Connection Established

Connection Established
Date of Scene:	24 May 2013
Location:	Eastern Continent - Rabanastre - Merchant Quarters
Synopsis:	Akari and Aeschere decided to check out the bazaar and end up hooking up with some old acquaintances.
Cast of Characters:	Rhiannon Zellen, Evja, Artemis Eurus, Alma Hyral, Akari Seran, Aeschere Childs

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Akari Seran has posed:
It is mid-afternoon in the city of Rabanastre. The sprawling maze of sun-baked stone buildings are washed in a subtle yellow glow as the sun begins to drop below the artificial horizon created by the towering roofs and massive walls that encircle the desert jewel. Stalls and shops line the streets of the merchant quarter in an unbroken chain of sundries, exotic fruits, dried meats, armor, and just about anything else that can be imagined.

Bodies fill every spare inch of real-estate that isn't taken up by one of these outdoor markets, moving in ill-defined chaotic currents that seem to have a mind of their own. For the people that make their livings in this hub of trade activity, navigating the tides of the bazaar is a skill that one develops over the natural course of time. Visitors and traveling merchants in search of a place to hawk or acquire goods are not so fortunate and it's quite easy to pick out foreigners from the stumbling and cursing that follows them around.

Akari is no different. Even had she the aid of her eyes, attempting to weave through the confusion patterns of traffic that seem to have no ryhme or reason would be enough to grate on her nerves. As it stands, she is even worse off, as the sheer amount of foot falls on the packed stone beneath her feet is causing a sort of sensory overload to her geomantic stone sight and the stagnant hot winds here are no help either.

So it falls to her newly acquired traveling partner to do all the leading today. Akari doesn't much care for this situation. Being robbed entirely of sight makes her feel helpless in a way she hasn't since she first lost the use of her eyes. Her agitation is visible in the permanent frown that has settled onto her face. But with no clear source to turn her temper upon, she's stuck merely being annoyed.

"How do they even do business like this? I'd go deaf in a week."

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
It was not often that Rhia traveled, let alone setting foot outside of her lab or Shinra HQ, but now was one of those rare times where her research required that she travel to find the answers she was seeking. Her goals were very specific. She was keeping a list of people to visit, compiled from Turk intelligence with no permission of course.

Having taken down the first destination on her list, the scientist found herself in Rabanastre today, in search of her next target. But alas, they were not to be found anywhere. "So troublesome. Truly..." The wutai native mumbled to herself, bringing a hand to her cheek and smiling despite her situation. The activity within this city was without a doubt one of the more tiresome that Rhia had come across. People were everywhere! How was she supposed to pick out a single person within this mess?

Nevertheless, she remained calm and composed, smile remaining on her face as her eyes swept across the crowds, studying people meanwhile with a gaze that suggested that they were more test subjects than actual intelligent beings with thoughts and feelings.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Her newly-acquired traveling partner, to be quite honest, doesn't have much better a view of the scene than Akari does. "Perhaps that's the trick," Aeschere shares her own annoyance with her companion, after three attempts to get the attention of the shopper in front of them. Three is apparently her limit; she levers her staff past the man and breaks trail by main force, reaching back in Akari's direction to be sure she makes it through without murdering anyone.

What Akari's doing at the market today she doesn't know, but Chera herself has a rather lamentable mission; her first target is a knifesmith, wherever one of those can be found. She thinks she might remember maybe that one was up at the north end? Akari wouldn't know, of course. "All the time here it's like this," she strains to raise her small voice over the din of the crowd. "I might prefer the desert almos-- come on, there was a banner!"

The tiny lancer, at least, sticks out from the crowd, or her spear does anyways, its business end covered with a flap of leather and a strip of red cloth like a banner. Nobody's looking for her, of course, though.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Well.. Rabanastre was certainly hot, in the mid-afternoon.

Alma felt like she was baking through her dowdy white mage robes which had several new patches in places she didn't want to think about.. given that it was a fight with a Zombie Wyrm, she felt lucky that she came out of it at all.

