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Sayrike::Tortuga: razz ort

Sayrike gave a wry smile and exhaled in relief through her nose, glad to see that this girl in front of her was all right. With a nonchalant wave of her hand, all three of her mirrors disappeared as soon as the wind died down. It really hadn't occurred to her that the fear might not be normal; battle was a nerve-wracking place. Wouldn't most people break at some point? But, in retrospect, if she factored in the video game element...maybe it was like a status effect? It would also explain the sudden disappearance of the other man's blindness. (Now that she could see without all the debris flying around, Sayrike noted that this blind guy was also cosplay-like, meaning he was with the group. Even if she had seen him before in the clearing, she probably wouldn't have remembered him anyway.) It was weird to think about people obtaining status effects in real life. In less than an hour, Sayrike's perception of this reality had changed drastically, going from "wandering adventure" to "video game fantasy." Maybe it was closer to the latter all along, but it was hard to erase 5 days' worth of trials.

Then, the two guys began to fight. So, the blinded guy was named Joe? Sayrike again knew she wouldn't remember his name later, just like with the cut-arm-girl whose name she had gleaned from outside conversation, but she'd still try. She felt kind of awkward, sitting there and listening to Joe and Kyle fight. She didn't know them, just like how she didn't know anyone else here. Ah, yes, the feeling of being an outsider. Wonderful. The one good thing is that I'm not yet emotionally invested in the group's...relationships? Dynamics? So at least I'm not worked up over this. But she could see the effect the argument was having on the other members. Internal strife never had good effects if it couldn't be solved properly. It was a weak point. Sayrike could tell that, if this happened again or if it was a trend of the past, trust could be lost, cohesiveness would falter, and lives could be put in danger.

But, hey, it was their choice how to deal with things. She wasn't going to interrupt them or tell them how to fix things. It wasn't her place, and she certainly wasn't familiar enough with them to know how to subtly work in suggestions to be reasonable about the situation. There was nothing she could do but sit and watch. Sit, watch, and think about that one guy who disappeared into the dark portal while fighting the enemy--Chaos, she guessed from the raised voices. Sayrike tried to recall his name. A dad's friend...Lou...Louis! That was it. Huh, at least one name stuck.

Sayrike wasn't really worried. I mean, this is like a video game, right? Sort of? I bet that he'll be fine, or he'll just pop up in the middle of a battle and save everyone's butt in some brilliant deus ex machina. Everything up to this point had a storybook-like quality about it. Why would it stop now? It was a good climax, but his sacrifice didn't come with some kind of speech or even a sustained, pregnant glance at a certain member of the group, which means he was coming back at some point. C'mon. It's not like anyone's actually died yet, right?

She hissed and bit her lip as Joe punched Kyle. Ouch. Okay, now the fight was just getting out of hand, even as they traded parting remarks. Watching Kyle was kind of like watching herself when she was young--playing the part of the martyr, always sacrificing her well-being and time and energy and emotions on others, both for strangers and loved ones. She still did the same thing now, but for different reasons, reasons that kept her soul whole instead of handing it out piecemeal like before. There was a difference, but...once again, it wasn't her place to give advice at this point, nor was she going to tell someone else how to live. She had to live her own life, and if others wanted to live it differently, it was perfectly all right in her book, and just as valid.

Kyle mumbled something, barely audible to Sayrike. "Lost another one"? James had said the same thing. Were they really using "lost" as a euphemism for death here? Or just another uncertainty like this one? She really needed to ask about these details eventually.

The blond girl had gotten up and introduced herself, and Sayrike followed suit. "Haha, don't worry, we didn't really have a chance to talk anyway. I'm Sayrike. I'm glad to see that you're okay, at least," she said as held out her hand to shake. "Are you all right, though? I mean, this isn't a remark on your beauty or anything, but you look like me after a week of finals--meaning dead tired. Are you sure you don't want to rest or anything? At least your sense of humor's intact, though," she smiled.

She spun around upon hearing the whining remark behind her, suddenly in a little bit of a playful mood. Maybe it was as a reaction to the somber atmosphere, or maybe she was just this passionate about the things she enjoyed. "Disgusting? How can sailing be disgusting?!" Sayrike exclaimed, her face lit with cheeriness. "To feel the wind in your hair, the smell of the brine and the wood and metal, to ride at the bow as the ship careens up and down, spraying you with a cool mist? I can't think of anything more invigorating!" She shrugged, "Sure, you get a little wet or sticky, but it makes the shower afterward all the more awesome. What, you melt in water or something? Get seasick? Can't handle the waves?"

[Cory .:. The Betting Table]

A hole suddenly exploded through the side of the cyclone before it collapsed, followed by Cory rolling to a stop on the ground, still slightly aflame. He jumped to his feet and pulled off his still-on-fire jacket, throwing it to the ground as he saw the blaze fade. Good. One down. However, he was far from unharmed after defeating only one of the two. His hands were ruined for the remainder of the fight, and his skin burned all over from being inside and exiting the fire cyclone. He stared at his hands for a moment as he thought, Not sure what's worse right now... It feels like I'm covered in sunburns, but I can't stop fighting yet. All it means is I'll have to endure more pain.

