warfare and strife, and even in our little village, there was conflict but...never anything so monstrous."

Casting propriety aside, Belle gently took one of Yuna's hands in her own, eyes pensive. "I'm sorry for bringing up any painful memories. It was insensitive of me."

Edited 2009-05-05 21:33 (UTC)

"Oh! It's all right," Yuna quickly assured her new friend with a smile. "You didn't know. It's not the first time I had to explain things and probably won't be the last. So don't worry about it, okay?"

She really hadn't meant for her friend to get so worried about her. "It's not that every adventure I've had was bad," she added quickly, diving into her time as a sphere hunter in order to bring a little cheer back to their table. "I became a sphere hunter after my guardians and I really defeated Sin and my cousins and I flew all over Spira searching for clues to the past. It was really a special time. We didn't have to worry about anything and I could help anyone who needed me there."

Yuna offered another smile, hoping that would help too.

Belle brought her hand back to curl around the cup again, smiling in bemusement. "I see!" She hoped to comfort Yuna, but now it seemed the girl was trying to comfort and reassure her. Her bemusement changed to admiration; Yuna really was very kind. "That sounds so exciting!" She finished her water and set the glass aside.

"How did you come here? I mean, what were you doing before you found yourself in this new world?"

Edited 2009-05-05 21:57 (UTC)

"...what were you doing before you found yourself in this new world?"

Saving the World. Well, it wasn't something Yuna could admit yet, even if it were true. She didn't know how Belle would react to that. So she opted to backtrack quickly and figure out what she had been doing... that was decent enough to be put into words here.

"I was exploring a dungeon," she answered, mind falling to the chocobo dungeon. "It was a new one underneath the chocobo stables my friend Clasko managed. He's a chocobo breeder now and I think he's much better suited for that than Chocobo Knight." She was happy Clasko had managed to find something he enjoyed doing. It never occurred to her that Belle might not know what a chocobo was.

As expected, Belle didn't know what a chocobo was. "Choco...bo?" she repeated, mouth forming the words slowly as if tasting them. It sounded like a snack of some sort, but that couldn't be right. There was mention of stables and breeders as well.

She blinked a couple times, waiting for Yuna to elaborate.

It took Yuna a moment to remember that the people she met here probably had no idea of anything she took as normal. Stifling an apologetic chuckle, she elaborated on the subject.

"A chocobo is a... a bright yellow, mostly flightless, bird," the summoner answered, trying to figure out how to describe one. "They're huge, taller than most horses even, and serve as gentle, if sometimes peckish, mounts. The Chocobo Knights train them for battle and they've proven to be extremely intelligent. Some of them hide things or find them, race; they do all sorts of things!"

Now she wished she had a picture of them. "I guess you don't have chocobos in France, huh?" she asked with a smile as she turned over her napkin and began to draw a rough sketch of a chocobo on it.

Belle raised her eyebrows, picturing such a creature in her mind. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she valiantly restrained from bursting into giggles at the image. What a silly looking creature a chocobo must look like! "No, not as far as I know," she replied, brushing the stubborn lock of hair from her eyes again. "Although...I guess it sounds somewhat like an ostrich. That's the largest bird on my world, though it isn't bright yellow and not used as a mount."

The idea of trying to ride an ostrich dissolved the rest of Belle's control and she giggled behind her hand.

Edited 2009-05-07 00:02 (UTC)

Yuna finished the crude drawing right before Belle burst out laughing. What was on her napkin looked like a giant chicken. Yuna's head tilted at the laughter as she pushed the drawing towards the other woman.

"What's so funny?" she asked, not quite getting the joke. "Riding chocobos is normal where I'm from."

"Oh..." Belle gasped, smiling. "I'm sorry, it's just that..." She glanced down at the napkin and started giggling again. "Birds like this on my world are so gangly and awkward looking that I was picturing riding one and...well, it looked so funny in my head." She bit her bottom lip slightly, bowed her head and looked up at Yuna. "I didn't mean any offense."

"None taken!" Yuna quickly assured her new friend with a smile. "I've just never seen any other large bird but a chocobo so I don't quite understand is all. If I ever find a chocobo here, I'll show you, all right? They're really friendly and most of them are pretty. What are your birds like?"

