2021-06-25: A Matter of an Ancient Tongue

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<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.

    There's something strange about how languages can diverge and converge. Despite the fact that Tidus is from Zanarkand, and Lily and Leon are from... Shevat...?, and God only know what's up with Fei, Elly, and Emeralda, they all speak a common tongue. A long, long, long-dead tongue, as it turns out... After all, the Zeboim civilization fell apparently five hundred years ago, and if the legends about Sin are right, Zanarkand fell twice as long ago as that.
    
    So before he leaves to rejoin his friends on the great pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand, Tidus sends a message to the above offering to talk to them all about... well, their similarities. If any of them decide to bring someone else along, that's mmmmostly okay? Tidus knows that Filgaians probably aren't going to care that he's from Zanarkand--at least, not in the same way a Spiran would care--but it's still something he's talked about very little outside of Yuna's group.
    
    Still... it's something of a relief that he does have someone *to* talk to about it. Tidus thus waits up for the others near the exit of Shevat, fidgeting and doing some arm stretches to release the tension. He kind of needs Lily for this anyway since she's going to give him a ride back to ground level, but still.

<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.

    There's something strange about how languages can diverge and converge. Despite the fact that Tidus is from Zanarkand, and Lily and Leon are from... Shevat...?, and God only know what's up with Fei, Elly, and Emeralda, they all speak a common tongue. A long, long, long-dead tongue, as it turns out... After all, if the legends about Sin are right, Zanarkand fell about a thousand years ago, and apparently the Zeboim civilization fell thrice as long ago as that.
    
    So before he leaves to rejoin his friends on the great pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand, Tidus sends a message to the above offering to talk to them all about... well, their similarities. If any of them decide to bring someone else along, that's mmmmostly okay? Tidus knows that Filgaians probably aren't going to care that he's from Zanarkand--at least, not in the same way a Spiran would care--but it's still something he's talked about very little outside of Yuna's group.
    
    Still... it's something of a relief that he does have someone *to* talk to about it. Tidus thus waits up for the others near the exit of Shevat, fidgeting and doing some arm stretches to release the tension. He kind of needs Lily for this anyway since she's going to give him a ride back to ground level, but still.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

ZEBOIM. THAT'S OLD.

ZANARKAND. THAT'S....OLD?

Fei has a lot on his mind. Is Tidus secretly actually Khan Wong? Is Tidus his dad? He never actually asked for like a physical description of his father from the people who knew him, maybe he should have done that. Maybe Tidus time traveled and became his dad later? Or before? He doesn't really have any evidence of any of this but the more questions Fei finds the answer to, the more bizarre everything seems and his attempts to figure out what is going on must therefore become even crazier to compensate.

Actually Tidus being blonde probably means that he's Leon's dad, Fei reflects to himself. That might explain everything actually. It doens't explain how he became a time traveler or ... deaged? HE thinks? Lily was supposedly around during the zeboim era so maybe he just looks really young--

Fei arrives after a while, waving to Tidus and says, "Hey man," to him. "Everything uh..."

Long pause. "Everything dandy...?"

Dandy, Fei??? He has, naturally, probably brought Emeralda and Elly along?!?!?! Fei certainly invited them. Maybe Tidus is actually Kim it occurs to Fei that his mysterious dreams didn't exactly have him looking into a mirror, but it was kind of third person, did he maybe get a haircut and dye job?

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily Keil is often willing to discuss the Zeboim language or civilization--she could do a good job passing as a scholar with that concentration, and technically does know more about the language than most who have studied it. But she also doesn't mind giving Tidus a ride down to ground level. ...But for anything academic, admittedly, she thinks Citan is a good 'add' for the conversation--he might have interesting input.

"Hey there," Lily greets as she leads the way with her contingent, looking between Fei and Tidus. She pauses.

"Dandy...?"

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

Ever since Emeralda heard Tidus speak what she thinks of privately as 'normal language' (it's the one she heard first, after all), she was curious about him. She knew Lily could, but Tidus? That's new!

And so she didn't just come along with Fei because he wanted to go. She wanted to meet him again too.

Emeralda is trying something new with her hair. She has made it long and less shaggy; it looks more like Elly's in length and texture except it's still the same green as always, and she has tied a ribbon in it. She isn't sure if she likes it or not, but that's the way it is today.

"Hi Lily! Hi Tidus!" Emeralda says, cheerfully. She doesn't seem to think Tidus is Kim, so that's one thing Fei might not need to worry about - she hasn't started to blurt out anything about him. She's just... curious.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly has come along with Fei.

Elly has been completely delighted at the fact that Fei now has at least some idea of where he came from and who his parents were. It was revelatory. Like the sun coming out. She was surprised, honestly, at how happy she was about that - not that she would have had a negative emotional response, really, but...

Either way, here they are: now. Elly smiles as her hands clasp before her. "It's a little strange, to think that we're here to see you off on a journey back to Spira, right? Five years ago, none of this would have been possible."

A moment passes as she glances at Fei again. She can sense the stress, even if the depths of Fei Fong Wong's thought cabinet are hidden to her.

"I admit that a lot of what you had mentioned, the similarities with the languages, went a little over my head," Elly then says. "But it's an interesting topic... and it's kind of suggestive about the past, isn't it? And I suppose that historical details like that could be very important..."

