The Dramatic Rodent Inn

[Yukai WindeRiver]

Torr gave a small smile as he nodded. While he personally wouldn't mind spending all day and then some simply wandering around with friends, life didn't work that way.

"Certainly. I'm sure the tree will be happy to see you."

He tried to put on a slightly more responsible air, but was also trying to discreetly pluck crumbs from his face.
-----

The jerboa contented herself with a temporary moment of silence while Nial made plans for buying food stuffs, burying her face into the grey and blonde hair of Chris. Oh dear this was fun. Too bad she missed out on the working form. But better late than never.

Her head turned up when given a question, even though it didn't really need an answer.

"Uuummmm... Yes! Actually is there a larva stage two? Or is it more like a pupal stage that can move?" She seemed to think this was super interesting and sparkled while throwing out theories towards her own body.
----

Chris tried processing what was being said right over his head and shook it lightly in reaction to the rapid fire babel from the rodent turned humanoid.

"I guess... I've seen a few recipes from... a cook book." And he could always ask Loser to send him one. On being offered to go to town with Mariner, he seemed almost relieved.

"That would work." After all, if he did get overwhelmed then there was an adult there to help out. And on the case of attack there was some one to help as well. Not that there should be any reason for anyone to attack him. After all, Chris wasn't more magical than the average human by nature.

[Kaname and Ramza]

Ramza shrugged helplessly, if Demyx wanted to keep whatever secret, he couldn't do anything about it. With that, he led the way down the path to the tree. He kept pace with Demyx and Torr, but only a few steps ahead. Although sometimes he turned around and walked backwards while chatting idly about whatever. Eventually, they came to the sort of flower-garden looking area around the base of the tree, with all the little planters, and plaques that spoke of donators, and history like past kings before Torr and Yen. Somewhere among those, there was probably something from/for Eudial in there too.

"Are we there-"

Ramza spotted a flower out of the corner of his eye, went to turn around, and tripped over a half step up to the level ground this garden was placed on. He landed on his butt, and laughed about it.

--------------

"Stage two...?"

Nial gave the Jerboa a flat look, honestly not expecting a response like that. He shook his head with a laugh, and then nodded at Chris and Mariner.

"Aight, let me find it."

With that he turned and went upstairs to dig out what money he had. He stepped over a pile of notebooks that had collapsed, and knelt down by his bed and fished around for the box containing his almost completed project, and the funds for it.

Eventually, he returned downstairs tossing a bag up and down with his one hand.

"Should be enough for the basics at least, which will help soften the surprise..."

[Demyx Ghatori]

Demyx, of course, bent over to help Ramza back to his feet, which suddenly turned out to be a bad idea - his temporary leg was not particularly stable in any position but standing up relatively straight. Of course, counterbalance was exactly what tails were for, but it was still a struggle to get himself stabilized enough not to fall over himself. "...Well, zhat wash intereshting," was all he had to say on the subject.

"Awesome; I assume we go for as much cheap stuff as possible as opposed to getting a little really good stuff?" Mariner asked, assuming that if all else failed, he could just hang around the market until he got prices figured out. Given that whatever they bought with this money was going to have to serve the whole Inn until someone with some actual foraging skills came back, quantity over quality seemed the obvious choice. Just so long as it didn't all get eaten.

[Yukai WindeRiver]

Torr covered one small chuckle under a paw and twitched his ears in amusement. Certainly he shouldn't be amused, but with Ramza's laughter and Demyx's wry commenting, the cat couldn't help it.

"I would say that we are indeed here." He replied after clearing his throat, a smile still hovering around in his tone.

Torr turned slightly and gave a small bow of his head towards the tree. Probably Kaname would be similarly brightened by such a display.

"It was... certainly a study."
------

With Nial's trip upstairs, the Jerboa took a chance to giggle again and ruffle Chris's hair. Gosh this was nice. So maybe the backlash had been a little worse than expected, but the benefits were pretty great! On his return she watched the bag like a cat. Leaning forward to follow the path.

"Oh! it's been awhile since I went to town! " She beamed. Disregarding the fact that Chris tensed ever so slightly as she chimed in. But! That second half of the sentence.

"Oh come on now Nial! It's not like they'll mind! And if they do, I can take all the blame!"
-----------

Chris didn't actually have too much by way of negotiation skills. Haggling over food wasn't really anything he'd needed to do before. Did that make him spoiled? But Mariner looked like he had some rough ability there.

