abyssianmelody | [CHAPTER 03 - OPEN] Chesedonia, Week 3

[ooc: Actual opening post doesn't necessarily have to have anything in it; it just has to be there to respond to. However, if your character is likely to have a haunt, say the bar or a store, then feel free to set up an opening that way. Just make sure not to just post your character's opening post and disappear; be sure to check back and see if there's anybody else to tag!]

It was a shame that stools didn't have a back rest to lean onto; Chester instead opted to lean on the counter as he took a sip of a shot of cheap booze. The act reminded him of the time he spent with that Guy dude back in St. Binah; he hoped he was okay. Giving a sigh, her knew it was way too early to get smashed drunk, but after what Arche put him through at the shopping center he wasn't too enthused with the rest of their wandering days if she was going to keep on pushing him like that.

Her friend was thirsty. Arietta was too, but she was more concerned with the liger. The desert heat was enough to get to anyone, really, but adding the fur that the creature had... The girl couldn't help but worry. The oasis would've provided a nice, refreshing drink, she knew, but it was also a short distance away. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but she didn't want to risk letting the liger collapse...

So, the God-General went into the nearest building, heading straight for the counter with little more than a quick glance around. As long as they'd help her, she didn't care what type of place this was.

"Could I have some water? My... My friend's really thirsty."

The bartender was currently taking a restroom break, and Chester (for some reason) was the only one there. He didn't recognize the uniform Arietta was wearing, but he definitely recognized the creature beside her. Jolting a little bit, though, that was only half of the reason his eyes were wide in a surprised and shocked expression; this little girl seemed familiar, somehow. Well, pink hair didn't seem to be anything new, but a pit formed in the bottom of his stomach.

Aside from that, ligers were serious business. Friend? This little girl considered this ferocious creature her friend? That was more than a little odd, though Chester had seen weirder during his travels, he supposed.

"Oh, yeah, sure."

With that, Chester leaned over the bar to get a saucer, and headed to the water cooler in the corner of the bar, bringing it back to Arietta and handing it to her, not wanting to invite disaster by putting his hands anywhere near the liger's mouth. "You want me to get you a glass, too?" He asked, a bit wary as well as looking for an opportunity to ask her for her name.

Taking the saucer, she leaned down to set it on the floor, taking great care not to let any spill. Once the creature started to drink, Arietta stood up once more, smiling softly. Although she knew the liger wouldn't hold it against her, she did feel guilty for pushing it so hard. Even if she had a job to do, she really didn't want to hurt her friends in any way. At least now she could let the liger rest (and rest herself, of course) a bit to make up for all the work it had done.

Turning back, the wild-bred girl nodded. "Do... Do you think you could? I don't want to bother you, but... that would be really nice."

Chester shook his head. "It's not a bother." He simply stated, taking a glass and filling it with water, coming back and handing it to Arietta. "Say, what's your name? It's not too often you can see somebody just waltz around with a liger; is it tame, or are you just a special exception?" He asked, hoping he wasn't coming off as rude. The liger was scary; he's seen them before, and if he recalled correctly Engeve had a liger issue before he set off for Baticul and met Natalia there. Back then they didn't interfere with the hunts very much, but he still avoided them since they were known to be very fierce creatures.

"The name's Chester."

"Thank you," Arietta said, managing to give him a tiny smile as she took the glass. It was a little... odd to meet someone who didn't know her. Even if most people she encountered didn't know her personally, they at least recognized her by her uniform, or by the ever-present liger that accompanied her. But what was even odder, was when Chester gave his own name. It didn't mean anything to the God-General, she didn't think, but there was... something that made her pause and stare at him from over the top of the glass.

After a few seconds, she shook away the strange feeling and straightened her back as she gave her own introduction. "Commander of Third Division and God-General of the Oracle Knights, Arietta the Wild."

That said, she fell once more into a more relaxed stance, taking another drink before continuing. "My friend isn't tame, but he won't attack anyone unless I tell him to. He listens to me; most of my friends -- ligers and other animals -- do." That wasn't a secret, so Arietta didn't see any problems with telling Chester that.

Chester wouldn't say it out loud, but he'd never heard of a person being able to more or less communicate and request monsters' aid. It was pretty amazing, really; Arche typically got animals pissed at her ~~and him, too~~. It was fascinating, almost, despite him not exactly being the sort of person interested in the sociological implications of the matter.

A God General, though? That work brought up unpleasant memories of when he and the others encountered the Tartarus and had to help Luke and the others escape. So, this little girl was associated with that motley crew? Chester made a mental note to be wary of his words from that point on, though Arietta didn't seem adverse to Chester's company. If anything, she didn't seem to know Chester, so this becoming an encounter of that sort hopefully wasn't the case.

