[she only shifts uncomfortably to his human-eating comment; she has to remind herself that... that's the way of life here. she'll delay thinking about it as much as possible; it helps that she has a lot of experience with running away. turning her attention back to the conversation at hand, she clasps her hands behind her back with a smile.]
Well... what would you like to know about me? I can't think of myself as very interesting—but you're never interesting to yourself, right?
Well, what about your world? That's always a good place to start.
[Though that might be because he inherited Riku's curiosity toward other worlds and because he never really got to see worlds outside the castle before now.
Either way, he's watching attentively, trying to conceal his curiosity behind a cool, collected front.]
[usually, she would be vague about her origins; after lying for so many years, it's become second nature to her. but she sees no reason to hide things here; it's not like anybody knows her. plus, what better way to start getting used to telling the truth in a place where no one would judge or discriminate against her?]
Well... that part is a bit interesting, actually! I come from a place where there are two separate worlds—the airborne world of Cocoon, and the lower world of Gran Pulse. They don't like each other very much. I'm from the latter, but some of the best friends I've made are from Cocoon. Kind of weird, huh?
[His eyes widen, but he holds back from speaking at first, letting her finish her explanation. Two worlds in the same place? His head tips slightly to the side, and he folds his arms.]
Other worlds aren't too crazy, if you ask me, but why the hard feelings? There's gotta be a story behind it.
[Vanille pauses before answering. how much should she share with the others she's met here?]
I'm actually in a similar situation. [she looks down briefly, before turning her attention back to Rita. staying vague while sympathizing seems to be the best choice of action.] I wonder how many others are, too?
Well... think about what we must look like to them! It must be nothing to how we see them; just imagine if they were giants to us!
[she laughs as she finally starts hauling some cleaning supplies over to the coop, hoping Mari can take the joke... she puts her hands on the latch, calling over:]
All right, I'm about to let them out. Are you ready?
There are about... fifteen chickens, and a handful of chicks. Don't worry, you'll be fine!
[and with that, she flips the latch open and releases the flock. they're eager to get out of the coop, but they're pretty docile once they're out on the field. happy that it looks like they should be easy to handle, she ducks into the coop and starts getting to work on cleaning it out. they'll be done in no time! ...right?]
[Mari eyes the chickens warily as she makes her way over to the bag of feed, opens it up and tosses it into the yard. She doesn't want them touching her, looking at her, or getting anywhere near her. Luckily, as soon as the food hits the ground, it becomes a feathery feeding frenzy.]
Geez!
[Just scattering feed around is going to invite them too close, so she starts hurling it like a softball further into the yard and watching the waddle away after it.]
[it's the way he says it that, finally, strikes some actual fear into her. she almost, almost says "you're a monster." but she realizes that the best case scenario, had she said it, would be that he'd maybe laugh and threaten her to scare her. worst case scenario... well, she'd rather not find out if he's one of the people he warned her about, if he's someone whose angry side she'd rather not cross. so instead, her voice a little quieter than normal, her expression almost blank, she says:]
[Speaking slowly enough that his rough accent partly drops away, Mugen clarifies:]
I enjoy fighting. But killing's part of it.
[It was the natural conclusion of a fight. Victory was only truly achieved when there was only one man left standing, or something else fancy sounding like that. Yadda, yadda.
There was a rush involved when his sword entered someone's body and he could almost feel them going limp through the steel, and yeah, that probably gave her the right to be disgusted. Ironic how she'd been feistier when he really had been messing with her, though. This? This was all just honesty now.]
Go ahead and run if you want to, I'm not going to chase you. Damn.
[in many cases, her feistiness is a facade, to get her through moments where she would otherwise balk. this, though, is all based in honesty; he seems like he will honor his word, and if he's being truthful about everything else, why not this part? she almost feels like she owes him something, if just a little bit, for letting her go unscathed. in a world full of dangerous monsters, some apparently bloodthirsty for human flesh, that says a lot to her.]
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At least let me know what your name is, in case we run into each other again. [not that she'll be forgetting this encounter.] I'll give you mine—it's Vanille.
Name's Mugen. [He cocks his head back, stating it pridefully, even if he can't tell what the sudden pleasantry is for. Although with that, he takes it upon himself to be the first to depart, resuming sauntering along in no particular hurry, off to see the rest of the admittedly pretty shoddy sights, and probably to unintentionally scare the pants off of a few more night owls with his looks. (And his attitude.)]
Careful out there, girly.
[It would be a waste if someone chomped on your nice face.]
[she merely looks at him for that first comment, not sure how to take the expression on his face. she doesn't respond to it herself, though... surely if it was something more important, he would have gone into deeper detail about it?]
That isn't exactly what I meant... [she not-so-subtly glances at his wing again] ... but since you've mentioned it, which would be the safest? Not here, I'm guessing.
[You are making the right kind of assessment here, Vanille. Thought it is important, it's not exactly what he would think is important to mention. The fact that everyone has a lack of magic or abilities is something she can discover on her own.