Her radio was switched off now, and she felt fortunate that Feige Abramson was no longer dictating her every action... so long as the Dennous didn't show up, she wouldn't be forced to turn it back on again. So she felt calmer, despite her preternatural depression, as she busied herself going through the cartographer's stand for possible navigation charts that might have more information for her about the world Ivalice came from. It was all so fascinating, as her data showed that while there were three separate Ivalices... their stars all had the same orientation in the heavens. That meant that they had to be the same world. Perhaps they were from an alternate reality, or from different time periods? It made for some interesting speculation, at least. And if the charts were indeed different.. well that would lead to even better data.

She passed by an Astrologer's stand without a second glance. They didn't keep true star charts, they were... the Ivalice equivalent of advice columnists and fortune tellers. She had great respect for the myths of the Zodiac, she didn't have much respect from those who profit off of other's gullibility. It was as she was perusing one of the stalls, that she looks up, then does a double take as she let's out a muffled gasp. It was Akari... again. And the little lancer alongside her looked vaguely familiar...

What in Cosma's name?

Just how did they keep running into each other!

For now, she just kept her distance, remaining still... hoping that by staring, and not speaking, she wouldn't draw significant attention to herself.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari allows herself to be lead around by the hand like a child. In this environment she's got little choice in the matter. Should her companion forge even a few feet ahead the crowds would close around her like quicksand swallowing a stone and they'd probably never find each other again until the market activity dies down once the sun has set. She's already almost made that mistaken once.

Not that she thinks either of them would be in any real danger should such a thing occur but being stuck blind in an unfamiliar street packed with people is not something she cares to experience. Her temper is hard enough to control as it is.

"Hmm." Akari considers the joking comment seriously for a moment. "Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of giving up my ears as well."

The young woman trails along behind her diminutive partner without much input on their destination. She came here mostly out of curiosity than any particular purpose, needing no armor or weapons. There are some appetizing smells in the air though.

Artemis Eurus has posed:
So there's Artemis, reading her horoscope in the marketplace. She's a Scorpio of course. Otherwise, she hasn't bought anything else yet. She'd come to sell, and had gotten rid of a few animal skins for a fair price she was pleased with. Would pay for materials to help mend clothes and armor in the New Zodiac Braves.

The tall warrior is dressed in her blue and gold armor, apparently having decided to say <GOOSEHONK> to being inconspicuous. Her mask matches, and her hair hangs free down her back, nearly down to her knees.

Artemis looks up for a moment as someone passes talking about giving up her ears? Shrug. Back to horoscope. "Tch, I will come into a great fortune," she says. "Sure."

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"No...no...no...no..." None of these people were her target. Rhia slowed down her walk, coming to walk in stride next to the pair consisting of Akari and Aeschere by pure chance. Not minding them at all, she continued her surveillance of the streets. "That uncouth fellow just may not be here. ...Truly a trouble thing if that is the case..."

Mumbling out her thoughts mostly to herself, Rhia sighed and looked on ahead, folding her arms within her lab coat's sleeves. ...Well, the next best thing would have been to ask around. And being that the pair were the closest to her at the moment, Rhia's calculating gaze turned to them, making note of the two girl's appearances without much of a change in facial expression. "Excuse me, ladies."

Yes, she was referring to Akari and Aeschere. "I do apologize for cutting into your business. But I must ask something.." Pause to let the two of them process the fact that they were being addressed. "Would either of you happen to know of a man by the name of..."

Another pause as Rhia produced a tablet device, checking her notes for a moment. "...Angantyr Vespar?"

Alma Hyral has posed:
And then Alma was walking backwards a few paces, away from Akari and Aeschere before turning suddenly and running right into the blue-armored woman in a mask

As fate would have it, that meant she ran right into Artemis, who was at the Astrologer's booth behind her. "A-Artemis? It's v-very good to see you.."

She'd look over her shoulder nervously towards the now trio of Akari, Aeschere, and Rhiannon, before lowering her voice, "W-We should p-probably go, in the o-other direction. T-That woman is d-dangerous.."

