Manhattan Morning

Manhattan Morning
Date of Scene:	12 November 2012
Location:	Manhattan - Central Park
Synopsis:	A chance meeting in Central Park sparks a new friendship for Lenna Tycoon and Avira.
Cast of Characters:	Lenna Tycoon, Avira

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Avira has posed:
Early morning, New York.

Central Park is far from empty. In spite of the slightly chilly weather, all sorts of joggers and dog-walkers can be found in this several acre oasis, travelling the many winding footpaths throughout the park. All along the perimiter of the place, coachmen for the many horse-drawn carriages available are readying themselves and their animals for another long day of business. One would think that with 99 percent of the world missing that business would drop significantly but curious out-world visitors have been sustaining the various tourism activities since then. This is no doubt due to Xanatos's growing publicity throughout the fragmented worlds, from his invention of multidimensional cell phones to his recent intervention in an invasion of Belamb Garden.

Strolling along the sidewalk surrounding the park is a ponderous, scarred huntress, lost in her thoughts. One would think in light of recent harsh survival training administered by a friend that she wouldn't want to be around any form of tree or animal. Yet here she was near Manhattan's closest approximation of the wilderness.

She stops herself before one of the horse-drawn carriages. The driver is a little ways up ahead, talking to another. His horse remains tacked to the carriage.

Slowly, Avira edges around to where the horse's blinders can see her. "...hey..."

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
Lenna has been bouncing around the more modern, 'American' areas of the world like crazy lately. She's mostly fascinated by the novelty of it all; her lived experience is so different from what she sees here that she really, /really/ wants to see it... so she's started to learn how to catch portals between the multidimensional worlds effectively, flitting back and forth.

She, too, is in Central Park; she is there for a /very/ different reason, though. She wants to get a better sense of the balance of this land, how the world of 'nature' and the world of great built cities coexist when the former seems far outstripped by the latter.

She wanders past the horse-drawn carriages; her attention falls in short order on Avira, though. She seems -- like Lenna herself, in her ridiculous Red Mage outfit -- out of place, somehow. Moving a little closer, she observes her for a second, not saying anything just yet; she knows better, because any sudden calls out might spook the horses.

Avira has posed:
Ultimately, Avira doesn't really need to "experience" New York any more than a typical outlander. Sometimes, though, it was nice to visit when things around her became too overwhelming and she needed some familarity in her day. At the same time, it was painful. The most familiar places were blocked by a solid wall of darkness.

While she did pick up some more local clothes to wear, Avira definitely hasn't bothered to put them on today. Sure, the latest fashions of the desert town Rabanastre did draw some heads but such a thing was inevitable in New York. A small part of her did like the attention it brought.

She hasn't noticed Lenna quite yet since she seems to be intently focusing on something. "Hey..." she repeats, then swallows, "Turn my way." It should sound kind of familiar to Lenna-like the commands a Beastmaster might use.

After a moment, the horse moves, not turning its head, but it's whole body, shuffling the cart backwards and stepping up onto the sidewalk, where Avira has to suddenly back away. The horse fully faces her now, staring at her. "..erk.."

Avira can't help herself though. She reaches out and pets the horses nose.

"Hey, what are you doing!" The driver has taken notice that his horse is in slight disarray and starts to walk over.

Avira pulls her hand away and looks around, stopping suddenly as she notices Lenna there in that crazy red mage outfit with the awesome pimpin' hat. Definitely not from around here...in fact, she could be from one of "her" new towns. "Oh, hey."

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
Lenna is fairly experienced as a Beastmaster; she has her share of gourds full of monsters. She recognizes the command for what it is almost immediately, and her curiosity is piqued further still. She jogs over to Avira, considering her options here; she knows that altercations are common in New York, and over far smaller things than this.

Hastily, she steps in, noting, "It's -- ah, it's nothing major, driver. This young woman simply wanted to give your fine animal a quick pet, and it responded favourably." She considers her situation a little further, then adds, "I've been showing her around the city -- this is my second visit -- and she simply got slightly more curious than either of us expected, while I looked away."

Lenna is already hip-deep in a lie when she finally turns to address Avira in response, saying, "I -- ah, shall we be off, miss?" and gesturing for her to follow her away from the horse. Have to play it like they were already walking together -- at least until they're out of the driver's earshot. It is about at this point that she realizes she has no /real/ idea who this woman is besides that she is likewise out of place and is already hip-deep in attempting to prevent anything bad from happening to her.

