A Gathering In Central Park

A Gathering In Central Park
Date of Scene:	02 November 2012
Location:	Manhattan - Central Park
Synopsis:	Ivo and friends call up Mercade to follow up after returning some lost pets to their owners. A LOT OF PEOPLE ENSUE.
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Lily, Raiya Fujihara, Mercade Alexander, Nagetta, Avira, Maira, Beatrix, Vespa, Minerva

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Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Well," Ivo says lightly, blue eyes delightedly surveying the park around them, "I declare this mission a resounding success."

Standing with his typical knightly poise but having exchanged his medieval ensemble for a slim grey sport coat and charcoal button up, the Galvan House's griffin emblem now pinned into his lapel in lieu of his absent cloak, and hand slipped snugly into the pocket of dark-washed jeans, he glances down and smiles at his girl companion. "Good thing we met that Mercade fellow outside Rabanastre, huh? This was a rather less hectic adventure than that debacle, thanks to his intelligence." No one tried to arrest him this time, and Lily didn't even have to blow anything up. "Hey, cheer up. Think of the smiling faces on the families we returned those puppies to."

Ivo and Lily, Shard Seekers extraordinaire, had come to Manhattan to return the puppies which the sinister 'Darkwing Duck' had stolen and which their ally Riku had recovered, only to deposit in the garden which Ivo had painstakingly been cultivating. At last (and against Lily's protests, who had grown quite fond of the pups), Ivo, in the name of justice and compassion and less dog poop in the garden, resolved to seek out the animals' original owners, all of whom he traced back to Manhattan. Acquiring one of Xanatos's new talking-across-worlds devices, Ivo got in contact with the good detective Mercade for some hard-hitting, down-and-dirty investigative work: helping him find the pups' homes.

(Mercade probably just looked on the Internet and found all the people who reported missing dogs at around the same time, but who becomes a detective to take on Missing Pets work, anyway?)

Now, at last, after a long day of wandering around a world-class city, their quest is complete -- save for one pup still wriggling in Lily's arms, whose home could not be found.

"Maybe it was a stray to begin with," Ivo murmurs, scratching his chin speculatively.

As much as Ivo would prefer to continue sauntering around Manhattan, which remains new to him, on the pretext of returning dogs or whatever, they promised they'd meet Mercade here at the end of the day to thank him. And maybe, you know, pay him for his help? Well, hopefully not. As the two of them wait along a major path, framed by trees trimmed in the shape of archways, no doubt all manner of people will wander past.

Beatrix has posed:
Beatrix would probably has scared a few people off, a eye-patched lady with a mean looking sword. Well, beautiful sword, but what's the standard in these modern worls? But, apparently either people are now used to the oddities of these new worlds merging/portals/whatever you want to consider this... or, well... its Manhattan.

Either way, she does seem completly out of place in this city, with that white leather dress that serves as much as armor than clothing for her, and the sword at her hip. Maybe people aren't alarmed as long as she doesn't pull it out. Which she really has no reason of doing either mind you.

She stops on the side of the street though, flipping her hair, and then placing a hand under her chin, observing the cars passing in front of her. No, she doesn't want to cross the street, but one might think. Yet, its always rush hour, no matter where you are in this city it seems. Except when something disturbs it. Like Godzilla, Ninja Turtles or Gargoyles. She's not too far from the small shard seeking group, but she doesn't know anyone there either.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa has not been enjoying her time in this city of Manhattan, she finding the air to be dirty the building are much to tall or her liking! How do they make them that way anyway, she wonders, Too many people in such a small place, everyone always going this way that that! Too much noise! And too top it off some thugs wanted her money! They didn't get any of it as they leared the hard way not to try and steal from her. She really dislikes theives. People were staring at her after she started carrying around her huge axe. Luckly she found this nice place with trees and grass, a park as they call it. She find it to be calmer and nicer than the rest of this city.. She currently laying on the grass her huge axe next to her. She looks like she fallen asleep.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
You'd be surprised how HARD-BOILED EXTREME it is to take on Missing Pets work. It's also a popular pasttime with high-powered defense attorneys.

Mercade Alexander arrives a little after they do. They hear him coming in an expression of ultimate noir hardboiledness.

That is to say, they hear something like the following. "AGH! HOLD STILL!" "Wark!" "NO, STOP, NO THAT WAY!" "Waaaaark~" "No, the tree is not for eating!"

"Wark wark waaaark!"

"DAMMIT!"

And that's about when they see Mercade Alexander come around the corner, listing heavily to one side on a Chocobo, trying desperately to keep the improperly-harnessed saddle from rotating completely under the bird and introducing Mercade to a new world of pain. "THIS IS NOT WORKIIIIIING oh hi Ivo AAAAAAAAGH!"

Nagetta has posed:
Hey, look on the bright side Beatrix, you look completely normal compared to Nagetta. Of course this is New York, snake people might not be quite as odd here. At least no one's tried to mug her yet, but she's got several strange looks. The girl's seeing the local sites and wonders where she should go next. Central Park might be interesting, and there should be plenty of shade there.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
They say that Manhattan is a restless place with so much life and activity packed into such a small area, but it has been Raiya who has been restless over the past few days. The relative peaceful and uneventfulness should be a relief to the samurai. But, it is closer to being a burden than anything else. A samurai's sword is an extension of themselves and this blonde samurai has not tasted Heartless blood for weeks now. A fact that is constantly going through the wandering warrior's mind.

Not everything is bad about this place as the travelling warrior has met quite an interesting assortment of people and has tried many different kinds of foods to varying degrees of success. But it is this 'Central Park' which is Raiya's destination this day. The purple and black kimono wearing woman walks in slow, measure strides as she ventures further into the park and eventually stumbles upon some familiar faces.