She'd put a hand on Artemis' wrist... and start walking in the other direction, as if to lead her away.. not that she actually could, unless Artemis wanted to. It looked like the warrior woman could snap her wrists like tissue paper by just twisting them. She really did seem that delicate.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
There's no order to the market in Rabanastre, not this segment of it. Food stalls tarp-to-tarp with jewelers and smiths sharing shelf-space with grocers... Aeschere isn't looking for any blade shop in particular, just some place she can, ahem, pawn something non-vital for operating funds. The press of the crowd forces her to the edges, along the stalls, into Rhiannon's threat zone.

'Would either of you happen to know of a man by the name of... ...Angantyr Vespar?' She's oddly dressed for the city, whoever this women questioning them in. Aeschere gives her a rather stiff bow, and a confused look. "No, I know no Vespar." A local? A criminal perhaps? "Why do you ask?"

No, she's clearly no local, that device is exceedingly out of place in Rabanastre. Aeschere tries not to stare at it.

Artemis Eurus has posed:
A familiar name catches her ear. Briefly she looks to Rhiannon, then to Alma. She doesn't so much as twitch. "Alma. Yes, I am surprised to see you again. Pleased, of course," she comments.

"Now, which of them are dangerous?" she asks, not letting herself be pulled away by the smaller woman. Why was that one looking for Angantyr Vespar? He was suppose to do some work for them...if he were taken in for some reason, that work would not be done.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari grits her teeth as the press of bodies drives them to the side of the street and up against the carts. She doesn't say anything, her efforts focused on taking long slow breaths that she hopes will push the rising desire to start battering her way through this nonsense back down. It's working - for the moment.

Her pseudo-meditation is interrupted by the sound of a voice that is clearly directed at the two of them. Even in the constant drone of voices she can tell that much from this short distance. Her head slowly swivels towards where she thinks the owner is currently standing though it's obvious via her bleached white eyes that she can't tell for sure.

Akari remains silent for the moment. That name is unfamiliar to her as well. She'll let Aeschere do the talking since she's in a better position to deal with people both physically and temperamentally.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma would gesture vaguely, in Akari's direction.

Only to turn and find her looking straight at her.

She practically apparated back behind Artemis, a muffled gasp emanating from her throat as she repeated over and over, "P-Please don't k-know I'm here, please d-don't k-know I'm here.."

Rhiannon Zellen has posed:
"I see. Well, that's a shame." Rhia replied casually, noting things down in the tablet device as she spoke. So they did not know him. A brief glance is given to Akari who had remained silent. Not a big talker? Or maybe she was deaf? No matter. If this one didn't know then surely she didn't either. Pairs usually worked like that.

"Well, you have my thanks anyway." Smiling graciously at Aeschere, the scientist brought a finger to her cheek, looking up in thought momentarily before providing an answer. "Well, this Angantyr fellow is a wanted criminal last I had heard. But that is not why I seek him. I have questions to ask. I am gathering information for my research and I believe that he will be able to shed some light onto the matter. ...So to speak."

Well, it didn't seem like she was lying. Her words were genuine enough, even if her gaze was somewhat unsettling. It was almost predatory in a way, but Rhia clearly didn't have any sort of guard up. "Well, no matter. I will continue my sweep of the city then. My apologies for taking your time again."

That said, the obviously out of place woman turned away from the pair, catching sight of Alma and Artemis meanwhile. There was only a minor raise of the brow before she proceeded to move on. No time to waste.

Artemis Eurus has posed:
Artemis follows to where Alma pointed, eyes focusing on Akari. Really? That one? Artemis looks puzzled, but eh, size is not everything after all. "No harm will come to you, if that is what you are worried about. Has she...bullied you?" Just guessing here! Its a /really/ easy guess.

Artemis' eyes follow Rhiannon as she leaves the pair that know nothing about Angantyr. Artemis knows him, it is likely she could contact him. She may, if just to let him know this woman was looking for him. The masked woman gives Rhiannon the look over once more, placing a description into her memory.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd nod her head quickly, "Y-Yes. B-Back in school she used to c-call me l-little r-rabbit and c-chase me around, t-trying to f-fight with me. That's n-not unusual as she fights with e-everyone, over a-anything. She f-fought my e-employer not l-long ago.. and a f-friend, so I've b-been forced into a c-couple of f-fights against her"

Alma glances sidelong at Rhiannon, apparently they were drawing stares, she didn't know what to think of that.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Rhiannon presents an odd experience for Aeschere, after days already spread thick with strangeness; it's good, at least, to know that somewhere out there there's a world similar to hers. If Akari shares that impression, though, Chera doesn't know it. All she's heard out of the stone girl is rage since they hit the shops. "Aa, good luck, then?"