Well, there are worse things?

Avira has posed:
Altercations are extremely common in New York! People get set off at the most stupid things! Though this incident may as well be justified since now the horse's cart is a little askew and sticking out of the small lane allocated to lined-up horse carriages beside the sidewalks. While this early in the morning, the traffic is not as bad, a few annoyed taxi drivers do have to swerve around the corner to avoid hitting it.

Shaking herself out of her distracted daze, Avira starts to turn, ready to confront the driver. Her arms lift in a disarming fashion, but before she can speak, Lenna swiftly steps in.

The driver glares at both of them archly, though quickly focuses his annoyance at Lenna, "These are working animals, ma'am. They shouldn't be touched without permission." He sidesteps and grabs the horse by the bridling, guiding it back into position.

"I'm so sorry." Avira says, clasping her hands in her lap and bowing to the driver, adopting a saccharine and innocent tone, "I didn't know."

"Yeah well, you two keep that in mind for the rest of your visit." The driver grunts, now tugging the horse forward to perform the minor cart correction that finally extracts it out of the traffic.

Avira straightens immediately when Lenna speaks to her, opting to quickly nod. "Oh, yes, let's be on our way." Lenna will notice that Avira is extremely quick to play along and walk off next to her savior.

Once out of earshot, that clueless innocence leaves her voice. "Hey, thanks. That could've turned ugly."

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
Adjusting her hat slightly, Lenna says, "It's really nothing -- you're welcome, of course, but I simply felt that it'd be better not to provoke anyone while here... my first conversation was helpful, but I've learned quickly that that's not typical... people are more polite, of course, in -- oh, where was it -- Nawlins?" Moving along with Avira, Lenna continues, "In any event -- I'm glad to be able to help."

She decides that, of course, introductions are in order. "In case we, ah, need to play off of one another again -- I don't believe we've been formally introduced... my name is Lenna, of Tycoon. It's... somewhat far afield from this place, I imagine."

Thoughtfully, she adds, "You seem as though you are... at once, very out-of-place here, yet not entirely. Is this not your first visit, either?" It seems increasingly common for such to be the case -- is this place truly becoming the nexus for the displaced and downtrodden?

Avira has posed:
People are also much more polite in those worlds that have clustered around Ivalice, Avira realizes. "Nawlins...?" she says, looking confused for a moment before she repeats, "Oh! New Orleans. Yes...people are much more polite down South than in this city. Or so I hear. I haven't been to New Orleans yet."

Upon hearing Lenna's name, Avira squints for a second. "Lenna of Tycoon? Where have I...oh, right, THAT place. So you work at the castle, then?" The Lenna part hasn't really registered yet. Besides, she's clearly dressed as a red mage so Avira assumes she's some kind of member of the royalty's court. "My name's Avira. Avira of Rabanastre."

She smiles, holding back a laugh, "That's pretty accurate actually." Almost too accurate for Avira's comfort. "I've been here a few times before and have a few friends in the city. Though it would not surprise me, Lenna. Xanatos has been pretty hospitable to transplants."

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
"That... would be an exceptionally delicate, circumspect way of putting it, certainly," Lenna says. There is certainly, of course, the opportunity to misinterpret this -- after all, how many positions at the castle would involve ostentatious clothing and 'working at the castle' being an extreme understatement?

Lenna does not comment further for the moment, however, instead focusing on Avira's comment. "Ah -- of course. There's been great kindness here -- it seems that this place is, ah..." She tries to figure out a way to put it. "Kindness is concentrated, rather than a general orientation. This Xanatos seems a great philanthropist."

Rabanastre... it takes Lenna a second, likewise, to place Avira. Fortunately, she does so soon enough. "I -- well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Avira of Rabanastre," she says, with a small nod.

Avira has posed:
Lenna gets a funny look when Avira's turn of phrase is referred to as 'exceptionally delicate.' Confused, she refuses to let this odd response skate by unchecked. "What do you mean...?" She wore red mage clothing, she was a red mage, right? Unless it was just a costume and...oh. Oh no, was this really one of the King's concubines? There's a brief odd look on Avira's face as she jumps to this conclusion before she banishes it away. "Uh. Yeah, what do you mean by that?" she repeats.

A small sigh escapes her as she considers Xanatos. "He really is...and I'm glad. In these times with the rest of the world's governments missing, a city like this really needs a leader." Avira waves a dismissive hand, "Anyway, have you met him? Or just heard about his deeds?"

