paixaorpg | A search for what might be [Active]

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A search for what might be [Active]

Character(s): Fran and Balthier
Content: Piratical exploration!
Setting: Spira
Time: Shortly after Spira 'opens'
Warnings: none

If there was one good thing about Paixao, it was this: ever since the nature of the place had been revealed, there was never a lack of possibility. In this particular case, the possibility of something well worth the trouble of looking for it. The previous world had afforded little such, true, but there was nothing saying that this new world would be the same as that and she was hardly one to avoid the search.

More so, since things had been quiet of late. A hidden away treasure would be a prize well worth the trouble. But for now, it was enough to simply to explore a world of possibilities.

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Another world, another trip into the unknown. Such excursions never failed to fill Balthier with a sense of excitement, and it was nearly impossible to contain the smirk (almost a smile) on his face and the spark in his eyes as he and Fran neared their destination.

He braced himself for any changes that might come about in a similar fashion to this world's predecessor, but nothing came. Balthier let out a small, relieved breath--for once, in his opinion, had been more than enough--and busied himself to examining their surroundings.

An odd forest, this. One whose likes he'd never seen in Ivalice, but reminded him of their surroundings in the city proper. He would have guessed them to have gone full circle, albeit to a part of the island or the city left unvisited, were it not for the glimpses of organic material amongst the crystal. Cautiously, he ran a hand across the crystalline coating of a nearby tree, an eyebrow arched, and followed it with a light but solid-sounding rap. "What do you make of this?" he asked, craning his neck to look at the canopy above. "Anything we should worry about?"

He would hardly be the only one to be relieved that this world hadn't forced some manner of change upon them. She was quite sure that there were far worse fates, but nonetheless it had been distinctly unsettling to find such a change wrought upon her.

As to Balthier's question, there was a moment of silence before she answered. She was less certain about the ways of this world and this wood than she would have cared for, but that was hardly an insurmountable problem. Every forest had it's little sounds, and smells and that would be enough as a beginning.

"Nothing beyond the animals of the forest."

The fact that there was crystal all but woven into the plants seemed to be simply the way things were here, oddly enough.

He took the time Fran was silent to get another look at their surroundings. It seemed they had three paths to choose from, though one he decided to rule out outright due to its seemingly less solid nature than the others. Oh, it was likely much sturdier than Balthier was giving credit for, but he'd rather not have this adventure, as well as any others he would take, come to a premature end for something so mundane as a broken neck.

Of the remaining paths, one looked to sprawl deeper into the forest via a series of winding branches. The other looked to be much plainer, probably because it was on the ground, but the path of least resistance couldn't always be trusted to be the safest.

He nodded at Fran's response. "At least there's just that." Now it all depended on how bloodthirsty the creatures happened to be. "Off into the unknown again. Shall we take the high road or the low?"

A broken neck was hardly the sort of thing any self-respecting adventure would wish an outing to end in. It was far to final an end, to say nothing of the fact that it tended to out some rather severe cramps in even the most flexible of plans.

"The high road," she answered, after a moment of consideration.

That way they would be less likely to be ambushed by things jumping down from above, on the off chance that the two paths met. Of course, she had no real way of knowing whether or not the local monsters were smart enough to think of such tactics, but as far as she was concerned, it was far better to be prepared for the worst and not need to have then to have not and needed to.

Balthier nodded. Into the snarl of trees it was, then. At least it seemed they'd have plenty to look at as long as they were here, and already the atmosphere was a sight better than that of the previous world, though that may have been his continued relief in keeping his clothes his own.

The sky pirate took a cautious step onto the branch road. It looked large enough to be fairly stable, and with the crystal interwoven with the plants, he supposed it well should be, but it paid to be cautious. Balthier tapped his gun against his shoulder once in thought before finally starting down the path.

No Heartless so far, from what he could see. But Fran hadn't said anything about them to begin with. Hopefully that would be one less nuisance to deal with.

