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| No title. |
| (2013-06-29 - 2013-06-29) |
| No description. |
| Alma Hyral | While Archades was beginning to recover. It was still a mess. The Upper City had nearly toppled over, was almost completely ruined. The repairs would be extensive. Almost all residents of the Upper City were now crowded within the Lower City. This made for an odd intermingling of the Upper and Lower class. Disfranchised nobles alongside the common cutthroat. Some took to it well, most did not, as their former sense of entitlement stayed with them. The relief tents were still crowded in the wake of the Alexandrian attack. But fewer needed actual medical attention each day, which is why Alma Hyral, despite being a healer.. was actually able to take a day off from volunteering down there on occasion. The Judge-Magisters had seen that Kyra and Alma were taken care of in the wake of the tragedy as guests of House Solidor. Their apartment was humble, but they didn't seem to mind, they actually had electricity, air conditioning and running water.. luxuries they didn't take for granted. Even now, their apartment had two guards standing outside of it.. It was the morning after, and after getting cleaned up and showering, Alma was busying herself in the kitchen. She was making breakfast haystacks, with chocobo eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes an assortment of other ingredients, topped in Hollandaise sauce. She had it all in a large casserole pan given that they had extra guests today. She was humming a tune to herself as she navigated her way around the various tasks that had to be completed in order to make breakfast perfect in her eyes. |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Alma had invited Ryusei to spend some time at Archades after their wet, messy and dirty adventure at the cavern in the Dalmascian Desert, which had been successful and productive, but only in a limited way, since they were expecting a World Shard, all they got was a piece of magicite. The idea of spending some time in new places and meeting old acquaintances from the Academy was always something the Isshiki heiress welcomed, but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when entering the city. The place was a freaking mess. There was no stone that hadn't been toppled over, no home that hadn't been razed, and a severe lack of space for all of the people who had lost their houses. Ryusei just couldn't stomach seeing all that. Being witness to people suffering placed an awkward feeling of emptiness in her that longed to be sated. However, until now, she had resisted the urge to talk about it, for the sake of not being inopportune. She just walked into the offered appartment, had a showered and spent some time with Alma and Myla before going to bed. Tomorrow would be another day. And lo and behold, it was tomorrow already! Being a morning person since she was young, Ryusei had gotten up pretty early to do some exercise, then returned a few hours later to have a shower and breakfast. Now, all clean and dressed, she was walking into the kitchen to check out on Alma. The smell of food made her forget about the disgrace around her for a moment. Ryusei was sure that she hadn't seen a better meal being prepared ever, or at least in a very long time. Her stomach, eager to try it and already longing for lots of energy after the morning workout, growled insistently, making Ryusei's presence obvious and placing a deep blush of embarrassment in her cheeks, making them color like a ripe tomato. "Erm... Hello, Alma. I'm back." She said in greeting, a silly giggle following shortly after as she felt a little awkward because of her belly's protests. |
| Alma Hyral | Alma Hyral was frequently a space case, with her head in the clouds.. or at least elsewhere. Thus once Ryusei entered the kitchen, and made herself known with the greeting and nervous giggle.. she was startled, even though she shouldn't have been since she knew she had guests about. She whirled about perhaps a little too suddenly and with those frumpy white mage robes she always wore...they got caught on the knob of a lower level cabinet, and then it caused a chain reaction... First she started to stumble, then there was some flailing, followed by her trying to grab ahold of something.. which both unfortunately and fortunately was an empty pan, which went with her down, as she landed almost flat on her face, her head turning to the side at the last moment to spare her glasses. The pot followed and smacked her on the way down. For a moment she was silent, then she made a muffled sound of mingled embarassment and pain. Graceful she was not. As she tried to pick herselves up with a pained, sheepish look, she mumbles awkward, stammering, "Um, H-Hey Ryusei.. it's.. g-good to have you back.. I'm kind of s-surprised you remember me..." |
