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| Tales of Verdant Ice Cream |
| (2013-12-03 - 2013-12-04) |
| No description. |
| Paulo Mysidi | After the last encounter in the woods, Paulo has proven to be readily available whenever called upon. Most of the conversations were short and just check-ups to see how the other are doing. Today was different. Both were close enough to the Traverse Town to make a day out of it. Possibly some strategy training could be worked into their busy lives?! Maybe. Paulo seems to have different things on his mind. "Ice cream!" beams the sandy-haired young sage as he appears out of a crowd to dash to Aerith. Yep. He found her. "They have. A sale. On... ice cream. Two for one, lets go!" For a man who spends his time cataloguing plants-- practicing all manner of magic-- to be excited by frozen milk and sugar is-- well childish. Still he grabs for Aerith's hand to pull her into the already growing line before they lose a better part of the afternoon waiting. |
| Aerith | Aerith chuckled as he fawned over the two-for-one special, and lets herself be dragged along by the exuberant sage. "I do hope you've got the munny for it. I'm only paying for my cone, you hear?" |
| Paulo Mysidi | "Oh pfft," thbbts a young Paulo. He reaches into his robes and produces munny-- precisely enough for one. Well, two because of the special, "A gentleman always pays for a lady. Now you let me know if you /find/ a lady so I can give her my other cone." He puts his hands on his hips and laughs at his own joke. And now he went from a kid at a candy store to an old man that laughs at his jokes. Mwa-ha-ha. |
| Aerith | Aerith giggled and gave him a playful punch to his right shoulder. "Well unfortunately, there aren't any around so you're stuck with me." She faced forward again to look at the patrons just ahead of them. "We got lucky. This isn't a long line at all." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi rubs his shoulder, "My wounds may never recover," he says in response to being stuck with her. Turning his head to the line, he notices they are next up. "Thats because we acted swiftly, decisively, and with flawless planning. The mark of a grand strategist." The line is growing behind them. Of course there is a minor detail missing once they are up. What kind of ice cream? "Erk. You order first," he tells Aerith-- giving the young man at the counter munny for the two of them. |
| Aerith | Aerith covered her mouth to hide the smile. What kind of plan was this? It was something done on a whim. He was right though, they did act swiftly and decisively. Aerith cleared her throat. "Strawberry, two scoops, in a cup." |
| Paulo Mysidi | The young man behind the counter bows his head to a nod. He scoops up pink deliciousness and hands it over to Aerith in a cup. Expectantly he looks over to Paulo. The young sage points to a green tub, "Two scoops of-- mint chocolate chip." Paulo rubs his chin and his blonde stubble there. "Mint. We used to have mint over where I grew up. During summers we would gather bunches of them and blend them together with frozen ice." He gets his own cup-- taking a bite, "Mm, this is much sweeter though. Therefor-- better." Mmm. "You do anything like that growing up, Aerith," he says-- with a sincere look of curiosity spliced with the possibility he wants to gouge down on the ice cream while someone else is talking. |
| Aerith | Aerith shook her head. "Not really. I kinda lived in a rough part of town." That was putting it lightly. "My world used to have a lot of things wrong with it. The world I'm in right now, honestly, still does." |
| Paulo Mysidi | "Tell me about it," Paulo says-- taking a mouthful of ice cream. He grabs a seat at a nearby table. Might as well enjoy the warm weather with the ice cream. "Your world, that is." |
| Aerith | Aerith shrugged. "Depends on which version you're talking about. The one I live in now, or the one I was from before they all got smashed together?" She would tell the truth, either way. Aerith felt like they'd known each other for long enough that she could trust him with certain things. |
| Paulo Mysidi | "The one from before," Paulo says with a faint smile. The past is often a difficult subject-- but always an important one. |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded and headed for a nearby table. She took a seat and took a few moments to compose herself. Oh yes, this would be hard. But it'd be something worth telling at least one person. "My world had a lot of good things about it, and a lot of bad things, just like anyone else's." She stared at her ice cream for a few moments. "Fields, mountains, cities that sprung up via ingenuity and imagination. It had technology the likes of which you've probably never heard of." She shook her head. "Some of that technology wasn't all that good." She cleared her throat. "My world, in fact every world, has something called the Lifestream. Have you heard of it?" |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi is sitting at a table outside of an ice cream shoppe. For a moment the young sage considers the question Aerith posed. He draws out the large tome on his hip-- placing it on the table. It flips through an uncountable number of pages before landing on one. "Yes. Though-- in my world it was more a theory with many names," he says as he goes over a few of the notes from his family. Raising his head he smiles, "And since I've come here I've heard it referenced once or twice." |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded. "It's a great mass of souls beneath our feet... thoughts, feelings, minds and hearts... all wrapped up in one single consciousness." She closed her eyes as she tried to remember what her mother said about it. "It thus has a will and purpose of its own, and is a great source of knowledge and possibility." |
