Protector and Dark Origin

Protector and Dark Origin
Date of Scene:	27 May 2013
Location:	Vector
Synopsis:	The Hyral sisters were visiting Vector to survey the area for their technology. They come across Sanel, who had been helping one of the construction crew with their loadout.
Cast of Characters:	Sanel, Kyra Hyral, Alma Hyral

---

Sanel has posed:
Vector. The Nation of Science.

Cold steel is what makes up this place. It is the larger cities that is full of smoke and pollution from the factories. However, it is also where the worlds are the most prosperous. Numerous houses are lined up along the street.

The buildings, full of drab color bricks sustain tinges from the pollution in the city. THere is ample heating, lighting, and electricity. This is one of the more advanced cities of the World of Ruin.

And one person who is not from the lands is wandering around. In his restless journey, Sanel wanders the world to find something of interest, no matter how fleet it is. The blue haired boy looks at the city structure, eyeing a pair of men loading the heavy boxes towards a truck-wagon. Sanel blinks, walking over to help the men load the truck. With one hand, he is lifting the box over to the vehicle, earning the jaw-drop of the men.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Shida had stolen her clothes.

She'd insisted that she'd found them in a box, that it'd been some sort of gift which she'd /cherish forever/. And all the pleading from Alma couldn't convince her to give them back. She'd replace them soon enough, robes in a white mage traditional style are common enough. But for now that left her with two options. She could either wear a cheerleader outfit, or the white dress Seloria made for her..

That wasn't a really difficult decision at all! The white dress is what she wore upon the streets of Vector, allowing her hair to fall down freely. Wearing white in a city like this had a lot of hazards. She had no doubt that she'd have to wash it several times before their visit to the city was over and done with.

To Alma, the city felt sort of like a retro version of Ramuha. The technology was different, sort of a Steampunk mixed with Magitek, but it still felt like decidedly /retro/. The cold steel felt so lifeless compared to the neon signs, glass, and lighting of the continent wide city she'd grown up in.

Near the entrance to the military district, she'd stop to marvel at one of the Magitek armored guardians blocking the checkpoint, motioning to Kyra to take a look from a safe distance.. "What do you think Kyra? Do you think you could pilot one of those?"

Because she was so focused on the Magitek armor, she may not notice Sanel so nearby... stacking those boxes on the truck-wagon.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
KYRA HEARD THERE WAS SCIENCE HERE!!!!

But more appropriately, Vector was a stop on their journey towards a place that will serve as a new home for the Hyral sisters. Corneria just wouldn't do. Kyra needed a city. A real city, as it would stand, because despite the impression she gave off that she didn't care too much about her world being gone, she really did miss the city of Ramuha and its superior technology. It was if she had an addiction!

Vector was...getting there at least. It definitely had the look down but the machinery involved seemed a bit off. Maybe she was just being too judgemental off of appearances? Indeed, the Magitek armors were definitely very fascinating though she wasn't afforded the luxury of a closer examination. "Oh absolutely, Alma." Kyra says, sounding a little haughty.

Sanel has posed:
The young boy continued to lift the boxes and promptly carried one of them. And then, Sanel moves to lift the other box. He turns to look around and he sees a familiar look. However, the woman looks different. The visible eye notices the hair down and the white dress. Sanel beams.

"Almmy!"

With a single hand, the boy tosses the large box over towards the truck, no longer caring about the task. Unfortunately, when he did toss it, he large box lands against the other box, creating a harsh thud. The construction pieces spill out. At least none of them are broken.

However, the damage to the box was still enough to cause the men to swear.

Sanel looks back and he blinks, "Oops."

Nevertheless, Sanel runs over toards Alma, moving to give her a hug. "Almmy~" Thankfully, Sanel got used to not giving her the same hugs that Faruja gets.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd have a rueful smile on her lips as she looked at Kyra, "What sort of capabilities do you think it has? I mean you'd probably want to look at the manual first.."

/Almmy/!

Wait, she knew that voice.. she turned and...

/Thud/

Even she had to wince at the spectacle. And then Sanel was giving her a hug, and she began to hug him back. And then she realized Kyra was there... Her cheeks would start to flush immediately, given what her sister was like to think. She'd sort of clear her throat awkwardly, then motion for Sanel to turn around. "Sanel.. this is my sister K-Kyra..Kyra this is S-Sanel, he's a f-friend."