A warm smile flashes its way across the ronin's face as she approaches Ivo, Lily, and the chocobo riding Mercade. "What an auspicious day to meet with faces both old and new!" She begins with a gesture around herself. "Might I ask what brings you three to this 'Sentrel Paaahk' or so they call it?"

Lily has posed:
"I-I hope so!" Lily squeaks in a bit of a panic. She's holding onto the puppy tightly - but has learned how hard to do so thankfully, so the little thing's quealing and squirming happily, mostly frustrated that it can't get free to lick all over everything - particularly it's holder's cheeks!

She's looking very on edge, having had to part with the big group of puppies that Shiki taught her about, and seeing each one go has been... to her, almost some kind of cruel trick the world's playing on her.

She's walking alongside Ivo, sticking close, and as always looking about every which way... but the more and more odd people who start showing up, the closer to him she gets. Until she's almost hiding behind him.

She knows strange and possibly worth-noticing people when she sees them.

Anyone wearing fancy clothing that stands out seems to always have something big and important to do in these worlds, after all!

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo has slung Hauteclare casually over his shoulder, but people carrying swords are a dime a dozen in Manhattan these days -- probably some hipster fad down in the East Village -- so he's managed to integrate rather seamlessly despite this being his first visit. Just another well-dressed young man about town. He's nowhere near as conspicuous as, say, a lamia. Speaking of which...

While Lily struggles with the frantically affectionate animal in her arms, Ivo scans the area with his usual curiosity, smiling slightly. "It looks like we may not be able to find a home for that one," he says suggestively to Lily in the meantime. "What do you think? Should we put it up for adoption? Or maybe-- you're responsible enough to care for it?" Though he tries to make it sound like a serious question, he can't avoid sounding a little amused. Well, she's responsible enough to care for a garden -- even if she insists on transplanting all the weeds to their own corner. (He's just left that part alone.) As he's talking, he espies another sword-wielder, this one a beautiful woman in a white leather dress, her features marred only by an eyepatch; how interesting. There in the grass is, oh, of course, a maid with a giant axe. "Hey," he interjects, looking in Vespa's direction, "didn't we see Miss Maid in Fluorgis? I wonder what she's doing here?" Admittedly, it was a brief encounter, and Lily was a bit preoccupied at the time. And there over there is--

"Hey again, Mercade," Ivo replies casually as the chocobo-riding detective careens past wildly, easily deadpanning the chaos. "Thanks very much for your help today." A brief pause. "Where'd you find the noble steed?" Can't have been easy to get a chocobo into Manhattan.

"Oh, it's Nagetta. Nagetta!" Ivo raises his hand in salute at the lamia slithering by, who he hasn't seen since Luca, proceeding to contentedly ignore Mercade's plight. Raiya's arrival causes the knight-errant's smile to broaden. "Lady Raiya, you too? It's been too long since we last shared drinks in Costa del Sol." Or fought side by side -- or each other. His admiration for the swordswoman hasn't abated since then. "Lily and I were here to return some... stolen goods." A glance at the puppy still in Lily's arms. "And you?"

A crash as Mercade's chocobo collides with something else.

"Need a hand over there?" Ivo finally asks, nonchalantly glancing over his shoulder.

Truly, a knight in shining armor.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa sits up and hms streching and yawning a bit. "Must have fallen asleep.", she mubles to herself. She looks around. "Did I hear a chocobo? Here? Mabye I was hearing things..",the she spots it. "..or not. What is doing here??", she wonders. She also spots Nagetta and Ivo. There hard to miss. She gets up and makes her way over to the group carrying her huge axe over her shoulder.

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta smiles upon seeing Ivo again. "Hello Ivo it's been a while. Oh, I see Lily's here too." She nods at the girl acknowledging her presence. She also notices the puppy in arms. She tries to the temptation to try and swallow it. Thankfully Vespa shows up then and distracts her. "Looks like Vespa and Al are here too? Is something going on?"

Beatrix has posed:
Beatrix is more of a knight than Ivo in that aspect. When she noted that the streets where always busy, maybe its not godzilla that disrupts thing, but a wild chocobo on the loose. Well, that's something she can handle at least. She takes a moment to observe the path the chocobo and its ride take...

When it comes close, the lady knight comes in action. She jumps up on the nearby street bench, then the newspaper dispenser, and then a fence, coming up in line with the wild chocobo just in time.

She jumps on top of it, right in front of Mercade, almost pushing him out of the driver's seat, instead he gets to hold on to the lady knight as she picks up the reins, leanin forward toward the chcoobo's head to give a few words to the chocobo, to calm it down. She tugs on the reins a bit to guide the mount over to the green side, away from the cars, moving the chocobo down to a more trot "There we go, that's a good chocobo." She flips her hair again, looking over her shoulder at Mercade. "Looks like you need training."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Wark!"

Mercade slides a bit more to one side. "Stop bouncing like that! I can't... WHOA!"

"Wark waaaark!"

Beatrix jumps over, interceding for the detective. The Chocobo stops immediately, yielding to Beatrix's trained touch as any mount-trained Chocobo does. He stops then, turning and looking over the assembling group that Mercade was supposed to be meeting. The chocobo flaps a bit and trills in greeting, just about as Mercade hits a ninety-degree point and just falls off with a thud, grunting as he falls in a chocobo-scented crumpled heap. "Ughh... Yeah, um... Thanks, miss. I just got him this afternoon and decided that practice makes perfect." He pulls himself up, dusting himself off gingerly as the chocobo preens. "I was hired for a job and this was the payment. It seemed like a good idea at the time. This is Watson." He gestures to the chocobo, who seems to be perfectly content chilling out and rummaging in the grass at the side of the path.

