melodiesoflife | Meeting up: Christmastown?

[Compared to the dark and frightening Mythril Mines, the light of the Village feels like a fantasy world. There surely won't be any dead workers, Calamity monsters, or bosses within the walls. Maybe.

Duster trudges ahead, and the two soldiers standing guard at the walls let in the curiously underdressed party. Of course, Duster took what rags he could find in the mines, but they were not comfortable in the slightest.]

Finally. [His eyes dart around the streets. Sturdy houses, streets full of people...it's a welcome sight.] Let's find someone that can help.

[Random threads between characters that happen throughout their stay.]

[After speaking with the residents, there was no excuse not to speak with their former acquaintances and assure them that the Heroes of Light are still alive. Duster didn't have much of an opinion on Biggs and Wedge, but he never did speak with the mysterious woman who stayed in the Village of Santa Claus. Perhaps Prajapati will be kind.

The familiar names of business pass him by as the group approaches the meeting spot where she was said to be working.] Cuppa Kupo? McDuck Bank? How did they get all the way here?

[The deeper the incoming group goes into the Village, they might notice some of the locals gathering around one of the houses. No one entered but they all just waited outside. A minute later, the doors opened. Several people came out carrying large pots, and stacks of bowls and spoons.

The last person to emerge from the house was a bit shorter in height, but their face was obscured by a dark grey hood. However, the mystery figure's voice would sound familiar especially if they had been to a certain Space Saloon in Aqure Ixen so many years ago.]

Thanks for waiting, everyone! There's enough food to go around so line up!

Well, that is certainly a pleasing thing.

[Tazendra didn't mind trekking through cold wildneress, but next time, she wanted warm clothing and food other than 'whatever they could find'.]

[Five years ago at this point seemingly and even then Mary recalls the last meeting with their allies before their departure as if it was yesterday. Certainly it was nearly that long ago by her own recollection. She'd spoken out in anger and Prajapati was one of those she'd leveled her ire in the direction of.

If nothing else, she owed the woman an apology. There was also the matter of the painting that had been seen in Pandaemonium, and while she didn't know either version of the woman well, the fact that she was seemingly living a dual life was something that clicked with her. There were mysteries that she'd failed to notice and now wondered if it was too little too late.]

I should have pursued the remnants of the Empire more diligently. We could have done more to help perhaps.

[Her words are softly muttered to herself, but then she looks up at the signs that Duster points out.]

I guess a few people decided they wanted to continue the work we started. Some little hope for them to hold onto.

[This in turn gave her hope that the Assassins were still functioning. She'd have to find a way to contact Aerilon.]

[Duster grips his new jacket tightly around himself. Here they are, five years late, with others picking up the work they abandoned. Not entirely of their own fault, but he can't help but feel that if they only knew what was to come after the fight with Garland, if only they have prepared another way, all this could have been avoided.

The spirit of Christmas does little to cheer him up.]

It's almost like coming back to Tazmily after disappearing for three years...

[ They would find Prajapati by the main building in the center of the village-- Santa Claus's workshop. Or so it had been anyway. With all that had happened, the building was now used as an improvised headquarter to plan the village's expansion and ensure its continued safety.

Prajapati was speaking to a few Moogles who had doubtlessly informed her of the Heroes of Light's return. They pointed at Duster and Mary as they approached, and thus she turned to them. ]

Greetings, my friends. It is good to see you alive and well.

[It was still so weird, seeing businesses the likes of which had once been in Aqures Ixen. Not to mention the faces of a few he'd seen while working at that mom and pop shop. Part of him wondered if they were even still alive, as old as they'd been.

Not that it mattered right now, as they searched for their old acquaintance. After a while of wandering ~~he's not lost, really guys~~, he does stop somewhere, eventually, to do the unthinkable- ask for directions.]

Excuse me. Where might we find Wedge this time of day?

[While he wasn't actively assisting with passing out food, he was nearby and chatting with the locals about what they'd missed the past five years. So when he hears Tazendra speak up, he excuses himself. While they hadn't spoken face to face, he recognized the voice from meetings and a few confrontations.

...And was that Minato in the back? ~~He pulls off the long hair well.~~]

Hey! Took you long enough.

[Don't mind him; he'd never outgrown the snark, as evidenced by the smirk just barely visible underneath a deep blue scarf.]

[Duster stops in his tracks. While none of the residents had displayed hostility towards their late return - it wasn't like he had disappeared under the accusation of a crime he didn't commit - he can't be certain that Pajapati would show the same hospitality.

He debates whether to approach her and decides it will happen anyway.]

Hello. [He walks up to the building.] Sorry for being so late.

