luministi | [001]

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[001]

[a CAT activates to show a girl with her brown hair tied back in two ponytails under a red scarf, wearing a uniform. someone looking closely might also notice the white flower wrapped around her finger. she is standing in front of the vidscreen in the bedroom where she just woke up, her arms wrapped around herself to fight off the cold as snow, impossibly, falls around her inside the room. but for the moment she's focused on watching the Mayor's message--except, at first glance, she doesn't realize it's recorded]

Luministi? Again!? [she stares. but she swallows her worry and tries to be polite to the figure on the screen] Hey, um, Mr. Mayor? I'm sorry, but I can't be here right now. I can see there's some...trouble...going on. [she eyes the snow] But there's something really important that I have to go do first, so could you send me ba--

[but she cuts off as the mayor remarks that he's not there in person] What!? [surprised and annoyed, she steps up to tap the vidscreen] What is this? Some sort of...radio? With a picture?

[she steps back again, utterly bewildered, and listens to the rest of the Mayor's message, brushing snow out of her face and stamping her booted feet for warmth as she does so. and as it ends, she unwraps her arms and clenches her hands into fists in frustration] But how did I get here? Why am I here again!? I have to go back! Randgriz is about to be attacked!

[knowing that her words are falling on deaf ears, she sighs and whirls away from the screen to head out into the main room of the townhome] Hello? Is anyone here? [seeing the gift basket, she riffles through the contents, mumbling to herself] It's like I'm supposed to live here. But why? Half this stuff isn't even good for winter! [she quickly abandons her search, not noticing as the CAT attaches itself to her uniform. she goes to the door and steps outside, starting to shiver by now]

Fuu? [as she walks away from the townhome, she turns in a circle to look around. cupping her hands around her mouth, she calls:] Hey! I-is anybody here?

How do I get out of here?

[noticing all the footprints on the ground, she frowns at them, bending down to get a closer look] Wait...has everyb-body left already? [she straightens again, calling one more time:] H-hello! Anyone out there?

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[okay, that's disturbing] Then...how do we get home?

Well… The person who told us that said that it was a person who'd been doing it all along. The trouble is, they also said one was unwilling, and the other unable… so I'm not sure what we do from here.

[he pauses, and his lips twitch upwards.] …now that I say it, though, there's a fairly obvious step, isn't there?

[she nods] We find those people! Do you have any idea where they might be? [she glances at the footprints] Or is that obvious?

Hmm… I'm not sure it'll be that easy, but hopefully we'll find something. It should be better than staying out here, anyway.

I'm Hawk, by the way. What's your name?

Anything's b-better than this. [she shivers, wrapping her arms around herself]

Oh, I'm Alicia. Alicia Melchiott. Nice to meet you, Hawk! Ready to follow these footprints?

[He's not so sure- it would be worse, or just as bad if the temperature had been turned up, but he nods, and holds out a hand with a smile.]

Nice to meet you too, Alicia. I'm definitely ready to go.

Oh. [she shakes his hand] Then let's go! [and she sets off into the snow with a will]

[-oh. Not quite what he'd meant, but that's fine! He's a little less enthusiastic about walking through the snow, but hopefully the sooner they get where they're going, the sooner they'll be out of it.]

So… may I ask where you're from?

[that's okay; Alicia is happy to lead the way]

I'm from Gallia! [and, realising that in this place, that might not be specific enough, she adds:] It's in Europa.

What about you, Hawk?

[nodding]

I'm from Navarre. It's pretty much the southernmost country, back home.

Oh. Gallia is in the north, but there are countries that are further north than we are. [she's glad for the conversation; it's helping her distract herself from the cold] What's Navarre like?

[something else to focus on definitely helps.]

It's a desert country… so lots of sand, interspersed with stone and a couple of oases. And Gallia?

This must be a real change from that! [she shivers]

Gallia is mostly forests, plains, and farmland. But there's desert to the east and coastline to the west and north. I'm from Bruhl--it's a small town, out in the country. [her expression is a bit wistful as she pictures her home as it used to be] So your hometown is in the desert?

Haha, it is! I've been to the snowfields in Altena a few times, but it's still… [he shivers, only a little more put on than he feels]

[he nods, listening] It sounds like a good place to live. Yeah, near an oasis.

Snowfields, huh? They sound pretty. Then again, I guess this would be if it weren't so cold!

[she nods, smiling] Nothing beats the smell of fresh soil! And Bruhl had this giant windmill that--well, we'll rebuild it soon enough. [she smiles optimistically]

But what about you? What's best about where you're from?

Mm… it's hard to appreciate when it's this cold, though!

[another nod] Ah… you've seen a bit of trouble, then?

Oh… [he goes quiet, thinking about it.] Well… I've always liked the night. And if you look up at the sky… some nights, it's clear enough you think you might be able to see the other side of it.

You're right there!

Oh, yeah. [it's still weird to her to be in a place where people don't know about it] We're at war. The enemy took Bruhl, but we got it back. [she smiles, still comforted by that--even if Bruhl isn't at all like the state it was in before the occupation]

The other side of the sky, you mean? [she giggles] Still, that sounds beautiful. Can you see a lot of stars from there?

Ah… [he presses his lips together, but it doesn't last long, and he nods at the second part] That's good. Is there a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done?

[he nods, and chuckles] Yeah, you can see all of the constellations clearly- the only place better to see them than Navarre is Rolante.

[she nods, her expression doing a lot to convey just how much there is to do--but there's determination in it, too] There is, but we'll get there. We just need time. And first, we need to end the war.

I bet that's an amazing sight! [she smiles] The sky in Bruhl is like that, too. I could sit for hours and hours, just watching. Except, when I was little, instead of trying to cross the sky, I just made up stories about the people who might be out there shining those lights! [she laughs lightly]

Ah… so that hasn't ended yet? [his shoulder sag.] I'm sure you'll manage. [Maybe not easily, but he's sure her determination will see her through.]

Mm. That must be pretty amazing too! Did you ever want to visit them? [he grins, mischief in his eyes]

[she shakes her head, her expression growing more serious] That's why I have to get home. The leader of the other army is on his way to the capital right now, and we have to stop him!

Doesn't everybody? [she smiles back] Oh, so I guess you could say I thought about crossing the sky. But honestly, I thought that was where people went when they died, so it wasn't anything I thought I'd do as a kid!

[Hawk nods, face mirroring her seriousness.] I hope we can find something that'll help us achieve that where we're going.

Really? [He hums, and nods.] When you're young, you've got your whole future ahead of you, after all.

[determined] If not, we'll just have to go somewhere else!

Exactly. [thoughtful] I think it was helpful for a lot of the others to think their parents were up there watching over them. But I didn't know mine, so that meant I could make up whatever stories I wanted! [she laughs lightly] But I don't think you'd want to hear about them. Thinking about them now, they were pretty silly stories.

[she shivers, the cold starting to get to her, though rambling on about the stars is working well as a distraction. she's grateful for that]

Yeah. They have to be around somewhere.

Ah… so you were all affected by something? […another war? Disease? He doesn't show any worry about that, smiling instead.] Mm, I don't know about that! But if you don't want to, that's fine. I could tell you a little about home instead.

[it would all be so much better if it wasn't snowing inside, as well. But they should be getting closer…]

Oh, nothing like that! [she's a bit embarrassed; she didn't mean to make her childhood sound so dreary] I just grew up in an orphanage, that's all.

[she's eager to take him up on that offer, though. it sounds much better than her silly stories] Yeah? What's your home like, Hawk?

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