Elly van Houten has absolutely no reason to be concerned about history. << lie

(To Emeralda, Elly says, "That's a cute ribbon...")

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Normally, about now, Citan might have been exploring the stacks in the library in Shevat's palace. It's been his typical haunt of late when he hasn't been either with his family, speaking with Gaspar (similarly also returned recently to Shevat), or (as might have been discovered on occasion) down in the Gear hangar.

    But Lily had asked him for his input on a discussion of the Zeboim era (language in particular) and had piqued his interest when she'd mentioned that not only had the language been one that she could speak (a fact he already knew) or that it was the Ancient Tongue of the Seraphim (ditto), but that a young man from Spira could fluently speak it.

    "Fei, Elly, you two are looking well," he says, following along not long after Lily. "Is that a new ribbon, Emeralda? Ah... and you must be Mister Tidus," he says, readjusting his glasses briefly. "I do not think that we have properly met, but we have seen one another before, I believe. Hmm... was it not in that gathering before we made that attempt to rescue Miss Yuna? Ah, but I am forgetting myself. I am Doctor Citan Uzuki, formerly of Lahan." Which means -- if Tidus knows anything about Fei's roots -- that he's from the same village as Fei.

    "I am not a speaker of the language under discussion myself, of course, but you can consider me an... 'interested party'?" he adds, shaking his head. "I fancy myself something of a scholar."

<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.

    Old, and on two totally different worlds!! Then again, that hasn't stopped any of *them* so far. As for Tidus, well, he would be mid- to high-key horrified if Fei suggested he's maybe Leon's dad, but fortunately he hasn't said that yet. As such, when he and the others show up, Tidus gives them all an easy grin and raises a hand in greeting. "Hey! Howdy," he says.
    
    Fei asks if everything is dandy. One can *feel* the awkwardness oozing out all around them. "Uhhh. As dandy as I'll ever be?" Tidus replies, rubbing the back of his head.
    
    He smiles again for Emeralda, who is as far as he knows a sweet little girl with some unfortunate combat experience, and kneels down so they're closer to eye level. "Hiya, Emeralda! Nice seeing you again--and without all the fighting!"
    
    He waves at Lily, then laughs a little at Elly's input. "I know, right? Five years ago, I was still training my butt off to be a pro blitzballer." He sobers. "It's... weird, to think of how much has changed."
    
    He looks over at Citan and nods when he introduces himself. "Yeah, that's me. Nice to properly meet you, Doc." Tidus does *not* know about Fei's roots, so the comment about Lahan goes over his head. But that's okay. He nods again thoughtfully when Citan explains he's a scholar. Maybe he'd know--or at least have a clue--what links together Zanarkand and Zeboim.
    
    Then he looks back at Lily. She was, after all, the first Filgaian he'd addressed in their common language. He almost starts off *in* that language, but Citan had just said he didn't speak it himself, so he holds off. "So, I don't know how much any of you know about Spira, but I'm... from a city called Zanarkand. In Spira, this is some holy city that was destroyed a thousand years or so ago," he explains, that last part reluctantly. "And in Zanarkand, we speak--well, the language we're speaking right now, but also what you guys call Zeboim." He pauses. "And that's the long and short of it? I'm not exactly a scholar myself."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Right like...." Fei says, "Doing...well?"

He's an anxious guy by nature though Elly's presence makes him smile and Emeralda--well, he lifts his hand as if he's about to ruffle her hair--but then pulls his hand back before doing so, noticing that it's different.

"Hey Em, nice ribbon. Did Xantia pick that out for you?" Xantia doesn't seem like a fashion icon or anything herself, but he's not entirely sure who else it would or could be. Riesenlied perhaps? It doesn't escape his notice that it's a bit more... Elly-esque. Maybe Emeralda's settling in. He smiles at her regardless.

"Yeah. Uh. Cool. Dandy as you'll ever be. That's a good level of dandy."

A pro blitzballer... Sounds like Tidus is also a guy who stumbled into a situation way over his head and had to make do the best he could.

SOCIAL LINK UP. Fei immediately worries about TIdus's well being.

"Zeboim--fell a lot earlier than that, I think." Fei considers. "The murals in that one dig suggested that Althena brought everyone over to Spira, perhaps she wasn't the only one and--Zanarkand was one of those cities but..."

Wait. That's not the biggest issue here.

"Wait..." He thinks. Blonde hair...

"Are you... also a vampire?"

It all makes sense now. "Sorry I'm just sort of trying to figure out how uh--you seem human but..." He waves his hands from side to side. "It's okay if you're a vampire."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

They don't talk about Leon's dad much. For some reason. Lily definitely hasn't suggested Tidus might be him.

"Yep," Lily says to Citan about Tidus. "He's one of Yuna's Guardians." Since she was brought up, and all. Lily for her looks over everyone else with a bit of eye contact as her greeting, including noticing Emeralda's nice ribbon! She doesn't comment though. She just looks at it and lets other people comment about it.

"So it's just one of the native languages where you're from," Lily comments thoughtfully to Tidus. "I've only heard a little about Zanarkand in Spira, I've certainly never seen it, but..."

