Tales of Symphonia: A New Tomorrow (FULL)

[Azura Cantarella]

"Hmm...?" She glanced at the book's cover for a second...not really able to make out anything from the cover yet. "I'll take your word for it..." The Wingfolk's ears twitched curiously at his mumbling as she looked back up at him, but she caught none of it. She blinked, puzzled that...this guy wants to know her name already? "Ahaha, yeah, of course I do. Azriel Serafina. Or, Azriel's just fine." ^_^ Noticing that she was still holding his hand, she turned that into a handshake. "Um, and you are...?" That wasn't exactly the most polite way to ask for the favor to be returned, but she was not sure how to word it any other way.  

[Lord Lee Major]

Ilene finished her page and looked up to see who had just spoken to her, "Hm? Yes, may I help you?" she smiled trying to be friendly.

~~

The wingfolk on the roof, looked over at his partner, "So how long do you plan to sit on your arse, Camulos? Better yet when are you gonna tell me why we're are even here?"

"We are here for two reasons. I heard from a sorce that something big was going down and he wanted it crashed. Seeing how it could most likely Midgard has a hand in it somewhere, I thought it would be beneficial for the MRM"

"Sweetness, finally some action." The wingfolk cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"Hold it Sol, There was a condition from the source provider." Camulos stood up and looked out over the town, "He needs one of use to look after someone for a while, help her out on her journeys so to speak. Unfortunately that would most likely cause crossfire with what we are about to do."

"Great, so I get stuck with babysittin' then?"

"The one you are watching is apparently very capable of taking care of herself." Camulos started to walk towards the edge of the roof, "One more thing before I leave, I am most likely going to cross blades with some powerful opponents before I leave town, one of which could be the girl in question. In that instance try to act like my enemy as well." He tossed an envelope at Sol, "If any of them ask what the world I was, don't hesitate to tell them. But make sure to keep our connection between us a secret, as well as my connections to the MRM. Is That clear?"

Sol picked up the envelope "Clear as Cold Crystal, Captain Cranium Camulos sir!" he shuffled through the contents of the envelope, on of which look like a very old photo at least 50 years if not more, "Hey, how am I supposed to find her with thi-" he looked back up to see that Camulos had already left him by his lonesome. "Still a sneaky ol' bugger aren't ya Camulos?" Sol chuckled to himself and stretched out over the rooftop. He was going to enjoy the free time that he had before every thing went down and that meant a short nap.  

[Sirea Angelie]

The female had different colored eyes, her left eye was green and her right was blue. Her hair was blonde, though majority of it was covered by her hood. "I'm sorry to interrupt you like that." ^.^; She said after Ilene had finished reading a page. "Is there some sort of event going on here or something? This town seems very lively."  

[Evilweirdo 0]

Meanwhile, "Eduardooo!", or just Eduardo, left the building, and the one he had been talking to walked back into the depths of the building (after many sideways glances at the girl with the wings). This was, no doubt, to engage in some sort of study, but that wasn't important.
As Eduardo left the building, he wished he could somehow get onto the roof and look over the city. Of course, he couldn't at the moment. That would probably be illegal. He contented himself in leaping over benches on the way to his home.
In truth, he needed only to fetch his backpack. He would have been wearing it, but this was frowned upon by the scientists at the lab. As he wandered aimlessly for a bit, thinking to himself as he often did before leaving town, he couldn't help but overhear two females, one with a book. It may not be considered polite to interrupt conversations, but he did so anyway.
"Yup, there is. APPARENTLY I'm too 'lively' to be there."
His self-imposed job done, he then proceeded to start walking away from this chance meeting.  

