Bae City

It was around noon and the ocean's morning chill was just about fading. The sun, high overhead and clouds just crawling over the ocean's horizon, nature organized itself for a nice afternoon. The sounds of a bustling city almost would feign that the city wasn't in peril danger and that it was mostly destroyed -- but, sawdust does have a nice scent. Nearby the ocean was a small park, saved from destruction mostly because of its lack building but also its small size as a whole. The park consisted of a couple benches and a hunched over pine tree, there were a few children and their guardians, with dogs free to roam the park.

Arete felt the need to sit in this park, coming from his comfy, previous loitering spot, a metal fence overlooking the bay. He strode over, relinquishing in the warm weather and his lazy gait, eventually twisting his way to a bench, sitting himself onto it. Maybe he'll even roam the remains of the shopping center and go on a small spree before returning to his travels. Pushing his thoughts away, he sat down onto the bench and released a deep exhale, fluttering his eyes shut. For a moment, at least: he whipped out a rectangle-shaped lacrima and started tapping wildly onto it. Reminiscent of the teenagers of the real world, he held it out onto an angle and starting taking pictures of himself, the sunset, whatever. If you want to keep a cult following, you have to keep your status updated, he justified his shallow actions. He let out a stifled laugh as he swiped through the many pictures he took, looking for the perfect one. (280)

A very lovely day indeed. As the sun's warm rays caressed the ground of Hargeon Town, Leila stretched out and yawned. This city... it has been through so much, yet it still stood firmly, not giving up at all. At this moment in time, it was truly inspiring to Leila who just kinda walked the city's streets with no clear destination or purpose. It's not been so long since her revival, yet it felt like she missed a whole century worth of events. Yes, she died and the world simply moved on. That was the sad truth of things, as the world wound never stop for just one single person, no matter how important or powerful they were. But it did not matter now, for she was back among the living thanks to a literal miracle. And she was glad for it. She was glad to be freed from her darkness.

Shaking her head violently for a bit, her long silver hair flew all around, shining in the sun and captivating gaze of many bystanders. She was Leila Vergious, once a member of Golden Phoenix and even a Rising Star. People still remembered her and her grand deeds. Many were happy that she was back, while others cursed for whatever reason. So with a smile, the girl would head to a nearby park where she could hopefully rest uninterrupted. It was a very nice day after all, and it would be a shame to waste it just wandering the streets. They were few people already present here, but she did not mind that. After all, it was here for everyone to enjoy.

Falling into the gentle grass, she would merely stare into the skies for minutes, enjoying the warmth embracing her body as a whole. But an interesting presence soon caught her attention. Small children running around and pointing at pretty flowers, as well as a boy who was looking into a magical device while sitting on a bench. Was that an iLac? Oh, the girl remembered her own one and how long has it been since she got it. Getting an interesting idea, she would move into a sitting position rather than lying one, placing her hand onto the ground. And just like that, the prettiest flowers would bloom from the grass, surrounding the children that started jumping up in joy, as well as the interesting gentleman with his device, the greenery even crawling up the bench he was sitting on. And if he noticed Leila, she would return a warm and welcoming smile.

Leila Vergious:

He sat on the bench, satisfied with his cameraman-ship, resting his arm on his lap and letting the lacrima go limp on his lap. He rubbed his feet together, his ankles itched for some reason. He scratched them with his finger, so rub up against something soft. He looked down and gasped in surprise, withdrawing his legs, to only let them go, hitting the ground with a small plump. He gave a weak laugh, "Just a flower," he sighed. The flowers continued to grow around him, to which he got up -- and nearly tripped over the girl who seemed to be causing such a stir. She was in a a stance similar to a downward dog, casting some magic at the ground. He grew envious, almost said something he regretted, but managed to swallow whatever insult he was going to hurl. It was a good day, after all, wasn't it. He pushed up, his heavy sunglasses and crossed his arms, contemplating to himself, rearranging his thought to use his gift of clairvoyance: to read other's magic. A hobby of his, spying on stranger's magic. He focused his mind's eye on the girl... Nature magic. I mean... He almost wondered why he used that in the first place. He blinked blankly, and said aloud, mostly to himself, "Nature magic..."

The girl chuckled as she heard those words. Nature magic. Indeed, in a sense what she was using was in fact a magic of nature. But that wasn't exactly correct either. The origin of her powers was much deeper than just that, that much she could confirm. The Gardens of Eden were still very much alive and while Leila was no longer the goddess of that world, she was still connected to it with a powerful bond. And her powers were proof of that. This fountain of life she was capable of using, along with the Eden manipulation, it was so much more than just nature magic, it was almost laughable. She had to do something about that empty world of hers, bring proper life back to it and not just this withering remnants of what once was.

