Bramble Crossing

Bramble Crossing
Date of Scene:	29 March 2013
Location:	Bramble Orchard
Synopsis:	A small gathering exchanges notes, sometimes thoughts, and sometimes snark.
Cast of Characters:	Riku, Ward Zabac, Deelel, Sora, Margaux Fleury

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Riku has posed:
There is an almost tranquil quality to the forest despite the looming spectres of bramble bushes and the skeletons of tightly packed trees.

They were starting to bud and there was a smell of fresh growing things, flower pollen and the thawing chill in the air that meant spring was approaching. Fog rolled in streamers along the leaf litter, punctuating the landscape rather than shrouding it.

It's not a long way to walk from town. In fact, several winding trails have already found their way here. But there is always the threat of wolves in these parts of the forest, and the great threat of the heartless that periodically sweep through this region of the old kingdom. For now at least, everything seems peaceful. "Ah.. man."

Well. Maybe not entirely peaceful.

A teenager with silver hair pulled the glaive from the ground with a thick squelch of mud and returned to the large flat rock beside the tranquil, fog sheathed lake where he had been doing some practice. "Alright." he huffs out a sigh, shifting his stance and his shoulders as he goes through the combination again.

Sora has posed:
Sora enjoys exploring.

Always has, always will.

Therefor, it is not hard to imagine why he's been wandering around a place where there might be wolves and Heartless - Sora is dedicated to helping fight both off, to assist those that cannot fight, those who do not have the power to do so - and then he hears someone talking.

Someone familiar.

"Ehhhh?!"

Deelel has posed:
Deelel had been quiet, she'd not even been in town lately most of her time had been back at the Arcade. There was something about it, she felt as about at ease there as she was back on the grid. It was strange she couldn't explain it but really didn't question it much however she can't stay inside forever and after her revelations about what MCP was seemingly doing there. A Storm was coming and there was little she could do to stop it save make certain people aware of what was coming.

So today it's a case of the exploring isn't it.

This was an alien place to the basic. It was wild there was no order here, no plan just the chaos of organic life and while it was a place of wonder with just how pretty even a place like this could be it was also unsettling to her. Also the find sound of music follows her as she's picked up a music player back in Mahattan and she's totally listening to techno at the moment. She seems prehaps a little bit in her own world for all intents.

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward sat doing a work on a crossword puzzle. He was in his relaxing attire and was enjoying the tranquil weather. He noticed the silver hair boy practicing and watched him for a moment. Ward had been stuck on a particular word for awhile anyways and it would help him a bit. He laughed out how determined the youth was.

The weather had been nice since spring was coming, it had given him the chance to get out and get some air from fighting heartless. He wondered what was going on with his world and the garden's. Ward got up and put the crossword in his pocket, picked up his harpoon and walked up to the silver hair lad. With making gestures as best he could he offered to be a practice dummy.

Margaux Fleury has posed:
The Death Corps may have already heard their death knell, but the survivors of the order were still clinging to their ideals. One such individual was Margaux de Fleury who had found herself in this bramble filled to seek some solace and escape from those who still sought to eliminate the remaining 'rebels'.

The former dancer now pays careful attention to not get her great vibrant blue cloak stuck in the brambles as she passes by. Finances were tough for the Death Corps member and she would rather not turn her beloved cloak into a patchwork monstrosity. Emerging from a spot of undergrowth in the woods, Margaux spies a young man doing some practice with a strange weapon nearby. The red-headed fencer stops to observe the practice as this would seem like the ideal and serene location to do such a thing. He did not overtly look to be a threat over so perhaps approaching him would not be such a terrible thing.

Margaux had not spied Ward until he had approached the practicing boy. Eh! That could have been bad if Ward was a bandit for Margaux had not noticed him. "Good morning!" She greets the pair as she approaches in her jack of plates and travelling attire. "I did not believe that I would find anyone out here, but..." Margaux trails off into a shrug. "...a pleasant surprise, no?" The Death Corps member had no reason to be impolite or extra wary. They probably had no idea who -she- was so that all played to her favor.

