2020-05-01: An Assassin to Assassin Chat

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  • Log: An Assassin to Assassin Chat
  • Cast: Pearl, Ivan
  • Where: Kattelox City - Downtown
  • Date: May 01, 2020
  • Summary: Pearl and her apprentiuce run into Ivan. It is a fine and normal chat between friends.

=========================<* Kattelox City - Downtown *>=========================

Kattelox City boasts one of the most advanced living standards in Aquvy, comparable to major cities such as those of Guild Galad and Meria Boule. A dense urban sprawl of roads built for automobiles sets it part from other cities in Filgaia, as well as the two-storey townhouses that have become commonplace as the City continues to prosper with its association with the Digger's Guild. Attractions in the Downtown include a Park with nice seating areas, and a library stocked with Aquvian literature over the years.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrCnzkAGRsY
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    Kattlelox City is a thriving, bustling place, full of people from all walks of life. Also, Drifters. There are a fair number of Drifters wanting to pick up Digger licenses and explore the ruins below the city. A flier describing these licenses is currently in the hands of one Pearl, Guardswoman of Althena's guard. She looks over it impassively. Leaning on the wall next to her, is a redheaded girl in her early teens. . "So? What does it say?" She asks, not bothering to look at the paper. "Anything useful?"

    Pearl shakes her head, "It is simply the requirements to recive access to the ruins." She crumples it up, and tosses it towards a nearby trash can. "I do not see the point. They could hardly stop us entering, if we so desired. They could make for a decent place to train, if it is as dangerous as they say." Pearl starts walking, and the girl follows along.

    "You said that about the people you fought recently too," The girl points out, "and all that happened there was that when you came back you were angrier than usual. Are you sure these'll pay off?"

    Pearl's face hardens a little. "We will not know unless the attempt is made." She says, with a harshness to her voice.

    It's one of many small vignettes playing out across Kattlelox city, if you were to, say, hang around waiting for the voice lines to finish. But in even a city like Kattlelox, there's room for coincidence.

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

Ivan has not seen much of the Guard since he was rudely transported to Filgaia some months ago. There has admittedly been Kaguya, but she is sort of a force unto herself and can barely be counted as a sign of their presence here, since she seems to be following her own agenda. And then there is also Liath, but she is perhaps even more in her own strange category... though this did not stop him from attempting to conceal his identity from her and perhaps forever getting tagged as Vlad even though she knows full well who he is, now.

All of that is to say that he isn't really keeping an eye out for Guard members, or expecting to encounter them as he makes his way through the increasingly familiar cities of this unfamiliar world.

But he does catch that snippet of conversation, and finds himself doubling back to take another look as he passes by Pearl and then his mind catches up in processing the glimpse of her.

"Pearl! You're on Filgaia!" he announces, like it's going to be news to her. He has a somewhat frayed look about him, like he's gone a night without sleep and possibly compensated with a great number of energizing tonics. This is half true.

He spares a cautious glance at the unfamiliar red-headed girl, not sure if she's affiliated with the Guard or not.

"Er, hello, I am... an acquaintance... of Pearl's..."

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    The call of her name gets her attention, and Pearl whirls around to see who is calling her name. It doesn't sound like someone wanting to kill her, and most of those people wouldn't know her name, and the cult would not be unsubtle.

    When it turns out to be Ivan, she relaxes a little, even visibly. "Gua-" She stops herself. "Ivan. As are you." She says, a faint smile on her normally impassive face. "It is good to see you."

    The girl seems to be staring intently at Ivan's face, like she's studying him. Watching him. Analysing him? She looks up at Pearl with a quizzical expression. When he makes a comment, she startles a little, and cautiously raises a hand to wave.

    Pearl steps in again. "This is my student, Amy. I encountered her after coming to this world, and she requested tutelage. I am obliging." She says this like it's the most normal thing in the world. "Amy, this is Ivan. We used to work together.

