What in the-Falling rocks! -open-

[Penelo]

Her elbows were a bit bloody, her eyes were red from exhaustion, her hair was a bit ruffled and spewing out of her braids. Her clothes, however, managed to seem in good condition. That was because her clothes were meant for this sort of thing. The material was tougher than her skin, hardly faded in the sun and was nearly impervious to water or fire. She rubbed her elbows, a light hiss escaped her lips at the stinging sensation. She mumbled out the Cure spell and felt herself return back to normal. She walked a bit higher.

She looked at the ruins around her. Everything was destroyed. Houses had only three standing walls, the fourth crushed by debris from some huge structure over head. Penelo had no idea where she was, or what had happened. She wanted to be back in Dalmasca. She wanted to be back with Vaan and in the safety of their airship. She wanted that certainty back. She wanted to feel home. In this alien place she was all alone.

She hadn't seen anyone in virtually two days. No one had spoken to her, and she was close to collapsing. She only had two more Ethers and a Hi potion left. They could fend off her hunger, but not for too long. If Penelo didn't find food today, she would start to get desperate and maybe even panic. She stopped walking then. She was too angry to keep walking. She sat down on a rather flat piece of metal, that used to be something. She folded her legs beneath her and put her head in her hands.

Before she realized, she was crying.

[Fran]

Crimson eyes opened to a place not familiar to the Viera, the smell was different and the stench that reached her nose disgusted her. Laying beside some rubble and debris, she slowly went to push herself up off the ground feeling a quick pang of pain. It seemed her leg had gotten hurt upon her arrival here, but that was the question......where was she. This was not the skies over the sandsea nor was it any of the huge cities. Balancing herself she glanced down to her injured leg and using a small cure spell some of the pain seemed to go away, at least it was something until she could find someone. Anyone around here, even if she could see a familiar face it would stop her from the worry that was starting to appear on her features.

As her feet began to move foreward, she seemed to glance around at the ruins. These had once been buildings, where people used to live. The feeling she was getting from these buildings were of sorrow, despair and frightened faces. Everything around here had been either crushed, or were barely standing on their foundations. Before everything had happened, she had been with her partner enjoying a drink in the local bar. And now here she was in the middle of nowhere, a place she did not know of and with no signs of familiar faces. She must remain calm, not let herself think the worse of things. Checking her supplies she saw she had a few hi-potions and just a few potions, that could help her for abit but not for long.

The last time she saw anyone she knew, well it's been awhile. Fran had been so busy with Balthier, that she had forgotten the last time she had ever seen Vaan or Penelo. Were they alright, could they be here in this strange land. Lost and wandering around confused like she was, there was not even the slightest smell of mist anywhere. She just couldn't sense it, so that proved this was not the world she remembered. It was then her ears seemed to pick up the sound of something, it sounded as if someone was crying nearby. As she continued to walk, her crimson eyes fell upon a familiar figure sitting on a piece of metal. Rushing over, the Viera then kneeled down ignoring what pain she still had in her leg.

"Penelo, are you alright?".

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[Angeal Hewley]

Midgar. A place he had only been to a few times in the past with Zack, and once during a Training session. Mako-tainted gaze glanced around with keen interest as his boots thudded mutely on the ground.

Black hair ruffled partially in the wind, and he had his arms hanging slightly loosely at his sides, letting them swing a little back and forth as he walked. The ex-SOLDIER was once the best. Hell, he was still the best, but, he didn't exactly boast about it like most. The famed Buster Blade was on his back, as he had somehow gotten it back when he came back. Speaking of coming back, how had that happened? He wasn't entirely sure, and quite frankly, he was a little weirded out by it. He was back, and he still had those blasted wings that made him what he truly was...a monster. Zack's protests about him not being a monster rang momentarily in his ears, and a smile eased itself onto his usually stoic face. He caught sight of two people together, and saw that one was injured, but had healed herself with a spell. Well, there really wasn't anything else to do, so he approached them silently, and stood nearby. He spoke in his quiet voice, wondering if they would lean away from his presence, as his white wings had made an appearence without him summoning them consciencely. Must have been his sub-conscience. "Are you two alright?" He inquired.

