First Impressions [Open]

[Jin]

Jin's arrival in Twilight Town had been...

Let's call it less than calm, cool, and collected. After all, it wasn't that often that you were ripped from a battlefield only to be thrown into an endless abyss. It was even less often that said abyss would spit you out in the ruins of a somewhat modern-looking town.

Were there even people around anymore? Jin seethed, sparks flickering off his skin in irritation. Whatever Leviathan had done, he'd pay for it. Every second he wasted here was a second that he could be spending looking for Kailyn and Trey. He'd left them in Soqus - Soqus of all places - when he went to fight Leviathan. They told him they'd tail him, but his lack of confidence in their ability to cross the ocean into The Tearstained Earth had given him all the resolve he'd needed to start this fight.

Unfortunately, he'd trained the boy a little too well. So what was the first thing he did when he figured out how to fly? Obviously use it to throw himself and Kailyn right into the line of fire! That was obviously the most productive option. After all, fighting was always so much more fun when you were furious.

'No. Get a hold of yourself. You got here somehow, so there needs to be a way out. All you have to do is look.'

...

'and then kick the kid's ass for getting you into this situation.'

Good plan. Good plan.

Drawing in a slow and steady breath, Jin allowed the air flowing through his lungs to calm him somewhat. He wouldn't get anywhere if he was mad and distracted by his own emotions. He needed to focus.

He'd woken up nestled in some random alleyway in the city, and there hadn't been anything even remotely resembling a door nearby. So, that left him with the option of looking through the town until he either found the exit himself or ran into someone who knew how to get out of here in the first place.

However, a fragment of uncertainty weighed over Jin's head in the form of the fragmented, motionless moon. That was not something you saw anywhere in Tamnia. Had Leviathan and those little creatures somehow trapped him in an illusion? Had they thrown him into some other realm altogether? The idea wasn't impossible, but it also severely cut his options on how to respond. If it was an illusion, wasting energy here would guarantee that he'd lose the fight if he woke up. If he'd been cast out of Tamnia, finding someone who could get him back would be time consuming. Time was not something he had to waste.

His wanderings eventually lead him to a large clearing in what he thought was the middle of town. Obviously some kind of sporting event was supposed to be held here. The question was whether or not he'd just stepped into another blood sport.

Gathering in the feel of his surroundings, Jin supposed not. There wasn't much hostility in the air, so he doubted he'd be forced to go through another Colosseum tournament. Besides, the population count didn't really seem to lend itself to that being a possibility in the first place. Definitely not enough people to draw a crowd, let alone make a profit.

Anxious sparks began to dance between Jin's fingers. There had to be some way to figure out where he was and what he was doing here. He needed to get back home. Now.

[Erik Stoneking]

Erik had been exploring Twilight Town for the better part of the day before deciding it was best for him to retreat home. Nothing new had been found, just like on countless days before. Though this was enough to make many give up hope, Erik continued searching nearly every day for any hint about what had happened to the other worlds. Of course it was doubtful that he would actually find anything just by searching; he was actually trying to find new arrivals before the heartless had a chance to attack them.

It was a short amount of time before Erik found his way to the familiarity of The Sandlot, it let him know that he was close to the area where so many refugees had gathered for safety. Surprisingly, Erik noticed someone in the open area. This person did not look like they belonged in Twilight Town, just like so many of the current residents, and also looked a bit lost.

Are they new here?

Erik pressed himself against a corner while he peeked out into The Sandlot. He was wary to directly engage someone who looked to be such an aggressive individual when they weren't in a more public area. Sparks danced across the stranger's fingers and they looked to be as if they had just exited a battle. Everything about the man screamed 'Red Flag', but Erik couldn't let someone who had potentially be taken from their world and thrust into a strange environment go on without any clue of what was happening. Many people seemed aggressive when first arriving anyways, because of the situations regarding the fall of their worlds.

I suppose it's time for me to play greeting committee then.

Slowly Erik exposed himself to the man while making sure his swords were within easy reach on his back. He did his best to exude a calm and peaceful aura, but that was hard when you still had to prepare for the possibility of battle.