And then she'd give Kyra an abashed look, trying to communicate, /It's not what you think!/

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Kyra observes the armor with an appraising eye from afar. "Hmm, well, definitely ballistic weapons, if not as primary but as backups. With a name like 'magitek' I would assume the thing would have some mana-using capabilities, perhaps supplanting laser weaponry. Mobility of the unit itself might be a concern...with those big feet I wonder if it could handle stairs."

'Almmy?' Well that was a perversion of Alma's name Kyra's never encountered before. It isn't until she sees her sister's reaction does she realize that it was being directed towards the other Hyral. Whirling, she sees this young boy fling himself onto Alma.

Her reaction is to reach for her gun, but since Alma isn't shrieking and squirming to get free, she relaxes, realizing it isn't a problem. The look on her face turns into a sly grin at the defensive look.

"Hello there Sanel. It's nice to meet you." she pauses, "...wait, isn't this the boy that percipitated that incident at the Chocobo Farms?" Her smirk widens a little.

Sanel has posed:
After embracing Alma in a hug, the boy loosens the hold and he looks up at her. "Sanel has been wandering. Sanel did not expect to see Almmy here. Sanel found place with lots of smoke. Sanel came here and wandered around. Big Men needed help. Sanel help them." Sanel also broke their equipment! But that's another thing.

Sanel turns to face Kyra, then he blinks. Instantly, Sanel reaches his hand over to entwine with Alma's hand. This is probably NOT going to help Alma's case. Upon Kyra's introduction, Sanel cannot help but to look up at the hood.

Sanel's eyes light up at the sight of the cat-ears.

Starry-eyed, Sanel is inspired.

"Kitty Ky." The boy beams happily, "Sanel is happy to meet Kitty Ky." The incident at the Chocobo Farm is brought up. Sanel beams, "Sanel played Tag with Almmy's friends, Mount Mount and Draggy Man!"

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma would just smile warmly at him, despite any embarassment, "Wandering?" He was probably still upset from the other day, and wanted to get away from Mullonde. "Well Kyra and I aren't.. we're looking to settle down in a place of our own. Vector is just another stop on our journey.."

And then Sanel took her hand, and she's looking over at Kyra as Sanel dubs her Kitty Ky. She winces, despite herself.

She's just staring at Kyra now, looking more than a little distraught, "H-How did you f-find out about that? A-Artyom promised not to tell!"

And then she has her opposite hand over her face, uner her glasses, her expression just, /This is so embarassing/!

Kyra Hyral has posed:
That embrace does not go unnoticed. Kyra's smirking quite a bit now, though she's also giving Sanel a critical view. Alma had asked her, after all, to carefully evaluate anyone she would choose as a future husband! Though already he strikes her as kind of strange, what with that speaking in third person thing.

Though Kyra's hood...it is a moogle! A MOOGLE! Okay, Moogles did have similar ears to a cat but...

"Kitty Ky." she says slowly, staring almost owlishly at Sanel. Well, clearly he had a penchant for nicknames. Hearing the others he's come up with makes her realize she's probably pretty lucky. Smirking, she wags her finger at Alma, "That would be telling~"

Her hands rest on her hips. "So Sanel, how old are you?" Physically, he almost looked Alma's age, but with his speech patterns so far she can't really be too sure.

Sanel has posed:
The yellow-eyed boy looks at Kyra, even as she gives him that critical view. The young boy continues to hold onto Alma's hand, comfortable with the closeness. His eyes drift towards the panicking girl, tilting his head to the side. "Is Almmy okay?"

But then, he turns towards Kyra, who makes a retort to Alma. He looks very confused at the pairing.

Finally, someone asks him of his age. Sanel looks at Kyra and he thinks long and hard.

...

...

"... Sanel doesn't know." He allows it to sink in before he finally adds, "Sanel does not remember. There are lots of things that Sanel does not remember. Only thing that Sanel can recall is waking up at a beach with snowflakes falling on him."