[Penelo]

Penelo was never one to bawl flat out for long periods of time. Nearly four minutes passed before her sobs had quieted to sniffles, and every now and again she would whimper. Everything had been going perfectly. Now this. Everything was ruined. It was a disaster. She was destitute, stranded, hungry, thirsty, filthy, injured, and alone. She wanted Vaan next to her at that moment. If he was there, it would all be great. Perfect even. They'd turn this into an adventure, but Penelo didn't have the spark to do that on her own. She needed Vaan.

But he wasn't here, and crying about it wasn't going to summon him magically to her side. Though...oddly enough, she did hear someone approaching. She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, trying to clear her face, in case it was an enemy. She shifted on her metal seat and gasped when it turned out to be Fran. She asked her if she was alright.

She felt a sting of bitter again, but it soon was swallowed by the fact that Fran was right there in front of her. "Fran! I missed you so much!"[/b] She blurted before she answered Fran's question, if not a bit hesitantly. Penelo had spent enough time with the Veira to know that she had barely ever lost control of her emotions. Penelo sighed faintly before she spoke again. "I am fine, not injured anyway. I'm just..."[/b] she trailed of again, letting her eyes look around her for a moment. "I just want to know what's going on, and find Vaan."[/b] She sighed faintly and then looked at Fran, seeing her looking as...Fran as every, though her leg looked a little funny.

"What about you?"[/b] She asked immediately, her hands were half lifted to inspect the older woman's knee. Penelo stopped herself, though. She knew how Fran was, and she knew she wouldn't appreciate her babying. She looked up as another voice spoke, a male's. It was foreign. She sprang to her feet and immediately put herself between the--winged?!--man and the taller veira. She was in her fighting stance with her fists curled into tight fists.

"We are fine."[/b] She replied cooly, her eyes didn't leave his terribly blue ones, and her arms didn't lower from their lethal stance. She didn't trust people that just came out of no where, or who looked as not-normal as this guy. He had some explaining to do before she would let herself be nice to him.

[Fran]

Fran was not one to freak out, or panic. In these kind of situations she wished to remain calm and collected, not be like some foolish people who run into things without thinking things through first. The Viera however did feel lost and unfamiliar with this place, somehow she had fallen here and she wished to know why. She wanted answers to the questions that ran through her mind, she wanted to know why they had been brought here. What was the purpose of being dragged into a unfamiliar land, where there is nothing but ruins and the smell of death and filth in the air. If this was somebody's idea of cruel joke, this Viera was not laughing nor was she happy.

She was however relieved when she came upon a familiar face, the girl had been barely recognizable when she approached. As crimson eyes stared down upon Penelo, Fran felt a pull at her heartstrings. This was not the Penelo she knew that was sitting before her, not the same girl she had met and traveled around with. She was dirty and filthy, and looked as if she could fall over any second from lack of sleep, water or food. Though the girl's sudden outburst made the Viera wonder for a second if this truly was Penelo, no it was her......she just surprised her abit to say the least. Good at least she was not injured unless she was hiding a wound, and Fran gave a small nod.

"I too want to know what is going on, I am relieved to know you are not injured in any way. Keep hope Penelo, we shall find Vaan".

Yes they shall both search for Vaan, and for the others as well. Though she doesn't show it, Fran is worried for the well being of her partner. Was Balthier searching for her, as she was searching for him. Perhaps now that she found Penelo, they can travel together and find out why they are here. Seeing as Penelo lifted her hands half way, Fran knew that the girl had noticed she was slightly injured on the leg. The Viera knew she was worried about her, but this Viera could take care of herself. As she was about to answer Penelo's question about how she was, another voice interuppted them and Fran quickly turned around not pleased.

Her crimson eyes came to rest upon a man, whom she did not know and seemed to have a wing. What matter of creature was this, never had she seen someone such as this. When Penelo stepped in front of her, Fran quickly stepped to the blond girl's side also getting into a fighting stance. She as well was not one to trust people right off the bat, look what had happened when she first met Vaan.

"As she has said, we are fine......who are you?"

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[Angeal Hewley]

Angeal blinked, the shorter blonde girl had pretty much gotten very defensive the moment he arrived. A little sigh escaped him and he focused, his wings disappearing and he rose his hands up, palm facing outwards. The last thing he wanted was a fight, especially when he was slightly injured, though it was expertly covered by his black sweater. He was thankful for the black that hid the blood. Mako-tainted gaze swept from Fran to Penelo and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Easy, I don't want to fight, I'm just checking things out, and I saw you on the ground, so naturally I came to investigate" The male stated in a calm voice, his gaze was gentle, and non-threatening. He was personally glad that the Buster Blade wasn't needed, he would have hated to fight a pair of females that were obviously injured. He wondered to himself if Sephiroth or Genises were around, he missed his old friends, and he especially missed Zack.