"Hello," Erik began speaking in his best soothing voice, "my name is Erik. Are you new here? If so, I imagine you might have a few questions. I'd like to volunteer my services to help you out with those if you'd like." Erik finished up with a friendly smile, it wasn't the first time he had been the first one to encounter a new refugee, but it never got easier.

Just please don't be hostile.

[Avari]

Avari stood in the center of Market Street, struggle bat in hand as she scanned the crowds aimlessly; it seemed like more and more refugees appeared every day. And though there was a small chance that Kael could be one of them, it also meant Twilight Town would only get more crowded. And if these refugees' worlds had been destroyed, who was to say that the same couldn't happen to this world? How anyone could prepare for that, Avari had no clue, but her concern was less about maintaining this world and more about getting off of it. As Kael had yet to turn up anywhere around here, she felt that the only place to look was off world someplace. This of course seemed like an impossible goal, as she had no concept as to how to get from one world to another. Not just anybody could do it. The thing was, Avari couldn't just stand around waiting for something good to happen, and she wouldn't allow herself to get comfortable with her situation again- not until she found her brother. So, with no clues about leaving Twilight Town, she had to start small. If she ever planned to find Kael, she would need to protect herself from the heartless and nobodies that roamed the dark crevices of the worlds. Every time she had encountered them so far she was unable to do much except run away.



This time, however, she had saved up enough munny to buy a little charm that would allow her to use fire magic: she hoped this would help her against the creatures that lurked around the hidden areas of town, but she had to test it. Thus far, she had been alone in quiet alleys or abandoned streets whenever they attacked her. So in order to test her new magic, she had to look for those forgotten places again, and hope that it would be enough to lure a few of the monsters out. She recalled the Sandlot being rather desolate these days, now that struggle matches were no longer held there, and it was close enough to Market Street that she could make a quick escape if she did find heartless and it proved to be to much. So she started walking that direction, studying the star shaped fire charm in her hand as she went. It glowed red, and felt warm to the touch, as if it were alive. If she could fight off the heartless with this, she would be that much closer to finding Kael- that's how she saw it anyways.

As she drew closer to the Sandlot, she pocketed the charm and became more aware of her surroundings. The heartless wouldn't sneak up on her this time, if she had any say in it. As she rounded the last corner into the sandlot though, it wasn't heartless that she found. Two figures stood in the clearing, one noticeably taller than the other and upon closer observation she recognized the shorter one as a familiar face she must have passed from time to time around town. He was halfway through introducing himself to the tall one, and Ava was left to assume that the other man was a newcomer. There was no way of knowing if he would be another refugee or someone more dangerous than the heartless, but she already stood at the entrance to the Sandlot in plain view, so she couldn't just leave. If he did prove to be trouble, she would lend a hand, but for now felt no need to get closer or introduce herself- at least not until she knew the stranger wasn't a threat.

[Jin]

The boy's footsteps had been audible from about fifteen feet away, and before that it had been simple enough to feel out the presence he was trying to generate. Naturally, Jin's head whipped around from the skyline he'd been focusing on and rested solely on the approaching figure.

He was a little shorter than Jin was, and the swords strapped to his back implied he was a dual wielder as well. Unlike his swords, though, this guy's didn't seem to be anything particularly special. They were shorter than his by at least a few inches, judging by the sheathes. Judging by his muscle structure and the way he held himself, the boy had some training under his belt as well.

Jin was no stranger to a fight, and this most certainly wasn't going to turn into one. Especially not with an introduction like that. Was that tone supposed to sound so patronizing? Jin was more than a little irritated, but he understood that his presence could come off as intimidating. This was hardly his first rodeo with that problem.

He'd been looking for a place to vent while he pieced things together, and letting off the kind of energy he wanted to really wasn't the type of thing to do with anyone else around. He allowed himself to decompress, forcing his shoulders to relax and the sparks to cease their activity. He took another breath, picturing cool blue overriding the angry red that had taken over his vision. There was really no point in fighting right now; not when he could be gathering information.

"Spare me the coddling, please." Jin leveled. "I need to know where I am. What is this place? I've got a fight to finish and some pests to take care of, and I'm running low on time."

