o_o City

[ishbalriffs]

*has been wandering around the streets of what seems to him to be the biggest city imaginable, staring open-mouthed at the strange buildings and the strange trees and the strange people; rather out of place in his Ishbalan clothes and wondering just how he's gotten here, blinking rather large red eyes*

Comments

[songless_psiren]

*coming out of an abandoned bakery where she has bought some bread, opening the unattended cash register and leaving some of her allowance money in the drawer... comes out onto the sidewalk, clutching her baguette and spots Mal, staring at him with surprise, open-mouthed* ................Hey! Hey, are you from Ishbal?

[ishbalriffs]

*equally surprised to see a blond girl his age wandering around unsupervised, answers back* Yeah. This is not Ishbal, where is here? How I am here?

[songless_psiren]

*goggles* ...Wow...! *staring shamelessly, thinks this is about the coolest thing that has ever happened to her... takes awhile for his words to sink in* ...Huh? Oh! Um... Central? We think? Nobody knows how we got here or where all the grownups are, I'm supposed to be in Aquroya and I can't find my Daddy....

[ishbalriffs]

*has never heard of Central, but is very sure that everyone in the village will notice he's gone very soon and that Moshe will come and find him, because Moshe can do anything, after all; going to have a bit of fun before then, since meeting new people is a GIANT event* My name is Malachi. What is your name? *staring back just as much, speaking with an accent and a slightly formal sing-songness as though he is practicing conversations in class*

[songless_psiren]

*starestarestare* ...My name is Clara, that's my first name, my full name is Clara Mary Smith. Malachi's a funny name, do you want some bread? *starestareholdingoutbaguettestarestare*

[ishbalriffs]

*blinks, takes a moment to sort all that out, since she speaks a bit fast, but gets it all eventually and frowns a tiny bit* Malachi is not funny. Clara is funny. *pulls at the fold of his orange embroidered tunic, feeling odd and fussy and out of place* ...yes, I would want some bread. Thank you.

[songless_psiren]

...No it's not, Clara's a good name, my Grandma Jacobson's name is Clara. Mommy named me after her, because she's Mommy's mommy. *tears the bread in half and hands him one of the pieces* Here. ...Do you want to be my friend? I've never had a friend from Ishbal before....

[ishbalriffs]

*didn't follow that first bit but nods enthusiastically to the offer of friendship, taking the bread and clutching it in his small dark hands* I have never had a not-Ishbal friend. *edges a bit closer, tilting his head to the side and staring at Clara's eyes* Your eyes! *his own get wider in awe* They are uh .... how do I say ... blue!

[songless_psiren]

*blinkblink* ...Yeah, of course they are! Blue is boring, I want green eyes, my friend Martha has green eyes. *leans closer to him, looking at his eyes* ...Your eyes really are red! That's weird.... I learned in school that Ishbalans have red eyes.

[ishbalriffs]

*feels his ears go a bit hot at the attention, and she is standing rather close, and she is a girl after all, so he takes a step back* Uh ... I learned in school that West people have yellow hair. *takes a bite from the bread, which is different than any kind he's had before, a lot fluffier and rounder but without any spices* Where are you from? *again, slightly sing-song and learned from a textbook*

[songless_psiren]

Yellow? *grabs a strand of her hair, looking at it* ...I'm strawberry blonde. There are lots of different kinds of hair colors though, blond and brown and black and red, and gray and white if you're an old person. *tears off a small piece of her bread, chewing and swallowing before answering* I told you, I'm from Aquroya. *...sort of did... it was implied*

[ishbalriffs]

St-strawberry blonde? *repeating her phrasing, wonders how a person can be strawberry blonde but doesn't ask, just keeping up with her* Aqorah? *completely butchers it, tries* Aqurora. How is it like, in Aqurora? *munching more of the bread*

[songless_psiren]

*says it again, slower and louder* Aquroya. Aquroya's a city too, not as big as Central, and the buildings aren't as tall, but they're older and fancier, and we have canals and boats, not just streets and cars. *sounds very proud of herself, as if she's personally responsible*

[ishbalriffs]

*gaping at her, shifting his weight from one foot to another, envious* Boats? You have a boat?

[songless_psiren]

*pleased to have an impressed audience* Well, I don't have a boat, but some people do, and there are boats on the canals, like taxis, you pay them money and they take you where you want to go, you know?

[ishbalriffs]

*nods, imagining a strange city literally floating on the water, with boats going from house to house* Wow! *is about to say something else when he wrinkles his nose, drawing in a breath and then sneezing rather impressively*