"Enjoying the view, little one?" Yuuka whispered lovingly to a sapling, supplying the growing plant with water as she did. "It's a nice place, hm? I'm sure you'll all love this place."
Yuuka tended to each and every flower outside her humble shop. Well, to be honest it was more like four walls in which business transaction would commence. It was nice to expose her flowers to the elements, especially since Yuuka was more than capable of protecting them from unexpected accidents.
Once she'd finished tending to the plants, Yuuka placed her watering can on the ground and turned to watch the people traversing the street. Such a varied cast of characters... it was strnagely nostalgic, somehow.
Meanwhile, inside a small garage a several streets away, whirring sounds could be heard, with the occasional hammering or grinding. A half-built contraption took up centre space, while a small, furred alien worked on it. Tools were scattered everywhere, but the Lombax known as Ratchet seemed to know where everything was placed.
What he was working on... seemed to be some form of hover bike. As focused as he was, Ratchet probably wouldn't notice if anyone arrived.
"All right, Udo, same time next week, right?"
"You got it, Mr. Riggs!"
A door opened from a large music shop/studio at the corner, and a small boy, no more than nine years old, ran out, clutching armfuls of small paper textbooks, all of them obviously rumpled and torn. Behind him, from the store, a large man, wearing jeans, a black shirt with an odd design, and a spiked wristband, stepped out to watch the boy go.
"You just keep practicin', kid, and we're gonna make a rock star outta you yet!" he called with a grin. The little boy laughed and waved, hurrying on his way, and Eddie Riggs stepped back into the shop, closing the door, and the smile immediately coming off his face as he shook his head ruefully.
"I can fix anything...'cept that kid."
He eyeballed a sign on the front window, offering lessons, and for just a second, was tempted to pull the thing down, but finally, with a wry chuckle, turned away from it, glancing around. Everything was clean and in order...the instruments were hanging nicely along the wall, the albums were arranged perfectly in their dust-free boxes, and the studio in the back was closed up, with no one inside doing any recording at the moment.
He considered for just a bit. It had been slow today, he didn't have any more lessons scheduled, and after a lesson with Udo, he usually needed at least a couple of cigarettes...and it was a nice day out. He shouldn't, but...
...
..."Oh, the hell with it. I need a break anyway."
He moved to the counter, stepping behind it to pick up a few things. First was a heavy leather vest, studded with a variety of buttons, and a lanyard with a variety of stage passes around it. Next was a guitar, his own...a black and white Flying V that he slung over his back easily. Lastly was the large axe that he typically kept under the counter. He'd never had to use it on any robbers or anything, but he'd always had it. He used to wear it out with his guitar, but he didn't do that quite as often anymore, as he tended to get some odd looks when he did. Still, he always felt better to have it, so he slung it up next to his guitar across his back.
All that done, he headed to the door, flipped the sign to "Closed" and headed out, locking the door behind him and starting to stroll down the sidewalk, lighting up a cigarette as he went, just enjoying the pleasant weather.
edited 11th Apr '12 5:46:57 PM by MystyGlyttyr
Easing back into life one step at a timeThe sky... the breeze... the openness... Nothing quite like this in the world... A figure in a crisp linen shirt thought as he watched the skyline from the deck of an airship moored in the harbor. Eyes roving upwards from his lying position, Vaan gave an appreciative grin at the sight. "Just right..." Appreciatively breathing in the fresh air deeply, the sky pirate thought about the freedom he enjoyed. It was the best thing in the world, that. Even better than messing with people. Speaking of which...
She should be back by now. The tanned youth thought as he jumped to his feet and wandered port side, leaning over the rails. Sure enough, there was the telltale figure of Raem making her way towards the town. "Welcome back, Iron Maiden!" He cheered out enthusiastically, practiced voice stretching across the wide expanse like a sudden crack of thunder. If it was one thing he loved, it was banter.
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected.The young adventurer stopped in her tracks. That voice, that loud voice. She recognized it. "That bloke, really?" Raem couldn't help but smile. She shook her head from side to side, shaking away any nostalgia that remained. "HEY, YOU FOUND THE HOLES FOR YOUR SHIRT!?" she yelled back in full, her hands cupped around her mouth. She couldn't help but snicker as she walked forward, getting closer and closer to the airship in the harbor with each step.
