PHASE I [ 6 30 ] You really have arrived, finally.
Too bad the welcome isn’t so great.
Upon arrival, you will literally be dropped out of the sky.
You may land in the lake (watch out for the fish). You may land on the roofs of the buildings in the town (watch out for the spires). Or you may be unlucky, and fall all the way from the sky to the ground, at which point you die and lose a life already.
Don’t worry, you’ll respawn in the air and you can try again.
Good luck this time!
If you do manage to finally land in a way that doesn’t break your spine and/or drown you, you’ll find that if you’re a newcomer, you’ll have some strange words hovering over your head. They seem to be a set of your name, a level, a class and a quest, something like --
Ima Adventurerer Lv. 9000
Class: Dragon Slayer
Current Quest: Slay every dragon
-- but aside from existing, they don't seem to have any actual impact on your abilities or requirements. But you can do the quests if you really want to. Everyone will clap politely for you if you do. There might be confetti, even.
They would appear to coincide with a scroll or two posted up in the middle of town for everyone to see.
At least it’s easy to tell who’s new this round.
PHASE II [ 745 ] Once you’re safely on the ground (hopefully no broken bones!), it’s time to get a feel for the game. As free range as it seems to be, you have all sorts of choices in where to go and what to do. You could take on some quests! You could go hunt down monsters! You could...pick up that fancy looking armor over there!
Except you may not actually want to do so. As soon as you touch that armor, it will equip itself, no ifs, ands or buts. Of course, it isn’t so bad, at least, not for the ladies. For the men who equip the armor, they may find it to be a little breezy. In many different variations.
To make matters worse, be careful what you touch in your inventory, unless you want to equip a fish instead of your sword, or whatever the hell this is instead of your cool, awesome, special weapon. Good luck.
And the only way to unequip it is to find something else to equip. There’s motivation for some questing, at least.
PHASE III [ 1000 ] Eventually, you have to venture out of the town, however. There are NPCs ushering you to quest onwards, and there’s nothing in the town worth poking your nose into; none of the doors open, and all of the NPCs say the same, looping lines in a creepy monotone.
There are quests to be done outside of the town, they say, over and over.
So, off you go. However, the moment you step out of the town, you’re…somewhere else entirely. Look behind you, and the town is gone. Look around you, and there’s nothing but flowers, fields and the other people who have stepped out of the town themselves, looking equally confused. The bizarre armor is now gone, and you're back in your proper clothing; the strange floating titles and levels and the like are also gone. Otherwise, it is silent; there isn’t a single other soul. No bird song, no buzzing of bees -- just silence.
Of course, it won’t last. Soon, the monsters show up...but strangely, they seem to be monsters from your world, if your world had monsters. If your world had animals, they are those, or robots, or any number of combinations. But they seem...different. They’re meaner, larger, nastier, and all dark colors and bloody, dripping claws and fangs.
It seems everything’s been a little corrupted here -- even things from your own worlds.
PHASE IV [ 1400 ] If you persevere through the monster-infested fields, trampling your way through flowers which did nothing at all to you, you’ll eventually find yourself at a still, still lake. It’s a beautiful place, quiet and hushed and untouched, and totally monster-free; it might be a good place to take a breather.
But if you look into the lake, even for a brief moment, you’ll see whatever it is you want most in the world. Whether it’s a person (dead or alive), a thing, a title… it doesn’t matter; the lake will show it, tantalizing and right there, so close to being in your grasp.
If you don’t pull away immediately, you might find that it’s hypnotizing, in fact; you’ll feel the need to go closer and closer, even if it means wading into the lake to get closer to that goal. Just...don’t go too far. Something is waiting for you.
If you touch someone to try to help them, you’ll see what they are also seeing in the lake, for better or for worse. It might be a good chance to get to know them, if you weren’t, you know, in danger of being eaten.
Thankfully, with some perseverance and good friends, the hypnotism can be broken. You do have friends, right?
If you survive all of that, you can finally log out and join Cerealia proper -- hooray!