She doesn't really mind 'dandy.' She was going to tease Fei about it a little bit but that's just fine.

"Did they suggest she brought them to Spira in particular, or was it just to Lunar? I seem to recall the going to Spira was separate." Pause. "A..."

"He's not a vampire," Lily is pretty sure. "...For my part, I couldn't tell you how I learned the language; I just know it. One day in a dig we uncovered the language and I found I understood it. Nortune, where I grew up, they speak this common language, instead. ...But I never knew where I really came from; my adopted father found me somewhere on a mission."

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

"Do you think so?" Emeralda asks Elly, because that is part of the process of trying these things out. "And no! I wanted to myself. It is new though," she admits to Citan.

Emeralda abruptly feels short. It is something she has felt a little more keenly lately, because she looks like a ten-year-old girl and has for (at least) two and a half years now.

She stands on tiptoes to try to look taller for Tidus. It really is *just* on tiptoes, even, so it doesn't help all that much. She smiles. "It's good to see you too! It's easier to talk this way."

"They speak it in Zanarkand?" Emeralda thinks that over for a few moments. "But... Zanarkand is gone? Then..." This keeps her busy for a few moments with her own thoughts. She's already heard Lily's explanation so she doesn't talk about it again, this time.

She blurts out, a few moments later, "Did you sleep? For a long time? I slept. Before - before I really woke up, I heard people speaking <in this language, all the time. And it just made sense.>" Emeralda shifts into Zeboim, and then a moment later, out of it. "But then I went to sleep for a long time, and I only dreamed. I learned *this* language when I was asleep too, by listening."

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly's eyes widen slightly at what Tidus says. She had, probably, never gotten the story before now. It takes a little bit of mental stretching, if less than, well, would have been the case five years ago. She considers things to herself; Tidus had seemed different from other Spirans, now that she thinks of it, but she had taken it to either being a traveller from a region of Spira they did not have cause to visit, or possibly being from Rikku's people.

There are so many people and so many ways of living, Elly thinks. It's... beautiful, isn't it?

Her eyes rise up at what Fei says.

"... Fei..." Elly raises a hand up to half-cover her mouth, because she is swallowing a giggle. "It's the sort of direction I was thinking, but I think Lily is right. (Besides, you can see his sun tan...)"

To Tidus, though, she says - perhaps with a little haste - "So it seems as if you were displaced in time? That's very strange. What this makes me think of, from um, around Filgaia, are the people like Kamui or the Hyadaens, like Zed. They don't seem to grow old. But... it sounds as if you were in Zanarkand one day, and then the next you were in Spira, now."

Elly's arms fold loosely before her as she tilts her head back as if to gaze at the roof of Shevat and thus secure answers, perhaps fresh-wrung from the Aphel Aura.

Her focus returns when Emeralda speaks up, though she does not interject.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "I see! It suits you rather well," he says to Emeralda.

    "Yes, I do recall something of the sort. Is Miss Yuna doing well these days?" he asks Tidus, for the sake of politeness.

    "I know this and that," Citan says, crossing his arms over his chest as Tidus begins to explain. "About as much as, I believe, an outsider to their culture can know." Frowning as if in thought, he remarks, "'Zanarkand'... now, where have I heard that name before..."

    Tidus goes on.

    "Aha! I had thought that it sounded familiar. So, the holy city of Zanarkand...? Although..."

    As Tidus says, the problem with that is that it was destroyed about a thousand years ago, which would naturally make him coming from there impossible. "What do you recall about your transition from the city you had been living in to the Spira we all know, then?" he asks, approaching the subject from the most obvious angle of attack: Tidus' own journey to Spira.

    "Yes," he says, glancing over at Fei. "Five thousand years ago. One thousand years ago on Filgaia coincides with the era of the 'Metal Demon War' as it is known. ...Yes, there is the suggestion of that from the mural, and I understand from what you and Elly told me that there was passage between Lunar and Filgaia, once upon a time. But, do keep in mind that this is still partially a matter of conjecture, particularly as to whether the mural were depecting quite literally what had transpired... and moreover, we cannot say if she in fact did transport an entire city."

    He lapses into silence, as if in thought. If Tidus had been from a city that had been only destroyed a thousand years ago but had stood since the Zeboim era... except that itself has a number of holes in the hypothesis however he chooses to approach it from. Even if he assumes that Tidus himself were somehow plucked from that time and brought here, how are there ruins in Spira?

    Of course, there is another possibility, but it's not one of which he wants to speak until he has more information on which to act.

    Even Cain only knows of Spira from what Citan has told him.

<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.

    "I don't really know much about Althena, aside from that her Guard is full of jerks," Tidus says. "And what I know about Spira, I only really know from the people I've talked to. But when I was living in Zanarkand, I'd never heard of Althena or Zeboim before, for whatever that's worth."
    
    He's about to continue when Fei asks a certain question. Tidus's jaw drops. It's amazing how Fei can get some things exactly right, and other things totally wrong. "Wha--? I'm not a vampire! I mean--it is okay to *be* a vampire," he adds, thinking of Marivel, "but I'm not one!" He gestures at Lily and Elly when they point out his sweet tan. "Yeah, exactly!"
    