Jin was careful to not mention anything regarding Tamnia. Until he figured out if he was even on the same planet anymore, vague would have to do. Besides, if this was all one big illusion - a possibility he couldn't rule out just yet - then the best way to figure out how to break it would be to let it run without any information from him. The second it got something wrong, he'd know. That would be his opportunity.

A tingling at the edge of Jin's senses alerted him to another presence. His mind screamed ambush, but that wasn't even remotely close to how Leviathan operated even with those creatures backing him up. He didn't work with other people when it was easier to just kill them. Still, it never hurt to be careful.

"Friend of yours?" Jin asked, giving his head a quick jerk in the direction of the newcomer. He didn't need to bother looking, whoever it was wasn't a threat. Neither of them were. Not yet, at least. "If this is your idea of an ambush, you're not doing it very well. You picked the guy with eyes in the back of his head."

[Erik Stoneking]

Erik did his best to observe the man as he spoke. He didn't seem to be any threat, at least not currently. He seemed to be just another refugee, fresh out of whatever it was he had been experiencing on his own world before showing up in Twilight Town. The whole thing led to an understandable amount of confusion for many. It was common, for example, for people to think they were still in the same situation and not realize the change in environment. This man didn't seem to be to that level, but he certainly was still tense from whatever he had been doing.

Taking a few steps forward Erik did his best to slightly close the gap in order for a more face-to-face conversation. He didn't allow himself to get within arms reach though, Erik needed to be careful of a possible surprise attack. Only moments later the man pointed out another person eavesdropping on the conversation. Erik looked over to them, they didn't seem to be making any attempts to conceal themselves. It was a familiar face, at least as familiar as every other Twilight Town resident or refugee.

"Well, I can't say they aren't a friend. Let's just say they're here for insurance in case you turn out to be hostile. You don't want coddling so we'll play it that way. Trust me though, we have no plans to attack you if you don't attack us, and we don't even mean to be hostile to you. It's just the normal caution you would expect someone to exercise when meeting a potential danger." Erik did his best to sound convincing as he spouted out the lies about the girl being protection. The man in front of him could probably see through it any number of ways, one of them being as simple as the girl having nothing to do with Erik in the first place and would likely be confused about the whole thing. Though Erik wasn't entirely lying, he was just relying on good will. Erik helped out fellow Twilight Town residents when he could and he hoped that the girl do the same in this situation. If this man proved to be a danger then Erik would need help taking him down, so hopefully to girl realized why Erik said what he did.

"Anyway, eyes in the back of your head you say? That's not exactly...," Erik lowered his voice to something he thought would only be audibly to himself, "common." Continuing on Erik let his volume return to normal, "Well, it doesn't matter. The question you had earlier, I'll answer that now. You are in Twilight Town!," Erik let his arms extend as his gestured all around him, "A beautiful place for beautiful people. Sort of. We're undergoing renovation as you can see." Joking around Erik hoped he could dull the pain of what he was about to say.

"Anyway," his voice darkened, "That fight you've got to finish, unless it started here... well. It'll be easiest to just say this I guess. Your world is gone."

[Avari]

Avari
Wanderer

Avari could hear bits and pieces of the conversation from where she stood in the entryway to the Sandlot. As it turned out, the tall one was, in fact, a newcomer and based on what he said, she assumed his world had been attacked by heartless just like hers and so many others. Ava tensed as the man jerked his head in her direction to acknowledge her. It's not like she was trying to hide or anything, but she was surprised he noticed considering his back was turned.

She then heard her fellow refugee refer to her as backup, more or less, which she had no problem with. Avari simply hoped it wasn't necessary seeing as she was a distraction at best or an annoyance at worst in a fight. Besides, they all had much bigger problems with the Heartless and Nobodies so fighting among one another was a waste of effort.

Looking at them both more closely, she noticed they both carried dual wielding weapons on their back. An odd coincidence, but nonetheless, she assumed that meant her 'friend' could put up a better fight than she could. If need be she would try and support with her fire. Though the longer the conversation went on, the less likely it seemed a fight would break out.

