[Action + Video] Veldt

[sasuneknight]

[The moogle had come and gone. They whole time they had conversed it had looked around nervously, as if it expected something to jump out of the grass at any moment. As soon as he had looked away to inspect the sky phone, the moogle had dashed away. This left him alone in a plain that seemed to continue on forever. No matter where he looked he

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[Video]

[smallmage]

[This was not at all what she expected to see - ever. She'd given up hope of seeing any of them again, though she'd secretly been longing for it way down deep where she refused to acknowledge it. Over a year... But that's done with, now.]

INGUS!

[Video]

[sasuneknight]

Refia? [He's still surprised when she appears on the device. And, crap, he hopes she doesn't notice that he's still wounded.] If you're here, then what of the others?

[Video]

[smallmage]

[She will in a minute, give her time to get over the astonishment of him being there again.]

No one... no one's been here for so long. [And boy did she miss them.]

Ingus, where are you? I'm coming to find you.

[Video]

[sasuneknight]

[He'll just angle the camera away from that wound...]

How long? [His brow furrows.]

I'm in the midst of a vast grassland. These plains seem to give birth to beasts.

[As if on cue, the heavy footsteps of a Thor can be heard behind him. He turns with enough time to block an attack.] It is dangerous here, I would advise you remain where you are.

[He'll just... find a way out somehow.]

[Video]

[smallmage]

Of course I'm not going to stay here! I don't know why you even suggested it.

[As a matter of fact, she's already starting to grab her clothes and her rod for the trip out there.]

I can't find you with your phone, so leave it on, all right?

[Video]

[sasuneknight]

[Arguing with Refia is worse than arguing with Luneth, so he stays silent. The sound of a beast hitting the ground can be heard before he responds.]

Very well. I will also work my way toward Lindblum.

[He tries to keep his voice steady.]

Refia... Thank you.

[Video]

[smallmage]

Thank me when I find you. And don't do anything stupid - I know you're not Luneth, but you're just as hardheaded when you want to be. I don't want to arrive only to find you're missing an arm.

[Video]

[sasuneknight]

Hn. [That actually makes him smile.] I'll do my best.

[Video]

[smallmage]

Do better than your best, do it right. I swear, you boys just keep having things happen to you and- Aahg!

[The sounds of her fussing should be comforting, at least. It shows that nothing's changed her significantly since she's been there.]

I'll bring a chocobo with me for you. Stay where I can find you!

[Video]

[sasuneknight]

[They are comforting. He worried this place had changed her, but she was still the Refia he remembered. And it's been so long since he's seen her; he'll be happy, too.]

There's naught but grass and beasts here. [He pauses to cast Thundaga on his new foe. Yes, he's fighting and talking to her, and it's comforting.] But I will make it easy to find me.

[How many thunder spells will it take for Refia to find him? Likely as many monsters as he'd go through.]

[Video]

[smallmage]

[Too many, that's what. Wincing at the sound of that spell, Refia picks up her pace.]

Stay there!

[She'll be seeing him soon.]

[Action]

[sasuneknight]

[Ingus has just been going on his merry way fighting. But he's starting to feel pretty spent. He's in need of breather and those are few and far between here.

So when he finally spots Refia's chocobo on the horizon, he's filled with relief. His thrusts his sword one last time through the neck of a beast before he shakes it off and sheathes both of them.

He meets her steed, taking the reigns of the extra bird to steady it. When he looks up at her he only nods. He's missed her sorely, but he's bad at showing it.]

Refia. It's been too long.

[Action]

[smallmage]

[Well she's not. Before Alfa's even really finished stopping, Refia has thrown herself off the bird and straight at Ingus, clinging to him and possibly nearly dragging him off his feet.]

Don't you tell me it's been too long, I've been alone for over a year!

[And that's when she pulls back to punch him. In the shoulder, but she still puts her full body behind it.]

[Action]

[sasuneknight]

[He did fall over when he caught her, but only because he knew there was grass beneath them. Even though years had passed since their journey together she was still as small as he remembered.]

I'm sorry. [He makes a light noise of pain when she hits him, and not just to humor her. Refia's punches have only grown stronger with time. All the same, he offers her a light smile afterward.]

Forgive me, I should have joined you sooner. [He brushes a strand of hair and the hem of her hood from her eyes.] How have you been faring? Has this world treated you well?

[Action]

[smallmage]

[Another punch, but not as emphatic - and Refia reaches up to grab Alfa's reins before she can get away. Holding on to them, and Jel's as well since they're tied to Alfa's saddle, she rests her head on him with a heavy sigh.]

You couldn't have just come to me here - I know that. But you all were here before and you all left so close together... and you don't remember that, do you. [It's not a question. She's just gotten used to that when people come back, most of the time they don't remember being here before.] I don't expect you to, but I've been here almost two years now - and it's been over a year since I've seen anyone I knew from home, at all. There are a lot of people from other worlds, but not many from ours here.

But I have friends here - good friends. You'll like them, I know it.

[And she'll just cuddle a little closer now. You're not getting away, Big Brother.]

[Action]

[sasuneknight]

[He's more than happy to keep her close to him. Refia's like kin to him--a family he never had--and he feels badly that he's left her alone for so long. Even more so that he doesn't remember being here before, with her and the others.]

If you approve of them, I'm certain I will as well. And I'll vow to you now: I won't leave you alone again. Whether it's on this world, or we make it back to our own.

[And Sasune. How his heart already longs for home, but he doubts there's a way to go back. If there were, Refia would have returned to them.

He shifts a bit so he can look up at the chocobos, but keeps her close.] Have you taken to breeding them now? I recall you took to them quickly back home.