paixaorpg | New Hope [Completed]

Entry tags:

New Hope [Completed]

Character(s): Urd, open!
Content: Urd opens up her temporary relief shop to all!
Setting: Across the street from The Cheap Prayer.
Time: Week 24, all day!
Warnings: None.
Note: This log will be done via "party style" threading! Come in and make your own thread to get Urd's attention, or join into someone else's thread. It's all good!

Praetoris was playing dirty. Though Urd put on a casual, unaffected mood on the network, she was just as annoyed and insulted by this new attitude toward the visitors as anyone else. When it came to dressing "inappropriately," the goddess took it to a new level in a way that even modern-minded individuals would deem a little too sexy. She never minded much; she enjoyed finding new and colorful ways to show off both her style and her body. She was a goddess! You had to instill a certain amount of awe in people!

Her favorite tea shop had been adamant in not serving her and as a result, she had broken most of their cups in a fit of frustration. Really, they'd been lucky she hadn't set fire to the whole place! But once her temper had cooled and she had a clear mind, Urd admitted that fighting back had to be done in a better way. A smarter way.

Thankfully, poorer natives of the city weren't so quick to judge them. She'd always had a good relationship with the gypsies, in part due to her continued business with them (she had to get her ingredients for her potions somewhere). It didn't take much to strike a deal with them for her new plan: they'd supply her what she needed and she, in turn, would make sure the majority of the money the visitors had would go to them. Urd didn't need money, of course. Even if she wasn't a divine being, she had a djinn on her side!

Now the goddess floated in a reclined position in the middle of her shop, hands held out in front of her. Rich cloth and strings of beads flew up to the walls and windows, rags wiped the tables and floors on their own and merchandise of nearly every kind arranged themselves onto shelves and tables. She could have done it all by hand, but manual labor did not sit well with Urd.

Out front, a large embroidered banner read, "New Hope."

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"There are worse things to be hypocritical about," Auron replied. "If there are no questions, there are also no answers." And in any case, the questions he was asking, as far as he was concerned, weren't of a personal nature. His secrets were his own, and he would allow her to have hers.

Urd's explanation, for the most part, went over Auron's head. Even being around machina in Zanarkand, he had only grasped the basic use of most of the machines. While he had at least heard the term "program" once or twice during his stay in that city, he still wasn't sure what it referred to. It was an answer though, and one he was content not to continue to question.

At least he understood the latter half. "There isn't much that is 'electronic' here to begin with," he said. "Aside from the journals." Which only made them feel all the more out of place.

"Yes, and isn't that odd?" Urd asked, knowing the question was rhetorical but more than happy to change the subject. She decided not to mention the inconsistency of her own abilities since being in Paixao, that her ability to conjure up items was even more than a gamble than it usually was. And the opportunity to discuss this with Auron was not to be missed, since he seemed less likely to be caught up in the minor dramas in the city. A big picture guy, certainly.

"Not a single item of modern technology on this entire island or even in any of the other worlds we've visited so far, except these journals. Which the natives all know how to use and don't even consider odd, despite their apparent fear and dislike of anything not keeping with the rest of their culture." Urd leaned forward once more, leveling her intense gaze at Auron. "They've obviously been supplied with the journals and manipulated into believing it's perfectly natural to have them. So how far can we manipulate them in return?"

Auron thought on the goddess's words for a moment. It was true. Only a little bit at a time--the trains, a few appliances, and the journals, with the journals being the most striking example. A sudden discomfort came over him, a realization that hit close to home. Auron's brow furrowed, and for a moment that unsettled feeling showed in his eyes, but only until the ex-guardian pushed his sunglasses up to hide them.

It was like Yevon had done, only bringing about acceptance instead of avoidance. Only what was allowed... Only what was accepted. "That depends on how you want to manipulate them."

Urd raised her eyebrows slightly as she caught that barest glimmer of emotion. He was a pro at hiding his thoughts; she had no doubt that there was so much more buried under his grim surface. But she didn't comment on it and instead focused on the matter at hand.