She looked up into the air, her hands cupped around her mouth, "Hey, get down here you tanned monkey and give me a hug!"
The fourth Assassin's Rule: Shout loudly what the first three rules are, so that the enemy is aware of your presence!Tension filled the air, blocking out every sound. Sweat dropped as Neku tried to remain calm through his decisions, even though he knew that a single ill-prepared move could be the end. A million scenarios raced through his mind as he made his next strike. How long has this lasted? He can't even feel it anymore. But at last, the conclusion was at hand. Just one more attack and...
"BEATEN!" Yelled Neku. The game had dragged on for 5 minutes and 26 seconds, but Neku had emerged the victor of this round of Tin Pin Slammer.
"Man, how could I have lost?" Said his opponent, obviously displeased that he had lost.
"Um, because you sucked?" Retorted Neku. "Well, good game. See you later maybe."
And with that, Neku walked off. The air was fresh, the sky was blue, and Tin Pin Slammer was still as awesome as ever.
"Why does everything have to loop back to YGO?" -Guy who ruined YGO"You must be a fool if you think I need to come down all that way just to hug you." Vaan retorted casually before jumping off the side of the ship. Holding onto a rope, the young man acrobatically rappelled his way down with a somersault the last few feet above the ground. With a flourish, he performed a perfect landing via bent knees before straightening up, his particular hairstyle unruffled... somehow. It seemed that showing off was also yet another thing the acrobatic man was fond of.
"But yeah, I'm a fool too." The sky pirate chuckled as he sauntered near the substantially smaller girl to embrace her. "How are things? Anything of interest you found on your travels? And more importantly, any souvenirs for me?" The rogue inquired cheekily, the whites of his teeth flashing as his mouth parted into an easy grin.
edited 12th Apr '12 7:49:21 AM by GreyStar
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected.Raem returned the hug before parting from him only a moment later. "Souvenirs?" she repeated Vaan's own words, trying to think of anything she could give the boy to grant his request. "Hmm. uh..." Raem reached into her backpack, ruffling around to find something. A sigh of dissapointment as she retracted her hand from the depths of the backpack. With nothing, she looked at the sword sheathed at her rear.
Oh this'll be fun...
The buckles holding the sheathe together parted as Raem pulled the sword out. With one, swift motion she held it into the sky, steadying it with her own body strength. It glistened in the sun light, almost reflecting the image of the crystal clear ocean not too far away. The blade's design, the craftsmenship that went into it, truly extraordinary. "So what do you think you skanty sky pirate?~"
The fourth Assassin's Rule: Shout loudly what the first three rules are, so that the enemy is aware of your presence!Meanwhile down the road a bit from Eddie a silver motorcycle
◊ cruised as it's driver went about her business. Dressed in her black work suit and a silver helmet, Arturia was on her way to her next appointment.
She was working as the food critic for the local paper. It not only payed but it kept her fed...mostly.
The only problem was that she judged pretty much all the food being served to her by two standards. One, the standard of her kingdom...which had been abysmal at best. The other standard was Shirou's cooking.
So it went without saying that she rarely found anything that measured up. She was the hardest critic to please in town when it came to food. She also had a habit of eating enough for four people. But the restaurants continued to try, which pleased her.
Hey, some of the food was good.
Atop a small hill on the outskirts of Lastria stood a small shrine, a temple dedicated to... Well, no-one was quite sure what it was dedicated to, but no-one especially cared. All anyone really cared about was the fact that it was cared for by two incredibly beautiful shrine maidens; one gentle and humble, her goodnatured ways being a ray of hope to those in despair, and the other... Not so much. But despite their differences, the two seemed to get along reasonably well, even though they both obviously came from very different backgrounds (not that either could really remember what these backgrounds were).
Usually the shrine was rather quiet at this time in the morning as the two shrine maidens went about their daily tasks, but today it echoed with the sound of cheerful singing...