Ah, so she was talking about his injury. Well, it's not really something she needs to worry about since it wasn't even a Rotan. Shrugging it off.] If it helps, it wasn't them. But... both are pretty safe. Bavan is bigger though, and probably your best bet. [He makes a sound. Half scoff, half laugh.] They like us there.
[she makes a small noise of affirmation; as long as it wasn't a result of him getting mobbed... she's still curious, but if he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, she'll acquiesce.]
What about the other city... Vandare? Are they not as tolerant?
It's all right—it's not like you had anything to do with it. None of us did, and we're all in the same boat, right? Besides, this isn't the first time it's happened to me.
[his words resonate with her deeply, hitting very close to home... more than he might be aware of. but he doesn't know, of course, so she can't fault him (not that she would to begin with). she grasps his hand firmly, giving him a kind smile.]
It's very nice to meet you, Leonard. My name is Vanille.
Is that so? [ His expression sobers with that admission, about having experienced something like this before. He knows it's not his fault, that he has nothing to do with it, but he still felt badly for her, and for all of this. ]
Once is already too much, if you ask me. [ He at least tries to force a smile when she introduces herself, even if it's kind of a sad one, in both expression and delivery. ]
Good to meet you. [ He echoes, his hand slipping away from hers a moment later to fall back to his side. ] You want some company? I'm just out lookin' for a friend of mine, figured he might've run off somewhere 'round here.
[she merely continues smiling at him and laughs as a response to his assessment of her situation; there's not much humor in it, but it's warm nonetheless. she folds her hands again when he lets hers go, and tilts her head when he mentions what he's up to.]
I wouldn't mind it if you don't. I could even help you look for him—what's he like? Maybe I've seen him around.
[it'd be more conducive than just standing here and chatting, right?]
[she breathes in sharply when he steps into the light. from how they'd been described, she'd expected the other monsters to be more...well, monstrous. if it wasn't for him revealing his form in the light, she wouldn't have been able to tell. after a moment of stunned, poignant silence, she slowly says:]
Is this... what you've changed into?
[she does not speak with fear of his eerie form, but rather with curiosity. she figures the other changed non-natives have experienced their unfair share of revulsion from the locals; she does not plan on contributing to that.]
[The moment it is obvious she is not scared, not running away, it is almost like a heavy weight falls off his shoulders. He nods, slowly, not quite yet believing she isn't about to call him a monster (deserved, he thinks, what else are they to these new arrivals?).]
Yes. I... not entirely. [Best be out with it all at once. If this did not scare her, perhaps... no, he doesn't hold much hope that his actual form will not scare her away, but he promised her the truth, and the truth she shall get. And so he lets his focus over his form shift away, and slowly, his shape changes, shimmers, until there is nothing but a black shadow in a vague form of a person standing in his place.]
This is the form the gods here changed me into. [The words do not come from a mouth as there is none, but they echo around them, strangely disembodied and yet it is the same voice, same tone as before.]
[and unlike before, this revelation does scare her, for a bit. her eyes widen, and she instinctively draws her arms around herself. she hadn't known what to expect, and what he's showing her now was nowhere near what she would have considered. the way his voice comes from seemingly nowhere sends a chill up her spine. but that's it for the momentary fear, leaving an awkward silence behind before she cautiously breaks it.]
Sorry, I... wasn't exactly prepared for that. [she then shakes her head in a bit of embarrassment, raising her hands before her and waving them apologetically.] Sorry, that sounded a little rude—I should just stop talking, shouldn't it?
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riku replica
[she only shifts uncomfortably to his human-eating comment; she has to remind herself that... that's the way of life here. she'll delay thinking about it as much as possible; it helps that she has a lot of experience with running away. turning her attention back to the conversation at hand, she clasps her hands behind her back with a smile.]
Well... what would you like to know about me? I can't think of myself as very interesting—but you're never interesting to yourself, right?
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[Though that might be because he inherited Riku's curiosity toward other worlds and because he never really got to see worlds outside the castle before now.
Either way, he's watching attentively, trying to conceal his curiosity behind a cool, collected front.]
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Well... that part is a bit interesting, actually! I come from a place where there are two separate worlds—the airborne world of Cocoon, and the lower world of Gran Pulse. They don't like each other very much. I'm from the latter, but some of the best friends I've made are from Cocoon. Kind of weird, huh?
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Other worlds aren't too crazy, if you ask me, but why the hard feelings? There's gotta be a story behind it.
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rita
[Vanille pauses before answering. how much should she share with the others she's met here?]
I'm actually in a similar situation. [she looks down briefly, before turning her attention back to Rita. staying vague while sympathizing seems to be the best choice of action.] I wonder how many others are, too?
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... Though there's also reason to suspect they're trying to use us as pawns in some kind of feud between them.
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mari
Well... think about what we must look like to them! It must be nothing to how we see them; just imagine if they were giants to us!
[she laughs as she finally starts hauling some cleaning supplies over to the coop, hoping Mari can take the joke... she puts her hands on the latch, calling over:]
All right, I'm about to let them out. Are you ready?