    Amy waves her hand a little more. "Uh, yeah. I'm Amy, nice to meet you." There's a strange, incredulous look on her face.

    Pearl tries to gloss over it. "How have you been?"

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

"Yes, I am here as well." He huffs out a frustrated breath. "That is a thing that happened. And just to be absolutely sure -- you don't happen to know of any way back to Lunar, do you?" It seems worth asking, even if she probably got a surprise one-way ticket just like everyone else he knows of.

"Oh, your student? Interesting -- what are you teaching her? Fighting?" It could be something else, he doesn't know Pearl's whole life.

He leans away a little when he notices Amy scrutinizing him, making a few uncomfortable faces as he averts eye contact. "I'm not suspicious," he tells her. Ivan is not great at this -- the secret to his previous survival as an assassin was that he didn't used to try to talk as much. Or really interact with people at all if he could help it.

How have you been?

His brows knit at the question.

"Ah, well... good! I guess. Under the circumstances." He is trying to remember what Pearl knows about him, or his circumstances. He somewhat impulsively told her he deserted, due to a disagreement with his employer... and she would probably know by now that this disagreement included attempted murder of said employer.

"I have gained a significant distance from at least a few of my problems," is how he decides to sum things up.

"How about you? Were you cut off from the Guard, or are they set up around here somewhere?"

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    Pearl shakes her head. "Unfortunately, no. When the Destiny was whisked to Spira, it was not under our own power. The return to Filgaia was just as sudden." It's not a helpful answer, but Pearl doesn't seem to believe insugar coating the situation. "This too may be out of our control." She takes a moment. "And yes, I am teaching her to fight. And to read, if she will be patient enough."

    As Ivan says that he's 'Not Supsicious'. Amy just stares at him. "That is the most suspicious thing you could possibly say. You should work on that."

    Pearl shoots her a glance. "Should we find a place to sit?" It's a nice enough request, and with no ominousness behind it, for a change. "It seems inconvnient to stand in the middle of the path."

    "That is good to hear. I hope you can retain that distance." This doesn't stop her answering Ivan's question. "While the majority of the forces of Althena's Guard remain on Lunar, there is a not insignificant detachment here. That includes the White Knight Leo." She pauses. "However, to my knowledge, I am the only member of the Guard precently in Kattlelox City."

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

"To fight and read... those are some very different skills." He looks to Amy. "But you should hang in there with the reading one. Novels are a lot better than you might think they would be." If that sounds like a recent discovery, that's because it is -- though not because Ivan is new at reading -- more that he only recently realized the potential to do so recreationally.

He cringes a bit at Amy's assessment of his 'suspiciousness' response. "You know, that's not the first time someone has given me that kind of advice, but here we are anyway." This stuff just kind of comes out on its own when he panics. "At least... anyone worth worrying about would probably not say the most suspicious thing you've ever heard, would they?" asks Ivan. If he has failed at seeming not-suspicious perhaps he can at least convince her he isn't dangerous or anything.

"Not standing in the middle of everything sounds like a great idea!!" It will at least interrupt him from digging himself ever deeper, if nothing else.

I hope you can retain that distance.

"Well... there are some disadvantages to being here as well, so I actually need to get back as soon as I can find a way. I haven't found anybody yet who knows how to cross on purpose, though, or any ruins that happen to have a teleporter, other than the one that got me here."

As the three of them seek a place to sit down away from the crowds, Pearl informs him that a decent number of the Guard managed to arrive in Filgaia. "Wow. Did the whole ship cross over again? Have they... gotten up to much?" He hasn't heard tell of the Guard trying to conquer anybody here, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    The path leads towards a park bench. Just enough room for three, and Amy immediately chooses one end to sit on. Pearl silently indicates for Ivan to sit first, as Amy muses on Ivan's worth. "I mean, you can be suspicious AND dangerous, right? It's a bad combo, but you could be a very strong moron." Pearl shoots her A Look, and Amy looks away. "...Sorry." She looks away for a few moments. "...Novels sound cool, though."