Sora and Deelel, much to Margaux's poor awareness, has not yet seen either of them by the time she approached the practicing Riku.

Riku has posed:
And suddenly, a wild Sora like magic appears!

Riku slows to a halt, turning to face the younger boy with a faintly amused expression. "Lemme guess. You buy a map off a short guy. Long scarf, uses a boomerang? Because if you are planning to plunge head first into trouble again Sora, I think you've taken a wrong turn."

The youth folds the long folding knife back into it's compacted form again, sticking it in his back pocket. He waved Ward away with a gesture, having seen the man with the great harpoon also enjoying the relatively pleasant and quiet surroundings.

"Nah. I don't need any help. I've already got one dummy too many." he jerks a thumb in Sora's direction. "What have you been working on over there?" he asks with a note of curiosity. He looks over at Margaux Fleury.

"Yeah.. that's always the theory. isn't it? Go out into the middle of nowhere to get lost. And rain or shine, things don't.. exactly work out the way you plan them." He looks at Deelel lost in her techno music trance but otherwise doesn't say anything to the program. He chuckles slightly and throws a wave of greeting to Margaux before turning back towards Sora.

Sora has posed:
"Reize? No."

Sora says this in response to Riku, giving his friend a grin. "I know better than that, Reize getting lost and not having really accurate is sort of, uhh..." He takes a beat as he figures how to exactly to phrase this: "... it's becoming a fast-spread myth around here." Sora shakes his head sadly.

"Hey!" Sora goes out to smack Riku as he gets called a dummy.

Margaux Fleury has posed:
Margaux has little self-awareness that -she- may be the one who looks like a bandit more than the others assembled. The again, perhaps Margaux was walking into a trap so perhaps it was for the best that she remained on guard. You can never really to be sure when it comes to ambushes in a place like this. It was one the hallmarks of her old order as it was.

The Orlandian fencer flashes a care-free smile towards Riku. "Perhaps, but not everyone who wanders is lost." Her smile turns into a smirk and she then glances over towards those whom she did not notice at fist. Neither Deelel nor Sora were familiar to her at all. She was pretty much surrounded by strangers. Her attention does turn back towards Riku. "These sort of places are the best for working on swordplay. Very calming in my opinion." Margaux then motions around herself. "And beautiful as well."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel just happens to be wandering towards the others the growing group she notices Margaux and the woman's style of dress gets her attention then there's Ward. She didn't know users came in that /size/ the man looks like he could heft a light cycle as a blunt weapon. She'd be shocked to know she's pretty close to the truth on that one.

She does pull one ear bud out and looks about and seens ti figure Ward isn't a threat.

"Greetings, to all of you."

It's so damn hard to not say greetings programs, it really is.

Riku has posed:
"It's not a myth. I've seen it. /UPSIDE down/ Sora. The map is almost always /upside down/." Riku chuckles and tries to fend off the smack, failing terribly. He retreats a step, chuckling as he stretches his shoulder, wincing slightly as he gingerly rubs sore ribs. When Ward wanders away he casts an eye towards the two women for a moment before tearing into the keyblade wielder yet again.

"Next guess." and this next part in a playfully mocking and singsong cadence. " Oh, hey. There must be wolves and terrible things out in these creepy, fog filled woods. I should probably charge out there alone and whack them until they go away!" he grins at Sora, taking a similar smacking swipe at him as he rocks back and forth on his heels, hooking one hand into a slung belt.

"Or admit to it." he replies to the woman. "And yeah. It would be at that. The Old Kingdom is full of little places like this."

Sora has posed:
Sora smirks. "I know better than to hold a map upside down, honestly, Riku, I'm not an idiot. Kairi would hurt me, I just know somehow she'd appear, frown and then laugh at me, and then wander off." Sora makes himself sad briefly, even as he grins at Riku.

"Both are accurate!" He takes the hit, reeling backwards into a patch of brambles with an 'aiee!'