"The Inn has a good reputation with the town right? That will probably help."

It was about all he could contribute. That and glancing at Nial with a slight amount of hope that the scientist would not allow the rather clingy jerboa to follow. It wasn't like he was unused to it. But having never known the jerboa before coming here, it was weird to deal with the over familiarity.

[Kaname and Ramza]

"Yeah, a real study in gravity!"

Ramza jumped up and laughed while he dusted himself off. Then he looked back behind him, at the expansive garden, with flowers all favoring partial-sunlight. A giant tree that shaded the whole town wasn't exactly the ideal setting for any sort of plant that might require more. Still, what was here, was chosen because it could thrive under the tree's protective branches.

He lazily strolled towards the tree, with the occasional pause by some newer flowers, to give Demyx time to explore the garden himself.

-------

"Yeah, just stuff to get us through a day or two. Later... me and Yukai can clean house. At least our Jerboa-lady didn't clear out the alcohol, incase we get a customer later. And yeah, Chris, the Inn... maybe it has a reputation for bringing weird sights to the guard, but we've probably a reputation as benevolent, if strange and foreign."

Nial handed over the money to Mariner, and looked over to the Jerboa, Chris and Rikky. He scratched the side of his neck, as he pondered through who should go and who should stay. He was worried for Chris' eyes, given his absurd unstoppable attention to detail, but the kid has his phone and games. Mariner... actually, when had Mariner been to town last?

"Jerboa, you should stay here with me, because I don't know what time Demyx and Ramza will get back. Heck, maybe you could write an apology out. Me... Rikky probably wants me to stay in sight, and I should face the music when Demyx gets back."

[Demyx Ghatori]

And explore Demyx did, quite happily, not having been in a proper ornamental garden in quite some time. If the situation had allowed for a little less decorum, he would have cheerfully romped through them on all fours, getting up close and personal with the plantlife (especially since he'd discovered that dragonsbane needed full sun). Alas, romping tended to be hard on ornamental gardens, and therefore generally frowned on, so standing and walking it was.

Mariner had actually never been in town before, and for good reason, which he was just now starting to remember. Unfortunately, it seemed a little unfair to back out now and leave the burden of grocery shopping on Chris alone, or Chris and Nial if Nial changed his mind. Unless he decided to wait for Demyx and Ramza, who had been in town and definitely had some bartering skills, got back, whenever that was, and the rest of them all went hungry in the meantime...nope. "Right, then," he said, trying not to make it a reluctant sigh. "Sooner the better, I guess."

[Yukai WindeRiver]

"Very much so." But Torr preferred to leave his little advisory be after that and simply basked in the shade of the tree and the enjoyment of his companions.

It had been a bit too long since he'd come down here. Things to do, duties to preform and spells to dissect. Luckily Kaname was so large, the tree hadn't actually managed grow significantly enough to notice in his absence. Watching the other two, the king knelt down near the edge and smiled at the flowers. Perhaps he should bring his brother down here again, soon.
----

The jerboa stood up straight, crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue.

"Aw fine. I can just go visit later. As for the alcohol. I don't think I'm technically old enough to drink it~" She went contemplative for a moment and then added as if remembering something.

"But you have to keep an extra good eye on Chris~!"

A waggled finger at Mariner and she was all grins and giggles again.

"Sure, sure! I can try and write a note for them! I have the theory down for it after all! Now I can practice it!"
------

Chris took that as an excuse to head to the door. Getting himself away from the cheerful jerboa lady and straightening his clothes.

"Yeah." He tried to not look anything like anxious, since Mariner looked a little reluctant. Well the athlete did stand out pretty bad. When they got to town, maybe he could use his phone or something to draw more attention to himself. With that thought, Chris double checked his phone and opened the door.
-----

Rikky frowned at the mere thought of Nial going off at this point, and leaving him here with that thing. Especially with the System soul out in town.

A glare was cast there in remembrance as he squinted into the distance. Hmph, well it was surrounded with healers still, so probably wouldn't be a problem.

[Kaname and Ramza]

Eventually, Ramza stopped at the base of the tree, looking at the nametag that hung on a particularly large ribbon around the base. The ornamental path around showed only slight indication of the tree's growing, in the form of slowly encroaching cracks. With a sigh, Ramza scratched the back of his head.

