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[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

[One moment he and Isa'd just been thrown out of King Ansem's castle; the next, he was here, and Lea had barely had time to look around before he'd been caught up in a whirlwind of explanations and ended up -- well, here.

Garden something? Seed something? His head had been spinning by the second sentence, but he definitely caught the bit where they told him there was no way to get home.

After that it had mostly been nodding and smiling and waiting until they let him out to explore the 'garden' he'd be stuck in. He doesn't know what to think about any of this: being here, being stuck, and worst of all, having left Isa behind.

Isa is going to kill him. When he gets back, which he is definitely going to figure out how to do. They've got plans, after all.

He's just got to figure this place out first. And find someone to explain it in smaller paragraphs that make more freaking sense.

So this afternoon there's a skinny teenager with spiky red hair sticking his nose in absolutely everywhere that isn't locked: the lobby, library, cafeteria, dorms, quad.... If you happen to be there, he may pounce!]

Comments

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[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

[ This is freaky; still, she doesn't want to seem rude, so she puts on a smile. ]

I'm Kairi. It's nice to meet you, Lea--and yeah, I'm not from around here either. Welcome to Garden! Can I help you find anything?

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Nice to meet you too, Kairi! Well, I found the cafeteria, so--

[He waves a hand around to indicate the whole place.] What do people do for fun around here? Tell me there's an arcade or something.

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

[ She laughs. Same sense of humor. ]

Well, it's a military school, so you'll find most people at the training center. [ Said with only a hint of pink tongue to indicate it isn't her favorite location. ] There's a big library, and the quad, and...well there's Balamb town, if you wanna visit.

[ Thinking... ]

That's about it, really.

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Training or books? Seriously, that's it? [Pauses.] I guess getting in a fight or two sounds like fun, but not twenty-four-seven.

Boooooring. I'm gonna have to check out that town!

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

You'd better do it fast, before classes start up! Apparently they keep us pretty busy. I got to sit in some lectures since we came in late last semester, and it's not exactly a cakewalk.

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm probably gonna be stuck doing homework or something afterward....

Why'd it have to be school, anyway? [Pulls a face.] Have you ever been down to the town?

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

I have, but not very often. I'm trying to get a head start on reading for next term. [ A pensive pause. ] We have to be careful, though--the natives don't like us.

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

...Yeah, I think I heard something about that. Does anybody know why they've got a problem with us?

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

I've heard it's because people here don't usually have 'powers', and the ones who do don't always...turn out well. So they're pretty wary.

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Okay, I guess that makes sense... not everybody who comes here has powers, though, right?

[Come on, he can't be the only one with no magic.]

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

[ A small laugh. ]

Of course not; I know I'm nothing special. But then, they don't know that, do they?

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess just telling them wouldn't help. I can't do anything that special myself.

...Well if they all think we're scary just because we're from somewhere else, they're jerks.

[He crosses his arms, having delivered the definitive judgment.]

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

I don't think that makes them jerks, it just makes them afraid. Maybe with time, they'll get used to us.

[ Trust Kairi to defend the assholes. :| ]

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Whatever. I still say that's their problem. [Shrugging it off.]

So where are you from, Kairi?

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

I grew up in a place called Destiny Islands, though if you want to get picky, that's not my hometown. It's my home, though.

What about you, Lea?

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

I'm from Radiant Garden.

...Islands, huh? That sounds like fun. Beach vacation every day!

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

Radiant Garden?

[ LE GASP. ]

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, why? Do you know it?

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

That's where I'm from. Before-- [ whoa hold up, Lea might not know about that. ] --well, before I came to the islands. I don't remember anything about it, though, I was little.

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

[Blinking at her for a couple of seconds before he bursts into a grin.] Hey, that's great! So there are people here from the same place as me!

[Maybe that means more familiar faces'll show up later. He can hope.]

Why'd you leave? Did your parents move?

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

Um... [ Oh man, awkward. YOUR WORLD WAS CONSUMED BY DARKNESS LEA, HTH ] My grandmother passed away. [ Totally not lying. ] I was adopted by the mayor in Destiny Islands. [ Also not a lie! ]

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

[Ooh. Ouch. He winces.] Oh... gotcha. Sorry.

[The silence feels awfully awkward; he frantically tries to think up a new topic. It's not working. Helllllp.]

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

[ AWESOME. TOPIC CHANGE GET. ]

Destiny Islands isn't all beach all the time, though--we still have to go to school, you know. And a lot of us help our parents with fishing and stuff like that.

[vestigiaflammae.livejournal.com]

[Perking up gratefully.] Oh yeah? Hey, that's not so bad, though! I mean, it's not like we didn't have to go to school in Radiant Garden.

...I've never been fishing, though. Wonder if this place stops by any lakes?

[lighthoused.livejournal.com]

Balamb town is close to the sea! We could go there with some fishing rods, since you're pretty new; most of the island kids just use their hands. [ Which is really badass, incidentally. ] The fishing we do back home is on a bigger scale, though--boats and nets and things like that.