one without water.

 “Do you know anything else about this place? A name, maybe — or why we’re here?” 

Ponyo yawned and thought for a minute. She had heard people talking around before, Pandora or something? And a goddess? Um… something…? Hmm… She closed her eyes in thought.

“Pandora. Yeah and godesses and… yeah…” the small girl said. She could feel her magic running low. Oh man keeping up human appearances was tiring, especially when you run and bounce around all day. Not to mention she was kind of hungry too. She briefly wondered if there was ham in Pandora.

Ponyo’s pace turned from slow to sluggish. The girls footsteps were dragging across the road, scratching up her feet a bit. She could hear the bucket scraping along the floor too. Whoops, magic was running way low. Looks like she would sleep in a bucket of water tonight of they didn’t get to that ‘inn’ place a nice lady selling apples had told Ponyo about.

Looking ahead, the small girl smiled and pointed, tugging Tahno’s hand slightly to grab his attention.

Goddesses and .. 'yeah'? The ex-bender quirks a brow at that, but when the girls' pace starts to become slower and slower, a look of confusion overtook his features entirely. She was a child, sure -- maybe she was tired from wandering this place all day. Tahno was tired just from being here in the short time he'd called himself a 'resident' -- in the physical and mental senses of the word. "Something wrong there, little girl?" He leans down and then over slightly -- though not by much, he could only maneuver so far with her still latching onto his finger. Feeling a tug on the hand she held, Tahno straightened and looked in the direction that Ponyo was pointing. Eventually his eyes stopped at the aforementioned building -- an inn. It wasn't a place that the ex-captain was accustomed to sleeping in, sure, but he'd have to deal with what he got. The last thing he needed was to take another nap on the concrete streets of Pandora.

"Alright; let's get a move on, then." He started to walk towards the door at a quickened pace, but soon realized she still had his finger in her hand and walked somewhat slower. Last thing he needed was the kid getting hurt on his watch; it'd make all of this so much more difficult. "The sooner I get to sleep, the sooner I'll wake up and find that  was all some kind of twisted nightmare .."

It was understandable that people would fear Sorceresses being that most of them became greedy and wanted more power. Most of them were bent on ruling every continent and being the most powerful being. But Rinoa wanted to change people’s perceptions of Sorceress. No, she hadn’t asked for this power, nor did she want it. However, there was nothing she could do about it now. The only thing she could do now was learn to manage her powers, and do her best to show people that there could be good Sorceresses as well. 

When she landed on her feet, she opened her eyes and let her wings curl around her slightly. It wasn’t until she heard a faint clapping that she even knew someone was around! Turning quickly, her eyes widened at the man walking toward her. Had he seen everything? Of course he had! There was no way for her to hide the big white angel wings that protruded from her back. 

.. .. Was she some kind of a spirit, like the ones that people believed in back home? No, why would something like that be here -- "Tahno. A pleasure, I'm sure." He says simply, casually as he could manage, and holds his hands up in front of him; a gesture to show that he honestly means no harm. It wasn't like he'd have anything to attack her with, anyway -- but she didn't know that. "I took one step in the wrong direction and landed myself in the middle of the forest." 

Where … Where was she ?

The goddess had remember being in Sasa Sanctuary helping the sparrow folk at their inn. She had closed her eyes for just a second, and when they were opened, she was somewhere else. A foreign area, a place she had never seen before in her life. She was in a grassy area, with strange odd structures everywhere and enormous buildings that she had never seen before either. It . . intimidated her a bit.

Nuregami raised up to her feet, and moved her foot a little on the grass. It felt nice, but it was still foreign to her. It looked like the type of grass she would see in the fields of Nippon, but still, she knew she had never seen this grass before. Her eyes looked around again and saw what seemed to be, a sign ?

Signs always told everyone where they were at, so maybe, this could tell her where she was at. She walked forward then toward the sign quickly dragging her long kimono behind her as she quickly shuffled there. As she reached to it she placed her hand on the sign running her hand over the letters. ” … ’ town park ’ . . ? ” , she said in question tilting her head a little.

She wasn’t sure what a park was but … it seemed harmless enough.

Her eyes though then landed at a pond that was near by here in this ’ park ‘. And seeing how she knew her waters well, she decided to go give this a shot.

She once again quickly shuffled toward a new area that was the pond this time. As she approached though she did with caution and then she placed her foot just barely above the surface but flinched back as she quickly withdrew her foot. This water … wasn’t a water that she knew at all.

The fact everything was 100% foreign to her was starting to scare her. She could feel her heart beat picking up as panic started to sway over her. As she looked down though, she couldn’t help but notice a word on her chest also that read ’ charity ‘.

