Lazy Afternoon

An inky dark portal opened there in the train station, at one time it perhaps would have filled people with fear, though what stepped out wasn't a mysterious figure in a black cloak, or a shadowy monster. Instead a girl with pink hair and goggles appeared from it's void, shortly afterwards it would vanish behind her as though it never existed. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, surprised at the endless red sky that waited outside the doors of the station. The sunlight beamed on her face as she walked towards the exit, holding a hand above her eyes to try and provide shade to them.

"Wow...This place is so calm. A little bright...But calm!"

She walked along the streets, actually...A little taken aback by the peace. The pastel skies above only added to this atmosphere of tranquility. Her mind drifted to thoughts of Zeni, about how the optimistic girl would more than love to explore a world this peaceful. The mechanic still hadn't entirely figured out how this device chooses it's locations, but she still secured a mental note of this world back in her mind. Some day she'd have to bring Zeni here to witness it all herself.

Though she was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice it when some younger kids kicked a ball in her direction.

"Watch out-!!!"

The children called out frantically, thankfully snapping her out of her trance, she raised her hands and narrowly managed to catch it inches away from her face. She gave a sigh of relief, thankful it didn't strike her in the face, though she lowered it, looking at the source of the stray ball. A group of kids kicking it about down the streets. They called out to her.

"Nice catch lady! Want to play with us?"

An offer to join them in their game? Well...The mechanic thought it over for a moment, eventually coming to the conclusion that she thankfully had time to spare here in such a laid back place. She gave an optimistic nod and a reply.

"Well...Okay! But you better not cry when I beatcha!!"

She grinned kicking it back to them, this only riled them up more as the game soon got competitive, leading them down the direction she was going as the entire group kicked the ball to and fro, eventually one of the children's errant and strong kick sent it flying against a wall... And bouncing off right into a near-by tunnel. Everyone scrambled over quickly to watch as it bounced and rolled down into the depths of this tunnel. The children all seemed reluctant, to which Ayami definitely had to question.

"Huh? What's wrong? Why aren't we going down after it? You guys act like ya seen a ghost or something!"

"That's...The tunnel! The one they say you can hear moans from!"

The mechanic girl was definitely puzzled by this...Moans from this tunnel? She started to doubt it at first, imagining it to just be a random citizen given the state of the world, or perhaps a machine that was left to run? Though before she could really finish theorizing, sounds began to echo out from deep inside the tunnels, they certainly seemed to sound something akin to moans given the way the sound traveled...This of course only made all of the kids gathered there recoil and scream, moving back away from the tunnel.

But Ayami didn't move, she steeled herself, instead wanting to get to the bottom of this. She looked back at them reassuringly and giving them a nod.

"I'll get your ball back, just hang tight yeah? Won't take me long!"

She gave them a thumbs up, giving them some measure of relief as they relaxed a little. With that she left them behind, traveling into the tunnels alone. She followed the source of the sounds, she could find the ball once she figured out what was making all the racket. Priorities after all!

------

Hono

The fencer meanwhile continued her training inside the tunnel. Hearing some footsteps and faint sound around the tunnel didn't really draw her attention away, the tunnel while being considered "haunted" by younger citizens, are often used by adults as a path to quickly pass through one side of town to the other in a span of a few minutes. Though the train was most people's go-to option, the tunnel has slowly become more popular with people of Twilight Town. Back to the training. Hono grabbed a bottle of water from the side of her black backpack, she kept her backpack down in the tunnels and kept it stock with water, and snacks for her to regain after her practice. Slowly her back pressed against the wall, then she proceeded to slide down until she fully sitting against the wall. Letting out a soft sigh of relief. The dummy stood firmly in it's the original position proudly, though some straw hung out from the beating Hono issued out earlier. Now the girl would take a short break, she sure needed it. Her hair a bit messy despite being tied in her signature pigtails, sweat also formed a path from her forehead to her chin before dripping onto the floor below.


