aefenglom | text | un: feal

[Oh, right. It's probably weird without context.]

We've met before! I'm Karin.

[It was in a dream, sort of, but still. It was real. Also, it's still weird even with context.]

You know my housemate, as well. Rikku?

[It was definitely weird without context! He's a little relieved to have it.]

Hello, Karin. I was wondering if I would meet you here sometime, but I wasn't sure how real all of that was, you know?

[Dreams be dreams.]

Rikku has been very kind to me. It feels like a nice coincidence that you know each other, but I guess I don't actually know how many Mirrorbound there are. [It could just be a matter of probability...]

Understandable, considering how strange it all was. I assure you, it was very real.

She mentioned that she had a new friend she wanted me to meet, but it looks like we beat her to it.

It seems like it. I wouldn't mind meeting you in person in real life, though.

[As much as this can be considered real life... he's still wondering a little bit about that, to be honest.]

That could certainly be arranged. Actually, considering what I've heard, I've actually been planning on that, I just didn't realize we'd already sort of met before.

[She has a vested interest in who Rikku bonds with, after all.]

[Ferran has no idea what he's in for.]

I don't have anything planned for today, if you're free. Not that I have plans for the most part at all.

[He doesn't like not having a schedule, so he's kind of thrown himself at everything, but none of it is anything he's committed himself to.]

[You about to get Big Sis'd.]

I have some errands to run, but I could meet in an hour or so. Do you know where Karen's Patisserie is?

[Lightning works there, so maybe there will be discounted croissants on the menu. She can hope.]

I'm sure I can find it if you give me a general area.

[And by that, he means ask around until someone points him there. Good with navigating he is not, but he's at least got a vague idea of the districts by now.]

Oh, I can do better than that.
My treat once you get there, by the way.

[She'll proceed to give him some very clear directions, complete with landmarks, so that he shouldn't have to question too many passers-by unless he gets really turned around.

Once he arrives, Karin will be sitting at one of the tables near the big front windows, and she looks much the same as she had when they'd met in the dreamscape. Her wings may have grown a bit more, but they're folded neatly against her back, with her feathered hair pulled up off of her neck and talons shown off by her carefully-folded hands on the table. She recognizes him when he walks in, smiling warmly and raising a single hand to get his attention.]

If you insist...

[Usually he would object, but usually he also has a lot of money. He's working on that part, but for now he'll accept whatever comforts he can get his hands on.

That's definitely Karin, no matter how fuzzy the details of the dream might be in his mind. The Ferran that greets her completely lacks the wings she'd seen before, and the few scales on his wrists are initially hidden by his sleeves and the pockets of his coat, but when he pulls out the chair opposite hers to take a seat, they reflect the light in a way that makes them hard to miss.]

Hey, Karin. It's good to meet you in person. And especially not in a nightmare.

[He had a bad time.]

[He does look decidedly more human than when she last saw him— she suspects that Aefenglom had given him a sort of 'sneak preview,' much like it had given her during her first but temporary stay here. She can't help but hope that it will be the same for him, that now that he's here for real his transformation will be slow and steady, rather than sudden and violent as her first one had been. Fingers crossed, anyway.

She inclines her head as he sits down, raising a hand to politely get the attention of the girl waiting tables for whenever she has the time.]

I have to say, I prefer this way, too. It's nice to see you in the flesh.

[No wings, sure, but it's still definitely him.]

I think we can cross nightmarescapes off the to-do list for awhile. I've had enough, I'm pretty sure.

I'm not interested in any more dream sharing, myself.

[That's all very personal, thanks! Whenever the waitress makes her way over to them, he'll order a simple tea for now. After tha, instead of pointing out all the things his brain immediately brings to the surface—her talons and further transformation, the idea of his own changes in the future, the awful situations he met in that nightmare after they met—he decides to make small talk. It's much more comfortable.]

How have you been? I heard that curse was broken.

[Karin also pauses to order tea for herself, as well as a couple of sweet things for them to share— just a small way to welcome him to the city proper.

Small talk is safe enough for now. She has other things she'd like to ask him, an interest specifically driven by his connection to Rikku, but they had been friendly enough when they had first met to begin with. No reason for that to change.]

Yes! Everyone woke up, and the witch responsible was taken care of. There's still a mess to be cleaned up around Dorchact itself, and the effects of residual magic to be dealt with, but it's much better than it was. I've been trying to do my part to help there. It's... hard to find your place here, sometimes, so I just try to do what I can to help in the meantime. What about you? You have a place to stay and all, I take it.

Dorchact... [He finally has a name, so he commits it to memory.] It's good to hear it's improving. I'm guessing said witch didn't go peacefully?

[Thus, the mess.]

Saying I feel lost would be an understatement. [But he's had a good private outburst or five, so you know, he's dealing. There's no real emotion in the admission.]

I did take up one of the free houses in the Haven, and I've done a few small jobs to get some of the things I need. [And get started on paying Rikku back for the money she lent him. He sighs.] It doesn't exactly feel like enough.

[Her smile turns a bit wry, and she nods to confirm. It had taken quite a force to fight back against her army of corrupted monsters and golems, but they'd managed it— somehow.

Lost, for better or for worse, is something she can relate to, and her expression turns to one of sympathy.]