To try and better the situation, Avari decided to approach them rather than stand off to the side watching them. She skirted around the tall one of course, to be considered as little a threat as possible so he wouldn't change his mind about fighting, and she stood beside the other boy albeit a few feet apart from him. It was then that he told the newcomer that his world was probably gone, and Avari looked up at the tall man. After a few moments, she spoke for the first time, adding, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way." She hesitated a moment, glancing to the boy before turning back, "If your fight was with the Heartless, than he's probably right."

She realized that it was a lot to take in all at once, to learn that your home was gone. Avari hadn't handled it well at all when she first arrived here and she couldn't say she'd gotten any better about it. And it didn't help that this man came from his world only to show up in one that was already falling apart. He probably felt as alone as she had back then. "But, its possible that some of your friends ended up here too, somewhere. New refugees pop up all the time."

[Jin]

The figure who was standing behind Jin and his self-appointed welcoming committee began moving until she - and it was a she, apparently - was standing at the other sword user's side. Like anyone who'd had their fair share of fights, Jin began sizing up the competition just in case things went south.

The boy wasn't much of a threat; he looked trained, but he didn't have that bite to his personality that came with someone who lived from one battle to the next. Fighting was not a way of living for him, but rather a means to an end. It was that lack of dedication that got people killed back on Tamnia, and it would be exactly what would bring him down if this fight were one on one.

The girl honestly didn't look like much of a fighter either, but Jin knew that looks could be deceiving. She may not have been armed with a normal weapon, but there was some sort of energy coming off of her that he knew to be weary of. It was similar to Trey or any other person with elemental control for that matter, but rather than permeating through her presence, it was limited to a specific area. Something like a Perothun weapon, then?

The surprising thing was that if the boy had been telling the truth, it meant that he'd known Jin was here before this confrontation. How long it would take to track down backup that he reportedly wasn't friends with and show up to have this conversation was an uncertainty, but that didn't make it sit any better with the orange haired electrokinetic.

Then the boy said something completely ridiculous. Tamnia was gone? That was about as likely as Perothun being disbanded. Those creatures - Heartless, the girl had called them in her explanation as she began to walk away - were not enough to break down the whole planet. The mere concept of it was...was...

"Bullshit," Jin seethed, his brow furrowing as an arc of electricity ran up his body, shooting off screaming towards some scattered debris a few dozen paces away before kicking up rocks and charring dirt. "You called them Heartless? Little black bug-headed things?" Jin asked the boy, venom leaking through his tone. "They ran off with their tails between their legs."

"If my home was gone, I'd know it. At the very least, I wouldn't be the only one here. I know. I've looked. I got thrown into some pit before waking up here, and the one who did it is the one I'm not done fighting yet. He and I have a score to settle; he wouldn't just let those things erase the planet before we were done."

Eyeing the two figures, Jin let out an exasperated sigh.

"Tell me everything you know. My home is still out there, and I need to go back."

[Erik Stoneking]

Erik finished his analysis of the man and allowed himself to calm down. The man was like many other refugees, angry and confused but not dangerous. Electricity had shot off the guy and caused some damage, but it wasn't aimed at Erik or his momentary companion to the side of him.

"Listen, the sooner you accept what I say as truth the sooner this is settled. Just look up at the sky and you'll see that the stars are missing! Your home is gone!" Erik was almost shouting, he needed to hammer this point into the man's head before his denial made him all the more dangerous.

He had done his job as a welcoming crew, though not very well. Erik had somewhere he needed to be and would need to rely on the girl next to him to watch over the new arrival until he was calmed down.

"Look, I'm sorry you've gone through this but you need to accept that there's no going back. Drop down into hopelessness and realize that your friends and family are gone. Once you do that, come find me and we'll work on a way to get that lost hope back and how to find them."

Erik began walking past the man. What he had just said was cold, but before anyone could be of any help they needed to lose hope, because once it was built back it would be stronger.

"Now, don't even think about coming into town until you've calmed down, there are many people there wiser and stronger than me. I know you're not dangerous, rather just confused and angry, but don't try anything."

