[OPEN]

[caged_canaries]

WHO: Dagger and Zidane
WHAT: Catching-up needs to happen.
WHERE: Pier. Because ... ): Because?
WHEN: Some time mid-afternoon.

Comments

[waywardwings]

"...Hey," said an approaching voice, and suddenly, Zidane appeared beside Dagger, propping his arms on the railing. He'd appeared almost silently, without warning, listening to her. It had been a while since he'd heard that melody, heard her sing it, and so he hadn't wanted to immediately disturb her... Even if hearing it reminded him profusely of home.

"I heard your song," he explained, giving an ironic smile. How many times before had he heard it and went to her side? It had become their song, not just hers. But, of course, she wouldn't know that. "Been avoiding me? You're not mad about before, are you?"

[caged_canaries]

Dagger jumped slightly at the sound of Zidane's voice and turned to look at him, but turned her gaze away moments thereafter. "...I remember you asked me to sing it for you in Lindblum." It seemed like almost yesterday-- it felt like yesterday. The memory was so fresh she felt taking a step back might take her back there. She smiled softly and looked at him once more, though her gaze lingered this time. "I just had some ... thinking to do. This is all so strange to me," she said.

There were so many things she wanted to ask him, but where to start?

"Where do we go from here?" She asked suddenly, lowering her head. "If we can't get back home, where do we go from here?"

[waywardwings]

Zidane grinned to himself at that memory. How long ago had it been? Months? He was still figuring out a way to explain all of that to her. He wanted to wait for the best time to explain everything, but how would he know when that was?

The change of topic was a welcome one. He looked out to the ocean, the thing that shone innocently in the sun even as it trapped them. "No one knows for certain that there isn't a way back. For now, all we can really do is try to find it," he replied, idly scuffing his boot against the wood of the dock. "But... you've heard about the kidnappings, right? Things are getting messy."

[caged_canaries]

So there might be a way back, after all.... The thought was comforting, and certainly uplifting. Suddenly, Dagger's expression lightened and she smiled softly at him-- but all traces of happiness were erased with his last words. "Kidnappings?!" She said, obviously oblivious to the news until now. Even here, there were horrible things happening. First, those two others, and now this?

She frowned. "That's horrible. ...Do you know anything about them? Who's behind them? Why they're happening? Why--" She quieted herself and leaned against the railing, somewhat surprised with herself. She couldn't possibly be considering getting involved in these affairs, could she? She needed to focus on getting home. Her mother needed her. Alexandria needed her.

"We should try our best to get home, but.... Kidnappings aren't right."

[waywardwings]

Tactful, Zidane told himself. Really tactful. He'd just assumed right off the bat that she'd at least been reading the journals, since many of the people here seemed to peruse them with an almost religious zeal. Not surprising, given it was their only real source of solid information. And then he'd just gone and blurted it out without thinking. Stupid.

"I didn't go, but the Queen held a ball before you arrived," Zidane began. He failed to mention why he hadn't gone to the ball, but one of the reasons was her. There were plenty of pretty girls here, but he hadn't wanted to ask a single one... Dagger had been on his mind far too much for that. "From what I've heard, someone came into the palace and started shooting the Queen's men. So as... 'retribution'--" he spat the word out, resenting it, "--they took people. Yeah, it's wrong, 'cause they're probably all innocent, too. I've met one of the ones who was taken myself, and he seemed harmless

[caged_canaries]

By all accounts, she should have known. Since she'd been here, however, she'd barely paid any mind to her journal. She'd been too lost in her own thoughts, too detached. She hadn't even thought to read about the lives of the other people here-- or all she knew, someone could have found a way out of here.

She bit gently on her lower lip as he explained the situation, and narrowed her eyes in sadness. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about the situation, but she knew her heart felt like it was breaking. Why did there need to be so much sadness? Why did there need to be so much wrong? So many innocent people were hurting, and if the Queen was to blame....

Parts of this seemed so familiar to her, and she became even more determined to try to put an end to this travesty.

"We should do something," she said suddenly. "We can't let this continue. If we find them-- Maybe if we talk to the Queen, we can fix everything. She'd listen, wouldn't she?"

[waywardwings]

Zidane pulled himself up to sit on the railings, tail curling around one of the bars for extra balance. He turned to face her, making no effort to hide his annoyance. He couldn't say he hated the Queen, but she endlessly irritated him. "The Queen probably gave the go-ahead them locked up in the first place. I don't think it's possible to reason with her; she's just a kid... She doesn't even understand why we're all angry about being stuck here."

[caged_canaries]

How could she not understand? How would she feel if she was being held captive in a strange world that wasn't her own? Even small children understood what it was like to be alone in an alien land. Just how old was she? How were they supposed to get through to her?

She remained silent as she tried to sort through the plethora of thoughts swimming through her head, but when allw as said and done, she felt as estranged as she had before. Once again, she felt she knew what she wanted to do, but not how she was going to do it.

"I don't know what to do." She felt so hopeless. "I don't know how to help everyone."

[waywardwings]

"Don't say that," Zidane said, but not unkindly. To him, talking like that was just the same as giving up. But what could they do? He was just as in the dark as she was. "I don't know everything yet, but there's more to this than meets the eye. In this city, there always seems to be more."

