i've a feeling we're not in ul'dah anymore.

[aetherflows]

Who: Alphinaud and you!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: SS Goldstone, Lyuku
When: Anytime between 9/9 and 9/16

[action; ss goldstone]

[Alphinaud is nothing if not an intrepid adventurer. Dusting the confetti from his shoulders, he immediately goes to explore the length and breadth of the ship. If it's private quarters then he won't peek inside, but everything else is fair game. He wants to really, really understand what's happened to him-- and the only way to do that is with his own eyes.

He can be found on the bridge trying to make sense of the magitek (but not touching anything just yet), nosing around the lab and poking around the cabinets, or trying to /soothe the microwave.

Of note: he is four and a half feet tall and possessing very large pointed ears, as well as a large book at his side.]

[video]

[A boy of about sixteen with a very posh accent decides to invest in finally using the communicator. The background is very colorful, to say the least; he's standing in an alley near a very noisy bazaar.]

Assuming this fabled contraption works... greetings all. My name is Alphinaud. Having been apprised of the current situation, I cannot say I enjoy it any more than one could enjoy a kidnapping, dancing and parties notwithstanding.

Something is making me very uneasy about this place and I cannot fathom the precise reason. I am not one to ignore my instincts, however. I read back and saw a mention of something coming, perhaps, though what that thing is has yet to be elaborated on.

A clearer explanation of the issue would be appreciated. No need to be concise, here; I am of a mind to take notes.

And if by chance any of you have heard tell of a realm called Eorzea, I pray you do not remain silent.

[action - lyuku]

A.
[He's a little overwhelmed, sure, and he's far from home without resources or anyone else to depend on. But he knows his weaknesses... He knows he tends to depend on the Warrior of Light a little too much. So Alphinaud steels himself and he rolls up his sleeves, determined to do a little menial labor if it will earn his keep.

To the surprise of no one, he's especially good at math. The calculations required to map the stars and predict their movements are somewhat familiar to him, having been raised in Sharlayan in the Studium. He's not prone to fortune telling, though, so he runs various errands as an astronomer's assistant at the observatory. Sometimes he's carrying huge maps that are as big as he is and rolled up like proclamations, but a few times he's running a sweet coffee beverage instead.]

B.
[Armed with a little more coin and a lot of pent-up energy, Alphinaud takes to hiking up the thousand steps of Yanti Rock. It's a beautiful view-- breathtaking, really-- and he almost goes for his sketchbook. But he's also exhausted, panting and half-keeled over with his hands on his knees. Other tourists may be enjoying the view too. He is ruining it with noise.]

I-- [huff huff] -- I only counted six hundred and thirty seven steps, but that is -- [phew] -- quite enough, I think. Vertical steps are not steps at all but ladders, and-- t'would be fair for them to learn it... a few times... in this heat...

[He is having Regrets.]

C.
[Accost him while he's looking at funky glowing tarot cards or any other manner of things. Pick a dialogue option that'll have him embarrassed to talk to you. The choice is yours.]

Comments

Lyuku B! Also let me know if you'd like me to change anything. o7

[poisontippedcure]

[Yanti rock was quickly becoming one of Rose's favorite places on Lyuku. Even with all the tourists, the site retained an aura of calm, and that's to say nothing of the gorgeous view.]

[A gorgeous view that's made all the better by the sight of a familiar face.]

Alphinaud, is that you?

[She lets a small smile slip as she walks over. Not three days ago, Rose was skeptical she'd see anyone from home again, and yet here she is. It's not happiness, necessarily, but this does help her feel a little more comfortable.]

[Not so comfortable she isn't going to poke light fun, of course.]

It looks like you waged quite the battle with those stairs. It's a pity Estinien wasn't here to see it, I'm sure he would be proud.

[She had to take a full hour rest before she could enjoy the view because she was too tired after climbing, but details.]

[aetherflows]

[Alphinaud straightens almost immediately, not used to being recognized on the street (unless there's danger involved). His blue eyes widen with something like alarm, though he tries to school it into something calmer; he still doesn't know who this woman is or how, exactly, she is able to be on a casual first-name basis with Estinien of all people.