Digging deep into her cluttered backpack she pulled out a pocket-size knife, despite that it was still as sharp as any other knife. Placing the blade on the concrete flooring for use later. Next, the girl began rummaging through her pack to find something to consume. Out came a small box of assorted fruits, it was sealed tightly. Hono took a speedy drink from the bottle, returning it to her. Her hand placed upon the knife to her left, she quickly began cutting the box open so she could enjoy the sweet fruit inside. As she went to cut the final side of the box, the knife slashed her pointer finger. This resulted in her hand rapidly jerking back, followed by a rather loud grunt to escape from her. The sound bounced between the narrow tunnelway and dispersed throughout the tunnels. Hono instinctively placed the finger in her mouth and sucked, as most humans do. A couple moans escaped from her mouth, resulting in another noise echoing throughout the tunnels. Hono managed to get the short burst of pain to go away before holding a small washcloth she pulled out bag over her wound. Letting her wound rest for a couple minutes.

The sounds that echoed throughout the tunnels gave off a spooky tone, it was a lot like the ghost stories the kids told one another, while they were sudden it was likely someone inside the tunnel would hear it and be able to track it back to its origin point, though it wouldn't be a ghost or a monster or a demon or anything of the sorts. It would just be a girl, a citizen would have a silly little accident.

He would follow, listening to the sounds as a small chill ran down his spine. He wasn’t exactly scared, but he wasn’t fond of spirits either. Unlike other things spirits couldn’t be killed in normal fashions making them something the mercenary did not like to contend with; however, if he ran into a spirit down here he supposed he’d have no one, but himself to blame. After all, he had the choice of going upward but instead chose to follow the strange noises and another that seemed to be down here. Oh well. It was what it was.

In any case, he would continue to follow the girl stopping a respectful distance from her when she stopped, turned cautiously, and….jumped in fright. The mercenary would blink at this remaining calm as he watched the girl’s expression change as she rubbed the back of her head and laughing a bit spoke. The mercenary would look down at the ball.

“Ah. So it was not a child spirit deciding to play with me today. That is good to know,” he would say with a slight smile. He opened his mouth with the intent of giving the ball back and answering the question; however, he soon found himself shutting it as he heard the strange sounds coming from within the tunnels again. The mercenary would narrow his eyes a bit before locking eyes with the girl and nodding.

He would follow the other further into the tunnels, pausing as the other did and when she leapt from around the corner, he would follow a few paces behind a bit calmer than the other. Calm enough that he saw that the other was leaping at a young lady. Oh boy. This could end up going rather badly provided that the pink haired girl actually got what she aimed for. For now though, the mercenary would stay where he was and watch to see what happened in the end.

Hah! Finally the mechanic had caught the source of all their scares! as she felt the culprit within her grasp, she knew that finally the truth would be revealed! The culprit was...Well, Ayami in all the confusion gripped the culprit's shoulders for a moment, realizing that they were rather...Frail. Not what she was expecting at all?! She blinked and noticed as the suspense faded that it was just...A young girl with hair color not too different from her own. She quickly rolled off of her "culprit" allowing Hono's escape, The mechanic was soon rubbing the back of her head awkwardly and beginning to apologize for the tackle.

"Syyyh... I'm sorry! I thought I caught a ghost! Honest mistake, sometimes I get carried away! Are you alright?"

She stood, and reached a hand down offering to help the lithe girl onto her feet. Whether or not Hono accepted the offer, she'd give the smaller girl a smile. It was a display that there were no hard feelings from the Spiran. Though perhaps in such a messy situation Hono wouldn't exactly be willing to share the same sentiment, well regardless, Ayami merely held the smile. Trying her best to answer.

"Oh, me? My name's Ayami! Loyal Mechanic of the Spiran Machine Faction, at your service! And this is..."

She looked over at Deshitana, tapping a finger to her chin... come to think of it, in all the excitement they never really introduced themselves to each other. Well! It was certainly high time to change that! She'd offer a handshake to Hono, then one to Deshitana, still grinning excitedly.

"I'm sorry! I always get so caught up in what I'm doing, sometimes I just forget to ask names. Who are you two?"

That aside, she DID owe Hono an explanation as to why they even had to meet like this, and why she were down here to begin with. But the mechanic was certainly happy to oblige that request, after all, it wasn't a particularly difficult explanation. She offered it quickly and concisely.

"Well... Dra getc- Er, the kids were playing ball with me, and we kinda knocked it down here. But they were scared to go down because of a ghost we heard! So I came down looking for it and found him, and then uh...Well, I tackled you! Pretty cool, huh?! We thought you were a ghost this whole time!"

