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It was another lovely day in Balamb, the village seemed peaceful, and the world, well, it seemed just as so. The winds were warm and the slight rain in the air was cool to the touch, perfectly balancing out with the warmth of the slight breeze and the air itself. Despite there being a shower, the sun was still shining. It was a strange kind of weather, lovely, refreshing, calming, but still, strange.
There were people out playing, because, even though it was raining, it was so light that it bothered very few people. The kids were running around, whilst the parents sat and watched. Some of the older children, they were playing cards under sheltered areas. However, within Balamb there was one area that needed to be focused on, a little tavern near the docks.
Within the tavern there were a few patrons, this was one of the three taverns within Balamb, but, it was also the smallest, and well, some would say dodgiest out of all of them. Two patrons, already drunk, sat on stools draped against the bar. There were several more of them dotted around in corners, in groups of two or two, whispering. However, in the far, right hand corner, almost level with the bar, was a young silver haired man, on his own.
This young man was in fact Karrl Draven Garm, a rank nine member of SeeD, the elite mercenary army from Balamb Garden. Of course, the way he looked no one would think of him like that. He was wearing black clothing, slightly dirty, with his hair tied up into a loose ponytail. His chin showed that he had not shaved for a day, maybe two, and his eyes, they held something that was a blend between anger, sorry and complete coldness.
Karrl had been in Balamb for a few hours now, and was currently on his third drink, but the effects had not seemed to taken after yet, not by a long shot. He knew he should have returned to Garden by now, but what had happened, what had happened in Alexandria, he could not bear to look Headmaster Cid in the eye and tell him what he had done, he hated himself for it, he could not bear to think about how Cid would react. So, until he could build up the courage, he would sit in there and have a few more drinks.
Rena had been off trying to enjoy herself with the strange happenings at the fire caverns, but all of that for some reason had went south. Now she was moving over the Balamb area, landing her airship just outside of a small town area at the docks. It was getting dark out but she made her way from the docks, stretching some, popping her back with a relieved sigh, most everyone was already heading to their homes for the night. The most noise seemed to be comming from a tavern nearby and as such that seemed to best place to stop in and relax. Foot-paws would fall silently to the ground as she moved along, her tails swishing about behind her, mingling between one another it would seem in how they moved. Upon reaching the door to the establishment she pushed it open and headed inside, only to stop and look around, her ears twitching a bit as she scanned over the patrons within.
After all she was considered a Lucavi, a demon of sorts to the people of this planet, she expected some cold looks and wasn't disappointed by the thought. She would smile at the ones that stared before padding over to the bar, taking a seat and spinning about on the stool till she faced the bar.
I will have!!! well.. I dunno what i'll have.. but make it cold.. and tasty!
She smiled at the barkeep and dropped a few gil on the bar top for him, showing she was paying for her drinks as her tails were curled to one another quickly, now seeming to have one large poof of a tail, she'd look at the other patrons again, seeing what they looked like, pausing when her eyes caught someone with silvery hair.
hrmmm.. maybe he's in a rock band.... wait.. do they have those on Gaia....
She pondered a bit, seemingly talking to herself before shaking her head of the thought.
Karrl heard the door to the tavern open and he looked up. He was not curious about who had entered, but his training made it almost instinctual to make sure he knew how many people were in the tavern, who they were, and what they were. He looked at the newcomer briefly, taking her in. He was not fazed by her appearance, he had seen, and fought much stranger things in his travels. During his time in Spira, he had to fight a massive creature who fed on Chocobo single handed. He actually managed to kill it too, just about.
It did take a lot out of him though and had to rest for the rest of the day to get his strength back. If it was not for his natural resilience and ability to regenerate, he might have taken several, and might of lost his arm so the thing smashed and almost shattered his elbow. He knew he would not be half a tough and not be able to fight and defeat some of the creature he had fought and defeated without his natural abilities. He wondered, if it was not for his natural abilities that he would be so high up in the rankings of SeeD, however, he push though thoughts aside, no use wondering about the what ifs, he was who he was and there was nothing that could be done about it.