Chera follows Rhiannon's retreat, spotting Art's frankly blatant figure before an astrologist's barrow; Artemis gets both brows up from the small girl. "How even does she survive in that," she doesn't ask anyone in particular, and her gaze then catches the girl hiding behind the samurai. "Or her?" She aaalmost nudges Akari and points. Nope. Won't do it. "I'd melt." The both of them can probably see her pointing and staring.

Akari Seran has posed:
Tucked up close to the other girl, Akari can make out just enough of her movements to get the general gist of what's going on. She feels her point at something as the air around them shifts with the movement but beyond that she's still completely in the dark. She also feels the woman who stopped to question them take her leave, judging mostly from her quick apology that there will be no further questions.

Akari doesn't bother to point out that she's got no idea what Aeschere is talking about. But she can guess from the commentary that someone wearing lots of heavy clothes has been spotted among the throng of people.

"You'd be surprised. Wearing lots of clothing in the desert is important to keep the sun off you. Probably less of a worry in a place like this though. I'm sure they've got water aplenty around to support a city this size."

Artemis Eurus has posed:
Artemis frowns deeply. On one hand, she thinks one must stand up to bullies. On the other, Alma looks awfully delicate and not exactly likely to do well in a fight. Perhaps she had magic at least? Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. "She just /fights/ everyone?" she asks, sound more curious than disturbed. "She's not fighting anyone now...you shouldn't let her bully you. Surely you can fight back? You have magic, yes?"she asks. "People like that will bother you until you show them you will not be bullied anymore, you must understand."

Artemis looks to see Chera pointing in her direction, and tilts her head slightly at the woman. Hey, if she wanted to know she could just ask. Indeed, if she is going to be stared at, she may as well wave. Which she does, baring her teeth in what is maybe a smile?

Evja has posed:
Unintentionally making a point of Akari's remark about keeping a lot of clothing on, a Viera wanders by the group at this point while wearing a large, thick robe of sorts. It was a dark blue shade with white fuzzy trim and overall looked far more extravagant than the other Viera around these parts tended to wear. That being very little in favor of next to nothing. She also had her long silver hair wrapped at several points and held back behind her near the bottom.

Of course, Evja had a veil on as normal even as she looked around the marketplace as if idly shopping, nothing really of note about her other than the fact that people here and there were looking at her and giving her stinkeye. Why? Well, it may be noticeable by the others that there was a large glowing symbol on the robe she had on at her back that looked faintly like the Archadian Judges symbol. Did they know it. Otherwise it'd look something like a large scale imposed over a motif of sorts, dull red and glowing faintly.
Her shopping basket, held on one arm, contained various things that most would want. Food(Carrots, mostly), tomes, papers, minor things too.

Alma Hyral has posed:
"Not h-her." She closes her eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. "S-She fights for the s-sheer p-pleasure of it. If you f-fight her, she f-fights h-harder, b-becomes i-interested in you, and then w-wants to fight again. She gave up c-chasing me after a while... but now that I've b-been dragged into t-two fights against her it seems like she has an i-interest in my m-magic but.. I'm a p-pacifist, I don't want to fight. I j-just j-join in if my f-friends are in danger."

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Man, would Ash ever hear you, Alma, if she could hear you. If you're a white mage or some other sort familiar with injury, or even if you really aren't, you can see how much she favors her ribs as she lifts her spear to return a salute for Art's wave. And just 'cause she doesn't hear you doesn't mean she doesn't see you, Alma. She waves to the White Mage, too.

The while, she weighs Akari's counter-assertion. "This cloak could be bad enough," she complains anyways. She doesn't precisely look like the desert sort, come to it. "Do they know us, do you think? Woman in armor, maybe ten paces ahead?" Aeschere isn't sure if that actually helps but it's all she can do.