BONUS [ xxxx ] There sure are a lot of flowers in this field of flowers. There are flowers everywhere. Which isn’t a bad thing, unless you’re allergic to flowers (if you are allergic to flowers, CERES apologizes and suggests you take their special, patented ClariCERESclear to clear that right up). Except...the longer you’re in said field of flowers, the more you may notice that things are a little...strange.
Some of the pollen of the flowers has some strange effects on your bodies, it would seem. You could stumble across any of these (or none at all), and they could last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or two, depending on how much of that pollen you breathe in.
The effects are as follows:
➟ The urge to princess-carry the nearest person
➟ The urge to serenade the nearest person, regardless of your singing ability
➟ An awakened urge to be really aggressive towards the nearest person, even to the point of fighting (it's time to pvp)
➟ Uncontrollable crying
➟ An uncontrollable urge to make flower crowns and place them on peoples' heads (which thus further spreads the other effects).
Don’t trust the flowers.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Usually he wouldn't be so put out by this.
But... he's been through so much lately where he has absolutely no control over the situation. The entire nightmare of a spiral had begun when he couldn't do a single thing to help himself or anyone else.
Is this really a change?
Has he just fallen right into yet another situation where he's helpless and incapable of doing anything? For a long moment, Leon wants to protest, the words sharp and harsh and acidic on the tip of his tongue (and the fear in the back of his throat), but he looks at Stahn, and at Stahn's concerned expression, and he slumps, sighing and looking away.]
...Fine. Ask someone if you want.
[He's almost tired of trying at this point, because it feels like no matter how hard he tries... it's doing nothing to bring any semblance of control back to his life.]
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[and he will. even though he can see leon's sense of defeat; he knows that leon hates the way this is playing out. leon was a leader in every way, after all... and it's a mantle that stahn himself has largely taken up in his absence. someone has needed to lead the charge to make sure things get done, and stahn's become that person.
of course, it doesn't discount everyone else's efforts; there's no way he could do this without everyone else. rutee's money and item management, woodrow's diplomacy, philia's kindness and wit, kongman's brute strength, chelsea and mary's constant support and efforts to keep the mood balanced, lilith's cooking, the swordian's abilities, ritora's strategic prowess, and even reynolds' technological know-how—every single one of these things has given stahn the strength to try and motivate everyone and lead the charge at every turn, even when he struggles on his own. he doesn't have leon's innate ability, he can only look to how leon did things in order to try and figure it out himself.
this puts them in an odd position now, because stahn looks up to leon's capabilities so much even still... but they're both somewhat helpless. not that stahn likes making leon feel incapable, but he wants to help in what ways he can.
so he looks around for a couple of faces that seem friendly enough, approaching them to ask for directions. after a couple of minutes of talking and a lot of very puzzled faces, stahn will share what he's learned. he's... a little brighter for it than he's been for this last while, if only because he feels like there's some helpful progress here.]
They said if we "take the train" over that way— [he points in the direction of the train station.] —there's a "Residential District" where all the people live. Or we can walk, but I guess that train is supposed to be faster and what people use.
[but wait, there's more! he pulls out the cerevice from his pants pocket; he hasn't even looked at it since it was given to him.] They say if we use this, there's a listing for "apartments" that we can use to pick a place to live.
[which... is cool in theory? he guesses? but he also doesn't really know how to work it.] I didn't really understand how to use it, though...
[he tried, leon. he really tried. they're in so far over their heads right now.]
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And the CereVices.... he doesn't understand those at all, but he supposes that they'll figure it out as they go. First step is making it to the Residential District. If everyone takes the train, then it's something they'll have to figure out.
So he nods simply, crossing his arms. There's no point in dithering when their path is plenty clear before them.]
Then we'll "take the train".
[Or try. This can only go well. Either way, Leon's choosing action over inaction; when there's too little occupying his attention, his thoughts fall back into the darker pattern they were stuck in. He's tired of thinking about those things. Stahn is trying, so he'll try too, and somehow they'll figure it out, and... when he's not around Stahn, maybe he can get his thoughts back in order.
Even if he never thought that he'd see Stahn again (or perhaps because he never thought he'd see Stahn again), it's somehow exhausting to be around him. But... maybe that's just the entire situation catching up to him. Either way, he's not going to question it; instead, he strides over to the train station to see about figuring out how to take the train... which is a thing they don't do in Destiny despite having flying dragon ships. Seems legit.