Erik continued walking away.

[Avari]

Avari
Wanderer

Avari tensed as electricity shot out from the man and shattered some nearby debris and her grip tightened on the struggle sword in her hand. She kept her other hand free on the off chance that she would have to try out her new charm right there and then, but he didn't seem like he would lash out at them just yet. She glanced at her fellow refugee who didn't seem to be in any way worried, and thus she calmed her nerves. If Ava reacted to the man lashing out she would only escalate things further, and it was clear to her that this man was far superior in a fight. And she didn't have any interest in finding out just how strong he was until he mentioned how afraid of him the heartless were on his world. She looked at him through a new, brighter interest, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"You fought the heartless?"

If that was true, then maybe she could learn something from this newcomer. Learning to fight the heartless was the first step to finding her brother, and this could be just the guy to help her do it. That is, if he was was willing. Maybe if she helped him track down his friends, or showed him around town, maybe just maybe, he'd help her out too.

The other Twilight Town resident didn't seem to have the same interest in the newcomer as she did, however, as he began to take his leave. She furrowed her brow as he practically told the stranger that there wasn't even a chance that his friends and family were around.

"Don't you think that's a little harsh? Maybe some of his friends wound up here like he did!" But the boy didn't seem to care as he continued walking regardless of what Ava said. She looked back to the tall orange haired man standing in front of her. She supposed not everyone had time for every refugee that landed in Twilight Town, her included, but this guy was different. It might have been selfish, but she wanted to fight the heartless too. She had a moment of doubt though, and she couldn't help but repeat the question, "Did you really fight the heartless?"

[Jin]

After the bolt of lightning hit, Jin knew that if Erik was going to get mad it would be then and there. The boy was already wary about the situation, and Jin showcasing his powers wasn't likely to help at all. They weren't exactly the most comfortable subject to bring up around anyone back home, and Jin doubted things would be different here.

Of course, Jin didn't quite expect him to be so adamant about the state of Tamnia. If Jin hadn't been so wound up or if he'd had anywhere close to a clear head, maybe he wouldn't have reacted so violently.

The electricity surging around his body calmed, concentrating into his hands where arcs danced between his fingers as he clenched and unclenched his fists. His pupils slit furiously. He wouldn't fight; it probably wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as he wanted it to be, and it would definitely leave a bad taste in the mouths of anyone watching. The last thing he needed was for people to be afraid of him here as well as back on Tamnia.

"Oh!? The stars are disappearing? That proves so much! Show me which one of those is or used to be my home and I might be inclined to believe you. Until then, don't assume you know more about my home than me!

The day Tamnia just blinked out of the sky from the actions of those nuisances was the day that Jin took a vow of pacifism. Both were highly unlikely. Furthermore, what was this kid even talking about when he was referring to the stars going out? That wasn't an uncommon occurrence, and stars most certainly weren't planets. Even if they were, light only moved so fast; it could take years to see if one actually burned out.

With some pathetic warning about stronger people waiting in town - like Jin would ever shy away from a good fight, especially when he was this mad - the boy sauntered off. Fine, Jin thought, run away. It wasn't like you were useful in the first place. If he'd wanted to hear lies and a patronizing verbal beat-down, he wouldn't be here.

Jin sighed, letting the tension fade out of his shoulders. The electricity that had built up in his palms faded, his pupils reverting to their natural round shape as it did.

"Forget him," Jin said as the remaining girl tried to defend him. "Chances are that whatever he accused my world of happened to his. Now he's got whatever he's been doing here going for him, and if my world isn't gone it means that whatever he's already given up on might not be either. It just sets him back up for disappointment, so he'd rather convince everyone to give up. Misery loves company, after all.

The girl looked young - younger than Trey or Kailyn. While her build wasn't too bad combat-wise, Jin could tell by the way she held herself that she'd been in scant few real fights throughout her life. That made her reiteration of the question all the more bothersome. Someone her age still wet behind the ears? Speaking from the perspective of a trainee since the tender age of five, she'd probably squandered a good chunk of her potential at this point.

