Following her nose, it wasn't long before she came across his - or he her, as the case may have been. She gave pause at the nod of acknowledgment, weighed her options swiftly - his armor reminded her faintly of the Judges: all curving and planes, though hardly so ornate or so heavy. She could go forward, make her way down to the collection of buildings there at the edge of the field she'd woken in or...
Fran detoured, gracefully rerouting to meet him. Here or there, questions would have to be asked. She drew up few paces from him, settling her weight forward on her toes as if she might bound away (though really, she just didn't want the heels of her shoes to sink into the dirt). "Hello." There was a certain frank flatness about the greeting. "I've some foolish questions, if you've the time."
Rare enough to find one so utterly without guile, much less one in armor. Strange lands indeed. Or perhaps she was over simplifying - she had been known to do as much, but it was difficult to be anything but straightforward with so few points of reference: no familiar land or faces. Even the air here felt different, strangely hollow.
She nodded in thanks, however likely she was to very soon be changing his opinion on the meaning of foolishness. Surely, only someone very unfortunate or very lost had no notion of where they were. "I thank you, but am afraid that I've become something of a hopeless case. Tell me, how far from the Galtean Peninsula have I come?"
It was a nice day for Somarium and Ace was out and about, enjoying the good weather as he mentally compiled a list of things he needed to pick up over the course of the day if he planned to spend most of the next few days out on the lake, doing some uninterrupted fishing.
He was half-contemplating picking up a new hat seeing as his was lost at home and unlikely to ever be returned to him when he spotted the woman and smiled even as he raised an eyebrow at the rabbit ears. That was new; fishpeople and merpeople were more familiar to him and he tried to recall if he'd ever seen anyone like that in his own world but he was drawing a blank.
Almost as an afterthought, he reached into his pocket to pull out the Dreamberry and he sighed when he saw the date; he'd been here a few months now and it was hard not to notice things like the patterns of arrivals and so he slipped the device back in his pocket, strolling over with a friendly grin.
Her keen sense of smell had led Fran to edge of the field where it terminated in one of the many small roadways leading through the village itself. She was in the middle of clambering over a low stone wall when she heard the nearing footsteps. One ear swiveled sharply in Ace's direction. She paused, one foot planted in the walkway, her other knee tucked up against her chest: mid-step down from the wall. Fran tipped his head toward him, waited - this place, wherever it was and despite how it looked or how the air felt, might very well be dangerous.
That open grin and easy greeting were certainly the right sort of thing to put the viera at ease though. She was instantly reminded of a certain other smile she knew well; it was difficult be anything but comfortable. Fran let herself the rest of the way down from the wall and straightened smoothly, long limbs unfolding.
Strolling closer, hands in his pockets as was his custom, the friendly smile didn't fade even as he dropped into a bow; Makino had done a damn good job of drilling manners into him as a little boy.
"Portgas D. Ace, pleased to meet you," he straightened up again before he let out a sigh. "'Here' is Somarium. It's a dream world. This place is Espoir, the village, the city is called Somni and not too far away is Lake Meridian. For a dream world it could be a lot worse; it's pretty nice really." His hand went back to his pocket again to pull out the Dreamberry. "You should have one of these; it's how you keep in touch and keep up with what goes on around here."
So this - 'Somarium' - was indeed a dream. Perhaps in some other place she was laying asleep in the lovingly cramped quarters of the Strahl. Or perhaps they'd wandered into the web of some deep spell. Fran knew of no magic that might be capable of such a thing, but that didn't mean there was no possibility for it. It must be a very old enchantment indeed, to build this world and populate it so. "I am Fran," she said, easy and brief and plain - hume names were always so long.
She tipped her head at the gadget in his hand. It didn't look wholly dissimilar from the communication radios of Ivalice. She glanced down at herself. "I have?" There were very few places where something like that could hide, but after a very brief examination she made a small noise of surprise over the discovery of the Dreamberry at her hip. Evidently Somarium had seen fit to give it a clip and there it was, neatly hooked on to one of the many metal loops of her armor. "Ah, so it is. I must be no rarity in this place, if you're so quick to pick me out."