| Paulo Mysidi | "Fascinating," Paulo says with a spice of admiration in his voice. He is trying to imagine that-- and for all his creativity he knows it comes short to a fraction of what grandeur it would really be. Then another thought crossed his mind-- something about ingenuinity mentioned earlier. "It must have been quite an interesting topic in your world, as well." |
| Aerith | "Oh it was more than interesting." She chuckled. "Here's something that will probably make your eyes pop out of your skull... before all the cities and the civilization, there was a tribe of nomads known as the Cetera. They had the unique capability to not only understand what the Lifestream told them, but to interact with it as well." She lifted her head, eyes all a-sparkle with the storyteller's sheen. "It was said that they were able to cast magic without the use of any sort of catalyst, in order to defend themselves. All they had to do was draw from this energy, focus it with their wills, and send it outward through their bodies." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi's eyes do indeed widen, "Thats amazing!" His hands pound on the table at the concept of it. Some people get excited about fireworks. Paulo gets excited about mysticism... and sweets. He flips to a fresh page in his book and begins jotting things down. "Amazing," he mutters again-- not throwing in magical jargon-- although a good dozen things he took for granted already race through his head as being proven or disproven already. While his pen is still speed racing he asks carelessly, "And these people, the Cetra, I take it they were revered similar to sages? Using the wisdom tapped in through the energy of life itself to guide people to prosperity?" Scribble scribble scribble. |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded. "That was the goal. Of course... it didn't necessarily last long." She sighed. "Something came down from the stars above and smashed into the planet, creating a massive crater. The Lifestream cried out in pain, causing those nearby to investigate." She shivered. "They came back... different. Changed, in a very bad way. They were infected by something that made them lose their minds and turned them into monsters." Aerith paused for a moment, then took in a breath. "The virus began to adapt and change... and soon, it attacked the Cetera from within, posing as loved ones and friends. Enough time passed to the point where they were almost entirely dead... and the few remaining survivors staged a last-ditch effort to stop the spread before it destroyed everything." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi continues to write. The more troubled sections cause him to write slower. It is all shorthand-- clips and phrases that speak to a larger story. Yet there is no easy way to write 'tragic events'. It mellows out Paulo's demeanor-- though he does venture to ask, "And they succeeded, yes?" |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded. "The problem of course, was that there were so few of them left, it was hard to rebuild what they'd lost... and soon, every last one of them faded from obscurity... all of course, except one." She smiled. "You wanna know the strange thing about this story?" She lifted her right hand and, with just a brief exertion of her will, a baseball-sized sphere of pale green light hovered half an inch from her upturned palm. "It's all true." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi oohs at the pale green lightball. "Well you don't strike me much as someone who would lie to me," he says with a chuckle. At least she has his trust, thats for sure. "You that one, Aerith?" he ventures a guess tempered by sagely wisdom and a hint the size of a baseball. |
| Aerith | Aerith dispelled the sphere of spirit energy with a sigh. "Nope. I'm the daughter of the last one. And that brings me to the next point of my world." She huffed. "Not every piece of technology is good, and not every person in my world was good. There was a company known as Shinra, who found that they could utilize this energy for the purpose of powering electric lights, providing heat, and condensing it into spheres known as Materia. These little baubles allowed anyone to use magic, regardless of their heritage." Aerith shook her head. "You'd think it was good for everyone... but then this control over the primary source of energy in my world gave them leverage that they shouldn't have had. They turned from an energy company into a state entity in the span of a few short years..." |
| Paulo Mysidi | "Power economics is a tricky thing," Paulo agrees. Similar things have happened across many different histories, he has discovered. He takes a few fresh bites of his ice cream before it becomes soup. |