[Penelo]

Fran said they would look for Vaan together, and Penelo caught herself before she blurted something about Balthier. If the veira had known where he was, he would be standing right next to her shoulder. And since Fran hadn't dropped from a sky ship, it was only natural that the woman didn't know where her partner was. Penelo sent good wishes towards his well being, and Vaan's and Ashe's and Basch's, and Larsa's. If two out of their old group was here, the odds were there were more of them as well. Penelo hoped they were all perfectly OK and safe, unlike she was at the moment with no weapon to speak of...

She glared at the man as he spoke to them, saying that he had just come to investigate. She had been roaming for two days and hadn't come across one person. She eye'd him suspiciously, a nasty retort rested on her tongue before she took in his actual appearance. He seemed tortured, but not in an actual physical way. He looked tired, haggard, and just as exhausted as she felt. She sorta believed him then, when he said he didn't want to fight. He didn't look like he had much energy to stand; come to think of it, neither did Penelo.

She then noticed the crimson trail seeping out from under his sleeve. The fact that he might be trying to hurt them--even though he had actually said he didn't want to fight didn't enter into it--evaporated from her mind and she took the few steps needed to stand next to him. She reached one hand into her pack for a Hi potion and handed it his still raised arm, then she lifted his sleeve to catch a glimpse at the wound. She sucked in a small breath and prepared to heal it with Cure.

The fact that he might not want a strange and derelict looking girl touch him didn't matter. He was hurt and Penelo was going to fix it. She cast a worried glance at Fran for a moment. What if he was hurt elsewhere? He needed her help! Fran was still standing there in a defensive crouch, ready to attack and Penelo nearly sighed in exasperation. Couldn't the older woman see that he was in no shape to attack them. (of course he might knock her away for touching him, but Penelo was hardly scared of an injured patient.)

"Geez. This will need another Cure, and it should be cleaned and wrapped. Crap. We need water and gauze...and food."[/b] Penelo spoke to herself rather than to the older man at her finger tips. She glanced up at him and gave a wane smile. "Don't you worry, I'll get this all fixed up.' She promised the unknown guy without batting an eyelash.

[Fran]

When she promised something, she stuck to it. And Fran knew how important Vaan was to Penelo, and although the blond girl didn't mention him. She knew she was probably going to say something about Balthier, but decided to hold back from blurting something out. It did not matter to her, she knew her partner would somehow find his way to them. After all he is always mentioning that saying, you know what they say about the leading man. How he does not die, and the viera always held him to his word. She also hoped that other's she knew of were well too, that no ill will had come their way. Basch, Larsa, Ashe. Hopefully they too are alright, and that they could meet up with them soon.

Her attention still on the man, she listened to him as he spoke. He did not wish to fight, instead he came to investigate. As she had not been wandering this place for long, Fran had not seen any others or any sign of movement from the ruined buildings. So where had he been hiding, that was perhaps something she could ask later. This man did not want to fight, and his expression could read that he was exhausted and hiding pain somewhere on his body. The viera watched as Penelo walked over to inspect him, lowering her defensive stance she let one hand drop to her side while the other was placed on her hip. Tilting her head slightly, when Penelo raised the man's sleeve could see the blood from a wound he had.

How much blood had he lost, since it looked like he could barely keep his own weight. Seeing the worried glance upon her young friend's face, she knew all to well what that meant. Penelo wanted to help this person even though they knew nothing about him, or where he had come from. Leave it to the blond to help anyone out, and they could not leave someone injured out here in this place. Fran stood nearby and glanced around abit more, if Penelo needed her help she would do so in any way she can. Upon hearing what she needed, Fran glanced to the ruined buildings that were around.

"Perhaps if we look inside these buildings, there might be the items you request".

Since these two were on the verge of collapsing any second, the viera wasn't gonna be too happy carrying them around. She herself was tired and exhausted, trying to keep herself strong. Though the mention of food was making her a tad bit hungry, was it even possible to find anything to eat here.

