#ayano 01

The little cafe around him was on the quiet side, thankfully. Norman didn’t think he could take any more of the grocery store’s bustle, or the deafening silence of his apartment when his servant wasn’t there, or the confusing maze of streets outside. It was just a few others minding their own business, and himself, seated at a table with an untouched cup of tea and a series of job applications spread out before him. (Not that he was focused on those.) He could see why cafes were nice social settings in a lot of books he’d read.

But now? Now, instead of the bustle and confusion of the rest of the world, he had to deal with the twisting in his chest that arose any time he wasn’t sufficiently occupied.

A constant undercurrent of fear and worry was no stranger to him. He’d been living with that for months in a far more drastic situation than this. But then, he’d had his siblings, his best friends, to support him, to share the burden where they could. Not all of it, no, but...everything that he could let them share. And even with the rest, they carried him through without knowing it. He could survive, he could manage, if only he just --

If only he knew they were safe. (If he knew that much, it didn’t really matter if he survived.)

He unclasped his hands and ran one over his face. He’d sat down to try to fill out these applications, only to realize he didn’t have anything to write with. And then, trying to read them to at least know what he would write, he realized he didn’t even know how to fill out some of these things, or where to begin. One thought led to another, how he wished he had Emma and Ray here to try to figure it out with them, and how he missed them, and...

He couldn’t get caught up thinking about that. Couldn’t afford to. The feeling in his chest would eat him alive. And there were things right in front of him to worry about first -- gotta start somewhere, right? The young man lifted his head and leaned slightly from his booth to get the attention of the person at the table a few feet away, putting on a polite smile.

“Excuse me. Do you have a pen I could borrow?”

Only having a sandwich for lunch today was starting to prove to be a poor idea. Then again, he wasn’t expecting the announcement to come up a few hours later, signifying the start of this…scavenger hunt? Mission? Whatever this is. Either way, it’s something to do. While five million SSR was too large of a money pool for Goro to use, there were far more interesting advantages that came with this activity.

But for now, he’s taking a well-deserved break in the shade. He’s gotten a fair amount of fragments already, but a few more won’t hurt. Well, once he’s gotten some of his energy back. Gloved hands took a peek of his growing collection, biting his lip in the process.

Usually, the cold weather doesn’t bother him all that much. After all, he was able to trek through Modeoheim in his SOLDIER outfit, which is absolutely not designed to give much protection, if any from freezing cold climates. But the arctic like climate of Eidolon is even more chilling than anything his felt, so much so that he feels the need to move around to try and keep his body temperature up as high as he can get it. And so, he does just that.

To start things off, Zack begins trekking through the snow with a light job, gradually increasing his pace. Eventually, his jogging brings him to the village centre, which burns brightly, just as advertised, and is loaded with people. Though he’s warmed up quite a bit now, he feels he may as well finish up with some squats, even if it is in a public place, not particularly caring if the people standing all around stare at him. If anything, he just takes people’s attention as an excuse to put on a show of sorts.

Finding a decent spot with enough room to stretch out, he begins right away, starting out squatting slowly, throwing his arms out in front of him as he pulls up, and repeats this process, eventually settling for a modest pace. He lets out a soft grunt each time he pulls up.

  Takane had successfully located the coffee shop and happily sat in a corner sipping at her piping hot coffee while scanning over the pages of a book. She was enthralled in her own world as per usual, headphones drowning the noise around her and leaving her perfectly isolated.

  A familiar glimpse of red caught her eye and caused her eyes to flicker from her page for a split second. 

  Wait.

  She raised her gaze and settled it on the girl who’d just walked in. Before she could think, she yanked the headphones from her ears and spoke, eyebrows knitting together in a confused expression.

 “ A-Ayano? ”

Memories.

There were some moments he was able to recall, grasp tightly to his heart and let the happiness warm his soul. Upon entering this city, Sorey felt his mind grow uneasy. Images of white flickered in his mind, and when he closed his eyes, his memories did not respond. The most important ones, the time spent with loved ones, family and friends, were spared. Slipping between those were the pages he'd written of his long adventure with those same friends. Some memories still there, others...

Have fled.

He wonders, about why he isn't more sad about losing timeless bookmarks in his life. The ache that plagued his heart wasn't consuming him, rather he wouldn't allow it to consume him. That didn't mean he wasn't sad, but being open about emotions wasn't in Sorey's nature. True to his self, and his title, was the way to remain as pure as can be.

Even at the top of the world, in this case, one of the few bridges decorating the city, there's that emptiness that has been ebbing away at his spirit. It's not despair, at least it doesn't feel like despair. His expression calm, peaceful, lacking any shred of concern, despite the internal conflict in his mind and heart. Still not consuming him, just the uneasiness that ran through his blood.

Red had always brought back countless memories, sweet and bittwersweet, for Kido. Anytime something of significance contained the specific color, she found herself distracted by it, if only briefly. The vibrant scarf in the on the other side of the beach that passed by the corner of her vision was no exception.

This time, however, she found that the color was much more akin to the one she remembered from her youth, and the back that was turned to her was much more familiar than expected. Instead of a mere, customary pause, Kido stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes locked on the ground briefly in disbelief. Was that...?