| Aerith | Aerith nodded and actually started on her ice cream. She'd gotten it for a reason, after all. After a few bites, she felt calm enough to keep going. "Being a state entity meant they could raise their own military, police, spy networks, research and development... and all for the purpose of a better future for everyone. The bad news of course is twofold." Aerith held up a single finger from her right hand. "First, that energy has a limit. Once that wellspring is gone, the reactors powering a city are useless." She held up a second finger. "Second, not everyone is going to agree with the way you run things. Wutai is a good example. You've heard of the war going on, right?" |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi thinks of this a moment, "No. I only heard that name in passing-- and nothing of a war." He smiles quite calmly, "But everytime you gain power, you gain enemies. Seems like the natural checks and balances of things." |
| Aerith | Aerith shrugged. "Doesn't mean your enemies will be able to best you." She cleared her throat. "For a while, Wutai was winning. They were pretty much on the offensive, trying to force the Shinra Infantry Corps off of their territory. See, Mako Reactors, as they are called, draw from the Lifestream. The problem with that is, this stuff is the basis for life, period... and it destroys just about every spec of green, living things for several miles. Wutai did not like this... and Shinra didn't care." She shook her head. "The battle was so fierce that the power company had to create a special unit capable of dealing with the heavily armored samurai and effectively deadly ninja that Wutai deployed on a regular basis." Aerith grimaced. "That was the basis of SOLDIER... and what could possibly be one of the worst ideas Shira has ever had." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi ahhhs softly at the mention of super soldiers. That is never a good idea. Well, almost never a good idea. |
| Aerith | Aerith smiled. "For a time, they were extremely effective. They practically won the war for Shinra, and saved a lot of lives. Their popularity grew as the war came to its end... and then, certain truths came out during the battle against Wutai. Truths that were meant to be hidden forever..." Aerith chuckled. "Shinra was winning one war and losing another. People began to abandon the company left and right. SOLDIERs still had their pride and honor, and felt that both were being violated. Even the Turks, their secret spy force, began to leave..." Aerith shuddered. "And then, my world died. The Heartless came from everywhere, and nowhere. They went into the Lifestream and... and..." She took in a breath. "Suffice it to say that the part about spirit energy not being an infinite resource applies here. And with my heritage, I heard every scream of pain, all at once." She took another bite of her ice cream. Somehow it hadn't melted yet, but it was on its way. "I almost died, too. And then I find myself in Goug... in the middle of the slums... with Midgar gone, and rumors of the Heartless being unleashed by Wutai of all things." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi reaches out to give Aerith a comforting pat of her shoulder. Paulo was not there. He didn't know those people. Yet, in his own way, he feels for them. There are so many notes on the subject already in his book. For now-- a moment of silence is needed. It passes. "You know what? It sounds like you are quite the survivor," he says with a smile as he settles back down to his seat, "and that a lot of things keep happening around you-- effecting you." He takes a bite of his ice cream-- a small bite this time. "It takes a strong person to shoulder all those burdens, you know?" he says-- not implying she can't handle it, but more the fact she isn't a gibbering mess speaks to her fortitude. |
| Aerith | Aerith chuckled. "I'm only strong because my mother taught me how to be who I was meant to be. I might not have understood it back then; I was too young, maybe. But now I appreciate those lessons." She nodded. "I do have a regret, though..." She lowered her eyes again, staring at her ice cream. "My mom always said that my dad was kind and gentle, but always curious. He asked questions simply to know, not to gain advantage. She said I have that same curiosity that he did, though she never said his name." |
| Paulo Mysidi | "Sometimes, not knowing helps us understand the lesson better," Paulo offers with a light chuckle. He leans forward to poke the eyes-lowered Aerith in the forehead with a *poke!*. "Some things are best learned by the head first, some by the heart first. If you knew his name-- would it change how you feel about him at all?" Paulo hums as he sinks his mouth around another bite of ice cream-- so few bites left now-- as he thinks, "Your parents did right by you. We share this in common. Also wishing I knew the lessons earlier, too." |