Mercade looks back to the group and sighs. "So yeah. I'm just meeting back up with these guys after we tracked down a large number of missing pet cases." He rubs the back of his head. "Don't worry about it though. It wasn't that bad.... Oh, hello there!" He says to Vespa. He remembers her from the Seventh Heaven. "How are you all doing?"

Beatrix has posed:
Beatrix jumps down the mount, petting the chocobo's feathers along its neck and head, soothing it a bit as she moves over to tie it over using the reins. Not too tightly, she knows chcoobos are smart creatures, but they still need to be bound when needed. Just enough space so they can walk around a bit and munch on the grass and greens. There's no gyshal here, but chocobos do eat just about any kind of grass too.

She turns to Mercade, after he tumbles out like that "A chocobo is a great gift, you just need to learn how to handle one. It is best to consider them a pet more than a mount, they are smart enough to like, dislike, and understand the people around them. This chcoobo felt your uneasyness. Take your time, your chocobo will return it in kind." She nods to Watson, giving it another pet and then taking a step toward the others, flipping her hair again, obviously a movement she does constantly "General Beatrix, pleasure to meet you." She has the grace and standing of a noble, from the looks of it.

Vespa has posed:
"Hello,everyone ", she says to the group. She looks to Mercade. "I'm doing allright, can't say I care much for this city..", she reaches out trying to pet the chocobo but pauses and pulls her hand back before she touches it.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
The wayward chocobo draws an interested look from Raiya. It was quite pleasing to her to see something that reminds her of home in this strange place. Mercade's misadventures in properly handling the creature brings back memories to when she first learned to ride. Everyone falls their first couple of times, it was only natural to do so. And speaking of natural ability, it seems that this mysterious woman in a white dress knows a thing or two about riding chocobos. Could she perhaps be from her own world as well?

Ivo's warm greeting causes Raiya to focus those green eyes of hers back on Ivo. "Please," she intones to the swordsman. "Call me Raiya. Such formal titles are only remnants of my past now." The Ronin explains simply before looking over at Lily and her dog. "You protect Lily and her friend even still?" A smile. "A very honorable thing for you to do, but..." The samurai's eyes flicker towards Ivo's weapon. "Do not think that I have forgotten your unorthodox fighting style and that you still owe me a proper rematch." It seems that Raiya still remembers Ivo as well.

Beatrix and Nagetta both receive friendly nods from the blonde samurai. One for Nagetta due to the familiarity and the other for Beatrix for her chocbo riding exploits.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade pulls himself together, smiling to Beatrix and giving a short bow. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Mercade Alexander, of the Twilight Detective Agency." He flicks a hand, and produces a business card, offering it to her. "Thank you for the advice. I will do my best to follow it, General."

Watson tilts his head, enjoying the attention and blinking sideways at Vespa. Mercade arches an eyebrow at her response. "Well, I can't say Manhattan is great for everyone, as much as I wish it was. There used to be a lot more here, before, well..." He sighs, shrugging. Mercade listens to Raiya's comments, but says nothing at the moment. "There's a number of new faces here. Where are all of you from?

Nagetta has posed:
"Especially to eat!" Chocobo meat's quite tasty. At least Nagetta thinks so. She nods at Raiya as well, it seems like everyone was here. "Missing pet cases?" It might be best for her not to get involved with those. For more then one reason. "Did you find any snakes?" She might be able to help with that at least.

Lily has posed:
The more people show up, the more Lily seems apt to hide between Ivo and shield her little charge. Ivo's given a vociferous bout of nodding in response, but beyond that, the girl barely squeaks out a "hi!" over at Nagetta, and proceeds to..

Well.

Spy on everything going on from behind the swordsman. She's gotten better about being more assertive, outgoing, and so on, but with too many people about all interacting, the girl's attention flicks from one to the next, eyes swirling about until she's made herself quite dizzy. "uuuuwuuuuuu...."

Then, the puppy licks her cheek! "Heuwha!" Her laughter comes out as a spluttery sort of giggle.

Maira has posed:
Maira has become quite the regular to Manhattan, especially now that she knows she is welcome by at least a few of the city's normal denizens. Additionally, a big city is actually a comfortable place to here. The technology level here is more on par with her home than most other worlds she has visited.

Central Park is the place to meet people. This is known. Maira wants to meet people, so naturally, she goes to Central Park! To...meet...people...

Right. Maira arrives out from behind a tree. Suddenly, she's just THERE. She immediately sets her sights on the chocobo. "OMGITSACHOCOBO!" she exclaims, over-run by excitement as she approaches Mercade and his chocobo with excited reverence. "I haven't seen one since...since...well, you know..." she said quietly.

Blinking, she looks around then and smiles, waving to the others assembled. "Ehe...sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting."

The young woman is dressed today in a pink sundress that is likely not weather appropriate, but if she's cold she certainly doesn't seem so. She generally has an aura of warmth.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva has never been to Manhattan before she'd never been off her home contient before. So she's feeling quite out of place. Her clothing screams not from here, the gauntlest the corst, the jacket, shorts, and the armored leg guars kinda dispell that. She keeps up with Maira and Avira pausing at the Chocobo.

"!!! A Chocobo! Something normal at last! unlike those four legged monsters the Imperial Army were using!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Watson seems to pull back from Nagetta, ruffling at the mention of eating. Mercade glances over at the snakewoman, shrugging. "I think he takes exception to that. And really, if I want to eat chicken, I know a lot of better places. He's going to be a big help outside of this world." He shakes his head. "No, it was all puppies. Stolen by Darkwing Duck for some inane reason." He eyerolls. "What's /with/ that guy. It's like he's a cartoon or something."

Maira shows up and gushes over Watson. He continues enjoying being the center of attention. That's right, HE IS THE STAR. Mercade blinks at Maira as she rushes in. "Wow, I had no idea you guys missed these things so much. I saw a whole plain full of them on my way to Goug..." He sort of twitches at the thought. "Are they really that common out there?" Maybe this was a better deal than he thought.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Whoa!

