Welcoming Festival

[theguidebook]

Who: Everyone!
What: Let's welcome the new folk! Festival time!
Where: Summer Forest
When: June 1st, evening
Warnings: None!

It's pretty amazing what magic can put together on short notice. Where tranquil forest stood just hours ago, there's now the obvious signs of a party—and it's all for the people who just got here! Hopefully everyone's dried off by now so they won't catch any chills! Strung up among the trees are paper lanterns glowing lightly and illuminating the area. There's food from all sorts of places set up on tables among the trees, and games are scattered about, with citizens of other worlds manning them. There's also a bonfire in a clearing away from the trees, if you want to get away from all the hustle and bustle… but why wander away? Have fun and socialize, after all, Avalar is your new home!

Comments

[pauldron]

Of course it is. [A snort.] Crystals are always magical. Can't cast magic without having one.

[Inside you somewhere. Or be potentially turning into one. She gives her vest an aggressive flap to get water off of it, grip tight enough that her knuckles are white around the collar. What she wouldn't give for some of that magic right about now.]

[falsezodiacknight]

Exactly.
[Vaan is now thinking she's from his world, okay? Magick is provided by the crystals, with this one removed, perhaps Corneria will...
he gives a slightly calmer look, as he starts to take off his armour.

Don't worry, he does have clothes under it. He just doesn't want it to rust, okay? And his cape, as well.]
...Let me guess - you fell into the water, too?

[pauldron]

[She completely understands the need to care for your gear--hell, the gunblade laying on the ground was the first thing she dried off...or tried to, anyway. She wasn't able to find a towel so it's been left to air dry. Once she gets this cloth dry she'll handle the blade.]

I think we all did. I haven't seen a dry person since we got here.

[falsezodiacknight]

[...Well, yeah. He hadn't seen one, except for those people... well, animals claiming to be native to these lands, not people who dropped like them. Vaan gives a smile, and then -

- He remembers. Looking away a little, he starts to dry... his necklace? Shut up, it's important to him.]
You're... Miss Farron, aren't you?

[pauldron]

[She stiffens a little, shifts her weight closer to her blade and turns her head to look at him with narrowed eyes.]

That depends. [The only ones who know her last name are her family and her squad. He's neither. Something's wrong here--!]

[falsezodiacknight]

[Vaan pauses.
Should he tell her? After a bit of thought - well, he doesn't know if somebody like her would believe it. And by that, he meant somebody that deeply in favor to... those two. Those two oddball rulers.
He looks to her, straight in her eyes with his singular one.]
I've heard of you from... friends of mine. [He wouldn't call them friends, but.] You were honored by them... with a portrait with your name clearly below it. A knight from t-the distant past.
[...Vaan looks totally nervous.]
Though, if you don't believe that - well, that's fine.

[pauldron]

And do these friends have names?

[She doesn't quite believe it yet, but she hasn't reached down to grab her blade so he's got a chance to continue explaining before she considers him a threat.

If he's good at reading body language, he'll be able to tell she's as on edge as he is. What he's saying makes absolutely no sense. None at all.]

[falsezodiacknight]

Yes. The two Queens - Vanille and Fang.
[He says, bowing his head.]

[pauldron]

[Yeah okay she's stunned now. Queens?! That doesn't make any sense--they were in crystal sleep last she knew, not alive to be queens of anything or anywhere! They weren't even the type to suddenly up and become rulers of anything!]

Queens of where?

[falsezodiacknight]

[...Okay no you must be mistaken, Lightning. Vaan is giving you a bit of an odd look now, as he still is cowering a little.]
The Queens of Rebena Te Ra - the capital of Gran Pulse, of course. [Don't you know your maps???]

[pauldron]

[Gran Pulse is a familiar term and she latches onto it, letting some tension leak out of her shoulders even as she continues to watch Vaan like a hawk. What in the world is he talking about...]

Right. [Hey she never had a map and Fang never mentioned a Rebena Te Ra. Ever. Oerba, Haerii, Paddra. Rebena? Nope.] Of course.

[falsezodiacknight]

...
My name's Vaan, by the way. A Judge of Corneria.
[Let's hope she at least knows Corneria, geeze. But, he isn't looking relieved at any of her relief. He pauses, before continuing, though - ]
Uh - they're only a recent thing, though - we're basically guards and knights, protecting the lands from threats, under Queen Sara.
[...do any of these kingdoms have kings?]

[pauldron]

[She gives him another look, confusion reigning supreme even as she tries to hide it. No, she doesn't know know Corneria. Judge is a familiar word, but not in the context he's using. She gives her vest a shake, then begins to pull it on again. Damp or not, she'd rather have her hands free around this kid.]

What sort of threats? You seem pretty well equipped for normal monster hunting.

[She'd only seen armor like that in books on fairy tales, not in real world situations.]