    Speaking of Lily: "Yup," he tells her of Zanarkand's native languages, nodding. He hesitates when Emeralda tries to work through what he just said, and decides to first nod at Citan. "Yeah, she's doing as well as a Summoner on a pilgrimage can be. I'm about to leave to help her get to... well, Spira's Zanarkand." He looks back at Emeralda. "I don't really know for sure if it's the same as mine or not. For all I know, maybe they're just two different cities with the same name. It's not impossible, right?" But it's clear from his tone that he doesn't really believe that.
    
    Elly gets it, at least. Tidus nods to her--but then blinks when Emeralda suggests something else. "Sleep? I, uh..." He's about to say 'no,' but for some reason, it doesn't strike him as being wrong, per se. Maybe it's because of all the strange dreams he's had--of his father, of home, of his situation... He shakes his head. No, those are just dreams. "Sorry, Em. But it's more like what Elly said. It..."
    
    It's a complicated story, he realizes. Citan's asking after it, too. He settles down to sit, cross-legged. "It happened all of a sudden, one day," he says quietly. "I was playing in a big blitzball championship final. My team--the Zanarkand Abes--were doing great. I flipped out of the pool for a stunt... and then all of a sudden I saw it: Sin." He scratches the back of his head. "At the time, I'd never seen or heard of it before. But in an instant, it unleashed a bombardment on the city. People were screaming and running..."
    
    He hesitates. This is actually way darker than he wants to get into with a kid, even if it's occurring to him that maybe Emeralda is not as much of a kid as she looks. "In any case. While me and Auron were trying to escape, we got caught up in Sin's power. It sort of--pulled at us, like a Gravity spell--and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in these old, wet ruins, crawling with Fiends. Lucky for me, I managed to run into some actual people, but when I asked them about Zanarkand, they told me what I just told you." He sighs. "I'm hoping if I can get to Spira's Zanarkand, I can get some answers, but..."
    
    Tidus trails off. Fei and Citan offer some conjecture; he can only listen with a troubled expression.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Maybe a...hm..." Fei says. The tan is pretty solid proof that Tidus isn't a vampire, but maybe he's a pillar man instead. What's a Pillar Man? Don't sweat it.

Fei trusts Tidus just enough to believe him when he says he's not a vampire. His shoulders seem to relax a little and he adds, "If Zanarkand is a Zeboim ruin..." He looks to Lily then to Elly. "...Or like some kinda post-Zeboim ruin, I guess. We might learn more about Kim or... something else related to all that if we go check it out, but that might be a little..." He thinks for a moment. "Sacriligious?"

He looks to Tidus as if for confirmation as he is the expert. Tidus also seems to confirm that Sin ... ... might be ... some kind of ... time whale?

Time whale...

He looks to Lily. He's heard part of the story before but the 'just found Lily on a mission' is pretty new. It might explain why he has such big 'hopes' for her. while also, you know, killing her friends like a psychopath.

"Metal Demon War... I wonder if that's related. Maybe 'Mother' had something to do with Sin? She did call herself a 'World Eater' and well---Sin definitely seems like a World Eater to me, if I could call anything that."

He looks to Tidus. "Oh uh, to be clear, I'm not talking about MY MOM there--there was a Hyadean leader called 'Mother' who--was a real piece of work."

Could it be just two different cities with the same name?

"Well... That isn't too far fetched an idea," Fei admits. "Like, maybe there was this nation Zanarkand that fell and then people picked up after and made a new Zanarkand named after the old Zanarkand or--Any number of things."

"I guess it's a good thing you're almost there. Soon you won't have to guess you'll just ... know. And uh--speaking from experience, sometimes knowing a truth that's pretty harsh is better than just not knowing and having to wonder and wonder and wonder."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"So, Zanarkand didn't have Althena or any link to the nation of Zeboim as far as you know," Lily reflects. "That's interesting--but I guess it makes sense. Four thousand years is a long time, even if it's not as long as five thousand years."

Then, "Heh. A vampire."

Lily also doubts that the Zanarkands are different, though that's partially just because Tidus clearly doubts it. "I guess it might be sacriligeous, but..." She pauses. "Do we care?" she says, looking around at the group with that 'i'm not sure we do' sort of expression. "Yevon's kind of terrible. We can just make sure not to wreck things when we go looking." But the matter of sleep--no, what he explains...

"Sin," Lily answers. "I remember the first time I saw Sin..." Azado. She lost an eye in the process. But she shakes her head, because that's not the relevant portion at the moment. No, it's, "...Like a gravity spell, you say?" Lily looks Citan's way, first, then back to Tidus, "That would make sense. Time and space are related, after all. If Sin is as powerful as we all know it is, there's no reason its gravitic magic couldn't compress time as well as space." She looks to Fei--she doesn't seem to realize that this part is new. But Metal Demon War, and....

"I guess," Lily says. 'World Eater' taint...."

"...Yeah, at least you'll know."

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

It's not the first time Emeralda's presence has made some things a little awkward. It won't be the last.

She takes it in stride, though, dark or not. (Also, she's lived through a Sin attack, which means her first reaction is to shudder.) She got the answers she asked for, even if they weren't the one she wanted.

"Oh," she says, a little quieter. "It wasn't the same for me. I was just ... asleep. There was a clear tube... I remember a bit. But then it was just dreaming, for a long time. And when I woke up, Kim was there! Or... Fei, who is Kim."

