day 190 ♪ open

[evacuate]

Who: Zia and anyone
Open: Yep!
When: Day 190
Where: Out on Prosper Bluff, then near the Monument; take your pick
Format: I'll match!
What: Zia goes on an adventure for some shiny things.

Zia knows she can survive on the Skyway—she's done it before—but the prospect of scouring the ruined city on her own is daunting. But her plan, formulated late last night while she dusted off a windowsill in an unused room of her part of the tower, needs shards to work.

She pins her hair clip from the festival to her bandanna and decides it's enough to justify not bringing a weapon; she has no idea how to use any of them, anyway. The only other thing she brings is a backpack, empty except for a water canteen, for her spoils.

For most of the afternoon, Zia wanders about Prosper Bluff. She still remembers which paths to take to avoid irritable monsters, how to seem nonthreatening so creatures not too far away will ignore her. Only once does she have to call for Hense's help; the petals on her hair clip shift and the thick barrier of rose-covered vines it summons holds back a raging Gasfellow long enough for her to find a cluster of bushes to hide in until she's sure it's left her alone.

She roots through rubble and flora, filling her bag with shards and interesting pieces of the old world, smiling a little wider with each tiny discovery, but constantly looking for more. Anyone else's appearance makes her jump, but she relaxes and offers a friendly wave as soon as she realizes nothing dangerous is trying to sneak up on her.

Later, when she returns to the Bastion, she's exhausted enough to decide that all the stairs up to her part of the tower are too much to be worth dealing with right away, so she takes a seat on the ground by the monument and digs through her goodies: shards she separates into clusters of five to count, some particularly lovely flowers, and a few shining colored stones. It's a small haul, but if the bright smile on her face as she sorts them means anything, she's pleased with it.

Comments

[attheclocktower]

Xion herself was nearby the monument, unwinding a little after spending the day worrying about Axel, reconnecting with Roxas, and practicing her fighting. Thus, Zia's sorting actually caught her attention, and she peered over, while simultaneously trying to not make it obvious she was looking.

It reminded her of collecting shells from Destiny Islands, a little.

She teetered for a moment on the edge of saying something (would she be welcome...?), before, finally, hesitantly, "Those are really pretty."

[evacuate]

As long as no one grabbed at things, Zia didn't mind anyone watching, so she hadn't been paying attention to the others in the area until Xion spoke. Grinning up at her, Zia said, "Thank you," and scooted to the side. There: a space for her to sit, too, if she wanted.

"Prosper Bluff is full of stuff like this if you know where to look. Do you want a couple?" She pushed the shards aside, closer to her bag; those were hers. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them all."

[freedom_engineer]

Four hours.

He'd been working for four hours without a break. Longer, with breaks, but this had been the hard work. The oven, the plumbing, the granite countertops and the new refridgerator.

He missed these kinds of shifts, really. Getting his hands dirty, fitting pieces together so they joined just right. Making a finished product from incomplete parts. A functional, modern kitchen was still a far cry from a starship engine, or a computer network, but it was honest to goodness work that had him sweating.

It also, however, necessitated a break every now and then. After four hours, he was thirsty, and his muscles we starting to tell him that he'd been going too long. The hard stuff was over though, so it had been well worth it.

So Colin's exiting the distillery's kitchen via the back door, a tall glass of water in one hand, and a covered glass of something pink-ish in the other hand. He drinks the water first, in just two gulps. Then he starts to wander, letting his legs stretch and his lungs fill with fresh air.

It just so happens that Zia's out there by the monument as he walks by. He spies her haul, and he grins. "Productive day?" he asks curiously.

[evacuate]

Zia glances up and, smiling back politely, shifts back so that her collection of shiny things is in fuller view.

"Mhm," she says, "Prosper Bluff is full of stuff like this. I think I'll try to go every day. ...Maybe." She purses her lips. "It's kind of rough out there. How are you doing, though?"

[freedom_engineer]

"That's definitely not a bad idea," Colin tells her, giving her a smile. "There's a lot of good things to be found out there, but I'm sure Raile or anyone else here would be happy to accompany you out there to watch your back."

Colin takes a drink from the covered glass then. "I'm doing all right, knocking out the kitchen renovations moderately quickly," he says. "By tonight, Rin and Mireille should have a top of the line kitchen ready for them."

[evacuate]

She glances away, that polite, tight-lipped smile back on her face. "Ah, Raile gets really busy, you know? So does everyone else, and I wouldn't want to be a bother..."