A word on her chest, a ’ park ‘, unfamiliar waters, it was strange. Scary also to her.

She shook her head a little bit trying to pretend that the word on her chest wasn’t there at all as she put her whole foot then into the pond and her other also and walked forward slowly into the pond. The water just went a little past to her knees just to her thighs as she stood in it. Closing her eyes she let out a shaky breath as she bit her bottom lip still uneasy about the whole fact this water she did not know it. She knew all the waters in the world, that was her job, she was a goddess of water, the water brush god, one of the many gods that helped their mother Amaterasu in her adventures.

She opened her eyes finally but when she did she reached down into the water and pulled her hand up with water following after it. If this was happening, then she must be awake and this can’t be a nightmare could it ? no …

Though the water soon dropped back into the water as soon as she heard footsteps nearly giving giving her a heart attack as she quickly turned around.

.. The more he thought about it, the more the ex-captain actually missed being in the city. This place unnerved him in more ways than one .. not that he'd admit it out loud. In his adventures through the seemingly-empty city, the ex-bender eventually came across what looked like a park. The sign above the entry only confirmed his suspicions, being that it clearly read"Town Park"in bold lettering. While he did want to find the way out of here, or at least, find clues as to how he got here .. his legs were tired, sore. And the last thing he needed as to have them give out from underneath him. A break was probably the best thing for him right now; he decided that he'd sit on one of the park benches and figure out what to do next.

However, no sooner did he enter the park did he start to hear the noises; it sounded like splashing water .. and it sounded close. His body tensing slightly, Tahno takes a few wary steps forward before he finds the source of the noise. It was a pond, and in the pond .. Well, it appeared to be a woman steppingintoit, though he couldn't be sure .. --

” a-ah … wh-who … wh-who is there … ? “ 

It had been awhile since Rinoa had last trained with her powers, and she felt that it best to start her training up once again. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t in her world anymore, she still didn’t want to risk losing control. If people here saw her Sorceress powers unleash without any power to control them, they would run in terror. She would become the thing she had been having nightmares about ever since she acquired these powers; a monster. 

Her nightmares always ended the same way; with Squall’s gunblade through her heart. She shook her head of her thoughts, and continued her way to the woods. Rinoa hadn’t explored the woods yet, but she figured this would be the best place to train. Surely, no one would be around, and they wouldn’t catch her practicing her magic. Being a Sorceress came with consequences in her world. In her world, people feared and hated Sorceresses; Rinoa feared that people would hate her and look at her with fear in their eyes. She couldn’t bear that. 

When she found herself surrounded by trees, she decided that she had walked far enough away. Her eyes swept the area for a moment, then she closed her eyes. Channeling her power she felt a hot sensation pass through her back as her wings sprouted. 

He'd lost his way, and he wasn't sure how he'd even managed to do so in the first place. The path he was walking along broke into two, one leading to the woods, and one into the city; he chose to follow the one that led to the woods, with it in his mind that he would only take a few steps in to explore and then go back on the path .. wherever it would have led him.

But that thought crossed his mind so long ago -- or, at least, it felt as such. One, two, three steps too far, and he found himself amidst nothing but trees without a clue as to which way he'd come from. So much for 'just a few steps in, and then go back'. The ex-bender mutters something underneath his breath, more likely than not cursing his bad luck as well as his intentions of coming here in the first place .. --

And that was when he saw the light. Tahno saw it out of the corner of his eye at first; when he turned to look in that direction, it only became brighter. Curiosity got the better of him, and he walked towards it -- all the while hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a monster, or a foe. Fortunately for him, though, all that he found was a black-haired girl.

” Aw. But how can I resist staring at such a beautiful face, my dear! ” He said, still smirking and unmoving. Cyril was pretty good at reading people. In his line of work, you have to be. So, naturally, he could tell when someone disliked him—or was at least suspicious of him. (Again, not much of a big surprise, is it? He must have had lots experience, after all—) It was interesting, really. How quick people were to judge. It was nothing new though, Cyril enjoyed the many interpretations people had of him.

” A point? Who knows. Everyone’s been poppin’ up here like weeds, no one really knows the reason.” He said simply.

And, besides for that .. if this was the only person he was going to meet here, it probably wouldn't be wise to make an enemy of him so soon, would it? "So you don't know anything about why we're here, either? This just keeps getting better." Well, so much for that idea. A sigh escapes the ex-captain's lips as he crosses his arms over his chest, looking the other over as he does so.

And he’s glad it ended up being the former. 

“And just what do you think you’re intruding on, exactly? Trust me when I say I don’t think I’ve ever been this thrilled to see someone in my life.”