"Look. I don't know why you're so curious about these things, but if the yellow-eyed bugs are what you people are talking about when you say "Heartless," then yeah. I fought a few. Then they either realized it was an exercise in futility or got orders of some kind to back off. You looking for a fight with 'em or something?"

The question was mostly rhetorical. Jin knew that look. The girl wanted to do something, and she had it in her head that fighting those pests was the best place to start. Still, it wasn't his place to interfere with personal vendettas. He had enough of his own to work through, especially now that Tamnia was "gone."

"If you are, I'd recommend investing in something more than a foam bat."

[Avari]

Avari
Wanderer

She didn't seem to be learning much about either of these guys apart from how much they liked to spout their exposition- for this and their choice of weapons they had their similarities. And the new guy was rather loud and angry, and a bit intimidating, but as for the former he had every right after having just been rooted from his home. Avari watched as he seemed to calm himself, the lightning in his palms disappeared and he spoke directly to her. What he said about the other guy made sense, but other people had lost their homes too and didn't feel the need to drag everyone else down because of it. Avari might have been young, but she knew that the hope of returning to where they came from was how a lot of people made it through each day. She wasn't sure how someone could go around denying that things could get better, she couldn't imagine doing it herself.

She gave the man a curt nod in agreement, "I guess," she looked up at him as he confirmed that he could fight heartless, though he seemed to know just what she was thinking as he commented on her struggle bat. With a huff she rested the bat on her shoulders and frowned, "Yeah, well not everyone can have fancy schmancy swords you know," She peeked at him with one eye closed and then withdrew the fire charm from her pocket, "Besides, it's not all I have." Granted, she hadn't quite learned how to actually use the darn thing, but she didn't want him to think she was completely useless.

Ava lightened up considerably now that he seemed less of a threat. She put the charm back in her pocket and lowered the struggle bat to her side, "Now then, why don't I help you look for your friends and if we run into any heartless along the way, I get to watch how you fight them, deal?" Avari smiled, never being one to hide her motivations. She then added as an afterthought, "I've been here a lot longer than most of the refugees, so you won't find many people who know this city as well as I do," Aside from the people who are actually from Twilight Town, but I can be just as helpful! "If your friends are here, we'll find them!"

[Jin]

The girl was determined, he'd give her that. Still, determination was only the first step towards actually getting something done. A method of carrying out what she was determined to do was still required.

"Fancy schmancy?" Jin repeated, quirking a brow at the statement and then glancing down to his weapons. He didn't think he'd ever heard those words before, but between her sarcastic tone when she said them and her body language as she slung the bat over her shoulders he could guess that she was mocking them. That was fine by him. She was far from the first person to be envious of the blades. "I take it there's not many people out here who work metal, then? If you're all really being attacked, there should be some kind of organized resistance dolling out tools for anyone willing to fight."

At her mention of having more weaponry on hand than just the bat, Jin's gaze shifted to the small, star-shaped charm. Was that the source of the energy he'd sensed on her earlier? "And what exactly are you supposed to do with that? Doesn't look like much of a weapon to me unless there's some trick to it."

It was true. He'd never come across anyone with a weapon that small. Was it supposed to expand into something larger, or could it fire projectiles? What sort of fuel would power that? What was the ammunition? Jin had plenty of questions, but their answers either weren't important or could wait until he had to fight someone who used the same thing. Until then, he was content to follow the girl's train of thought.

She wanted to look for others from Tamnia with him? Moreover, she thought she could learn how to fight just by watching him? In the first place, he'd already turned the town upside down trying to reach out with his instincts to find other Tamnians - Trey, Kailyn, Levi, anyone really. He'd had no luck, and that likely meant that he was completely alone in this mess. The thought made him a little sick to his stomach, but he did his best to ignore it. If he was really the only one here, that meant that the creatures hadn't finished their job just yet. Now all he had to do was get back before they could.

"Look, I'm not saying you couldn't learn by watching me, but..."