[ This was surreal, the place didn't look any less festive than before, even with the rest of the world gone to hell. It wasn't unwelcome but nonetheless strange. They were probably just doing their best to be optimistic in the face of how unlikely it was that things were going to be alright. --And that jarring feeling wasn't about to end. ]

Huh? Ira-kun. You look...

[ "(...) weeeeeeellll" His smile's gone. ]

Taller.

[ Minato's squinting. Not like an IM GONNA FIGHT YOU but "i cant believe this with my own eye". This is not how he pictured the smaller boy from back when they were sulking about parties when they'd first arrived in Crystallis. He's all grown up and handsome??? Damn you Squenix science genes. ]

Is that really you? [ Dear lord how long was he out this time. ]

[The scent of the meal draws Duster closer to Saori, unable to spot her from the back of the crowd. There's a tall guy with white hair and a pirate-looking person...]

James? [Now that he thinks about it, the tall kid does resemble Ira...]

Guys! [He pushes through the crowd to reach the four others that were stranded on this continent. The buttons on his tattered coat he stole form the mines disconnect from the cloth, leaving him exposed to the cold. He doesn't care.] I'm so glad to see you! I thought I'd never see any of the others again

[ Lord knows why Minato hadn't gone ahead and asked himself. He probably would have been more willing. --Was he just spacing out, envious of Ira's height? Minato your slouch doesn't help, you know. ]

... I thought you knew where we were headed.

[Mary nods offering Prajapati a nod, but her eyes go to the moogles, looking among them for a familiar face. But the hood she's looking for isn't there.]

And you as well. I apologize for our absence, and myself for not doing more that we might have prevented this entirely. And I'm sorry for accusing you all of the same last we met.

[Her anger at their native allies, her inability to take down Kalki fast enough. But from what she's been told she's not sure...no she knows she couldn't have cut down Ramza to save everyone else. It's not something she'd have been able to do.]

No one could have predicted this turn of event. There is naught to apologize for.

[ It didn't seem she bear them any ill-will and she attempted smiling-- Before going back to being serious near immediately. ]

Are you aware of the situation or do you need a debriefing?

[Duster glances at Mary before speaking up.] When I fell off the cliff during the fighting with Garland, I heard a voice apologizing and asking us to defeat Kalki. It was the same voice that told us to wake up for the first time.

[It was a woman he had never spoken to, but someone he felt he could trust.]

I couldn't ask anyone in town, but we've been gone for years, and I can't remember any of it.

[Saori pulled off her hood when she hears Ira meeting with the other group. Quickly excusing herself from the serving tables, she joins in with a smile on her face. Suddenly things were starting to look brighter.]

Well, aren't you guys a sight for sore eyes! Let's get you inside so you can warm up. I'll go grab some food in the meantime.

[At least Minato wasn't stumbling over his own feet for a while. Granted, they'd been dumped in the middle of the snow, but. Details!]

I said we'd been here a few hours longer. [He says with a sigh.] Not that I'd memorized the entire village's layout.

[It took some info digging, but Saori managed to confirm Biggs was in the village. Perhaps it was best if she was part of the group looking for him. After all, the Heroes of Light weren't always on Biggs's good side.

Her eyes glance up at the Space Saloon here. It was strange not be in charge of it for once. She supposed the Barkeep would've been happy to see it survive, but he'd be even more thrilled to see it in person. She let out a small sigh as she scanned the villagers passing by.]

He should be around here somewhere...

Well, wandering's pretty relaxing a thing to do. [ And loitering into clubs past your then-illegal age and listening to old men ramble?? Minato's a weird guy. He straightens up, putting on his game face. ]

--When it's not the end of the world. But, in its own way, it's nice to see this place still intact. Let's do our best to protect it.

Wedge? You'll find him in Santa's Workshop, Kupo!

[ The moogle who replied flies around them for awhile before asking the most important question. ]

... Have we met before, Kupo?

... Have we?

[ For how much Minato grayed out people and the surroundings in the past, the experiences he had made him more readily memorize people's features. People included Moogles, but Minato was drawing a blank. ]

Might I ask your name? Or what your occupation is?

[Mary nods along with Duster as he tells his version of the tale. The others she wound up in this grim future with had not been thrown from the fight like she had so she wasn't able to properly compare notes.]

Aye, I heard much the same. My group was able to learn a little about an Archfiend, but anything you can tell us will be of help. There might be something you know that the others we spoke to missed or were unaware of.

Meeting up: Christmastown?

Two Groups Meeting

Mingle

Prajapati Meeting Group

Two Groups Meeting

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Wedge Meeting Group

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Biggs Meeting Group

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