But how would she know he and Estinien were close unless she were privy to certain information only known to the Scions?

He searches her eyes but he doesn't find anything that would suggest she is lying or out to hurt him specifically. Which leaves the question of her identity.]

Ah... I beg your pardon, but have we met...?

[He has the face of every single Scion and fallen Crystal Brave engraved upon his soul by now, and a redheaded mi'qote with that smile was not among them.]

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose catches that look of alarm, and it throws her off-guard. True, there are still a lot of things that she doesn't know about their situation, but everyone had led her to believe that people arrived here with their memories in tact.]

[Unless...]

Really, Alphinaud, after everything, this is when you decide to develop a sense of humor? It's unlike you.

[If anything, it's a long-shot, but it's also the only explanation that makes sense. She arrived here with all of her memories, and she'd met several others who had friends from their home worlds, so what's the problem?]

[aetherflows]

[He has all the memories he needs, thank you. The fact that this woman is speaking to him so casually makes him severely curious, concerned, and embarrassed all at once.]

I-- I am not acting in jest, [he says, cursing silently at his quivering voice. He is trying to be calm and clear and professional and his voice gives him away like he's a quaking little boy set alone in Eorzea again.]

I do not recall your face among the Scions or even the Crystal Braves. [And there are no miqo'te among the Ishgardian knights.] Mayhap I lost my mind when I was taken here; I would not put it past them, considering the thing now residing in my neck.

I must ask who you are and your exact allegiance. Pray do not deceive me-- I will not hesitate to bear arms against one who would take my life. [He is trying to be very brave here, but his fingertips on his grimoire are unsure. He's not inclined to violence but he'll defend himself if necessary.

Something tells him that this isn't some rogue agent that followed him from Eorzea, though. There's some bigger picture he's not seeing yet.]

let me know if you want this changed!

[poisontippedcure]

Take your life? What are you saying?

[For the first time since she's been here, the concern on her face is actually showing. After everything with the Crystal Braves, after fleeing together for Ishgard, she would be the last one to hurt him.]

[It doesn't make sense, until her vision starts to blur and she gets an all too familiar headache. Of course, the echo. Why would she get a break here?]

[The visions that play are familiar, but with one key difference. Rose isn't in them. Although she can remember everything that happened, she's been replaced by a familiar (and not very welcome, if she's being honest) face.]

[The pieces start to fall into place, and she turns away from Alphinaud. Of course things wouldn't be this easy, why should she expect as much.]

I apologize, I mistook you for someone else.

looks good to me!

[aetherflows]

[Her expression doesn't seem like she was lying, which only makes Alphinaud feel worse. And more confused. He's worried, for an instant, that he might actually make this woman cry-- a woman who, for all standards and purposes, is the only other person from his world. (He can hear Krile in the back of his head telling him wow, what a way you have with the womanfolk!)

Something in the miqo'te's eyes goes hazy, though, and it looks... terribly familiar. He's seen the Warrior of Light deal with the Echo for a long time now, and Krile too.

He tugs his fur coat tighter around himself as Tataru shivers beneath her own. The looming figure of the Warrior of Light can only shelter them so much as they traipse through the neverending bitter snow. He bites his bottom lip and trudges on. He can't afford to stop now.

•

The twins raise their grimoires, summoning a powerful spell that holds the dread wyrm in place for just a few moments. They urge their steadfast friend to kill Bahamut's shade and end the cycle once and for all.

•

The gentle flicker of a fire, Alphinaud nodding off over his knees. The firewood was almost too wet to burn but it was the first time he'd been sent to get it, and at least Ysayle's stew was good. Everything was a fight for survival out here and their journey was no different, but times like this, he almost felt...]

Miss, are you--

[He steps forward, reaching out hesitantly as if to help, but his hand falls short. He isn't sure touching someone with the Echo is a very good idea. She's already overstimulated, he could only make it worse.]

Just now it looked as if you possessed the Echo. [He tries again, gentler this time, and decides not to call her out on her lie.] I do not understand, but surely if we talk about it, we can find an answer to all this.