"I see. They must trust you a lot, then." He commented, after a moment of thought.

"They're my family," she replied with a nod, turning to smile at the liger again. Unlike most of the other God-Generals, Arietta had no problems discussing her past or the way she had been brought up (unless one were to bring up her being a former Fon Master Guardian, of course -- that always became a difficult topic). Plus, the fact that she had been raised by ligers wasn't a secret; she was proud of that fact, even, so she had no reason to hide it, either.

Hopping up onto a stool, the girl cradled the half-empty glass between her hands. It felt good to take a little breather, and she wanted to make sure her friend was ready before they went back outside again.

"So, um... Why are you in Chesedonia?" Arietta asked, unsure of what else to say. She wasn't entirely used to speaking with others; often being in the company of a liger usually warded people off. It was a little... nice being able to talk to someone outside of the Oracle Knights, though.

Family, huh? That must've been nice. Being exiled from Engeve, he basically had no family left. But the mention of family did make him think back to Feres... if his sister were alive- no, he shouldn't think about that. The thought only made his angry. However, talking with Arietta seemed to almost naturally stir up those memories, though Chester couldn't say why.

"Oh, uh..." Gee, this was kind of awkward. They were escaping from Daath, right? Because of the Fon Master and Natalia... the fact that Chesedonia was a neutral territory worked toward their advantage, but he wasn't about to tell a God General the entire truth. "I'm just traveling around." He attempted to keep a straight face. "I'm originally from Feres Isle, and lived in Engeve for a while afterward."

As she waited for his response, Arietta took another drink -- although that turned out to be a bit of a mistake. As soon as Chester mentioned Feres, she choked, barely managing to keep from dropping the glass as she coughed and sputtered in surprise.

The little coughing fit was enough to make the liger snap its head up to look at the two, and it growled out a low warning. However, when Arietta shook her head and made a quick gesture with her hand, the growling ceased, although it continued to watch closely.

"Y-you," the God-General stuttered, once her coughing had subsided, "You said... Feres? But that can't be true, everyone was... I-I thought..." She shook her head, her shoulders hunching as she looked down. "No one else... made it..."

Arietta's reaction took Chester by surprise as well; nobody reacted in such a way unless what was being spoken of meant anything to them. 'No one else... made it...'? It took a few seconds to register in Chester's head (as slow as it was concerning this type of thing), and he set down his glass as he bent down to meet Arietta's eye level. Could it be? No... she couldn't be Ami. Getting his hopes up wasn't an option, otherwise the heartbreak would simply shatter him. But... it was nice having a tie with someone, really. Chester also thought nobody else survive the tragedy that happened in Feres.

He waited for a few more seconds to give Arietta time to collect her own thoughts, and offered her a small smile. "Arietta? Are you also from Feres Isle?" It might have been an obvious question, but... "It must have been difficult. It was soon right after you were born, wasn't it?" He tried taking her age into account.

Never having been to Chesedonia before (nor much of the rest of the world), Philia found herself fascinated simply by walking through the crowded streets of the trade city, marveling at the architecture and wondering about the legends surrounding the place. Ever since Senel had inquired about the Water Tribe which worshiped Undine, she had to admit that it sparked a bit of an interest; it was clear that Efreet, or rather the fifth fonon, had more of an influence over in this area of Auldrant as evidenced by the desert than anywhere else. Why wasn't there a tribe that worshiped him? Such questions fascinated the researcher in her, and she made a note to try to look up some local folklore once she had the opportunity.

The young blond soldier was just checked out from the bar, after having his lunch. It was time to get back to his work. Kyle had done nothing except patrolling Chesedonia. It seemed much more people gathering, since the south road closed. Just then he walked north, passed a green haired lady who taller than him. Then, he halted.

“Is that… Philia?” His voice was loud enough to be heard by her. Kyle slowly turned to her back. He would recognize her easily by the dress, the hair and of course, her voice if he’s not mistaken.

Hearing her name from a stranger, Philia would have been too engrossed in the book she was reading to notice; however, she did recognize the voice of Kyle, from a time long before Daath was even a part of her life. Turning around to face Kyle, Philia's face visibly lit up into a smile. "Kyle!" She enthused, walking hurriedly over to him and held his hands in hers, dropping any of her usual honorifics and mannerisms when with her childhood friend. "It's been a long time; how are things with you? The last time I wrote home, Lady Atwight told me you joined the Malkuth Military."

