Cin
Heartless
It's your turn to throw the dice.
Posts: 10
Age: 24
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Post by Cin on Oct 11, 2020 16:45:03 GMT -5
Traverse Town was a welcoming sight as always. A star-studded sky and dark cobblestones against warm lanterns and tightly packed storefronts make for familiar scenery to some. For others -- such as new arrivals -- it made for a change of pace that begged for some getting used to.
Universally, though, what was taking place at the moment is something else.
Erkki hadn't been in Traverse Town for long. Still, it was long enough to land themselves a side job for this world's currency -- Munny -- and, more importantly, a base of operations. Their current objective: learning what the heck they've gotten themselves into this time. So far, all that the Reaper has gotten was that this place wasn't Shibuya, and that the town was equal parts sleepy as it was deserted. It wasn't much to go off of, but it was only a matter of time before they found reliable information to go off of.
For now, they worked.
Erkki would be found within the Second District's Realground, precariously clinging to bricks and indents along a wall between two shops. They slapped a colorful, attention-grabbing flyer for the town's Moogle shop upon the building's face. Similar flyers have been posted around -- some much more accessible than others. With the more bizarre spots these flyers take up, they seem to be at eye-level with whoever may be looking across from it from several stories above. At that, these stranger placements seemed deliberate.
"Just a bit more to go...!" Erkki grunted to themselves as they shimmied back towards the ground. They hopped the rest of the way down, scooped up the pile of flyers that still needed to be posted, and waltzed towards the next high spot in their sights. Erkki been at this job for a while now, so it was just a matter of time before something came out of their efforts.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Oct 11, 2020 17:17:57 GMT -5
Katsu pouted, looking up at the sky with puffy cheeks. Chiba was besides her, as usual, the Familiar never looking away from its Summoner, all the while the girl seemed let-down. No matter how cheerful and interesting the place looked, it was completely deserted. How was that fun?!
“Mmmm… Why is no one here?!” the girl threw a tantrum, “It looks so fun, too! How come no one is here to enjoy it?!”
The girl and her Familiar had made their through the 1st District all the way to where the large door leading to the 2nd District was. On their way there, they had seen multitude of posters pasted around the walls, some on rather tricky or even unthought locations. It had caught Katsu’s attention, although perhaps that was something that the world itself had, rather than someone actively placing them around.
The answer lied at the 2nd District —not much different from the 1st, however. The place was just as empty, which was a huge letdown in Katsu’s eyes. While she looked at the sky trying to see if anything interested her, her Familiar perked up. It stopped in its tracks, smelling the air with its ears tense, before it growled and dashed faster than Katsu could notice towards a location unknown.
“Wha —Hey, Chiba!”
The girl was distressed, her only option being that to follow her Familiar, all the while the Kaiser Wolf chased after a scent. It didn’t even spot as it saw the person it had picked the scent of, growling even stronger and tackling the person with no care.
The Familiar had deemed them as a threat —their scent was one unknown to them, but something about it smelled wrong.
“Chiba! You can’t do that!”
Katsu looked in shock as the Familiar tackled a person, quickly rushing in to grab the wolf and keep them close to her, all the while she bowed in apology to the person her Familiar had tackled.
“Sorry! Chiba’s got a mind of her own!” Katsu said, earnest, “She’s kinda overprotective of me… Are you okay?”
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Cin
Heartless
It's your turn to throw the dice.
Posts: 10
Age: 24
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Post by Cin on Oct 11, 2020 17:49:44 GMT -5
Erkki had been scanning another building face, judging just how they would scale this one when they heard growling. Erkki whipped their head towards the sound, their eyebrows furrowing at the wolf-like creature that charged at them. Was that the type of Noise this town had? It looked a bit like the wolf Noise in Shibuya, though it was definitely unique compared to what they were used to. Erkki shifted a foot as if to brace themselves for an incoming shift in planes. Instead, they get completely bowled over by the very, very real wolf. A startled squawk left Erkki as they went down, flyers fluttering out of their hands in a cloud of papers. "Owowow... yeesh...!" They hissed once they were able to find their voice. The wolf made its point clear: it was in the Realground for some reason. Maybe the rules in this town were different than Shibuya. Erkki grunted as they pushed themselves up to sit. The sight they were greeted with made their eyebrows shoot up; a girl held the creature that ran into them, concerned. Was she this Chiba's owner? "Hah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, heh heh." Erkki shot a thumbs up with one hand while another rubbed the back of their head. Getting tackled was nothing new for them, though it still hurt. "Huh. Chiba, yeah? Can't say I've seen a critter like her before." They flashed the wolf a grin -- probably not the best move on Erkki's part given how aggressively she took to them. Though it was definitely the least harmful introduction to new monsters Erkki has come across to date. "You pack a punch there, heh."With that said, though; they perked up and quickly returned their attention to the girl. "Wait... hey!" They nodded up to the girl. "Are you from around here? Here I was thinking this place was a ghost town."