As he trailed off, he realized that he had nothing better to do. Maybe the girl knew her way around the town, and maybe that meant she'd be able to show him places he hadn't thought of. If he was going to find a way back home, he'd need to look everywhere. Plus, there was a part of him that really couldn't stand people who wanted to fight being totally inexperienced. One not-so-accidental accident was all it would take to give the girl a good hands-on lesson in fighting the creatures. As long as he was there, she wouldn't be in any danger of going off and getting herself killed while trying to figure it out for herself. Setting all that up under the guise of looking for others would be easier, too.

"Forget it. You've got yourself a deal. Any ideas where we should start?"

[Avari]

Avari
Wanderer

There honestly could be a metal worker as he suggested there should be, perhaps even the moogles could synthesize some kind of weapon as well, but she doubted she could afford something like that. She had barely scrounged up enough for that expensive fire charm, it would take ages to save up for a physical weapon. And besides, if she made her intentions known to any of the grownups, they'd likely discourage someone so young wanting to fight monsters. Like because of her age she was supposed to just sit around and wait for a way to find Kael to just pop up out of thin air.

She frowned as he had not only mocked her bat, but the charm she'd shown him as well, "Hey, this thing was difficult to get, alright? It's how I'm going to use magic against the heartless." Hopefully. If she could in fact get it to work. She didn't exactly know anyone who could teach her. As with most things, however, Avari would make it work, improvise when the time came and learn the trick to fire magic by simply doing it. Trying to find it in some book or something wasn't the first thing that came to mind with someone like her. How hard could it be, anyways?

"Great!" Avari grinned, delightfully surprised at how easily he had agreed. She crossed her arms, thinking for a moment before answering, "Well, I guess the first place to check would be Market Street; that's where most of the people in town gather. Sunset Terrace is also a pretty big place to look, but no ones been able to access it since the Station crumbled and I'm sure the Underground tunnels aren't in any better shape." The thought was concerning- for all anyone knew, refugees could be popping up on the other side, neither group being able to reach the other. Her brother could even be over there and she had know way over there to find out. Of course she had thought about trying the tunnels before, but merely looking through one of the entrances she had seen there were no lights within, and it was likely just as thrashed as anywhere else in town. Plus, even if the tunnels were still intact, going alone was a good way to get outnumbered by the heartless or nobodies- heck, maybe even both.

Maybe with her new acquaintance's help they could find their way through the tunnels, but it wasn't where they should look first if they were gonna track down his friends. She gestured towards the stairs she came from and said, "Up this way will take us to Market Street. Like I said that's where the most people are, so it would be the best place to look. Apart from that, there are some alleyways we can check, but I don't know, what would your friends do if they wound up here on their own?" She glanced back at him as she started to lead the way up to the Tram Common. She did kind of hope this guy could find his friends, just to see someone have better luck than she or anyone else did. So many people she saw ended up alone when they arrived here in Twilight Town, much like she did, yet with so many refugees, one would think at least some of them came from the same world. Otherwise, where were all those other people going when their worlds disappeared?

She decided that if this guy- err, who she still didn't know the name of- could find his friends, that would be proof enough to her that she could still find Kael. With a curt nod to herself as she reached the first step, she turned back to the guy and stuck out her free hand, "I almost forgot! I'm Avari, by the way." She smiled again. It seemed Ava was so one-track minded she could even forget something so simple as introductions.

[Jin]

Wasn't there supposed to be some old cautionary tale about buying "magical" artifacts from strangers? Maybe it didn't exist on this world, but as far as Jin was concerned the girl had wasted her money. Jin would believe that the pendant she'd shown him was some sort of magical artifact when the girl actually managed to use it. Until then, she was probably better off looking for a more straightforward way of defending herself.

He almost didn't believe that she fell of his half truth so easily; everyone back on Tamnia had always told him he wasn't a very good liar. Then again, he hadn't really lied. He'd just agreed to follow her around and let her watch him fight if something worth attacking showed itself. Her recommendations on destinations and where they ended up weren't really of any concern to him. All he had to do was string her along until they actually ran into a fight of some sort, and he could expedite that process immensely if he could get a lock on any of those creatures. Sensing them was hard, but not impossible.

