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{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James simply remained silent, pulling away slightly as he felt her finally relax. It was good, it meant to a large extent at least, he had said what he had intended to and what she had needed to hear. He could tell that each word he said had it's full meaning to her, and he was certain she wouldn't forget them, and if she did, he would gladly remind her again and again if he had to. He remained silent as she spoke, explaining how she felt about losing their home, that she had felt relieved to be starting over here. He had not been so different once, choosing to immerse himself in the fantasy world of Final Fantasy XI instead of his actual life. He could understand that all too well... and had been ashamed of it as well, this was on a far grander scale, but still the idea was the same.

He saw now the truth behind Kyla, how lonely she had been, he had always been one to have and make new friends pretty easily, he had never really had the loneliness that she did, aside from the loneliness that he had imposed upon himself with his obsession. He could see it starting, tell that soon she would start to cry, Michelle had always said that it was good to do so, he wasn't going to stop her if she did and with one last silly confession she began to sob and the corsair pulled her close to him again. Since the corsair had married Michelle and matured a fair bit, he wasn't really one to cry much anymore. He was the stone wall of their family, the one who would support them both, and he would willingly be a stone wall for any others who needed him as such.

As she cried, Carbuncle appeared and placed his front paws on the corsair's hand before nuzzling Kyla's face, much as a cat would for it's owner. He knew that well, his mom being a cat lover and growing up with two cats the great majority of his life.

"I am sorry that you've had such a lonely life, I wish I could have done something about it then, but of course I didn't know you. I do now though, far better than before, and I am more than happy to call you a friend," he stated with a broad sincere smile.

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James simply held her as she continued to cry, Carbuncle cuddling against her neck until they both finally pulled back and she reacted to his declaration of friendship. He chuckled lightly at her response, it admittedly surprised him that she was curious if he was being true about it. It didn't last long though and then she thanked him and gladly accepted it. They both finally broke the hug and the corsair couldn't help but keep smiling as he sat back down, not sure if she would join him or not after she tried to clean up the ink smudges that were on her face. When she asked him if there was anything else she could help him with he figured since she had finally calmed down it was a good opportunity to bring back up what she had eluded to before her melt down.

"You mentioned your sin and drawing it out into the open. That means that it's something real within this world right? What is it?"

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

At first the corsair wasn't sure if she would tell him or not, and he certainly wouldn't have held it against her if she had. But after looking at him for awhile both without and with her glasses on she finally spoke. It took her a few tries but she finally managed to get the words out. She explained that it had happened at the end of the Earth, before everything was swallowed entirely.

She approached him, sitting in front of him as she showed him the page that contained the image of the creature she had created, and then a mental image of the monster reared up, it's blades outstretched as it let out a terrible blood curdling screech the likes of which the corsair had never heard. Much like the vision of the monster with the seven eyes had now been burned into his memories, so too had this creature and it's horrid sound, a sound that he wouldn't forget, especially with his enhanced hearing. That was when Kyla explained what it was, that it was her sin and she referred to it now as the Nameless.

"So by your sin, you mean that you created that thing?" he asked, not entirely sure if he should be amazed or appalled at the pictomancer. "It's not like you meant to do it right? You couldn't have known you would actually turn her into the Nameless. I mean that was when we first gained our magic," he stated, trying to fully understand what had happened.

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James stared at her in confusion for a brief moment as she began to explain, but she began to clear things up using a combination of the charms and her magic again. Explaining tidbits about her older sister and how mean she was to Kyla. The simple pictures were more than enough to help get the point across. This feeling while different, was familiar to what the corsair had endured during seventh grade, three quarters of that year had been spent in fear and pain at the hands of three particular bullies. He couldn't imagine what it was like to have that bully be none other than a sibling, and this torment lasted for years... It had taken him three quarters to finally snap, it had taken her far longer, or maybe that it was rather she had snapped but had been unable to do anything until that time.

The time when she was finally able to fight back and she took it, in indeed a far more drastic way than most would, she made her pay and he was certain she paid dearly for it as she was transformed before his eyes into the creature now only known as the Nameless.