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Post by therunawaygirl on Oct 12, 2020 5:32:33 GMT -5
Chiba yelped as Katsu pulled her away from the boy, all the while the girl tightened her embrace to make sure the Familiar didn’t leave anytime soon. The boy’s answer was okay, for the very least, but Katsu still felt guilty —as evidenced by her pout towards Chiba, while the wolf tried to break free from the forced hug.
“You can’t just tackle whoever catches your fancy, y’know!” the girl berated the wolf, “Not everyone’s a bad guy!”
With a sigh, Katsu looked at the boy. He looked far older than her, that was for sure. His heterochromia was highly contrasted by the night sky and ambiance around them, but aside from that, he seemed average. He suddenly perked up, shocking Katsu as she took a step back, startled.
"Are you from around here?” Katsu blinked, perplexed. As the boy went on, admitting he thought of the place as a “ghost town, the girl let go of her Familiar, much for both the wolf’s relief, but it was quick to stand on guard, a faint growl echoing through the streets.
“…So, you’re not from this world?” Katsu asked, with legitimate curiosity, “Then… Wait! Then that means you’re from another world?!” the girl looked eager, bringing both her fists to her chest with eyes shining, “That’s awesome! What sort of worlds have you been to?! Lemme know, lemme know~!”
Katsu was on cloud nine —her eager expression was evident with her eyes almost like stars. The wolf deflated, unamused, knowing full well that Katsu wasn’t paying attention to the more important details. Still wary of the boy in front of them, Chiba glared just in time for Katsu to stand back up properly, seemingly recalling what mattered at the time.
“Oh, right…” the girl mumbled, to then hold a hand towards him, “I’m Katsu, and that one’s Chiba —hey, why are you growling again?!”
Almost immediately, Katsu pouted as she looked at the wolf once more, both hands on her hips with an annoyed look. The wolf didn’t look back at its Summoner, instead locking her gaze on the boy it deemed a threat.
His scent was completely new to the Familiar, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. Even if it wasn’t Heartless or other Spirits, it was still a scent to be wary of, until the boy could clear himself for it. Unfortunately for the Familiar, however… Only Katsu could hear its actual voice —for the boy, it would only be growls, howls and the like.
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Cin
Heartless
It's your turn to throw the dice.
Posts: 10
Age: 24
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Post by Cin on Oct 12, 2020 9:04:36 GMT -5
"Another world?" Erkki echoed. The hand on the back of their head went to the ground as they pushed themselves onto their feet finally, lingering close to the ground to pick up a couple of stray flyers. As they straightened, their eyes flickered towards Chiba -- the wolf was still giving them pretty nasty looks -- before going back to Katsu with their eyebrows raised. Katsu's excitement was a bit infectious, and Erkki found themselves smiling lightly. "Huh..." They brought their free hand up to their chin, mulling things over. "I mean, I figured this was a different town, but a different world? That's new." They offered a sheepish grin. "Can't say I've been to any other world except for where I'm from. Er, Tokyo, Shibuya, y'know? That place is a world of it's own, heh heh."To Katsu's extended hand, Erkki's grin seemed more genuine as they took her hand and shake it. "The name's Erkki! Great meetin' you, Katsu. You too, uh..."They'd extend the same courtesy to Chiba, but another glance at the wolf confirmed that Chiba didn't look like she would be friendly any moment soon. Erkki chuckled nervously and let go of Katsu's hand to raise both of his in a placating way. Katsu wasn't kidding when she said the wolf was overprotective. "Hah ha, easy there. I've got nothing on me that'll hurt your buddy. See? All I have are ads." They lightly waved their flyer-occupied hand for emphasis. While Erkki did have their pins to fight with, Katsu and Chiba were on the Realground. There was no way for Erkki to do anything dangerous to these two unless Erkki took everyone to the Noise Plane. Not that Erkki wanted to. If this place really was a new world separated from Shibuya and The Reaper's Game, messing with the planes wouldn't be a smart idea until Erkki learned more about how things worked. Acting like a Realgrounder was their safest bet for now. Besides... "Is your partner acting like this 'cause I'm from outta town? Or uh, not from this sorta world?" Erkki looked over to Katsu at this. "Shibuya, uh... doesn't have wolves like her." Noise weren't nearly as companionly as Chiba was, after all.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Oct 12, 2020 9:20:01 GMT -5
“Erkki, huh…”
Katsu nodded as she mumbled the boy’s name, nodding as if to make sure she remembered. She was a bit clumsy when it came to names, so keeping it vivid in mind would help remember it later —not that it would matter. Erkki was the only one she’d seen after so long, and the only person she’d found in that world.
