pulseof_life: (full body)
pulseof_life ([personal profile] pulseof_life) wrote2013-08-28 07:50 am

Oerba, Gran Pulse, Wednesday

Rather than remain in New Bodhum for the day, though they would return there for the night, Caius teleported them all to the ruins of a village. The buildings were made of metal (heavily rusted) and wood, which had held up surprisingly well under the ravages of time. Inside the buildings, personal things could be found: combs left on dressers, a few ancient photographs, and neatly folded blankets forgotten on the ends of beds.

A wide road cut through the village and a broad staircase led down to a murky beach. On top of one of the buildings, an overgrown fountain and the remnants of a garden could be found.

Powered crystal, which looked like snow from far away, and like sand close up, choked the side streets and surrounded the village.

"Welcome," Yeul said softly, "to Oerba."

[NFB and for them that have been invited. The theme songs for Oerba are: Dust to Dust and Ruined Hometown.]

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Tryadnea," Sholeh said, seeing no reason to lie. "Oerba--"

=Population: monsters,= Zeela chimed in.

"--reminded us of our home. Except for where Zeela got threatened by a whole pack of wild arms."

=Hey!=

"That part was pretty new. But the abandoned village filled with sand? Apart from the aesthetics, that could have been any number of villages back home."

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
Sholeh impulsively reached for Yeul's hands. "Oh, no, please don't feel bad about that! You couldn't have known and Liara had a lot more fun today than she did yesterday. That's important, too."

It had just been an unsettling and unexpected reminder of why they were at Fandom.

"It wasn't like we had a bad time. Zeela had lots of fun, fighting off Mr. Grabby."

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
"Zhahar and I are fine," Sholeh assured her. "Zeela has a bruise, but she's proud of it."

=It'd be better if it were a black eye,= Zeela said wistfully.

*You are so weird.*

"And it's okay. It's important that Liara got to have fun, too. And I don't think Mr. Caius would have liked it if any of us stayed behind."

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
"I had a really nice talk with Mr. Caius," Sholeh assured her. "And your story was, well, not happy, but interesting."

She paused and thought about that.

"I think that's been my whole day," she said. "Not happy, exactly, but interesting. I didn't regret going. And it's not like I mind ruins. It's just...the crystal sand. That was all."

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
"No, no it really isn't," Sholeh said. "That's why I said that nothing's wrong, exactly. A day of learning doesn't exactly promise to be comfortable."

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
"Maybe people would be better about learning if it did!" Sholeh agreed with a laugh that was far more real than her smile had been. "What made you decide to bring us there?" she asked, curious.

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
Which was Yeul's name, sort of, Sholeh remembered. Paddra Nsu-Yeul.

"Where is Paddra now?" she asked softly.

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Fell? From the sky? Like Cocoon?" Sholeh asked. "Or fell, like, in the normal way? And how?"

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-30 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh," Sholeh said, taken aback a little. "I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it if it bothers you."

Which, admittedly, was the silliest thing Sholeh felt like she could have said. Yeul never seemed bothered by anything.

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-31 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Were you always like this?" Sholeh asked. "So calm and content to let things be? Or is it something you learned?"

Sometimes Sholeh wished she had her friend's equanimity, but she didn't see herself gaining any measure of it in her lifetime.

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-31 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Are you happy?"

It wasn't a question she'd ever thought to ask Yeul before. She seemed content, but that wasn't the same thing.

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-31 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
That kind of answered the question, didn't it?

"You know," Sholeh pressed. "Happy."

Because that explained everything.

"You know what happiness is, right?"

Re: Night -- Back in New Bodhum

[identity profile] 3girls-1core.livejournal.com 2013-08-31 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Because I don't know if you are." Seemed simple enough to Sholeh.