Day 2: Out from Daath

[rei_va_neu]

Characters: Florian, Mystearica
Location: Chesedonia
Time: Day 2, early morning
Warnings: None!

Mystearica stood on the docks of Kimlascan port at Chesedonia, hands folded in front of her. She had been here many times before to talk to Astor; it was with Daath's help that Chesedonia remained an autonomous state. Still, it felt...strange. No one

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[an_innocent_one]

He had to stop to adjust his backpack; a book he had brought along, as well as his gald wallet, had started digging into his back as he began walking. Florian paid little attention to his surrounding, only spending enough time to sidle off of the main path and onto the side while he dropped his bag to the sand.

Florian tilted his head up slightly when he heard a voice shout out, only to be abruptly silenced. When nothing immediately happened, he returned his attention to opening up his backpack and adjusting its contents. A scarf, some clothes, the offending book and wallet, a canteen...

Hearing his name called made Florian look up more definitively. He blinked curiously at the young woman in front of him before smiling in pleasant surprise. "Tear!" That happiness quickly gave way for wariness as he remembered exactly where they were. "...Did Anise send you? Did she already know?" Anise was very intelligent; for all he knew, she could have sent others out to find him and bring him back to Daath.

While he waited for Tear to answer, he ran through the possibilities of trying to run.

[rei_va_neu]

"Er..." The white-robed girl hesitated. Tear didn't know what Anise should have already known, but she could at least answer this honestly. "N-no, Anise didn't send me. I was just...surprised to see you." She paused again, and asked softly, "What is it you're doing here...?"

She knew of course that she should tell Florian that she wasn't the Tear he knew. The problem was, Tear was at a loss for how to explain this to him when she hardly understood the phenomena herself. She glanced around the two of them, looking down the dusty path leading into the city, and held her chin. "Though maybe it would be a better idea to head to the inn for this discussion?" she added.

Privacy would be all in all better for a conversation like this besides. If Florian thought her crazy, then at least he wouldn't shout to everyone in the street that she was. Would he do something like that? Tear wasn't certain. She knew that replicas were different people from their originals, just as Luke was different from Asch, but since she didn't know Florian at all, that didn't make much difference.

[an_innocent_one]

Florian had to smile at Tear's response, relaxing. Tear had never lied to him before, and he doubted she would start any time soon. Besides, he would be the one out of character being in Chesedonia, so he could completely understand her surprise.

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm going out on my first solo adventure," he said in a hushed voice -- well, as hushed as he could on the side of the street. Following her advice, he trotted off towards the inn, flashing a grin over his shoulder at her as he dragged his backpack behind him. "It's great to see you; I haven't seen you back in Daath for awhile."

The boy didn't comment on Tear's style of dress, or the fact that he had rarely seen her out of her Order uniform. He figured that if she had been in the desert city for awhile, she would need to wear something that wouldn't absorb the heat of the sun. It was logical, right?

[rei_va_neu]

That might be so, but considering the style of outfit she was wearing was strongly reminiscent of the Fon Master... Still, if Florian didn't ask questions in public, Tear could hardly complain about that. She didn't want to cause a panic or anything like that.

"I see. I won't tell anyone, Florian," the female Fon Master promised the young replica. Her blue eyes flickered as he addressed her as he would the version of her that existed in this world...but she smiled anyway. On a certain level, Tear was happy that her other self was a good person, at least so far as she could tell from this boy's reactions.

Once they were inside the inn and had gone to sit down in a private room, Tear folded her hands in her lap, setting her staff down next to her. This would be no doubt awkward, but...she didn't want to deceive this sweet boy. "Florian..." she said quietly, lifting her gaze to meet his. "There's something important I need to tell you. It's going to sound incredible, maybe unbelievable, but it seems it's the truth, and so I need you to hear me out. Could I ask you to please do that for me?"

[an_innocent_one]

Even with his bag set aside, Florian fiddled with a sleeve as he listened to Tear. He was really more focused on what his plans would be from here on out, so he hadn't given the girl's clothing a harder look. Maybe if he had, he would have had a better reaction to Tear's apprehensive tone.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" he wondered aloud, brow knitted together with worry. Tear was often serious, but rarely came across like this -- especially with him. Her serious talks seemed reserved for those that really required them. "I'm not going to interrupt, Tear."

[rei_va_neu]

Tear wibbled just slightly. He was so cute.

However, when the young replica told her that he would listen to her, the female Fon Master took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm still trying to accept this myself, and I don't understand the hows or whys, but... I'm afraid, Florian, that I'm not the Tear you know."

She paused slightly to let that sink in. If her counterpart was anything like her, then she wouldn't be given to joking about something like that, and she tried to convey that in the gravity of her expression. Then she continued, "Apparently, there are...other worlds. Other Auldrants. And for some reason, they're starting to merge, or overlap, or something, but people from different Auldrants are starting to show up here. Last night, in Tataroo Valley, I met an Asch and a Luke, neither of whom remembered the same events as me, and neither of the rest of us remembered events as Asch or Luke remembered them. In my world, I'm the Fon Master. In Luke's and Asch's worlds, it seems as if those Mystearicas--Tears--are Oracle Knights. We know this isn't my world or Asch's, but we're not sure if it's Luke's or not...

"But that's the situation. In fact, I have never met you before, Florian. I didn't even know you existed until last night when Luke and Asch mentioned you." Tear was silent again for a moment, having already gone quiet. "You don't have to believe me. I know it's unbelievable. But I didn't want to lie to you and pretend to be someone I'm not."

[an_innocent_one]

More than anything, Florian found himself confused by what Tear was trying to tell him. He tried not to be judgmental and usually ended up succeeding, but often at the cost of his own understanding of the situation. In this case, he frowned and turned his attention away from his sleeve, staring across the table at Tear.

Tear had never had any reason to lie to him. Would a Tear from another world be the same? Did he even believe that she was from another world? One answer really affected the other one, and he sat there with a contemplative expression for what felt like a long time. If she was the Fon Master of her world, Tear wouldn't lie to someone. If.

He had never met Asch and just barely remember Luke, the ones she mentioned more than once in her explanation. He had heard all about them from their former companions, but he knew that wasn't the same thing. Maybe it would help if he told her that? "I don't really know what to think," he said answered honestly. "You're Tear, and I want to think that Tear in any place is Tear, the one who's nice and honest with her thoughts. I can't say I understand the other things you're mentioning, though. No one's seen Luke fon Fabre or Asch the Bloody around here for years."

Reposted for picking the wrong icon. Whoops!

[rei_va_neu]

Tear wouldn't blame Florian for being confused. Despite how she carried herself, she was confused by it herself. She was silent as Florian tried to digest what she'd just told him; it was, after all, quite a lot to take in, even if she hadn't spoken for very long. Had circumstances not made it very clear last night that something bizarre was going on, she'd probably be much more skeptical herself.

At last, Florian responded, and Tear nodded in understanding. She was unable to hold back a small smile, which came accompanied by a faint blush, at Florian's assessment of his Tear's character. It faded quickly, however, at the mention of Luke or Asch. "Luke, Asch and I arrived here late last night. There's a boat we're going to be taking to Grand Chokmah not long from now. Perhaps we can all speak together briefly before we leave...if you'd like."

((Though I'm not sure how that would play out. I'd have to try touching base with Luke and Asch's players, though for now, maybe we can fade to black? This is a backdated scene anyway, so it might be easier to handwave these things, and make up the details of what came after as necessary--esp. since I notice you started your scene with AU Asch for Day 3.))