    Pearl waits. "I see. I can... sympathise with the issue. There are threats I need not worry about while I am here, but I cannot help but wonder what they are doing in my absence." This time it's Amy's turn to glance at Pearl, in more of a 'wait, what' fashion. "I do not think that war will be calmed any, even with our lack of presence." It's a sobering thought, apparently.

    However, she remains rather candid. "The Guard has done little more than fend off minor threats." Pearl sounds almost bitter about that? "We have fought a pumpkin, adopted an onion beast, and tried to capture a 'goose'." She looks down. "It is embarassing. I suppose your situation gives you freedom from that."

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

The bench technically has room for three, but that seems a bit cozy to Ivan, who is more of a 'leave room for an invisible person in the middle' sort, so when Pearl indicates for him to sit, he makes the same gesture back at her as if to say, 'no, you.'

Amy speculates that Ivan may be a 'strong moron' and Ivan considers the merits of just accepting the description. He splits the difference and gives her a shrug, instead.

There are threats I need not worry about while I am here, but I cannot help but wonder what they are doing in my absence.

Ivan notices Amy's questioning look, and isn't entirely sure what Pearl means either, but he nods, because he thinks he can understand the general principle. Time hasn't stopped on Lunar in their absence, and anything she was hoping to influence there is going to be going unchecked without her. "Both worlds definitely have their own... issues," he says.

Pearl details the less-than impressive-sounding exploits of the Guard on Filgaia, and he quirks a smile a few times before growing more serious at the mention of a goose.

"...You fought the goose as well?" he asks. "I didn't know its path of havoc reached that far..." There's a tone of wary reverence for a creature he apparently considers to be a formidable enemy.

"The pumpkin and the onion sound like great stories though." He considers. "I got to see eggs hatch into wyverns. That's one of the highlights, maybe."

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    When Ivan counters with 'after you', Pearl waits a second and sits down, leaving space in the middle for Ivan to sit. Amy is surprised her premise is not outright rejected, but doesn't comment on it further, responding with a 'Huh' to his shrug.

    And then the conversation becomes verbal agin. "You are correct. There are many problems on this world, but I have concern for what happens on our home." That's not the only problem she is thinking about. "There are things I must do there, and precious little time." She pauses again. "And remaining here feels almost like cowardice, no matter how much safer it may be here."

    Amy casts a look at Pearl. "How is this place safer? There's monsters, there's those Odessa punks, there's that thing you fought in the cave?" She's about to say more, but Pearl cuts her off with a wave of her hand.

    Pearl's eyes narrow. "I see. The goose continued it's course along Filgaia. I suspected our trap would not have kept it long." She sighs. "That creature seemed a being of almost pure chaos. It was far more powerful than it's form allowed."

    There's another pause. "They were not high adventures. There were pumpkin like monsters. We killed them. The onion creature we found after slaying a plant monster." Pearl is not a good storyteller.

    Amy seems interested in Ivan's story. "Those sound really neat! Did you get to keep one as a pet? I don't think I've ever seen a wyvern." There's something a little off about Amy's delivery. It's genuine, but it seems to be going through some sort of filter in her brain to come out like this. Like she's not normally excited, and is trying to do it properly.

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

Ivan still does not sit when invited, but doesn't seem bothered by standing, either. It lets him face them as they talk, for one thing.

Ivan folds his arms with a thoughtful frown at Pearl's talk of the urgency of returning, and the 'cowardice' of staying.

"It's not quite the same for me, but I think I understand," he says. Amy asks how Filgaia could possibly be the safer of the two worlds.

"Well, Lunar has a giant city-destroying whale monster, for one thing..." he offers, even if that may not be what Pearl is referring to specifically. Whatever it is, she doesn't seem to have told her protege, so he probably shouldn't try to guess. She did tell him a while ago about her life's mission of wanting revenge on the Shadow Dragons, though... possibly she's feeling overdue for that showdown.