Akari Seran has posed:
The shirtless brawler sighs but tilts her head towards the fore for the sake of argument. She concentrates on trying to read the wind; the background vibrations from dozens and dozens of people in the area makes her stone sight useless. Unfortunately, it's no good, atleast from this distance.

"I have no idea," she says with a shrug after a few moments. "Too much interference. Maybe you should wave them over so we can find out."

Artemis Eurus has posed:
Artemis looks to Alma then, shrugging. "Very well, you will not have to fight her then. I'll try to keep her attention. They're looking at us now, we may as well say hello," she says, then begins to walk toward them, leaving Alma either exposed or forced to scurry forward to remain in Artemis' shadow--and protection.

"Greetings," she says to the two, bowing her head slightly. "Is there something I can do for you? I noticed you pointing in my direction," she says, her voice deep and cool. They could be heretic hunters, in which case she might as well get the encounter over with.

Or she may just meet a new...friend? What Alma said about Akari fighting for the sheer joy of it caught her attention. Another of Odin's people, perhaps?

Alma Hyral has posed:
Well that choice was rather obvious.. she scurried, forward, remaining in Artemis' Shadow. Except she was now chanting in her head something along the lines of...

/PLEASEDONTMAKEHERMAD/! Over and over.

She liked Artemis after all... She didn't want to have to join in for another fight. She didn't want to offend Akari though with further silence. She would speak up rather meekly, "H-Hello again A-Akari.."

And then she'd look to Aschere, giving her an inquisitive look, as she tilted her head, "Y-You look f-familiar.. h-have we met b-before?"

Evja has posed:
Being a Viera does give certain benefits, such as having big ears. Good-hearing ears. Tall ears twitching a bit, Evja keeps her back towards the group, but listens to them. The accents certainly aren't from those around these parts, and in fact she didn't recognize it either. That, and the name of 'Akari', or greeting if that wasn't a name, wasn't familiar either to any convention she knew. Which is why she was expecting them as either tourists...

Or lost people, who were in fact misplaced into this world by the Heartless. Or something.

Despite having no interest in the stall next to where she was, Evja turns and begins to shop at a meat stand. A stand that had lots of various monster and animal parts, some cooked some not. All the while those tall ears twitching faintly as she listened.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Can't they be both? Now that she's hobbled, more or less, Aeschere is happy enough to see Rabanastre. She's going to be here either way, she may as well enjoy it. But now, no, she looks up and up and a bit more up at Artemis, wearing the friendliest smile she can find. "No, knight ma'am, it's just that you're a sight I fear. But it must be you're used to it, r..."

Was it hello, Akari? Hello /again/ Akari? She turns her smile on Alma. "I... my head is a bit cooked here in the sun do you know, and I'm not sure if we could have. Are you, aa, a friend of Akari's as well?" She conveys by expression what she thinks the nature of Akari's friendships are, although the still-visible bruises help. "My name is Aeschere," she volunteers finally.

Akari Seran has posed:
Artemis' voice isn't one that the delinquent recognizes. She turns and glances down at Aeschere, shaking her head from side to side in response to her earlier query. "Nope. Don't know these--"

And then something like a stammering gust of wind drifts past her ears. Akari squints despite it being totally pointless, tilting her head downwards to peer at the frightened white mage. A moment later the winds confirm it. She probably could have guessed just from the sheer amount of trembling.

"Hmph. Still following on my coat-tails? For someone who isn't too fond me, you sure seem to show up a lot."

Akari looks back at Artemis, having a much easier time placing her in this close proximity. "A new body guard?"

Artemis Eurus has posed:
Artemis chuckles lightly to Chera, shaking her head. "I'm not knight. Artemis is my name," she replies. "Though yes, I am use to the looks," she looks down at herself for a moment. "It's laundry day," she explains.

Artemis turns toward Akari then, eyebrows rising beneath her mask. "Bodyguard? Well, I am that, but not for her. She's got plenty already I believe. No, we are acquainted however, and she is a nice enough girl, so I hope that you will be polite to her. I merely came over to see if there was something your companion wanted of me. When I'm pointed at, I generally decide to just come and introduce myself. Clear up a few things, yes?"