After the drawings had ended she continued to explain what the Nameless could do, useful information for sure for the inevitable battles that were surely to come. She then explained the threat that Kai posed in regards to the Nameless, possibly learning how to control it, bend it to her will, potentially. That was when Carbuncle spoke, explaining why Kyla sought to be able to withstand the darkness and the further dangers the Nameless posed.

The corsair wasn't sure what Kyla wanted of him now, his judgement? his disapproval? His understanding? Was it a terrible thing she had done? While it certainly wasn't good, it was understandable given the circumstances she described. People did irrational, even terrible things when pushed to their limits, heck people did far more despicable things for far less it seemed. He knew that all too well.

"I understand, I really do," he stated with a heavy sigh. Kyla had given him far more information in this short time than he had ever bargained for, so much more added to his already cluttered mind and memory. "What's important is that you see it as a mistake and you are willing to rectify it, if it can be. You have my understanding, and my support. While I understand your desire to learn to withstand the darkness, I also fear that you may play right into it or Kai's hands by doing so. The Nameless is bound to show itself eventually, it is hard to say what is the best course against it, but to pursue it into the darkness from whence it came is not a sound strategy."

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James remained silent as he listened to Kyla continue to speak, this was often the way he was. Listening and then responding after giving it enough thought. There was a lot going on here that much was certain, more than the corsair could hope to understand. That was when Carbuncle spoke up explaining how she felt about Louis, a situation that the corsair didn't really know much about to begin with, most of what had happened with the "Ivalician" had happened while he was being controlled by Ajora.

"I wish I understood more how Louis has become divided, the last time I saw any trace of him was on the Dutchman before Ajora took control. I don't get it," he stated contemplatively. "You're not a traitor for harboring someone who needs help within your heart, while Louis has attacked us in the past, his motives have never been entirely clear. Bobbi also has a piece of him within her heart as well. In this case, restoring the whole may be the only way to find out the truth. I have already said I want to save everyone as well, I will do what I can to help both in regards to Louis, and your sister." he concluded his voice quiet, clearly still deep in thought.

He fell silent again as he continued to listen as Kyla went on to explain what had happened down in Atlantis to her at the hands of Ajora. What happened when Kyle showed up, everything. Then there was the intriguing mention of her being taken away from the battle by Louis, to some castle, which was when the conversation shifted to her talking to Carbuncle filling in the gaps in Kyla's memory of what had transpired, how there was a woman there, that felt like a summon. He was intrigued by that, not fully sure what it meant either.

"Yeah show us," he stated. He remembered Louis was the avatar of Mateus, the summon who was basically a woman bound to armor. He pondered if that had something to do with it.

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James watched silently as Carbuncle crawled into her lap and it's gem began to radiate and then the thoughts they shared were projected into James' mind through the charms. He was in the castle, she had mentioned, the room with the bed where Kyla laid, her back a ruined mess as Carbuncle worked on healing it's summoner. Then he saw the woman that they were talking about when suddenly the image shifted again to another image, both the same person, indisputably so in fact, they were different perspectives of the same person. Then the images faded and they were back on the balcony, not that they had ever really left. He looked down at the now open sketchbook and looked at the pages, showing the different appearances, possibly the different sides of this woman. Carbuncle was convinced she was a summon, but if she were, not one that James recognized. This was yet another piece of the puzzle that the corsair would surely be thinking about for some time to come, one more piece of information to add to his cluttered mind.

Kyla then went on to explain what she knew of Louis, what had apparently been revealed to her about the earthling before everything that had happened. How they were very similar, why he had acted the way he had originally as an enemy when they first met him. It helped explain a bit more about his personality and about the shift as to why he might have been helping them after that, it was a lot to absorb, and the corsair gathered information best by just remaining silent and listening which is what he did.

That was when she looked at him and gave him a soft smile. He had a strong feeling that their talking had done both of them, but definitely her a world of good. Sometimes that was all someone really needed, someone to listen to. She asked him if they hated her, explaining how everyone had felt regarding what had happened with her and Ajora, more discussion of the what seemed to have been one of the most, if not the most significant event that had happened since they started this journey, the corsair felt bad that he had not been there to help. As she continued her ranting she then seemed to finally understand what it was everyone was trying to get at, what they had been trying to get her to understand, that she was not alone, that the trials at hand were not her's alone to face, that they wanted to help, just as much as the corsair did and the corsair simply smiled.