It would be easy enough to just stick around him and learn more about him, right? Although what Katsu was eager to learn about was about this “Shibuya” he kept mentioning.
Chiba’s growls didn’t stop, contrasting Katsu’s nonchalant and carefree demeanor to the whole situation. It wasn’t until Erkki asked why Chiba was so defensive that Katsu noticed her Familiar’s demeanor, only able to pout bitterly at the sight.
“Haa…” Katsu sighed, ignoring Chiba for the time being, “She always acts like this whenever she senses a threat… Like Heartless, or Spirits” she numbered, “Chiba’s perceptive like that, y’know? She’s always lookin’ out for me, since I’m kind’ve a ditz… Teehee…”
For emphasis, Katsu stuck her tongue with an apologetic smile, all the while she bumped her head with a fist. Chiba’s growls lowered, but never truly stopped as its gaze was fixated on Erkki. The fact that the boy had no weapons in hand didn’t deter its waryness, instead sensing a whole different level of threat from him —the Familiar was aware, yet the girl wasn’t.
Chiba knew Erkki wasn’t human, but it couldn’t confront him about it. Hence, the reason why it was so on guard.
“So, I’m kinda wondering why she’s so aggressive all of the sudden…” Katsu continued, glancing over at Chiba with some contempt, “Hmm…” the girl glanced at Erkki still with a carefree manner, “You’re not a bad guy, are you? Or maybe another Spirit?” Katsu leaned forward a bit, looking at the boy and inspecting, “Hmmm… I can’t tell.”
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Cin
Heartless
It's your turn to throw the dice.
Posts: 10
Age: 24
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Post by Cin on Oct 12, 2020 10:18:20 GMT -5
"She always acts like this whenever she senses a threat… Like Heartless, or Spirits." Erkki blinked and tilted their head one way, clueless. "Uhh... Heartless? Spirits? I dunno what either of those are." Were they like the Noise they were used to back at home? "You guys sure know a lot more about this world business than I do, hah."It was easy enough to keep an easygoing attitude over this, though this information did make Erkki hum and cross their arms, puzzled. One thing was right, though: Chiba could tell Erkki wasn't human. It wasn't as if Erkki could tell these two what they really were though. Without a better sense of how the rules of this world worked, Erkki couldn't say anything yet.
Heck, what even were the rules on telling Realgrounders about Underground stuff when it came to new worlds anyway? With Katsu leaning in to inspect them, Erkki blinked again, raised their eyebrows, and lifted their hands up placatingly once more. A nervous smile bloomed across their face. "It's like I said, I'm not gonna do anything to hurt you or Chiba. I, uh, can't? And I really don't want to. I swear it," Erkki insisted while the gears in their head turned. Was that too much of a giveaway? Hopefully not. "And hey, from the sound've it, those Heartless and Spirits you mentioned don't sound all that friendly." They glanced over to Chiba at this. "Can't blame you for being on edge if someone or something new pops up outta nowhere, hah ha."
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Post by therunawaygirl on Oct 12, 2020 12:01:10 GMT -5
Katsu leaned back, tilting her head with childish curiosity as Erkki said their piece. Chiba didn’t lower its guard, still wary of the person who wouldn’t say anything about their background, although it wasn’t like Katsu and Chiba had said anything about their own background.
Then again, Katsu didn’t even know what she was —it was too much thought to put through. “Hmm… You seem trustworthy!” Katsu nodded, smiling, “Don’t mind Chiba —I’m sure she’s just like this because this is our first time around here!”
The wolf huffed, trying to indicate that wasn’t the reason whatsoever, but it wasn’t like Katsu to notice such a detail. Instead, the girl seemed eager to get going, finding the standing conversation to be rather boring, and so she began to make small jumps and warm-ups to keep active. She perked up noticing (finally) the many pamphlets scattered across the ground, picking them up one by one as means to just start moving again.
“So, then, Erkki… What are you doing here?” Katsu asked as she picked up yet another pamphlet, “Since you’re not from around here… Right? But you prolly know this place better than me, right? Mind showin’ me around?” she asked, eager, “You seem like a cool guy… Er, girl? Umm…” Katsu stood up properly, tilting her head back and forth, “Person? Is that what I should use?” she asked, looking at the wolf.
Once more, the wolf huffed, looking away from its Summoner with clear uninterest, which only caused Katsu to puff her cheeks, bitter. Whenever she wanted to rely on Chiba, the wolf seemed to just ignore her completely. What sort of help was that?!