Which doesn't explain a lot, really, unless you already know about Kim. It also brings to question how much Emeralda understand they're different people... she must, surely, by now. She doesn't call him Fei's Kim anymore. But every once in a while, she till says something like this.

As for gravity spells, she is silent. Emeralda doesn't really understand gravity beyond the user experience of falling down occasionally. Something Fei said is making her uncomfortable. She shifts on her feet. 'Sometimes knowing a truth that's pretty harsh is better than just not knowing and having to wonder and wonder and wonder...'

"I want to go too." Emeralda has been following the conversation, and this is what she decides. "I want to see Zanarkand! Can I come?" Since *other* people appear to be planning to go there. (The answer will not actually change very much. Emeralda can be stubborn when she sets her mind to it.) "Even if Sin is there we can run away. Right?"

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

When Tidus settles down, Elly sinks down into a prim little crouch on the ground. Seiza day. She smooths out the front of her dress with one hand, glancing up at Fei, nodding once.

Then she thinks.

At which point Lily raises a point.

"I don't really have any love for their church," Elly says to Lily, "but if it's important to people, I don't think there's anything to gain by hurting their feelings... at the same time, if Tidus is from that place, he has every right to go there!"

"Yes, I was thinking that, too... like how Nisan was 'Nimrod' in the past," Elly echoes after Fei.

And then...

"Yes! Time and space are fundamentally connected... that's the 'Theory of Relativity'," Elly says, looking at Lily with several firm nods vigorous enough to make her hair bounce a little. To Tidus, she explains, "There's some details, but essentially, time and space are connected. The 'Etheric Partial Exception' says that you can manipulate the two in a theoretically connected way using techniques of magic, but that ultimately they can't be divorced. Of course, the effects normally don't matter -- it's like how electrical magic is a little bit unpredictable, if you're using it for attack." This is what they teach you in Jugend.

"It's difficult to imagine... and I don't think it would be possible with ordinary-scale gravity Ether or para-Etheric induction... but an entity on the size of Sin might create a gravity distortion field strong enough that an object the size of a human could orbit the singularity center-point and escape with very little harm! Between the disorientation and maybe Sin's toxin, you might not remember anything... I don't even know if you COULD have remembered anything..."

"... of course," Elly says, "you said... that Auron was there, too? And he's also here, now. So... one person would be one thing, but two..."

This seems to completely deflate her theorizing. A moment later and Emeralda makes a request. Elly's eyes go wide for the third time. She immediately looks at Fei, not committing to an answer instantly.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Considering how tanned Tidus is...

    Well, having been in contact with an actual Crimson Noble before, Citan finds it unlikely that Tidus is any sort of creature of the night.

    "Perhaps," Citan says, on the matter of whether or not it is sacriligeous. "But at times, such things... we must know the truth, after all."

    "Is that so, Lily...? I had not heard of that before," he says to the young ex-soldier. "Then you cannot say for certain from where you are from." And given what he does know of her and her circumstances...

    Could Sin be a World Eater, like Mother had been?

    "Hmm... well, we cannot discount it. However, there is something... unlike what we had seen of Mother, when we compare Sin's 'presence' to her. It is rather more like that being that the Maester Seymour had summoned in the Baskar Village, something 'native' to Filgaia like the Guardians..."

    Rek'Gora had been a being born out of Desperation. And what of Sin?

    He lifts a hand, rubbing at his chin as Tidus explains his story. It's strange, but...

    But he doesn't think that the young man is lying or misled; he has encountered those who have been exposed to the 'toxin' before, too, and they had behaved rather differently. Rather, this is the truth, for him.

    "Then the, transit, I suppose you might say, was conducted by Sin? Time and space... ah, yes, and Sin is a powerful master of 'gravity'. That reminds me," he starts to say, only to glance at Elly, who, perhaps by happenstance or because they've literally been in the same school, explains the theory as best she can (in a more simplified way).

    "...That is the essence of the theory. Fundamentally, both space and time are the same thing. So, it may be possible that Sin is how you transited between worlds. Though," he says, touching the edge of his glasses briefly, "...it becomes rather more unlikely the more people who have traveled in that fashion. Hm. I see... then, in that case, I have one question for you, Mister Tidus, and please forgive me if this has been asked of you before. Have you any recollection of the concept of 'the Zeboim civilization' or, for that matter, cities outside your own Zanarkand?"

    He's coming to a particular possible conclusion -- one that might make the guess that Tidus vocalizes and Fei picks up along with about 'whether there were just two Zanarkands, once' a good cousin to what he's thinking -- but it still has too many holes in it to be anything close to airtight. He's not about to give voice what might be mere speculation.

    There's too much uncertainity here, and that makes Citan feel uneasy.

<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.

    Tidus shrugs haplessly at Fei. "Don't ask me. I don't believe in Yevon," he replies. "We didn't have *that* back home, either. Though the way Lulu tells it, the Church of Yevon only started up after Sin destroyed all the machina. So if this is some kinda time travel situation, it makes sense that I never knew about it."
    
    He honestly doesn't like thinking about that too hard. If it's right, then even if he went back to his own time... His home, his friends, his teammates--all of them would be gone. Rendered to dust, no thanks to Sin.
    