| Ryusei Isshiki | The chain reaction happens pretty quickly. Ryusei watches it unfold in slow motion. Alma turning around with a start after her stomach rumbles, then gets her robes caught on a cabinet, then she stumbled, flailed and went down to the floor, together with an empty pan that was sent flying and landed, as if in spite, over poor Alma's head. Staring in horror, Ryusei runs towards Alma and kneels down, holding her as she gets up, checking out for any injuries that show signs of severity. "Are you okay, Alma? That was quite a bad fall!" Sighing lightly, the girl shook her head and smiled. "I see you are as clumsy as always, Alma. What am I going to do with you?" As the younger girl gets up, she dusts her off a little, then checks again for injuries. "You are really that surprised of me remembering you, Alma? Why would I forget someone like you? You were always a nice, kind person. Clumsy and shy you may be, but you're still a wonderful person despite that!" |
| Alma Hyral | She seemed incredibly, embarrassed by the treatment. Like she was unused to it, like simple kindnesses were something new to her. Ryusei helps her up, and she gives her a grateful, albeit sheepish smile, she began to dust herself off and Ryusei helps her. She doesn't look really all that injured.. just abashed. "Oh i-it's alright.. I'm f-fine really..." But she just, gaped a little bit, when she started complimenting her like that, her cheeks flushing a deep scarlet color. "I uh. Oh.. w-well t-thank you..." She didn't seem to know exactly how to handle that. "I j-just um.. n-never really had any f-friends until our w-world fell.. just f-family.." Then realizing that she was still cooking, she took the casserole pan and put it in the preheated oven, with the hollandaise sauce remaining in a saucepan on the counter. She then turned to her, and smiled at her once again, "So, h-how long have you been b-back? Can I g-get you anything? Coffee?" |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Ryusei sighed. "Okay, if you say you're fine, I believe you. But try and be more careful, okay?" She smiled, then stepped back and watched as she continued preparing breakfast. Her stomach groaned again, which made the pinkette blush one more time. "You know, stomach, you could stop putting me in awkward situations for a moment. We're gonna eat in a little while, no need to groan so insistently!" Hearing her own self-scolding, she can't help but laugh. It was silly, but a good way of lightening the mood. Ryusei blinked. "What? No friends whatsoever? That's terrible!" Okay, /now/ Ryusei was worried. Putting two and two together, it was clear that Alma's school life had been all bullies and no friends. Thinking about that made the feeling of emptiness return, that feeling that plagued her when she saw people suffer. Without thinking, Ryusei just placed her hands on Alma's shoulders and gave them a comforting rub. "I... I'm sorry, Alma. I never thought that you felt so alone back then. If I had known, I would have spent much more time with you." That probably sounded more awkward than helpful, since Alma was 2 years younger than Ryusei, and spending time with people younger than you at school made you look like a kid. But Ryusei doesn't care. She sighed again, and let go so that Alma could finish, then rubbed the back of her head thoughtfully. "I don't really drink coffee. I don't like it. I prefer hot cocoa much more." She offers Alma a sheepish smile as she says this. |
| Alma Hyral | "I try to be.. I'm j-just.. you know I g-gaze at the s-stars so o-often that people tell me that I s-should stop l-looking up. That i-if I l-looked at my feet I'd t-trip less..." She manages a soft giggle fit as Ryusei starts to scold her stomach, "Oh d-don't worry, it'll be s-satisfied soon enough." She starts back around the kitchen, bending over to look into some of the cabinets. "...I-It's just that I was s-so conservative b-because of my f-family..my f-faith. L-Less so now.. but I'm still... I get n-nervous talking to p-people... in s-social situations.. until I'm c-comfortable, I'm k-kind of a mess and it puts m-most people off." She looks up over the cabinet at the regrets of spending more time with her, as she manages a faint smile, "H-Hey you were an upperclassman a-anyhow... it m-makes sense. N-Not even my s-sister spent much time with m-me at school but.. t-that's for another r-reason..." She starts to make Hot Cocoa instead, though unfortunately given the state of things the best she can do is /instant/, in hot water which she obtains from the coffee machine. She stirs around the contents of the little package inside before handing her the mug. "A l-lot has happened s-since we came back... I a-actually worked for S-Souji's company for a w-while.. but I l-left. It's for the b-best.." She looks genuinely.. haunted, by the experience, as she looks away. |