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Ready as I'll ever be!
[Which kind of means not ready at all, but at least she's not the one who has to clean out the coop, so she'll have to take what she can get.]
Are there a lot of them?
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[and with that, she flips the latch open and releases the flock. they're eager to get out of the coop, but they're pretty docile once they're out on the field. happy that it looks like they should be easy to handle, she ducks into the coop and starts getting to work on cleaning it out. they'll be done in no time! ...right?]
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Geez!
[Just scattering feed around is going to invite them too close, so she starts hurling it like a softball further into the yard and watching the waddle away after it.]
Is all these things do eat, poop, and lay eggs?
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mugen
You...
[it's the way he says it that, finally, strikes some actual fear into her. she almost, almost says "you're a monster." but she realizes that the best case scenario, had she said it, would be that he'd maybe laugh and threaten her to scare her. worst case scenario... well, she'd rather not find out if he's one of the people he warned her about, if he's someone whose angry side she'd rather not cross. so instead, her voice a little quieter than normal, her expression almost blank, she says:]
You enjoy killing, don't you?
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[Speaking slowly enough that his rough accent partly drops away, Mugen clarifies:]
I enjoy fighting. But killing's part of it.
[It was the natural conclusion of a fight. Victory was only truly achieved when there was only one man left standing, or something else fancy sounding like that. Yadda, yadda.
There was a rush involved when his sword entered someone's body and he could almost feel them going limp through the steel, and yeah, that probably gave her the right to be disgusted. Ironic how she'd been feistier when he really had been messing with her, though. This? This was all just honesty now.]
Go ahead and run if you want to, I'm not going to chase you. Damn.
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...
At least let me know what your name is, in case we run into each other again. [not that she'll be forgetting this encounter.] I'll give you mine—it's Vanille.
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Name's Mugen. [He cocks his head back, stating it pridefully, even if he can't tell what the sudden pleasantry is for. Although with that, he takes it upon himself to be the first to depart, resuming sauntering along in no particular hurry, off to see the rest of the admittedly pretty shoddy sights, and probably to unintentionally scare the pants off of a few more night owls with his looks. (And his attitude.)]
Careful out there, girly.
[It would be a waste if someone chomped on your nice face.]
riku
[she merely looks at him for that first comment, not sure how to take the expression on his face. she doesn't respond to it herself, though... surely if it was something more important, he would have gone into deeper detail about it?]
That isn't exactly what I meant... [she not-so-subtly glances at his wing again] ... but since you've mentioned it, which would be the safest? Not here, I'm guessing.
Re: riku
Ah, so she was talking about his injury. Well, it's not really something she needs to worry about since it wasn't even a Rotan. Shrugging it off.] If it helps, it wasn't them. But... both are pretty safe. Bavan is bigger though, and probably your best bet. [He makes a sound. Half scoff, half laugh.] They like us there.
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What about the other city... Vandare? Are they not as tolerant?
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It's all right—it's not like you had anything to do with it. None of us did, and we're all in the same boat, right? Besides, this isn't the first time it's happened to me.
[his words resonate with her deeply, hitting very close to home... more than he might be aware of. but he doesn't know, of course, so she can't fault him (not that she would to begin with). she grasps his hand firmly, giving him a kind smile.]
It's very nice to meet you, Leonard. My name is Vanille.
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Once is already too much, if you ask me. [ He at least tries to force a smile when she introduces herself, even if it's kind of a sad one, in both expression and delivery. ]
Good to meet you. [ He echoes, his hand slipping away from hers a moment later to fall back to his side. ] You want some company? I'm just out lookin' for a friend of mine, figured he might've run off somewhere 'round here.
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I wouldn't mind it if you don't. I could even help you look for him—what's he like? Maybe I've seen him around.
[it'd be more conducive than just standing here and chatting, right?]
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kieren
[she breathes in sharply when he steps into the light. from how they'd been described, she'd expected the other monsters to be more...well, monstrous. if it wasn't for him revealing his form in the light, she wouldn't have been able to tell. after a moment of stunned, poignant silence, she slowly says:]
Is this... what you've changed into?
[she does not speak with fear of his eerie form, but rather with curiosity. she figures the other changed non-natives have experienced their unfair share of revulsion from the locals; she does not plan on contributing to that.]
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Yes. I... not entirely. [Best be out with it all at once. If this did not scare her, perhaps... no, he doesn't hold much hope that his actual form will not scare her away, but he promised her the truth, and the truth she shall get. And so he lets his focus over his form shift away, and slowly, his shape changes, shimmers, until there is nothing but a black shadow in a vague form of a person standing in his place.]
This is the form the gods here changed me into. [The words do not come from a mouth as there is none, but they echo around them, strangely disembodied and yet it is the same voice, same tone as before.]
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Sorry, I... wasn't exactly prepared for that. [she then shakes her head in a bit of embarrassment, raising her hands before her and waving them apologetically.] Sorry, that sounded a little rude—I should just stop talking, shouldn't it?