    "Oh, it's fine--I heard a little about all that," he says instead to Fei, of Mother. He does give him a weak smile. "Yeah... It's better to know a harsh truth than to hold on to a pretty delusion." He's not thinking of Zanarkand just then, though.
    
    "Oh, yeah," Tidus utters, looking over at Citan. "Now that you mention it, apparently Sin's a Clysmian too. 'Obsession,' I think." It's an apt description, really; his old man always was up his own butt about his past glories... Is that how he ended up *as* Sin?
    
    Tidus keeps that bit of speculation to himself.
    
    "But yeah. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but it did seem like Sin sent me to Spira." Lily speculates more on the metaphysics; Elly chimes on. Tidus can only nod along. He's *heard of* the Theory of Relativity, but he's a jock (if a nice one), not a nerd. It sounds as reasonable an explanation as anything else he's heard. He just kind of assumes they're onto something anyway. "Oh, uh... yeah. Right. Yeah, that could've been what happened."
    
    He frowns, though. Auron had seemed like he'd known it would happen that way... "Actually, speaking of Auron, he's originally from Spira. He came to Zanarkand because my old man asked him to, then went back with me." His frown deepens. "I've tried to ask him about it, and about a whole lot of other things, but he won't tell me anything. He barely tells *anyone* anything, and usually only when it's too late," he adds dryly.
    
    Citan asks more questions. "Sure. And you don't have to call me 'Mister,' that's just weird," he adds. His expression pinches, and he folds his arms. "I... don't *think* I remember hearing about Zeboim in school... but, uh--" His face reddens. "I wasn't exactly the best student. And Zanarkand was surrounded by the ocean. I went sailing a lot--heck, my house is a boat--but I never actually... *left*. So, like... there's gotta be other cities we traded with and stuff, right? But for the life of me, I can't think of any. Zanarkand was *huge*. All this?" He gestures at the machinery of Shevat around it. "Honestly, this is more like Zanarkand than any other city I've seen in Spira or Filgaia. You could spend your whole life there and still not see everything it has to offer. So for us city kids, it's like--why would you even pay attention to anything outside?"
    
    He scratches his head, still red-faced. "...Looking back, it's embarrassing how short-sighted I was. Zanarkand might've been big, but the world is a whole lot bigger."
    
    He nods over to Emeralda as she explains about sleeping, and dreaming, and Kim. Tidus just assumes that Kim is a nickname or another name of Fei's, which... is probably more or less true? He does smile when she says she wants to come to Zanarkand. "I don't mind if you do, but I think you'd better ask Fei and Elly about it. After all, they're the ones who'll have to travel with you." He looks up at the two of them and nods. "Zanarkand's past Mt. Gagazet, and apparently the place is *really* dangerous to cross. Yuna and us, we'll have our hands full just looking after ourselves."
    
    (What he means is: he still needs to figure out a way to keep Yuna from having to die, and if Emeralda's there, he'll have to worry about keeping the kid safe and not have time to come up with a solution. In short, he won't tell her no, but he also can't be responsible for her.)
    
    "But if you guys do go, maybe we'll meet up there, okay?" Tidus concludes.
    
    Even if Sin is there, they can run away. Tidus hesitates. "Maybe if we've got really fast Gears..." he mutters to himself. "Wait, you guys *have* Gears, right? O--kay, it should... hopefully be fine."
    
    Hopefully.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"I'm mostly worried about the goth lady setting me on fire or Yuna making me feel bad about my life choices." Fei admits. He is not really sure what Yuna's opinion on the Church is. It'd have to be at least a little more muted than what was originally the case--but it certainly doesn't seem like she's resentful or...ready to give up the pilgrimage from what he's seen. Which isn't much.

"Ah, yeah, the 'Clysmians' they call it 'Obsession'--but..." He thinks for a moment. "Maybe... Mother was one too? I mean... I'm not sure she was a 'Hyadean' exactly...? I suppose it doesn't really matter. It'd be easier to just go there and see what tries to kill us."

He looks apologetically to Tidus. "Just...being real."

He looks to Emeralda. She has seemed...more uncomfortable lately. He hasn't been able to get her to just tell him about what's been bugging her. He takes a moment to rest a hand on Emeralda's shoulder.

"Of course. If we're going, you're coming too!"

He looks to Tidus to see if sacrilege is okay. "Oh cool." He says. "Lulu won't set us on fire right?"

Fei pauses. "I mean, I'm pretty good at...taking fire hits thanks to Moor Gault and all but that's a lot of fire."

And really to be totally frank, he's more worried about Yuna making him feel bad about his life choices. Lulu can only set him on fire intentionally probably, but Yuna can make him feel bad on accident.

He doesn't ask about Sir Jecht.

But he does wince visibly about hearing a little bit about the kind of guy Auron is. "Yeah I think I have a guy like that in my life." Wiseman. "You can't really make 'em but--hopefully they've got good reason."

He looks around. It makes sense that Shevat is more like Zanarkand because it dodged more apocalypses than everyone else.

"Well if Tidus's team--well Yuna's team, but you know what I mean--if they're okay with it...yeah, we'll head to Zanarkand. Until we know what Shevat wants us to do to fight Solaris, we might as well lend a hand. Maybe we'll find something there that can help us and--well..."