"Gardens of Eden. Maybe you've heard of it yourself, or read about it in books. A world long forgotten, world that holds great power that many humans tried to control. But instead, they merely corrupted the pure realm and turned portion of it's beautiful nature into withered landscape." She said all of those words so fluently and with such easy that you would think she already said the same line milion times over. Offering another smile, she would get up and take few steps forward. "I'm sorry, something like this usually cheers up others that are around. But maybe I overdid it a bit. Name's Leila Vergious, a wandering mage. And you are?" She glanced past the man to see the equipment he had with him. She never really got into technology like that, but that didn't mean it was too late to learn.

He straightened himself out, "It founds familiar, at least," nodding, "Too bad it's'all withered, sounds horrid, some people have no limits," he remarked. Like most people, he was told a repetition of the story the contained the Eden Gardens, which went among many other names. Arete never though there would be anyone zany enough to seek it out, but hey, to each their own. Soft petals continued brushing and tickling his ankles.

He reached out his hand, gloved and under a long sleeve, "It's fine," he pursed his lips, not in disdain, but more for facial effect, "Mine's Arete..." he trailed off, "I feel like I've heard that name before... 'Leila'. A common name, innit, I guess." He gave her a quick glance from top to bottom, seemingly fitting her image of 'traveling mage', that would prompt him to look at himself. Dark jeans, long sweater, not too bad, perhaps dressed a bit warm for the weather, but he didn't feel it. He pushed up his forever-falling shades and began speaking again, "Also a traveling mage," he stopped, "Well, not really -- haven't got much advanced magic behind me... An aspiring one, then," he stopped, "Nice to meet you, I wouldn't suppose you'd like to go shopping with me, such a nice day," he asked.

The girl's gaze was turned towards the rest of the city for a moment as she stretched out her arms before looking back at the boy in front of her. So even he heard the tale of her world, that was nice. It was an old, old story so it was good to hear that people still knew of it. And with a smile, she would extend her right index finger and position it in front of her mouth. "I'll let you on a little secret. Even though portion of the Gardens indeed withered away, most of that world is still as beautiful as ever. Now maybe more than ever!" Even if the Gardens of Eden were currently devoid of any and all life, Leila was working on restoring the realm to the best of her ability.

With his next words, she would learn about his name. Arete... it sounded exotic somehow. The girl liked it! "Would Leila truly be that common? I was once ranked among the Rising Stars, mages that proved themselves as heroes in the eyes of magical council. Though it took quite a while before I actually became properly recognized, perhaps that is where you heard of me." She didn't want to brag, but it was an achievement that she should be proud of. And as she heard that this man was somewhat starting magician, she clapped her hands in excitement. "Ooh, a newbie? Well, it's pleasure to meet you, Arete! And I would not mind looking through few stores with you, not at all." After all, she was in this city simply because she liked it. There was no goal to her presence here, so she was free to wander however she wished to. And she wasn't out shopping in forever, so perhaps this would work out for her as well.

He glanced to the sky, almost immediately regretting it due to the darkened spot left from the silhouette of the sun. He blinked as it plagued his vision, slightly distracted from whatever Leila was saying. "That'll explain it, a quick douse of fame does get the name around," he have a playful laugh, "That sounds nice..." He paused to look around at the branching streets, mentally picking from the batch: "Alright, how 'bout that one," he pointed towards a main (formerly) commercial road.

He started walking in its general direction, now that the sidewalk was a mere suggestion of where to walk and where to jaywalk. The street opened like a wilted flower, workers and trash and noises pouring everywhere. The city itself was a mess, and so was this particular shopping district; however, Arete particularly remembered walking this street many times before it was crushed under the leg of a giant sea monster, and it had good shops -- good shopkeepers -- and discounts. He piped up, "Trust me, good shops 'round here, nobs sometimes shop here even, some fancy shops too if you feel like blowing a couple thousand jewels," he looked around, few trees toppled with some old workers struggling to pick them up or saw them down. Another turn is the great sky, created through the new, wide alleyway of tumbled buildings. A final look forward, and many vendors on wooden booths trying to sell their merchandise to fund whatever repairs the government doesn't.

The silver haired maiden watched as the man stared into the sun and giggled when he was blinded by it nearly immediately. She was actually glad. Glad that she met someone fun who would take life as it came instead of being overly serious all the time and only searching and doing things that were meaningful to them in some way. Sometimes you simply had to let go and enjoy the little petty things that were all around you. Even if it was something like the sun's warmth. Because to Leila, even that felt almost completely new after she spent uncomfortably long time dead. Thankfully that part of her life was now over so she could enjoy life again. And to that, she stretched her body once more, feeling the freedom of it. "Heh, maybe. Though my name only started spreading after a while, it felt like the position of Rising Star didn't mean anything at all at the beginning."