At least they don't have to go through the muss and fuss of getting a ticket, since everything seems to be electronic; the station only has to scan their CereVices (which is vaguely startling for Leon) before they're standing there waiting for said train. He's starting to get the sense of what sort of travel this is going to be though, and he is Not Excited.]
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would it be easier for him to just walk, if that's the case?
he doesn't ask yet, mostly because actually getting to the train platform is... exciting. exciting, and sobering at the same time, because it shows just how crazy different things are. even if there are little bits and pieces of things that are familiar from the technology of a thousand years before, it's nothing like this at all.
leave it to stahn to be totally enamored with even this stuff despite having warped all over the sky. and ridden in a flying dragon ship. but as the train pulls into the station, he can sense that leon's probably not okay with this. it whizzes past them even as it slows—trains move way faster than he anticipated.]
...Will you be okay? [he asks, tone surprisingly quiet as not to draw attention to the situation at all. but he's concerned for leon's sake, because that thing can't possibly be good for motion sickness.]
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Having it brought up doesn't exactly make him happy. Unsurprisingly. He was trying to pretend that he wasn't apprehensive about this entire thing, but... that's hard to do when Stahn's bringing it up too.
His expression tightens, lips pressed into a thin line.]
Yes. [Shortly, immediately. Unsurprisingly, probably. The train slows to a stop, and the doors slide open, and Leon doesn't say anything else, stalking forward instead to board the contraption. Usually he'd probably be a bit more cautious, but now he has something to prove.
Which is ridiculous since Stahn already knows, but it's pretty obvious that Leon hasn't exactly been rational today.]
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granted, he also knows it's a lie.
and maybe that's why it doesn't bother stahn so much. this feels a little more typical for them, familiar in a way that doesn't feel stifling or alienating. maybe the snapping wasn't entirely necessary, but he can deal with it. better this than... well, some of their previous situations today. when leon steps onto the train, stahn follows closely behind... as do plenty of other people. it's hard not to be a bit awed by the sheer amount of people located in such a small space—this is so different than traveling on a boat, or even on a flying dragon like the draconis. those had much more sprawling space to accomodate people.
this... it sure is something. and just like everything else they've seen, the interior of the train car is clean and brightly lit, with stark whites that seem to contrast the blazing neons that filter in through the tinted windows. sensory overload is such an understatement for what cerealia is, that's for sure.]
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Except when the train goes, he is definitely grabbing to the nearest pole or handhold because yeah okay it was right.
And, well... watching the colony fly by at a speed like this is fascinating, it really is, but it's not good either. While the train is smoother travel than by boat or by dragon flying ship, it still shakes and shifts with its movements along its track, and that combined with the moving scenario means that exactly what they expected to happen comes true.
The motion sickness creeps up slowly, as it always does, and Leon grits his teeth and shifts his gaze slightly so he's looking at the inside of the train instead of the outside whizzing by, but the damage has been done, really. He feels terrible, not that he'll ever admit something like that, and all he can do is try to take the subtlest slow, deep breath to try to settle his rebelling body to deal with it without alerting Stahn.
Hopefully this trip isn't long. Leon can handle dealing with it. But on top of everything else, it's just an additional thing serving to make him utterly miserable.]
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the city is whizzing by them in a lines of neon lights, which makes the motion even more obvious. stahn remains where he is for a moment, trying to figure out what he can do to help. it's not until someone else moves that an idea comes to mind.
stahn remains quiet as he moves from where he stands, shifting over about a foot to stand in front of leon. there's still a decent amount of space between them, but he serves as a buffer between leon and the window, blocking the moving imagery from being in his direct line of sight. it may not cure everything, especially not the movement of the train car itself, but it's the very least he can do. as he does so, stahn keeps his eyes fixed on the window behind leon; he can still take in the sights without making leon suffer for it, right?
it's the least he can do, and stahn can casually frame it as the shifting other people and make space, so leon can have the "victory" of stahn not verbally stepping on his pride right now.]