Not that Ivo needed an excuse to look at Beatrix, but her feat of poise and knightly valor is Xoutube-worthy (a popular video-sharing website, he learned at a nearby Xarbucks, recently acquired by the parent company of popular search engine Xoogle), and the usually-composed knight-errant is floored, jaw dropping as she skillfully tames the unruly chocobo. You'd think he'd be abashed at how out-knighted he's been, but quite to the contrary, Ivo looks delighted, his smile spreading into a wide grin. After all, if he'd interceded, he wouldn't have been able to see something as interesting as that!

"Magnificently done, Milady," he says, applauding a little as Beatrix dismounts, electing to address her formally what with her sword. The guess is apt. "A General? What an honor." There's no trace of sarcasm in his tone, though he sounds more like he's enjoying himself than being reverent. "Ivo Galvan, swordsman of the Shard Seekers. This is my friend and fellow Seeker Lily, and this is our new puppy, who remains nameless-- for now." He turns his grin down at the girl hiding behind him, and pats her on the head lightly, eyes twinkling. Yes, Lily, we can keep it.

Raiya's comment about the past causes Ivo's smile to flicker briefly, and then his eyes to soften. "I understand. Raiya, then." The desire to set old titles aside is something the two of them share. But his grin returns as he raises his hands, palms out, as though in a gesture of surrender. "Me? Unorthodox? Heavens forbid," he says, amused. "I'm glad to hear you still see me as honorable-- and that my style's caught your interest." That's not quite a joke, and she can probably tell. When Ivo and Raiya first met, she told him that he had a good heart. It's not something he hears often -- and he hasn't forgotten it.

He looks over when Vespa sleepily wanders over, deigning to overlook the unfortunate look Nagetta is giving the puppy in Lily's arms (danger!). "Lily and I were going to meet with Mercade to thank him for his help with a case," Ivo explains to the lamia, even as he's looking over her friend, "but it looks like we found more than we bargained for." Well, Central Park is busy in the evenings. "Miss Maid," he then addresses Vespa directly, "I must ask: do you /always/ dress like that?" Sure, he's only seen her twice, but once was in a desert and once was in a major city, here.

On such matters he's merely curious. But when he turns to the at-last recuperated Mercade, now handing out a business card, Ivo's smile calms, the interest in his eyes no longer laced with mirth. "I've been hearing the Twilight Detective Agency gets around," he remarks to the detective. "I wasn't aware of your affiliation when we met outside Rabanastre. I'm glad we're able to meet again." Is that what this was all about? "If you don't mind my asking, what brings an investigator from world to world? I'm sure you know why my partners and I get around." Shard Seekers: It's In The Name.

Ivo always has an alterior motive, but it is rarely sinister. He wanted to get the puppies out of the garden; some part of him wanted to do the good deed of returning them; he wanted an excuse to wander around Manhattan with his pal Lily -- and he wanted to see what manner of man this Mercade is, and if he's a kindred spirit. And hopefully he will.

If he isn't distracted by blondes in sundresses first.

"Ah--" Could it be? It's Faruja's beautiful friend. Damn, what was her name? "Miss Maira, wasn't it?" he says to the new arrival in the pink sundress, smoothly interjecting himself with his second-best smile. "We met briefly in Fluorgis, do you recall? You were Ser Faruja's friend, yes? How did you two meet, anyway?"

If she has one of those new Xanatos phones, maybe he can get her number.

Beatrix has posed:
Beatrix gives an Alexandria salute to the group, a fist in front of her left breast, over her heard, while standing with feet together. Then she takes a more relaxed pose, a hand on her hip, right next to her sheathed sword, that is across her back, down along the fold of her leather dress. "Pleasure to meet all of you." She turns to Ivo "I am General for my Kingdom, Alexandria. Although we are without a ruler right now, due to the spreading darkness. We are on the search and rebuilding the kingdom's network of allies and information lines. I have been traveling around myself to see for myself." She talks with that 'holier-than-thou' style, but she probably does it all the time as wel, more like ingrained in her than thinking highly of herself.

"I need a break from all of the court's duties sometimes as well..." she mumbles a bit to herself, sliding a hand back to flip her hair again.

Avira has posed:
There is a DARK PRESENCE here, giving off an almost crushing feeling to anyone that draws close.

It comes from that petite brown-haired woman that seems to be slowly catching up to that blonde in the sundress. Avira's...not in Rabanastre clothing right now, dressing as the locals do. Though in her case, this comes in the form of a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with Gaelic knot designs on the front and sleeves. Her long brown hair has been woven into a tight braid and a thick necklace of silver chainlinks is around her neck.

For some odd reason, she doesn't seem very happy.

Maira has posed:
Maira blinks as she is addressed, turning her amber eyes toward Ivo. She smiles then with obvious recognition. "Sir Ivo! Yes, I remember!" she replies. Oh hey, she remembered his name first try! Maybe because it is only three letter long. How could she mess that up? "I have not seen Faruja in quite a while...I hope he's alright! How did I meet him? Hmm..." she says, tapping her lip as she thinks. That finger then points to the the sky as she remembers. "Ah! I was sitting outside in Traverse Town after I had been attacked by Heartless right here in this park! My clothes were all in tatters you see, burnt up and mostly ruined...I guess he must of thought I was...you know...destitute? He was willing to lend my his spare set of clothing. Can you believe it?" she asks, her eyes widening. "It is good to see you though! How are things? You are part of that Shard Seeker group, right?" she asks.

To Avira, Maira waves her over emphatically. "Avira! Come meet Sir Ivo! And look look look! A chocobo!--And Mercade! Hello Mercade, how are you?" she asks, smiling sweetly up toward him.