"We simply have to convince them that we, the visitors, aren't the enemy. We have to make them believe that Praetoris is, and whoever's pulling the strings behind the scenes." Urd moved gracefully off the counter, walking past Auron to the floor-to-ceiling shop window facing the streets outside. She folded her arms under her chest, her profile grave. "Politics are a nasty human game that I hate to play, but we won't win this without getting our hands a little dirty."

That, he supposed, was a game he could get behind, though not one he particularly liked or knew how to play. He had let Yevon dig its own grave throughout Yuna's pilgrimage. Their party had done a well enough job of tearing down the veil on their own.

But this... There would be a thin line to walk. "So we unearth secrets. No doubt there are more than those we've already found." It would take digging. Digging where he didn't know, but if one of their members had become a traitor as it was thought, then it might just be a little easier.

"Mmm," Urd murmured in response, turning to face Auron. "Sometimes I think the secrets are the only substance this world naturally produces." She approached him with a smirk, resting her arm on his shoulder, one hand on her hip. "I'll need your help, of course. Along with whatever remains of Jecht's Resistance, if it ever really existed in the first place. With any luck, which I just happen to have in abundance, we'll gather even more allies." As she spoke, she toyed with the tassels on his coat. "Do you have any leads, Auron? Anything good to tell me?"

Every world had its secrets, and every leader with them. It was easy to say that this world had as many secrets to it as his home, if not more, difficult as the latter was to accomplish. Auron frowned at Urd behind his sunglasses but did little else in reaction to her closeness. He was admittedly starting to get a little uncomfortable with the goddess's actions, but if Jecht was an example to go by, it would be better for Auron to not react.

"It exists," he told her. "It existed before Jecht's arrival." As much as their numbers had decreased and people had gone missing, Paixao's resistance still existed. Urd's shop was evidence enough of that.

"That depends. What do you know so far?"

Urd shrugged and turned away, folding her arms. "Hearsay. Rumors. Reports from a known liar. The Organization works in half-truths and anything they tell us has to be taken with a grain of salt, but..." She lowered her head and looked down at the floor.

"Awhile back, I had the opportunity to 'discuss' things with an Organization member, Marluxia." She decided to leave out Timon's involvement for now. "It's obvious they have their own inner strife and power plays going on, but their leader seems to have the most focus. I'm willing to bet he's the one controlling Praetoris. As for the good mayor himself, we'll have to find a way to get closer to him."

Urd rubbed the back of her neck, sighing as she muttered under her breath, "We may need Timon for this after all..."

Auron's gaze immediately snapped to the back of Urd's head as she mentioned the Organization. She had come into contact with them? One that seemed to be willing to give out information, information that, as she had mentioned, could not be completely trusted. Auron scowled, more at the situation than anything else.

"If there is discord among them, we have an advantage," he said, his head lowered a little and eye shut in thought, "no matter what their leader's focus is. If they are so far broken to have one of their number providing information, there may be a chance." Yevon had fallen apart when its key members began to disagree. Kelk Ronso resigned as Maester, Mica sent himself, Seymour had his own agenda, and Kinoc...

Kinoc should never have become a Maester in the first place.

In response to needing Timon, Auron stared at her, looking, if one squinted and turned their head sideways, a little confused. Timon had the notoriety, yes, but responsibility was a completely different matter.

Urd caught Auron's perplexed look and laughed awkwardly. "Don't worry about, just thinking some things through! Anyway, I wouldn't be so quick to trust Marluxia's words. It could all be a clever manipulation on the part of the Organization." She pointed at him, expression grave. "What better way to gain our trust than to share a common enemy?"

She shrugged. "But then again, he could be telling the truth. I get the feeling the members of the Organization are too selfish to work together very well for long. If we could find a way to divide them even more using Kingdom Hearts in some way..." Urd trailed off, tapping her chin as she fell into thought.