[Fedora Warrior]

Zelos grins and tosses an exsphere into the air a few times.
"Any time something dies, it releases a strange energy...along with its consciousness, to likely go to whatever afterlife it's heading to. As we saw with Mithos, an exsphere can capture that energy and consciousness in itself...however..."
He catches the exsphere and slides it into his pocket.
"Using magitech, the scientists here in Sybak were able to discover a way to remove the part of the exsphere that lets it absorb consciousness. Monsters are a common problem outside of any settlement, and there are those that are already paid to slay them. By asking those people to carry an exsphere, with a modified key crest, with them, they can gather the energy released by dead monsters. Once the exsphere changes color from its dormant gray into an actual color, they can sell the exspheres back to the research institute. This creates exspheres without the cost of human lives, and the spirits of the monsters slain still go to...wherever they go. It's a humane exsphere. My sister, Seles, used an exsphere to help ward off her illness, but when she learned of what exspheres were, she stopped. The end result was that her lifespan was cut short, and her life was filled with illness and pain. With these, that doesn't have to happen to anyone else."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gray-skinned man returns Azriel's handshake and grins as he returns her cup to her.
"Name's Rhone Craft. I'm guessin' you're new to town. I figure I'd remember someone like you walkin' around. Come to think of it, you don't seem bothered by my appearance at all...gotta say, seeing that sort of tolerance is refreshing. Thank ya."
Rhone tips his hat forward for a moment before regaining his posture.  

[Azura Cantarella]

((Nice save, I was thinking that Ratatosk might have a beef with monsters' lives being used to make Exspheres. razz ))

Azriel made a nod of gratitude at Rhone's gestures as she took back the cup and slipped it back inside her bag. "Rhone..." she uttered, committing the name to memory, "Pleased to make your acquaintance. emotion_c8 Um...this place isn't exactly new to me, it's just that I don't come here all that often." She scratched the side of her head, a bit puzzled at why he'd be thankful for that. "You're...welcome? Well...I've always thought it'd be hypocritical of me to judge when I'm of a race descended from the Half-Elves. Considered mutants, even."

She was curious but she thought it'd be pretty impolite of her to inquire about personal business when they've just met. Another reason, which she wasn't willing to make known just yet, was that she also thought it's not her place to judge when she has occasions where she looks demonic herself...  

[Fedora Warrior]

(Yeah, I thought that through. XD)

Rhone grabs the top of his hat and tilts the brim down so it covers his eyes.
"Yes...I am aware of the bigotry that surrounds half-elves...damn shame, that..."
He tilts the hat back up and smiles.
"As for those of Exire, I wouldn't consider that a mutation. More...an adaptation. It makes sense for a race of people living in the sky to eventually develop wings. Can't have people just falling off to their doom now, can we? However...your wings are interesting. The two seem to be completely different styles of wings, yet if you can sustain flight, which seems likely, it means that they're made so they can created the exact same wind resistance...quite an impressive feat. I won't inquire about how that situation came about, however, instead I'll hope we meet again one day and you might tell me about them yourself. For now, I'm afraid there's somewhere I have to go. I'll soon be needed at the research institute...my invention's about to go public!"
Rhone starts to walk past Azriel, but stops right as he passes her.
"And...take a look at that book..."
He gazes turns around partially and looks over his shoulder, not directly at Azriel, but near her.
"Something tells me...it could come in handy..."
With that, he swiftly walks out of the library, ducking down and holding onto his hat to prevent himself from hitting his head on the doorway.  

[Azura Cantarella]

Azriel blinked while Rhone got into his scientific talk. While she may have looked blank and puzzled, she genuinely was fascinated. She was just too simple-minded for all that information to be absorbed all at once. "Sustain...wind resistance..." she turned slowly in her place, watching as he walked away. Her mind still taking in what he talked about, she didn't notice how he glanced at something that seemed to be near her. "...the book? What was that all about?" It was here she began to realize she hadn't said a proper farewell herself, so she called out, "O-oh yeah! Catch ya later! Good luck with that!"

After he was gone, she took the book out from under her arm and held it in both her hands, staring at it for a moment. Then she opened it and began to skim through the pages, finding it to be about various rituals ranging from communicating with spirits to more intricate manipulation of the elements to necromancy. She thought it interesting and all, but what made Rhone think she needed it...?

Well, he noticed her wings. Did that necessarily mean he knew about her collar and was kind of...hiding it?

Shrugging and saving that thought for the next time they'd cross paths, she closed the book and thought of checking it out, but... "Ugh. I don't have a library card. Guess I'll have to come back for it." She looked around for the shelf from which Rhone might have taken the book, and upon finding an empty spot, she inserted it back and began to walk away.

...Only after she turned her back and took a few steps, she heard a book flopping onto the floor. Looking back, she saw that it was indeed the one she just put back. "Wh-what?" She was sure she placed it in all securely! Thinking it best not to dwell, she tried returning the book once more.