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward chuckled again at Riku's comments. Deelel looked out of place and he couldn't quite figure out why. Though he thought to himself that all of them felt out of place. It wasn't just the world's more of the area as well. He smiled and watched the young people, god are they really all under 25? Ward's smile soundly went away and sighed. He thought for a moment to himself and sat back on a rock moving his harpoon again absent mindly. He wondered if he would EVER meet anyone his age. He pulled out his writing pad and wrote "Hello all, My name is Ward." he thought he should just make pages of common phrases and make a flip book to help his situation shrugged then went back to writing.

Margaux Fleury has posed:
Margaux looks amusedly between Riku and Sora. They obviously knew each other and seemed relatively around the same age. The inside joke they shared was lost to Margaux as she had never met the person whom the joke centered around. "Are you two, classmates by chance?" She asks simply of Sora and Riku.

Pursing her lips together, Margaux does look around her surroundings once more. Perhaps they Death Corps should relocate their headquarters -here- should they successfully reform. But that was talk for another day.

Much to Ward's chagrin, he may really be the oldest person there as Margaux was only a few years older than Riku and Sora by the look of things. The dancer turns towards Ward now, places a hand behind herself, and outstretches the other while she takes a small bowing step towards the big man who had written down his name for everyone to see. "And my name is Marguerite." The redhead now turns to glance towards Deelel before addressing everyone present with, "A pleasure to meet you all even if it is in the most unlikely of place."

Riku has posed:
Riku turns away from Sora to look out over the lake. "Moron.." he murmurs quietly with a strained chuckle. He stretches again then looks over at Deelel. He caught a bit of movement and turned over to Ward. He looked to the paper then at Wrad, and nodded in seeming understanding.

"Hey Ward. Briar Rabbit over there is Sora, and my name's Riku." he inclines his head, nodding in greeting. He frowns slightly in puzzlement as if trying to recall if he had met the man before but.. eventually just pushes the thought away.

"Alright. Well, I guess I'm not going to let this get in the way of my practice one way or another. Sora, quit bush diving and get over here. You and I have to have a meeting of the minds. And say... why don't you pick the stakes his time." Riku takes a step or two back taking the folding blade out of his pocket and unfolding it.

"We grew up together, Marguerite. You build up a tolerance of sorts over time." he looks back at Sora. "The only way I survived Reize without my head exploding, actually."

Sora has posed:
"I am not a rabbit. I don't bounce." Sora protests, even as he pulls himself out of the brambles. "Thank you for the help, anyways." He says, snarky as ever to his friend. Then he smiles at Margaux, giving a friendly nod.

"Riku, Kairi and I, the Destiny Isles three... if you're not counting Selphie and her two, either." He shrugs, looking at the practice wig, humming faintly.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel leaves Riku to catch up with his friend, after all the young man's lost several threat stars after the restoration of the city and his seemingly helping with it. There's other things to worry about right? She meanwhile nods to Ward and pause seeing him writing it down.

"I am known as Deelel, Ward."

Strange he's writing is there some damage to him? She's not sure and she looks over to Margaux.

"It is an unlikely place there's no law here, no order to anything int his place it's ... strange."

She can't help but giggle at the Reize joke.

"He's still compling give him time."

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward chuckled The youngins were pretty funny. He watched them all and got up and bowed to Margaux. She seemed like a pleasant person off hand. He looked at Riku and Sora, They reminded him of his friendship with Laguna and Kiros. Ward wrote down more on the pad. "Where are you all from?" he asked.

Margaux Fleury has posed:
Margaux smiles at the levity of those assembled around her. Things have been awfully serious as of late and it was a refreshing change for things to be so laid back and no maid cafes in sight. A smile is aimed at both Sora and Riku as they banter between each other. "It must be nice to be able to stick together after so many years. Too many people go their seperate ways and never meet up again."

Ward returning her bow draws a nod from Margaux. It was also nice to see that politeness was not forgotten in these times. "Ev-va-les," answers Margaux in an Ordalian accent which would place her next to the kingdom of Ivalice, but not many would know the difference between the kingdoms. "And you? Where are you from, Messire Ward?"