"Hey," He addressed the tree, and felt partially awkward so he continued more quietly, "I just wanted to stop by and tell you I was getting married..."

A harmless handful of leaves fell from the boughs of the tree onto Ramza at that moment, stopping him mid-thought. He picked the leaves from his sling and continued.

"Hey now, I'd invite you but you're kinda a stationary tree."

---------

"Good luck, don't let anyone cheat you."

Nial said to the duo, Mariner and Chris, and hoped they would be alright on their own. He didn't want them to get cheated in a world they knew hardly anything about. Yet, he was fairly sure that he should be here, to watch the Jerboa, keep Rikky from boiling over in rage and maybe explain the situation if the Jerboa couldn't. He probably should avoid jokes about him actually being a creature that reproduces asexually by splitting.

With a sigh, he found a chair at one of the dining tables in the Inn, and flopped into it. He leaned over the table, and motioned for the Jerboa to take a seat. At least, she was dressed before any potential customers came in.

"Let me get a few things straight... You're the Jerboa, and you were in my head earlier, correct?"

[Demyx Ghatori]

Demyx was content to just sit by the tree for a while and let Ramza talk to it, while he tried to figure out what (if anything) he was going to say. Given the sheer size of it, it seemed completely plausible to him that there could be a deity living in that tree, or that the tree itself was a deity. Talking to it seemed completely reasonable; if he managed to get a single leaf from it, he would probably keep it until it crumbled to dust.

Mariner followed Chris to the door and outside, ruffling his wings slightly to gauge the wind direction and speed. He wasn't exactly intending to fly into town, but it was hard to overcome instinct. This wasn't too bad; at least it was a nice day...right, town was in this direction. He knew that much.

[Yukai WindeRiver]

It was easy to be amused by Ramza's chatter at the tree. Honestly many of the townsfolk would stop by to have a conversation with Kaname. It wasn't terribly uncommon, since the shadow of the great tree had been here long before the town and would most likely last past it as well, many people felt even a normal tree would gain some sort of mind after all that time.

There were those that thought it a waste of time. But they were never loud nor forceful about it. Possibly after Ramza and Demyx said their pieces, he might confide a few thoughts himself. See how long they could stay out before those 'inconspicuous' knights broke cover.
----

Chris stood just a little ways out from the inn at first, dealing with the grass and leaves and all sorts of other bits of nature. Staring forward, it was the sound of wind rustling through feathers that got him moving abruptly.

Who'd of thought, wings were loud. For a moment he was worried that Mariner would up and leave him. But that was a silly thought. For starters, Mariner wasn't that type of guy. Also, it didn't really matter if he flew off as long as the athlete met up with him in town. Or maybe checked in on him a few times down the road.

"..... So I guess you... haven't met the lady at the inn then..." It was about the most he could bring up for idle conversation. Actually.... given how Fran acted... probably a good thing if they didn't.

----

"Yup and yup!"

The jerboa saluted with a smile and moved over to scan the bottles on the wall.

"Oh wait!" An abrupt turn back to Nial revealed a surprised face. "I never told you? Woops~!" She bit at her cheek for a moment and then went back to looking over the drinks of the bar. Squinting at some and blinking at others.

"What else do you need to know? I got lots and lots I can clarify.... aaand, lots and lots I don't knwo myself."

[Kaname and Ramza]

Ramza held a staring contest with the tree for a while, before he sighed and made a bright smile.

"Well... in the meantime, thanks for always looking after the town and Torr. Drop a limb on him if he overworks himself, will you? Just leave Demyx to me now~ Haha~!"

He rambled off on a variety of things, such as small requests and idle chatter. He openly wondered about how various people were doing, how the tree itself was doing, and things like that. He mentioned the small changes he'd noticed. He speculated too, that his house might soon be in the hands of someone else-, no way his sister would just stay there alone with Segilia.

In the end, words trailed off, and he found himself looking up at the tree's leaves about without a single thought.

-------------

"No, you didn't."

Nial frowned easily. It was just a few more face muscle twitches from his earlier expression of irritated. He might end up looking like a mirror of Rikky at this point. If it weren't for the fact that Rikky's... Rikkiness amplified around the Jerboa. With a sigh, he relaxed and leaned back in the seat.