It was a lovely world, if this was all it had to offer. True there was a nagging sense of something that had settled in over the world like a pallor of death itself, but until she could figure out just what exactly it was she would simply keep an ear out. Besides, could it not be said that each world had its own dangers to watch out for?

As for the Heartless, she yet to hear the passing of their claws, and with luck it would remain so. The fewer of them they had to deal with the more enjoyable this trip would be.

Every world had its dangers, some moreso than others. Just what dangers this one had to offer he was curious to know, and at the same time, he hoped to avoid. It was always good to be armed with knowledge, especially when facing the unknown, but he wasn't so sure about being the first to gather it. That was a job for particularly hardy scholars.

Balthier frowned and tightened his grip on his gun. Perhaps it would be better to turn his thoughts to other matters. They certainly were doing little to help him right now.

Ah, but few self-respecting scholars would be willing to venture into the unknown so bold. Best to leave that line of work to those suited for it after all, and if naught else they could sell the information they acquired for a price. Or offer to show them the true path through the wending woods.

But those were options best left as safeguards against something falling through. For know she would be content to keep an eye and an ear out for anything that might have been approaching them.

Fran's ear would likely be quick to pick up a faint hum in the distance, a hum that slowly became louder and louder as faint blurs in the trees began to make themselves known. It wasn't long before the hum transformed into a near deafening, angry buzz and their cause came into full view.

Surprisingly, it was not a swarm of insects they beheld, but a mere few, though it was easy to see where all the noise had come from. The insects, wasps about half the size of a grown man, surrounded them, bobbing and weaving and looking for a chance to strike.

Well, that was certainly a difference from the variety of Heartless, if not from the monsters of Ivalice. Still, their intent was clear, and Fran wasted no time in shifting her bow down off her back. They were unlikely to listen to reason even if she were inclined to attempt to speak to insects.

"I see the world is not without it's inconveniences," she commented to Balthier, without looking away from the wasps.

Balthier arched an eyebrow, eying the creatures cautiously as he aimed his gun. "They never are," he sighed. "I daresay it might have been too much to ask." If Lady Luck happened to be on their side, though, maybe these massive insects would end up being less a nuisance than the Heartless had been.

Crack after crack sounded throughout the forest as Balthier opened fire on one of the wasps. The creature thrashed about with pain with each strike, but was still alive by the end of the barrage, and with the last bit of life it had, it made for its attacker, intent on taking Balthier with it if need be.

For all its intent, Fran meant to see that it never reached that goal. She'd much rather have not needed to find another partner, and while she had no real idea of what the creatures might be weak to as far as magicks went, that was hardly a deterrent. She had her bow; that was enough.

Besides, she thought drily, as her first arrow sank into the creature, at least she'd manage to attract its attention away from Balthier. That had to be worth some small consolation.

The arrow halted the wasp in its tracks, and it let out a final screech before dissolving into a cluster of bright, colorful lights, singing and screaming a haunting melody as they went their separate ways. The sight was enough to give Balthier pause, and he stared at the spot the creature had been, eventually switching his gaze to follow the colorful trail of one of the lights toward the heavens.

They struck a chord in the sky pirate, a familiar one that brought up memories of large, violent creatures whose likes he had never seen, and Fran, possessed and distant, in a world all her own.

His thoughts distracted him from the oncoming charge of another of the wasps, and it was all he could do to move out of the way before the stinger impaled itself in his torso, cursing himself for being so careless. Another crack rang out and the wasp dipped, nearly falling from the wound. But it was back in the air not long after, twisting itself around to face the duo once again.

Balthier offered a cautious glance in Fran's direction, frowning with what might have been worry, were Balthier the type to do such a thing. He hoped the lights wouldn't cause a reaction like the one before, and began to wonder whether or not retreat would be the better course of action.

Edited 2010-08-06 21:18 (UTC)

Balthier was hardly the only one to notice the lights, although Fran could have said little of what had happened after she'd seen them before. She was well aware of the fact that she hadn't been herself, but beyond that the details were unclear.