Her reasoning exuded innocence, and it was clear from her general tone that no real harm was meant, no malicious intent was behind that tackle, even if it did still sting a bit... Though truth be told, Ayami wasn't quite sure what she would have actually done HAD she caught a real live ghost. Still, this did hopefully clear the air and allow Hono to calm herself even if just a small amount. She'd look back over to Deshitana, giving him a smile.

"Thanks for catching the ball earlier! They'll be really happy to have it back, I'm sure."

------

@deshitanarokosho Hono

There now! Despite the misunderstandings, and despite Hono's initial anger, things soon calmed down and the small fencer gave a smile of her own in return. She watched as Hono stretched out and cleaned herself off from the encounter. And shortly after listened intently to the introduction given! She couldn't help but chuckle a little, Hono was so full of fire that Ayami really admired it. She'd give a nod and reach out towards Hono's head, opening her hand up and petting the fencer gently for a moment before letting go.

"Well, Hono! It's nice to meet you! If I don't wanna get toasted, I'll be sure to be on my best behavior!"

...Of course, "best behavior" for Ayami was not cracking jokes or cursing while being overly excited. But really, she didn't see an issue with it! Ayami listened to Hono as she gathered her things, musing over everything. So if Hono trained here all the time, and she was from Twilight town...It stood to reason that the place the traveling mechanic had ended up in was called "Twilight Town"...Well it certainly matched the perpetually evening sky. Though she finally spoke up, interjecting on Hono's rant.

"If I had to guess...It's probably 'cause of how dank and dark it is down here. Plus you were making these weird moaning noises, well THEY were scared, but me? I'm an intrepid hunter of the unknown! Why, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for that! The idea of a phantom living down here is incredible. Given the nature of spirits in my home, and the thin veil between life and death, it only makes sense! It was something that demanded further study. And? My conclusion is that there is ZERO para-normal activity going on here! -Wait, hold on going down here was my idea, so..."

She'd step in front of Hono, still smiling. She'd give a nod and point at the fencer dramatically.

"...So that means I'm takin' the blame here! Go ahead and REALLY lay into me! Then we'll bring that ball back. How about that?"

...It was probably not an expected response. She was so innocent in her approach. Her tone belayed that she was neither looking to pick a fight with Hono, nor trying to start trouble in any manner. She genuinely wanted to take the blame for this instead of those kids despite it all. She pointed her thumb at herself, grinning brightly, though once Hono had finished deciding whether or not she wanted to give the mechanic a piece of her mind, Ayami took hold of the ball and turned her back on Hono, heading towards the tunnel leading back to the surface. Though...She stopped for a moment, speaking up.

"I've never seen anything like your town before. It's really nice here."

She looked back towards Hono, smiling with her eyes closed.

------

Hono

Did she actually believe in the paranormal? Well...Of course! She'd nod enthusiastically, excited to tell Hono about her biggest hero, and practically nerding out in the process of doing so:

"Yeah!! See, my biggest hero, her name's "Yuna", she's what we call a summoner. She can call forth spirits, and even send the dead off to the afterlife! I think she even visited there a few times, come to recall...Well, maybe there's nothing like that here, but...I guess you'd have to see it for yourself."

Of course, she prepared herself for the "laying into" that Hono was about to unleash, up until the fencer ACTUALLY thought up some kind of punishment for Ayami's uh...Impromptu assault. What?! A slave for two weeks?! Ayami let out a groan, slouching forward before expressing her displeasure at the given punishment!

"Whaaaat?! Aw c'mooooon! I'm a free spirit, you can't hold me down!"

She'd stay silent with her back turned to Hono for a few moments...Before she let out a small giggle, that soon continued on long enough to break out into full laughter. It was clear from that, that she meant no hard feelings and was merely playing along. Hono was certainly interesting, though to say she was strange would be difficult. She had already met some really odd characters, between Anti-Sora and Figment, Hono seemed almost refreshingly normal by comparison. That playful bite of hers didn't really seem to phase the mechanic much in the end, perhaps she was just used to light hearted snark? She wasn't really sure herself, but she didn't mind either way. She slowed down just enough to allow Hono to catch up once she realized the fencer had stopped to gather her things.