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[Angeal Hewley]

Angeal blinked as the little blonde girl approached him, and cast cure on his arm. The pain subsided and Angeal visibly relaxed, though the wound was still stinging a bit. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the growling sound in his stomach. Wounds first, eat later. He could survive for awhile without eating, but if that wound wasn't taken care of soon, it would get infected. Angeal wasn't about to let that happen, though he had no medical supplies on him, which greatly irritated him. What was Angeal going to do? Relying on others usually only lead to disappointment, or being betrayed. Though, the girl in front of him didn't really look the mean type, so, he decided to give her a chance, and his name.

"My name is Angeal" Finally, he gave his name, he hadn't given it the first time, because he didn't know if he could trust these ladies not to attack, but the young girl seemed alright. He was reminded of Zack for a moment and pain clenched at his heart. He dearly missed his protoge, and he hoped Zack was alright, and safe somewhere. He hoped he could see him again, wondering to himself how much Zack had grown. He vaguely remembered taking Zack into the lifestream, and he bit his lip. Wait. HE had died and had come back, did that mean Zack was back? If he was, then Angeal really had no reason to worry about the Puppy. A chuckle escaped him as he thought of how much Zack hated that nickname. Things were going to be alright, or so he hoped.

[Penelo]

Penelo had been running through an assortment of different possibilities in her head. All rotated around how she could fix this wound properly and quickly. She wanted to cast Cure on it again, but she knew mentally that one more spell would drain her reserves and she wanted to keep her Ethers in case something bad or worse happened. When Fran spoke up, she looked over at her and nodded her head enthusiastically. "That's a great idea, Fran!"[/b] She said, looking back at the man she saw he looked better after her spell washed through him, but like the two woman, he didn't have much more fuel to run on.

"Ok, I think we should all three look together, because we're too weak to be caught alone. Alright?"[/b] She looked between the two adults and felt a little out of place because they both were older and wiser than she was. She scuffed her foot against the ground for a moment before she looked up at the two of them again. He had just said his name and the girl smiled faintly. He trusted her, well at least a little bit, and that was reassuring. "I'm Penelo. Nice to meet you."[/b] Penelo felt better, more aquainted with this injured man now that she knew his name. She glanced over at Fran because she knew the veira felt better when she knew someone's name, and since the man introduced himself without being asked, that probably scored him a point in Fran's book.

But Penelo could never be sure because even though she had known Fran for a few years, she still didn't know her. Penelo started to look around them, then. She saw some buildings that were more or less in better shape, one had an open square that she realized was a large display window. If it used to be a store, then they'd surely find what they were looking for in there. She pointed at it with her hand and looked over at Fran, "that looks like a good place to start, right?"[/b]

[Fran]

Fran could see how Penelo struggled to cast cure on the man, if she used her magic anymore she would possibly pass out from being too exhausted. Fran could use a little of her magic to aid the man, she always didn't have to use her bows and arrows to solve everything. But her idea of looking around these ruined buildings, she was certain they could find something to use to tend those wounds. He seemed to be a little more refreshed since the blond used cure, even so he still looked like he could fall over. Giving a small nod to Penelo, the viera let only a small barely noticeable smile appear on the corner of her lips before it disappeared in the blink of a eye. The blond's idea was a good one, stick together and see if they can find anything that might help them.

There was abit of a uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, Fran had a feeling that they were not truly alone in this place. Now that could be paranoia, but the sense she was getting seemed unnerving. Sticking together would be the wise thing to do, incase any unwelcome guests show up. Fran glanced to Penelo, then over to the man who introduced himself. At least he seemed to trust them abit, but she was still a little unsure if she could give this man her full trust. This viera was not one to cozy up to people in a instant, you had to gain her trust before you became a ally or friend in her eyes.

"My name is Fran".

Her words were flat, and straight foreward. Guess him saying his name did earn at least one point in her books, no enemy would give his name freely. Though it was still going to take quite abit of time for her to get used to having a new person around, and hopefully they could all find a way to get out of here or at least find a place to rest. Among all the people she had met in her travels, there was only one true person that knew her well enough. And that was Balthier, of course there are things she doesn't know about him. She doesn't fully know his past, and she is not one to pry either.


When Penelo pointed over to a building, which had a display window. Fran nodded lightly, yes that would be a good place to start. If they were lucky, they could perhaps find the items they seeked inside there. Glancing over to Angeal she said nothing, then began to walk over to where the blond had mentioned.

"If you do not wish to be left behind, it would be wise to follow".

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