The rogue stomped out the flames on his jacket and picked it up, noting how the dress sphere had already mended the burned and dirt from the stomping. He put it back on and dismissed the summon, the bodyguard not really having anything to say to the blaze anyway. After all, he was a silent one.

Cory now turned his attention on Kyle, his hands back in his pockets, though he knew his trick from before wouldn't work. The ronin removed the dirt he'd planned on throwing in Alan's eyes from his pocket, knowing full well the terramancer was more likely to simply manipulate the dirt away. The darkness and Indomitable Will faded from Cory's legs as well, the young man not wanting to waste energy by simply letting it stay active. Instead, the passive form of the Indomitable Will began to leak out from Cory as he stared down Kyle. "That should do it for the mage. Now it's just you and I, Top Hat."

[Dawn : Isle of Tortuga : Port]

Dawn glanced over her shoulder at Kuja after the healing spell did it's job. She immediately stood up, her eyes still on Kuja.

"Uh... thanks Kuja," her voice sounding a little nervous at having the genome heal her.

She glanced away from him, ignoring the statement about sailing, her eyes landed on the group that was still around Kyle. Her eyes softened as she saw Jenny start to cry. Dawn felt a couple of tears in the corners of her eyes. Louis was the type of person, if she were able to get to know him better, she'd be glad to call her friend. The night before she was able to eat her dinner with him and talk about various things. Even before then, he had rescued her from Sky eating her hair.

Dawn closed her eyes for a moment to try and hide her tears when she felt something in her face. She opened her eyes to see Sky nuzzling her face with his beak, his eyes held a look of understanding and sadness of its own. Dawn closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around the bird's neck in a small hug.

"It'll be fine," she whispered to the chocobo, "Go on back. I'll see you later, okay."

With that Sky let out a small kweh and ran after Destati. Dawn watched Sky for a few moments before looking back at the group. She was unsure of what to say. She just really wished to leave this place.

Jacob ll Tortuga ll Port

Jacob bowed a little to Noelle before slamming the sticky, sweet syrup. It tasted like candy. This, quite possibly, was the best medicine he's ever had, with the close exception being fruit blasted cough drops. It rinsed the tangy, unmistakable taste of blood from his mouth; he felt ten times better. "Wow....that really works. How did you grow these that fast? Magic? Is that what you can do?"

"Hey, quit with the poopy faces. Louis will be fine. He's got, you know, muscles and stuff."

Jacob couldn't help but start to laugh. Poopy. It was really childish, but still...So was Noelle for saying it. Jacob took a moment to regain his composure before hugging Noelle. It was only for a second, if that, but it was still nice.

[Nick :: Narnia :: Seymour's Castle]

Nick glared, but said nothing. He reached down to his neck and pulled on the small silver chain hidden within his outfit. On the end was a silver dragon, wings unfurled as if descending on its prey. One eye was ruby red, the other was missing the tiny gem and was just an empty socket. He grasped the little dragon in the palm of his hand, lowering his head for a moment.

Keep me safe, Sebastian.

He raised his head and took another step back, blades still ready for an attack.

"This is pointless. I'm not your enemy, yet you are prepared to kill me over something that was not in my control. I've already got enough to deal with, but I'm not going to fight with you. If you want to fight so bad, go find some idiot foolish enough to do battle with you. I am not a fighter unless I have to be."

"And even though I'm still injured due to my summon's freak out over some holy b****, I will defend myself. So act like a normal person and PUT DOWN YOUR DAMN WEAPON."

[Isle of Tortuga ~ Port]

Noelle nodded, "Yeah, I can--meeh?"

The girl froze up a little as she was suddenly hugged. She hadn't really expected it, mainly because she didn't know who he was . . . at all. Not a name or anything. She could only assume that when they had come to Port Royal they had picked up another few earthlings who had been misplaced among the worlds. Her face grew a little red as she tentatively looked up at the new comer. He was, just as almost all of the guys in their group, at least a foot taller than her.

"Eh, sorry, but what's your name? I don't think we've met."

[Nick :: Narnia :: Seymour's Castle ~ Grand Hall]

"Greetings, Teacher. I was hoping to find you in Tortuga, but it's obvious to know how well that went. I have done something, which in hindsight, was completely idiotic. I am supposed to be an Ivalician, yet..."

Nick paused, looking to Louis for a long moment. Nick wasn't feeling entirely safe near the guy who not even a minute earlier wanted to slit his throat. Saying this would probably piss him off quite a bit more, and when that happened, he'd prefer to not die. He carefully inched his way closer to the cloaked woman, and muttered embarassed,

"...I know nothing of the Ivalician culture. I do not know what they have compared to modern society, how they act with one another, nothing. Which is why I am here. Besides, I doubt they've even noticed my departure. And if they have, I can do what I'm basically doing whenever I'm with that group: I'm going to lie. Lie, lie, lie, lie, and LIE. And now that I know of Chaos' nasty habit with holy women, I'll be sure to keep him under control."

Nick turned to Louis, pulling out a pair of rectangular glasses and putting them on. Although his vision was now perfect thanks to...whatever, he missed the feel of wearing his glasses.