Alma Hyral has posed:
The girl would suck in a very deep breath at Akari's accusations, "L-Look. I'm not f-following you. You j-just... i'm b-beginning to w-wonder if W-Whyt is following me around c-cursing me with f-foul luck. And n-no, she's a.. a well, n-nice acquaintance? I think.."

She speaks in a voice just as timid as usual before turning to Aeschere, "W-Wait a minute, you do l-look familiar..." She squints at her. "W-Weren't you in my c-class at the A-Academy? The G-Golem class?"

Aeschere Childs has posed:
It seems that they have a history, Akari and this cleric. Not terribly surprising to Chera, honestly, even if that's a bit uncharitable. "Artemis well, it was just what came to mind. I would have introduced myself perhaps but there was this crowd you saw..." She keeps an ear turned toward Akari and Alma's exchange, meanwhile. It of course should not surprise her than any two given people are acquainted, nor, bless her, that any given acquaintance of Akari's would be unfriendly.

Aeschere is aware at least in abstract that she has a more welcoming attitu-- was that Academy that she just said. Chera blinks at Artemis once, and then reorients on Alma, and gives the correct answer almost without thought. "Golem class, yes? Your, are you, aaa..." Maybe she won't be marching to Fluorgis after all.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari also seems fairly surprised to hear this. Her head swivels to the side to peer down at the smaller girl. She stares for a few moments, thinking on all of the names that have filtered through to her at one point or another in the past but drawing up empty. Not that this marks her relationship to the Academy as false. It was a big place. There's certain to be people she simply never crossed paths with though it feels kind of odd that Aeschere didn't know /her/ simply from reputation when pretty much everyone else did.

"Well... fancy that. Atleast your class produced one person worth my time."

Artemis Eurus has posed:
Ignored by Akari, Artemis frowns slightly. Alright then. She looks to Chera, nodding. "You all went to school together then...interesting," she says. She knows now that the Academy they speak of is not the same Academy as her world. Had there's been lost to darkness as well?

"Well then, if there is nothing else...I'll take my leave," she says, bowing to the two and turning to walk away. She looks back to see if Alma will follow.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma recognizes Aeschere. She also knows what she is. And while that would normally... put her in a state of terror, she'd come to recognize that sometimes all the things her father taught her were the boogeymen of her world, such as Necromancers, Dark Knights, Summoners of the Second Gods, Black Mages... not all of them were agents of Chaos.

No the boogeymen in her life right now was an amoral scientist and her supporters.

Seeing that Aeschere is wounded... well, the girl does something about that, raising a hand, and a soft white glow spreads over Aeschere, despite the lack of actual contact. The light would spread, mending her tender and bruised ribs.

She still spoke quite timidly, "I-If you'd like A-Aeschere, I can.. g-get you set up a-amongst the r-rest of the Academy's upperclassmen, if you'd like to f-follow me..?"

And she'd turn, as if she were following Artemis, but she'd wait on her answer.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
This is nine of every ten of Aeschere's interactions with white mages, you know. She appreciates it, usually, but she does get to feeling like a case study after a while. "That's the exact thing that I would like." For a fierce and independent warrior, she really comes to bits without having someone to be fierce for. She was set to stride the desert after merely what a trader might have heard on the road, and yet here, her friends have come and found her. She takes the first step after Alma.

And yet... her friends have come and found her. She swallows, and turns back to who found her first; "Will, ah, you join," Chera considers, "me, Akari?" The chain of requests now seems to end with the geomancer.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari frowns slowly at the two diminuative girls, looming over both of them like a Greek titan. She allows her grip on Aeschere's hand to slip loose as the girl steps away from her and the now empty hand crosses over her chest to rest on her shoulder. She scratches idly at her neck for a moment, looking off into the distance as if carefully weighing her response.

She likes this girl. It seems odd to say that even to herself. She's never really liked anyone. Maybe it's just because she's strong, because she wounded her like few others have ever done. Maybe it's because she didn't call her a monster or a barbarian or any of the other names that have been slung her way. Honestly, she could probably fill a small book at this point.