Feeling a bit restless, Ruri decided to spend the day exploring Espoir, since a majority of her time spent in Somarium thus far had been reduced to Somni. The village itself was nice, but not particularly attention grabbing. So when she looked up and saw a tall woman with what looked to be rabbit ears walking in her general direction, her interest was piqued almost immediately.
She had been here but a month and already witnessed things that made her world seem normal - people turning into cats, monsters called Pokémon, and now a woman with rabbit ears. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't intrigued, since anything even remotely monster-like or abnormal caught her attention.
The woman herself seemed to be a bit lost... and she remembered that she had also arrived around this time last month, so it was highly likely that she was new to Somarium. With that thought in mind, Ruri made her way toward the woman, face a mask of concern.
Finding herself nearing the edge of the field, encroaching on what appeared to be a village (all cobblestone streets and pleasantly simple buildings), Fran was hardly surprised to almost immediately come in contact with someone. Indeed, it was perhaps a happy accident to be so greeted - better to be known for what she was than to wander aimlessly in this place. There was no shame in finding herself rather unprepared and under educated having had no say in where she was or how she came to be there. Better to resolve confusion quickly than to stew in it.
Fran paused and tipped her head in acknowledgment of the girl, dark features bowed to her. After a moment, Fran swayed forward to close the distance between them to something more comfortable for conversation. "I am afraid so."
It seemed as though her assumption had been correct after all - the beginning of the month marked an influx of new arrivals. Ruri looked up as the woman walked closer, pausing slightly before speaking. "I see. Well... it might be difficult to believe, but... you're no longer in your own world. This is Somarium, a dream world of sorts."
She pondered for a moment before deciding to add a piece of (possibly) reassuring information to her brief explanation of Somarium.
"Few people that arrive here are without companions from their own world, however... so it's probable that you'll encounter a few of your friends during your stay."
She could feel the fine hairs bristling at the back of her neck, along her arms. Suddenly that hollowness where her awareness of the Myst, of the fine magics humming in the ground, should have been seemed so much more raw and gaping. There was a small tremor of something - not quite fear, but uncertainty at least - that passed through her. This wasn't like any dream she'd had before. It felt too solid, too certain, and the way the girl had worded it, it didn't sound as if it was the sort of dream that one simply woke up from.
To be sure, Fran pinched herself on the inside of her wrist. Her long fingernails bit gently into the softly furred flesh and she paused to study the world for a moment. No warping, no shift. Satisfied (if that was even the right word for it), she flicked her attention back to her unofficial guide here.
"Companions from my own world," she repeated. Her long ears swiveled forward. Perhaps that was some sort of clue. Perhaps she and Balthier, the Strahl even, had been caught in some kind of trap that had sent
( ... )
[You might see this guy when you enter the town perimeter, Fran. He has become very attached to the picture-taking ability of his Dreamberry and is currently snap-snap-snapping away at various things. He swings around in your general direction, eyes glued to the tiny screen up until he points it in your general direction.
[At least the appearance of the town is not wholly strange. Thank the Gods for that much. A second blessing: no hostility in the first face to greet her.]
Hello. [A beat, pregnant with a seed of self-dissatisfaction.] I seem to have somehow become quite lost.
Now don't be alarmed when I say this but... you're not exactly anywhere near wherever it is you come from. Don't worry about it though, you're not going to be stuck here forever. [he shrugs like it's no big deal] I'm Flynn by the way. Flynn Rider.
Fran turned to look. If she'd been more feline and less lepus, her hackles might have been bristling. As it was, her eyes simply narrowed very marginally and one of those long pale ears flicked back. She gave the girl a flat look, clearly unimpressed. "I am not a rabbit," she said dryly.
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Fran detoured, gracefully rerouting to meet him. Here or there, questions would have to be asked. She drew up few paces from him, settling her weight forward on her toes as if she might bound away (though really, she just didn't want the heels of her shoes to sink into the dirt). "Hello." There was a certain frank flatness about the greeting. "I've some foolish questions, if you've the time."
