Leaving Home Ain't Easy [Aqua]

Aqua

Was it an early dawn - or was it an early evening? Sol let out a small sigh as he let the ashes from his burning cigarette fall on the ground. The town was lively, awfully so despite the time of the day it was. Nonetheless, the bounty hunter felt tad bit exhausted after making his way through the seemingly endless void of stars that he passed by using the ship that he... well... 'borrowed' for the time being. Though he made it his priority to make his way back to his own world, the Gear didn't think it was such a bad idea to take a brief detour to rest up, reorganize his thoughts for the long travels ahead. With all these questions in his head, he couldn't exactly continue the way as he did. He had questions, and lots of it - especially with all these shadowy creatures that seemed to appear almost out of nowhere. They did so in the 'Traverse Town', and they made their presence known here as well.

Thankfully, they seemed to die down the moment he entered the town itself. It was a brief moment of relief, at last.

For the time being, Sol needed to get a better feel for the area. His steps slowly came to a halt in front of a shop booth that clearly seemed to scream 'shop' with the logo of odds and ends of various items that was potentially stocked in there. Still, there seemed to be no one watching the place. Out for lunch perhaps? The bounty hunter shrugged, and just as he turned on the ball of his heel to leave, sudden appearance of a middle-aged woman from the corner of his eye who seemed to virtually pop out of almost nowhere nearly took him by surprise. 

He hated surprises.

"My, you're a new face around here. Welcome to Twilight Town!" A friendly voice chirped through the window, "If you need anything for those long travels ahead, my shop's got it. What do you need?"

Sol felt tad bit reluctant buying from a person like them, but what other choice did he have? She seemed pretty desperate for business - and by the looks of it, she didn't have a lot of customers lately.... Perhaps for an awfully good reason.



"Mn, I'll take a map of this place. How 'bout it?"

"A map? That'll be twenty Munny!"

Sol dug into his wallet, but he failed to find anything that resembled 'Munny'.... Right, how quaint. How could he have possibly thought that he'd be able to buy ANYTHING with worthless paper money called 'World Dollars' when this wasn't even the world that he belonged in the first place? The bounty hunter felt tad bit embarrassed for such late realization, but he let out a grunt as he scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, I think I'm low on cash right now."

Twilight Town. Even the name made her feel comfortable and cozy. Admittedly, she'd expected more of a village than a actual town, but this wasn't so bad. It was quiet, peaceful, and homey. If she retired (the thought made her laugh), it would definitely be in a place like this. Everyone was so friendly, even if they very little information to offer her in regards to Terra or Ventus. She'd run into a group of kids who had looked to be Ventus' age, and while they'd never heard of him they did offer some information on Sora. It was nice to hear he was still doing good in the worlds. 


Aqua eventually made it into what seemed to be the center of Twilight Town, or at least the financial district. There were a few shops from what she could see, an ice cream shop, and a few people exchanging munny for things. It was nice to see people so happy for once. A smile was brought to her face as she observed everyone. As did with nearly every world, though, someone stuck out like a sore thumb. Where were these people coming from? Granted, everyone looked different in each world she went to, but here and there would be people that didn't look like they belonged at all. Did it have something to do with these Heartless? And the Nobodies? Huh. "Well, I'd better check it out." She muttered to herself as she approached the odd looking guy at the shop to her right.


"Sorry, I think I'm low on cash right now..." It looked as though her were trying to buy a map? And judging by his face, he didn't have the munny... Or didn't have munny to begin with. A good deed was never wasted... "Hello. I can spot him the cost." She began, digging in a pocket for munny and handing it to the lady. The exchange went smoothly, and Aqua handed the map to the guy promptly. "Here. I'm assuming ou have a pretty big need for it." A smile accompanied her extended hand as she tried to come off as friendly and open. "No need to stay lost. I'm Aqua, by the way."

Sol probably would've simply walked away if it weren't for the shop lady kept persisting him that he had a pocket full of cash from seeing his wallet. The woman was a natural salesperson all right. Persistent, irritating and attempting to suck on his wallet like a goddamn leech. After a few back and forth banters, an unexpected savior appeared to the bounty hunter's rescue. Well - he didn't need much of a rescuing, but it did save him the pain of trying to convince the woman further that he didn't have any money to begin with. Plus, he didn't really want to reveal something outrageous like someone from an alien planet clearly different from theirs'. That would've only attracted more unwanted attention.

"Hello, I can spot him the cost,"

A sudden hand reached out from his side and handed the shop lady a few odd-looking coins. The bounty hunter briefly took note of what it looked like before he turned his attention towards the sapphire-haired woman at his side. Much like him, she looked quite different compared to the rest of the crowd seeing by the way she was dressed.