OMG stimuli overload!

Minerva has posed:
Minerva is in dire need of some local clothing herself she's keeping to Acvira and maira at this point as she doesn't know anyone here and is just letting them lead she does look out of palce however and she's seemingly a bit dazed. The builings here are beyond anything she even dreamed of being possible. She also swore she saw a castle on top of one of them to boot. She kidna keeps to her two companions. "This is a strange city..."

Vespa has posed:
Vespa looks at Ivo. "It's a curse. This is the only outfit I can wear. Any other I try and put on fall part when I put them on.", she looks at her axe. "Hush."

Nagetta has posed:
"Oh I see, I thought more people might be looking for their pets." Nagetta was a bit curious. What's wrong with Vespa's outfit it looks nice and warm? Though it wouldn't fit me." Long dresses and lamia don't make well. "I'm staying with the Shard Seekers myself." She's not an official member yet though. "A curse? Who put that curse on you?"

Vespa has posed:
Vespa pauses. ".... It was a... wizard who I offened, I knocked his hat off his head. Wizards sometimes can overreact to the smallest things.", she looks back at her axe again. "HUSH!"

Minerva has posed:
Minerva pauses looking at Vespa for a moment tiling her head but Nagetta has her attention at the moment the Monk peers at the monsters "A Lamia who does not attack...what strange a world this is."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Faruja is well," Ivo replies good-naturedly, now standing right next to Maira, hand still in the pocket of his new jeans -- he's becoming rather fond of these Manhattan clothes; the sport coat suits him -- grinning contentedly. "He's joined the Shard Seekers and now adventures with Reize and myself. You should come visit our headquarters and see him sometime. You're always welcome, of course." At her story, his grin only widens, and he reaches up to rub his chin speculatively. "Your clothes in tatters, you say? I'm sorry I missed it."

Dark aura? What dark aura?

But apparently, she's not the only woman who has to deal with ruined outfits. "Whatever wizard thought of that curse," the knight-errant marvels to himself, regarding Vespa, "must be a profoundly brilliant man." You could try not saying these things aloud, Ivo. Well, maybe that would be less fun.

He doesn't recognize Minerva, but quirks a smile at Nagetta. "Oh, nothing's wrong with it," he says lightly. "I've just never seen a maid with an axe before. I wonder what she cleans with it?" Oh, right. He almost forgot she's one of their guests too. "Ha ha, you and a few others. A werewolf, a gargoyle... there always seems to be someone new in the dorms." He sounds pleased. Keeps things interesting -- though, of course, not all are there to seek shards. "More lively than most courts, for sure," he asides to Beatrix, smiling at the General again. "I am sorry to hear about your missing ruler... so many have been lost, or sealed away on worlds lost to darkness. But they will be found, I have faith--"

Wait. What name was that?

"Av...ira...?"

At long last, Ivo, observant only when it suits him it seems, glances over Maira's shoulder and sees who is glowering in their general direction, gazing blankly at her for a moment -- before brightening at all once, grinning almost slyly.

"I believe we've met," is all he says.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
The restless blonde katana-wielder takes a small step back when more and more people join the larger group. The last time such a large group gathered today, the Heartless attacked. But then again, perhaps the veteran warrior is simply seeing more enemies around her then there really are. It is not a bloodthirst that is bothering Raiya, it is that such periods of calm are usually invitations for disaster. These thoughts seem distracting to Raiya who has become awfully quiet all of a sudden.

Ivo's words bring her out of this trance slightly and causes the blonde woman to nod towards him. "One can find honor even in the most unlikely of places." She says back in a slightly teasing voice which is contrary to her normal tone. "Keep training hard, Ivo. I would hate for the next time we crossed blades to be a disappointment." The kimono clad woman turns slightly as if to leave. A moment pauses before she adds in a much more serious tone, "Protect those two well and you will never find yourself lacking in strength when the fates call for it. It is in such service that true strength lies." With those parting words, the Wutai samurai begins to set off.

The group of faces both known and unknown receive a small half-bow from Raiya before she sets off. She needs to find a cure for her restlessness. Perchance she will stumble into one of those fabled 'hotdog' carts again. Raiya has been a fan ever since Mercade introduced her to the food. Whether she is successful or not in this quest is yet to be seen as the sandal wearing woman quietly departs in a similarly subduec fashion as how she first arrived.

Lily has posed:
"mrrrrmh?!" Lily answers uselessly to Ivo, but she does look out at the aforementioned persons. Beatrix in particularly gets a good long examinatory glance from the little mage in white, if only from the dignified manner in which she carries herself. It's not unlike a sense of things that she gets from Faruja, and this causes Lily to sprout a happy smile the swordswoman's way without really thinking about it much!

"It's always so busy everywhere we go. This city's REALLY busy! Why's everyone here though too?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade chuckles to Ivo. "It's not too complicated. The Heartless invade these worlds, destroy our lands, consume people, and do God knows what else. They're the enemy of everything that lives out there... And how can you beat an enemy if you don't understand them? I'm going from world to world because the answer is out there, Ivo Galvan, Shard Seeker. I'm not a business magnate like Xanatos or an adventurer like you, Avira, or Reize. I'm just a guy. But I became a detective because I want to help and protect people. This... isn't quite what I signed up for but it's the best I can do." He shrugs.

Raiya shouldn't have a problem finding hot dog carts. Ever since the portals opened, the street vendors have figured out the park is the place to be to get the tourism business. There's all kinds of things for sale out there.

Mercade watches Raiya go and he asides to Ivo, "She's a really serious type, isn't she?" Speaking about Raiya, of course. "Do you know what her deal is? She keeps doing the whole 'silent samurai' thing to me."