Yorihime groaned in embarrassment at Yuna's singing. Couldn't she sweep the shrine steps in silence? And those lyrics... So insipid! At least she had a pleasant sounding voice, but still... The purple haired shrine maiden wished that she took this a little more seriously.
"You're... Unusually upbeat today, Yuna," she said, as she dutifully swept the paved ground with military precision.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Yori..." Yuna sighed whistfully. "It's just... Do you remember... I told you about Tidus, didn't I?"
"The name sounds familiar." Yorihime had heard of this "Tidus" before. He was the only thing that Yuna remembered of her life before Lastria, after all. A boy... A lover? The purple haired woman often wondered if she had someone like that herself before she came here.
"I... I think I saw him, Yori... Here, in Lastria." A warm smile spread across Yuna's face as she held her broom close to her, almost embracing it. "It... It was only for a brief moment, but... I'm sure it was him!"
"I see." Yorihime sighed. "And I take it you want to go into town to look for him, then? Not that I really care about some random human, even if he was important to you, but... It's not like I have anything better to do today."
"So... You'll come with me, Yori?"
"...After we're finished, Yuna. And if I'm still in the mood." With this, Yorihime went back to sweeping in silence, a silence that was only broken about a minute later when Yuna softly whispered a thank you to her fellow shrine maiden.
Eddie was taking a long drag off his cigarette when he heard the sound of an engine, and looked up, seeing the motorcycle on it's way. He grinned widely, and sped up to a jog. He'd seen that bike around town a time or two, though never in a time or place where he could get a good look at it, but now that he didn't have a studio recording to supervise or a lesson to teach, and the store was closed up, he felt free to follow after it and try to get a better look. He was fascinated with vehicles of all types, for reasons he didn't completely know, and he was curious to see if he could meet the driver of this one finally and find out where the beautiful motorcycle had come from. He definitely knew he wanted one.
Easing back into life one step at a timeWithin a small building, a man in traditional-looking robes prepared and served several cups of tea. He was a simple, polite man, and the owner (and thus far, only worker) in the building. The establishment was small, but cozy, with low tables and cushions in place of chairs. It was simple building, marked by a single sign hanging outside the tea shop.
Samurai Jack's Teahouse
Jack hummed as he prepared more tea. Apart from his sword, and that he was a samurai, it was the one thing he remembered of his past. So he capitalized on it. After all, if one was given tea leaves by life, make tea. At least, Jack thought that was how the saying went.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Fujimura Taiga found herself, once again, outside of the tea shop of the samurai known as Jack. Since her arrival in this strange place a few weeks ago, she had clinged to one of the few bits of normalcy that she could.
"VENGEANCE!!!"
As such things went.
Taiga rapped on the door, oblivious to the fact that it was unlocked. The brown haired woman was on the warpath, her striped shirt and apron contrasting with the terrifying look of pure evil on her face.
"I CHALLENGE YOU, SAMURAI!!! FOR THE FUJIMURA FAMILY HONOR!!!"
It had begun when she had walked into the tea shop a week ago, and noticed that the owner was also a practicioner of kendo. She had immediately challenged him to a sparring match...
And he had said no. Taiga had spent the past week repeating her challenge, relenting each day only due to hunger, only to return again more determined then ever.
Jack opened the door, and stared down his potential opponent, seemingly analyzing every feature of her face. His eyes narrowed.
"No." He said curtly, and shut the door.
He calmly went back to brewing his tea, and ignoring the crazy woman.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?As the door slammed in her face, Taiga's emotions went through the normal loop that they went through whenever something bad happened.
Sadness, Denial, Anger, Hunger.
"WHY?!?"
"Well, I didn't want to spar with you anyway."
"That beast! I swear, on the Fujimura family honor, that I shall have my VENGEANCE!!!"
<murgle murgle> "Wha... FOOD!!"
And just like that, the mad tiger was gone, seeking out it's natural prey... the buffet table.
edited 12th Apr '12 7:30:11 PM by MaskedAndDangerous
"Methinks you've found a rather oversized letter opener on your journey. An ornate one at that." Vaan replied as he gazed admiringly at the blade's worksmanship. "Still, it looks like it might sell for a quite a pretty Gil..." He remarked, keen eyes roving the blade's body. It was the kind of gaze that if applied towards a female that would easily be misconstrued as lewd.