| Ryusei Isshiki | "Well... Maybe you should try and heed their advice. After all, the probability of having a meteorite fall on our heads is much, much smaller than the probability of getting rammed by a car." Ryusei walks towards some place to sit down, and does so, looking at Alma. Hearing about Alma's faith and the conservative leanings of her family. "I do understand what you mean. A little. I mean, I am the heir of the Isshiki family. Back in Galianda, I was supposed to take the reins of Ice Frontier after my mother retired. I know what it feels to have such a strict upbringing. But even then..." She wonders how to say this in a way that Alma can understand and, at the same time, not feel offended. "My parents always told me that there were some things that they expected me to do. Go to school, behave like an older sister towards my younger siblings, get a fiance, marry, inherit the company... But they also told me that, deep inside, I was the owner of my own destiny, that whenever my heart talked to me, I should listen to it, and that even if that put me against other people, even against my own family, I should not back away. When you make a decision, it is the others who must learn to deal with it, not the other way around." She wasn't sure that Alma would understand the subliminal message behind this, but she couldn't just go and tell that her family may not have done the right thing by raising her in such a rigid way. When Alma talks about the things that happened, she nods. "I know. Soan told me. Galianda is no more. All because of a bunch of monsters called Heartless. After that, we were separated and ended up in different places in this world." She leans back and stares upwards. "My family is out there. I can feel it. I have no idea if they are doing well or not, but I'm sure that they are still alive. Whenever I have the chance, I must look for them. I need to know if they are fine." Then, Alma hissed and leaned forward again as she heard Murasame's name. "I would prefer if we didn't talk about that jerk if we don't explicitly need to." She couldn't deny it: She didn't trust Souji. After the whole incident regarding Tira Hyral's murder, he had changed. He had become much more somber, much more... Unsettling. And her heart told her that being close to him was unwise. "You did the right thing, Alma. That guy is not trustworthy. Just... Something inside me tells me he isn't." |
| Alma Hyral | Alma sips from her own mug of cocoa, and gives Ryusei a strange look, her voice suddenly a little calmer, "It's because the stars are something I can understand... people.. this world.. I find I have a lot of problems with just living.." She listens to Ryusei tell her story, then she finally shakes her head, "My family... being the arbiter of my own destiny was never taken into account. There was what was expected of me, and nothing else.. It's why Kyra rebelled. Myself?" She looks down into the mug, "...I'm...not as strong as she is, and there was something to that life that I wanted for myself, even if I didn't want.. all of it..." She nods to herself, "I.. don't know if my family is still out there, if they'll walk out of the darkness some day, or if they're already in this world, to be found... but.. that is why I do what I do. Research what I research.. because while I want to see my family again, I don't want to restore just Galianda... I want to restore all of creation. To know that /every/ broken family has had the chance to recover." When the subject turns to Souji again, she falls quiet during all of Ryusei's discussion... She moves over the oven, grabs a baking mitt, and removes the casserole pan, leaving it out to cool, then after a moment she looks up to Ryusei and only says four words, "You're right about him." She doesn't clarify any further though given her expressed desire not to speak about him. |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Ryusei takes a sip from her mug, then looks at Alma as she speaks of how she's not as strong as her sister Kyra. She sighs and stares into Alma's eyes, offering a reassuring smile. "Alma... You're much stronger than you think you are. When you stop fooling yourself about it, you will realize that you are much more stronger than you thought, and with that strength you will be able to shape your own fate to your desire." Of course, Alma is not gonn listen to her, but she needed give her some words of encouragement. She couldn't stand seeing people suffer, specially when they are close friends. She, however, is somewhat puzzled when Alma says that there's something to the life she lived that she wanted. This answers none of the question in her head, and in fact rises a few more. "That is a very tall task, you know." Ryusei says about Alma's desire to restore all worlds and giving every broken family a chance to recover. "You will not be able to do it alone, that's for sure." Another reassuring smile forms on her lips. "If you ever need help, just send a message my way. I'll be there for anything you want. Anything at all." She decides not to continue talking about Souji. That Alma said she was right about him is enough for Ryusei, and given how Alma feels when talking about that man, it's clear that Ryu is not the only person who doesn't want to share more words than strictly necessary about him. Finally, she decides to give a try to the breakfast Alma has prepared. Careful not to burn herself with the hot stuff, she takes a bite... And remains completely still and silent as a torrent of joy flows through her entire body. Holy Toledo, this is one of the best meals she has tasted in her whole life! |