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It's far from perfect really, and already this one single trip has made Leon entirely determined to never take this contraption again, but it's significantly better than he was. He's able to keep his eyes open and not have to undermine his own pride and determination to not close his eyes, but... he doesn't have to look at anything that's moving, or anything that's making him feel so sick.
Stahn is just an immovable, dependable presence.
The thought strikes Leon that some things never really change.
But whether Stahn did that to actually make room for someone or if he did it to help Leon... well, he's not saying either way, and that suits Leon fine; he can pretend that he wasn't totally obvious (even though he knows he is, and that's why he always tried to escape everyone else when need be, when the motion sickness really hit hard), he can take deep, slow breaths, and he can focus on not losing his head (and his lunch) during this ride.
It's enough. He's not going to throw a fit or make a fuss, not like this. He's grateful, he really is, it's just... acknowledging that would be acknowledging that Stahn helped him in the first place, so that's absolutely not a thing he's going to do. But... he'll take Stahn's help, and they'll get through the ride like this.]
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it's one thing to not let leon win the battles of pride when it's really important; when it comes to things like that, stahn won't relent. but something small like this, where he knows just how much it bothers leon to acknowledge it? he can't push too hard. so he doesn't, riding the train in silence, watching the scenery out the opposite window. maybe he's marveling a bit at how impressive it is. the lights and colors and the sheer size of everything is impressive. they've gone quite a distance before the train finally stops in the residential district—the city really is a sprawling one.
he doesn't move right away though, allowing for leon to exit first. if he winds up being a little off-kilter, then at least stahn can be behind him for support. he's sure leon will be fine, but... this is still different than any other way they've traveled before. he can't help but worry about it, at least a little. especially if this is largely the way to get around here. stahn can get used to it without a problem, but leon would be suffering every time.
maybe there's some kind of medicine or something that would help? if they had things like that in their world that could help at least a little, then a place as advanced as this must too, right? that... will be something for stahn to look into on his own a little later.]
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As soon as they've made it out of the enclosed space, things are a bit better though. He can breathe more easily, at least, and he's sure the rest will settle down soon enough (or so he hopes). It helps that he's on solid, unmoving ground now, even if everything still feels a little unsteady.
Ugh.
Chaltier murmurs his concern, a quiet, "Young master?", and Leon mutters in response, hushing him.] Later, Chal.
[They can talk about it later, but not now. He's not interested in that right now.
Either way, he's so focused on that that it takes him a moment to actually look up--and then up. And up and up and up. These buildings are so tall, what the heck......... it's almost enough to distract him from how he's feeling.]
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even if it's just the small things, like getting him the ice cream that he failed to bring back way back when in noischtat, or getting him medicine to help with his motion sickness... stahn wants to do these things. it's the least he can do, especially after all he failed to do before. stahn will have time to think about these things later, though. first... well, first comes looking to see just what it is that even leon seems to be distracted by.]
...Wow. Amazing...
[stahn's already been awed by quite a lot today. the lights and the tall buildings in the entertainment district were surprising enough. but for them to be that tall where people live... is that even possible?]
Do you think people really live in all of those rooms, Leon?
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Well, he certainly hopes people don't live in all of these rooms. What if they are all kidnapping victims like them? That is...a more distressing situation than he first thought.
And this is a bigger deal than he expected, as well.
Either way, he can't lose focus; he still has his goal, and it hasn't changed. Get Stahn back to their world (make sure their world is fine), so that he and the others can save it. Marian will be fine then, Rutee will be fine, Stahn will be fine, everything will be fine.
Leon takes a slow breath (still a little unsteady from the trip), and then crosses his arms and thinks. Well... if lodgings are that easy for them to obtain, then--]
I doubt that all of them are occupied, but it does seem that this city is bigger than I expected.
[Time to...re-evaluate things a little bit!]
Either way, we don't have time to gawp. Let's go.
[This is...admittedly the harder part of the directions Stahn received. Use their CereVices to get lodgings...? Leon pulls his out, but it's really a mess of utter foreign everything to him. ...well. They'll figure it out as they go along, he supposes.]