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(The comment has been removed)
She nodded in thanks, however likely she was to very soon be changing his opinion on the meaning of foolishness. Surely, only someone very unfortunate or very lost had no notion of where they were. "I thank you, but am afraid that I've become something of a hopeless case. Tell me, how far from the Galtean Peninsula have I come?"
Reply
He was half-contemplating picking up a new hat seeing as his was lost at home and unlikely to ever be returned to him when he spotted the woman and smiled even as he raised an eyebrow at the rabbit ears. That was new; fishpeople and merpeople were more familiar to him and he tried to recall if he'd ever seen anyone like that in his own world but he was drawing a blank.
Almost as an afterthought, he reached into his pocket to pull out the Dreamberry and he sighed when he saw the date; he'd been here a few months now and it was hard not to notice things like the patterns of arrivals and so he slipped the device back in his pocket, strolling over with a friendly grin.
"Hello, are you new here?"
Reply
That open grin and easy greeting were certainly the right sort of thing to put the viera at ease though. She was instantly reminded of a certain other smile she knew well; it was difficult be anything but comfortable. Fran let herself the rest of the way down from the wall and straightened smoothly, long limbs unfolding.
"Where ever 'here' is, I am new there."
Reply
"Portgas D. Ace, pleased to meet you," he straightened up again before he let out a sigh. "'Here' is Somarium. It's a dream world. This place is Espoir, the village, the city is called Somni and not too far away is Lake Meridian. For a dream world it could be a lot worse; it's pretty nice really." His hand went back to his pocket again to pull out the Dreamberry. "You should have one of these; it's how you keep in touch and keep up with what goes on around here."
Reply
She tipped her head at the gadget in his hand. It didn't look wholly dissimilar from the communication radios of Ivalice. She glanced down at herself. "I have?" There were very few places where something like that could hide, but after a very brief examination she made a small noise of surprise over the discovery of the Dreamberry at her hip. Evidently Somarium had seen fit to give it a clip and there it was, neatly hooked on to one of the many metal loops of her armor. "Ah, so it is. I must be no rarity in this place, if you're so quick to pick me out."
Reply
She had been here but a month and already witnessed things that made her world seem normal - people turning into cats, monsters called Pokémon, and now a woman with rabbit ears. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't intrigued, since anything even remotely monster-like or abnormal caught her attention.
The woman herself seemed to be a bit lost... and she remembered that she had also arrived around this time last month, so it was highly likely that she was new to Somarium. With that thought in mind, Ruri made her way toward the woman, face a mask of concern.
"Excuse me, but... are you lost?"
Reply
Fran paused and tipped her head in acknowledgment of the girl, dark features bowed to her. After a moment, Fran swayed forward to close the distance between them to something more comfortable for conversation. "I am afraid so."
Reply
She pondered for a moment before deciding to add a piece of (possibly) reassuring information to her brief explanation of Somarium.
"Few people that arrive here are without companions from their own world, however... so it's probable that you'll encounter a few of your friends during your stay."
Reply
To be sure, Fran pinched herself on the inside of her wrist. Her long fingernails bit gently into the softly furred flesh and she paused to study the world for a moment. No warping, no shift. Satisfied (if that was even the right word for it), she flicked her attention back to her unofficial guide here.
"Companions from my own world," she repeated. Her long ears swiveled forward. Perhaps that was some sort of clue. Perhaps she and Balthier, the Strahl even, had been caught in some kind of trap that had sent ( ... )
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Eyes lift and smile on] Well hello there.
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Hello. [A beat, pregnant with a seed of self-dissatisfaction.] I seem to have somehow become quite lost.
Reply
Now don't be alarmed when I say this but... you're not exactly anywhere near wherever it is you come from. Don't worry about it though, you're not going to be stuck here forever. [he shrugs like it's no big deal] I'm Flynn by the way. Flynn Rider.
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You seem curiously well informed about the strangest things Flynn, Flynn Rider.
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