Lily gets a grin from Mercade. "Manhattan is the city that never sleeps. There's all kinds of great things to see and do here. Visit anytime!"

Avira has posed:
It's funny Maira speaks of that day! That is the very same day that Avira had met the fire mage. The very same day she had visited Manhattan for the "first" time.

With her hands in her pockets, she saunters up behind Maira, her mood in stark contrast to Maira's sunny disposition. What -was- this scoundrel doing here, and around all of these other women! "That's alright, Maira." She stops, a few feet away, though not directly looking at the knight. "We've met."

With a good deal of effort on her own part, Avira forces herself to...lighten up a little. She shouldn't be letting /him/ get to her anyway, that's what he wants!! "Smells like chocobo." she glances sideways, "Is that you, Mercade?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"I'm glad you cale to visit, General. Not all kingdoms have been nearly so generous and pleasant." RIGHT BAIGAN? "Please, feel free to relax here as long as you like."

Mercade taps his chin at Maira's inquiry. "I'm doing well enough, Maira. New pet, looking for things, you know how it is.

He blinks, however, as he feels a terrible oppressive aura. Even HE can feel that one. He slowly looks over in the direction of the aura, blinking. "Whoa. Avira, what happened to you? You're like... radiating disappoint over there. Major vibe harshness here. Are you going to be okay? Do you need pizza? I bet you need some pizza."

Beatrix has posed:
Beatrix nods, sighing a bit at that "I know, I have seen around the other regions as well. These heartless are not any simple threat, how they appear anywhere, without boundaries, how they are limitless in numbers. It is all we can do to protect and reassure our people about these monsters, not even the city walls offer protection."

Vespa has posed:
"Hey Maria, and you too Nagetta. Odd we are all out here at the same time! And unsual occourance..", she chuckles at Ivo comment. "I clean heads right off Ivo!", she laughs a bit at her joke.

"City that Never sleeps? They must all be very tired..", she nods. "I'm trying to find a house or an aparment for myself. I'm getting tired of staying at inns. Manhatten is too big and crowed for my tastes."

Nagetta has posed:
"Why would I attack you? You haven't threatened me." Nagetta looks at Minerva a bit confused. "I still think that's a really strange curse." She can't help but to comment on that. "I wonder where all these heartless come from to begin with?" That was a good question. "Well, I would offer Vespa but I don't really have home right now. That's why I'm staying with the shard seekers."

Maira has posed:
Back to Ivo! He's very friendly! That's always nice. Indeed, Maira is rather flattered by the attention. She is use to fading into the background. "Oh, I would love to visit! Where is your headquarters? And please tell Faruja I said hello!" she replies.

Wait, what about her clothes being in tatters and him sad he missed it? Uist is making a serious disapproving face, while Maira is just trying to puzzle out the statement. She shrugs, smiling. "See, that's why I needed to get more money so I could buy more clothes--some fireproof ones. I tend to sort of...light myself on fire when I'm fighting...just a thing that happens..." she comments, holding up her hand to demonstrate. With a thought, she lights her fingernails on fire. The flames do not seem to harm her any. "Of course...I'm not wearing those clothes today..." she says, looking down at herself with a frown. Quickly she extinguishes. She likes this dress!

To Mercade, she grins, her eyes as big as tea saucers. "Your new pet!? Oh...can I pet him? Or her? What's its name? Can I have a ride sometime!? I've always wanted to ride a chocobo, they can run SO fast..."

Maira looks to Avira then, who is radiating GRUMPY! Maira blinks, backtracking. Hmm...tension. Tension between her and Ivo. Oou...did they not like each other? That could be bad. "Are you alright Avira? Ou! Pizza! I like the sounds of that!"

Minerva has posed:
Minerva has the oddest feeling of Dejavu about the name Faruja but bushes it off she's never heard the name before but why does she seem to know it. She looks about a bit more staring at Nagetta a bit longer but she dopesn't seem to make any sort of moves to cause problems for the Lamia dragoon. Mercade gets a bit of a look over. "Those foul creatures appear to have destroyed mine and for all I know I am the soul surivor of my kingdom." She sounds pretty darn British really. "I am from a port city known as Warjillis in the kingdom of Iveliace." Maybe someone here's heard of her home? Prehaps not, if she's the last it would strike her as some twisted game of the gods why her? Of all the world why would she surive.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo's been so amused by the gaggle of girls who have arrived that Raiya's thoughtful comment catches him visibly off-guard, and he turns to watch her go, smile faded, lips parted, eyes-- inscrutible. "Raiya..." Being teased by her is one thing (and fairly enjoyable). But being exhorted seriously to train by her stirs something within him which he doesn't fully understand. What she is commending is his loyalty, a facet of his personality also not often remarked upon. Distracted from the conversation for the moment, he reaches out his hand as though trying to stop her, but, in a rare display, Ivo seems at a loss for words.

What is it about her that gets to him?

Actually, it's Mercade's query about her that snaps his brain into focus. "Yeah," he replies distantly to the detective, "well, I wouldn't say she's all-business... there's more to Raiya than meets the eye." She was just teasing him, after all, if subtly. "But she's... devoted to the sword, you know? Not always serious, but very dedicated..."

Damn! That's what it is!

"Raiya!" he calls after the departing samurai. "Excuse me just a moment," he murmurs to the others, before jogging up to the swordswoman, an unusually serious look on his face. "Hey, listen," he begins. "I just wanted to say..." And then he pauses. "The person who taught me this sword style," he says carefully, "never took me seriously as a warrior. He saw me as... frivolous, too easily distracted from the true path. So... uh..." Ivo gathers himself -- and then, regaining his composure, smiles softly. "Thanks for acknowledging me. It'll be an honor to face you again, with everything I've got."