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[there's so many buildings, so many people... even taking the train, stahn can tell they covered a pretty decent amount of ground in a very short period of time. this is nothing at all like what they know.... and if this is just once city, what about the rest of the world? it raises so many questions.
maybe getting distracted is a bad idea.]
Right, but— [go where exactly? neither of them really has a clue about that part. there hadn't been any way to predict that the city would be so big, or that there would be that many houses to choose from. he stops questioning it though when leon pulls out the cerevice.
right, that thing. he peers over, looking down at the screen.]
I wonder how it works. [he's so puzzled. he could just take out his and try to figure it out, but he's just baffled enough to crowd leon for a moment. they don't both need to be doing that at the same time anyway, right? they can figure out the other parts later, but getting a place to stay comes first.]
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For now, Leon's focused so hard on the CereVice that he doesn't quite notice Stahn crowding into his personal space. The language is one he understands (which is...strange. He's pretty sure that's weird.) and he's able to at least work his way through the menus when he realizes that touching the options is what carries you forward.
He metaphorically stumbles a few times when he accidentally hits the wrong thing, or fails to realize what a bit of slang or an abbreviation means, but it helps that the apartments thing is right there, obvious and straightforward.
Even if Leon's hesitant to hit it, eventually he does, and then it brings up options and...what looks like prices? He supposes it costs people money to live....places.... Leon sure doesn't know, he's never had to think about it before!!! He's not sure Stahn will understand any better than him, but he turns to ask his opinion anyway, and... with Stahn that close, he gets a face full of mullet hair instead.
Naturally, Leon springs away like a startled cat, bristling.]
What are you doing?
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stahn really hadn't realized that leon was so aware of how close he's been hovering; he naturally assumed that leon would have sensed it. so that's a total accident that leaves stahn dumbfounded for a brief moment when leon bristles.
not that the bristling is really surprising when it's leon, but it came suddenly at an unexpected time. but he's not totally blind as to why it happened, so he'll give a weak, sheepish laugh after a moment.]
Sorry, sorry! I was just looking to see how it all worked...
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Slowly, Leon's bristling settles as Stahn apologizes and also gives him back his personal space. It was probably an overreaction, but Leon and his personal space... some things never change.
Leon, a bit more settled now, just clears his throat.]
... It looks as though you would choose one of these options, and that is where you would live. [Temporarily, naturally.]
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but whatever, it's passed quickly enough and they can get back to what's important. which is good, because honestly? stahn is exhausted. this has been a long, draining day. it had already been long before getting here at all, and then adding the hours of adventure through ViViD and the emotional exhaustion from the reuinion with leon... and stahn is just beat.]
Amazing... if it's really that easy, it's amazing. This place... it's not like anything else. [he can't help but continue to be awed by the whole thing. it's just incredible and unbelievable. honestly, stahn wishes the others were here to see this with them.]
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Leon frowns at the addresses, and then glances around them. While Stahn is sparkling at how amazing everything is, Leon continues to be...well, business.
Which is why he hardly responds to that, instead finally saying:]
This way. Let's go. [Straight to the point as ever!!! And then he's going to start striding down the street, hardly bothering to wait to see if Stahn will follow (because of course he will). If they can just... find one of these places, then they can rest there, and they (read: Leon) can figure out the finer details tomorrow, after they've gotten some sleep.
It's as good a plan as any, Leon figures.]
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Yeah. [it's just a small hum of confirmation to leon's prompting. which probably doesn't matter all that much when leon's already on the move. it's no surprise at all that stahn follows behind, trusting that he doesn't have to ask anything else in the meanwhile. leon's got this under control, he'll find them a place to stay and get them there safely, he's sure of it.]
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But sure, leave it in his hands. Ironically, despite the fact that Leon still has very little idea what he's doing, having that sort of pressure on his shoulders helps. It's more what he's used to, and it serves to remind him that even so, Stahn at least is still willing to depend on him. Even with how terribly things turned out before.
Leon's not sure Stahn should, not with how everything spiraled out of his control before, but the fact of the matter is that he is, so he'll roll with it now.