Alma Hyral has posed:
After rubbing her face, and the bridge of her nose, she pushes back up her glasses, sighing. Well great, it was out that she'd been abducted, and had been a panicked wreck during all of it. There goes what little dignity she had left.. "I'll be f-fine Sanel."

Her actual thoughts: /My...life...is....OVER/!

She'd glance sidelong to Sanel, murmuring, "It's a m-moogle hood. Not a k-kitty."

Now on the subject of his age, she was actually quite curious herself. He didn't look too much younger than her.. but he could be anywhere from eleven to fifteen depending on his development.

She'd give Sanel a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "R-Right.. I think he's had a rather hard life, K-Kyra.. It might be for the b-best that he's f-forgotten everything before he c-came here... he's v-very strong though, and has a n-natural talent for ice m-magic.."

Which.. not too long ago, she would have found as something to be afraid of, but Sanel certainly didn't seem like some force of Chaos.. neither did most black magic wielders she met, come to think about it. Their Father, their Church seemed to have been wrong on so many things...

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Kyra looks a little taken aback. "You don't know?" she pauses and he explains more. Waking up on a beach with falling snow. "Amnesia." Kyra says gravely and walks towards Sanel, gently taking one of his hands. She starts to examine his fingers, feeling his skin and looking at his nails. Medicine and white magic went hand in hand in Galandia. Determining approximate age of a hume is basic physiology. "Mmm. If I had to guess, I'd put you at about fourteen to sixteen years old. Maybe more towards fourteen."

Amnesia could explain the seemingly stunted mental state.

She lets his hand go. "Mmm, yes, I heard he swept you off your feet." Kyra winks to Alma. "Though you are pretty easy to pick up."

Sanel has posed:
Shaking his head to reaffirm his position in the case of his age, Sanel adds, "Nn-nn. Sanel... does not remember." His eyes furrow, which relaxes when Alma gives him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. The boy lifts his head at her, then he turns to face Kyra. "Moogie?"

"Moogie Ky. Mog Ky."

The boy thinks over the names, then he turns to face Alma and Kyra. "Fourteen... Sanel is ... fourteen?" He takes it in. "Sanel is fourteen!" He beams. After she lets his hand go, Sanel looks over towards Alma as Kyra mentions sweeping her off of her feet.

To demonstrate it again, Sanel lifts her up into his arms. "Sanel's Almmy~" The boy is happy.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd thought about the source of amnesia, on more than one occasion. And every time she did.. something just told her that it was best not to ask too many questions. Their time in the cemetary recently had reinforced that. She'd decided that the boy was traumatized by emotional trauma, not physical trauma.. and so she hadn't tried to use her magic to diagnose whatever was wrong with him.

When Sanel redubs Kyra to Mog Ky, Alma would actually giggle for a moment, giving Kyra a grin. "It looks like you have a fan! Maybe you should so him your Mogstep top ten list."

Sanel is fourteen? Well.. that sounds about right to her. And Sanel agreed. Though she wondered if he was agreeing merely to be agreeable. Either way...

And then on the subject of him sweeping her off his feet, "It wasn't l-like that at all! I'm s-saying that.."

And then Sanel actually does sweep her off her feet and calls her /Sanel's Almmy/. And she repeats, "I-It's not w-what you think!" And then she's blushing fiercely, speechless for perhaps a full minute, before she accepts that Kyra isn't going to believe her /It's not what you think!/ Any longer. She then looks at Kyra, stating sheepishly, "He's a-actually so s-strong that he f-fought A-Akari Seran.. and was h-holding his own."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
After she's let go of Sanel's hand, Kyra, after a few moments takes Sanel's hand again, a frown upon her face. This time her hand moves into the big sleeves of Sanel, fingers brushing over what she knows to be scar tissue. Slowly, she brushes the sleeve back to take a look.

"Yes, moogle. I love moogles, they're so cute~" Kyra giggles in an almost uncharacteristic display. The giggles turn into laughter when Sanel picks up Alma again.

"Oh reaaaaally, he fought that brute off? Hmmm." Oh, this isn't helping Alma's case. Having a man that is strong that can protect Alma is a definite must, after all. Can't have the incident with Tira repeating! "Good, that unreasonable little barbarian needs to be knocked down a peg or two."