But the kitchen—she latches onto the subject change, her expression bright. "Renovations? What are you fixing up?" She's quiet when she works in the kitchen, and often works by herself and out of sight, so she doesn't think anyone knows she's ever in there at all. That's fine, but it's not going to stop her from getting excited.

[freedom_engineer]

Colin may not be that good at body language, but he can at least tell when a subject's rather difficult. He nods at her observations, and he smiles. "Well, heck, I can check with you if I ever go out to Prosper Bluff," he says, and he lets that drop. "As for the kitchen, I'm completely redoing it for Rin, the only thing we're keeping is the oven. The plumbing was old, and a lot of the machinery wasn't exactly up to snuff."

Another drink, and he smiles. "So I'm installing new cookware, redoing the plumbing, swapping out the sink and stove, and adding in granite counter-tops," he says. "By the time it's done, the only thing left from the old kitchen will be the oven, which Rin says she's happy with."

[followsthevoice]

[Raile hadn't been around the Bastion for a while, he'd left Zulf with a note explaining that he was going out on the Skyway to look for supplies, but from there he'd gotten...sidetracked for about a week...or had it been two? He'd found things out there in the wilds, things he thought he'd never see again...things he thought he'd never want to see again, but the repeated end of the world tends to make you think; make you see the value in things, even if you might have hated them before.

For that reason, the kid was now sporting a green hat atop his head, a sole pecker's feather sticking out of the strip of leather banded around the top. It was the only thing of his father's he had left...sure he resented the man, maybe even blamed him for not being there for him or his mother, but things were different now. Now all Raile had were memories, memories of better times, even if they weren't the best and for that, he was going to hold on to whatever memories he could find.

It was funny though, where one memory was concerned, others usually started to pop up, and as he found himself passing through Prosper Bluff, he came upon a familiar scene. The tented structure along with the pillows and blankets scattered about were gone, but there was still a pool of water...and a girl in brightly colored clothing humming a familiar tune. The sound of it brought a nostalgic smile to his lips as he set his hammer down on the ground, watching Zia as she stared into the water, perhaps reflecting on some thought or other; it was almost a shame to interrupt her, but it was better to announce himself rather than scare the wits out of her.]

"Uh...hey."

[A+ Raile, good job, truly you've mastered the art of interpersonal relationships with such a ravishing display of linguistic skill.]

[evacuate]

[Chance and curiosity brought her here—this pathway looks familiar turned into oh, right. As far as Zia can tell, the area hadn't changed since she found it a reality ago, supply bags and folded tent from the den slung over her shoulders.

Just in case, she scoured through it, and filled her bag with another handful of shards for it. She didn't want to linger, though; this place reminded her of isolation, of being completely and miserably sure that she was the only one left in the ruined remains of the world. She had no use for old memories.

Only as she readied to leave, back to the Bastion, back to here and now and happiness, that she heard the voice. Before she even spun around, she was beaming; she'd recognize him anywhere.]

Raile! [Immediately, she ran to him, flinging her arms around him in the tightest hug she could muster—and stepping back just as quickly, embarrassed.] Hi. You have to stop running off like that. It's been weeks, you know, I've been so worried.

[followsthevoice]

[Well, it might not have been the most graceful of greetings, but Zia seemed happy enough to see him. Raile hardly moved when she ran into him, mostly because he still had a good grip on his hammer and it wasn't going anywhere, but he gave Zia a few pats on the back before she stepped back. It was strange to see Raile smile, and he hadn't quite mastered the technique of it yet, so it looked more like jagged glass trying to force its way through his mouth, but he was smiling none the less despite the chiding.]

Yeah...sorry 'bout that, got kinda sidetracked by things. Speakin' of though, what brings ya all t'way back here? 'S dangerous out this way.

[The fact that Zia was out here by herself made Raile worry quite a bit, but he knew as well that Zia was a survivor. She wasn't about to let a stray pecker or gasfella get the better of her.]

[evacuate]

That's not an excuse. [Her pursed lips, displeased with the answer, widened into a grin at his question, though. Zia shifted her bag off her back and opened it up to display its contents: shards, mostly, with some shiny stones scattered throughout and a few flowers on top.] I'm out treasure hunting! You don't have to worry, I know how to look out for myself.

[followsthevoice]

That's true, when I found ya last time, y'were doin' jus' fine. Still, we both gotta start bein' more careful, thing're different this time 'round.