[falsezodiacknight]

Others.
[Wait, she wouldn't know what those were. Recent threats, you know?]
People who have monster souls - they lose their minds and claim to be heroes who died a long time ago - and try and take down the four kingdoms, shattering the crystals to kill everybody. At least, that's what I've heard. The only Others I've met were those guys running a hotel and the group who tried to take this crystal.
[Yeah, he just gave an info dump. What are you gonna do about it, Light?]

[pauldron]

[What's she going to do? She's going to give him a Look and frown, most of that going right over her head. None of what he's saying is making sense, except...]

Why would they do that? If shattering the crystals means everyone would die, they would die too. [Her eyes narrow.] Are you sure that's the whole story?

[If it's "what he's heard" then there's no backing it up. For all she knows, he heard the wrong story!]

[falsezodiacknight]

That's what I've been taught. It doesn't make sense, I know.
[...It actually does make sense, but Vaan doesn't know the truth.]
But it's my duty to kill them. Though - with this here, I don't know what'll happen to Gran Pulse - I mean, those guys already shattered their other crystal. [Now he's just musing to himself, as he dries his cape proper - the pendant... all that is left of Reks (so he thinks)... it's nice and dry.] Maybe they'll finally die off?

[pauldron]

[Finally die off? If destroying the crystals destroys the world, then what does that mean for those left behind? For Fang and Vanille? Her heart clenches at the thought of losing her family again, and she turns to face him fully.

The thought that they aren't "her" Fang and Vanille doesn't cross her mind. She grits her teeth, fists clenching as she longs for her magic but settles for raising her voice loud enough to make her dragonfly almost squeak from where it was braiding one side of her hair.]

And I guess you're okay with that? With all those people dying?

[falsezodiacknight]

[That loud voice - that forceful tone. It almost makes Vaan flinch. Actually, it does make him flinch, and almost scramble back.

But he shakes his head. Might as well tell the truth - this is a Knight, though not one of Corneria. He looks straight at her - now clinging to his pendant.]
It would weed out the Others down there.
[Vanille and Fang - his versions of them - do protect Others. This is a well known fact - Corneria was about to go to war about it. Vaan knew this - his master had told him. He didn't want war...]

[pauldron]

[She doesn't care about the flinching--she's too angry to really care no matter what her Dragonfly buzzes in her ear or how it tries to make her stop--she just steps forward like a predator stalking wounded prey.]

And kill everyone else in the process! Innocent people who have nothing to do with your Others! Do you think it's worth that?!

[Others are starting to sound a lot like l'Cie in her brain. This is hitting too close to home for her right now.]

[falsezodiacknight]

[Being approached like this - it makes something in Vaan's mind snap, and he puts his necklace back on.]
Those lands - they're havens for them! Who cares if some innocents die - it is much better then everybody dying!
[Vaan suddenly stands, shaking his arm - and suddenly electricity surrounded said arm, as his own Dragonfly is hiding inside Vaan's armour... with popcorn? ]
It's worth it to weed out those murderers!

[pauldron]

[The electricity makes her step back--not out of fear, but to grab her blade off the ground and prepare to use it in case she has to.]

And doing that makes you no better then them!

[It's snapped out with a glare that would intimidated a Behemoth--the next move is up to Vaan, but she's done talking. He's a threat in her eyes and she deals with threats the quiet way.]

[falsezodiacknight]

[No better then them.

No better then them?! Vaan lets out a growl - they're the ones who robbed his brother from him. They're the ones who robbed him of a chance to stay normal, to live happily in a life he can't remember, because of how harsh his training was! How dare she. How dare she say that.

And, he grabs his own sword - the electricity jumping to it, as Vaan winces a little (for one, it was still a little wet, and for two - well, Wild Charge is a thing) - and held it - before charging towards the woman, towards Miss Farron.

Even if she were important to the kingdom of Rebena, Vaan didn't care.]

[pauldron]

[It's a reckless charge, almost like Snow's in a way that makes her already fraying temper flare. Still, she's too well trained and too experienced to think that taking that hit head on is a good idea even if she'd still been able to heal herself, and so she steps aside, hoping that his momentum will carry him past her without incident.

If it does, she'll kick him in the small of his back. If it doesn't, she's ready to go on the defensive and kick him in the stomach instead. Either way, her temper has been honed to a razor edge. This is what she's good at. Fighting.]

[falsezodiacknight]

[He does go past her - and he is kicked, knocking him down... for now. Within a moment, he stands, holding his electric arm a bit tightly - okay, he's not quite used to the pain.

But he's not going to stop - once he's in a rage like this, he won't stop - Vaan charges again!

If you're not against them, you're with them.]

[pauldron]

[And again, she steps out of range...right until she feels the edge of the firepit against her calf and she curses, then throws herself to the side in a roll. He manages to get close enough that she feels the sparks coming from his arm and sword strike her cheek and she flinches, but she's on her feet in moments, still ignoring the angry buzzing of her Dragonfly--stop it you stupid Outsiders stop it--as she faces him down.]

That the best you got?