"I'll look forward to seeing a chocobo, then!" Belle took her own napkin and Yuna's drawing utensil and attempted a drawing of her own. "Well, there are so many birds on my planet that I couldn't possibly name them all," she said as she sketched. "Most of them are pretty small but there are some that are big enough that they hunt small animals for food. They come in so many different colors and patterns...my favorite is the bluebird, which is, well, what it sounds like, I guess."

She paused, frowning at her drawing. It looked less like a bird and more like a misshapen human head with tentacle-like arms on either side of it. "Oh, dear. I forgot I'm not very good at drawing..."

Yuna let out a soft giggle as she watched Belle draw. It didn't matter to her if her friend was a good artist or not. What mattered was the attempt and the effort put forth.

"It sounds wonderful," she murmured with a smile. "Maybe someday we can each visit the other's worlds. I think that would be exciting."

It had been a while since she'd done anything for fun. Being around Belle was proving to be the most fun she'd had in a while.

"It's been a while since I've been anywhere fun."

Belle set aside the napkin, casting it a final disparaging look before focusing on Yuna again. She wondered absently if seeing each others worlds was possible. She hoped it was.

"Me too," she admitted. She leaned her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together, resting her chin on her hands. "I have a feeling I'll be catching up on all the excitement and fun I've been missing out on for so long! I mean, finding a place to live together will be pretty great."

"I'm excited," Yuna admitted, still smiling across the table at Belle. This was going to be a really good way to start out and she was really glad she'd run into the other girl. They got along great.

"I guess we should go looking for that apartment, shouldn't we?" she suggested, signaling the waitress for the check. "I've heard there are still a bunch of empty ones around the city. And then maybe we can find our own adventure here."

Yuna was, quite honestly, looking forward to a little more excitement around here and what better way to have an adventure than with a friend?

"Sounds great!" Belle replied, brushing the lock of hair over her eyes back behind her ear. She took the slim electronic journal from her apron pocket and opened it, looking at the map. "There's a place northwest of us called...Irelia Apartments?" She glanced up as the waitress came. "Oh, wait..." She rummaged around in her pocket again and withdrew a shimmering, translucent piece of cloth in the shape of a tree leaf. Blushing faintly, unsure whether or not she'd be looked at crazily, she offered it to the waitress...who took it without a second glance as payment for the water.

Yuna noticed what Belle used to pay, before she could say anything about taking the tab for both of them, and made a mental note to figure out some equality of currency here. She needed a different job or something; maybe she could find a way to sing. That would be fun.

Taking out the little bit of currency she’d earned here, she paid for her side of things before standing. “I like the sound of that place,” the former summoner commented, referring to Belle’s choice of apartments. “We can go check that out and see if that looks good.” She smiled over at her new friend. This was going to be a lot better together than it would have been alone. “I’m glad you’re my friend here.”

And she meant that.

As the headed back out into the street, Belle's blush deepened. "I'm...I'm glad too," she replied softly, a happy smile curving her lips. She looked down at her feet as they walked, suddenly overtaken by uncharacteristic shyness. Who knew finding a friend would be this easy? Of course, she had to concede that Yuna was someone all together different from the girls back at her village; thoughtful, independent and quietly confident. She clearly had more going for her than finding a husband and giving him children. She envied her.

"Have you thought about some means of employment?" Belle finally asked, breaking her silence. "I'm sure you have no shortage of options."

Yuna shook her head at Belle’s question, oblivious for the moment of the other girl’s blush. “I’ve been doing odd jobs here and there,” she admitted, “but I haven’t found anything more permanent yet. I guess I haven’t had the need to.” It wasn’t that she had a lot of money here. Really, all of her gil was still back on the Celsius or in Besaid. Mostly it was that she didn’t know exactly where to start with jobhunting. Things were so different here. She was used to having everyone know her by sight, having to help everyone out whenever she came near, or not having to do the little things. She didn’t really mind the change, per se, but it was definitely different.

“Maybe we could do a little looking for the later, as well.”

Glancing back over at her new friend, Yuna offered a very warm smile. This was certainly going to be a day she would never forget.

"That sounds great," Belle replied, smile breaking into a grin. As the two girls headed in the direction of Irelia Apartments, she glanced over her shoulder at the view behind them: domed sky, false trees, elegant and haphazard styles of buildings stretching back. It was a strange new world, but with Yuna as her ally, what could go wrong?

Through the crowded streets [Active / Closed]

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we could end with this or your next one or a couple after?

How about this one and we plan stuff OOC via PM?