| Alma Hyral | The younger girl offers a shy smile, sort of shrinking into herself just a little, "...I don't think my strength is my own...." She walks over to the table, setting it, slowly, one plate at a time, one piece of silverware at a time, everything is carefully done, deliberate, ".....it comes from others...." Much like her light, but she'd prefer not to talk about that, "....and so I'm becoming.. a stronger individual every day.... as to whether I'll be able to one day shape.. my fate, we'll see.." For a moment, she looks genuinely haunted by that subject, as she stops setting the table with a notable pause of thirty seconds in more, staring off into nothing, but then she continues to set the table. She nods her head, smiling at her, "Well... that's why I'm working for Archades, because they have decided to support my research... the deal they've made allows me to walk away at any time. They don't mind if I search for world shards for all other worlds.. so long as I'm willing to aid them in restoring theirs. And..." There is a beat pause, "...they are offering me their protection..." She walks over to the cooling casserole pan, putting it on the table, and slowly portioning out servings with a knife and a serving spoon. "The recent attack...I'm grateful that I was here, they needed all the healers they could get, even if it has been a heartwrenching, soulcrushing experience. We couldn't.. save everyone." Her expression looks sorrowful, but she quickly tries to recover and put on a braver face. She then bids for her to eat, and offers Ryusei a smile of delight at her obvious like of the food. "What do you think?" |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Ryusei shakes her head. "It's your own. That I can assure you. That it comes from others matters little. Just like a city cannot be built by a single person, a person cannot become stronger if they don't have other people near them. It is from their bonds with others that they grow and become what they are." When Alma stops setting the table, she blinks, staring worriedly into the younger girl, wondering if something's wrong. Even when Alma starts moving again, her worries are not fully dispeled. When Alma talks about Archades, she sighs and feels that emptiness in her body come back again. "When I was out, doing my morning workout... I happened to pass by some ruined buildings. There was not a stone in place, what little remains of the city is crowded to the brim... And what's worse is the air of mistrust among the citizens. The common folk and the nobles don't seem to be getting along pretty well." She leans onto the table and rests her head on her arms, sighing. "I can't help but feel sad when I look around and see so much people suffering. I can't stand being unable to help them with their problems. But on the other hand, I'm just a single person, and I don't know much about healing magic. I'm a fighter through and through. The only thing I can do is protect. I can't repair damage that has been done." It's pretty obvious that she's feeling impotent about not being able to help the Archadians that have lost their homes due to this stupid war. That takes a step sideways when she tries Alma's breakfast, though. As said before, her face of joy is obvious and radiates delight intensely. "It's..." She takes another good chomp, munching on it with such a pleased face it almost looks like something else! "I have never tried something this good in my life." |
| Alma Hyral | Alma Hyral smiles at her, though it appears wan in nature, "But if it is built on borrowed stone, then all it takes..." She makes a motion of grasping something, and taking it away, "...is that...and it all crumbles." She quickly moves on to the subject of Archades, "It's... yes, they don't. Many nobles lost everything when the Upper City fell. And they haven't processed it yet.. that they lost all the /things/ which made them nobles, but had none of the qualities that make up nobility. And so they complain, they act entitled, they act above the common folk it's..." She rubs the bridge of her nose briefly, pushing her glasses back, "...it's sad really. We've kept the peace so far though in the relief areas." She offers her a smile, "Hey, believe it or not that sort of thing is needed too.. there are looters everywhere, and most of them are unfortunate people who are just trying to survive.. but in this misfortune some turn to... even darker deeds and well.. law enforcement can't keep up. So it helps. Every little bit helps, from everyone. Which is why I'm glad you've decided to help us in my hunts for world shards." She actually flushes a deep scarlet from the compliment, "Um.. w-well I'm very glad you l-like it.. I've taken.. l-lessons to become a m-master chef.. my t-teacher says I'm still not /quite/ t-there yet..." |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Ryusei chuckles. "A person is only built on borrowed stone if the stone comes from people that don't deserve your trust." She nods