Some fiddling with the CereVice as he walks reveals that he can even see more information about the apartments as they go, even from here... admittedly he doesn't like any of them (they're all so foreign, and different from what he's used to) but they'll have to make do, so he goes with whatever seems best all around and leads them there.
So after a couple of minutes of walking, he pauses in front of a building (checks the address, double checks the CereVice, because this all seems like a trick), before he just deals with it and strides forward as if he's not totally confused about the entire situation. In they go!]
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and it doesn't change that in stahn's eyes, leon had always been more suited for that sort of role. he admired leon's strength and skill, both on the battlefield and while dealing with the diplomatic situations and being a leader. none of that has changed even despite everything else. he'll never let himself believe that leon's actions had been anything but done out of desperation for the person he cared most for. sure, there are things he still needs to scold leon for—not coming to them sooner for help, holding back that he was rutee's brother and then burdening her at such a terrible time... but that hasn't removed stahn's trust in him, not at all.
this feels familiar enough in a sea of unfamiliarity, so it's hard not to welcome even the most feigned confidence coming from leon. stahn's sure it'll work out, anyhow. it always did when they worked together, after all... it wasn't until they stopped acting a team that things had gone south, right?
it's hard not to continue to marvel at the sights as they made their way inside the building. seriously, everything about this is... surrela. but also kind of cool.]
People really live in these? It seems more like an inn than a place to live.
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[There's quite a lot of disdain in Leon's voice, if nothing else; he's used to much fancier places to live than this, quite frankly. Even so, though, he would still prefer something like this to the manor with the constant threat of Hugo. It's a whimsical thought, but even so one that sticks with him.
They'll make it work, in one way or another.
Either way, he doesn't hesitate to push open the door, inspecting room numbers (and taking the stairs instead of the elevator) until they reach the apartment in question.]
This is one that appears to be available. To me. [A twist of his lips, displeased. He doesn't like it at all--people telling him what he can do and where he can go. IN THEY GO.
... It's actually nice inside, he realizes, but it's not like he wants to admit that, it'd be like giving this place some sort of small victory. But at the very least, he can see how it would work as a living space. (It's larger than he expected, too, so... this would be a reasonably place, probably, even for the both of them to live, but is that what they really want? He's not sure. Space might be better.)]
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stahn just isn't about to question it. not right now, there's no reason to. the last time leon was in an elevator was probably on his way down in that cave, just as they'd done to find him—which couldn't haven been that long ago for leon. so stahn decides it's better to leave it be. they can add that to the pile of things to be discussed later. besides, getting to the apartment, checking it out and getting settled is more important.
when he steps inside the apartment, stahn looks around with eyes wide; this is a lot bigger and more luxurious than he was expecting.]
It's a lot bigger than an inn room... [he walks a bit ahead of leon before stopping, then turning around in a circle to get a nice 360 view from top to bottom.] It's practically the same size as my house in Leane!
[and then.
and then he spots the the large windows that face out into the city—with one hell of a view of the lights and buildings that make up cerealia's skyline. he's definitely never seen anything like this. it's astonishing and it's pretty, and just stands there, jaw slack and eyes wide.]
A... amazing... You can see the whole city from here! And... it's so big!
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But he can't really find anything that's super suspicious or terrible (though there are a lot of things that he has no idea what they're for or how they function; for now, he leaves them alone), and when Stahn opens his mouth, Leon pokes his head back into the general living area to see what's gotten his attention now.
Ironically, he hadn't looked out the window. For all of his poking around, when he joins Stahn in front of the window it's the first time he's really gotten a glimpse of Cerealia like this, and... well, even Leon is a little slack-jawed, even if it shows on his face a little less.]
What...
[...]
What sort of place is this? [It's huge, and laid out before them like this, it's clear that it's utterly foreign and alien. The lights, the transportation, the people, the buildings...it's all completely alien, and in a way, Leon feels totally dwarfed and lost right now. But... when he glances over at Stahn, all he sees is awe on his face, and somehow that grounds him a little bit. He may be out of his depth here, but some things haven't changed--Stahn is still Stahn, and the world will keep on turning, and that's enough.]
... Regardless. I suppose this will do. [He supposes.]
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