It does get easier after awhile, but I know becoming numb to something isn't necessarily something to be happy about. I've been here a few months, and I still feel lost at times, too. It's good that you're making good friends right from the start, though. [Rikku, in fact, was one of the very first people she'd met, as well, which is what led them to become housemates.] There's steady work to be had, but I'll admit... I've had trouble finding something right for me, too.

I've never had to worry about... having things. I just went to school, made vague plans for the future...

[He crosses an arm over his chest, the opposite hand rubbing at his forehead in frustration. He'd taken it all for granted, he's realizing now. He never had reason to question that he'd be provided for, even after...]

And all of that's gone. Even without all the things I don't know from being in a different world, or the magic... [And by magic, he of course means changing.]

But I guess it wouldn't be easy for anyone.

Mm... this sort of thing really forces you to grow up fast, doesn't it?

[She doesn't know how old he is for certain, of course, but she could hazard a guess that he's around Rikku's age, maybe a little older. Age itself is just a number, but he hasn't been out on his own yet— she can see how that would be absolutely overwhelming if you didn't have time for prepare for it.]

It would be challenging for anyone, but because of that, everyone here kind of... understands? And a lot of them help one another. That's been my experience, anyway. You don't have to do everything alone.

... yeah.

[Having had his whole life ripped out from under him in about five different ways over less than a year, Ferran is absolutely not prepared to be an adult. But he has to try anyway, because it's not like anyone is going to coddle him, understanding or not.

Giving him such a solid sense of security for so long was probably part of that man's plan to ruin him, wasn't it.]

I don't know what I'd do if there wasn't anyone around to help. [Well, he does know, but that's pretty morbid for the current conversation.]

It sounds like you've managed to do well for yourself so far, at least. You've made good friends— you even have bondmates already.

[Not that he'd mentioned that himself, but she Knows Things, of course.]

You're lucky. I was slower about it, and I do regret it, sometimes. It made certain things harder than they needed to be.

[Friends... As personable as Ferran likes to think of himself as being, to say those he's met are friends so soon feels a bit premature. Basically staying among the same people his entire life makes it a little difficult for him to adjust to that mindset so quickly. Not that he doesn't intend to be friendly, of course... and he wouldn't object if someone else called him a friend.]

R-right. I guess out of everything, that seemed like one of the easier issues to resolve...

[Sending out what amounted to a desperate plea on the network and praying for results somehow actually worked. He doesn't consider Karin's knowledge of that worrying in any way, in part due to bringing up Rikku earlier.]

And the most important.

Harder for some, I think. I worried about being able to trust someone enough to make that kind of a commitment. It's a partnership, after all.

[She's slowly, slowly circling around to why she'd wanted to meet with him now, though her tone remains pleasant.]

Rikku is very generous, though. Maybe a little too much, sometimes. I worry about her.

Mm.

[Ferran still doesn't think much of the connection—he takes it seriously, of course, but considering it a commitment in the long term isn't quite the same. He's done his utmost to keep his nonsense to himself, but other than that, it's something without much of an emotional element for him.

He at least had enough foresight to look into if and how Bonds could be nullified, though; he mostly expects his bonded partners to eventually find others and ask to break it off, but by then he assumes he'll have met enough people that he doesn't need to be desperate in searching for someone else. ... Probably, anyway. He'll manage somehow.

As he's thinking of all this, there's a mild furrow in his brow.]

She is that... [The fact that he owes her for lending him a little for essentials is frequently on his mind.] I'm grateful for it. I used to be the same way... but I had the resources for it, I guess.

[He's been pretty shitty on the positive anything front in the past three quarters of a year.]

Edited (??? what was that word for) 2020-11-09 05:36 (UTC)

It certainly is an admirable quality, I'll give her that. She also trusts people very easily.

[With that, she shifts in her seat and places both of her elbows on the table, folding her hands just beneath her chin so that she can rest it atop them. She pauses long enough to thank the waitress when she stops by to deliver their order, then fixes her gaze squarely on Ferran.]

I told her I would be very interested in meeting any potential bondmates. You know, just to make sure they're well-suited to the task.

[Sounds reasonable.]

Right.

[Ferran picks up his cup and takes a long sip of his tea, thoroughly distracted by the promise of a refreshing meal after the morning he's had. He's right in the middle of that sip when Karin's words register in relation to him, and he blinks faintly, finally noticing the intensity of her stare.

He never got to the "meeting the family" point with any of his relationships, at least not in a "how are you treating my daughter" way, so this is new territory. He swallows his tea, taking advantage of his emotional exhaustion to quash any awkwardness he might feel. Well, most of it—he ends up avoiding her gaze.]

Uh, what sort of person... would you consider well-suited?

[They're kind of past "potential" at this point.]

[She smiles knowingly— well, he picks up on things fairly quickly, at least. She likes that.]

First off, I'd hate to see anyone take advantage of her kindness without the intent of giving something back.

[She may be speaking more from her own experience on this one, but she does worry about Rikku all the same. The girl can certainly take care of herself, but she's young and she hasn't been exposed to quite the same people Karin has— those who seek to use others for their own ends without a care in the world.

Fortunately, just from talking to Ferran as much as she already has, she has a good feeling that's not him.]

Actually, I already have a pretty strong impression of you. You mean well, I think— and seeing as you two didn't waste any time, I'm sure she thinks so, as well.

[She Knows.]

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