There and Back Again [Active/Open]

Character(s): Ivan, open to anybody
Content: After some time away, a Jupiter Adept returns to Paixao.
Setting: Joutenheim gate
Time: Daytime
Warnings: None

The first time, he'd been confused. He hadn't known whether to think he was crazy, or dreaming, or even dead, somehow. It had been a city of wonders, fraught with danger - or maybe it was the other way around. Nothing he'd seen in his travels had prepared him for what lay inside that gate.

But the second time, Ivan knew where he was.

Not sure whether to feel alarmed or justified, he entered the line almost in a daze. The memory of the world inside those elaborate gates had never faded from his mind, but when he'd found himself back in Weyard, among his friends, as if nothing had happened...

It was real, though, wasn't it? he thought as the line inched closer. It all felt the same as before - the queue, the air, the people. On an impulse, he glanced into the gatekeeper's mind as she handed him a new journal, and found that that was the same, too. Flat, uncomplicated thoughts that didn't remind him of anything. He knew without checking that he'd find the same inside all the citizens.

"Thank you, ma'am."

He accepted it and approached the gate, feelings of vindication beginning to win over. It hadn't just been a dream. He'd really been here, and really gone home, and really come back. That meant he'd found a way out of here (even if it was without meaning to), and that meant there was a way out of here, and that meant he wasn't trapped - which, by extension, meant none of them were, logically.

He passed below the twin giants with concentration etched on his face. It was a dangerous place, this city. He'd already learned through painful experience what could happen if he let his guard down, but at the same time the knowledge calmed him.

After all, he didn't have to be so careless twice. Maybe this time, he didn't have to be such a liability to everyone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After leaving the gate he'd entered the day before, Luke had ended up just wandering around the city a bit at a loss. That continued till late in the night when he'd finally snoozed on a park bench. Feeling rather groggy, he at least wasn't starving. He'd managed to get a meal rather easily. They'd been happy to take his gald. At least money wasn't going to be a problem for now.

In the end, he returned to his exploration. He had no idea where he was going. And as he had little concept of how the fontech he'd been given worked, the map remained undiscovered.

Perhaps if he had learned of it's existance he wouldn't have been so surprised to find himself back at a gate. The red head stared at it, looking almost depressed. Had... he seriously gone in a circle? He was SURE he hadn't doublebacked though...

Wait a minute. No this gate was different, he realized as he got closer. The design was different. Hm, how many gates did this place have then?

Like the other gate, people only seemed to come in. He saw no one going out.

"That's really weird," he muttered to himself outloud.

The first thing to do, Ivan decided, was to get back in touch with his friends here (assuming they were still here and in one piece). But as he flipped open his journal to do so, he remembered that more than friends might be reading, and instead, he closed his eyes and spread out his senses. The odds they'd be near enough to find them that way were low, of course, but it was worth a try.

Not surprisingly, he felt no sign of anyone he knew. Just the townspeople and their unremarkable thoughts, except for one - confusion? discouragement? It stood out, a marked break in the uniform pattern. And as Ivan opened his eyes and came back to himself, the outward break was just as sharp, one head of red hair opposite a leisurely procession of blondes.

He wasn't from around here, either.

That was enough to make up his mind, and Ivan approached the redhead at a brisk trot. "Excuse me," he called, once he was close enough to do so without yelling. "Are you lost?"

Luke glanced over and at first thought it was a towns person, but... on second thought he didn't exactly fit the bill. He'd only talked briefly to the guy he met at the other gate when he'd entered, he'd looked away a minute and then he was gone. Luke wasn't sure if it had been his imagination or if the guy had just suddenly run off. He'd only seen blonde haired townsfolk since.

"Uh, hey there!" Luke greeted, rubbing the back of his head lightly with his hand. "Heh. Yeah, kind of."

Although, he'd been basically lost since he arrived here.

Ivan nodded once, more to himself than to Luke. "That's all right. It can be easy to get lost around here, even if you know where you're going." And even more so if you didn't. His own first night here would have seen him wandering the streets until dawn if not for the people who'd helped him out; trying to pass on the favor was the least he could do. "I could show you around, if you want," he offered.