| Aerith | Aerith blinked for a moment at the poke to her forehead. She smiled at his reasoning, which in its own odd way, made far more sense than any time she'd tried to wrestle with it. "Speaking of lessons..." She took another bite of her ice cream, and with a flash of one of the materia in her bracelets, chilled the treat to prevent it from getting any goopier. "Let's pick up where we left off. Which of course, I forget... since it's been such a while since we talked about it." She leaned forward. "I want to know how to plan things appropriately. Someone has to do it, and I figure I should learn if ever I need to." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi lets go a hearty laugh. "Bwaha-ha-ha." Out of no where. Yep. Then he beams, "The strategy sessions. We just did one." He presses his hand down onto the table and creates what looks like a chess board. All the pieces are made of ice. "The first thing you need is intel," he points to a pawn and it moves forward, "if you don't know all of the actions available to you," he points to a knight, that moves, "then you can't strategize," and he points to the King-- which attempts to move around but finds the attempts invalid. It cracks and crumbles. "Strategy can be very cold," he admits-- a touch distant, "and you may find yourself understanding why people do both horrible and grand things. But-- the first thing you do is understand 'the rules of the game'-- much like we learn to understand one another better." A hand waves as the chess board melts away-- turning into a mist. "Like for instance I now know better than try to dissuade you from learning even the hard stuff-- you've had such a resilient past I think you could handle some tough lessons! It'd be callous of me to do so without knowing more about you." He smiles and points to the now-gone chess board, "Just as it is callous to make the first move, the most important move, without first knowing how you want it to end." |
| Aerith | Aerith blinked for a moment. How had they just done a... Then as he explained, it all made sense. He'd known far more about her than anyone else had, besides a few select people, and it was all for the purpose of evaluating whether she was prepared for what he had to offer. There was another she'd asked, and he'd led her around in circles. Made her think, certainly... but her thoughts led beyond the point of the conversation. Paulo made her far less dizzy, and led her in fewer circles. Oh yes, she would love spending time learning from him. "Right. So, now that we've learned that, I should let you know that another story is as follows. My mom also said that once my dad wanted to learn about something, he wouldn't stop until he dug to the heart of the matter." Aerith leaned forward. "I've learned recently that I have the same... stubborn streak, if you will. So if you start, take note that we're not stopping until I get all of it." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi leans forward as well-- to the point of touching his nose with hers. He has a pair of wild eyes, unfit for the archetype of a stuffy mage with a book. "I don't intend to," he says with a grin. Then he leans back to his seat and laughs. Oh he will enjoy this a lot too-- such spirit! "But also-- I want to know you better not just because of the training. You are a very interesting person, I'd like to know just for the act of knowing you better," he says as he motions a hand. "Its worth cherishing," he says, "as imagine, now, trying to get to know better the heart of a Shadow Lord-- or a Sorcerer? You'll need that stubbornness if you want to see it through." He taps his chin as he then nods, "I have a homework assignment for you." Oh he has always wanted to say that! |
| Aerith | Aerith gave a nod. Figured this would happen sooner or later, but she would do whatever he asked. It'd be weird, probably, and maybe even a little frightening. But she'd almost been killed by a swarm of Heartless that wanted nothing more than to tear her very spirit out and chew on it. Whatever he threw at her, she could take. "Go on, let's hear it." |
| Paulo Mysidi | "You are going to cook!" says Paulo as he throws his arms out to the sky with a big grin. Yes. Cook. Cue anticlimactic tumbleweed. "With conditions," Paulo says as the strings attached to the idea start to surface, "Pick three friends. Pick three meals-- an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert. Serve them to your three friends. You pass if each friend only likes one of the three dishes you created, but not the other two. A single dish cannot be liked by more than one friend." He then points to his heart, "And it has to be sincere. For extra credit-- don't let them know you are even cooking something for them until they show up to eat it." |
| Aerith | Aerith just about blanched. Not at cooking; spending time with Tifa had successfully drilled that into her. But deliberately getting people to dislike something? That was... well it was strange, as she figured it'd be. And she had no way to know what exactly her friends liked and disliked. "Mmmm... This should be interesting, if nothing else." After all, this was contrary to her just making someone everyone liked, as she was used to. "All right, you're on." |
| Paulo Mysidi | Paulo Mysidi gives a hearty thumbs up. He might be a touch eccentric. Maybe-- but around here thats par for the course in several areas. "I look forward to hearing how it went. Just-- don't poison them or anything. Thats no way to /keep/ a friend afterwards." He laughs at that. Oh the shenanigans. |