But he couldn't think what that more was. He wasn't a tactician or a strategist; that was more Steiner and Freya's forte. Zidane just ran head-first into situations where there wasn't a plan and hoped for the best - not really something he could do here.

"If you really want to help anyone, you'll think of something," he said finally. He wasn't certain if he was trying to reassure her or himself more.

[caged_canaries]

She nodded, silently chastising herself. He was right; she shouldn't have said anything like that. They had to keep their chins up and their minds open if they hoped to find a way out of here. ...Easier said than done. Not only was Dagger's confidence shot, she was scared. After all, she had just landed on this mysterious land she knew nothing of. If it weren't or Zidane being here, she didn't know what she'd do.

Dagger blinked away the tears she could feel welling in her eyes, suddenly feeling the weight of ... everything on her shoulders. Everything that had happened at home, everything that was happening here. Everything was going as wrong as possible, it seemed. At least Zidane was here. With his support, she could be stronger.

"You're right. I'll think of something," she said finally and forced a smile, though she couldn't mask the sadness in her eyes. "Until then, I need to get to know this place better. What do you suggest?"

[waywardwings]

Zidane jumped down from his perch on the railings, stretching nonchalantly but watching her out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps she wasn't so different from his Dagger after all: she'd barely even stopped to think of herself since coming here.

His Dagger or not, he'd stay beside her, whatever she decided to do. Just like before.

"Getting a feel for the city is an idea," he offered, giving an encouraging smile. "Rivelata's big, and it's a lot different to places like Alexandria or Lindblum, so it's useful to know your way around the place. The locals are helpful, too, so you could try talking to them."

[caged_canaries]

Right, talking to locals was always a good idea. The more she knew about Rivelata, the more information she'd have with which to find some possible way back to Alexandria. ...How was there no way out of here, anyway? What if they got a boat? A boat could work. They could sail back to Alexandria! Somehow....

Of course. And if that didn't work, she could simply ... think of something else. Perhaps the Queen wasn't as difficult as Zidane implied. Child or not, perhaps she would listen to another member of royalty.

"Would you give me a tour, then?" She asked, balancing herself on her tippy-toes for a moment. "I wouldn't want to get lost, after all, and you know more about this place than I do." It was so hard to resist the opportunity to explore Rivelata. She'd never read about it-- who knew what things she'd discover? Exploring this land would definitely be beneficial, wouldn't it? "We should visit every corner of Rivelata."

[waywardwings]

"Certainly, milady," Zidane grinned, proferring an arm for her to take in a supposedly gentlemanly fashion. It wasn't obvious if it was simply done in good humour or he was actually serious, but he seemed to think twice of it anyway, turning and walking away. He didn't wait for her to follow, but an afterthought struck him and he looked back over his shoulder.

"Ah, maybe not every corner of Rivelata. Just outside the city there's a big jungle, and if we didn't get lost, whatever's living in there would get us." He wouldn't have minded going in the jungle if there was her white magic to back him up, or even her summoning; but her white magic undoubtedly wouldn't work here and she didn't even know how to summon yet. He didn't mention it aloud, though. She had enough to deal with as it was without being told she'd been rendered essentially useless in combat.

"So, where to first?"

[caged_canaries]

Dagger narrowed her eyes at his antics, unsure of his motives behind them, and momentarily pursed her lips as he turned and walked away. Unwilling to be left behind, she huried up behind him and to his side to match his pace.

Getting lost (or eaten) was certainly not on her list of things to do, so she made a mental note to stay out of the forest. It would have been interesting to explore it, but oh well. Maybe another day.

"Where to first?" She repeated. Had he just asked her that? She'd only been here a few days, and those days she'd spent looking for some place to stay, or here by the pier. ...He couldn't have known that, though. "Your favorite place," she suggested quietly, unable to think of anything else to say. "Where are you staying, Zidane? Do you have friends here?"

[waywardwings]

Waiting for her to catch up, he decided jokes were still not the way to lightening the mood when it came to Dagger. He'd tried, at least.

"My favourite place?" he almost laughed; Zidane resented being stuck here. He didn't have anything vaguely like one, unless a local bar he frequented counted. Not a good place to begin a tour for a queen-- no, he corrected himself. Princess. "I've been too busy worrying about getting home to think of any of that. Acquaintances, yeah. Not so much friends..." he trailed off. There were some genuinely nice people in Rivelata, Luke or Himawari being two that sprung to mind. Even so, he didn't want to take the time to get close to any of them when he planned to leave as soon as possible

[caged_canaries]

She understood him wanting to get back home. She didn't want to be here, either, but there ... was no choice. Funny how she'd managed to escape one cage and wander right into another. What did she keep doing wrong? Even here, Zidane was one step ahead of her.

"All right. ...Zidane." She reached out, brushing her hand against his, and looked at him earnestly. As if hesitating, she remained silent for a moment, unsure of how she wanted to word what she wanted to say.

"Thank you," she said, ending her perhaps awkward silence. She hadn't thanked him properly for helping her in Lindblum; she hadn't really felt the need to. Not only that, but his stint at the telescope certainly hadn't won him any points, as far as she was concerned. Briefly, she wondered if he'd ever gotten that that airship cruise.