Her words were somewhat sorrowful, yet filled with energy and positivity. She could not help it, but enjoy everything that was happening right now. She was finally back and that was the best feeling ever! Not to mention that she was getting to meet new people, just like this man who she would go shopping with right now. That was something interesting for sure! "Any direction is fine, adventure awaits in them all~" She commented teasingly and then followed him into the street. It was busy indeed, a scene that was common throughout many big cities. And even though some would probably like to argue that Hargeon was no longer that big because of everything that had happened, that was certainly not the case!

She walked beside Arete and looked around to spot everything that was familiar to her. The sight o fallen trees was somewhat saddening to her as a nature mage, but even things like this had purpose. It was necessary to bring this place back to it's former glory after all. And so, she made a mental note to return here later and help with some of the work. After all, it was no problem for her to grow nearly unlimited supply of new trees or lift extremely heavy cargo that normally required heavy machinery. And eventually, they found themselves where they wanted to be, among many different booths that all smelled differently and offered unique items for purchase. "Good thing bank didn't shut down my account after the incident. Still have plenty of Jewels to waste from my adventures!"

He continued walking throughout the street with Leila, stopping at various shops and picking up a candle here, a tee shirt there, a pretty crystal over there. He tugged along, but something was tugging on his mind. He opened his mouth reluctantly before saying, "Incident? You mentioned it before, I'm kind of curious now." He shoved his hands into his pockets, the handle to a paper bag poking out.

((Sorry for the shortness. I'm in a rush and it'd be better to keep the thread going. TT))

Just walking about and looking at what the different stores had to offer. It was strangely refreshing feeling that made her feel like she had all the freedom in the world. And she indeed did have just that. Yes, there was that golden mark of a phoenix on her outer thigh, something that showed she was part of a guild, but this guild was not holding her back in any way. She was free to go wherever she wanted to go, do whatever she wanted to do. And the fact that she lost most of her powers was actually somewhat helping that feeling too. It was like most of her worries completely disappeared... that weight of all the responsibility that she had to carry before. It was nice to enjoy just being able to do this, and she wanted to keep it this way for the future as well, when she would eventually grow stronger as well. She already had a plan for that, but that was story for another day.

Right now she was looking at a specific pendant in a shape of an angelic wing, reminding her of a certain event in the past when Arete's words echoed through her mind. She turned to face him reluctantly and scratched her head, trying to figure out how to formulate her sentences so that they would actually make sense to him. "In the past, I was Ace for the guild Golden Phoenix. I was also one of the Rising Stars, people known as heroes among the ordinary folk. So how come you haven't really heard about me? That would probably be because I was proclaimed dead. My body and mind were swallowed by darkness at some point, wrath and jealousy. And in order to stop myself from hurting those I cared about, I turned my whole body into an aspect of sealing magic. Essentially, I sacrificed myself to help another person whom I treasure very much. On that day, I died."

He stopped walking momentarily, and tried not to gawk at his shopping companion. "Alright..." he said, "That sounds rough. At least you're alive now," he said, trying to lighten the mood but not really succeeding. He changed the subject, with some comfort shared in both sides of the dialog. "You must be good at magic then, bein' a rising star," he said as he looked to his side and took a certain interest in a particular food stand. The town, despite being in a state of repair, with all the booths and crowds of people resembled a festival.

He walked over, not realizing the curb of the street and almost tripping, but still making it there anyways. The shopkeeper greeted him with a amusing comment which he tried not to roll his eyes to. He then read over the menu: Fried dough, ice cream, red bean pancakes, pancakes, muffins, croissants, a basic pasty stand. He shuffled for some pocket change and turned and asked Leila, "You don't want anything, right?"

How exactly were you supposed to react when someone told you a story like that? Even Leila herself did not know, so whatever Arete would say and do was completely fine by her. After all, it was nothing more than that, a story of the past. A faded memory that will affect the future in some way, but won't change the girl as a person. So at the end of it all, she smiled brightly. "Yeah. I'm alive and that is what matters most! Being dead was really boring, you know?" She laughed and joked, jumping from one stand to another again like a little kid that was excited about all of this. It was a lesson that taught her to not sacrifice her very own being again like that, for it would make many people sad. Lesson was learned and now she could continue her adventure.

"I was is more like it. As my body perished, the connection to my magic shattered as well. Right now, I'm about as weak as a starting mage. In a sense, it really is a new start for me. So I have to work hard to recover my powers and uphold that title!" She was looking forward to it. Being able to control the nature with a snap of her fingers again. The connection to all that was surrounding them, the serene state of this land. That was a story for another time, however. As right now, the two of them were simple enjoying the every day life of this city, not fighting to improve. When Arete asked the question, the girl would hop right next to him and smile. "Actually, I would love to have some melon ice cream~"