Of course, in his eagerness to help, he didn't realize he'd completely forgotten to introduce himself.

"Yeah, I could see how that could happen," he replied with a laugh. He could see himself being lost here a lot.

After a rather lonely night, Luke welcomed the idea of someone to talk to at least for a bit. The guy knowing this place was even more helpful. Although, it looked like he'd only just arrived? Well, Luke hadn't actually seen if he'd come through the gate, so...

"I'd appreciate that," Luke said, then paused realizing he hadn't exactly introduced himself either.

"Oh, uh, I'm Luke, by the way."

"Oh! I'm Ivan. Nice to meet you," Ivan replied, inclining his head. Seemed like he always forgot to go through the formalities first - maybe because it was so easy for him to find out people's names without asking. That was a bad habit he'd have to work on.

After a second, he fumbled with his journal and found it already open. "Umm, let's see, where..." he murmured, bringing up the map. It was all well and good, but where to actually go? To be honest, he hadn't thought any further ahead than striking up the conversation. It would help if he knew what they wanted to see...

But, that was easy enough. Pretending to study the map, he instead took a more singular glance into Luke's mind. What sort of thing was the redhead looking for?

(ooc: WHY YES he is abusing his powers xD hope that is ok.)

Luke watched curiously as Ivan fumbled with the journal and brought up the map. "Oh, wow! That's kind of useful," he commented, not that a map would have really done him much good, but it would be something useful to know about in the future. Assuming he was as stuck here.

There was a lot on Luke's mind, and none of it was a specific place, well, other than finding a way home to Auldrant. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact he was in another world, somehow, and... well, not dead. That still confused him. How had his fonons stopped splitting apart? Either way, here he was, in some strange city and he wasn't sure what to do. If he was stuck here should he find a place to stay? Was there even any places to stay? While he did have a fair bit of gald on him, he wasn't sure how far it would stretch. Were there more cities? Should he try leaving?

The whole situation he was in was really only starting to sink in, and there was a lot he still didn't know about.

So it wasn't anything too far out of the ordinary, except for that bit about dying. That sounded more personal, and Ivan sidestepped it, focusing on the rest instead.

"Hmm." Withdrawing, he paused a second. "It's not so easy to leave this place," he said at last. "I only managed it by accident, and even then I don't know how. So a place to stay's probably the thing to find first." He tapped a point near the center of the map, turning it so Luke could see. "The Actua Are's, here, they're the inns. There's also some other places, I think, but I've never been to those, so I don't know what they're like. But I'm pretty sure you don't need gold for any of them - everywhere I've been to accepts things like leaves and grass in place of money."

Luke was kind of impressed Ivan had managed to answer a lot of the questions that had loomed in his head. Of course, he was none-the-wiser to the fact it was cause Ivan had actually had a look in it.

Leaving by accident? How did that work? He might have asked if Ivan hadn't added he had no idea. That was pretty... bleak, but it did mean there WAS a way. He'd just have to find it somehow, right?

The red head took note of the places Ivan pointed out to him, blinking a bit at the mention of not needing money. "What? ...Seriously?" he asked, skeptically. Sure, he'd noticed the plant-life was fake, but...

Ivan nodded. "It sounds strange, but it's true. All the plants are made of gemstones, and that's what they use as money here. I don't really understand why myself," he added with a shrug - after all, why would the people here work for something they could pluck off the trees? "But it does make things easier."

He glanced at the map again, turning it right-side-up. "So, um, would you like to try one of those places?" he asked.

"More like a lot strange," Luke replied with a bit of a laugh, but he shrugged. He couldn't really complain about it, could he? "But, I guess you're right about it making things easier."

Boy was this place strange. Giant domes and money literially on trees. What next? On second thought, maybe he was better off not knowing. Questions like that could only lead to trouble.

"Well, I guess I need somewhere to stay, so sounds good to me," Luke said. While he didn't exactly mind sleeping outside, last night had been pretty crappy. He'd take a bed any day.

There and Back Again [Active/Open]

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