"But yeah, you've been busy." The pirate said, shaking himself out of his appreciative peering to regard Raem. "Where did you get such a thing like it?" He said, somewhat more seriously now. Obviously, one doesn't find such an arm lying around about in the gutter or anything like that.
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected."Mundus is a big place, you know." Raem replied as she sheathed the sword. She redid the buckles quickly, making sure the blade was nice and snug in its resting place. "I explored a lot of ruins and wandered through plenty of towns," she said as she sighed, "But where did I come across this sword, you ask?" she sighed again, almost to emphasize her disappointment.
"I have no clue." her shoulders slumped, her eyes shot to the ground. Wait, what did she mean that she had no idea?
edited 12th Apr '12 8:18:23 PM by Mare
The fourth Assassin's Rule: Shout loudly what the first three rules are, so that the enemy is aware of your presence!Arturia directed her bike through traffic as she pulled up in front of the tea house, just missing Taiga's attempt at a challenge.
She parked neatly in a tight spot, pushing out the kickstand as she rested the bike against it. Sliding off the silver machine, Arturia pulled off her helmet and rested it on the seat, straightening out her pony tail.
Dusting her pants off, she turned and walked up to the tea house, lightly knocking on the door politely.
Eddie rounded a corner to where he had seen the motorcycle headed, and grinned when he saw it had parked. The rider was already off it, and to be honest, he wasn't all that interested in the rider immediately. First he wanted to get a look at that bike. He headed forward, almost completely unaware of anyone around, as he moved to look over the motorcycle, a low whistle escaping his lips as he started to take it in. "Damn. Impressive work here."
Easing back into life one step at a timeShe'd looked long and hard after catching sight of a familiar shade of green. So much work... and finally she'd found the place, roofless and full of plants. And there... there was her target, facing away and looking at the street. Weak, defenceless... somehow wrong. But who really cared about the fine details? They didn't matter.
Silently, the spirit dropped from her sky, adjusted her hat, and...
"Boo!"
Yuuka had better be surprised. It had taken days to find her.
Eirin, meanwhile, was about to give up trying to sell her medicine. Honestly... she wasn't a charlatan trying to swindle them! The little bag of drugs she was carrying was fully capable of containing a cure to every mortal ill and if it didn't she could make one. At least she'd managed to sell some of the sweet-dreams pills...
Sighing, the white-haired woman looked to the sky and resumed caring for her bow. Had she offended some major god? Maybe she'd have to check...
Yuuka wasn't normally the type to be surprised. Somehow, it never seemed to register to the youkai. Probably seen it all at some point in her clouded past. Still, someone sneaking up behind her without being noticed was kind of unusual. After all, Yuuka was pretty good at noticing a lot of things.
The green-haired woman turned, a look of mild surprise on her face as she faced... a greener-haired ghost. Huh...
"Hello Boo. Interested in these flowers?" Yuuka asked the stranger. "I have pretty much any flower ever. Somewhere. And at rather fair prices!"
'Fair' in this case being 'These are so hilariously expensive I probably don't ever get to sell, but hey, it's a life, life isn't cheap'.
Meanwhile, the Lombax continued work on his hoverbike.
The pigtailed girl with amnesia!
"Mistress, are we being robbed?" A frantic yell burst out from the back of the shop as sounds of metal being crunched together by some mysterious (and rather strong grip). Soon, a rather wet looking redhead of a girl came into view, a rather thick mallet in one hand and the remains of a metal watering can in her other. "Do you want me to give her the boot, Mistress?" She said, hefting the monstrous thing up easily, which was offset by the fact she was barely clearing 5 feet. A grimace was on Ranko's face as she looked at the intruder, who she somewhat faulted for making her burst the water container.
The Man Who Learned About Shirts in His Twenties
"What do you mean you don't know? You're young. You shouldn't be suffering from old geezeritis just yet." He halfheartedly mused aloud, the look on his face growing a bit perplexed at her declaration. Normally, Raem knew exactly where she... acquired her spoils of travel. In fact, she delighted in showing off her many new acquired items to pirate, who had a similar discerning eye for quality.