Turning away from Raiya, he glances over his shoulder, smile widening, and adds, "That includes the tricks!" before raising a hand in salute and trotting back over the others.

"Sorry, where were we?" He looks back at Mercade first, grinning again, seemingly back to normal. "I anticipated something along those lines. The Heartless are your foe, huh? Well, you seem like a worthy man for the task to me." Just look at how quickly you found those missing pets' owners. "You helped hold off that big one outside Rabanastre just fine." Oh right, also that. "Don't overestimate the rest of us. We've been thrown into this situation just like you. I was an engineer and a, well, politician before this, no adventurer at all." His grin widens. "Though I've always loved novelty."

Now people are commenting on Avira's bad vibes, which Ivo has been easily ignoring, that grin still on his face. "She seems alright to me," he offers blithely. Surely he just doesn't notice. Surely he wouldn't be rubbing it all in or something.

He turns immediately to Maira.

"Light yourself on fire...? Ha!" He chuckles as he watches the flames dance about her fingertips. "That's quite the talent. You know, our friend Shiki, one of the Seekers, is a seamstress by trade. When you come visit us, you should speak to her about fire-resistant clothing. Our other friend Lenn is a jewel mage; perhaps she could enhance them magically with some decorations?" One hand on his hip, he raises his other hand with a finger aloft, in the gesture of an infinitely helpful man. "And I'll help come up with the design for your outfit!"

This can only go well.

After a moment, he pats Lily on the head again. The poor girl always gets overwhelmed in situations like this. "I was saying," he adds gently, "that we can keep the puppy, if you want. But you have to take care of him, okay? ...And name him." Honestly, he just want to hear what she comes up with.

Vespa has posed:
"It's allright Nagetta. Thank for the offer thought.", she looks at Marcande and at everyone else. "What is this pizza you are all taking about?", Vespa had never had pizza. "Ah sorry to hear that Minerva. I hope you find someone from your home... ..as do I..", she sighs to herself some unplesant memoires coming back to her. She look at her axe. "I know Al.. I shouldn't dwell on the past.."

Avira has posed:
Oh no. Avira knows how this works. She's ninety percent sure that Ivo is doing that ON PURPOSE. Talking to every OTHER girl here!! Avira's pretty sure she knows why too-just a quick look around at the other ladies here confirms it.

She looks just a shade grumpier. "...I'm fine." she says warily to Maira. "Just...worried about you, y'know?"

Then she starts making hand motions at Mercade. Sort of...'cut it out' maybe? Hard to tell, she's a little flaily at the moment, "Pizza." she interrupts, "I'll go for pizza. If you're treating."

Minerva has posed:
Minerva listens to Ivo's comment about lighting one's self on fire. "It's simple enough to do, the trick of it is? To not actually burn. That's the hard part."" She looks to Vespa and nods a bit "There's one wretch though i'll let the darkness keep." She totally fine with the heartless devouring that croupt priest she totally is.

Maira has posed:
Maira watches the blonde samurai go and Ivo momentarily give chase. She tilts her head some, watching Ivo change from silly to serious and back again. She takes note of this on some level as she watches him return. Her smile now is slightly more thoughtful.

At mention of a fire-proof outfit though, Maira lights up (this time figuritively!) "Really! I will have to meet these people for sure! With the money I am making with VALKYRI, I can probably afford something like that eventually!" she replies, hopeful. This is the girl who was excited just to buy clothes that were not hand me downs, so something like that would really be special to her. She would save up. "And really? You would design it?" she asks, then gives Ivo a pointed look-over before nodding, seemingly satisfied. "Alright! You look like you have style," she responds.

Maira, you fool! Uist is looking like he wants to throttle her, not that anyone would notice but her.

At Avira's response, Maira frowns gently and leans over to take Avira's arm. "What? Worried about me? Why for?" she asks.

Ever helpful, Uist offers something to the conversation, to which Maira balks. "No! Sir Ivo is an honorable knight! He would not!" ....she says....to no one.

Well, there goes any flirtations, she thinks. She let the crazy show.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Sure you can, Maira. His name is Watson. Once I figure out how this thing works, maybe we'll be able to take you on a ride." Mercade is probably going to regret this in some hilarious manner later on.

Beatrix's response gains a nod from the Detective. "I figured everyone else had to be experiencing the same thing. That's why we have to find out how to stop them. We can't just win through brute force."

Ivo's comment about Raiya causes him to nod. "Yeah, she's definately that type, I see. She's got to have a very interesting story indeed, if we can just crack through that shell." He thinks. "Maybe pizza..." It works for almost everyone else!

Ivo comes back. ROUND 2, CONVERSE. "You mean 'get crushed repeatedly by that Heartless outside Rabanstre', right? Because that's what I remember." He chuckles, even though it wasn't nearly so pleasant at the time. "Well, it really boils down to 'someone has to do something'. We have to do what we can, and the efforts of any of us can help build up the work of others. I'm good at gathering information. It's what I do. I'm not the best fighter, and I don't understand magic at all." He pats the man on the back. "Don't worry about it, Ivo. You've put your talents to work already. You can help your Shard Seekers in a lot of ways with your political acumen." That's right, he totally just used 'acumen'. "And there's never a shortage of novelty out there."

Avira makes a gesture, and Mercade nods slightly. "No problem. We can hit the usual place in a few!

Beatrix has posed:
Beatrix crosses her arms over her chest pointedly, nodding "Strength is important to defend yourself and those around you, but it is not the only thing that brings victory either. How a small group can sneak into a stronghold and disrupt things, for example, is not entirely based on strength."

Maira has posed:
--And to Mercade, upon hearing his answer, she jumps up and down with excitement! She can't contain her utter glee!

That feeling of foreboding you are having Mercade? You should really heed it. But you won't, because Maira is bouncing and you're going to forget about everything else for those five seconds.

