The Return of The Great Zelos

[pick_up_artist]

Who: Zelos, his ego, and anyone who wants to come and bug him.
Where: Blessenwood Square, about an hour after Tear's performance
Why: Zelos just got back from an extended trip to Port Merrium. He needs to meet some of the new arrivals.
Status: Open!

Comments

[forgottenoracle]

[After waking up in the middle of a forest, one might have expected terror or unease, but Cantabile, while recognizing that she had not been in this location seconds earlier, had merely blinked once or twice in confusion before rising to her feet and wandering. Waking up in the woods, unfortunately, was not that uncommon. At least this time, she did not have to fight ligers.

It did not take long for her to follow a game trail back to civilization--or at least a miniature version of it. The location did not surprise her either. She proceeded into the village, crossing over toward the general store that would undoubtedly be ten paces away.

Then she walked into the town square.]

(Wait a minute...this isn't the same town. We didn't have a town square...or more than one store, for that matter.)

[After a moment of confusion, she approached various villagers in the hopes of finding out where she was and why there were so many Podunk towns as opposed to one small city in the area. The answers she received, however, were not exactly what she expected. The residents of this "Blessenwood" had not heard of the nearby towns of Engeve or St. Binah. She even dropped Grand Chokmah into one conversation, only to receive a blank stare. So, she said the only thing she could say:]

What kind of Malkuth doesn't even know the capital of the country?

[Sighing in exasperation, the Sixth Division Commander shook her head, wondering whether or not she should head outside and search for her own path back to Engeve, then her town of confinement. There was some redheaded idiot parading around. While she wondered whether or not she should approach such a person, she thought she would give her search one last try.]

Hey, you. Just how close is this "Blessenwood" to Engeve? Or how about Grand Chokmah? At least one person here should know about Grand Chokmah.

[pick_up_artist]

[Zelos stopped in his tracks. 'Hey, you'? How much more rude could you get?

But he forgave the stranger upon looking at her. Tall, with short dark hair. The clothes were a little on the weird side - spikes on one shoulder? Really? The eyepatch was a little off-putting, but it looked like she might have been a mercenary, perhaps even military.

In the end, though, it all boiled down to one basic reaction - hellooooooooo nurse!]

Engeve? Grand Chokmah? Hm~ I do believe that we're stuck in the same boat, hunny. If you'd asked for Meltokio or Sybak, I might be able to help you. Sadly, I can't do that, even.

You must be a new arrival, huh? Ah-! [He extends a hand in greeting.] My name's Zelos. Zelos Wilder.

[forgottenoracle]

[Cantabile noticed a small, dark-haired child near the redhead and backed off. She was about to apologize for interrupting when she noticed that the boy was following rather than talking. Given how his footsteps matched those of his target, she assumed it was an ambush. She shot him a wary glance before redirecting her gaze to the redhead. It didn't matter as long as he knew she was aware of his presence.

Once the young man answered her eye narrowed slightly as she felt the urge to back off--or simply leave the guy anyway. He appeared to be about her age, and as soon as she heard his voice, the word 'lecher' came to mind. He was smooth...too smooth. In fact, she wondered if it would be in her best interest to ask the kid instead. Hopefully he wouldn't call her stupid names.]

Cantabile, not "hunny." [The Oracle Knight returned the gesture, though she nearly forced herself to do so. Then, immediately following, she decided to interrogate. This man seemed to know more than anyone else she had talked to yet.]

"Meltokio?" "Sybak?" There are even more of these Podunk villages around here? And what do you mean by "new arrival?"

[iknowjj]

[Jay watched intently, raising an eye at the conversation, both because the woman appeared to be a new arrival, and because the redhead appeared to be flirting.]

(So he's one of those guys, eh?)

[Jay found the entire thing idiotic, for he himself would never be interested in women that way. He then pondered about the woman who questioned him.]

(She must be another one summoned by Martel. I wonder what world she's from? It's going to be tedious to keep having to explain the situation over and over to these newcomers...)

[pick_up_artist]

[If Zelos had noticed Jay, he certainly hadn't made any indication of it. His attention was focused on Cantabile and trying to figure out a definition for 'Podunk.'

He would have made a move to kiss her hand, but it was snatched away too quickly.]

(Haha. She isn't fawning over me like other girls would. It's probably for the better, really...)

Well, Ms. Cantabile - can I call you Canti? - you've been pulled into the world of Atlas by the Goddess Martel. It's kind of a nuisance,but I guess it can't be helped.

Anyway, a bunch of people like us have been taken into this world to save it. It's something to do with the World Tree dying and the mana levels dropping.