Sanel has posed:
"Mogstep?" Sanel glances at Alma in askance. He is now becoming rather curious about this 'Mogstep'. He cannot imagine what Mogstep is. If he was to try to imagine it, it would be a total blank space.

The boy then tils his head over at Alma panicking once more.

Akari is mentioned. He fought Akari. It all sounds familiar. In fact, Sanel makes an unhappy face, "Army hurt Sanel's Almmy, so Sanel hurt Army back." He makes that face.

When the sleeve is rolled up, Kyra will find that more of the arm has the traces of the scar. In fact, the scar seems to run through more than just the arm. The thing about the scar that, it is not a type of scar that would trace from an animal's claw.

...It looks to have been done by a whip.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Well that was one thing Kyra and Alma could agree on. Alma /adored/ Moogles. She'd owned every single possible plushie moogle that she could get their hands on back at their home in Galianda, and had named every single one of them. And here? Moogles were totally real! Already, Rena had had a few problems when Alma had decided that they were too adorable for her not to hug them, given that Moogles were the foremost Synthesis experts in the world. They also had amazing starcharts since they came from multiple worlds, and were typically afflicted by wanderlust. A great deal of her research had been advanced by Moogle charts.

She'd nod emphatically to Sanel, "Mogstep. It's kind of her /thing/, so I'll let her tell you about it." Not that she wasn't a fan. She watched all of Kyra's Mogstep videos, even the terrible ones.

Alma would watch Kyra roll up Sanel's sleeves, and she'd suck in a breath. Those scars definitely weren't caused by anything other than human hands, no wonder he didn't want to remember... She filed torture, slavery, or imprisonment under her list of possible origins for Sanel.. but at the top of the list was still unfortunately. /Science Experiment/. And that perturbed her most of all, as of late she'd seen far too much of the darker sides of science, thanks to Feige Abramson.

From this extremely compromising position of being in his arms, she'd just raise her hands up behind her glasses again, rubbing her eyes, and the bridge of her nose, "I-It was more that I c-cried enough after she b-broke my ribs that she f-finally decided to l-leave us alone. But he p-probably could have f-fought her off." And then she'd breathe out a sigh as she regarded Sanel with a glance askance, "I r-really wish you w-wouldn't have f-fought her.. it's not w-worth it. It n-never is."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
"I'll let you listen to some later, Sanel. It's music." Kyra says in an offhanded fashion as she examines the scar. A whip, definitely a whip, Kyra realizes-and yes, she knows what wounds from whips looked like. They're perfectly valid weapons with unfortunate associations with slavery. Though in this case, the association might be apt, especially if Sanel was repressing something from his past.

"Army..?" Oh yes, Kyra can see where the name comes from: those multiple arms.

She finally lets Sanel's arm go, choosing not to ask about the scars. Odds are he wouldn't remember, after all. "Ugh, that bitch. Why even pick on you? Because you stood up to her?"

Sanel has posed:
"Okay! Okay!" Sanel is turning to face Kyra, giving the older sister his undivided attention, as if waiting for an explanation. Instead, Sanel is given a quick explanation of being able to listen to it laer. Sanel beams happily."Yay! Sanel can't wait to listen~"

Army is brought up once more, his eyes narrow. "Sanel doesn't like Army."

Regarding Alma's position, Sanel furrows his eyebrows, "Sanel will fight for Almmy. Sanel won't let anyone hurt his Almmy and get away with it. Almmy is worth fighting for." The boy leans over to kiss Alma on the cheek, and then he sets her back down back down, allowing her feet to land on the ground.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She readjusts her glasses again with her hand, before looking up at Kyra, "Y-Yes. When I r-ran, she left me a-alone. But n-now when I see her s-she w-wants to fight even if s-she's disgusted by my c-cowardice. T-That time however Sanel p-punched her in the face once he f-found out she'd i-injured me.." She still felt guilty about that, she'd only intended to tell Sanel how dangerous she was, not to spur him in her defense.

She'd then look at Sanel after his explanation, while still in his arms, and suddenly the heat in her cheeks was overwhelming, such that it entirely covered up her freckles.

