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

[iknowjj]

[Jay emerged from the Blessenwood inn, about to head into the woods. However, as he walked through Blessenwood Square, some other redhead man caught his eye. Jay raised an eye at this man, remembering part of his recent conversation with Asch.]

(Is this what Asch meant about being "replaced"?)

[At first glance, Jay could tell that the man was a goofball...just like Moses. It would be fun to insult and humiliate him. Jay began to giggle as his mind began to fill with practical joke ideas.]

Heh heh heh...

[pick_up_artist]

[At first glance, it wouldn't have been all that difficult to mistake Zelos for Asch, save for the fact that Zelos didn't have Asch's perpetual frown. Long red hair, unnatural sense of fashion - he even had a sword at his left!

But Zelos continued on, totally ignoring Jay. In hindsight, this had probably been a bad idea...]

[iknowjj]

[Jay turned and began to follow Zelos, still remaining on the roadside, and making sure his footsteps matched the idiot redhead's. However, the boy paused, raising an eye as Zelos was approached by a rather dark-looking soldier woman.]

[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

[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

[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...)

{Unsquish}

[pick_up_artist]

Well, Meltokio's the capital of Tethe'alla. It's... political, y'know? Last time I was there, things were cooling down a bit, though.

[He tilts his head to the side a bit.] A kid, huh? Nope, not the guy I'm thinking of. (Thankfully.)

(Damn, I'm going to have to meet with him anyways, won't I?)

[He tries to mask his disappointment with a smile. It ends up being more of a smirk.] Hey, why don't we get out of here? Wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea, now would we? [His tone suggests otherwise.]

(It's weird. We're from different worlds, but we're not that different. She knows what religious mania is. Fffft, she's even wearing a sword! Small universe, much?)

Re: {Unsquish}

[forgottenoracle]

(This Meltokio place sounds like Daath. Politics and some crazy religion. Must be a standard in each world.)

[Cantabile almost laughed. Almost. Instead, she settled for her own smirk.]...Yeah, what you say is right. Dragging a woman off into a forest won't look that great on your record, especially if she's never seen again.

(I'm half surprised that he didn't actually try anything, since he can't say anything that isn't innuendo.)

[By then, her smile had faded. She had gathered some information on this place. Now it was time to discover what kind of world this Atlas was and how she could return to Auldrant as soon as possible. She would never return to Daath if Mohs or Van found out about her disappearance.]

Let's head back into town. Maybe you'll be able to confront the kid if he's still watching you. Anyway, I need to find a way back to Auldrant.

Re: {Unsquish}

[pick_up_artist]

[Zelos, while certainly meeting most of the qualifications for idiocy, knew better than to lay a hand on anything covered in spikes unless it wanted to be touched. Granted, Cantabile was neither venomous nor threatening to rip out his throat, but it also wasn't likely that he'd get away with a slap to the face. Anyone who wore an eyepatch and a sword and looked like they could use it was not someone he'd want to make too upset in the near future.]

Hey, I said I wouldn't lay a hand on you, right? What, is chivalry dead in 'Auldrant'?

To be honest, it's not the kid I'm worried about. Not that I'm worried of course.

If you want to know about getting back, you'd probably better go to the Ad Libitum guild house. The guy who runs the guild knows more about the situation than I do. I was headed that way myself, actually...

Re: {Unsquish}

[iknowjj]

[Jay was still sitting on the side of the road in Blessenwood. He still had his knees pulled up to his chest as he spotted Zelos and Cantabile re-entering the town. He gave a sly smile for a moment, then focused his eyes forward, pretending not to notice them...]