Running a hand through his lavender hair, Garry shrugs his shoulders and sighs quietly. “To be honest, I’m not certain what I would have been intruding on. This place is odd, and so you might have wanted to be left alone for a while. I’m new here myself, so I know the experience may be a little… disconcerting, to say the least.” Not that Garry isn’t used the the feeling, however. 

“In any case, I’m Tahno. You are ..?”

“I’m Garry. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tahno, although I’m positive that our meeting would have been better upon more pleasant circumstances. I’m afraid that I don’t have any answers as to what’s going on, in case you were wondering.” 

Slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat, Garry pulls a slight face. There are people here in this city. While this place doesn’t seem to be heavily populated, there’s a number of unfortunate individuals who all appear to be brought here against their will, just the same as Garry. Human beings; not just paintings or statues with the sole purpose of attacking whatever is in sight. The thought causes the man to frown slightly as he mulls it over. This is slowly becoming less and less like his experience with the Fabricated World. 

His arms cross loosely over his chest, and his head cants slightly. "Right. So how did you get here, exactly? Wait, let me guess --" He waves one hand in the air as he rehashes his own experience, "These .. vines came out of nowhere and pulled you into the ground with them. Sound about right?" If they landed here the same way .. .. it couldn't be just coincidence, right? "Likewise, I suppose." The ex-captain takes a moment to look around at his surroundings once more. If it was true, and it was those 'vines' that took them both here .. where was the opening? Where was the way that they'd come in? There was no clue that they'd even been dragged here to begin with; everything look undisturbed, untouched.

Still, he couldn't shake this lingering feeling that he had. He couldn't quite put a name to it, but it was eerie, and .. .. --

“Well! Tahno’s an interesting name — nothing I’ve ever heard before. Where are you from?”

But it was alright, because those same people would only become a good source of entertainment.

"Wasn't even a thought, honestly." The ex-waterbender narrows his eyes; an 'odyssey' through a distant world? He had no idea what the boy before him was talking about when he mentioned that .. much less the concept of that 'power' of his in general. From Tahno's perspective, it was all babble -- he would have had a right mind not to believe him if he hadn't made that crest on his hand shine in the first place. "And it'll stay that way so long as you keep the idea of .. whatever it is you do with that, out of your head. I'm really not in the mood to play games with a kid right now."

…this wasn’t Leon’s dream.

In fact, this wasn’t any dream Chizuru had ever seen before. Where…was this? The red haired girl stood in the middle of a bustling town square, still in her uniform, glancing at the people who passed her by, whispering to the person standing beside them until the whole square was just filled with whispers. Normally, Chizuru would ignore them and move on but something with different. They all seemed to say the same thing….

Another one.

Another one of what?

Fingers running over her handcuff bracelet, the demon vessel closed her eyes, hoping she could just fall back into Lestions dream, but when she opened her brown eyes, the image was still the same. The strange town square, the unfamiliar people and the soft whispers of curiosity. Leon…are you there? Chizuru thought to herself, glancing around uncomfortably. There really were too many people here. Even worse, she couldn’t hear Leon.

A frown crossed the red heads face and she turned on her heel, beginning to pass through the crowd, careful to avoid drawing attention to herself. That was the last thing she needed: attention. It would be a hassle, and more so that meant speaking. She could handle Isana’s chatter because that was mildly interesting but this? These people? Hardly worth wasting her time. She had to find Leon and leave…if she could. Was there anyone who could tell her what, or where, this place was? It didn’t look like Japan at all…

If she didn’t find her way back soon then…well, Chizuru didn’t want to think about Mystletainn. Perhaps while she was gone Leon would find shelter with Yumeji. That would be her best hope for her dream demon. For now though? As much as it pained her, the demon vessel knew she had to reach out to a stranger for assistance; otherwise she’d never get the answers she needed about this place?

Pursing her lips, Chizuru turned around, carefully reaching out towards the closest person she could find and tapped them gently on the shoulder, swallowing before speaking, “…excuse me, but it looks like i’m lost. ..could you help me find my way out of this town? “

Another groan escapes his lips before he looks around him. There seemed to be many different concrete paths that he could take, all looking similar in one way or another. Maybe if he walked around long enough, he would find someone. It was worth a shot; after all, what else did he have to lose? In the end, the ex-captain chose simply to walk straight, choosing to walk the concrete path that lay just ahead of him. And yet, he still found nothing. As he walked by the looming buildings of the city, he found that the lights in most of them were on -- something that usually signaled people in the area. He could try to go into one of the buildings if he wanted to, but .. .. --

“…excuse me, but it looks like i’m lost. ..could you help me find my way out of this town? “

“Tahno is a funny name. I’m Ponyo.” she replied.