"You didn't enter one of those cliched cursed temples that gave you an item of incredible power for something precious to you, right?" He joked, though the barest tinge of uncertainty crept into his voice. A metaphorical itch prickled at his brain, something buried underneath many layers of memories that pushed at its fellows. It was the feeling of something off... but he couldn't put his finger on it quite yet.
Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected."Can't say that I am, no," Mima answered, raising an eyebrow and contorting her body to get a look at the person rushing up behind her. Female; very, very wet; exotically coloured hair; such a wonderful bosom... much, much better than that 'Elly' person! Really, why did Yuuka imply such an ineffectual gatekeeper? Well, all that was in the past, now... "I'm glad to see that you've improved your staffing criteria."
Casually, the spirit grew legs and walked over to Ranma, ignoring the mallet. Then... poke, poke, "So much firmer and bouncier than that flat blonde you used to employ. I'm sure that people will be falling over themselves to enjoy your services when they realise what a delectable flower you've located, Yuuka. A nice rear, too..."
"Well, how much would it cost to hire this beauty for an evening?"
"Staffing criteria? Just little Ranny here's under my employ." Yuuka pointed out, watching as the spirit investigated her lovely assistant. Who was this blonde that was being referred too? Annoyingly, she could almost picture this person... hell, Yuuka even had a rough outline, but she was otherwise completely blank. Something about the ghost was similar too. She had a name Yuuka knew, but couldn't guess for the life of her.
"I know her flower is nice, but not for sale." Yuuka replied, now smiling widely. "Well, unless she wants to, otherwise not mine to decide~ So, Ranko, make sure you get your money's worth!"
Raem placed her pointer finger along her lip, trying to recall exactly where she found this magnificent blade. Was it alone the shore line? Was it on a grass land? Was it in a cave? Different locations came to mind, but eventually she settled on something. The young girl snapped her fingers and then nodded to herself for reassurance. "This sword fell out of the sky." she frowned, thinking that what she just said sounded crazier than she thought.
"Uh..." she reorganized her thoughts for a second go, "It fell from the moon!"
Wait, no, that still didn't sound right.
"I'm one crazy bloke..."
The fourth Assassin's Rule: Shout loudly what the first three rules are, so that the enemy is aware of your presence!

"I guess it's been a while, huh?"
The girl, alone, looked toward the city of Lasting Paradise. She observed the waves caressing the sand, the people waving their hands through the air, greeting the boat and the people aboard. The girl put a smile on her face, waving to those on shore.
"I'm back..." she whispered to herself.
The boat's horn sounded. The nostalgia she felt, everything was coming back to her. The way she played with the neighborhood kids, the way she swam in the ocean, the way she explored the forest, it was all coming back to her in full force.
"Huff...", she sighed, pulling herself from the railing of the boat which overlooked the ocean below. "Time to go..."
The boat, thirty-minutes later, pulled into shore. It docked without difficulty, allowing everyone to get off and to meet the scenery and people.
Raem stepped off, stretching her arms into the air. A deep breath. The ocean air was just as she remembered it. Warm, clear, and welcoming. A smile formed on her face as she let her arms fall to her sides.
I guess it's time to get going...
The returning warrior took a step forward, and then another. Before long, she was on her way to the center of her home town.
The Paradise known as Lastria was a place of great commerce and activity. The prime tourist spot in the entire world of Mundus. It's where the World Threads intersected, giving birth to this extraordinary island. The World Threads, even now, are a mystery.
Different creatures and people arrive here with little to no memory of their homes. They retain their personality, and if they see something that reminds them of home... that becomes the key to finding out who they are. Most of these creatures and people assimilate to life in Lastria, opening up businesses, getting to know the locals, and over all make a name for themselves. It's a nice thing, just to start over and have another chance at a new life.
Some have been around for years, and some only a day or two. People began calling these existences Treaders, just because they tread on the land they aren't familiar with.
Some sleep, eat, and walk as we humans do and some act differently.
But in Lastria, that's just how life is. Everything is different... and everyone is happy.
The fourth Assassin's Rule: Shout loudly what the first three rules are, so that the enemy is aware of your presence!