A wide smile drew on Kyle’s face, it was Philia alright. He felt a little bit embarrassed when she held his hand suddenly, leaving some curiosity of local people around them. “Glad having you here safe and sound. You saw me already. I’m managed to get into first private rank. My sleeping habit is still difficult to handle though.” He chuckled himself. “How about you, Philia? Everything’s good in Daath? What’s business you’re here anyway?” It’s awkward to see his old friend visit Chesedonia, since he knew her mostly sitting quiet in Daath.

"Things in Daath are a little... interesting, right now." Philia had no idea how to respond to the rumors that the Grand Maestro Mohs was attempting to orchestrate a war between Kimlasca and Malkuth; she originally left Daath on his orders, and now she wished to stay away from Daath so that Mohs wouldn't be able to use her as a pawn. It was difficult, to say the least. She also had parted ways with Sir Wilder, since she... well, that was an entirely different can of worms which she wasn't comfortable discussing at this point.

Still, the familiarity of having Kyle around was refreshing, to say the very least. The fact that he still had difficulty getting up in the morning was almost endearing, if mostly because she wasn't one who was responsible for getting him up. It was good to see him doing well, though, at what he set out to do.

Giving a slight sigh, she still allowed a small smile to escape from her lips. "Things aren't going so well, to be honest." There, she said it. "I know you don't have much say in the military, but things aren't going well; the Grand Maestro is trying to orchestrate a war between Kimlasca and Malkuth. Akzeriuth is only the tip of the iceberg, Kyle; it will most likely get worse."

Kyle though Philia was doing fine in Daath. But the word came from her made him a little bit shocked. He didn’t expect something about the news, and it was from Mohs after all. “Grand Maestro? So it wasn’t just from the grace. Now I get the bigger picture. You’re here because you’re afraid of him?” He shook his head down. He obviously will blame the ambassadors in Kimlasca, although he didn’t know who they’re.

“Philia, I guarantee you’ll be safe here. I’ll make sure there’s no any soldier from Kimlasca will come across the border. Even I had to face the war.” There’s most likely he will go into the battle field. If there’s no one who brave enough to stop the collision between two kingdoms.

Philia shook her head, but a smile was on her face; it was comforting to know that her childhood friend was looking out for her best interests. It seemed like nobody else was ever since she began her journey; everybody was looking out for number one, after all. "I can't stay here, Kyle; I'm going to go with my friends to look into this. There's more than just a war at stake; I have a feeling that this is much bigger than any of that, or any of us. It would be selfish of me to turn away for my own safety's sake." She tried to explain.

"I'm nto afraid of the Grand Maestro." She continued. "He's been there to teach me so many things, and while I can't believe this... I do feel a sense of responsibility to stop him."

Kyle frown his both eye brows. He couldn’t tell the smile was a fake or not. But seeing Philia’s face told him enough do not too worry. Still, he didn’t believe she would take the dangerous path. Kyle placed his both palm on her shoulder. “Then when you face him, what are you going to do? Philia, stopping Grand Maestro won’t help you avoid the war. I’m afraid if you’ll get arrested, and I…” He stuck on his words. If there’s a way that he could help her. But with his rank, there’s no way he could help her to stop Grand Maestro though.

"My record is clean, Kyle." Philia knew this was probably a lie; Mohs most likely had put something on her record to deter her, but on the other hand it was possible that he didn't think much of her to do anything, either. "I don't know yet what I'll do; all I know, doing nothing will be a fate worse than death. Kyle, much like you as a soldier of Malkuth wish to protect the people, I... also wish to protect people who would get hurt. Therefore, I must find a way to stop Mohs, no matter what." An expression of determination was apparent on her face, trying to tell Kyle even further not to worry. "And if I ever get arrested, I can count on you to get me out of a bind, can't I?" She winked.

Kyle said nothing but sighed. After all, Philia much older and more experience than him. She knew how to take care of herself and Kyle won’t deny it. If this was Philia wanted to do than Kyle tried his best to support her, as the way she support him. Everyone might do the same thing for the others who they love. Kyle let go off from her shoulders and rubbed his back head. “Gezz, Philia. You do really want me get into trouble. But yeah, you got me.” He got his strength back and placed the arm on his hip, like a hero. “You can count on me. Whenever you got trouble, I’ll come to rescue you… I promise.” He always wanted to say this to his dearest. And he just realized he met someone before her. “Oh right, maybe you recognize Raine. I just met her here few days ago. She’s headed to Sheridan so she will be alright till then.”

She was rather fascinated by all of this as well ...