[forgottenoracle]

[Cantabile was about to correct him. Canti sounded even more ridiculous than hunny. However, he continued before she could do so, dropping information that, for the time being, had most of her attention.]

You're joking. Either that's a terrible start of a pickup line or you have no sense of humor. Do you honestly expect me to believe that kind of story?

[pick_up_artist]

(I'm not sure I would believe it if I haven't been living here for a while.)

I am not. And I know some better pickup lines than that! (Marginally better, at any rate.)

{ORLY?}

[forgottenoracle]

Really? [She deliberately did not specify which part of his comment she questioned. Then, after letting her retort linger for a few seconds, she smirked and crossed her arms.]

Alright. Prove it, that this place is really another world and that some goddess dragged us over here to play hero.

{YARLY}

[pick_up_artist]

(Proof, proof... I could show her my angel wings, but I'm not sure what it would prove. It doesn't sound like she's from Tethe'alla, and she doesn't look like she's from Sylvarant. What if she can do it, too?

And it's not like I can just do it here, out in the open.)

I think I've got some proof, but I can't show you it here. (And no, that's not a pickup line. I can do better than that!)

Re: {NOWAI}

[forgottenoracle]

[Cantabile raised an eyebrow at what sounded like a blatant pickup line, especially since, from what she could tell, Zelos was incapable of sounding like he wasn't flirting.]

Before you drag me into anything stupid, tell me where we'd have to go before you could show me this proof. Assuming what you said is true, it looks like only a few people know about these summonings...It would make sense that you'd have to keep it secret, but it doesn't change the fact that that actually sounded like a pickup line.

{So i herd u are a skeptic}

[pick_up_artist]

[Zelos thought about it a moment.] (The inn? No, too public and too suspicious. Out in the fields? Still too suspicious. The forest? Dammit. Still too suspicious.)

[But also the least public.]

I'd need to go to the forest. The proof is pretty showy, and I wouldn't want to catch the wrong kind of attention.

And just to prove that it's not a pickup line, I swear to Martel that I won't lay a hand on you. (I'd give her my sword too if I knew a little bit more about her and her world. Yuan said something about humans that could use magic that came from a different world. What if she's one of them?)

{why yes i am}

[forgottenoracle]

Very well. Throwing around the name "Martel" means nothing to me, but I'll come with you.

[At the very least, this proof sounded intriguing. She still questioned his wording, but then again, he would have sounded suspicious if he talked about something as innocent as cheagles. Therefore, perhaps against her better judgment, she decided to go along. She had a feeling he knew where they were, even if he was lying to her. Anyway, she had already been sent away because she did not know how to play nice. This could serve as practice.]

(I've got a sword. If he tries anything funny, he'll regret it. Then I'll just force the answer out of him.)

It isn't that large tree, is it? The one that looks like it might have a lot of fonons nearby?

[As she waited for Zelos to show the way, she shot another glance at the child, wondering if Zelos knew...She had the advantage in that she was facing both of them...still, she could not help but wonder about his intents. She would laugh if he scared that flirt.]

{It needs moar cowbell.}

[pick_up_artist]

[Genuinely puzzled] What's a fonon?

Nah, it's not the tree. We don't have to go that deep into the forest. About a hundred meters should do.

[Zelos gestures for her to follow, then sets off for the forest, still apparently unaware that Jay was behind him.]

Re: {CONFUSED CANTABILE IS CONFUSED. ಠ_ಠ}

[forgottenoracle]

[Cantabile stared at him, equally puzzled.]

Fonons make up everything both living and inanimate. They're what make up fonic artes...Even the calendars refer to different fonons.

...If you don't know something as basic as that...maybe you are from another world. (That's assuming he's telling the truth.)

[She followed this strange man, still not sure what to make of this.]

{Zelos demands an explaination for this BS.}

[pick_up_artist]

Oh, you mean atoms and stuff like that? I know about those. Ick, chemistry...

(Would they really name their calendar after iron and oxygen and junk like that?)

[Zelos begins to pull in mana from the air. It has been a while since he last did the angel transformation.]

Just a little deeper in. Oh, and you might want to cover your eyes just before I show you the proof.

Re: {Zelos demands an explaination for this BS.}

[forgottenoracle]

No, they're apart from atoms. They're "energy," to put it simply, but when large amounts of a certain fonon are clustered together, they become sentient as either Shadow, Gnome, Sylph, Undine, Ifrit, Rem, or Lorelei, depending on which of the seven fonons it is.

[Cantabile stared at him for a moment before closing her eye.]

(This is ridiculous...I know it couldn't have been a hyperresonnance, since there weren't two seventh fonists present, but...traveling between worlds? I don't care how strange the situation is. It's hard to believe, especially since it looks like I'm close to that lame excuse for a village.)