"Yay! Thank you thank you!"

Nagetta has posed:
"I think it would hurt to set yourself on fire." At least that's much as Nagetta though. "What's pizza?" The lamia hasn't heard of such a meal before. Ivo isn't flirting with her, maybe he doesn't like snake girls though. "I wonder if there are any nice dark empty caves around here?"

Avira has posed:
Why indeed.

Uist seems to have the right idea. If Avira could see the spirit, she'd probably be shaking his hand right now. At least...Avira fully believes that he's a guardian spirit of some kind. Casually, she walks over to Maira and leans in to murmur something to the fire mage. 'Worry about you being taken advantage of. Don't let some guy with a pretty face and a lotta funds push you around.'

SStraightening, she pauses to give Ivo a displeased frown. It lingers for a little too long to be comfortable before Avira turns away.

"I'll meet you there, Mercade." the scarred woman announces before heading off deeper into the park. "Just ring me when you're on the way."

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Raiya would have thought more seriously about staying, but large crowds made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because there were too many people for her to watch for potential attacks or maybe she is just totally not used to being around so many people willingly. In the end though, her departure from the area is interrupted when Ivo calls out her name as she had missed the swordsman's previous gestures since her back was already turned.

The ronin warrior freezes in her tracks and pivots back towards Ivo, her sheathed katana swaying lazily throughout the turn. This is certainly an unexpected turn of events to come face to face with Ivo again and to also bear witness to such a candid and heartfelt admission. Raiya truly believed Ivo to be a stalwart example of what people deem a 'knight' in common parlance. "Anyone can pick up a sword, the key is realizing why one picked up their blade in the first place. To me, it is quite clear why you have." replies Raiya before biting her bottom lip. Her green eyes close for a moment as she gathers her thoughts. There she goes again, sprouting off about such things. A worrisome habit that she was developing around Ivo.

A moment later, her eyes reopen and she aims a demure smile towards the unorthodox, but noble swordsman who has begun to rejoin the others. "I shall look forward to the fated day in which we meet again. Take care, Ivo." He departs back to the group at large and now she departs, her head slightly lowered in thought as she saunters off.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Don't worry, Avira. He's not tormenting you because he finds the other women more attractive.

"Pizza? I noticed numerous establishments hawking this 'pizza'," Ivo remarks lightly, a comforting hand still on Lily's shoulder, smiling widely. "I'll go if Maira's going."

He's tormenting you because it's inherently enjoyable.

"Excellent!" Speaking of Maira, he /almost/ can't believe she agreed to his ridiculous proposal, but then again, she also doesn't seem to have noticed his flirtations in the slightest. "Of course I have style," he agrees with a playfully feigned nonchalance, now grinning again. "And soon, it will be yours." He opens his mouth to say something more as the blonde takes Avira's arm-- and then blinks as the fire mage blurts out something seemingly apropos of nothing.

There's a brief pause.

"Warring with your subconscious?" he continues smoothly, immediately smiling again. "Trust me. Like I said in Fluorgis, any friend of Faruja's is a friend of mine." Especially when she's cute.

He is relentless.

But he looks a little startled when Mercade offers him a manly pat on the back. Aristocratic military cadets in Cosmopolis didn't usually interact with one another that way -- but Ivo quickly gets over his surprise and looks rather pleased. "I hope so," he says, this time honestly, his grin receding into a calm smile again. "And as for novelty," oh, now he's grinning again, "how right you are, all the more so in these chaotic times." He nods to the dauntless investigator and self-described normal guy. As anticipated, he likes this man. "Feel free to call on the Seekers if we can ever be of aid in your inquiries, Detective."

"How about you, General?" he adds lightly, glancing over toward Beatrix. He gets a feeling he could use a lesson in swordsmanship from this woman, especially if he'll be sparring with Raiya again. Thinking of the sincere samurai woman causes him to glance back over his shoulder after her, but Raiya is gone. Smothering a pang of regret, he looks back at the Alexandrian lady knight. "Want to join us for this... pizza too?" Looking amongst the girls that have gathered, his smile widens. "Looks like there are plenty of us who are curious. I don't know about caves, Nagetta, but if you're interested in pizza, I'd recommend just trying it. If it's this popular, there's got to be something to it." Don't feel left out, Miss Lamia. Ivo would surely flirt with you if it would be entertaining in some way. I mean, you don't think he'd be flirting with Maira like this if he wasn't able to see the look on Avira's face, do you?

And then Maira starts bouncing up and down.

Well... then again.

Ivo clears his throat. Again. Strange, it feels almost as though something is clenching about his neck.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva pauses at this mention of Pizza "Pizza I never heard of such a thing also how do they make the bildings so tall, and straight. I never thought a thing would be possible they'd tower of the Cathdreal of the Capitol." She listens wondering about the Pizza but will just fall in with Avria and Maria. She'll follow after her new friends.

Maira has posed:
Maira is sort of noticing the flirting! She is just currently in disbelief about it. She does not think she has ever been flirted with before. Of course, judging by how oblivious she is, she might just not have noticed.

The woman looks to Avira, leaning in to hear her message. "Ohh...I don't think it is like that Avira...but I'll be careful," she tells her friend with a warm smile.

She looks back to Ivo, blushing then. Okay, yeah, he is flirting with her! She doesn't know what to do! He wants to go get pizza with her! AAAAAH....! What to do!

......RUN AWAY!

Suddenly, just like that, Maira freezes like a deer in headlights, then turns and bolts!

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander can appreciate well-placed bouncing.

"Pizza is a baked round of bread with tomato sauce, cheese, and a variety of vegetable or meat toppings. It's a famous dish around here." Mercade waves to Avira. "Will do!"

He turns to the group, arching a brow.