But really, what else was new? That certainly wasn't. Estelle was a curious girl by nature, and was, admittedly, a huge nerd. That said, from the moment she stepped into Chesedonia, she was ecstatic to see anything and everything.

And even more ecstatic to see a familiar head of green hair.

"Philia! Philia!" She called, waving a hand frantically to try and get her friend's attention.

The shock of pink hair was also definitely difficult to miss, as Philia was already aware of Estelle's presence even before she heard her name. Approaching Estelle, Philia smiled. "It seems as if you were able to come to Chesedonia after all, Miss Estelle." She politely bowed to her friend. "Chesedonia is certainly a unique place, is it not? I think it's absolutely lovely!"

[ooc: Got nothing right now. Feel free to bump into him almost anywhere... ~~including the womens' restroom~~.]

( ooc: heads up. going to be slow, due to sporadic internets for the next month. )

She didn't want to return to the hotel. She didn't want to chance seeing Chester there again, and having to awkwardly avoid him until the morning. And, well, throughout the rest of their trip, if this kept up.

So she just wandered throughout Chesedonia, trying to calm herself down.

It wasn't working. She needed to blow something up. But what? It wasn't a good idea to go out of town, though she didn't care at the moment if she suddenly went missing and freaked people out. She was sure Chester would like that, actually, despite the weird niceness he'd suddenly started spouting.

Eh.

The idea was starting to sound better, actually.

[Natalia ahoy! It's been awhile since Ion really had a chance to speak with her, so when he notices that she's not up to much, he approaches her with a smile.]

Hello. Would you mind some company?

Of course not, Fon Master, I'd be honored.

I was merely looking at some of the shops. It's been a while since I was last able to visit Chesedonia, so it's rather interesting to see what types of items they're offering now.

I know what you mean. It's very different here than in Daath or Kimlasca. Hotter, too.

Well well well, this was unexpected. In all of his journey to find the 'real' Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear, Raven had never expected to actually see the one who was in the castle for the past two-ish decades to be in the same place as he was... or as Estelle was. Her appearance alone was a dead giveaway as to her true identity, in addition tot he regal manner in which she comported herself simply screamed 'HAI LOOK AT ME GAIZ I'M THE PRINCESS OF KIMLASCA-LANVALDEAR!' Well, maybe not to the untrained eye, but Raven knew how to look out for this sort of thing.

Chuckling a bit as he approached her, he noticed her sigh as she just came from the Ant Lion Man. He was an odd fellow, for certain. Hopefully it wouldn't be that difficult to not be quite as odd as he was. "You lost, darlin'?" He smiled.

Honestly... That man was so... peculiar. It had been by pure accident that she had seen him in the first place, being that he was hidden away from the shops and main road. And now, after seeing what he had done when she tried to give him what he'd asked for, Natalia could almost understand why he wasn't somewhere more... open.

The blonde looked up as someone spoke to her, and she very nearly scoffed at the way he addressed her. Thankfully she managed to keep from doing so, and she offered the man a polite smile instead.

"I'm quite all right, thank you. I simply got a little side-tracked when I noticed that man over there," she replied, motioning towards the Ant Lion Man.

"Aa, the Ant Lion Man?" Raven scratched the back of his head, grinning. Even in all of his years in recon, he never was able to find the true origins of the Ant Lion Man. However, he didn't seem like a threat to anyone, so nobody really bothered to look for the truth regarding that odd individual. "Yeah, he's a bit... eccentric. I hope you didn't give him anything more valuable than a few loose gels, did you?" Raven stretched by holding his hands behind his head, and stood on one foot as the other tapped the ground behind him; his stance was fairly relaxed. He did enjoy the desert heat, after all.

[Private Malkuth Soldier Kyle is on patrol! I assume this is soon after he met Philia. Feel free to poke this lucky boy before he got toast in sunny day.]

Oh boy, this is hot.

[/late to the party. Anyone can respond? :D;;]

Senel had been ordered out of the city and abroad to look for the girl he'd been guarding that had escaped from the city. He wasn't given any particular place to start looking for her, and quite honestly he had no idea where to begin. Where would a girl like that up and run off to anyway? Chesedonia just happened to be a convenient place that he came across and Senel figured that since he was there, taking a look around couldn't hurt.

"It's as good of a place as any to start looking." He thought out loud to himself as he strode into the mouthed entrance to the small cityThe soldier had never been to this place before, so he looked around the place with a certain amount of disinterest. Sightseeing could wait since he had a job to do. Why someone would come to a place like this to hideout was beyond him.

It was so hot.