“So what’s a little girl like you doing in a strange place like this, hm?”

“Ponyo… got eated by the Earth… Then was pulled in aaaaand then I got here.” the young girl replied, smile disappearing from her face. It was a really scary experience, and she didn’t really like remembering it. Still, Tahno, looking so sort-of-scared-but-brave probably went through the same thing. Poor Tahno.

Standing in place, the fish nearly fell asleep stand up before rubbing her eyes. Poor Tahno, she thought. Ponyo had to help him. Yes, she would help! Maybe he was sleepy too. The young girl put her toy boat in her green bucket. It didn’t really fit, but with some force pushing it in, the bucket held the colorful item.

“Poor Tahno. Ponyo will help. Don’t be scared.” she said and took the older mans hand. That what Sosuke’s mommy did when he was scared too. It calmed Sosuke down anyway, so it should work on everyone! Simple logic. Hand in hand, the red headed girl walked around Tahno and pulled him along.

If the meaning of that sentence turned out to be what the ex-waterbender assumed it to be, then .. it was true. She had come here just as he had; cords had come from who-knew-where, and dragged her through the ground to this place. Speaking of which .. he didn't even know wherethiswas yet. What was the name of this city? More importantly, was there even a reason that they'd been brought here? Surely it wasn't just "because" .. --

Deciding to continue his search for entertainment, Cyril squeezed through the walls of two side by side buildings, moving at random. It was then he saw a person, most likely another newcomer like himself. Out of sheer curiosity, he chose to approach the stranger.

“Morning, gorgeous.” Cyril smirked, continuing to draw closer to the newcomer. He snickered.

“Ah, but you don’t seem to understand. You see with a little manipulation…” The boy took a short pause, using the silence to raises his hand so that the back was visible to the other. At that moment, a pink crest began to glow through his gloved hand. Tron’s trademark symbol. When first gaining the power of the crest, it was quite bizarre, its full abilites unknown. But now, he could flaunt it around with no setbacks or limitations, always coming in handy.

The sight of the pink crest glowing on the back of the boy's hand sets Tahno's nerves on edge once again. He takes two steps back from the boy, his eyes narrowing slightly. If the boy intended on doing something to him here, he wasn't going to be able to defend himself. Not without his bending. He'd learned to live without it, but that was back home, where there was no longer a threat. Here, if there were people that were able to do things like that.. "How are you doing that?" The ex-waterbender demands, probably against his better judgement. He was worried about what could happen to him should the boy use whatever power he retained, true, but ..

If it was not meant to be, then the Great Stallion wouldn’t have allowed such a thing, she was sure. And so why this? A punishment from the Gods she had abandoned? Or was it even fair to say she believed in them at all to begin with? There was not a single force on this earth that could stop her from wanting to get back to her world, to her people. Throw what you might at her, the young Khaleesi would resolve to fight till the very end until she was able to go back to where she belonged. The Targaryen turned her head to the winged creature perched atop her shoulder as he flapped his wings and cling to her form. The biggest of the three, Drogon was somewhat hard to put to rest compared to his two brothers. While Viserion and Rhaegal slept back in her dormitory, Dany had decided to bring the black dragon along, knowing that he would get bored and or aggravated if she were to leave him alone with nothing to do.

Now having the time to explore the small town within Pandora, she had taken the liberty of gathering a few items from the many empty shops that lined the streets. Every once in a while she would run into a shop owner, however it didn’t seem as if they cared whether the young albino took things from their shop or not — either way, she would give them her thanks and be on her way. With a bag in hand now stuffed with many different kinds of fruits and other foods, she found herself waking in between two tall buildings that led to another street on the other side. Finding it to be a faster way to get to the other side she walked into the somewhat dark alley way and slowly made her way through it as she glanced at the creature atop her shoulder who now stood on it’s hind legs — almost as if to get a better view at something. … How strange, he never acted this way before. Not unless there were other —

“Who’s there?”

— people nearby. A light snort escaped the female as she recalled how she herself used a similar line when she first got here. Going with her gut she slowly approached the other on the other end of the alley, the dragon that once sat on her shoulder now crawled it’s way over her chest and torse, down to her waist where it clung to her clothing and flicked it’s tail around her hips. Once she had gotten close enough to the stranger to get a better look at him, she wasn’t exactly sure what to make of him — but one thing she was sure of was that he was new. Her hands briefly raised to show the other that she was not here to harm him, and didn’t intend to as she continued to slowly approach them before they were now only a few feet away from each other.