The second, most likely, Avira thinks. Hearing of deeds, though, Avira's name might sound familiar since it is on those VALKRYI fliers in Traverse Town. "Just Avira's fine...adding of Rabanastre kind of makes it sound like I'm royalty. ...and I'm not as you can probably guess." Avira looks up suddenly, spying a small food cart across the way, "Hey, you want a soft pretzel?"

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
"There have been kings made of stranger men in times like these," Lenna points out, with a small shrug. The Tycoon family has a history as Dragoons and Samurai -- not as royals, at least not to start. It's a little strange to think about just how much fortune can shift in a crisis -- so Lenna, instead, focuses on the more immediate topics at hand.

"I was at a battle in a land far from here, at which he assisted," Lenna says. It is at about this point that she realizes she has been misconstrued -- and she can be pretty perceptive about those odd looks. With a slight blush entering her cheeks, she gets distracted from the topic of conversation... by the previous one that she didn't address. "I -- ah, let me start over, please. I -- I am Lenna Charlotte I, princess of Tycoon." She tends to keep that on the down-low outside of her usual haunts, but this girl seems to know the score re: princesses and things.

Finally, she adds, "Ah -- first and foremost, yes, I'd be interested in trying... what I /presume/ is a local food?" A beat, before she adds, "Second -- you wouldn't happen to be the Avira who leads the organization with the advertisements floating about...?"

Avira has posed:
"Oh?" Avira replies to her point about stranger men. She seems genuinely curious about this. Rightfully so, for while she has extensively studied the history of Ivalice, the lore of other worlds is completely unknown to her. To her, it was all extremely /fascinating/. "

But perhaps a story will wait for another time. Avira's eyes widen in recognition, "You mean at Belamb Gardens? I was there too. I witnessed him ride in with his airship fleet and armor. All very impressive...I bet he could give Archades a run for his money in that." Already Avira is daydreaming of the heroic Xanatos, crushing the forces of Archades and driving them out of Rabanastre for good! No more oppressive laws, no more judges...yessss.

The daydream quickly disappears when Lenna introduces herself a second time and Avira looks like she just got slapped across the face. "Wait, what? You're...oh jeeze, I'm so sorry." Now she feels REALLY bad for mistaking this woman for a concubine. Avira promptly bows to the princess, about to clarify what she THOUGHT Lenna was before wisely shutting her mouth on the matters. She's quick to straighten, though, because she is pretty aware to the fact that royalty travelling outside of their kingdom without a million escorts tend to not want to attract attention.

"I'll go grab one, then." Avira says hastily, departing from Lenna, though only to pause again a step later. "Yes, the very same! It's named VALKYRI. One second..." she heads over to that food cart and after a brief exchange of gil-transmuted-into-dollars taken from a leather pouch on Avira's belt, she returns with a pair of large soft pretzels dusted in thick grains of salt.

Politely, she passes one to Lenna. "I kind of hope to make it an official clan one day but I'm already sworn to a different clan. Anyway, we travel around a lot, investigating rumors and fighting Heartless that make a pain of themselves. I've been running into a lot of other people that have been doing things along those lines and thought, hey, let's all team up and do it together, right? Far more easier to fight Heartless when you have a bunch of friends that have your back."

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
"It's quite all right -- I tend to travel incognito for a reason. It is... preferable, if certain parties do not know where I am or what I'm pursuing," Lenna says, with a small shrug. She seems pretty at ease telling Avira this, though -- it's not like she's particularly threatening or arrayed against her or anything.

"I -- well, I certainly am in need of assistance and willing to give it in turn," Lenna replies, as she's handed the pretzel. She chews on it thoughtfully; it takes her a little while to really sink her teeth into it, though. She wasn't quite expecting the texture to be what it was, it seems; her eyes widen a little, but she gets over the initial weirdness soon enough.

Once her mouth is unobstructed, she notes, "I'd be interested in joining up with your group; my loyalty is to Tycoon and to the world first and foremost, but... this certainly wouldn't seem to conflict with such an ideal..." She smiles broadly, saying, "I'm in. With that said... I could hardly help but notice your talent for beast-handling -- you're inexperienced, but it's clear you've got the knack. If you'd like, I could help you to learn it..."