Walking about, Philia spotted Senel, a familiar tuft of white hair and attitude. Smiling a little, she approached him with a bow. "Sir Coolidge; I wasn't expecting to run into you here in Chesedonia, of all places. Has your search for the Water Tribe lead you here?" She asked, tilting her head ever so slightly with a small smile on her face.

He wasn't expecting to know anyone in the area, let alone on a basis that they would know of his name. Senel's expression as he turned to face the oddly familiar voice was one of momentary surprise. "Philia?" Least to say, he was just as surprised to see her in a place like Chesedonia; She didn't seem like the traveling type. "No, I'm here because of work. I don't really get much time for personal things like that." The soldier waved a hand in her direction, "I wasn't expecting to run into you here of all places. It's been a while."

"Indeed." Philia responded, still smiling. "Your work must be very time consuming... if you don't mind me asking, what is your missing in these parts? I may be able to help with information. I also know that the Fon Master Guardian Colette is in this town, so she may be able to help as well." She mentioned and suggested, considering they were all serving under Daath and the Church of Lorelei. "I don't know if you two were in training together or not, but we're all comrades, are we not?"

"Yeah." But still, going around talking about what he was supposed to be doing wasn't exactly in the mission statement. The Maestro probably wouldn't want everyone knowing that his daughter was missing, given the conclusions they could draw from the situation. It was his fault anyway..what a guardian. But given what he had to go on there wasn't much he could do but say something. "...Just make sure you keep it to yourself." The sooner he got the girl back where she belonged the better, and at least he knew where Phillia stood in loyalty to the Maestro. Senel sighed, "Marta, the Maestro's daughter, disappeared from the capitol. I'm looking for her."

The most obvious way to start looking for someone did happen to be ask other people, and Senel sure wasn't shy when it came to that. The solider looked around the immediate area and happened to sight a blonde girl that looked to be about the age of the one he was looking for. "Excuse me!" He called after, approaching the girl with a quickened step. "I got separated from this girl," Senel took out a small picture that her father had provided and he held it out for the girl to see, "Have you seen her anywhere around here?"

Colette stopped and looked up at the white-haired stranger, then took a long look at the picture he was holding. There was a pretty girl in it, but not one that she recognized immediately.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen someone like that," Colette told him politely. "I'm really sorry... I wish I could be of more help. I hope you find her soon."

Oh well. It was only one person in town, and it wasn't like he was expecting to be so amazingly lucky on the first try anyway. Senel slipped the picture back in his pocket, "No, that's okay. You don't have anything to be sorry for." However, there was one more thing, "I don't mean to pry, but are you from around here? If you're a traveler, you might've not been around enough to see her." If she was a traveler, that probably meant that there was a way to get in and out of the city as well.

"My friends and I aren't from around here, actually... we're just kind of stopping here for a bit." She ought to check with the others so that they could decide on a plan; the state of things seemed awfully serious from what little she'd pieced together. Master Ion probably had so many important things that he had to do, and they needed to help him do them...

"A traveling party, huh?" If a girl like this had a party, it wasn't such a leap to assume someone else her age and stature could get into a party of their own. Signature to Senel's nature, he crossed his arms and sighed without explaining much about why he looked disappointed. Guess it was a dead lead; stabbing in the dark seldom yielded results anyway.

"Yes..." Colette nodded, clasping her hands politely. The stranger seemed troubled, which made her feel worse about being unable to help.

"I really am sorry there's nothing I can do. I'll keep an eye out for her, though, if I can."

"Thanks," Oh, right. It wouldn't do much good if she happened to run across who he was looking for and didn't know what to do about it. "My name is Senel, by the way. I work in Daath as a soldier." ....He thought for a second; it also wouldn't help matters if Marta knew that someone from her home was looking for her, she'd probably just run more and be more difficult to find. "...If you do happen to see her, could you not tell her that I'm looking for her? ..We had a fight before she ran off and I'm looking for her so I can apologize. If she knew, she'd probably get pretty mad." A Lie, but a necessary one.

Colette smiled at Senel, trying not to giggle. "Okay, I'll do my best! How should I let you know if I see her?--My name is Colette, by the way, and it's nice to meet you."

Maybe she was busy right now taking care of Master Ion and helping Philia, but that wouldn't stop her from looking for the girl named Marta. It sounded like she and Senel had a fun relationship, and it would be good if they could make up soon.

[CHAPTER 03 - OPEN] Chesedonia, Week 3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

feel free to poke?

*POKE*

SENNY! /embraces

YAY :D

i promise i usually tag faster than this

<3

no subject

no subject

dlkf;sa late. You're too trusting, Colette!

POKE