Silence [Aerith, Lightning]

[Alice]

'Find me the source of this fog. If you do...I promise you will feel your son in your arms once more...'

This what brought her here. Alice's eyes narrowed as she shielded her eyes. Despite the light level being incredibly low, it was still much brighter than the vortex she was stuck in. The air was different here...the gravity was also weighing heavier on her. 'This is another completely different world.' Alice thought as she looked around.

How convenient. She appeared within a room as she looked out the window. What a place this was...Alice couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement. However, it was crushed down a second later. '...I shouldn't be enjoying myself.' She told herself, which made her glare out the window at nothing in particular.

First, she needed to find out what this place was. Second, she needed to find out what was going on with the world. Third...find the source of the fog. The logical line sounded good and with her map made, Alice set outside the door. "Oy! What're you doing in 'here?!" A voice shouted as Alice turned to the strange looking lizard creature, approaching her.

"Tha's me room! How'd you get in 'ere!" Alice had no time to care what the creature was nor entertain the question (not that she would speak anyways) and simply turned her head and walked away from the creature. "Hey!" The creature shouted, but decided not to follow her. "She's a stupid thief if she stole somethin'..." The bangaa grumbled as he headed in his room.

Alice exited the Inn as her eyes narrowed, adjusting to the light levels of the outside. The town was strangely bustling, a much more...happier place than the land of Vento was with the poison of the world seeping slowly throughout the world. Alice decided to try to locate the local library, being the best place outside asking people.

----

Alice couldn't believe how much this place looped around. She must've been walking for hours and had gone through the same intersection at least 5 times. However, this was new. She found the edge of the island and was slightly shocked. She hadn't realized she was on a floating island! If she couldn't find out information here...she would need to find a way off.

But the library was still nowhere in sight...where would she find one? Did she need to speak to the locals? Alice's jaw clenched at the thought of it. 'No. I'll keep searching.' Alice turned from the edge of the island to continue her search. Her legs may fall off, but if it allowed a faster resurrection time for her son...

She would sacrifice all her limbs for that one moment to be with her son.

[Aerith Gainsborough]

Aerith wished she could stand up and peer out over the edge of the floating island. It was quite literally floating in the sky, She wondered if she would be able to see anywhere she knew from here... but all she could see was fog. It was a little disappointing, but it was still very impressive that they were flying in the air, with seemingly nothing to keep it there. She was growing accustomed to this strange floating island, but she knew she would have to leave soon. After all, the flower maiden had friends to find and new places to visit.

After a while of staring and twirling a few strands of hair around her finger, Aerith noticed a woman with white hair roaming about with a different energy force than anyone she'd met so far. The brunette wondered where she might be from, and decided to introduce herself. "Good afternoon, miss! You look lost... I'm new here too, but maybe I can help you find something?

[admin]

[style=color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px; font-style:italic; text-align: center; text-shadow: 1px 1px #FFFFFF; margin: -5px;]         take a look at me now, it's just an empty space[/style]

[atrb=width,460,true][atrb=border,0,true][bg=FFFFFF][atrb=style, border-left: 20px solid #336699;][style=background-color: #FFFFFF; font-size:10px; line-height: 12px; color: #666666; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; font-family: courier new; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; line-height: 8px;] [/style]

[atrb=width,460,true][atrb=border,0,true][bg=FFFFFF][atrb=style, border-left: 20px solid #003366;][style=background-color: #FFFFFF; font-size:10px; line-height: 12px; color: #333333; text-align: justify; padding: 10px; font-family: verdana;]Of course, the woman had caught the soldier's eye as soon as she'd passed Lightning, somewhere just above an hour ago. It was hard not to take notice of a head of hair a shade lighter than Hope's, even, belonging to a woman of smallish stature who walked with determination. Lightning herself had been 'casually' scouting out the area, seeing if there was anything else she could discern about Bhujerba from its appearance and from eavesdropping on citizens' conversations. (The latter hadn't gone so well, as she herself was fairly noticeable, being notably an off-worlder with suspicious clothing and hair of an unusual shade; she was quickly seen, and conversations suddenly hushed as she walked past.) The sight of the unknown woman was the most unusual she had seen all day, and she fell quickly to tailing the stranger. It was obvious that she was lost, from the realization that she had passed the same intersection upwards of four times, and Lightning soon began to doubt she would glean anything meaningful from the expedition. Just as she began to have doubts, of course, the woman hung a sudden turn away from the larger span of the city and out towards its limits. She reacted the same way Lightning had; surprise. She had a slight amount of sympathy for the woman because of that, though her suspicion remained unabated. The soldier hung back, though was startled when the woman turned suddenly, almost catching her in the act - at that moment, a notably familiar voice spoke out, and Lightning sighed. It's impossible for me to sense her... Her post behind a tall, thin statue was abandoned as she stepped out. Now's a better time than any. "Aerith," she said dryly. "Fancy seeing you here." She made no move to engage her target. The woman would come to her; rather, she would go to Aerith, who had first addressed her with a kind tone. And Lightning would watch - something about the white-haired woman struck her as dangerous. Desperate. [/style]

[atrb=width,460,true][atrb=border,0,true][bg=FFFFFF][atrb=style,border-left: 20px solid #CCCCCC;][style=background-color: #FFFFFF; font-size:10px; line-height: 12px; color: #666666; text-align: justify; padding: 10px; font-family: courier new; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 8px;]WORD COUNT: 347 MUSIC: knight of the goddess - ffxiii-2 ost TAGS: alice and aerith NOTES: professional stalker ? CREDIT: aerie @ ote and ftb[/style]

[Alice]

Alice immediately stopped, as a habit moreso than anything, at Aerith's words. Damn. Now she can't pretend she didn't hear the girl. Alice turned her head to face the girl. It was there she felt an air of unease. Why would she feel uneasy at this girl? no, it was her body telling her she was being watched...

However, as the woman spoke, the feeling subsided as she stared at her. She seemed like someone not her enemy...but also someone who wouldn't leave her alone. She said nothing for the time being, the sense of unease intriguing her...but it didn't for long. The one whom caused her to feel the unease stepped out.

Alice immediately stared at her, clearly knowing who she should fear and who she didn't. Alice was suddenly fairly tense; with her husband, she could tell a soldier just by looking at them and, since his murder by her hands, has been very wary of soldiers. She soon loosened herself up, knowing for a fact it would do nothing for it was too late.

She was sure Lightning knew she was extremely cautious around her and was most likely suspicious of her. But when calming herself down, her mind cleared up, which was good for her mental health at least. For a moment, she had thought of running, but someone like her not trained in combat would be easy to take down.

And she had a feeling the woman that spoke to Aerith would not hesitate to give chase. Then she spoke as she turned again to Aerith, the temptation to reach for her feathers lingering in her stomach. Attacking anyone would result in injury and possibly death for her...and she was no use to her son dead.

Alice refused to speak, pulling her usual tactic of pretending she was mute, in hopes, a feeable one, to see if they would walk away and ignore her. She wanted to get out of here though, her fear threatening to boil over and seep into her physical actions. 'Why do I fear her? She doesn't know what I've done. I have no intention to murder again.'

And yet the fear continued to push for her to react in someway physically. 'Will it make you feel better to react to Aerith?' Lightning slipped her name, so she knew it. She nodded, very slightly, at Aerith to answer her long-awaited question.