Avira has posed:
"Oh, I understand completely." Avira points out, "I'd imagine you likely don't get the opportunity to get out and have fun as yourself. If the castle knew where you were, they'd send a bunch of guards to follow you around and-" she's about to say 'cramp her style' but that isn't exactly in the Ivalice vernacular, so she quickly changes it to, "-make you utterly miserable." Strange that she's so cognizant of the plight of royals in spite of being a total commoner.

Avira takes a big ol' bite from her pretzel, clearly enjoying it quite a bit. Naturally, since she's in the presence of royalty (and generally endeavors to be polite), she doesn't say anything until she has chewed and swallowed her mouthful. "In need of assistance? For what?" It doesn't even strike her as nosy, really, to inquire since she feels quite comfortable with Lenna at this point.

"The only loyalty we demand is that of friendship." Avira notes with a grin. "...though we will take issue if you run off and start using Heartless to further your goals. Not a very compatible thing with a team of Heartless hunters." Avira's grin brightens considerably when Lenna expresses interest in joining up, "Oh, fantastic! We would be glad to have you."

The topic turns to the incident with the horse earlier and Avira looks a little embarassed as her inexperience is noted. "I must confess, it is a recently acquired skill. I honestly had not realized such a thing was in the realm of possibility. That being said, I would greatly welcome your guidance in honing it."

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
"Truth told, my goal is to set the world -- at least mine, and ideally the lot of them -- to rights," Lenna says. It's ambitious and she knows it, but sometimes you gotta do a thing. "The Heartless are a part of that illness that strikes at the heart of the world -- so naturally, my goals involve defeating them, as well." She takes another bite of her pretzel, chewing daintily and then swallowing. No rush.

Indeed, the pair probably seems weirdly and comparatively sedate considering their surroundings. Lenna doesn't let the conversation lull /too/ much, though -- like all other actions she takes, her mouth tends to outrun her in short order. "It's not a complex skill to learn, once you have the sense of it... you seem to, honestly. The key is to be both specific and clear -- as few words as possible, but enough to get your point across. 'Turn' is good; 'turn your head' is better."

With that first lesson imparted, she thinks of bringing the conversation back around a little. "If you should have need of anything -- please, feel free to ask. I'm certain I'll be able to help you, though I'm afraid that there are a great many lessons I cannot teach as well..."

Avira has posed:
"Ambitious indeed." Avira says quietly, though the goal makes a large amount of sense. Lenna has a responsibilty to her kingdom, "That's quite kind of you to push it beyond your own world and care for others. If we find a way...some place to even start, I'll make sure you will know as well."

Avira rubs her fingers together, dislodging some of the large grains of salt that have clung to them. She's nearly finished with her own pretzel, having realized just how much she's missed the things. "Is it? That's quite reassuring." She looks up curiously, clearly listening to Lenna's advice very carefully. "So I must pick my words carefully, then. I see."

Avira smiles kindly, "Oh certainly...well, here." She rushes back over to the pretzel stand, only to return with a napkin seconds later. On it she's scrawled a number. "This is the number to my Ma Belle. I don't know if you have one, but if you ever do get one, this way you can get in touch with me easily. ...I want to make sure everyone in VALKYRI gets one but..." Money issues. Maira, especially, did not exactly have a lot of funds.

Lenna Tycoon has posed:
Lenna reveals herself to not have the manner of a princess -- not /quite/ -- when people aren't looking; she looks down at her near-finished pretzel thoughtfully, shifts her grip slightly, and manages to eat it /and/ get all the salt off of her hands in one go. It requires a little (quite literal) tongue-twisting, but it's not /that/ bad.

Accepting the number, Lenna says, "Thank you! I've been looking to invest in such an item -- now I suppose I have the impetus... I'll contact you when I get one so you in turn receive the ability to call me, assuming I don't miss my guess as to how these devices work in detail." Smiling broadly, she says, "Thank you, Avira. It really has been a pleasure to get to know you."

There's a few seconds, before she adds, "Ah -- I should be going soon, at any rate... I'd intended to examine the rest of town before the sunset, and it seems so very large..."

Avira has posed:
Avira watches this moment of pretzel-decimating savagery and surpresses a small giggle.

"Your guess is on the mark, that is exactly how they work." Avira notes as she surrenders the napkin. "A pleasure indeed, Lenna of Tycoon. I look forward to working with you in the future." Avira too finishes off her pretzel, showing only a hint of disappointment when Lenna admits that she must be going. "Enjoy yourself! And seen you again in the future."