So the suggestions on the table were a shopping district, some sort of tourist attraction that he'd have to make a path to even get to, and a group of broken-down tunnels that could collapse on them if someone sneezed loudly enough? This place was in worse shape than some of the slums back in Soqus, and that was saying something. Well, weighing his options here couldn't hurt.

If it was someone like Kailyn, they'd be quick to head to the first populated area and ring as many alarms as she could in order to track someone she knew down. Of course, he also knew that there were no Tamnians to be found in anywhere so common. He'd been as far as he'd needed to be to be able to sense one if they were actually here. If they were anywhere, it would be in a place disconnected from where he'd been so far. The only place that sounded like it might be feasible would be the tunnels, and that was the option that also presented the highest chance of running into those Heartless everyone seemed to be on about.

"Underground tunnels? The kind that go places that you wouldn't be able to get to on the main streets?" he asked, "If anyone I know is here, they're not nearby."

Hopefully that would be enough. He didn't like talking about his powers all that much, especially with people who probably wouldn't understand them. If this girl was the type to buy jewelry as a means to defend herself with power she wasn't capable of on her own, she was likely normal. Experience up to this point had told him that people without powers thought of him as either a sideshow or a menace. Still, she'd seen him vent his frustration on the rubble nearby and had done a good job of keeping her mouth shut about it. Maybe she was capable of being a bit more understanding than most, or maybe she was just ignorant.

The girl began to lead him back towards what he'd figured was the center of town when he'd passed by it earlier. The area was probably around the same size as the lot that they were currently in, and it seemed like some sort of train rolled around on the tracks before everything got demolished. It was also the home to several refugees with less than trusting looks on their faces when looking at a boy toting around swords with bright orange hair. It wasn't anything he hadn't been through before, though.

"Besides, if the lightning and the swords didn't tip you off you should know that populated areas aren't where people like me tend to gather. If they're lookning for me, they'll make themselves scarce."

The girl suddenly offered her hand, and while Jin thought it was a bit late for introductions he knew his manners. He took her extended hand and gripped it firmly, looking her dead in the eye as he did.

"Call me Jin."

[Avari]

Avari
Wanderer

The first thing he took interest in as she mentioned the different locations was the underground tunnels. Avari did think it was odd, but perhaps he was just curious about it. When the town was in better shape, Avari herself spent a lot of time exploring the tunnels, so she could understand his sudden interest in it. At least, if that was actually the reason; it didn't seem like the best place to look for Jin's friends.

They continued their way up the stairs and into the Tram Common of Market Street. As per usual, lots of people filtered through, some looking around the crumbled buildings or otherwise meandering through the streets. Avari noticed how Jin's presence was drawing the attention of onlookers, but she didn't really think much of it.

When Jin mentioned his friends not being nearby, she glanced back at him over her shoulder, "How do you know that? Do they not like crowds or something?" As he further explained though, she gave a curt nod and a brief, "Ah."

She hadn't really given the display of lightning much thought, though of course it had been intimidating when she had seen Jin as a potential danger. Seeing as he hadn't proved himself a threat so far, however, she was quick to dismiss the possibility. In fact, she had assumed the lightning was some form of magic from a charm like hers, until now when he seemed to be implying the contrary. Still, as long as he wasn't a bad guy who was here to make things worse, it didn't really matter to Avari. If anything it made her more curious, seeing as this dual sword wielder could teach her about fighting. And he hadn't shot her down immediately like she expected from most adults who thought she was too young to be out risking her neck and fighting heartless.

When he shook her hand, albeit with more strength than she did, and looked her dead in the eye, which from her perspective meant looking down on her, she sort of stiffened up. Though she had decided he meant no harm, he still came off intense and intimidating. She furrowed her brow and gave him a curt nod as he offered his name, as though putting on her best 'mean face'. Avari was accustomed to acting tough around other kids her age, as opposed to tall, sword wielding men who occasionally shot lightning out their heads.

She then turned and continued to lead the way through the open street, shoving her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. "Alright then Jiiiiin, if you're sure they aren't here, then where do you wanna look?" She stopped near the slope that lead up to Station Heights and glanced towards the tunnel entrance to her left before turning to face him.