"I don't believe they hate you, if they did they would have no desire to help you whatsoever, they would want nothing to do with you, and it's plain to me that that isn't the case," he stated his smile broadening slightly. "They care about you, they wouldn't be angry at you if they didn't. They don't want to see anyone else go astray, either by their own actions, or by the actions of others. They don't want to lose anyone else. As for you, we're all crazy in our own ways," he stated with a slight huff of amusement. "Our differences are what makes us all human, to be friends with someone in my books is to take them and accept them for who they are, the good and the bad. I trust you because of how sincere you have been to me, even though you barely know me. Clearly you trust me, and as a friend, I owe you that trust in return."

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James fell silent again as the conversation naturally flowed from him back to the summon. Kyla seemed to have a very deep connection with Carbuncle, one that ran much deeper than most summons in his books. As they continued talking to each other it was revealed why. As lonely as she had been in her life, it made sense that she had created an imaginary friend, and somehow, through the magic of her heart her friend was Carbuncle now, at least that was the corsair looked at it. He couldn't help but smile lightly as he watched their interaction, it was really quite cute actually, very much like a cat and it's master.

"Carbuncle is really something special to you huh?" he asked even though it wasn't really a question directed at her.

Then suddenly, she looked back up at him again, asking him how having a summon felt for him. What his connection to Fenrir felt like.

"It's definitely interesting, I don't think Fenrir and I have nearly the connection that you do with Carbuncle. The connection feels... familial, but he's unlike any family member I've ever had. He gives me advice during battle, but other than that he's pretty quiet. Hasn't said a thing this entire conversation in fact," he concluded with a small chuckle.

{James : Disney Castle : Balcony}

James' smile broadened a bit more as Kyla agreed regarding his statement about Carbuncle. He chuckled lightly she said that Fenrir wasn't much of a talker, and he had to agree. To some extent though he liked it that way. It felt like his thoughts were mostly his own, not having a summon intrude on them every single time was kind of nice. Though connected, Fenrir maintained a sort of solitary existence, quite literally a lone wolf so to say.

Kyla was fascinating, in what she had to say, the very deep thoughts that she seemed to have about a lot of things, their summons included. It seemed like she had been thinking about all of these things along the entire journey and until now, had no one she wanted to really share them with, or wasn't sure if anyone would listen, he corsair didn't know which. He listened to her talk about Carbuncle, whom she called Tyue, the name and apparently even similar form that she had to the summon Carbuncle. He couldn't but chuckle lightly.

"You would have loved playing FFXI then, the summoner class could summon Carbuncle, and at high enough levels the perpetuation cost on mana was so low a summoner could almost keep it out indefinitely," he stated remembering his days of playing Final Fantasy XI.

He listened to her continued explanation regarding what the the fact that Tyue had manifested herself as Kyla's summon could mean, that they were indeed connected in some way, shape, or form. A connection that the corsair wasn't sure about, but he could definitely tell there was something there. Her train of thought then turned to Fenrir of Norse Mythology and asked her if any of his aspects could reference that version.

"I don't think so, though I honestly don't know enough about the Norse Mythology to say for sure. I know Fenrir was a son of Loki and the one who killed Thor," he stated though clearly contemplating the possibility. "My manifestation of Fenrir is the Final Fantasy XI version, much like every other aspect of my powers here, the corsair class, the elemental shots, the hexagun. It's clear that my strong connection to that world had some bearing on the form he took. I am familiar with all of his other forms, having played all of the Final Fantasies from seven through thirteen, though I am pretty familiar with the vast majority of the Final Fantasy story lines as well," he stated not at all afraid to show off his obsession, it was something that he openly shared with anyone who was interested. "I'm a pretty big fan of the .hack series too, I found it so fascinating, still do, though I haven't played any of the Xenosaga, I have heard that it is a good series too though." he stated with a slight laugh.

The corsair didn't mind where this conversation was going, it was moving away from the doom and gloom of their enemies, fears, and all of that and moving on to more positive, friendlier topics. The kinds of things he liked to discuss with new acquaintances and friends he was getting to know. This was just perfect for the corsair.

"So aside from drawing, which it's fairly obvious you're really good at, what else do you do for fun? he asked, trying to keep the conversation going in a positive and comfortable direction.