Still, the sight of them was less than welcome, along with the almost-snatches of words she could have sworn she'd heard in their melody.

Fortunately for both their sakes, history did not repeat itself. Perhaps being aware of the dangers was enough prevention. Or perhaps these ones were less inclined to take up residence inside a living body. Either way, however, Fran was not terribly inclined to think on the matter while they were still fighting, and another of her arrows followed Balthier's bullet.

The wasp crashed to the ground, twitching, and with a final bullet to the head the beast was felled, much like its predecessor, in a brilliant display of lights. With a last glance toward Fran to assure himself of her state of mind (and perhaps her safety as well), he took aim at the last of the creatures. At least they wouldn't have to worry about Fran losing control this time around, and with two of the insects down, it seemed they would be well on their way soon enough.

It seemed luck was on their side with this encounter. These wasps were killed or at the very least defeated easily enough. Now, if they could only keep the gods' favor for awhile longer, this adventure wouldn't be too troublesome of one.

Fran's ears twitched slightly at the noise of the second wasp's death, but apart from that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Which was, perhaps, exactly how it ought to have been in the first place.

True, there was still a fight to finish, but that could have been said of practically anywhere. Heartless or fiends or anything in between, they all meant the same thing in the end, as she he turned her attentions on the rest of the swarm.

It would hardly do to let such a minor thing distract them for too long.

So far, so good. As long as Fran was doing all right, Balthier didn't particularly mine carrying on. The monsters weren't overwhelming in number, perhaps only as bad as the wildlife of Ivalice, and even then there didn't seem to be anything particularly Saurian-like or of a Saurian's size in sight.

A risk he had accepted long, long ago, and one he wouldn't mind continuing to take in this world. As long as Fran didn't mind taking it with him. With all the trouble the lights caused the last time they'd been seen, it was better to leave it her decision.

For now, however, there were more immediate worries to take care of.

She didn't mind in the least. What was life without a little risk now and then, provided one had a way of getting out of danger relatively easily? Or were simply prepared to deal with the consequences, whatever they might have been. Simple enough matters, in life like theirs.

Besides, if this was all the place had to offer than it was a trivial matter to continue on. These monsters were simply enough. Not to mention, there was the matter of potential treasure to be found.

A matter well worth continuing for.

When put that way, he was more than happy to continue forward in this strange-looking land.

Balthier changed his aim at the last second and fired. A bullet ripped through one of the insect's wings and sending it off balance. A cruel thing, perhaps, but when the case was--as he suspected--kill or be killed, he would gladly take any chance that led to the former option.

One last time, Balthier leveled his gun in line with the creature's head, but instead of firing, he tipped the barrel toward the sky, a familiar smirk gracing the sky pirate's features. "You know what they say..." He decided to let Fran have the final shot this time. She'd been put through a worse situation than Balthier had the last time. He had merely been audience.

Ladies first.

"Such a gentleman," Fran answered with a slight smile.

Not that that was anything out of the ordinary with Balthier, but it was still nice to see. A touch of the familiar in amongst the unfamiliarity of the woods which they now walked. A welcome thing.

Still, with the offer made, she wasted no time in taking one last shot at the insect, the arrow hitting it very neatly in the head. Unsurprisingly, its death followed rather shortly thereafter, bringing along yet another swirl of unworldly lights.

"I try my best," he answered casually, and waited until the last of the pyreflies disappeared into the woods. Idly, Balthier tapped his gun against his shoulder. Now that they'd decided, there was only one way to go, and it seemed as though they'd managed to scare off any more creatures for now. If that was the case, there was nothing much more to do than to press forward and see what came next.

What lay forward would appear to be further forest. Unsurprising and yet full of possibility. A world's worth of possibility and all they had to do was to find out where the best offerings lay hidden.

A simple enough task.

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A search for what might be [Active]

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