As he thought about a lot of things, his naturally high sense of hearing picked up speech from a voice he did not recognise, he instantly gathered that it was a woman who had just come in. He looked up, his eyes despite their colour, were cold, not so much they he was being nasty or he did not like the woman, it was, recently the most common thing to come from his eyes. His eyes had gone through two changed, once they were warm and inviting, but, now, they were cold. The second thing was their colour. Once they were considered hazel, but the brown had on in its entirety, and where the brown had been, a deep, crimson red was in its place.
She'd shut up rather quickly, seeing this silver haired guy seeming to take notice and looking directly at her. Her ears flicking idly as she stared back a few seconds, at least until her drink was set down by her. She would turn back to it, sniffing at it a little, making sure it wasn't toilet water, she had that happen once but at least it didn't end well for that bar or the barkeep. The drink didn't smell like that though, sipping it he was a fruity flavor, she had to give a strange look at the drink, wondering why it was flavored like that.
What is this!!!
Looking to the barkeep for some type of answer or explanation but not getting one, she'd twitch her ears back some, sighing and drinking it anyways before ordering another drink.
Make it harder! not so fruity.. i'm not some princess here..
she would wait for another drink, thinking back a bit to that fire cavern and the happenings of it, she still had a little fun, but figured she would have to head off again, needing to meet back up with Celes after all. She would glance once more to the silver haired man, only to find him still looking at her.
What!!! Yes I have ears and tails! don't have to stare snowflake.
And thus.. she had nicknamed this guy with the silvery hair, snowflake seemed fitting for him considering, he was giving her a cold stare and had that lighter hair after all, it was a complete fit for him. Her tails swaying a little she stared back now, not taking her eyes off him as her ears perked up, standing high and focused on him, only giving small twitches to turn and listen to anything else going on in the vicinity. More or less making sure no one was trying to sneak up on her, though she was getting a few looks from other patrons, glancing back and forth from her to Karrl.
Karrl’s face, despite his cold look, had been neutral, until she called him snowflake. Now, because of such an insulting nickname, most people would expect him to get angry, but, he kept calm, he did not want to lose control of his temper, he remembered, vaguely, what happened the last time he lost his cool. So, instead of getting angry, he remained calm, not matter how much the beast inside was barking and clawing at his mind, itching to come out and tear her apart. It was a struggle usually, but the fact was it was a minor insult over him staring, and so, the beast was not as bad as it could have been.
So, to show he was not angry, or insulted, he let a faint smile appear on his lips. He would not let anything make him lose his cool, not in such a small area, and not near so many innocent, well, somewhat innocent, bystanders, and definitely not in the town he called home. He continued to smile as he sat there, it was strange really, the contrast between his eyes and his smile, one was warm and one was cold, it might have been a little creepy if it was not for how nice the smile was, and, compared to the average male, how good looking he was.
Slowly, he stood up, and it would be then most people would realise how big he actually was. He was nowhere near a giant of a behemoth in size, but he was far from small. Standing at six foot and weighing in at two hundred and ten pounds, he was not a small guy by any stretch of the imagination. The reason why his size was not that noticeable when he was stand, well, it’s simple really, most of his height was made up by his legs. His size was not that noticeable because, when he had been sitting he was slightly hunched, which, somehow, cloaked his natural size.
When he finally reached full height his trench-coat‘s ends fell to his ankles. He cracked his neck, closing his eyes as he made the swift, sharp side to side motions. Once that was done he opened his eyes once more. He had not taken his eyes off, apart from that brief moment just before, Rena, however, his hear made him privy to the nervous whispers of the other patrols, and, somehow, he could manage to smile the anxiety in the air. He stood there for a moment or two before finally speaking, “I was not staring being of your ears and tail, I have seen, and killed far stranger things in my travel. I was, merely curious, it is rare to find someone who most people would call, not normal, in Balamb.”