"It's not a matter of trust," Auron corrected. "It's what we have." It was easy to discount information given by a member of the Organization. Even Auron had his doubts about the situation, and when Urd put it like that, it made it all the more likely that what lay at the end of this journey was nothing more than a trap. Follow the long road to a trap or remain trapped in this city. Either way they ended up in the Organization's clutches. At least the former allowed him some sort of action.

"Kingdom Hearts?"

Urd said nothing to Auron's first comment; there was no point. He was right, despite whatever misgivings they had. Inaction was just as bad as a trap. She could only hope that when the time came, they'd be smart.

"Kingdom Hearts," she repeated. "The Organization's ultimate goal, apparently." She lifted her hand and rested it lightly over her heart, narrowing her eyes. "The collection of every heart into one world. Of all the things Marluxia told us, that is the thing I believe the most. We've seen the Heartless, we've heard tales and witnessed with our own eyes their ability to toy with us." Her jaw tightened and she swung her hand down to her side, clenched into a fist.

"I know first hand what they're capable of. And if we can use their ultimate goal against them before it's completed, we may win this thing."

Auron's eye shut a moment as he took in that information. It was a hard thing to process. A collection of every heart into one world... Was that even possible? The Heartless, though, had seemed an equally impossible thing and he had seen them for himself, as Urd had pointed out. How they were creating such a thing, Auron could only guess. Even with information he knew little about this situation.

"You have encountered one of them for yourself," Auron realized, looking back at Urd. He could only guess that it hadn't ended well, with the way Urd had said that.

"And how do you propose we use a world as a weapon? Or do you intend to use it as leverage?"

Urd's fire fizzled and her shoulders slumped a bit. "I don't know," she admitted with a sigh. "We know what they want, though, and that's an advantage. It has to be." She lifted her hand and pushed her hair back from her face, glancing towards the window in pensive thought. "But I know for a fact that a heart is a resilient thing. If there was a way to rebel..."

She shook her head, impatient at her own inability to follow that train of thought. "Look, it doesn't matter. One thing at a time. We need to do something about Praetoris as well as convince the natives we visitors aren't a threat to them. I'll find a way to get close to the mayor...you and Jecht and anyone else you can talk to should mobilize, find a way to connect to the people. We'll deal with the Organization after."

Auron nodded, content to leave the first idea to Urd for now. He may not have understood Kingdom Hearts, but he agreed with Urd about the state of the city. Break the Organization's grip on the city and gain ground and allies. Simple enough in theory, though likely to be difficult in practice.

Especially since she was giving him this task. This sounded like something to leave to Jecht. Auron had never been good with people outside of the Warrior Monks. Jecht--and probably Braska--were much better at that.

He turned, ready to leave, but hesitated, his back to the goddess. After a moment, he glanced back. "You have heard about the opened world?"

By the time Auron had glanced back to Urd, she was already pouring herself a drink from the hefty bottle of sake. She glanced up, eyebrows raised. "I've heard about it." Admittedly, she'd been distracted by other things, but visiting the new world was definitely on her agenda.

"Why? Is there something I should know?

Auron was quiet for awhile. Speaking of Spira meant thinking about it, which continued to bring him to the fact that he needed to tell Braska and Jecht... as much as he didn't want to. But this was beyond his duty. Someone needed to know.

"It is called Spira. And if it's based on memories, there is a chance it may be when Sin was still there. If you go, be on your guard." He faced the door again. "Even if it is past that, the Spiral of Death's legacy will still be seen."

Sin? Spiral of Death? Urd sighed, rubbing the back of her head. Names like that were definitely not a good sign. She nodded at Auron with a wry smile. "I'm always on my guard. Thanks for the tip, though." She went back to her sake without a word, looking for all the world completely unaffected even as her mind was working out the plans she had set into motion.

Auron nodded once and turned to leave the room. He had said what needed to be said. Only what needed to be said, but that was enough. At this point there was no reason to get too deep into Spira's history, not like before.

In a few strides, the legendary guardian left the shop, heading back to the hotel he was staying in.

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New Hope [Completed]

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