lightly. "It all makes sense when you think about it." Ryusei sighed. It was hard enjoying such a good breakfast when the reality of the situation they were into hit so hard and so close. "Well, I have told you already, but I will say it again. If there's anything I can do to help, anything at all, just tell me. I will do whatever I can to try and make people happier, specially if they are my friends." Ryusei's smile became radiant, the girl attempting to be ass reassuring as possible in the face of these difficult circumstances. When Alma talked about her lessons to become master chef and not being quite there yet, she laughed. "I think that your teacher is silly. You are an awesome cook. Not even my dad could make something this delicious, and believe me, he tries!" |
| Alma Hyral | Alma just shrugs, sitting down at the table and idly eating a bite from her food, every so often taking a sip from the cocoa, "You might be right.. we'll see... there's a lot of people now who I care about... and whom care about me in return. I wouldn't label any of my friends as... undeserving of my trust." A beat pause, "I just hope that I'm deserving of theirs." There is a brief pause, as she considers the matter, "Well there is one thing.. there's a string of kidnappings of children throughout Archades which has everyone baffled. Riku said he was going to look into it. Maybe you'd like to join him? I'm unfortunately needed elsewhere tonight." And then after a short pause, she just states in a mumbled voice, "Thank you for being so kind." On the final matter, she kind of winces, "Well he's.. kind of intense. In fact, that'd be understating the matter. He's /very/ intense. His training puts you through.. deadly situations to learn." Yes, deadly situations to learn how to cook. Not intense at /all/. |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Ryusei continues eating her breakfast from tiem to time as well, although she also addresses Alma when she talks. "Well, it is what I believe into, at any rate. Whatever the case, it's good to see that you are with people who care about you and are important for you. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders, honestly." She then frowns lightly. "Alma! Don't you dare to say you are not trustworthy! You are an exemplar person, willing to help anyone in need! Of course you deserve the trust of yourself, never doubt about it!" When Alma mentions the issue of the kidnappings, she blinks. "Oh, no! That's horrible! Who could be so evil to do such a thing?" She slams her hand on the table. "You can count on me! I will help look into the matter." And then Alma thanks her for being so kind. Her smile returns. "There's no need to thank me about it! It is my duty to help people when possible. If I didn't do it, I wouldn't feel complete." On the matter of the cooking teacher... Ryusei says nothing. She just opens her eyes wide, rising her eyebrows and blinking puzzledly. Deadly situations to learn cooking? Huh? What? How? |
| Alma Hyral | Alma just quietly picks at her food during the entirety of the first part, allowing some of that conversation to just fall down a well in her mind, "....I hope so." But she moves on quickly enough, smiling at her, "Then I'm glad that we'll have you on board, Ryusei. We need people like you, everyone that we can get. And I don't.. know, the two of us tried to investigate it before and came up with very little. It's... puzzling. Heartless don't just snatch children out of beds in the middle of the night, they're mostly mindless." She picks further at her food, with a ruminative look, but just gives Ryusei a mild smile, "Well it hasn't killed me yet... there are far worse things to fear than my cooking teacher's displeasure, trust me. Several of them are why I'm under Archades' protection." |
| Ryusei Isshiki | Ryusei sighs as Alma pretty much ignores what she says when she talks about how she deserves everyone else's trust. It's no use. Alma is gonna need to find out by herself that she, indeed, is worthy of everyone else's trust and friendship. But until she learns to believe in herself a little, that's gonna be a little hard. On the matter of the kidnappings, Ryusei strokes her chin thoughtfully. "Well. If it is not a Heartless, then it clearly cannot be anything but... A human." Pausing her eating for a moment, Ryu leans back and thinks on the matter. "Only a human could think of doing something so horrible. The question is... Why? Why would they kidnap children? What would they expect to win from doing that?" Honestly, Ryusei found a blank spot very quickly. She was unable to understand the motivations of evil people. She returned to her food, the thought never leaving her head as she ate, smiling back at Alma. "Well, as long as you are fine, it's okay. Just don't overdo yourself, okay? I would be very sad if something bad happened to you. On the meantime, I will do what I can to make the life of everyone here a bit better. Starting with that kidnapping issue. I will do my best to track that person down and make him face justice for his crime. For my honor, I promise." |