Watching as her smiled, she didn't look away still, an ear flicking lightly when the drink was sat down for her, reaching over and claiming it in her hand, she brought it to her lips sipping some before returning it to the bar top. She continued to watch as he'd stand up, seeing his movements, fairly slow at the moment but he seemed to be trying to intimidate her after she had called him snowflake. Her tails curling around the bar stool as she studied him over a bit, even as his eyes caught to her own again.
She grinned a little taking another drink as he spoke up though finally, hearing him mention killing ones stranger then her wasn't that strange in and of it's self, she had killed other things also. But his comment about seeing someone that would normally be called not normal was in Balamb of all places. A sigh passing her warm lips as she settled, both hands holding her class on her lap as she looked to him once more.
You know... technically where I come from, everyone here could be called not normal... but where I come from, I've traveled alot... I supposed I could ask though.. if your hair is Silvery like it is ... Snowflake... because of how high up it has to rest on your head.
Tilting her head some, a bit of hair falling in her face as she'd reach up and brush it back a bit, kicking her legs back and forth, wiggling toe-pads in the air as she sat on the stool, she herself wasn't that tall in comparison, at least not at the moment. IF she chose to shift forms then it would be another story entirely but that was for another time or place as is. Still she brought the drink to her lips once more, sipping the last of the warmer liquid down, letting it tingle along her throat mildly before setting the glass atop the bar and sliding it away.
Karrl let out a chuckle when she seemed to be not effected by the way he was acting. He was not surprised, for a guy his size not many people actually became intimidated by him. He had no idea why, maybe because most people that weren’t intimidated by him were the people who actually knew him, or people who faced danger on a daily basis.
When she commented on the fact where she came from people who were normal here would not be called normal there. That fact had no escaped his attention but he thought he would comment on it anyway, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not fussed by the fact you would be deemed not normal here, one lands Casu Frazigu is another lands cheese sandwich. I never judge a person by their personal appearance, but you seem to be the type of person to be defensive about their appearance, so, I thought I would clear the air on that point.”
However, when she went on to comment on his hair again he frown a bit, but his expression changed back to a subtle smile, “I honestly don’t know why my hair is silver. I have had silver hair for as long as I can remember. I asked someone about it once and they said I was born with it. As for why, they did not know either. I doubt I will ever find out why I have it, but, I’m not too fussed about that little fact.”
He moved around the table and walked up to her. He then rested against the bar and ordered himself a drink, “Same again.” He waited for a few seconds before the drink came to him. Sipping the drink and thought on a few matter, one of them being how to continue this chat. At first he did not want to speak to anyone, but she seemed amusing enough so he had changed his mind. After a few moments he turned back to Rena, “Let’s start again, we got off on the wrong foot…” He extended his hand, “Da name’s Karrl.”
He didn't seem to be that fun with her toying now, her commenting on his hair and calling him snowflake for it seemed to make him frown more then anything.He though comented on her pointing out what could be considered normal or not, seeming to make a quip towards how she looked. Herself glancing down and looking herself over somewhat, Ren would glance back to him once more. When he'd finally move around his table and making his way over to the bar where she was sitting, she would tilt her head slightlywatching him a moment before watching as he took a spot closer by.
mmm.. wrong paw.... got off to the wrong paw... Snowflake ..
She heard him tell her his name, but still she called him snowflake, she liked this moniker for him at the moment she felt it fit the person that was before herself. She did indeed walk on foot-paws, a trait that she tended to have not changed about herself along with her tails and ears. Glancing to his drink some it made her wary of her own, sitting within reach plotting some diobolicle way to wet her tongue. An ear flicking as she watched the glass sweat a little, she'd finally take it in hand and bring it to her lips sipping it. The chill running acros sher tongue and down her throat as she'd smile once done and setting her glass down.
mmmm My Name is Renari....
Glancing to his hand as he held it out in greeting, she'd study it a moment before reaching out and shaking it her hand still just a little damp and cool from the glass she'd just been holding moments before.