While she had to admit that it was.. actually rather romantic, somewhere in her mind. Being swept off her feet, being told she's worth fighting for.. Still she protested, "S-Sanel it's s-still not r-right. You s-shouldn't fight p-people to a-avenge a past slight!"

And then came the kiss on the cheek, and she's set down. Another quick, embarassed look towards Kyra.. Yeah, she'd never believe her that nothing was going on between the two of them.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Guilty? Why would anyone ever feel guilty about Akari being punched in the face!? At least that's Kyra's take on it. That blind girl probably loves it anyway.

Sanel kisses Alma on the cheek. Kyra starts smirking all over again and lifts a hand to her chin, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"Oh, by why not, Alma." Kyra claps her hands together, "A knight, defending the honor of his lady. A tale as old as the continents themselves~ Pretty romantic if you ask me~"

Sanel has posed:
o/`

The young boy is pretty elated. While setting Alma down on her feet, the boy turns his head over at the long-haired woman with the tilt of his head. "Why not?" Sanel tilts his head over at Alma as she tells him that he should not fight people to avenge them. "Why should Sanel not hurt the person who hurt Almmy? Sanel does not get it. Almmy was hurt. Almmy was sad. Sanel wants to see Almmy happy. Sanel met person who made Almmy sad. Sanel make person pay. Person learns not to make Almmy sad again."

It is how Sanel considers the case. While Kyra explains about the way of the knight. A knight. The boy beams, "Sanel is Priness Almmy's knight. Almmy is Sanel's princess." The young man moves to intwine his fingers with hers, holding her hand together.

The boy looks around the city once more, "City that Almmy and Mog Ky will live in..."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd regard Sanel with a sort of fond smile, regardless, he did mean well but...she was a pacifist at heart. "B-Because r-retribution for p-past w-wrongs just leads to more violence and s-suffering. I-It's best to just let it go, l-lead by e-example. Y-You should only f-fight if s-someone is in i-immediate d-danger."

And then Kyra would compare them to the old tales, and Alma would say with urgency, "KYRA! It isn't like one of those old Ifriti t-tales at all!" She glares at Kyra, that flush not retreating from her cheeks through all the teasing...

And then Sanel affirms that it is, again, as he places his hand in hers, and she just sort of mumbles, "I'm n-not a princess.." Indeed it was the worst feeling ever when someone had declared she was likely the PRINCESS OF THE HEART of Galianda publically, and then had informed her she'd likely be hunted by Heartless and Shadow Lords as a result. Great. That would really make her life even worse. Especially since she definitely was not a Princess of the Heart.

She was grateful for the subject change, and would shake her head, "N-No. Kyra and I just w-wanted to see the t-tech they've got h-here. W-We're moving to A-Archades."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
Rudimentary concept of revenge-or at least give and take. By now Kyra has a pretty good assessment of Sanel's mental age, which was a bit lower than the physical age. It reminded her of something she learned in one of her psychology courses-regression. Regression as a means of coping from past trauma. This would be a very clean cut case.

"Awww." Kyra coos, not once considering the whole princess of heart thing in this. Oh yes, she knew what one was from looking into that Manhattan business. But eeee look they're HOLDING HANDS.

This is not pointed out because Alma seems flustered by this whole thing quite enough! "Oh, you never know. Those old Ifriti tales had to be grounded in something!"

Ah, but a subject change. Kyra lets it slide since Alma has been tormented enough. "Yes, we're just exploring. This place is fascinating! I believe it isn't of a lower technology level but of a divergent one, based on what we've seen so far."

Sanel has posed:
Sanel lifts his head up towards the sky. He gives great consideration over Kyra and then Alma. When the two discuss about Archades, Sanel thinks it all over. "...Hot place." Sanel frowns, then he brightens, "Sanel will visit Almmy at Archades! Sanel will brave the heat to see Almmy." The young boy gives a sadden smile, then he thinks things over.

"Sanel needs to wander.... Sanel thinks he is trying to find someone." Snow Mouse King. Or big brother. Or... Who?

"Sanel doesn't now what, but.. Sanel will be wandering more." The boy beams, lifting his eyes at the two. "But, Sanel will visit Mog Ky and Almmy lots!"