But she doesn't like Alma. She doesn't like her timid voice or the way she cowers all the time. She doesn't like her boss either. Spoiled arrogant rich kid, the kind that used to push her around before she started to push back. The thought makes her frown harder.

"I... no. You... go on without me, squirt."

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Aeschere figured as much. This way she can scowl at being called 'squirt' instead of scowling about running off. She leans her spear against her shoulder for a moment and reaches into her pouch to find... nothing, of course. Sigh.

"Well, I'll, I'll have to catch up with you, then." She turns back to Alma, nodding, and follows her, perhaps reluctantly.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma would just lead her on away, perhaps breathing a sigh of relief once she got out of sight of Akari. And then she'd purchase Aeschere a linkpearl and Ma Belle, plugging in the frequencies for the academy on them.

Akari Seran has posed:
Akari watches them leave for a few moments. The crowd quickly swallows them up and they vanish from her ability to track them, leaving her all alone again. She doesn't say anything for a long time nor does she move from her spot against the stalls. With no one left to guide her around, she'd just end up spending the entire day wandering about the market and getting tired for no reason. She'll need her strength to continue her journey.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Aeschere may have had one or more of those, but she currently has nothing but what she's wearing, due to reasons. "...How many of us?" The question has weighed on her since even the moment she awoke here. She'll wait for an answer while she presses lots of buttons on the looks-like-a-cellphone again, perhaps to see if it'll do a trick.

It's not that she doesn't understand the thing, her hands just need to do something while her head catches up with things.

Alma Hyral has posed:
"Nearly twenty." She still seems subdued, almost depressed. Every now and then Aeschere would notice that she glows bright yellow, mending away at her various wounds.. Alma isn't even looking at her as she does this.

Aeschere Childs has posed:
That's... nearly twenty times better than what Aeschere feared. Yes. She mulls this fact over, too, as she hits the end of the settings menu, and runs out of things to poke on her PHS. She snaps it shut and... doesn't stuff it in her pouch, yet. The shards of the last one are still in there.

She watches Alma work for a moment, or rather, watches her not work while stuff gets done, which is more impressive. "...don't wear yourself out," she suggests quietly, after a moment.

Alma Hyral has posed:
The girl would continue to lead her along, explaining how the Ma Belle and link pearl work. The healing light would just continue to work it's magic on Aeschere. And when she asks her not to wear herself out, the girl just smiles at her. It is perhaps a touch sad, but it is there. "Your w-wounds are m-mostly superficial. A f-few of your ribs d-don't feel like they h-healed right and you have a c-concussion you d-didn't know about. You'll be f-fine. T-There's nothing so c-complicated that you'll w-wear me out. I p-promise."

Aeschere Childs has posed:
"Well, you know Akari you said." Chera isn't sure any more needs be said on that score, although somehow she says it with a smile. It seems she moves a bit easier as Alma continues her overhaul, though she continues to move with visible caution.

"You aren't going to tell me that we've all been in Rabanastre this whole time, I won't hear it." Well, she probably would. "...did, actually, did I not catch your name? I suppose I /must/ be concussed."

Alma Hyral has posed:
"Y-Yes. I d-do. S-She's i-injured me t-terribly several times." And that's all she'd say on Akari, really, she was right mentally, nothing else needs to be said.

"O-Oh no. C-Cornelia for s-some. C-Costa Del S-Sol for others. T-Traverse town as well... and the Ame-No-Torifune, S-Souji's airship for his e-employees."

And then another pause as she considers this information, "O-Oh... t-that makes s-sense. R-Right. I just t-tend to a-assume that n-noone remembers me, I'm r-rather forgettable. My name is A-Alma. A-Alma Hyral. It's nice to meet you Aeschere."

Aeschere Childs has posed:
Aeschere is briefly satisfied to have guessed correctly, but it does mean that she's still far from anyone who isn't Alma or Akari. She extends a fine-fingered hand to Alma once the healer introduces herself. "I'll remember you now, you can be sure."

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma would look at the hand for a moment, before finally taking it, gripping it, but... her grip seems.. weak, frail. "I'm glad that you shall."