Pearl tells the 'stories' of the pumpkin and the onion beast. Ivan raises an eyebrow at the blintness. "Well... the pictures I'm imagining in my head are pretty funny, at least..."

Pearl speculates upon the power of the goose, and Ivan nods gravely at the idea that its power seems too great to be contained within its simple form. "I saw it make some kind of deal with a Guardian... maybe it wasn't the first time."

Amy asks if he got to keep one of the wyverns. "Ah, well, not exactly, but some people I work with are raising them, so I get to help with that sometimes." He smiles to himself a bit. There was something astonishing about seeing them go from being eggs to living creatures, and they are quite cute...

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    "Then I hope we can both find ways back when we are able." It's a simple response. "I may not be able to share that information if we find away, but if I can, you will be informed." She looks at Ivan. "Perhaps I have been too candid already."

    Amy cuts in, finally. "The onion's kind of cute. Real weird, though. But not as cute as those wyverns sound." She sighs. "I wish I could see one." Again, enthusiastic, but off somehow. Like someone is trying a little too hard. But that is a leading 'I wish I could see one'. Of course, depending on who those people are, the Guard might be extra unwelcome.

    Amy does, not seem super surprised by Ivan's reveal. "Yeah, but, I mean, there's heaps of stuff here that's dangerous." She doesn't go into specifics, oddly. "So, you know, maybe it's six of one, half a dozen of the other." She's very non-comittal about it.

    "That agrees with what I saw. An agent of a Guardian, hell bent on chaos...." Pearl trails off. "That goose could be anywhere now."

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

"That's the problem of finding a way back, isn't it... you can't tell anybody who isn't with you when you find it. Haven't the inventors of those teleporters ever heard of a two-way door?" There would be nothing to complain about with the crossing of worlds if it were just something they could do both ways, at will and on purpose.

Ivan might be picking up on a strangeness in Amy's tone, but he doesn't quite know how to parse it, tilting his head at her momentarily. "Maybe one day you'll find an egg of your own," he suggests. Apparently there isn't quite a level of trust where he'd chance leading her to the Kinship. He blinks as she kind of shrugs off the doom whale. "I guess you kind of have to see it to get it..." he says.

The unstoppable goose, Pearl observes, could be anywhere. "If only we could set it against Sin, we could solve a lot of people's problems." Note that he is not necessarily imagining the goose defeating Sin, but rather driving it so mad with constant harrying that it never finds the time to bother humankind again.

He glances skyward, then, considering the time. "At any rate, I should probably be going... It was good to bump into you, though. Tell everyone I -- ... ... well, I guess not."

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    "If it were that easy, people would be travelling between worlds frequently. That could be dangerous in it's own way." She sighs. "Perhaps it's better that it is not easy."

    Amy looks a tad dejected, but not surprised. "Guess I'll have to hope for that, then," She says. She also doesn't seem to expect Ivan to tell her where they found the wyverns, because he probably wants to keep that secure as well.

    Pearl seems to consider the possibility. Could that goose be of use? She shakes her head. "That creature would not aid us. It is not in it's nature. It may not act for Sin, but it also will not act against Sin." She pauses. "I think it best we leave it here on Filgaia."

    Ivan notes the time, and Pearl nods. "Understood. It was pleasant to speak with you again." She stands up herself, and Amy follows. "Take care of yourself." She notices him trail off. "I see no need to inform the commander of this. Be well."

    Amy gives a little wave. "Nice to meet you!" Once the pleasantries are over, Pearl and Amy start to walk away, in a different direction from Ivan. When he's out of hearing, Amy finally speaks again. "...So, that was the guy HE wanted to recruit, huh?"

    "Correct." Pearl answers flatly.

    "And you're just gonna let him walk away."

    "Indeed."

    "Why?" Amy asks, looking Pearl as dead in the eyes as she can.

    Pearl pauses for a few moments. "Perhaps the same reason I haven't killed you." She gives a few moments to sink in. "Come, we must see how dangerous these ruins really are."