He seems sheepish. "To be completely honest, Solaris is totally probably going to attack Zanarkand and try to steal something from there. Just from experience?"

He completely doesn't understand Elly's smart talk but it's wonderful to listen to, like music that he can't understand the lyrics of.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

To Citan, "That's the story as he told it to me, anyway. I never got any more details than that out of him--it's as you say, there's no real way to tell."

Elly, though... "True," Lily says, "But historical interest is significant--I think we can strike a balance between scientific inquiry and respect for the subject." She looks to Emeralda as she indicates she wants to go, and--well. She can't answer that for her, but admittedly she's clearly on board, the way she looks at Fei and Elly. "I'd be willing to help look after her," she says, "And help ensure we kept a small footprint." She pauses. "Can't do much about Yuna making you feel bad, though." And for some reason she just doesn't seem to seize on the subject of the goth lady.

The theory of relativity! Lily... realizes after a moment that she's not actually certain where she learned it, though it may have been in one of the many science books written in the ancient language she's read at this point. Maybe.

"Theory still seems sound to me," Lily admits. "The sheer scale Sin operates on... it dwarfs even Gear-boosted magic."

She looks sympathetic to Tidus's talk of home--she doesn't have the same situation at all... but she does know what it is, to not be able to go home. Just, not for the same reason.

"...We do have Gears. Maybe we'll see you there. We'll be after you guys, anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

Emeralda has no religious leanings at all! It makes deciding to ignore all of them much easier.

She also ignores Citan's technobabble. She doesn't have the education to follow along and, like a lot of youths, she isn't going to pay attention to something she doesn't care about. (Sorry, Citan.) She never encountered Mother, either, so she has nothing to add on that front.

"When I was in the tube," Emeralda says, "it was... there were machines. I think. I never left the tube, though... it wasn't time for me to come out, until after. So I guess it makes sense, if you don't look out. Until..."

She can't remember. Her mind skips away from trying to. She falls momentarily quiet. But: "I have a Gear! It's called Crescens and it can fly, but not very well. It has trouble going up. But it can glide forever!" Well, that answers that question.

And, more importantly, Fei and Elly seem to have no problem with her going - at least, Fei doesn't. Elly hasn't said as much, but Fei's hand on her shoulder is enough; she beams, suddenly.

"I'm good at going places," she assures Tidus. Mount Gagazet might be scary, but Emeralda has a casual dismissal for personal danger because she's so good at surviving it. It will get her in trouble some day; it hasn't (much) yet. "I don't need to be looked after, either!" That to Lily.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Citan draws out more details and lays them out with the precision of a scholar. Obsession. Why? Elly thinks.

Tidus had *heard* of Zeboim. Elly frowns in thought. She brings up one hand to rest her chin in it. Mysteries atop of mysteries. They feel less terrifying to her, somehow, than the ones they've run into recently. Something about this place... about...

"I hope we can find your house," Elly answers Tidus, quietly.

Because --

-- they already decided, didn't they? Elly looks at Emeralda and says, "If you want to go, I'll go with you." The topic of Gears comes up, and it feels appropriate.

"We do, at least as a group... I suppose I'd have to ride with someone, but we have several, that's for certain. If you get in trouble on your journey and we're following your route, I suppose we'd be able to rescue you... Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, of course!"

Rescue them, Elly thinks.

She focuses on Tidus when he speaks of the city seeming to be as big as the world. She meets his eyes there, and she nods once. "... I understand exactly what you mean."

Then Elly reaches over to squeeze Emeralda's hand. "Then you'll have to look after me," Elly tells her. "I always have a little bit of a rough time on mountains. We'll watch each other's backs."

I guess we won't stay here much longer, Elly thinks inwardly: I wonder if we'll ever return.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Is that so... well, it would be difficult to know more. Though, perhaps it may be useful for you to speak with those working in biomedical research here in Shevat. They may be able to determine something of your origins, Lily," Citan says to her.

    "'Obsession'...? Hmm, I see. That... follows the pattern, as it were." He wouldn't say that they are 'negative' emotions as such so much as they are extreme emotions, wrenched from the extreme situations in which life at times finds itself thrust. They're feelings that could drive one towards action, for good or for ill.

    Of course, he has found himself ruled by many such feelings, at various times in his life. So perhaps here he is biased.

    Tidus speaks of Auron, a man Citan himself hasn't heard of before. "So this Auron was himself from Spira and traveled to your Zanarkand? ...And am I to take it from your remark that your father has similarly traveled from Zanarkand to Spira?" Citan has raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by this particular twist. "That... hmm." He shakes his head. "No, I cannot think of any clear reason why that might be. Certainly he cannot be using Sin to travel each and every time?"

    He's starting to doubt that the manipulation of time and space may be involved in any case, to the extent to which such a thing might be possible in the first place (though he agrees with Elly on this front -- if anything can cause a perturbation it would be a being with power on the scale of Sin). Still, he feels that he might be correct on one front of this puzzle... even if this particular angle of it appears to invite no simple answer.

    Perhaps it is something to do with Lunar's essential nature. Or even Spira's.

    (Meanwhile he sure... doesn't even bat an eye at Tidus' description of Auron.)