[New areas...new people...new creatures he'd never seen before and ones that were far more aggressive than ever before. This certainly was even stranger than before, so he had to start putting himself even more on guard...well, at least with certain things.]

Them's some mighty fine treasures you got yerself...might say I was doin a little of that myself. Speakin' of, could y'do me a favor and close yer eyes for a quick spell? I got y'a suprise.

[blackblooded]

Here is Crona, also coming back from the Skyway, covered in dust and smelling like Scumbag. So the meister doesn't stand too close to Zia's little piles of treasure, just hovers at the edges of acceptable distance and looks.

"Th-those are nice flowers."

[evacuate]

"Thank you!" But gosh, what is Crona doing all the way over there? All that muck and grime doesn't bother her at all—she's dealt with worse—so she waves Crona over, taking a brief moment to choose and pick up a flower before she calls, "Here, come closer!"

[blackblooded]

Crona steps forward, hesitant. "Did you find them on the Skyway? I... I can come with you next time, if you want."

[evacuate]

"I did! On Prosper Bluff." She nods, considers the flower in her hand before swapping it out for another, and stands up. "That would be really nice. It...gets a little scary out there, actually," she says with a wry, uncertain little smile, "so some company would be nice. Thank you."

With a sudden grin, like something has just occurred to her, she reaches forward to tuck the flower, bright pink, behind Crona's ear.

[blackblooded]

Crona freezes a little at the flower, then looks down. There's a little, shy smile, and a bit of blushing.

"I'm good at protecting people. That's what I'm the best at."

[fuckthemancers]

[Guess who's coming over to stand over you with his arms crossed disapprovingly? Guess, Zia.]

Where were you?

[Such disapproval.]

[evacuate]

[Lips pursed, she glances up.] Prosper Bluff. There's all sorts of good stuff out there. [She gestures at her collection of shiny things, looks back at Zulf, and frowns when the disapproval is still there.] Sorry, I should have said something before I left.

[fuckthemancers]

[Zulf still holds his disapproving stance for a moment longer, but soon enough he sighs and has his shoulders slump.]

Please do. In case anything happens... [Even the thought of losing any of them is enough to set him into a small panic.] Everything went well, then?

[evacuate]

I will, I promise. I think I'm going to go out every day for a little while. [And she doesn't pause at all so that he can't interrupt with more disapproval—] Yeah, though, everything's fine! See, I'm back safe and sound without a scratch on me. There's all sorts of good stuff out there, you know. I've never seen flowers like these before. [She stands up with one bright orange flower in her hand, holding it out for just a moment before she rises up on her toes and reaches to place the flower behind Zulf's ear.]

[fuckthemancers]

[Clever girl. Zulf was already opening his mouth for guaranteed disapproval, but closes it again with a huff when she continues talking. He's too polite (and too fond of her) to interrupt her. When she suddenly places the flower behind his ear, he blinks like a startled Rattle-tail before twisting his mouth in a blatant effort not to smile.]

Is that supposed to win me over?

[dragonform]

Ryu's wandering around the Skyway often leads him to unexpected places, though he can usually find his way back to the Bastion without much trouble. However, Prosper Bluff is a relatively new place he has yet to explore. Unlike Zia, his exploration into unfamiliar territory leads him into a bit more danger, but nothing he can't handle with his sword.

While he has a few closer calls than he would have liked, it all goes relatively uneventful until he stumbles onto Zia, the Ura having escaped his notice previously when his attention was more focused on keeping an eye out for any Gasfellas hanging around.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." He answers, though he isn't sure still having his sword drawn is helping to reassure her of that fact.

[evacuate]

"It's okay," she says, but despite the her polite smile, her focus keeps flickering between Ryu and the drawn sword. "It isn't your fault. Being out here makes me jumpy."

[dragonform]

Her gaze doesn't go unnoticed, and he gets the hint. The sword is returned to its sheathe in one smooth, practiced motion. No need to make the poor girl nervous, after all. "Don't worry. I wouldn't let anything happen to anyone at the Bastion." He answers with a smile. So he's a bit scrawny, but there's something in how he says it that might reassure her a little. Though that might not mean all that much, since the memory of Night's death and how much it shook everyone up isn't all that distant in his mind, let alone how it might have affected Zia.

"I think I've seen you around, but I haven't had a chance to introduce myself. I'm Ryu."