"Don't drink all the alcohol... that might... end up awful."

He looked up at the ceiling, and thought about what to ask next.

"So why are you here then? In this inn?"

[Demyx Ghatori]

Demyx's tail curled up slightly as he listened in to Ramza's requests, and his conversation with the tree, while his brain only half-absorbed the words. The whole surrounding made a nice, peaceful sort of temple, he was deciding, if you expanded the definition of temple a little bit. Would the others laugh if he said that kind of thing out loud? Very possibly, so for now, he was going to keep his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself.

"You mean the one who apparently used to be a jerboa? No, except when she actually was a jerboa...unless you mean some other lady at some other inn," Mariner said, realizing halfway through his thought process that there had to be other people and other inns somewhere else in this world. "If you do, I definitely haven't met her. So, in that case, what lady at what inn?"

[Yukai WindeRiver]

With the peaceful setting around the tree, Torr was able to finally let the rest of the stress fall away. Unfortunately this meant when he went to sit down, it was all at once and sent up a puff of dirt. It didn't really hurt the cat, rather than feel seven levels of undignified. But today wasn't really about dignity. It was about his friends.

Thinking of them, Demyx looked rather too serious under the branches of Kaname. Well, then again, hadn't he looked the same, coming down here all those years back. All awed by the size of the town, and the way the mountains looked so much different from when he had lived in their peaks. But most especially, the grand tree that had encompassed the town under it's branches. Like a small mountain in it's own right, to his child mind. Actually, hadn't it been his brother that spoke first, like he was greeting a neighbor for the first time.
----

"Oh... uh... No I meant Fran." Chris stopped for a moment in surprise, at himself really. That was the problem with thinking in your head more than you talked. You forgot bits and pieces of what information you actually shared.

"Though... I'm glad me and Nial weren't the last ones in on shape changing rodents." He thought about it a moment as he messed with his phone. "Fran, um... She was pretty memorable. Gave weird titles and back stories out. From one of the town's inns."

----

"Woopsies." While saying so with a smile and sounding completely unapologetic, the jerboa stepped back away from the drinks.

"Oh no no, I was just wondering if it was worth it. I've never been drunk before you know?" But from what she knew, it wouldn't be, not like the next day. Then again, she had biased information. When Nial asked why she was here, for a moment the woman dropped the smile and her face seemed almost serious.

"Well because Chris is here. After all I'm..." She had to fish around for a way to say it. "His guardian angel? Or something like that? I'm not really too sure the specifics really?"

[Kaname and Ramza]

As much as he thought, and as much as he wondered, Ramza couldn't actually find much aside from that announcement that he hadn't told the tree on some occasion already. So, with that, he started saying some vague goodbye.

"I haven't really kept in contact, heck, I don't know if you really hear me for sure, but take care. I'll visit whenever I'm in town, although that's kinda rare."

He nodded his head, and turned back to Demyx and Torr. He titled his head, noticing that they were both deep in thought. He grinned, though, as he felt like he'd know the tree since forever. He logically knew that he was probably wrong about some things.

"If you want to say something to Kaname, the tree, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. Most of her day has got to be pretty lonely sitting here, so company is no doubt welcome."

------------

"Then why a jerboa? Or... well you ate everything and became a girl, so I guess that has to do with energy or conservation... Are you artificial then? Does that put you in the same category as androids, or more like..."

Nial asked the table he sat at, perplexed. With a deep sigh, he leaned back. His empty sleeve drooped to the ground, while he stretched the remaining arm to the sky and yawned sleepily. He already was anxious to see Chris and Mariner back.

"I guess we'll have to get you more spare clothes, at least. I'm not letting you run around in my spare clothes forever."

[Demyx Ghatori]

What did you say to a gargantuan tree that was probably a god? Demyx had no idea, particularly since he wasn't from around here, and this tree wasn't a god he personally worshiped. Simply making conversation, the way Ramza had, didn't quite feel right to him. What did feel right?...Well, usually, when he prayed, he sang his prayers more than said them aloud...and almost without thinking, he started humming, not really putting any words to it yet.

"Fran...Fran. I may have heard that name," Mariner said thoughtfully. "It probably got thrown around a few times back at the inn...so what's she like? What kind of weird titles and stories does she give out? Like...crazy nicknames, or is she the kind of person that invents grandiose soap operas around everyone she meets?"