    "Is it?" Citan remarks, tilting his head slightly to one side, when Tidus says that it's weird that he's calling him 'Mister'. "In that case, my apologies." But it's what else that Tidus has to say that...

    He nods the once. "I see. Thank you, Tidus. I feel like that is a valuable clue as to what may be going on. But I feel as if it is too soon to be making 'wild guesses'. We must investigate further if we are to discover what meaning this all holds."

    Which means that they must all head for Zanarkand, and find whatever links remain between this world and Spira -- and Lunar as a whole.

    Emeralda included. Especially, even, given her links to that long-lost time.

    "I feel that... if all of us venture there together, with her, then it may be all right," he says, after glancing up at the sky for a moment. "Emeralda is hardly incapable of defending herself, as well." ...She may be about the same age (appearance-wise) as his own daughter but the two of them are as different as night and day.

    "Then it is decided. We will head to Spira and see what lies in Zanarkand."

<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.

    When Fei initially talks about Lulu setting him on fire or Yuna making him feel bad for his life choices, Tidus doesn't know what to say, so he keeps his mouth shut. When he asks again, though, this time it strikes him as funny, and he bursts out laughing. "Fei, you know that Yuna's the biggest infidel to the Church right now, right? Which means so are us Guardians of hers, too. *Trust* me--Yuna's got a lot of mixed feelings about it, sure, but none of us are big fans of the Church right now. If Lulu sets you on fire over *anything*, it's not gonna be over a little sacrilege here and there." He pauses. "Just... you know, try not to rub it in--okay? It really hurt them a lot when the Church turned on them," he adds, more quietly.
    
    Fei also points out that Solaris will probably try to attack Zanarkand. Tidus grimaces. "Geez, I hope not." But those guys took over the Macalania Temple, he hears, so Fei's probably right. Dammit.
    
    He nods over to Lily as she brings up leaving a small footprint. She gets it. "Apparently the mountain's sacred to the Ronso. And also in general, I guess? So, you know... don't litter and you'll probably be fine." He crooks a smile at Emeralda. "Aw, hey, but I bet Lily'd be lonely without you around to brighten her day!" He gives Lily a discreet wink. "Maybe *you* need to look after *her*. Right, Lily?" Though it looks like Elly's got that angle covered. Regardless, Emeralda also brings up her Gear, which is bad at heights but good at gliding. "Oh cool! That'll be real handy on the way down!" Might not be very good at running away from Sin, but Tidus doesn't want to burst her bubble. She seems like a good kid.
    
    He pauses, though, when Elly quietly hopes they can find his house. For a moment, he can't speak. The words stick in his throat, which is suddenly dry and barren. He lips his lips and, with difficulty, swallows. "...Thanks," he murmurs back. When she commisserates a moment later with a city so big it seems like the whole world, though, he meets her eyes and nods back, gaze softening. It... does help, knowing there are people out there who know what it feels like. He even laughs a little as she talks about potentially rescuing him and his friends if they run into trouble. "Yeah, hopefully not," he says good-naturedly. "But it's good knowing you'd have our backs, just in case."
    
    Citan lays out clearly what Tidus said about Auron and Jecht, then remarks that Sin couldn't have been involved every time--right? Tidus pauses. "I... don't know," he admits. "I'm *certain* Auron knows, but good luck getting him to own up to anything." Still, it does sound like the conversation produced some positive results, even if Tidus isn't sure he understands it all. He smiles and gives Citan a firm nod. "Sure thing! We'll definitely figure it all out."
    
    ...it all, including how to save Yuna from the fate she's accepted for herself.
    
    "Then I guess I'll set off first with Yuna and the others and leave Shevat to you guys for now. Honestly, I feel bad for leaving while the place is in trouble, but... Yuna needs me," Tidus states, quiet but with earnest resolve. And I need her, he doesn't add aloud, but... the more perceptive members of the group might pick up on the sentiment all the same.
    
    Either way, it looks like he's ready to get going--whenever his ride is ready to take him down to land, of course. For now, he concludes, "It was good talking to all you guys. I'll let everyone know about what we talked about, and... we'll see you in Zanarkand."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei says, "Yeah, yeah, I know it's just. I know it's complicated." Fei admits. He doesn't comment further on the matter of Solaris though because he is pretty sure he's right. Zanarkand might even be the reason they're in Macalania in the first place. Not that he can say that for sure, of course.

"I'm not gonna mention it, probably." Fei admits. "But I mean... there might be a door." He pauses. "And I might break the door. You know how it is, doors that are really annoying to deal with--" His face darkens.

"I remember my first door." Fei says softly.

The darkness fades eventually as Tidus is cute with Emeralda. He's appreciative. Fei does his best--he's got some experience looking after children--but this is definitely not how he'd usually go about it.

"Hey, you gotta look after the people you love first and foremost." Fei says. "Trying to save the world on the back of sacrificing them just means the world you save will be one of ash--"

He pauses. "Er," He rubs at his neck. "But I won't say that on Spira just to be safe."

He gives Emeralda's shoulder a squeeze. The smiles are good. He's always happy to see her smile. When Emeralda smiles...

It's just a little easier for Fei to manage it too. He doesn't know why, but that seems to be how it works.