Deelel's explanation about the land they are in causes Margaux's brow to quirk upwards slightly. "Sounds like paradise." She comments with a lazy smile.

Riku has posed:
"You're stalling Sora." Riku says in a mocking singsong again and pffts. "Alright. Nevermind. I've got to get back to Archades anyways before I tip over. Do /try/ to keep yourself out of trouble, huh?" he smirks, folding the blade back into itself and returning it to the proper pocket.

He is stopped though as he prepares to leave by Ward when his attention goes back to the pad. He looks at Ward, then down at the pad and closes his eyes for a long count of three breathes. When he opens them again he shakes his head. "I don't know where they come from." he gestures to the others.. "..but where we come from?" he gestures to Sora and himself. "It's not there anymore. So I guess it doesn't matter, does it?"

He looks uncomfortable with this line of conversation and so changes the subject.

"Yeah." he smiles warily at Deelel and then forces his shoulders to relax. "..I think he'll only get worse with time. He does."

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward wrote down Esthar on the paper and showed it to Margaux. He let Riku and Sora talk. He thinks to himself the he has run into Riku once but can't bring it to mind. He looked to Deelel. Motions for her to come over and begins writing "There is order in the chaos of life though it may be unseen to the human eye but everything has a place and order in mother nature." To Margaux he wrote "where is Evvales? or what happened to it?"

Riku has posed:
Riku frowns slightly as he gets his things together. "Well. If not all wanderers are lost..maybe I should try harder." he waves to Margaux and looks around uncomfortably at the surroundings. He looks to Ward and his paper, then back at the man. He nods in farewell, looking over at Deelel and then at Sora. He begins to exit, stage left. (ish)

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward looked at Deelel. "where are you from?" he asked quizzically "you seem to be...new here? You seem to be from a place with strict rules." he looked at her garb and was wondering about her. "Yes, food is important and so is learning. Chaos is the spice of life. Without it life would be boring."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel gets a bit of a horrorfised look. "Is that even possible?" She seems to be taking Riku as serious cat here right now.



"Sadly that happens in my world too, people parting."

She looks at Ward. "...Are you sure? In my world there's only like one thing that has no defined purpose and grid bugs are deleted when they are found. Here it keeps getting stranger and stranger"

"Humm I think there's some cities left from it, I know the seat of it's major religion is intact I been there in the catcombs under the city itself with Sir Faruja."

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward nodded to Deelel "Whats a grid bug?" he wrote. "Well as far as I know the world has an order for everything. We don't always know how to make sense of it all or know what it is supposed to be, but it is there and just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. He paused and sat and thought about it for a second. "Life may be chaotic to some but there is a pattern and reason to it."

Margaux Fleury has posed:
Margaux can only shrug and offer a sheepish grin to Riku in response to what he said. That phrase was an old one, but one that she believed. People wander for many different reasons, Margaux included. But was she truly lost? Did she even want or need to be found?

The fencer turns and motions off in an eastward direction when Ward asks her where it is. "Honestly, I no longer know. I have not been back there since...." She trails off suddenly and frowns. "...the troubles began. It still is my home as much as any place can be."

Margaux looks around at those remaining before offering another elaborate bow. "I believe that it is my time to depart now. A pleasure again to meet you all, but I must depart before I forget why I came here in the first place." That last part was a lie, but Margaux did not want to admit that she was just a lost wanderer. And with that, Margaux exits stage right which seems to be a copse of woods that she presses hereself into.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says "A glitch that serves no purpose, damages the rest of the system as it were I'm fraid. Think of it like a parasite a creature with no redeeming value t all. I mean most ... creastures here seem to be food sources for people native to this world at the very least. If there is one it's beyond me, still interesting inspiration can be had from the chaos."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel nods to the mute man for a moment "I been here over half a year as you understand time. It's how it works it's just how it is honestly and it is ... something my people have little love for to be honest. It's called the Encom System and I best continue my travels."

Ward Zabac has posed:
Ward nodded getting up and shaking her hand. he wrote "good luck and if you need me find me and i'll come." he smiled grabbed his harpoon and wandered off.