The woman that approached him now wasn't exactly the kind of person he was expecting to find in a place like this .. but he was hardly about to complain. Any company that Tahno could find in this place would be appreciated greatly -- so long as he didn't wind up trying to brave the streets in this place alone. They were deserted, but he still had the nagging feeling of someone behind him, eyes on his back.

.. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't find her appearance to be a plus in all of this, either. A thin smirk traced his lips as she spoke to him.

“I wont hurt you. … Have you just arrived ..?"

"That I have. And I take it you were .. lucky enough to be dragged to this place too, right?" He took a few steps toward the woman once she said that she didn't mean him any harm. Something about her just didn't quite fit in with the rest of the city, -- at least, what he'd seen of it so far -- but then again, she could probably have said the same for him. His eyes flickered to the creature resting on her waist for a moment; his eyebrows raised in question at the sight of it, but he continued speaking regardless.

The violet-haired man presses his lips into a thin line as he walks, looking carefully through the windows of shops, checking around corners of alleyways, mindful of anything that could potentially startle him. And so far, the search has been fruitless. There’s been nothing to suggest why or how he’s here, or what’s going on. How to get back. 

It’s a hopeless kind of feeling, and this time he doesn’t have Ib to keep him company. Of course, he would prefer the young girl to stay safe and with her family. Still, it’s lonely without her to make conversation with. She’s better off at home though. 

Garry purses his lips and continues on down the street, but stops when he sees another person. Huh… 

“Who’s there?”

The man blinks a few times but carefully approaches the other, holding up his hands in a neutral position to show that he means no harm. It seems like this city is inhabited by random and confused people, as far as Garry can tell. And this person, if his suspicions are correct, might have just arrived the same as he did.

“Are you okay? I don’t mean to intrude, but…”

He doesn’t want to be a bother or offend, so he trails off his sentence. He can’t leave someone alone when they need help… even if he himself is currently overwhelmed by the present situation. Two heads are better than one, right? If this goes well, perhaps they could help each other escape. 

“Are you okay? I don’t mean to intrude, but…"

The hand pressed to his forehead drops and his eyes open once more so that he could find the person that the voice belonged to. It didn't take long, considering the other person -- a man, it looked like -- was practically right in front of him, walking along the road that lay straight ahead. He stopped some distance away from Tahno, and his hands were held up in front of him, as if to say that he meant no harm. ".. Peachy, thanks." The response to the other male's question is muttered, and that first word is said with some sort of an edge. He'd have to forgive the ex-waterbender if he wasn't as pleasant as he usually was; situation at hand was taking a bit of a toll on him.

In any case, if this man meant no harm, it should have been alright to take another few steps forward, -- at least, that was what Tahno figured -- and so he did. It wasn't like he himself had anything that he could use to harm the other, anyway. "And just what do you think you're intruding on, exactly?" He raises a brow, gesturing with his hands to either side of him to show that he was entirely alone. "Trust me when I say I don't think I've ever been this thrilled to see someone in my life."

Except now. She scraped her knee from running, and after all said running, she was actually quite sleepy. Sosuke’s bucket dragged nosily on the concrete ground and acquired more and more scratches from it. Usually she wasn’t this tired unless she used magic— then again, it was a long day, waking up in a strange place and all.

Hoisting the green bucket up onto her shoulder and adjusting the small boat under her arm, Ponyo only realized there was someone in front of her when she heard him speak.

“Who’s there?”

At first it frightened the girl, but when she saw how scared the man was himself (though he tried not to show it, humans always tried to act so tough!) the fear dissipated. Maybe he just got here too, like Ponyo! She remembered she was a little scared too.

Still, to know that he wasn't the only one around proved to be something of a comfort. Even if she was a child .. she could know more about this place than he did. After all, she didn't seem to be the least bit worried about being here, whereas Tahno probably looked like a deer in headlights. He tried his best to maintain some kind of poker face, but the fact that he was unnerved probably showed regardless. You couldn't really blame him, though -- or so he figured; anyone in his position probably would have reacted in the same way. "Is that right? Well, Ponyo, my name's Tahno." His introduction was a bit rushed; she'd have to forgive him for not sounding all that enthusiastic. Right now, he was more focused on other things -- finding out where he was, finding out how to get back to Republic City, and, of course, keeping his nerves in check.

He took a few steps forward and leaned down slightly, as to get a better look at the small girl before him. Tahno was quite tall, anyway -- he'd pretty much been towering over her. "So what's a little girl like you doing in a strange place like this, hm?"

“Oh..? New toys to play with?? Ah, welcome welcome!!” The child mused to the new faces. Oh yes, such beautiful, new faces…