“Whatever…” Katsu groaned, shaking her hand a bit as she looked back to Erkki, “Back on track… Do you know any fun places we could go to? I’d like to see around, y’know?”
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Cin
Heartless
It's your turn to throw the dice.
Posts: 10
Age: 24
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Post by Cin on Oct 12, 2020 16:58:57 GMT -5
Once Katsu was no longer within Erkki's space, they quietly breathed out and let their hands rest. They fidgetted with the flyers in their hands, keeping them in a neat stack against their arm as Katsu made her judgment of them. Their grin from before relaxed, relieved that at least Katsu seemed to believe them.
"Hah. Glad to hear it," they said. When Katsu took notice of the scattered flyers it made Erkki perk up too, remembering that they were still technically on a job right now. "Ah ha-- thanks, Katsu!" They said as they went to work themselves, if only for a moment.
"“So, then, Erkki… What are you doing here?”
"Well, see--" Erkki straightened again to wave their stack of flyers, faux gravity weighing their voice down as they playfully went, "I'm the boss' eyes and legs around these parts." They snorted, and went on in a normal tone, "Hah, kidding." They picked up one last flyer -- the pair's teamwork made this a fast job to finish -- and continued, "I haven't been here for a long time, but it's been pretty clear that this town's nothing like home, yeah? So I'm learning the rules've this town. Getting a job with the general store of this world has been a really good way to map out the place; I could probably glide through this town with my eyes closed at this point." There was a mirthful glint in their eyes as they playfully added, "So leave it to me to be the best tour person in all've Traverse Town, heh heh!"
Where would they start, though? That was the question. Erkki straightened up once more to take count of all the flyers they and Katsu picked up as they went over their options. With the flyers sitting in their arms, though, it wasn't hard to figure something out. Erkki's eyes fell upon the papers in their hands, blinking, and they looked towards Katsu with a grin.
"Hey, you don't happen to like shopping, do ya? 'Cause this guy--" They patted the flyers in their hands with the back of their free hand, "-- in the first district has got all sorts of neat stuff for folks who are constantly on the go. Like..." They quickly glanced at the ad. "A limited time deal where three potions for the price've two, with additional purchases landing some free samples of some, uh... confetti... candy? It's food, I think. Maybe it's something Chiba can eat, too?" They wouldn't know the first thing about feeding wolves, except not to give them chocolate. Or was that for dogs only. In either case, Erkki snorted again as they faced Katsu and Chiba. "There're other places, like accessory shops and cafes over at the first district that way."
At that way, Erkki tilted their head towards a pair of large doors a ways away from the trio.
"Of course, there's more to Traverse Town than a bunch've shops, but those're past the shopping bits. There're some pretty weird places I can take you that I'm still trying to figure out myself... Juuust gotta find a way to get rid of these things first if we end up paying the boss a visit at any point." They lifted the flyers in their hands at that.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Oct 13, 2020 3:58:36 GMT -5
Katsu listened to Erkki’s words, attentive and intrigued. She didn’t get most of the jokes, though, instead looking with confusion at their playful tones and kids. Hearing that they knew most places of the world, though —now that was what she wanted. Her eyes immediately lit up as she heard them mention being “the best” when it came to showing others around, although it could most likely be a rouse.
Something Chiba was wary of, but Katsu… Not so much.
Hearing about shopping brought yet another confused look at Katsu. Shopping? Had she done that before? "A limited time deal where three potions for the price've two, with additional purchases landing some free samples of some, uh... confetti... candy?” That sounded nice, but Katsu was flat broke. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d bought anything —if ever. Chiba huffed again, indicating that perhaps that wasn’t what Katsu should focus on.
“…Oh!” Katsu perked up, noticing the stack in Erkki’s arms, “Then… Why don’t we help you paste them around?!” she asked eager, “All the while you show us the place! Two birds with one stone, or… Something… How’d that go again?” the girl was quick to tilt her head back and forth, confused, but quickly shaking it, “Whatever —doesn’t matter! What I want is to know the place —and if you’re the best guide there is, then… You can bet anything I won’t be wastin’ this opportunity!”
Chiba seemed to sigh, laying down as they looked away with a pout. Katsu really was exhausting at times, but it didn’t deter the Familiar from doing what it did best —keep her safe.
Even if it meant being overprotective. Katsu was akin a small child —unaware and oblivious to most things, yet easily excited to learn something new. A cub, in a sense —one the Familiar had made clear to keep in sight no matter what, and be there if things got rough. For now, though… It seemed like the girl wanted to get going, rather than listen to reason…
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