Curiously, it seemed she wasn't the first outsider Hono had run into... Elfe? That name sounded familiar, though the mechanic couldn't really place it at the moment. Maybe it was just one of those names that caught your ears just right? Well in any case, Hono had asked a very interesting question...Where Ayami was from? She stopped for a moment, looking up at the ceiling in deep thought while she responded.

"My home? It's a place called Spira! It's really exciting there, but...A little dangerous too! I once crossed the entire main continent on foot! That's, uh...Something usually only really special people get to do! Well, I started at the southern end, There's a really nice town there called "Luca". Then I crossed up through the Mi'ihen highroad, across the thunder plains and...Well, it's kind of a long story! Maybe I can tell you all about it later."

She continued walking along, though for a moment, Hono might've noticed a subtle drop in the mechanic's mood, soon followed by her speaking up in a rather somber tone.

"...I really miss it sometimes. My mom and grandma, the machine faction and Gippal, all the people I met on the road... But, I can't go back yet. There's someone important I'm looking for. This is really important to me."

It almost seemed out of place, her going into something of a sad tone, but it was simply homesickness. She hadn't been away all that long, but even still, she already started missing it the more she thought of it. Though, there really was no need to feel sorry for her, her cheerful stature and tone of voice soon returned as they continued their way up out of the tunnels. But this did give Hono a rare look at Ayami's more somber side, if nothing else.

------

Hono

Ayami simply gave a smiling nod to Hono's teasing, playing along. It was clear there was no malicious intent. Well! it was a good thing Hono liked joking! the mechanic enjoyed a few jokes now and again herself truth be told! Perhaps it came with the territory that you'd eventually hear "left handed wrench" jokes at least once or twice. ... Speaking of, that was totally one she would have to get Hono with at some point. Though for now, the subject turned towards Yuna, something Ayami was quite fond of talking about. Hono's insistence on wanting to meet her only excited the mechanic more.

"Really?! Well! Maybe I can help you meet her! After all, I met her not long ago! Traveling problems are no problem for me!"

She pointed a thumb to her chest, puffing it up proudly, enthusiastic both about letting Hono meet Yuna, and being able to help someone! Though since Hono showed an interest in hearing more about Yuna, and all of Spira, that's exactly what the mechanic did - She began to tell Hono alll about Spira's recent history as they walked along the corridor. About the war 1000 years ago, but more importantly, what Yuna and her allies accomplished. Most of this was of course relayed from the perspective of someone who hadn't been a part of that journey, but she saw some of what Yuna had done with her own eyes, too. Incredible things that she could - In her opinion, only aspire to accomplish.

It was a lot to take in of course, but since Hono showed such an interest, Ayami only felt it fair to give her the full run down, omitting less...Interesting details for now so as not to bore the fencer. It distracted the mechanic from her troubles, just getting to share something she was passionate about with someone who would listen. Though her troubles grew even further away once Hono gave her a warm smile, asking questions about her journey and comforting her. She looked down at the ground for only a moment before looking back up, returning the smile with one of her own. She gave a light nod, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to share:

"Maybe you're right, help is always good. Well, the one I'm looking for is my father. He went missing two years ago, and I've never stopped looking for him ever since the day he vanished. I...Don't know where he's gone since the last time I saw him, but seeing him again in so very long was what brought me so far away from home to begin with. I don't suppose you've seen a tall man with long blonde hair, and bright green eyes- Just like mine?"

She gave Hono a basic description. It wasn't a ton to go on, but...She did have one more piece of info she supposed could have been useful:

Oh, and he kinda has an eccentric way of speaking, and he's totally into machines, even more than me!!"

That was...About the extent of information she could give the fencer. Sadly it wasn't a lot, but from the description, he also sounded exactly like the kind of person who would stand out in a crowd.

Before she knew it though, they had reached the exit, right back towards where she entered before. It surprised her that it took that long, but then...That place seemed like a labyrinth, too. Regardless, she stepped outside to the sound of many gasps of shock. Evidently the group of kids thought she likely died down there for whatever reason. She spun the ball on one finger before tossing it over to one of the kids, grinning and ruffling his hair with a free hand.

"Don't lose it again, okay? Next time you might not have a cool big sister type like me around to go get it for ya!"

She simply laughed upon saying that, giving Hono a playful cheeky grin.

------

Hono