[poisontippedcure]

[There's a part of her that wants to run away, and forget that any of this is happening. But logistically she knows that won't work; regardless of whether Alphinaud remembered her or not, they were going to be stuck in the Fleet together, and she knows him too well to think that he'll just forget something like this.]

[The echo hits again and it hits like a cart, but once she has a moment to regain herself, she turns to face Alphinaud.]

Yes, it's a lovely gift, isn't it? [And her tone conveys exactly what she really thinks of it.]

I don't fully understand either, but I have a theory. A theory that sounds too ridiculous to be true.

[aetherflows]

[He bites his bottom lip for a moment. Her sharp tone is to be expected after the pain and disorientation the Echo brings. But he keeps himself from touching her... even though his instinct is to help any way possible. She might flinch, or worse. It's very unbecoming to do that to a stranger.]

Do you mean to propose that our worlds are near parallel? I do not find it beyond reason that our worlds would have different Warriors of Light, considering the shadows they cast on the world before.

[He isn't entirely sure that she's the Warrior of Light, but her Echo and the way she reacted to him all but confirms it.]

[poisontippedcure]

[Of course, this is what she gets for underestimating Alphinaud. If anybody were to believe it, he would be the first, and Rose shouldn't be surprised that he came to the same answer.]

[She turns to face him again, crossing her arms.]

That's the only explanation I can think of that makes sense. [Thirteen reflections, thirteen Warriors of Light.]

It's not beyond reason, it's true. I've met a Warrior of Light from another world, one remarkably similar to yours, in fact. [And here comes the uncomfortable part. There's a small part of her that's still a little shaken from the experience, regardless of how it resolved in the end.]

[aetherflows]

[The simplest explanation is sometimes the right one. He'd be ignorant to turn down the notion.

She mentions meeting another Warrior of Light, and he has a similar sinking feeling. This is, of course, what he was basing the theory on.]

Did he have a merry band of friends in the employ of the Ascians?

[What they did goes far beyond the pale. They are not allies, but he pities them. It was not their fault that the light fell out of balance... but what they did afterward, seeking to sow chaos in other worlds by taking lives...? That cannot be forgiven.

(And anyway, he cannot forgive someone who nearly killed his sister.)]

[poisontippedcure]

They came to your world too, did they?

[That admittedly complicates things a little, but Rose is relieved to hear that the Warrior he'd been travelling with wasn't the one she'd met, even if she can't exactly place why.]

Nevertheless, it looks like we've found our answer, as complicated as it may seem. Do you have any plans from here?

[aetherflows]

So it seems. How many times have they tried to kill us, I wonder? Yet perhaps it is better that I never find out.

[He pauses a moment to ponder her question, curling his fingers beneath his chin. Always a quick wit, he arrives at his answer within seconds-- as if he'd decided it from the start. That's not too far off the mark.]

Considering the stark absence of anyone else from Eorzea, I would think it obvious. I would like to know more of your memories, to see what lines up and what does not. And more importantly--

[He meets her eyes with his blue ones, full of curiosity and barely-masked concern.]

I wish to know more about you, if... you will have me. I may not be the Alphinaud you journeyed with, but if his heart is anything like mine, he would support you-- memories or none. There are often many paths to the same destination, and I believe friends can be friends whether we recognize them or not.

[He hesitates, then, his confidence faltering just enough to let that sadness peek through.]

But... only if you are amenable. I will not force myself on you, and you need not worry overmuch; I can handle myself. [Probably.]

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose can't help but crack a small smile, despite the flurry of emotions. This is definitely Alphinaud, even if it's not her Alphinaud. Earnesty always was his strong suit.]

This definitely isn't what I expected, but I agree. As odd as this place is, working together is our best option. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few questions about your memories, too.

[Also, she's not sure that he can handle himself. She's almost positive that he can't.]

I haven't given you my name yet, have I? I'm Rose.

[aetherflows]

And I'll happily provide answers, if I can.

[His relief is almost palpable. He's fortunate to know the Warrior of Light in any timeline, it seems.]

Rose, [he repeats, and he smiles around it. Probably a moniker since she's a miqo'te, but her name is her name.] T'is a pleasure, again.