Alma Hyral has posed:
Kyra's cooing only serves to make Alma even more flustered. She couldn't even pretend to be oblivious, she was holding hands with a boy about her age, whether or not he was mentally her age didn't factor much into anyone else's perception but her own. And once again she was blushing, "T-Those tales were a-always s-silly kid's stuff.."

...Which wouldn't fool Kyra at all since they used to be some of Alma's favorite stories when they were children.

With one hand she'd gesture vaguely towards the Magitek armor, "I'm t-thinking the same thing. M-Maybe it has to do with their e-energy source. In M-Manhatten, they u-used c-crude oil, c-coal and a-atomic fission, sort of like how G-Galianda used to. T-These factories h-here probably use c-coal, but n-none of their m-military tech has the s-same telltale exhaust. M-Maybe they found some more e-efficient source of Mana, like you m-mentioned Kyra."

And while she may be flustered, she couldn't help but smile at Sanel, "W-Well, you're w-welcome to drop by, any t-time. You m-may have to do s-some looking t-though as we don't have a p-place yet."

She'd give him a searching look, her voice with a sense of uncertainty about it, like she's hesitant to ask this question, "D-Does this have s-something to do with the c-cemetary S-Sanel? W-With the g-grave you w-were looking for?"

Kyra Hyral has posed:
THAT'S SO CUTE. 'Sanel will brave the heat to see Almmy.' You aren't fooling Kyra, Alma. She knows what you like!

"Is it someone you can't remember?" Kyra asks, mostly for confirmation since it sure seemed like Sanel had no idea.

"Indeed it does, Alma." she looks to the sky, which is not filled with coal soot, "Which again, makes me think some kind of divergent development. Maybe they had the magitechnology revolution before coal became a viable energy source." She continues to think on this, though she quickly becomes distracted when Alma starts mentioning cemetaries.

Sanel has posed:
"Familiar, but can't remember." Sanel explains to Kyra, then he looks over towards Alma, fixing her with a frown, "Sanel will not visit that place again. No. Sanel feels like it is the same, however. Sanel is sure that he'll find his place." He furrows his eyebrows, then he looks to the two sisters.

So, to give his farewell, the youg boy walks over to both sisters and an arm extends out for each. Both of them are embraced in a hug, likely lifted off of the ground by each arm. "Sanel will see Almmy and Mog Ky soon."

Alma Hyral has posed:
"It's an i-interesting theory, I t-tried to read up on Vector and the p-power source of their M-Magitek but it's labelled a m-military secret. I w-wonder what they f-found which spurred on the r-revolution early."

And then she turned to Sanel, "W-Well, if you f-figure it out.. you can a-always come to me. You d-don't have to f-face whoever it is a-alone." She offers a warm smile to Sanel as she embraces him in turn. The warmth ebbs slightly as she reflects upon what happened in the cemetary.

And then she releases him, "A-Alright...we'll be w-waiting..you'll be w-welcome." And then after a measured pause, her voice suddenly calm, and quiet.. "Look to the stars for guidance Sanel. They're divine sparks of her creation that have led people home since time immemorial.. And maybe, they'll lead you to where you belong."

Kyra Hyral has posed:
"Oof!" It was like a Helena hug! Except far more innocent. Kyra is nonetheless shocked by the boy's considerable strength and can easily picture this young man beating Akari's face in with extreme prejudice. It was a shame that this kid had wanderlust because he'd be a great travelling companion for Alma. "See you around, Sanel. Don't wander /too/ far." Kyra smiles.

"Hm, maybe some investigation will dig up an answer." That sounds like Kyra's just asking for trouble.

...as Kyras are wont to do.

Sanel has posed:
Sanel leans his head against Alma's form. His arm loosens around Kyra to a lesser degree, but the boy wants to keep holding onto Alma for as long as he can. His eyes flutter shut, smiling a little more from the comfort of the young girl. Her embrace to his smaller frame, it feels heavenly.

He lifts his gaze at Alma, nodding slowly. "Sanel... will come to Almmy when if he feels that he cannot handle it alone."

Once the hug on both is released, the boy listens to her guidance. "The stars... Nnn. Sanel will follow the stars!" The boy is starting to wander off to his journey once more.