Seemingly without a second thought, the younger woman handed him a map - all the while handling the costs for it. By his experience, the kinds of people who came up to him like this usually wanted something out of him. Whether it was a bar, or in an ordinary market district like this. Nonetheless, he never really rejected anything that he clearly needed, and without further ado, the Sol took the map out of her hand as she introduced herself as 'Aqua'.

Laughably, the name seemed to fit her rather well, considering her appearance.



"Sol," He shoved the paper into his pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes, "So what d' I owe ya, huh?"

It was a little surprising how easily he accepted all of it. Granted, it wasn't exactly a grand gesture; but she would've been a little off put if someone had done the same. Then again, she was a Keyblade Master and back-handed events seemed to get slung her way all the time. Aqua pushed those thoughts into the trash can of her mind, hopefully never to be thought of again. Coming back to the conscious realm, she blinked once and then held up her hands as if to reassure Sol that she didn't expect re-payment. "Don't worry about it. You looked like you really needed it." 


Ah. Sol. She couldn't help but wonder if it was short for something, like 'Solar' or 'Solus'. Then again, he kinda looked like he'd seen some pretty rough days. Not in the state of his clothes or anything material, but just his face and the way he carried himself. "Where are you from, if you don't mind sharing? You definitely don't look like you're from around here." Of course, she didn't really fit in either. Everyone looked so normal, and here she was with odd clothing and 'main character' colored hair. "And what are those?" Aqua pointed to the cigarettes, fighting the urge to curl her lip at the smell once he lit one.

"Don't worry about it. You looked like you really needed it."

Sol let out a brief grunt in response to the woman's odd behavior as he stuck a cigarette between his lips. Though he was slightly put off by this, he supposed that he ought to give her a thank you for the map later. As he lit the cancer stick ablaze, his eyes took the time to study her once more. It was quite clear that she was an outsider compared to the rest of the people here, and the way she dressed gave him an impression she was quite the outdoors person.

This did raise some questions in his mind.... In the last couple of days, he remembered seeing a lot of 'outsiders' that didn't belong in their own respective place. People out of the picture compared to the rest, ones who didn't blend in well compared to the locals. Though he gathered some clues as to what they were, one of the conversations that he struck with them did spring forth in his mind. Something about... 'people having strong hearts' or some touchy-feely bullshit, and how the world was consumed by the darkness itself.

Was she one of those people? Perhaps.

However, it wasn't long before Aqua suddenly fired off another batch of questions for him. Like many others who have asked him before, she asked where she was from - and what he had between his lips. Though he usually brushed them off, the Gear decided to engage with questions of his own this time.



"An' what are ya t'ask me these questions? Y'ain't from 'round 'ere yerself, ain't ya?" The ancient Gear's crimson eyes narrowed, "Somethin' tells me yer a type of chick who likes ta' stick their nose into businesses that don't involve 'em."

Ah. Right. She supposed it was only fair he answered with his own questions, even though the reply seemed curt. Which, again, she understood. An outsider was asking another outsider questions, and clearly they were from different worlds. Salty. Aqua mused to herself, taking a step back to give him some space. "No, I'm not." She answered honestly, thinking quickly on how to give Sol answers that wouldn't cause further suspicion or anger. Curiosity wouldn't kill this cat. "I'm from a different world, yes, but I'm also in charge of protecting others. Like this one." And the one you came from as well was almost added, but she figured it wasn't a good idea. Sol looked like the kind to hold a grudge, and while she would have meant the place he'd ended up after his world was destroyed- he'd probably interpret that as she was supposed to protect his home world, too. Which she hadn't, clearly. "And I suppose you don't stick your nose in anyone's business, Mr. Sol?" Crap. A question answered with a question answered with a question. Her people skills needed work. 


Luckily, they weren't fighting yet, so he probably wasn't someone she could distrust. That didn't mean all relevant information needed to be revealed "I stick my nose where I believe help is needed, and you happened to fit the bill." She shifted her weight onto one foot, cocking her hips to the side. She was so used to going to places where the people she ran into actually belonged there. Usually, they needed help. Go to a world, help someone or one of her friends, solve problem(s), everyone's happy, she leaves. This was uncharted territory for her. Sol wasn't from here, didn't belong here, and the only problem he had was not having the correct currency for a map. "You can't tell me you've never been in my position. You don't look like a bad guy. Maybe not an inherent protector, but not an outright destroyer either."