...And it happened again once she turned her back. Before she'd try to pick it up again, she peered through the shelf to see if anyone on the other side was messing with her. For extra measure, she went there herself and checked...but there was no one else around in that section. Scratching her head, she tried to put the book back for the third time.

...And she heard it drop once more. Feeling a bit creeped out, she decided not to turn back and just keep on walking.

THUD.

"OW!"

Something had hit the back of her head! She turned around to see who might have thrown something...only to find that same book at her feet. Stunned for a moment, she just stared at it with a dumbfounded expression.

Nearby, the ghost buried his face in his hands out of sheer shame at what he had just done.

Picking up on Azriel's thoughts, one of the voices in her mind remarked, "That's preposterous! It can't be alive..."

The other replied, "I dunno what the hell's going on, but I can vouch for that. I don't sense any soul in it." o_o

Azriel had picked up the book by now and made a turn for the library counter. "You know what? I guess I'll try to check it out and see where this is going." sweatdrop  

[Sirea Angelie]

Her fox ears perk up within her hood when she heard Eduardo answer her question to Ilene. She glanced over to look at the man. "What sort of event is it? Must be a special one." She then noted that he was wearing a labcoat. "You're from around here, aren't you?" There was a curious tone in the female's voice. Could this guy be a scientist? Maybe he might be able to help me. She thought to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After hearing Zelos's explanation, Colette took a moment to think. "Creating exspheres without the cost of human lives..." She murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. She knew that Zelos wouldn't allow the creation of these things if it involved taking lives. A small smile formed on her lips. "I'm impressed." She said before she gazed over to Lloyd, curious to see what his opinion was in regards to those exspheres.  

[Krazy-Chibi]

"Im not sure what to think of this..." Lloyd said with some doubt in his voice

~

The woman eyed the briefcase, she had the tools she needed to take the case, it was just a matter of timing on her part.  

[Lord Lee Major]

Ilene was about to jump out of her skin when the man interjected, "Y-yah." she couldn't help but notice the girls hood move. Ilene decided to write off the movement as a trick of the eye caused by too much reading. "I believe some important big-shot is planning on making some sort of announcement today. Kinda wish I waited till tomorrow to come here though." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she never really did like staying in spots with lots people, it kept her a a bit on edge but she lived with it.  

[Evilweirdo 0]

Eduardo spun around on one foot and stopped walking.
"Yup, I live here. I've heard some weird rumors, but nobody's telling me who's hosting this shindig."
He also noticed the moving hood, but, again, he'd probably seen weirder.
"Could always check with one of the guys at the lab there. I bet they'd know." He pointed at said lab. "...But they're not all as good at this social stuff as I am. Ah well."  

[Sirea Angelie]

"Oh?" The female asked as she shifted her attention to Ilene. She was quite curious on what would that announcement be, but she knew what she came here for. "Wonder what it could be." She then gazed over to Eduardo. She had the thought that with this big event going on, the scientists would be too occupied to help her. "You're a scientist, aren't you? If so, maybe you can help me with something." If he was unable to help her, she figured that maybe she should try to find something at a library. It was then she realized that she didn't even introduce herself to Ilene and Eduardo. "Oh, where are my matters. My name is Sirea Elric." She smiles softly as she holds a hand out to Ilene, wanting to give a handshake. Her fingernails were like claws.  

[Fedora Warrior]

A voice could be heard coming from the closed double-doors at the end of the room.
"I understand that you may be confused a bit by the concept, but if you have any questions, you could always ask me."
The doors swing open as the gray-skinned man, Rhone, walks in, showing a very large, red exsphere mounted near his right shoulder with an enourmous keycrest.

Once inside he smirks and crosses his arms over his chest.
"After all, I helped make the damn things."

Zelos chuckles and shakes his head.
"Well, I was wondering when you'd show up. Rhone here's been letting the researchers here study his exsphere...if it can be called that. It's...interesting."  

[Krazy-Chibi]

Lloyd extended his hand to greet the man

"Im Lloyd, and this is Colette"

"so you've been helping Zelos make these? I guess as long as they're not made the way Exspheres were originally it should be alright".