Karrl raised an eyebrow as she corrected him. He was not going to say anything about it. The truth was they were both right, and at the same time, both wrong. True to her it was the wrong paw, but to him it was the wrong foot. It was not that big a deal, but Karrl never usually dealt well with being corrected, especially when he was right. Of course he knew, in some aspect she was right as well, but, he did not openly admit that, not even to him. All he did was sip his drink and keep an eyebrow raised for a moment or two longer.
There was another reason why he was not going to comment. The reason why he was not going to comment on it was simply because he did not have the time, or the need to argue semantics with someone. Normally Karrl would have just chuckled and sipped his drink, but he did not even chuckle, he just sipped and looked at her with his hazel eyes helping his brain commit her face to memory. He had seen stranger creature than her in his travels, he would admit that, but there was something about her features that made it easier to comment her face to memory.
When she spoke her name he greeted it with a smile and shook her hand as she took his. He may not be in his usual calm, laid back with chilled sensibilities, but, he was at least going to try and be friendly. He continued to smile and spoke, “Well Renari, it’s a pleasure to meet y’a…” He took his hand back and took another sip of his drink before continuing, “So, what brings you to Balamb.” He was not asking to be polite, it was rare to find people who were not human in Balamb, besides moogles, and that’s about it.
Whenever he met a non-human in his hometown he always tried to find out why, just in case they posed any thread. He doubted she did, but one would never knew. Hell, he didn’t look it but he was a high ranking member of SeeD, which proved his theory. He understood the need for secrecy, but, if she tried to hide anything, or lied to him his suspicions would only grow and his need to find out what she was up to would grow just as much. He was not pointing a finger and saying enemy simply because she was not a human, he asked these things, just on the off chance she was going to try something.
Last Edit: Aug 15, 2012 19:03:10 GMT by Karrl Garm
Her tails flicked as she watched him still, he seemed to be judging her and what she might be up to. A more mischevious smile would cross her lips after they shook hands, ears wiggling some as her drink came to be refilled. She slipped a hand around the glass and brought it to her lips, sipping it down with a soft sigh before glancing to the others within the tavern. mmm.. oh.. you know, I heard their may be some.. Excitement in balamb.. figured I would drop in, see what fun was to be had.. Snowflake.
She may have been hinting at something, but that was going to be a bit difficult to tell exactly at what in particular. She would finish the next glass of liquid quickly enough, sighing loudly as she set the glass on the bar, and put a few gil on the bartop. Stretching as she would stand from the bar, she glanced around the area before looking at him.
Enjoy your evening while you can, after all never known when something may come up and change a good evening to something more sinister.
Sticking her tongue out a bit, she moved weaving between tables and such till she reached the door, soon enough herself and then her tails vanishing out into the gripping darkness that held the land. She headed off, to go snoop around the town some, staying to the darker parks and curling her own tails about herself as if wearing a very puffy coat. The air was growing cool after all, but it seemed like the night was starting out calmly.
Karrl took a sip of his drink and watched her as she talked. So, there was supposed to be some kind of excitement coming about. Karrl nodded in understanding. He knew there was excitement to be had in the town. Despite the small size of the town, a lot had happened; he assumed it was because of the Garden, which, in all fairness, was a fair assumption to make. He was curious to know what excitement she meant, but, maybe, it was not his time to know.
So, when she finished her drink and put the gil on the bar counter he watched her, as she left. He chose not to follow her. In all fairness, he was not in the mood for excitement, not that night, he just wanted to finish his drink, and, begrudgingly await his fate when he headed back to the Garden. He looked around and sighed, “Guess it’s not use avoiding the inevitable.” With that he drained his glass and put the gil on the counter.
Looking over to the barman, “See y’a later Frank.” The barman nodded as Karrl headed out himself. As he reached the door he stopped for a moment or two, taking a deep breath, or a couple more like. He knew, even though he did not want it to be, it was time to head back. He only hoped that the repercussion of Alexandria were not to extreme, he could handle most things, but, if they kicked him out of SeeD, well, he did not know what he would do if that happened. Taking one more deep breath he left the bar and headed, home.
